This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/14/arts/dance/nina-ananiashvili-state-ballet-of-georgia.html

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 3 Version 4
‘I Raised Them!’ Nina Ananiashvili’s Georgian Dancers Come to Town ‘I Raised Them!’ Nina Ananiashvili’s Georgian Dancers Come to Town
(about 7 hours later)
Nina Ananiashvili, a former star of American Ballet Theater, is no tourist to New York City, but she’ll have fun playing one when the State Ballet of Georgia comes to town. As part of a short American tour, the company, led by Ananiashvili, will perform on Sunday at the Lehman Center for the Performing Arts in the Bronx. “We will dance one day, but I will stay a little bit for Valentina Kozlova’s competition,” she said of the international ballet event in a recent video interview. “So I’m a tourist for three days.”Nina Ananiashvili, a former star of American Ballet Theater, is no tourist to New York City, but she’ll have fun playing one when the State Ballet of Georgia comes to town. As part of a short American tour, the company, led by Ananiashvili, will perform on Sunday at the Lehman Center for the Performing Arts in the Bronx. “We will dance one day, but I will stay a little bit for Valentina Kozlova’s competition,” she said of the international ballet event in a recent video interview. “So I’m a tourist for three days.”
The company — based in Tbilisi, where Ananiashvili was born — presents two masterworks by George Balanchine, “Serenade” and “Concerto Barocco,” along with a homage to Georgia: “Sagalobeli” by the Ukrainian-born Yuri Possokhov. It’s a rare chance to see how Ananiashvili has transformed the company, which she took over in 2004. As for the dancers? “I raised them!” she said. “This is my generation. They are all my generation because they were in the school and then they’re coming to the theater and now they’re dancing ballerinas.”The company — based in Tbilisi, where Ananiashvili was born — presents two masterworks by George Balanchine, “Serenade” and “Concerto Barocco,” along with a homage to Georgia: “Sagalobeli” by the Ukrainian-born Yuri Possokhov. It’s a rare chance to see how Ananiashvili has transformed the company, which she took over in 2004. As for the dancers? “I raised them!” she said. “This is my generation. They are all my generation because they were in the school and then they’re coming to the theater and now they’re dancing ballerinas.”
Ananiashvili, 60, stopped dancing just five years ago herself. “I really have a bad foot, and it was painful to torture myself to go in the pointe shoes,” she said. “I stopped for three months. I said, OK, maybe I’m resting. Then, I was busy and then Covid came. I don’t have any feelings of, Why am I stopping? I’m going to continue what I’m doing.”Ananiashvili, 60, stopped dancing just five years ago herself. “I really have a bad foot, and it was painful to torture myself to go in the pointe shoes,” she said. “I stopped for three months. I said, OK, maybe I’m resting. Then, I was busy and then Covid came. I don’t have any feelings of, Why am I stopping? I’m going to continue what I’m doing.”
And that is teaching, coaching and, of course, running this company, for which she has revamped the repertory to include works by Balanchine, a Russia-born Georgian; Frederick Ashton; Alexei Ratmansky — Ananiashvili was an early champion of his ballets — and more. “I think it’s really important today for classical companies to do classical and some new works and these masterpieces,” she said. “So I try balancing this.”
To Ananiashvili, every company is different, no matter its repertoire. “A company has its own face, and I think we also have our face,” she said. “So we do a lot of maybe different things than what Western people do, like New York City Ballet. But we also love to do Balanchine. It looks a little bit different than some companies do it in the United States, but I think this is always interesting to see. With Balanchine’s work, you need to have it, you need to learn this to improve.”