The first honored artist of Kyrgyzstan in professional ballet

A Short but Bright Path in Ballet of Jumakalyy Arsygulova

The role of Laurensia is one of those that shines with a bright flame from within. It is foreign to the cold, firework-like glow. There is a palpable inner intensity of feelings—boiling passion and tender modesty, the nobility of soulful impulses and ordinary humanity.

The image of Laurensia resonated with D. Arsygulova. She fell in love with her heroine, who reveals heartfelt attachment and loyalty, determination and will. At first, Laurensia-Arsygulova appeared as an ordinary peasant girl, indistinguishable from all others. But gradually she reveals such strength of spirit that she becomes the leader of all those dissatisfied with the Commander.

D. Arsygulova was not tall, but she seemed to grow a whole head taller when, in the role of Laurensia, she created a rare impression of a girl in whom heroism and strength, pride and honor, determination and resilience could be discerned simultaneously.

The role of Laurensia requires great artistry, and the ballerina proved that she possesses it. The rapid jumps and dizzying pirouettes performed by Arsygulova were astonishing, executed with an endearing ease and fluidity. In general, it should be noted that D. Arsygulova was distinguished by rare fluidity and at the same time by dynamism and expressiveness.

All of Laurensia's behavior was built by D. Arsygulova on a pronounced expression of love and hatred. In her love for Frondoso, she infused as much sincerity and inspired impulse as only a deeply loving woman can. At the same time, her hatred for the authoritative Commander reached such intensity that Laurensia finds the strength within herself to rise to active protest. This defined the character of her dance—impulsive, free, expressing the determination to withstand violence and fight to the end. At the moment when the audience saw her at the head of the uprising, Laurensia-Arsygulova created an almost sculptural portrait of a proud, freedom-loving woman of the people.

The oldest figure in Kyrgyz art, the People's Artist of the Republic Amankul Kuttubaev, sharing his impressions of Arsygulova, particularly highlighted her performance of the role of Laurensia. "She danced so," he said, "that even now, almost a quarter of a century later, she stands before me as if alive."

After her performance in "Laurensia," D. Arsygulova was fully occupied with preparations for performances in national ballets, first in "Selkinchek," then in "Cholpon." In the first of these, the ballerina clearly felt the lack of dance material. Built on playful elements, the performance did not provide opportunities for the development of broad ballet variations. Therefore, with particular feeling, D. Arsygulova began rehearsals for the role of Aydai in the ballet "Cholpon."

In our time, this ballet has established itself in the theater's repertoire and already has its traditions. But we gratefully remember its first performers, and above all D. Arsygulova. Her Aydai may differ from the image created by modern performers. But she was the first to breathe life into the role, which became a kind of model and object of dreams for almost every ballerina.

Aydai, as performed by D. Arsygulova, was interpreted as a sorceress from Eastern fairy tales. Moreover, the ballerina brought classical dance with all its variations to the stage. While dancing in the national ballet, she remained a classical ballerina. In this role, D. Arsygulova felt a space for her technical possibilities.

Portraying a charming girl, she captivated the audience with the sincerity of her dance. In one of the scenes, standing on pointe, she suddenly spun in a furious tempo. The audience went wild with delight, and she kept spinning—seemingly to the point of exhaustion. But she had enough strength to repeat this fouetté at the same tempo for an encore.

As soon as the applause subsided, the ballerina instantly transformed. Before the eyes of the audience appeared a gaunt, emaciated old woman. There was something terrifyingly commanding in her gestures and in her entire appearance, and the servants of her kingdom bowed submissively before their mistress.

Although not everything went smoothly in that first version of the ballet "Cholpon," D. Arsygulova, with her talent and skill, contributed significantly to the success of the performance.

Shortly after the premiere, on March 3, 1945, the newspaper "Soviet Kyrgyzstan" published a decree from the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Kyrgyz SSR awarding Jumakalyy Arsygulova the title of Honored Artist of the Republic. For the first time, a professional ballerina was awarded this honorary title in the republic. This was recognition of talent, recognition of Kyrgyz ballet.

Jumakalyy Arsygulova earned the honorary title as a matured actress. She demonstrated high maturity in her spiritual development as well. In 1946, the theater collective accepted her into the ranks of the Communist Party.

D. Arsygulova combined her work in the theater with teaching at the Frunze Choreographic School. She devoted all her time to nurturing the youth. In her later years, D. Arsygulova was appointed the artistic director of the school. Now there was no free time left at all. But she never complained about her busyness; her colleagues in the theater always saw her still in love with the art of dance.

In April 1947, D. Arsygulova passed away, barely reaching the age of 25. This was a heavy loss for the Kyrgyz theater, which was just gaining strength. But the charm of the actress's talent lives on in her students and comrades. And time is powerless to weaken the memory of her—a life cut short, but one that accomplished much for the national ballet.

Jumakalyy Arsygulova - the first professional ballerina of Kyrgyzstan