THE magical tale of true love, sacrifice and redemption, set to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s impeccable score, will greet ballet lovers starting this Friday at Kuala Lumpur’s Istana Budaya in a full-length production of Swan Lake.
Presented by the St Petersburg Ballet Theatre in collaboration with Shiraz Projects Sdn Bhd, the Russian staging will feature prima ballerina Irina Kolesnikova in the dual role of Odette and Odile in this ballet masterpiece as well as over 40 dancers.
First staged in the late 19th century, the classic work tells the story of young Prince Siegfried who falls deeply in love with the princess Odette, who is transformed into a swan by an evil sorcerer.
She wanders the world as a swan by day, and it is only at night – by an enchanted lake bathed in moonlight – that she and her companions return to their human form.
IMPORTANCE OF QUALITY
St Petersburg Ballet Theatre’s founder and director Konstantin Tachkin is enthusiastic about getting people especially newbies to catch ballet shows.
“The high quality of a ballet show is of the utmost importance. Especially for first-timers since a bad first experience would leave people disappointed and possibly never wanting to watch ballet again.”
“There are lots of small companies in St Petersburg that stage mediocre productions of classics like The Nutcracker or Swan Lake and they damage the market,” says Tachkin when met recently in Istana Budaya with his wife Kolesnikova.
He adds: “Our mission is to bring high level productions to people to give them an example of how it should be and to showcase how beautiful ballet can be. Then people will understand and become very selective. The first time is very important.”
The fifty-something former member of the Soviet special forces established the St Petersburg Ballet Theatre back in 1994. “Before that I worked in a company selling tickets for ballet performances and that’s when I fell in love with the art.”
“But the shows were not up to the standard so I decided to form my own production company, it was the next logical step for me,” he says.
Since then, the company has travelled extensively around the globe to enchant ballet lovers with classic masterpieces such as Giselle, Don Quixote, La Bayadere, Romeo & Juliet, The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty.
Incredibly popular, the St Petersburg Ballet Theatre gives over 200 performances annually.
NATURAL LOVE
Tachkin says that it’s important for a married couple to have similar interests. Looking at Kolesnikova, he says: “Some husbands need time away from their wives, they need a rest. For, me there’s no need for that, we go everywhere together and we work together.”
Work was what brought them together and eventually the relationship blossomed into a romantic one. The two are now married and have a 5-year-old daughter, Vasilina.
“It was an organic progression. We had long conversations about art and we would talk about the performances so things just grew naturally from there,” he says.
The couple have their cute pet peeves though, with Kolesnikova rolling her eyes when Tachkin refers to their daughter with the short form name of Vasya.
“Irina and my mother-in-law doesn’t like the name but I do,” he says of the sobriquet which is apparently a popular moniker for cats in Russia.
“If you see our daughter you’ll never make the connection that she’s a cat,” he quips.
RUNNING IN THE FAMILY
Kolesnikova started her studies at the renowned Vaganova Ballet Academy at age 10 and realised that she seriously wanted to be a ballerina three year’s later.
“She was never scared of the grueling work and exercises that are required to be a professional ballerina. Many people say it’s hard and exhausting but it’s a normal thing for her,” says Tachkin.
One of the biggest challenges that Kolesnikova faced was during the whole pregnancy phase. She continued dancing till two months into her pregnancy and then carried on with dancing exercises till she was about five months in.
From then on till her delivery she did nothing and that’s when her muscles started to degrade.
“I was in the worst situation possible since I had to start from zero again. It was a big shock and very stressful,” says the thirty-something prima ballerina who underwent intensive training.
Five months after her baby was born she was off to Istanbul in Turkey to perform Swan Lake. “We brought Vasya with us. So since then until now, she’s been to many cities around the world such as Paris, London, Melbourne and Singapore,” says the doting father.
When asked if his girl would follow in her mother’s elegant footsteps, he says, “I see ability and talent but I leave it to her to decide for herself since it’s a hard and painful process. She has her mother’s tenacity so we’ll see.”
HIGHEST COMPLIMENT
Having played the dual lead roles of Odette and Odile in Swan Lake for close to 1,000 times now, her personification of the Swan Queen has become a personal trademark for Kolesnikova.
“It’s not about the number of times she’s done it but what she does on stage for the show is unique,” says Tachkin.
The ballerina presents completely different personas from facial expressions and bodily gestures to dance techniques for the White Swan and Black Swan.
He relates an example where Dutch actor Rutger Hauer, who had starred in many Hollywood movies, had caught their production of Swan Lake in Cape Town, South Africa.
“After the show he went backstage to catch the dancers. He saw Irina in her white garb and praised her for giving an amazing performance. It was his first time seeing Swan Lake.”
“He then wanted to meet the other dancer who played the Black Swan to congratulate her when his wife told him that the two were played by the same dancer, Irina,” says Tachkin.
Irina explains that the particular funny encounter was also a big compliment to what she had done on stage.
“When you watch the show at Istana Budaya you’ll see why this is her trademark,” he adds.
BEAUTIFULLY ACCESSIBLE
For the uninitiated, a ballet performance might be an intimidating prospect which is sometimes associated with the assumption that it’s too high brow or incomprehensible.
“Do not be scared to see a ballet show especially if it’s Swan Lake,” says Tachkin. He explains that although the classic show presents an extraordinary story, it’s really very simple for everyone to understand, from children to adults.
“Anyone watching Swan Lake, at least from our company, will enjoy it. It’s the best introduction for first-timers so just come and fall in love with ballet.”
He says that other productions are great too, with Giselle having a nice love story while Don Quixote contains lots of humour.
“It’s the dancing, movement and techniques by the male and female dancers that give it a high art label. But is it difficult to understand? Not at all!” he lets on with a reassuring smile.
Swan Lake
When: July 26-28, 8.30pm
Where: Istana Budaya, Jalan Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur
Admission: RM95 (Bronze), RM155 (Silver), RM245 (Gold), RM345 (Platinum) and RM455 (Diamond).
Tickets: www.myticket.asia.
Call 03-8605 0195 or 012-256 0082 (Info Hotline)
Visit www.shirazprojects.com for more info.