Russian Seasons — Alexei Ratmansky

[Buddy]

Russian Seasons — Alexei Ratmansky

Watch this, please :

https://www.facebook.com/nycballet/videos/flash-footage-maria-kowrowski-in-alexi-ratmanskys-russian-seasons/10160194344490529/

This is a work that I consider perhaps the finest of his that I’ve seen (twice on stage and this week repeatedly on video). It’s one of his earlier works and because of that it might contain a wealth of unused ideas and untapped creative energy.

 

This could be a nice idea. Let me just post this series of initial thoughts for the moment that might begin to capture the Kaleidoscopic Essence of this work better than a  more  structured attempt :

I think that it’s a choreographic masterpiece. For approximately forty minutes it’s an uninterrupted flow of one brilliant move-image-emotion after another.

sculptural magnificence

**Childlike**

change of emotion  happy-sad   mainly happy childlike enthusiasm

Chagall-like innocence    dreamlike   modernist abstraction of past

oppositions    shapes  emotions  contrasts  characterizations    *multiple activity at same moment

Bolshoi perhaps best at performing this work

even from this one minute clip (one of the very few officially posted ones) a kaleidoscope of multiple, constantly changing artistically magnificent images

 

Edited February 22 by Buddy
several word changes

[Buddy]

** Adrift in a Reverie — Alive in a Sea of Creation **

The overall Feeling that probably dominates is one of romantically viewing the past through an artist’s highly sympathetic and inventive recreation. This is something like what Marc Chagall did in painting with his dreamlike and ‘modernist’ looking back, although I would say that Alexei Ratmansky is more realistic and dramatic. The colors used in Russian Seasons do relate to Marc Chagall. As an aside, with my very limited knowledge of George Balanchine specifics, there are some almost literal references to him that add to this, such as the lady whose feet never touch the ground.

For me, two elements dominate this work — Feeling and Structuring — both accomplished in a Kaleidoscopic manner.

Both Feeling and Structuring are constantly changing and overlapping, thus the kaleidoscopic effect.

Then we can take the artistic ride, best experienced in the Structuring. To begin with, the juxtaposition of absolutely beautiful motion/sculpture and emotion in a rapidly and constantly changing series of  contrasts and oppositions — expansion-contraction, happy-sad….

All this sums up into a romantically powerful embrace of the past, perhaps life in general, also capable of standing on its own as a masterpiece of artistic invention.

 

   

[Buddy]

Emotion is a very powerful part of this work and it covers the complete range. The part that I appreciate very much is the lightheartedness that appears throughout. Both Alexei Ratmansky and George Balanchine have a noteworthy sense of humor.

In relation to all the seriousness, recalling Mr. Rogers’ trip to Moscow decades ago, he commented that, considering all the life ‘challenges’, such as in the standard of living at that time, he also felt a touching sense of ‘whimsey,’ as seen in the traditionally colorful church rooftops, etc. It’s this same thing that I perhaps feel here. Alexei Ratmansky is able to display all the serious of life and also somehow respond with a sense of warmhearted lightness. There’s a loving, Childlike feeling in this. A child can change direction and emotion in an instant in response to a situation and ultimately come up smiling. Alexei Ratmansky seems to be able to do this also with brilliant artistry. It’s a breath of fresh air.

One other thing. I mentioned in my list of thoughts that the Bolshoi probably performs this work the best. I highly recommend the video with Svetlana Zakharova, Natalia Osipova…. It’s outstanding.

Edited February 24 by Buddy
typo correction