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Georgian Dancers Tour the USA
| Article
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18903 |
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Section : |
THE ARTS
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| Issue
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2 / 1991 |
982 Words |
| Author
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Sid Smith
Sid Smith is a dance critic for the Chicago Tribune |
0ne of the more pleasant side benefits of glasnost has been the presentation of some spectacular Soviet regional dance troupes to American audiences. Perhaps the two best of these song and folk dance ensembles are the Georgian State Dance Company (Anna Kisselgoff of the New York Times called them "downright terrific") and the Rustavi Company from the Soviet Republic of Georgia.
High Art Form
During their recent seven-week national tour, the Georgian State Dance Company remained true to the style created in the early 1940s by the company's founders, the late Iliko Sukhishvili and Nina Ramishvili. Indeed, this dazzling troupe of seventy performers has helped turn Georgian national traditions into a high art form. The men land on their knees or dance en pointe in their traditional soft leather boots. The women in long ornate flowing gowns perform graceful movements with their arms and torsos. Their feet are rarely seen, creating the illusion that they are gliding across the stage.
According to Georgian tradition men and women must never come in contact in any way when dancing. Sukhishvili's choreography creates a sense of tantalizing temptation as the women brush close by the bold, dashing men. The dancers present a fascinating mixture of gaiety and serenity, aggressivity and tenderness. Tengis Sukhishvili, son of the founder, is now artistic director and together with his mother, who is still head choreographer and director, has done much to create a troupe that projects a popular image, keeping up with contemporary taste.
Of comparable artistic standing, the renowned Rustavi Company on a recent tour in the States featured a ten-voice, all male choir in addition to fifty dancers and musicians that delighted audiences coast to coast. Sensational without being sensationalist, the troupe featured the best in Georgian dancing--soaring leaps and bravura swordplay by the men and reserved, elegant movements by the women.
The singers stand in a semicircle, wearing dark coats with golden ornamentation and black boots. Each singer, according to Georgian tradition, has a different part. Despite the language barrier, the mood of each work is distinctive, whether a grave hymn to labor, called the "Odoiya", or a complicated, lighthearted marching song, the "Khasanbegura."
In one part of the performance, a trio of musicians take center stage to show
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