Astana Opera hosts master class in Cuban style
The ballet master is well known all over the world, he works with the largest foreign companies, including Teatro alla Scala, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Teatro di San Carlo, the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia and many others. Incidentally, the famous dancer is already familiar with Astana Opera, as he came here as part of the Teatro di San Carlo tour in 2015 as the director of the Italian ballet company.
Lienz Chang speaks of Kazakh dancers as high professionals in their field: ‘strong, with excellent technique, they easily grasp the material.»
«Master classes are an integral part of our work, because there is always something to strive for. There is a wide variety of ballet schools in the world, and it is important for us to take in the best that is in the largest world centres. We are very pleased that Astana Opera’s general management invites famous teachers, which allows the dancers to constantly be in good shape and grow, not every ballet company has such an opportunity. I met Lienz Chang last fall when I attended his master class in Italy. Even then I was surprised by his system of building the combinations of movements: he has a lot of combinations for coordination. In the ballet world, the Cuban school is famous for its spins and fine technique. Such master classes help to strengthen motor skills, work on your weaker points. For me, as a performer of Roland Petit’s ballets, this master class helped to strengthen my feet. Roland Petit’s ballets have a lot of fine technique,» Aigerim Beketayeva, Astana Opera’s Principal Dancer, Honoured Worker of Kazakhstan, said.
Lienz Chang explains that the influence of the American, French, Italian and Russian schools can be traced in the Cuban school. Having gone to work outside of Cuba, in Marseille with the company of Roland Petit, he carefully studied the styles, choosing different disciplines, which he now passes on to dancers in his classes. It is clear that the art of dance is constantly evolving and in order to meet the influences of the time, you need to continuously improve your skills.
«I think that now there is an evolution of dance, the technique has changed a lot. Long lines, all movements are very large, sweeping, and at the same time precise and clean. However, sometimes it is necessary to stop and look back, to pay attention to what the dancers used to do back in the day. This is important, because there are very significant dancers of the past. For example, they had excellent port de bras, which is the best fit for the classical style. It is important for dancers to unite the past, the present and the future, to try to gather all the best to show the audience. Then, in turn, pass it on to another generation of dancers, and they to others, and so on. This is how change happens,» Lienz Chang shares his observations.
The main rule that the master continually teaches to young dancers across the world is: «if you do not listen to anything now, you will not be able to accomplish anything in the future.» «It is important to be observant, to pay close attention to the teachers’ corrections. The dancer needs to work many hours. After the rehearsal, if the studio is free, stay and work. Moreover, the Astana Opera Ballet Company has a unique opportunity to work with the best, in my opinion, artistic director – Altynai Asylmuratova. We danced with her for a long time – she is an outstanding ballerina,» Lienz Chang concluded.
