Azerbaijan's ballet dancer to perform in St. Petersburg
By Laman Ismayilova
The Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theater will stage the ballet "Giselle" by Adolphe Adam on October 25.
The ballet will be presented in the choreographic adaptation of Azerbaijan's ballet star Eldar Aliyev, Azertag reported.
The ballet dancer studied at Baku Choreographic School from 1966 to 1975. He has earned an international reputation as a dancer, choreographer and artistic director.
The ballet star performed in over 40 countries, dancing at some of the world's most famous theaters, including Covent Garden, the Paris Opera, MET, the Kennedy Center, La Scala, Sydney Opera House to name but a few. His performing career also included guest star performances with the Bolshoi Ballet and The Australian Ballet.
His engagements include guest teaching at the Hungarian National Ballet, the Royal Swedish Ballet, the National Ballet of Canada, Ballet of Spain, the Universal Ballet of Korea, Hong Kong Ballet, The National Ballet of China, Beijing Dance Academy, Shanghai Dance Academy, Guangzhou Ballet, Guest Speaker at the Ballet Talks series at Harvard University, Visiting Artistic Advisor for Cincinnati Ballet, Ballet Master at Boston Ballet and his role as Interim Dean at the Boston Ballet Center for Dance Education.
Previously, as Artistic Director of Ballet Internationale—Indianapolis, Eldar Aliev transformed Indiana`s only professional ballet company into a world-class ensemble, performing to enthusiastic audiences in Beijing, Los Angeles, New York, Taipei, Montreal and other cities around the U.S. and abroad.
In addition to his original choreographic work, Eldar Aliev has staged an extensive list of classical ballets to the delight of both audiences and critics. These include The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Don Quixote, etc.
He is a frequent adjudicator of international ballet competitions and has served as a jurist for two inaugural ballet competitions, the 2002 International Ballet Competition in Prague and the 2004 Seoul International Dance Competition.
"Giselle" ballet is about a peasant girl named Giselle, who dies of a broken heart after discovering her lover is betrothed to another. The Wilis, a group of supernatural women who dance men to death, summon Giselle from her grave. They target her lover for death, but Giselle's great love frees him from their grasp.
The romantic ballet in two acts was first performed in 1841.
The performance was an unqualified triumph. Giselle became hugely popular and was staged at in Europe and the U.S.
---
Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova
Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz