Academic folk dance ensembles. Elena Shcherbakova: the Igor Moiseyev ensemble is a unique phenomenon in the world dance culture

The collective is located in the P.I. Tchaikovsky.

The main task set for the artists by the founder of the ensemble, Igor Moiseev (1906-2007), was the creative processing of samples of folklore that existed in the Soviet Union at that time. To this end, the artists of the collective went on folklore expeditions around the country. As a result, the first programs of the ensemble appeared - "Dances of the Peoples of the USSR" (1937-1938), "Dances of the Baltic Peoples" (1939).

In the ensemble's repertoire, folklore samples received a new stage life and were preserved for several generations of spectators around the world. For this purpose, Igor Moiseyev used almost all means of stage culture: various types and types of dances, symphonic music, drama, scenography, acting.

An important stage was the development and creative interpretation of European folklore. The program "Dances of Slavic Peoples" (1945) was created in conditions when Moiseev was unable to travel abroad. The choreographer recreated samples of dance creativity, in consultation with musicians, folklorists, historians, and musicologists.

With the direct participation of famous choreographers Miklos Rabai (Hungary), Lyubushe Ginkova (Czechoslovakia), Ahn Son Hee (Korea) Igor Moiseev created the program "Peace and Friendship" (1953), which for the first time collected samples of European and Asian dance folklore from 11 countries.

Since 1938 the ensemble has been in Russia and abroad. For a record number of tours, the ensemble is listed in the Russian Guinness Book of Records. Since the first foreign tour (Finland, 1945), the Igor Moiseyev ensemble has been the unofficial Russian ambassador for peace.

In 1958, the ensemble was the first of the Soviet ensembles to go on tour to the United States, which marked the beginning of cultural ties between the USSR and the United States.

In 1967, the first of the professional folk dance ensembles, the collective was awarded the title of academic. In 1987 the ensemble was awarded the Order of Friendship of Peoples.

The hallmarks of the collective are the numbers "Partizans", the naval suite "Yablochko", the old city square dance, the Moldavian jock, the Ukrainian hopak, the Russian dance "Leto", the incendiary tarantella. The ensemble gained great success with one-act performances staged by Igor Moiseev with the involvement of funds and methods of world folk and theatrical culture - "Vesnyanki", "Tsam", "Sanchakou", "Polovtsian Dances" to the music of Alexander Borodin, "On the Skating Rink" to the music of Johann Strauss, "Night on Bald Mountain" to the music of Modest Mussorgsky, "Spanish Ballad" to the music of Pablo di Luna, "Evening in a Tavern" to the music of Argentine composers, etc.

After the death of the artistic director Igor Moiseyev in 2007, the ensemble began to bear his name.

Today in the repertoire of the Folk Dance Ensemble, staged by Moiseev. These are dances, miniatures, choreographic paintings and suites, one-act ballets to the music of Russian symphonic composers Alexander Borodin, Mikhail Glinka, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Modest Mussorgsky.

The ensemble includes a large group of ballet dancers and a symphony orchestra.

The artistic director - the director of the collective is the People's Artist of Russia Elena Shcherbakova.

Since 1943, a Studio School has been operating at the Folk Dance Ensemble. The training program, in addition to special disciplines - classical, folk-stage, historical, duet dance - includes jazz dance, gymnastics, acrobatics, acting, playing the piano and folk musical instruments, history of music and theater.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources

The collective is located in the P.I. Tchaikovsky.

In 1958, the ensemble was the first of the Soviet ensembles to go on tour to the United States, which marked the beginning of cultural ties between the USSR and the United States.

In 1967, the first of the professional folk dance ensembles, the collective was awarded the title of academic. In 1987 the ensemble was awarded the Order of Friendship of Peoples.

After the death of the artistic director Igor Moiseyev in 2007, the ensemble began to bear his name.

The ensemble includes a large group of ballet dancers and a symphony orchestra.

