Romeo and Juliet – the Ballet of Timeless Love

Jiří Jelinek as Tybalt and artists of the ballet in Romeo and Juliet
Image credit: yfrog.com/nationalballet - national.ballet.ca

Romeo and Juliet World Premiere
National Ballet of Canada
November 16-27, 2011
Four Seasons Centre for the Perfoming Arts
145 Queen Street West, Toronto

A historic event took place on November 16, 2011 in Toronto - The world premiere of the new "Romeo and Juliet" ballet was greatly anticipated by the full house audience at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. When the curtain lifted on an entirely original choreography by the renowned artist, Alexei Ratmansky, a timeless tale of undying love unfolded.

The National Ballet of Canada’s Guillaume Cote and Elena Lobsanova were unforgettable as the famous star-crossed lovers. Their performance moves the heart to tears, and reminds us of the enduring love that triumphs over death. The young dancers reached sublime perfection in their portrayal of the tragic couple. Guillaume Cote is a high-energy, romantic Romeo, who emits vitality and valour with every move. Elena Lobsanova is breathtaking as the exuberant Juliet; she conveys deep emotions and intricate steps through brilliant lightness and purity.

The William Shakespeare's classic love story is vibrantly expressed by the masterful interplay of characters whose roles are integral to the plot. Alexei Ratmansky’s choreography is rich with complicated lifts, jumps and turns, every moment of the ballet is active and emotive, filled with complex dance sequences, clever humour and powerful drama. Piotr Stanczyk dances a witty and charismatic Mercutio and Jiri Jelinek portrays an ominous Tybalt, their actions together with the rivalry of the two houses are pivotal to the fate of Romeo and Juliet.

The ballet builds in dramatic intensity and reaches its apex in the last act with the fateful end of the lovers’ lives. But their love lives on as Romeo and Juliet, husband and wife, follow each other into eternity. Their love unites rivalling families and transcends death, as Romeo and Juliet live on forever in spirit, saved by each others’ love. It is this vital message that the ballet conveys, as the audience sees its beloved characters dying in each others’ arms.

The new ballet is an epic undertaking to resurrect a story which is based on true events - a story which tends to repeat itself at various times in history, showing that its message is not understood. It takes great masterpieces such as the one born on the stage of the National Ballet of Canada, to transmit the moral of the story anew. This phenomenal new choreography, set to legendary music by Sergei Prokofiev, is created by great masters and artists, including set and costumes design by Richard Hudson. It is a production which unlike the previous version of the ballet involves the full corps de ballet of the Company and is a full-length classical ballet attuned to the contemporary life.

On stage until November 27, 2011, the groundbreaking ballet is an inspiring and exhilarating experience which will be cherished for generations. To see this beautiful ballet, with its exceptional dancers, superlative choreography and outstanding performance, is to participate in history and to realise the constant moral of life, that love never fails and endures everything.

2011 @ Anya

The National Ballet of Canada
Romeo and Juliet: The Trailer

youtube.com: Romeo and Juliet: The Trailer
credit: nationalballetcanada | Nov 18, 2011 | 91 views

links:
twitter.com: nationalballet
Thank you to our amazing opening night audience for your 10 minute ovation and raptuous response to the world premiere of Romeo and Juliet.
17 Nov

backstagepassblog.ca: A Fresh Take on Romeo and Juliet
by Karen Kain, Artistic Director

cbc.ca/video: November 19, 2011 > News > TV Shows > The National > Ballet's gutsy gamble
Featured Analysis: National Ballet celebrates 60 years in style
The National Ballet takes a great leap of faith with a top choreographer's new production of the classic love story Romeo and Juliet: There aren't too many people who dare to re-work a Shakespeare classic, but the National Ballet of Canada has done just that to mark its 60th anniversary. It's a gamble costing almost 2-million dollars, but with the help of an acclaimed choreographer - one that's paying dividends.
Arisa Cox has the story tonight

