The Astana Ballet wrapped up its 2014 world tour recently with a performance of “Alem” in Seoul, South Korea.
The tour included performances at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theatre in Moscow, Gala au Palais des Congrès in Paris, Museums Quartier Wien in Vienna and the Yeouido KBS Hall in Seoul.
“Alem” is the touching story of the birth of the soul and its path through the torments of love based on an ancient Kazakh legend about the origin of life. The Astana Ballet’s one-act “Alem” was created by composers Bulat Gafarov and Armand Amar, and directed by famous Russian choreographer Nikita Dmitrievskiy.
“It is a delicate and careful synthesis of the current world trends and traditional motives of the Kazakh dance culture. Its peculiarity is, first of all, a combination of the Kazakh epos and Kazakh culture,” Dmitrievskiy said.
The production also included unique 3D effects, computer graphics and a video series filmed in the steppes of Kazakhstan.“I work with light and light effects; my instruments range from simple flashlights to large projectors. I have been fond of this occupation since my childhood. I see it as creating a parallel world with different atmospheres and moods. I have a great team and we have nothing to do but embody our ideas and thoughts into reality. We shoot a film in the studio and outside. We even had to shoot a herd of horses crossing the steppe for specific moments of the performance. Therefore, the audience enjoys a film, a ballet and a laser show, all in one performance,”said Dmitrievskiy.
The tour was well received internationally. In Paris, Princess Marie of Liechtenstein praised the performance saying, “It was very poetic, full of wonderful, different scenes and had brilliant ballet dancers.” And after the final Seoul performance, audience members said they had not seen such a high-tech performance in South Korea, where advanced technologies are common.
“Alem” is the first major independent work of the young troupe from Kazakhstan. The Astana Ballet was founded in 2012 as a unique dance troupe that combines classical traditions and up-to-date trends of folk and modern choreography.
