St Petersburg, Mariinsky Theatre

Alem

one act ballet

Astana Ballet

CAST:
Three Hypostases of the Chosen Soul:
Alem – Soul – Beauty of the World Nazerke Akhmet
Dzhan – the Bright Side of the Soul Zere Ismailova
Dzhin – the Dark Side of the Soul Zhibek Meshitbay
Аk Ene – Goddess-Ancestress Ayaulym Makumova

World Gate Guardians:
East – Diana Beysegulova
West – Nargiz Iskakova
North – Shyryn Sadyrova
South – Ayzhan Zhunusova

Peris – Fairy Patronesses of the Wanderers:
Aulie – Riza Kanatkyzy
Samal – Aynura Sultankhozhayeva
Mayda – Kumyshay Sydykbayeva
Eles – Altynai Sydykbayeva
Tuman – Milana Bukanova


CREDITS:
Choreographer and Lighting Designer – Nikita Dmitrievsky
Set Design and Computer Graphics – Leonid Basin
Music – Armand Amar, Bulat Gafarov
Libretto – Bakhyt Kairbekov, Nikita Dmitrievsky
Costume Designer – Asya Solovyova
Painter Decorator – Svetlana Ivanova


SYNOPSIS:
Аķ Еnе, the Holy Mother, is preparing to give birth but she needs seven sacred averters in order to protect the new-born from evil forces. Seven girls help her to bring them into the world; the last of the girls, Ala Zhіp, connects them into a single unit. Аķ Еnе proceeds to undertake the sacred act.
The Priestesses appear, helpers of Aķ Ene, travelling in three worlds – upper, middle and lower. They guard the Tree of Life, the leaves of which are souls wishing to gain earthly embodiment.
The Priestesses warn them about the horrors of life on earth, showing terrible images of hunger, loneliness and suffering. But every soul still wants to be chosen and to brighten the world with its beauty. Аķ Еnе and her helpers choose only one soul, or rather all three of its hypostases, and provide it with their colours. The bright side will be Blue, the dark side will be Black and the true essence of the Soul will be Scarlet. But first the Soul must pass a series of tests. The bright side of the Soul will be tested first. It is beautiful but the Priestesses need to know how viable, strong and open to the world it is. The first test is fear. The Priestesses attack the Blue sister but they cannot scare her. Seeing the test and anticipating separation from their friend, other Soul-Leaves say goodbye to the chosen ones and cry.
The Peris, benevolent fairies that protect all life from the evil forces of the lower world, cheer them up. Horses appear as a sign of good fortune. The Chosen One prays; the Chosen One must take the ultimate challenge – to step into the unknown and find its outer covering. Will this earthly shell be sufficient to sustain the divine gift of the Soul? The Chosen One takes a step, and then the evil forces try to destroy its bright side. A great battle begins. Аķ Еnе and the Priestesses fight the evil demon Martu and the army of Chaos, sometimes winning and sometimes losing the battle. The forces of evil recognise the trinity of the soul and accept its dark side. With its help, they capture the ancient observatory of Dombaul, the Stonehenge of the Steppe.
Аķ Еnе and the guardians ready themselves for the battle around Dombaul and prepare their arms. The Dark Side of the Soul is on the side of evil and the victory goes to Chaos. But the Priestesses have not yet shown all their power. The battle reaches its height and the forces of light win. The human being is born; Аķ Еnе gives him “kut”, or divine talent. The Soul has gained its earthly shell, short-lived but beautiful. The Soul has also earned its name, Alem. It is the name of our world, our universe.


Astana Ballet is a fast-developing dance company that skilfully combines the traditions of the classics with modern choreography and the latest trends in folk dance. Having formed its own inimitable and totally unique style, however, the ballet company does devote particular attention to classical dance – both preserving and promoting classical traditions as well as exploring and developing contemporary trends in its search for new movement through the prism of national dance. The theatre collaborates with major Kazakh and international choreographers. The ballet company essentially consists of graduates of the Seleznev School of Dance in Almaty. The company’s repertoire includes over fifty productions as well as choreographic compositions, miniatures drawn from the finest cultural traditions of the folk peoples of the world and masterpieces from among the international classics to music by the great composers.

Age category 6+

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