Georgian National Ballet's Charisma

It was a while that I was wondering to write something about this dance company. The Georgian Nationa Ballet (Georgian: ქართული ეროვნული ბალეტი) was founded in 1945 by Iliko Sukhishvili and Nino Ramishvili. This company only performs traditional Georgian Dance.

Their dancers have high-level physical preparation and an extraordinary muscle tone. You will be amazed waching them doing a double tour en l'air ending on the knees!

I just wanted to show you their rehearsal.

This other video is about some scenes of the show. Their technical virtuosity together with those magnificent costumes makes a great show.

 
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Movie of the day: "Mao's Last Dancer"

 

Surfing the net i found out this movie: "Mao's last Dancer". In the US it has been released in august 2010 but unfortunately in Italy his release doesn't seem to be scheduled at the cinemas yet.

It is a real pity because I read the reviews and as everyone says, this movie has a real artistic value!

This movie has been inspired by the homonymous book though I've never read it.

The story is about the chinese dancer Li Cunxin. Here follows the book summary:

"From a desperately poor village in northeast China, at age eleven, Li Cunxin was chosen by Madame Mao's cultural delegates to be taken from his rural home and brought to Beijing, where he would study ballet. In 1979, the young dancer arrived in Texas as part of a cultural exchange, only to fall in love with America—and with an American woman. Two years later, through a series of events worthy of the most exciting cloak-and-dagger fiction, he defected to the United States, where he quickly became known as one of the greatest ballet dancers in the world. This is his story, told in his own inimitable voice."

Book's Cover (English Version)

 
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Movie of the day: "Center Stage"

 

In the last months everyone was talking about "The Black Swan" movie with Natalie Portman.

I would like to suggest you to watch the movie that, in my opinion, better represents the world of dance: "Center Stage".

In the movie's cast there are professional ABT Dancers such as Ethan Stiefel and Julie Kent.

During the movie you can enjoy some clips of Sir Kenneth MacMillan's "Romeo and Juliet" and George Balanchine's "Stars & Stripes".

In my opinion in this movie you can see real life in a dance company, feel dancer's suffering but also their big satisfactions.

If you have nerver watched it, don't wait!

 
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Tournée in China (1972)

Today I want to do a jump to the past…in 1972.

At that time I was attending the Tirana Opera and Theatre Ballet Academy.

Albanian and Chinese Government were very close friend at that time, and to get this friendship stronger and to spread the Albanian National Repertoire (the one that better represented the communist realism) we were invited to do a big Tournée in China.

Beijing 1st July 1972 with "comrade" Go Chin Sen (worker at the Beijing Film Studio)

The whole Ballet Troupe, some student of the Academy as me, soloist opera singers, the entire orchestra and some politicians of the party went to China for this big event.

Oh! I was almost forgetting to mention that there were also people in charge for “security”. Their responsibility was to check that no one could have the brilliant idea to run away.

I was so excited, it was my first journey abroad…and I was only 14!

We left at the end of April 1972 and of course “security” men withdrew all passports to “keep them safe”.

We were flying with 2 airplanes Ilyushin 62 (half of them crashed!). We were more than 160 people.

First stop was in Bucharest, the second one in Karachi (Pakistan) and last stop Beijing Airport.

Once we got to the airport, the Chinese government had organized a welcome parade to honor our arrival.

The journey by coach from the airport to the city was almost one hour and our Chinese “comrade” thought that was a good idea to teach us how to say numbers in Chinese (yī, èr, sān, sì, wǔ, liù, qī, bā…).

We were staying in Beijing Qianmen hotel (I found out that it still exists). It was a luxury hotel for that time, and for us (still children) it was like a dream.

The tournée was supposed to last more than two months.

With me there were also my brother Dashnor (he was a dancer too) and the person that today is my wife. Her name is Tania.

My wife Tania during an exursion on the Great Wall.

We stayed the first two weeks in Beijing having class every day with the dancers of the Beijing Theatre. Before starting barre work, we were supposed to wait that Mao Tse-Tung (毛泽东 - Pinyin: Máo Zédōng) writings were read to us.

Every single moment of our days were filmed in order to produce a propaganda reportage/documentary. This was a very important event for the last two real communist country.

To show us the greatness of China we were brought to see their steel industries  but also important cultural places such as the Great Wall and other important temples and gardens.

The language was not a problem because the government provided us professional Chinese-Albanian interpreters. Among them there were also people in incognito; they pretended not to understand a word in Albanian language but their aim was to listen all the “unofficial” things we were talking about.

This journey brought me a huge passion in knowing new people, cultures and countries.

It is true that time changed a lot…

The ballet troupe in Shanghai. I'm the one with curly hair on the left corner.

The ballet troupe on the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge.

Picture taken the 28th of June 1972. Behind the picture it is written:
"ALBANIAN BALLET TROUPE IN CHINA: Little artistes of the Albanian Ballet Troup together with members of the Little Red Soldiers' Propaganda Team in Nanking. (HSI HUA NEWS AGENCY)"

End of a performance. Please note on the background the two portraits: on the left the albanian dictator Enver
Hoxha and on the right the one of Mao Tse-Tung.

 

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"Dragon Quest": the Videogame becomes Ballet

Dragon Quest is a well-known japanese RPG videogame saga born in 1986.

After 10 years of successes, in 1995 The Dragon Quest Ballet (choreography by Minoru Suzuki 鈴木稔;　すずきみのる) performed by Star Dancers Ballet of Japan make his debut.

Music has been composed by master Koichi Sugiyama (椙山 浩一; すぎやま こういち). This music is so poetic, epic and funny at the same time that is perfect to become a ballet.

All of the music for the Dragon Quest series has been composed by Koichi Sugiyama.

The ballet is not following any of the storylines from the videogames.

Dancer's technique is very good and I'm sure you will enjoy watching it.

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