Creation of a Folk Dance Ensemble. The History of Kyrgyz Folk Dance. Part 5
Folk Dance Ensemble
Choreographers of different generations actively implement the creative experience of the first choreographers in their practical activities, successfully mastering the achievements of Soviet choreographic culture.
In this direction, both professional and amateur groups in the republic are actively searching. Among them, a special place belongs to the folk dance ensemble of the Toktogul Satylganov Kyrgyz Philharmonic.
The creative team is on the verge of its twenty-fifth anniversary; it was established in 1966. In fact, it has a significantly longer prehistory of its organization. The prototype of the current folk dance ensemble emerged during the preparation for the I Decade of Kyrgyz Art in Moscow in 1939 as a dance group led by choreographers N. Kholfin and V. Kozlov. After performances in Moscow, it was disbanded. Before the II Decade of Kyrgyz Literature and Art in 1957, a folk dance ensemble was created in Moscow under the direction of choreographers N. Kholfin, S. Kabekov, and A. Baibatyr, but it also existed for a very short time.
The artistic composition of the folk dance ensemble in 1966 consisted of graduates from the Frunze Musical and Choreographic School named after M. Kureneev, professional artists, and talented participants from amateur groups. The ensemble was led by well-known figures in national choreographic art N. Tugelov and S. Kabekov, students of the Leningrad State Choreographic School, later leading soloists of the national ballet, and subsequently the first national choreographers and educators of Kyrgyz ballet. Educated in the classical traditions of the Soviet ballet school and having mastered the artistic nature of national culture through extensive practical experience, N. Tugelov and S. Kabekov created a creatively original ensemble. They prepared a large and diverse program that included about twenty dance compositions. It widely represented the dance wealth of the peoples of our country, as well as Kyrgyz choreography — the round dance "Tulip," the girls' dance "Karkyra and Turna," the spirited dances of girl riders, shepherds' dances, the dance "Kiyiz," which was included in the first national musical drama "Altyn Kyz" of 1937, and the lively dance of Kyrgyz boys from the ballet "Asan-Cosmonaut" by B. Feferman, along with contemporary youth Kyrgyz dance. The costumes of the performers, especially the women's, created by Moscow artist G. Khomenko, were very beautiful and modern.
The first concert of the Kyrgyz dance ensemble, held on April 22, 1969, heralded the emergence of a unique group that set itself complex artistic and creative tasks of creating and promoting the national dance folklore of the Kyrgyz people, a distinctive laboratory of folk national dances.
The geography of the ensemble's tour performances is extremely broad. The group and its individual soloists have repeatedly performed abroad. The main task of the dance ensemble and its leaders was to promote national art among workers in our country, for which they are rightly appreciated by lovers of choreographic art. "We saw a mature, talented group with an interesting, rich repertoire, with beautiful, elegant, well-chosen costumes," wrote viewers from the Perm region in the Urals. "The metallurgists of the cities of Chusovoy and Lysva, who watched the ensemble's program, are grateful and thankful. They noted the ensemble's performance with heartfelt applause, not out of politeness, as is sometimes the case, but from the heart, captivated by the high art of the artists of the Kyrgyz Philharmonic, who bring folk creativity to the masses."
For several years, E. Mademilova served as the artistic director and chief choreographer of the ensemble. She, like N. Tugelov and S. Kabekov, was a graduate of the Leningrad State Choreographic School and later performed leading roles in Kyrgyz and classical ballets. Mademilova graduated from the choreographic faculty of GITIS named after A. V. Lunacharsky in Moscow and became the first female choreographer in the republic. While working in the ensemble, she continued the search in the field of national dance initiated by her predecessors, striving to enhance the professionalism of the dancers. Over the years, the ensemble's touring "map" has significantly expanded.
The artistic and creative formation and development of the group is determined by the transmission of traditions and continuity in choreographic and pedagogical activities. The current artistic director and chief choreographer of the ensemble, M. Asylbashev, is also a graduate of the Leningrad State Academic Choreographic School named after Professor A. Ya. Vaganova. Alongside his performance activities at the A. Maldybaev Kyrgyz Opera and Ballet Theater, he has established himself as a choreographer, director of ballets, and concert numbers. The ensemble's repertoire has been enriched with new choreographic compositions. Among them are the Kyrgyz mass youth dance "Evening of Rural Youth" to folk music, the girls' lyrical dance of swans "Ak-Kuu" to music by A. Jumakhmatov, a humorous dance — a competition between boys and girls "Tamasha," to folk music, the Kyrgyz women's dance in elecheks "Ay Selki," to music by Sh. Termechikov, and a solo women's dance "Erguu" to folk music.
The choreographer strives to create elaborate dance parts, in which the storyline unfolds in a whole suite of dances, as in the festive picture "Mayram," to music by E. Jumabaev, which includes dances of girls with shawls, a men's dance of eagles, a women's dance — a stream, and a mass festive dance in the finale.
The themes of the dances are diverse, inspired by the life and everyday life of the people, reflecting a new worldview, a new attitude towards labor, society, history, and modernity. In the dance "Minkyial" — "A Thousand Dreams" to the music of Toktogul, the sound of bells attached to the wrists of the performers is imitated. The work of the girls gathering cotton is depicted quickly and skillfully. This cheerful dance to the music of Medetov is presented in our book.
The theatricalization of dance folklore is evident in one of the ensemble's latest works, in the choreographic picture "In the Camp of Manas," to music by K. Moldobasanov. Referring to the popular Kyrgyz folk epic "Manas," the choreographer creates a one-act ballet in which the main characters are the legendary hero of the epic, his wife — the beautiful Kanykey, the storyteller of the epic — Manaschi, and Manas's warriors. The temperamental, dynamic, and vivid music of the composer comes alive in bright stage images, and before the audience, scenes of history unfold, brought to life by the magical hand of the artist.
The artistic composition of the ensemble is also creatively growing, replenished by graduates of the school-studio of the state folk dance ensemble of the USSR under the direction of I. A. Moiseev.
The Style of Kyrgyz Folk-Stage Choreography. The History of Kyrgyz Folk Dance. Part 4