The artistic director - the director of the collective is the People's Artist of Russia Elena Shcherbakova.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources

The world's first professional folk dance ensemble together with Natalia Letnikova.

1. "Feet then, first carry your soul", - said Igor Moiseev at rehearsals. The troupe of the world's first folk dance ensemble traveled all over the Soviet Union. The disappearing dances and ceremonies were brought to the stage by the artists directly from the folklore expeditions.

2. How they dance in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania ... The program "Dances of Slavic peoples", which still lives on the stage, is already 70 years old. Igor Moiseev staged it without going abroad. And on the very first tour, the specialists were struck by the accuracy of the hit.

3. Tchaikovsky Concert Hall - the native stage of the Moiseevites. The ensemble, already well-known and even performing at receptions in the Kremlin, had nowhere to rehearse. Stalin personally offered to choose the building. Igor Moiseev preferred the former Meyerhold Theater on Tverskaya.

4. "GANT USSR" - State Folk Dance Ensemble ... and a tank. During the Great Patriotic War, the team traveled to Siberia, Transbaikalia, the Far East. The artists earned one and a half million rubles and donated money to build a tank for the Soviet army.

5. Creative breakthrough of the Iron Curtain. 60 years ago, the Moiseyev Ensemble became the first Soviet ensemble to go on tour to the capitalist country. France enthusiastically welcomed the dancers. The press dubbed the ensemble ballet, recognizing its high art.

6. And again the only one in the world. Moiseevites are owners of a luxury unprecedented for a dance group: their own symphony orchestra. 35 musicians of classical and folk instruments have accompanied the dancers' performances since the 1940s.

7. "Whoever calls himself a soloist - I'll fire it right away", - said the creator of the team. There are no soloists in the ensemble and no corps de ballet: "Everybody learns everything." But it has its own school and its own style. The selection for the collective is tough, all the artists dance both in solo parts and in extras.

8. The highest form of recognition for the Moiseevites is the fact that the people consider the work of the collective their own. Like the Bulba dance. Igor Moiseev came up with it while watching the harvest of potatoes in Belarus, and years later he saw his production as folklore.

9. The Moiseyev ensemble was greeted with a full house in 60 countries of the world. The dancers have performed at the best concert venues in the world, including La Scala and Opera Garnier. For his performances Igor Moiseev received about 30 foreign awards and the UNESCO Five Continents medal.

10. Choreographic miniatures and ballets, dance pictures and suites. Igor Moiseev brought high style to folk dance from academic dance. The soloist and choreographer of the Bolshoi led his ensemble for 70 years, staged 300 dances, and the 110th anniversary of the birth of Igor Moiseyev is celebrated on the first stage by the master.

Igor Alexandrovich Moiseev. GAANT named after Moiseev is the world's first professional choreographic collective engaged in artistic interpretation and promotion of dance folklore of the peoples of the world, including Jewish, Mexican, Greek dances, as well as dances of the peoples of the CIS.

Collegiate YouTube

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✪ Ukrainian dance "Hopak". Ballet by Igor Moiseev

✪ "Apple". Ballet by Igor Moiseev.

✪ GAANT named after Igor Moiseev. One-act ballet "Night on Bald Mountain".

✪ Suite of Greek dances "Sirtaki". Ballet by Igor Moiseev.

✪ Choreographic picture "Football". GAANT named after Igor Moiseev

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Team history

The Igor Moiseyev GANT was founded on February 10, 1937, on the day when the first rehearsal of a troupe of 30 people took place in the Moscow choreographer's house at 4 Leontyevsky Lane. The task that Moiseev set for the young artists was to creatively process and present on the stage the samples of USSR folklore that existed at that time. To this end, the members of the ensemble went on folklore expeditions around the country, where they searched for, studied and recorded disappearing dances, songs and rituals. As a result, the first programs of the dance troupe were Dances of the Peoples of the USSR (1937-1938) and Dances of the Baltic Peoples (1939). Since 1940, the ensemble had the opportunity to rehearse and perform on the stage of the Tchaikovsky Hall, and it was this theater that became the home for the collective for many years.

