Kiev Grand Ballet: “Swan Lake” belongs to humanity

Mr. Tomashek, why do people keep dancing “Swan Lake” and why do the audiences like this ballet so much?

Well, “Swan Lake” is a ballet known all over the world, even children know it. Many legendary dancers have danced it. When I was young in Ukraine, I watched a lot of videos of famous productions from Europe and the USA. As a dancer today who wants to give his best, you should know how people danced back then. Also to get an idea of ​​what the dancing will be like tomorrow. In my job you always have strong competitors.

Are you also incorporating new elements into your production of the classic “Swan Lake”?

But yes. We have basic choreography, but sometimes we change things to increase the difficulty. We raise the level for the audience. People like to have an “Oops!” moment. But we don’t change the official version. Because “Swan Lake” is such an old and great classic that you simply can’t change too much.

Interview

Grand Kyiv Ballet

The Kiev Grand Ballet has been traveling around the world since 2014 and has become a cultural ambassador for Ukraine. The ensemble will return to Germany and Switzerland in January 2024 with Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” – with prima ballerina Petra Conti as a “special guest”. Other companies from Ukraine are turning a blind eye to the Russian composer’s works because of Putin’s war of aggression against their country. A conversation with the 33-year-old solo and star dancer Viktor Tomashek.

Is “Swan Lake” a big challenge for an experienced dancer like you?

Naturally. You can dance this piece every day. But for me it’s a new experience every day. You’re always looking for something interesting and trying to raise the level with great emotions. Sometimes I feel a bit tired and feel like I’m at the end of my stamina, but quite often Swan Lake is a very good experience for me. Then on stage I feel the adrenaline rising and that I am alive.

Can you remember the entire choreography when you’re on stage and dancing?

On stage I don’t think about the choreography. We don’t have many moves in classical ballet. There are a lot of them in hip-hop. When you’re rehearsing a new ballet, your brain is working almost 100 percent and you’re thinking about the choreography the whole time. But once you’ve danced the piece twice, you just have to coordinate with your partner and stop thinking on stage. A dancer is very good at controlling his body. Sometimes you feel very free on stage and so comfortable that you even make little jokes with your dance partner.

But your job demands iron discipline, right?

I guess so. If you haven’t had many rehearsals, you may not be ready for the stage show yet. It’s always difficult trying something for the first time. But the more often you dance a choreography, the less difficult it will be for you. If you have experience, you can breathe deeply on stage and take everything lightly. Of course I feel tired sometimes, but really only after a performance. At the moment of dancing I don’t feel my legs or my body.

Are there days when you don’t train?

Yes and no. If I rehearsed before every show, I would get tired very quickly. If I dance in front of an audience every day, I don’t need to rehearse at all. I worked in a European company for a year. I didn’t like this system where you rehearse for a month for a role you’ve danced before. You only forgive your emotions for the choreographer. But I want to pass on my energy to the audience, it’s like recharging the battery because you get feedback in the form of applause. Sometimes people also message you on Instagram. That is a very good motivation. Rehearsing in a studio is not the same as dancing on stage, it’s a different world. I like dancing for an audience every day.

What do you think about the moral concerns of some people about a Ukrainian company like the Kiev Grand Ballet producing the “Russian” piece »Swan Lake« performs?

The libretto for “Swan Lake”, the music and the choreography were created in the Russian Empire, before the USSR and well before today’s Russian Federation. Therefore, I see no connection between the ballet, which premiered before 1900, and the war that Russia is waging against Ukraine today. The creation “Swan Lake” is timeless and a universal cultural heritage. And it certainly doesn’t belong to Putin or any of those who started the war against Ukraine. Mozart, Schubert, Beethoven and Strauss are also great composers and come from Austria, like Hitler, or Germany. But they are not identified with Nazi Germany. We must decisively separate the world criminal Putin and his war from the pearls of world culture.

The world-famous ballet to the music of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky had its premiere in 1877 at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow and is now part of the standard repertoire of classical ballet companies.

There is not a famous ballet dancer in the world, not only Russian, who has not danced “Swan Lake.” Any choreographer would consider it a privilege to perform this ballet in the world’s great theaters. If the world boycotted Tchaikovsky’s music for years, Putin might hail it as his small victory. And that’s exactly why we can still see productions of Tchaikovsky’s ballets such as “Swan Lake”, “The Nutcracker” or “Sleeping Beauty” in the world’s great theaters such as the Paris Opera or the American Ballet Theater. In this context, there should be no moral concerns about a Ukrainian ensemble performing “Swan Lake.” Like Tchaikovsky’s music, it belongs to all of humanity. In addition, both the wonderful story “The Nutcracker” based on Hoffmann’s fairy tale and the love story from “Swan Lake” can give us more love and warmth in these difficult times.

In the traditional ballet language, »Swan Lake« tells a story of longing, loneliness, jealousy, anger, pain, happiness and, above all, the victory of love over evil. Do you personally believe in a victory for love?

No no. Now I’m starting to understand what our world really is. It’s very hard. Many people in the world are suffering. Maybe that’s not a popular or nice answer. The most important thing on earth is to be strong. Because if you are not strong, you cannot protect your family, your children.

You were principal dancer at the Odessa Opera House. Since the end of February 2022, Russia has been waging a war of aggression against Ukraine. How did this war change your life?

Very strong. I bought an apartment in Kiev a year before the war. My wife and I had opened a ballet school for children. But then we had to start again. I thought I should do this for my family, for my wife, my little son and for myself. In Ukraine before the war, we thought about things we could do in the future. But now I can’t find any answers to this question.

How are you feeling at the moment?

I think I feel good now. At least better than a year ago.

How do you see the chance of being able to return to your old life one day?

This is a very difficult question. We no longer have our ballet school. I do hope that one day we can return to our homeland. But my son has been going to an international private school since September. We now live in Romania. My son likes his new school where he is learning English and Romanian. I don’t like some of the things that are happening in Ukraine. Ordinary people try to fight these problems. Not all of these problems are caused by the Russians. They come more from within. I would like to believe in a future in Ukraine because under different circumstances the country would be a very good place for a beautiful future. We have a large territory that could be a good platform for a good life for the ordinary people. But we also have bad people in our country who have power. This is perhaps a bigger problem than Russia. Russia is of course our enemy, but we also have internal problems in Ukraine. That’s why people don’t feel free. I hope that one day this will change, but right now I don’t know.

Would you have to join the army if you returned home now?

Maybe not, because my colleagues who work in Ukraine have a document that they don’t have to join the army. I could get it too. My colleagues are not allowed to leave the country. I would like to go home, but I don’t feel safe there. Not because of the Russian bombs. I don’t know if our constitution protects me or not. Patriotism doesn’t just mean loving your country, it also means protecting your family. I love my son. I myself grew up without a father. I don’t want the same thing to happen to my son. He is my motivation. I think of him and want to do my best. At the moment I don’t see a future for him in Ukraine. He really should grow up in freedom and get a good education.

The Kiev Grand Ballet tours Germany from January 12th to 27th, from Rostock to Berlin, including four stops in Switzerland; Tickets, tour schedule and further information at www.schwanensee-tickets.de

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