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PEOPLE & ARTS Saturday 25 November 2017
Russian dancer challenges centuries of ballet tradition

By NATALIYA VASILYEVA on to build international
Associated Press careers. “With every year,
MOSCOW (AP) — It’s an up- there’s more interest in con-
hill battle trying to promote temporary dance (in Rus-
contemporary dance in a sia), and I can feel it’s true
country which prides itself both for professionals and
on keeping its trademark the audience,” Vishneva
ballets intact for a century. told The Associated Press.
But acclaimed dancer Di- Paradoxically, smaller the-
ana Vishneva is no stranger aters in the Russian provinc-
to taking risks. es are often more recep-
Throughout her career on tive to modern dance.
both sides of the Atlantic, “In a way it’s easier be-
Vishneva, a principal danc- cause that weight of tradi-
er at the Mariinsky Theater tion, history and classical
in St. Petersburg, did not heritage that major the-
just bask in the accolades aters like the Bolshoi and
for her immaculate perfor- the Mariinsky have.. the re-
mances of Russian ballet gions are much more flex-
classics like Swan Lake or ible now,” Vishneva said.
The Sleeping Beauty but “They don’t have such
also ventured into contem- rigid boundaries.” The year
porary dance projects with 2017 has not been easy for
seemingly little commercial In this photo taken on Sunday, Nov. 12, 2017, Young dancers perform the ballet “What Am I” by contemporary art in Rus-
appeal. choreographer Yulia Korobeinikova from Krasnoyarsk during an evening for young choreographers sia. Ultra-conservative ac-
Her own efforts, originally at the Context, Diana Vishneva festival in the Gogol Centre theater in Moscow, Russia. tivists threatened violence
with another Russian, Alexei Associated Press in response to the release
Ratmansky, led her to col- sia her brainchild, the fifth jor cities are rarely seen the floor as if struggling to of a movie about the last
laborate with the best and festival of contemporary in one place: from the get to his feet. Russian czar’s love affair;
brightest of contemporary dance, titled “Context. Di- cutting-edge Los Angeles- In Russia, where the Bolshoi the premiere of the bal-
dance including the vener- ana Vishneva.” based BodyTraffic to the and other powerhouses let “Nureyev” directed by
ated American choreogra- The festival, which original- acclaimed Dutch National of music and dance pride the prominent director Kirill
pher John Neimeier, who ly started as three days of Ballet. themselves on keeping the Serebrennikov was post-
created several produc- performances starring Vish- The festival opened with a ballet classics unchanged poned at the last moment,
tions just for Vishneva. neva, has evolved into a show by several up-and- for a century, that might reportedly because of its
This month, the ballerina, week of shows, workshops coming Russian choreog- seem like a hard sell. But depiction of the protago-
who was a principal danc- and meet-the-artists ses- raphers. In one of them, a not for Vishneva, who takes nist’s homosexuality, and
er at American Ballet The- sions in Moscow and St. Pe- female dancer dressed in pride in the fact that some several months later Sere-
ater from 2005 until June tersburg. jeans was jogging on stage of the young choreogra- brennikov found himself in
when she retired from the The companies that per- for several minutes while phers whose work was fea- the dock on fraud charges
company, brought to Rus- formed in Russia’s two ma- her partner was writhing on tured at the festival went he vehemently denies.q

Armenia’s Oscars submission

imagines a world without war

By AMIR VAHDAT, region. er anti-war film by a female
Associated Press Criticizing war, Abad said director, Narges Abyar’s
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Arme- its consequences are long “Nafas (Breath).”
nia’s foreign-language film lasting. Alireza Tabesh, the manag-
submission to the Academy “I was not directly in front- ing director of the founda-
Awards for this year invites line of any war, but war tion, told The Associated
viewers to imagine a world was a part of my life,” said Press that both countries
without war, according to Abad. submitting anti-war films by
its director. Abad has a long track re- female directors this year
Anahid Abad, the director cord working in Iranian cin- was “an invaluable coinci-
of “Yeva,” said at the Ira- ema as an assistant direc- dence”.
nian premiere of her debut tor. “Launching co-production
movie on Thursday, “The Her film is a joint produc- projects with countries in
world without any war is tion between the National the region... is one of the
much more beautiful, even Cinema Center of Armenia main goals of this founda-
for warmongers.” and the Iranian Farabi Cin- tion”, Tabesh said, “It offers
The film tells the story of a ema Foundation in Tehran, the opportunity of enter-
young woman who es- where the Iranian premiere ing into new markets and
capes her influential in-laws was held. enables film producers to
with her daughter, Nareh, The foundation also submit- share their visions.”
after her husband’s tragic ted Iran’s foreign-language Iran has one of the largest In this Thursday, Nov. 23, 2017 photo, Iranian-Armenian film
death and takes refuge in film entry to the Academy Armenian communities in director Anahid Abad speaks at the screening of her movie
a village in the Karabakh Awards for this year, anoth- the world.q “Yeva” for media at Farabi Cinema Foundation, in Tehran, Iran.
Associated Press