To achieve the maximum expressiveness and expressiveness of the dance performance, Igor Moiseev used all the means of stage culture: all types and kinds of dances, symphonic music, drama, scenography and acting. In addition, Moiseev took as a basis the principle of equality of the artists of the ensemble, in the collective from the very beginning there were no soloists, leading dancers and corps de ballet - any participant could play both the main and secondary roles in the production.

An important stage in the creative development of the collective was the assimilation and renewed interpretation of European folklore. The program "Dances of Slavic Peoples" (1945) was created in unique conditions: unable to travel abroad, Igor Moiseev recreated samples of dance creativity, consulting with musicians, folklorists, historians, musicologists. On tour in 1946 in Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, the audience was amazed at the accuracy of the performances and the correct artistic meaning of the ensemble's stage works. With the significant participation of famous choreographers and connoisseurs of folklore Miklos Rabai (Hungary), Lyubusha Ginkova (Czechoslovakia), Ahn Son Hee (Korea), whom Igor Moiseev attracted to work, the program "Peace and Friendship" (1953) was created, where for the first time were collected samples of European and Asian dance folklore from eleven countries.

Since the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the Folk Dance Ensemble under the leadership of Moiseev toured Siberia, Transbaikalia, the Far East, Mongolia.

In 1955 the ensemble became the first Soviet ensemble to go on foreign tours to France and Great Britain. In 1958, the ensemble was also the first of the Soviet ensembles to go on tour to the United States.

The quintessence of the creative path of GAANT named after Moiseyev was the class-concert "The Road to Dance" (1965), which clearly demonstrates the path of the collective's development from mastering individual elements to creating full-scale scenic canvases. In 1967, for the program "The Road to Dance" GAANT was the first of the folk dance ensembles to be awarded the title of academic, and Igor Moiseev was awarded the Lenin Prize.

Despite the fact that in 2007 the ensemble lost its leader and ideological inspirer, GAANT named after Moiseyev continued to perform and tour around the world. For its concert activity, which has been going on for over 70 years, the ensemble was awarded the Order of Friendship of Peoples. GAANT is the only ensemble of its kind that has performed at the Opera Garnier (Paris) and La Scala (Milan). In terms of the number of tours, it is included in the Russian Guinness Book of Records as an ensemble that has visited more than 60 countries. ...

For the best performance in 2011, the ensemble was awarded the Grand Prix of the choreographic prize Anita Bucchi (Italy), and at the premiere program on December 20, 2011, as part of a triumphant Paris tour, UNESCO awarded the ensemble the Medal of Five Continents.

Orchestra

In the early years of the ensemble's existence, the concerts were accompanied by a group of folk instruments and a group of musical national instruments under the direction of E. Avksentyev. Since the late 1940s, in connection with the expansion of the ensemble's repertoire and the appearance in it of the cycle "Dances of the Nations of the World", a small symphony orchestra was created with the involvement of a group of national instruments. The main merit in its creation belongs to the conductor Samson Halperin.

Today the concerts of the ensemble are accompanied by a small symphony orchestra consisting of 35 people. The original arrangements of folk melodies in different years were created by conductors Yevgeny Avksentiev, Samson Galperin, Nikolai Nekrasov, Anatoly Guse, musician Vladimir Zhmykhov.

The orchestra's artists also take part in the ensemble's productions. For example, in the suite of Moldavian dances "Chora" and "Chiokyrlie", a violinist in a national costume is playing on stage. "Kalmyk Dance" is accompanied by the sound of the Saratov harmonica, while the orchestra artist is dressed in a tuxedo. The one-act ballet "Night on Bald Mountain" begins with the performance of a stage orchestra in national Ukrainian costumes.