Istvan Kantor - Neoism & (S)mash-up Performance for the Junction Arts Festival

Screenshot: The Junction Arts Festival 2010
ISTVAN KANTOR RE: INVASION - Recent Crimes and Punishments
Monuments / Plunderworks / Mash-Media / Shinyism / Lebensraum / Subvertainment
Curated by Paul Campbell
Sept 9 – Oct 9, 2010
Opening reception/performance Thursday, Sept 9, 7 - 11pm
SMASH at 2880 Dundas Street West, Toronto

Istvan Kantor is an artist known around the world by his "open pop star" identity – Monty Cantsin Amen. The movement behind this multiple persona pseudonym is "Neoism" which has been around since 1979 as an underground philosophy of performance and media experimentalists who share pseudonyms and identities to make their statements and action based art.

Istvan Kantor, the creator of Neoism and the original Monty Cantsin has been banned from most museums around the world for splashing his blood on the walls between valued artwork. His message was the idea of art itself, what is art? and what is not. By hanging a painting on the wall an artist leaves a mark and it is the museums that decide what art is; Istvan Kantor’s shocking act challenges the limits of artistic freedom and revolts against the control of established institutions. But according to Istvan Kantor, art is not necessarily those works of art that are in the museums, his statement of blood represents human body which is the source of art, the center of artist’s creation – it displays human life as a symbol and object of art.

When asked about his action based art, Istvan Kantor replies that the message is to help people in intense and emergency situations by confrontational, action art. "Things have to be done very fast and questions should be solved, extreme actions such as splashing blood trigger a reaction and exchange of ideas, the message goes through many layers of society, through media, courts, it’s a way I can communicate and bring attention to vital issues."

In today’s world, when art has no boundaries between good and bad and the concept of art itself is undefined it is important to know what is truly art and who is an artist. Being an all encompassing media artist, prolific in all artistic mediums, performance, video, music, and writing – Istvan Kantor received the Governor General Award in 2004 for his work. Controversial, subversive, rebellious, the art of Istvan Kantor has even been called demonic for his shocking action art. His art expresses the world today and Neoism is loosely defined as the culture of the new.

In the near future Istvan Kantor plans to continue his work in Neoism as Monty Cantsin Amen, and will have a special performance for the Junction Arts Festival, opening September 9 until October 9, at Smash, 2880 Dundas St. W. The persona of Monty Canstin is that of an honest and completely guilt free person who devotes his life and energy to make people’s life better. Neoism has an aspect of idealism and a belief in the better life through creative forces.

Having immigrated from Communist Hungary in 1977, Istvan Kantor travelled extensively around the world. He is an artist that reflects the different cultures, systems and views globally; who believes that we are biological beings, living a material existence in a scientific world, without the soul. The art of Istvan Kantor is an atheist art. A true artist is a messenger who expresses the truth. Ultimately Istvan Kantor makes us wonder about what the truth is and the value of human life.

2010 © Anya / Anna Lobsanova

links:
What is the (Next) Message?: McLuhan Lectures 2005 - May 25 – Lilly Koltun – Portraiture
"Consider portraiture. Today's abstract portraiture can comprise performance, as in the case of Istvan Kantor. The portrait can be performed only once; any artefact that results is not the portrait. The artefact proper is itself ephemeral [.pdf]."
by Dr. Mark Federman
Chief Strategist, McLuhan Program in Culture and Technology
University of Toronto

Junction Arts Festival September 8 - 12, 2010: Artist Directory: Istvan Kantor

Invitation to Fundraiser for the Film "Final Dance", Screenplay by Vladimir Milman

Poster: "Final Dance" by Frank Caruso

Caruso Visual Productions
Presents a Film by Frank Caruso

Final Dance

It's about artists, immigrants
and lonely souls that just don't fit in.
It's also about love - and dance!

Based on the Award Winning Play
Couldn't We Be
by Vladimir Milman

Starring
Jane Milman & Srdjan Nikolic

Original Score: Vezi Tayyeb
Director of Photography: Jason Guerriere
Executive Producer: David J. Woods
Director & Producer: Frank Caruso

I invite my friends and colleagues to attend this Friday night fund-raising wine and cheese party for the feature film by my screenplay. It is being organized by film producer and director Frank Caruso. I'd simply much appreciate it if you come and if you could further spread a word.

