“Life is only beautiful when it consists of both joy and sorrow, of the struggle between good and evil, of light and shade, in a word – from the diversity in unity”.
P. I. Tchaikovsky
There were many people keen to see this classic performance of Swan Lake, first performed in 1895 and choreographed by Marius Patipa and Lev Ivanov. The day of the premiere saw the ampitheatre crowded with many nationalities.
The music and elegant costumes were amazing, the synchronicity of the troupe impressive, and the dancers were charming and graceful. The half hour show had us enthralled and engaged.
Swan Lake is a story about life, full of light and dark, good and evil. That’s why this tale is played over and over again.
The Solo performancesх
In an exclusive interview with the dancers who perform the main roles, we talked about life and love, about the virtues and dangers of performances in Cyprus, as well as why you should absolutely come to see the Russian Ballet.
Prince Siegfried — Sergey Kononenko:
“What do I want to give the audience? Just the feeling of beauty.”
This is not the first visit to the island by Sergey Kononenko, the soloist of the Russian Ballet, as he’d toured previously with Carmen. He has first- hand knowledge of the high humidity in Cyprus, which can be dangerous.
“Scene coverage is really important for the ballet company, because it can be slippery. Men mostly work on the ‘half toes’, but for women in this respect it’s a little more complicated, as they work just on point” — Sergey Kononenko shares his experience.
“But such little things should not be a danger to a professional performer”, the soloist says. “The main thing – is the reaction of the audience: It all depends on the artist, because the audience always reciprocates. What do I want to give the audience now? Just the feeling of beauty. They’re probably on holiday, and such a wonderful spectacle will be a nice gift for them.”
Odette-Odile — Natalia Potekhina:
“A wonderful tale about love – that’s what we need now in our life”.
This is her first visit to Cyprus. She is such a contrast to Odette-Odile on the stage, fragile, sweet and sincere in real life, prima ballerina of the Russian Ballet, Natalia Potekhina.
“I had to learn the complicated part of the Black Swan, because I’m inherently soft and kind. I’m more Odette (the Swan queen). All the time I had to be reconstructed under this insidious Odile, At first the most difficult were the pirouettes and fuete, that is the most difficult for the Ballerina”.
But as for me the most difficult is to avoid temptation and to keep in shape, especially when there’s so much tasty food around! Natalia is happy to share the secrets of her professional physique: “We dancers are not used to eating a lot. Here we eat as normal. Naturally, if we want to try something new we have just a small piece. The only plus of the ‘all inclusive’ is plenty of fruit. Have more of that rather than sweets! There’s such a variety of fruit all year round.”
And you too can get “the happiness hormone” by going to the ballet. “It’s a wonderful tale of love and relationships – that’s what we need in our lives now. Bombings and fighting we’ve had enough of. I think it’s better to watch a ballet than any blockbuster movie on TV!” the prima ballerina said.
We kindly remind everyone that the Russian Ballet tour in Cyprus will continue until the 2nd July. Don’t miss your chance to see the legendary Swan Lake performance with the original choreography!