School-studio

"School-studio at the State Academic Folk Dance Ensemble under the direction of Igor Moiseyev" was formed in September 1943 as a study group at the ensemble. He is engaged in the training of artists and is the main source of personnel for the replenishment of the troupe. The training program includes special disciplines: classical dance, folk stage dance, duet dance, jazz dance, gymnastics, acrobatics, acting, playing the piano and folk musical instruments, history of music, history of theater, history of ballet, history of painting, history ensemble.

In 1988, the school received the status of a secondary specialized educational institution.

Repertoire

The repertoire of the ensemble includes about 300 choreographic works created by Igor Moiseev since 1937. By genre, all dances are divided into choreographic miniatures, dance paintings, dance suites and one-act ballets. Thematically, the dances are combined into the cycles "Pictures of the Past", "Soviet Pictures" and "Around the World". The list contains the most frequently performed choreographic numbers.

Choreographic miniatures

Fight of two kids
Estonian "Polka through the leg"
Polka maze

Dance pictures

Football (music by A. Tsfasman)
Partisans
Tabakeryaska
Buffoons (music by N. Rimsky-Korsakov)

One act ballets

Polovtsian Dances (music by A. Borodin)
At the skating rink (music by I. Strauss)
Night on Bald Mountain (music by M. Mussorgsky)
Spanish ballad (music by Pablo di Luna)
Evening in the tavern

Suite of Russian dances

Exit girls
Box
Grass
Male dance
General finale

Igor Moiseev. Photo - ITAR-TASS / Alexey Panov

The name of Igor Moiseev has long become not just a name, but a brand of outstanding achievements of our country.

The legendary choreographer created an ensemble performing folk dances, perfected by the hand of the master.

He was born on January 21, 1906. According to a family legend, he began to study ballet at the insistence of his father. Once he witnessed a fight in the alleyway, and when he came home, he told his son that he would not fight, but practice ballet. And immediately, literally tomorrow, he will go to the ballet school.

Today, no one doubts that folk dancing is an art. This seems like a simple truth. The paradox is that it was Moiseev who brought this truth to us. After all, before him, no one had to consider folk dance on a par with classical dance.

Why this did not happen before - the maestro himself wondered.

“Folk dances are born in every nation according to the laws according to which the language of the people is born. So, in essence, this is a genuine art phenomenon. Why no one could understand this before, I do not know. It so happened that I understood this earlier than others and decided to expose it and reveal folk dance as a certain national system, as a national language ”,

Moiseev spoke.

1. "Sirtaki"

As you know, "Sirtaki" is not a Greek folk dance. But for Moiseev it was one of those numbers in which they taught to dance in an ensemble. Moiseev's statement is known:

"Whoever calls himself a soloist, I will fire him from the ensemble."

The maestro had a special relationship with the soloists. He taught not to show himself, but to act as a whole team. There were leaders in his team who danced better than others, but the peculiarity of the ensemble was that any soloist could be replaced and any member of the group could perform a solo part.

2. "Apple"

The ensemble is confident that the Moiseev school can serve as an alternative to military service. Here they say:

“Send your child to Moiseyev's school, and, God forbid, he will work for a year or two. You will get a disciplined, educated, well-mannered man. "

According to the Moiseev system, a dancer needs to develop not only legs, but, for example, acting skills. This is important for folk dance, and it is no coincidence that in every work, even in the smallest miniature, there are actors' images.

At each rehearsal, Moiseev advised his students to "turn on the head." Taking the team out on tour, Moiseev personally took his ensemble to the best museums and art galleries.

3. "Hungarian dance"

Moiseev traveled a lot around the country and around the world, he personally searched and found the right momentum, movement, mood. The ensemble dances are not pure folk dances.

They were processed by the master, and Moiseev himself said that the ability to think out in the key in which a piece of music was created requires a special flair. The renowned choreographer considered joy to be a prerequisite for creating a folk dance.

“Folk dance occurs when the heart is light and cheerful. A person must be an optimist, he is born to be an optimist. And the surrounding circumstances make us a pessimist ”.