Date: Friday, Feb. 6, 2009
Time: 8 p.m.
Location: 2765 Lakeshore Blvd. West, suite 207 (just east of Islington)

Thank you!

Vladimir Milman

link:
The Arts Junction: First Impression: Couldn't We Be, Phoenix Theatre, Toronto
by Anya

First Impression: Couldn't We Be, Phoenix Theatre, Toronto

First Impression: Couldn't We Be, Phoenix Theatre
A Play by Vladimir Milman; Directed by Art Babayants; Phoenix Cultural Diversity Theatre
July 26-27, 2008; Palmerston Library Theatre; Toronto, ON, Canada

Couldn't We Be
Drama (and ballroom dance): She is well-settled, 19. He is 40, no prospects for the future... Couldn't we be: two artistic maverick souls....
The plot of the play is based on a true story: two artistic souls run across each other in the contemporary world of pragmatic indifference. She is the only child of two well-settled and practically oriented parents, who have anticipated a certain life path for her, while he is a 40 years old recent newcomer to Canada, an actor with poor English and no prospects for the future. As the story develops, we can see where this takes the two maverick souls.

Couldn’t We Be

Anyone who has experienced immigration knows that it is not easy. The culture shock, language barrier, unemployment are only a few obstacles ready for a fresh immigrant. And if a newcomer is gifted and aiming for success it is often a tragedy when the great expectations aren’t met. The play "Couldn’t We Be" by Vladimir Milman presents a drama of a Russian immigrant actor that struggles to stay true to his art despite the adversity of life in an alien environment. In his search for accomplishment and creation, he sacrifices everything he holds dear, his country, his family and his love for one purpose; and that purpose is devotion to life even when it’s gone.

In the play the work of an artist is a desire to live passionately and Vikenty Varchuk is an actor who came out of obscure poverty in Ukraine and rose to stardom as an actor in Moscow, hoping to conquer the rest of the world he decides to come to Toronto. But here, at his late age and in foreign culture, he faces what many immigrants go through, he is not needed; he lives on the street and has only one activity – teaching dance to a very young woman named Julia, who is also of Russian descent. What transpires is a meeting of different generations of immigration - one Russian, that has just arrived and another that is culturally Canadian and yet spiritually Russian.

The age difference, religious backgrounds and outlooks on life are presented in lively and humorous scenes. Julia’s parents portrayed a Russian Canadian family native to Toronto with Ukrainian background and Jewish heritage. Even though Vikenty is accepted by the family and is loved by Julia, he is different; Julia has a gift of an actress - the love of life, and Vikenty wants to achieve perfection and yet is completely alone. In Toronto he is not known and the problem is how Julia and he could be together. This is a story of true love, true art and it is also a true story.

The actors conveyed emotions very naturally with pathos and heart. Jane Milman was very passionate and spirited in her expressions and danced beautifully. She was particularly honest in showing Julia’s emotions, and excitement about life. Marie Carriere Gleason was wild playing Julia’s eccentric mother, throwing tantrums and fits, many mothers can be associated with this character. Philip Soiffer portrayed a calm, understanding and wise father figure; he was a vital contrast to Julia’s mother. Peter Nelson was genuinely Russian in his portrayal of Vikenty and the Russian condition: "I expressed what is truly inside Vikenty’s heart, which is loneliness," says Peter Nelson.

There are great dances and music in the play, the director is Art Babayants. He has recently come from Moscow where he has his own musical theatre. 'Couldn’t we be' is his first dramatic production in Toronto of Vladimir Milman’s play. It is also the first time that the play is performed in English by Canadian actors. It is performed on July 27-28 at Palmerston Library Theatre. "I care for struggling artists that have to find ways to survive for the sake of art, which is why I wanted to show the story of an artist Vikenty," says Art Babayants.

Vladimir Milman dedicated the story to Leonid Grill.

2008 © Anya

links:
Phoenix Theatre New Production: Couldn't We Be
livewithculture.ca: Couldn't We Be