ASTANA – Aigerim Beketayeva, leading soloist of the Astana Opera, will perform with People’s Artist of Russia Boris Eifman’s troupe on a tour that will take them to Budapest in early April and to London’s Coliseum Theatre from April 15-19.
Eifman, director of the St. Petersburg State Academic Ballet Theatre, was deeply struck by Beketayeva’s performance of the Dying Swan at St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre when the young Kazakh troupe went on tour there in early March. Prior to that, Eifman worked with the Astana Opera theatre troupe on the premiere of the ballet “Rodin,” in which Beketayeva gave a fragile, almost porcelain performance as Camille Claudel. Young Beketayeva will perform the same role during the European tour.
The role of Camille Claudel is not an easy one, as the choreography is different from standard ballet classics. The main character is the human body and its capabilities. This will be the London premiere of “Rodin” and the first time Eifman has invited a performer from another theatre to take a lead, making the role a double honour for Beketayeva.
Beketayeva graduated from the Seleznev Almaty Choreographic School. In 2012, she became a laureate of the International Ballet Competition in Varna, Bulgaria; a year later she won the Rudolf Nureyev International Ballet Competition and won a diploma at the 12th International Ballet Competition and Contest of Choreographers in Moscow. In her upcoming performance, the dancer said, her goal is perfection.
“I’ve read a lot of books, watched a movie about the character I’m going to perform, in order to better convey the feelings and emotions that she experienced. A lot has been done. Others who have gotten this role visited psychiatric hospitals to feel the atmosphere that should be conveyed from the scene,” Beketayeva said.
She also mentioned that in a few years, her Camilla will be quite different; she will grow along with the dancer.
Tursynbek Nurkaliyev, artistic director of Astana Opera’s ballet, said that it was important for top soloists to go and perform in other countries so that Astana Opera enters the level of the world’s leading theatres.