Moiseev admitted that sometimes, in order to radiate joy and optimism, he had to commit "violence against the soul." Especially when there were no prerequisites for optimism. But it was necessary, because the more pessimism there is in the world, the more optimism a person needed to be given in art.

4. "Tatarochka"

The dancers said that "Tatarochka" is one of the most difficult dances, in which they had to perform a huge number of small movements with their feet for a long time, to the point of nausea. The master was stubborn. Dancers could hone the same movement for months.

"Comrades, what are you like sleepy flies?"

The stern Moiseev repeated every now and then. He rarely praised. The highest praise he had was the phrase:

"Well, now like adults."

5. "Kalmyk dance"

Contrary to the beliefs of the Kalmyk Buddhists, Moiseev knew for sure that the soul is immortal and in any new life it is embodied in a new living being. He believed that talent is knowledge accumulated by the soul in a previous life.

“Spiritual wealth obtained through art and culture is the only thing that we can take with us. This is what feeds the soul. After death, a person does not lose it, and another time he is born with the acquired spiritual wealth that he acquired earlier ”,

The maestro spoke.

6. "Finnish polka"

Moiseev's colleagues were surprised when the master decided to stage a Finnish dance. It seemed to them that Finnish folk dances were boring and monotonous. But it was not there. Working on the movements, the master brought them to the point of absurdity.

“Absurdity is what the audience adores. See how logical and well one absurd movement flows from another! "

7. Dance of the Argentine shepherds "Gaucho"

This dance is considered to be Moiseev's masterpiece. Looking at these fellows, it is hard to believe that the performance was not easy for them.

As the soloist Rudy Khojoyan recalled, the clothes of the Argentine shepherd were terribly uncomfortable, and the spurs on the boots were incredibly heavy. It would be difficult for an ordinary person in such an outfit to walk, let alone dance.

8. "Night on Bald Mountain"

This dance to the music of Mussorgsky is another non-random link in the work of the great Moiseev. The future choreographer was born in Kiev. His father was a nobleman, lawyer Alexander Moiseev, and his mother was a French milliner. Father and mother met in Paris, in a cafe, where the seamstresses ran in for a bite to eat during their lunch break.

Igor Moiseev was brought up in a French boarding house for a long time, he knew French perfectly. The family lived in two countries. At some point, they decided to finally move to France, and even a ticket was bought, but the First World War began, and the Moiseevs remained in Russia.

9. "Russian dance"

In 1955, the ensemble made a splash in France. The French did not even think that such art could exist in the Soviet Union. This has not happened since the days of Diaghilev's Russian Seasons. Queues were lined up for the concerts of the collective, and the collective itself performed at the "Grand Opera" - an unheard of honor, which no folk collective had ever received before or after.

"If the concerts don't make you go berserk, then you are crazy."

They wrote French newspapers.

Since then, the collective more and more often began to be released abroad. Moiseev recalled that they envied him:

"Well, comrade, you are still traveling on business trips abroad!"

Party bosses were not happy with it. However, they had nothing to complain about. From business trips, Moiseev brought checks for a million dollars to the state treasury.

10. Performance of the Moiseev ensemble at Eurovision

In 2009, the Moiseyev ensemble performed enchantingly at the Eurovision Song Contest held in Moscow. True, the founding father of the collective was no longer in the box. The legendary choreographer died in 2007. Fate generously measured him 101 years.

Moiseev's admission that he organized the ensemble “not because of a good life,” but because he was survived from the Bolshoi, is striking. While still a very young man, he became a choreographer. I put on "Spartak", but the envy of colleagues intervened.

“They told me: you can dance, but we won't let you stage. It was a tragedy for me. Creativity was more important to me than performance ",

I remembered Moiseev.

The choreographer left and organized his own ensemble.

The war was going on, but Moiseev was given money for the ensemble. And then - the will of providence. Once Moiseev was lucky enough to meet with Stalin himself, and the leader ordered to allocate the best room in Moscow for the ensemble to the young teacher.

What's this? Luck? Luck? Moiseev grinned and said: