As little ballerinas are taught: “If you straighten your back, you straighten your soul.” As they teach little ballerinas: “If you straighten your back, you straighten your soul.” What little ballerinas should not do

Dear friends! Today's post is about Maya Plisetskaya - an outstanding world-famous prima of Russian ballet, one of the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century, a true legend of ballet art. Her performances embody the magic of breathtaking dance. She alone deserved the longest standing ovation from the public on all continents. Many years of experience performing on the best stages around the world confirms: Maya Mikhailovna is a real genius and one of the brightest and most talented representatives of ballet art.

Time is not under her control: at thirty, forty, and fifty years old, she was always a young and beautiful woman, getting prettier every year. Even at the age of 70, Plisetskaya came out to her adoring public to dance on pointe shoes, which is an absolute ballet record! At the same time, she looked stunning and magnificent, which caused a storm of applause and applause from the audience.

Obviously, dancers never grow old and perhaps only they know the secrets of maintaining vital youth. There is no doubt that the innermost secrets of Maya Plisetskaya’s eternal youth elevated her to the rank of a divine, unattainable, semi-mythical ballerina who became the object of worship for an entire generation. All women in the world would also like to stay young longer. However, contrary to wishes, time destroys the human body, quietly taking away youth. Probably, only a strong inner glow gave her a powerful creative vitality and an ever-burning fire in her soul.

Maya Plisetskaya. early years

Maya Plisetskaya was born into a family where only her mother was associated with creativity. She acted in silent films. My father worked in coal mines. In 1932, he was appointed consul general and director of mines on the northern island of Spitsbergen, where he moved with his entire family. Despite her young age, little Maya loved to dance. She even took part in staging an opera for residents of the Russian colony, who were not at all spoiled by theatrical spectacles. Maya loved performing and constantly asked her parents to send her to ballet school. But the dream was destined to come true only in 1934, when the family was able to return from the island to Moscow. Her first mentor was former Bolshoi Theater soloist Evgenia Dolinskaya. With great joy, the girl began to learn the basics of ballet, but soon her parents had to return back to the harsh polar archipelago of Spitsbergen. Despite the fact that they had relatives in Moscow, the parents did not leave the girl in their care, and she again left Moscow with them to the north.

The new Arctic winter on the island lasted especially slowly for Maya. She longed to dance, but it was more like a hobby. Seeing his daughter’s longing for ballet, the father sent his daughter to the mainland with the onset of spring and the first drifting ice. It’s natural that Maya had to catch up with her classmates, because she missed so much. And her new teacher (Elizabeth Gerdt), an experienced teacher, whose wisdom and professionalism allowed her to see great talent in the little girl, helped her in this. She couldn't just let Maya go.

Hard work yielded results, but throughout her long creative career, Maya Mikhailovna always regretted that she could not receive a full, classical ballet education. She had to discover a lot in ballet dance on her own, through her own trials, mistakes and wounds on her feet.

She studied very hard, without missing a single lesson. And it seemed that all the most beautiful things awaited her ahead. However, the plans again were not destined to come true. The events of 1937 suddenly burst into the family. On the eve of the joyful May Day celebrations, for which young Maya was enthusiastically preparing, strangers in boots and with a frightening look burst into the house in the silence of dawn. And behind them is the usual ominous scenario of the thirties: the arrest of father and mother, eviction from the apartment into nowhere. So Maya’s childhood ended suddenly and their family disappeared.

The girl ended up with a family of relatives, with Aunt Sulamith, who herself was also a ballerina. According to the memoirs of Maya Mikhailovna, it was very difficult for her, because her aunt often insulted her. However, thanks to her, the girl did not live in an orphanage and could do what she loved - dance in ballet.

Much later, with the help of good people, Maya managed to collect information about the fate of her mother. The once successful actress, the wife of the former consul general, was sent into exile in Kazakhstan. Maya knew nothing about her father for a long time, and only in 1989, with a certificate of rehabilitation, the great ballerina received an answer to a question that had been tormenting her for a long time - her father was not alive, he was shot back in 1937.

Despite the harsh realities of life and the horrors of those years, Moscow ballet life did not stop; the theater lived a rich life, painting it with multi-colored colors. Students of the choreographic school were actively involved in the repertoire of the Bolshoi Theater. The young ballerina Maya Plisetskaya was entrusted with dancing parts in the ballets “The Sleeping Beauty” and “The Snow Maiden”; she also willingly rehearsed the main parts. But most of all she enjoyed the dances of the divine Galina Ulanova, whom she watched with bated breath, hiding behind an arabesque.

Maya Plisetskaya. "Sleeping Beauty" by Tchaikovsky

Maya Plisetskaya. Creation

On the last peaceful day of the forty-first year, Maya Plisetskaya made her first debut in front of the discerning Moscow public at the final concert, which took place at the Bolshoi Drama Theater. Before the applause had time to subside, the need to leave Moscow again arose. In wartime conditions, she was evacuated to Sverdlovsk, where work and study were once again interrupted, since there was nowhere to study in the city and there was no ballet. Despairing from the hopeless situation, Plisetskaya decided to return to the capital on her own without permission. She did not regret the lost time, she wanted to dance and therefore went to study again and entered the class of Maria Leontyeva. In the spring of forty-three, Maya passed the final exam with an A, this opened the way for her to work at the Bolshoi Theater.

Maya always strived for the perfect dance and therefore constantly worked on herself. In addition to the big stage, she did not hesitate to work in small clubs, the stages of which were often poorly equipped, small in size, cold and poorly lit. After such performances, Maya became more confident in herself, and they were well paid, which gave her the opportunity to solve her financial problems. Every performance of the young ballerina on any stage, every jump seemed fantastic and caused a storm of applause. Maya Plisetskaya had her first admirers and admirers.

The ballerina's career took off sharply. Rehearsals with the famous Vaganov became a springboard to Olympus for the ballerina. By the end of the war, Maya had firmly established herself as one of the most promising ballet dancers. Her photographs appeared on the pages of magazines, they talked and wrote about her in the press. The ballet “Swan Lake” finally secured her the title of an outstanding ballerina.

Maya Plisetskaya. World fame

And then world fame came. Although for Plisetskaya this was also another test, because for five years she was excluded from all foreign tours, without explaining the reasons. And only after the change in the leadership of the KGB in 1959, she was able to go on a tour of America with the troupe. This is how her world fame began.

It was also significant for Maya to meet Rodion Shchedrin. Three years after their first meeting, he became her husband, and then helped make her dreams come true on stage. Many works and realized passions in the dance of Maya Plisetskaya are associated with his name. This is how the idea of ​​Carmen was born and the “Carmen Suite” appeared. Then there were Anna Karenina, the music for which was also written by Shchedrin, The Seagull and The Lady with the Dog.

Maya Plisetskaya was idolized by the whole world. She was invited to presidential receptions and royal balls. Robert Kennedy sent her flowers every year birthday anywhere in the world, and Pierre Cardin personally sewed suits for her. On her 80th birthday, the Financial Times wrote the following about her: “She was and remains a ballet star... a torch, a burning beacon in a world of dim talent, a beauty in a world of grace.”

Confident in her creativity, the brilliant Maya Plisetskaya knows her worth, the world knows her worth - she has absolute talent, brilliant in dance, brave and proud in life and forever young. She is 88 years old - she does not flirt in public and looks great. Today she continues to work with young artists in Switzerland, Japan, and Germany. The whole world adores her, and she pays him back in kind. And behind all this is a favorite thing, love for people and their mutual feeling for her.

Maya Plisetskaya. Dying Swan

With respect and love to you Tatyana

In the world of Naruto, two years flew by unnoticed. Former newcomers joined the ranks of experienced shinobi at the rank of chunin and jonin. The main characters did not sit still - each became a student of one of the legendary Sannin - the three great ninjas of Konoha. The guy in orange continued his training with the wise but eccentric Jiraiya, gradually ascending to a new level of combat skill. Sakura became the assistant and confidant of the healer Tsunade, the new leader of the Leaf Village. Well, Sasuke, whose pride led to his expulsion from Konoha, entered into a temporary alliance with the sinister Orochimaru, and each believes that they are only using the other for the time being.

The brief respite ended, and events once again rushed with hurricane speed. In Konoha, the seeds of old strife sown by the first Hokage are sprouting again. The mysterious Akatsuki leader has set in motion a plan for world domination. There is turmoil in the Sand Village and neighboring countries, old secrets are resurfacing everywhere, and it is clear that bills will have to be paid someday. The long-awaited continuation of the manga has breathed new life into the series and new hope into the hearts of countless fans!

© Hollow, World Art

The world of ballet, so sublime, unknown and magical, is closer to us than it might seem. Thanks to the Ilze Liepa school, everyone can do it - you don’t have to have professional skills. Practicing this art will teach you to hold your back, instill a culture of movement and internal discipline. And if a child has real talent, then the school will help him reach career heights. M24.ru will talk about how little ballerinas are taught and what comes out of it.

“Princess Diana studied ballet all her life, and so seriously that she did jumps. You can understand from her posture what this gave her. Graduates of the Smolny Institute, when they sat at the table, could always be recognized. And the girls who study with us at school, they look completely different: an inspired expression on their face, a different sense of themselves in the world. They continue to remain girls, without outstripping their development externally and internally, which, it seems to me, is very valuable. It’s not for nothing that they say: “If you straighten your back, you straighten your soul “Therefore, ballet classes are an opportunity to refine your appearance,” says the school’s founder, Ilze Liepa.

Girls, and even boys, can enter this wonderful world as early as 2.5 - 3 years old. It is from this age that they are accepted into a ballet school, where they study until they are 15–16 years old. There are no strict exams: everyone is accepted into the school.
Children usually study in the morning according to the early development group program. In addition to ballet classes, they also have general education subjects: English, Russian, mathematics, rhythm, drawing and dance. In the evenings, children aged 6-12 years old who are already in high school come: they only dance for two hours a day, at least 3 times a week.

What do little ballerinas learn?

Mandatory ballet subjects are rhythm, barre work and classes with a choreographer.

"Rhythmics is a subject that the youngest children begin to study. This is an opportunity to learn to exist in the space of music, to hear a musical phrase, to distinguish between forte and piano and to convey this through movements. It’s amazing that when a child tries to match the music with his movements, he begins to feel it very deeply and understand very subtly,” says Ilze Liepa.

According to her, working with a choreographer is no less important. This should be a knowledgeable teacher who will stage compositions, select music and images that are appropriate for children's age. All this gives the child the opportunity to dance and understand that through dance he can express himself, show his character and temperament.

“My father, having once sent Andris and me to a circle at Chkalov’s club, said: “I really want the children to dance first.” And this is important, because if you immediately start doing only movement, gymnastics, improving the body without an element of creativity, it may not blossom in a child,” the school’s founder is sure.

If a choreographer choreographs a dance, then the teacher rehearses the elements necessary for the dance during the lesson and simply works on the technique. Exercises at the machine are boring and tiring, but they help develop purity of movement.

The branch in Zhukovka has found the necessary balance between boring exercises and creative dance. Teacher Valentina Gorskaya says: “The kids shine here. They come running here with pleasure. Of course, they don’t really like standing at the barre, they prefer to do choreography, but we explain that without effort, without a certain skill, without certain exercises, they won’t succeed.” what you dance."

What little ballerinas shouldn't do

Professional ballet requires absolute restrictions on food and lifestyle. “In my time, we were generally forbidden to ski, skate, or roller-skate, because in ballet the muscles work to turn, and in sports they work straight, and this can affect the positioning of the legs,” said Valentina Gorskaya. “Of course, you need to keep an eye on food, but children in our school study for general development, and therefore we can only recommend such restrictions, and not require them,” she adds.

But what is certainly required of all children to study at a ballet school is discipline. You need to have time to go to a regular school, do your homework, come to the ballet school and study there for two hours straight. “It even sometimes happens that parents cancel some classes in high school if the child really wants to take ballet,” notes the teacher.

“I only praise those who are not at all confident in themselves.”

There are no children who are passionate about dance without passionate teachers. “When teaching classical dance, you must love children madly. If you love them, they will take knowledge from you,” admits Valentina Gorskaya. “I have been teaching for 19 years, during which time I have learned to sort children. He came and I immediately see: this He immediately perceives that you need to work with this, you need to be more gentle with this, and stricter with this.

Sometimes I see that a child is not doing well, but I tell him: “Today you are doing great!” And you look - he pulled himself up, felt warmth and attention, and then he succeeds. But in general it’s not easy. Children take everything from you. You come home like a rag. But I absolutely love this school,” shares Gorskaya.

In turn, choreographer Elena Baryshnikova prefers that lessons are always fun, even if you have to scold the children. “I praise only those who are completely incapable and lack self-confidence. I criticize the rest,” she says. “The main thing is that they are interested, because this is the only incentive for people who are not trained to be professionals in this matter.”

"The competition is the result of what we do"

Participation in competitions is a very important stage in the development of an artist, professional or non-professional, therefore children from the Ilze Liepa Studio School often participate in them. In order to provide an incentive to study, the competition is very important, because different teams come there, both strong and weak. Seeing how other people work makes children more interested.

“At competitions you need to be able to gather yourself as much as possible. We had children who, it would seem, were not very ready for such events, but they gathered on stage, showed good results, and then began to work even better in class. Competitions are a kind of result of that , what we do,” says Elena Baryshnikova.

Students from a school in Zhukovka took part in competitions four times, and all four times there were good results: in Spain they won the Grand Prix twice, and recently they became the best at the “Pearl of the Orient” competition-festival in China.

"I want to become a ballerina!"

Despite the fact that the school does not aim to train professional dancers, the eight-year-old students from the school in Zhukovka all want to become ballerinas. And if not, then pianists and singers. The girls like dancing more than working at the barre, and they all look forward to the moment when they are put on pointe shoes. This is a very important moment in the life of a little ballerina. Little Lika, Lada, Margarita and Fedya say that they don’t get tired of classes at all, and some of them even skip school for the sake of ballet.

“At the age of 5 it’s clear whether you have professional qualifications or not”

In practice, over the 9 years of the school’s existence, only four girls entered the choreographic school to become professional ballerinas. According to Ilze Liepa - and this is a lot. This figure well reflects the tough selection that everyone who decides to devote themselves to ballet has to go through. “It’s already clear from a child of five years old whether he has physical abilities or not,” says Elena Baryshnikova. “Musicality, jump, foot – all this matters. All this can, of course, be done, but capable children are taken into ballet,” – she emphasized.

At the same time, the child must be psychologically ready for work, which means he must love the routine side of it - exercises at the machine. “At the age of 10, you start doing boring exercises every day, breaking your legs, and you don’t really understand what it’s for and what will come of it. You don’t quite understand what these boring movements have to do with the way you dance at home to music... Connecting these two dots is very difficult. Even for me, a child born into a ballet family, this connection only happened when I was 12–13 years old, when I suddenly realized that I loved classes. I fell asleep and thought when the morning would come, and "I'll go to the gym again and be able to stand at the barre. I was 13 years old, and our children feel it from the first steps in a vocational school, at the age of 10, because they already understand what it's for. They're already dancing, they're already little. artists,” says Ilze Liepa.

Now these girls return to school concerts and perform their numbers for them. “It’s very joyful and pleasant to see them, so we don’t break contact with them, especially since this year we created a children’s ballet theater, so I think our girls will take a big part in its work. It will benefit both us and them “Ilze Liepa hopes. “My big dream is that they never stop studying.”

Now the Ilze Liepa School is conducting the first in its history recruitment of professionally gifted children to study in the free department. More than 130 children took part in two qualifying rounds. 37 children were selected for the final round, which will take place on May 16. The following items were assessed: physique, face, step, jump, agility, flexibility, coordination, ability to listen to music, and state of health. Now these girls will be trained in school until they are 10 years old, and then they will try to enter professional choreographic schools, from where they should emerge as real ballerinas by the age of 18.

Ilze Liepa notes that such a large competition, almost 15 people per place, is explained by the fact that the requirements for ballerinas have now become higher than before. “For example, Anna Pavlova once appeared in Russia, who raised her leg and touched her ear. And several decades later, Sylvie Guillem appeared in Paris, who came from rhythmic gymnastics and was incredibly flexible and stretched out. And modern choreographers want to work with just such material ", when physical capabilities are limitless. I understand that children need to be prepared for this now. Therefore, we are not only looking for talented children, but also adopting new technologies so that our students meet these requirements," concludes Ilze Liepa.