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Azari Plisetsky
- University Press of Florida
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131 connoisseur and expert to know these details. The ability to dance big came from Vaganova. The Bolshoi has such an enormous stage that you have to dance big. There is a purpose to it: in order to reach the audience, to make an impact and influence the way of dancing, but on the other hand, if you bring that to an intimate audience it is going to be too much—overwhelming . We get that from Vaganova. But there was a time, like you said, where the world was divided into boundaries and camps, and people didn’t travel as much. For Russia to come to the U.S. was a big deal because of the KGB and all that nonsense. And so it kept the world more isolated, and you could easily spot what was French or Vaganova. Now the world is different, and we travel more, and everyone is merging. Now, if the Russians are more stylish, it’s because Svetlana Zakharova danced with Paris Opera, Diana Vishneva with ABT [American Ballet Theatre], etc. There are all these influences, and if you travel all over the world, you have to change. You see fewer Russians with the crossed passé and more with retiré passé. Much more is available to everyone. That can’t help but have an impact on the Cuban style. What defines the Cuban style, in part, is creating men who are very powerful onstage . For example, in the ballet that you saw last night with the boys, or if you see the older group of twenty, with those big legs, that is the Cuban phenomenon . I think when you see a Cuban you are going to expect that kind of powerful work. This is something we achieved that makes a difference. Azar] Pl]setsky Azari Plisetsky is a member of a family of renowned Russian performing artists , most notably his sister, the ballerina Maya Plisetskaya. Plisetsky danced with the Bolshoi for six years, but then, in 1963, after Fernando and Alicia Alonso requested that a guest dancer from the Soviet Union be sent to Cuba, Plisetsky was chosen. An experienced partner, he danced with Alicia Alonso for ten years, during the time that she was experiencing the gradual loss of her eyesight. With Fernando’s encouragement, Plisetsky began teaching at Cubanacán, and ENA (the National School of the Arts), working especially with male students. He has taught for companies in Spain, at Ballet National de Marseille, and Ballet Lausanne. Of the Cubans he says, “They have dynamism ,” and strong folkloric traditions which inform their classical ballet. Part III. Recuerdos (Recollections) 132 “There is nobody to whom dancing comes as naturally.” He points out in an avuncular way that because he was Lázaro Carreño’s teacher, who was my son James Gotesky’s ballet master, he is therefore my son’s “ballet grandfather.” I was able to interview Azari Plisetsky at the Hotel Presidente in Havana on November 6, 2008, following the Twenty-First International Ballet Festival, and also by e-mail on February 22, 2010. What is the history of your career, with whom did you study ballet, where and when did you join the Cuban National Ballet, and which were your most important roles? I finished the Bolshoi school in 1956. My teachers there were Alexander Varlamov , Nikolai Tarasov, and Asaf Messerer. I danced with the Bolshoi until 1963. In March of that same year I began my work with the Ballet Nacional de Cuba as a principal dancer and teacher. I danced practically every role in the repertoire there. I created my own choreographies: Canto vital (Mahler), Avanzada (Alexandrov), Primer concerto (Prokofiev), etc. My favorite role was Don José in Carmen, which Alberto Alonso created for Alicia and me. What impresses you most about Fernando Alonso? Fernando Alonso helped very much to integrate me into the repertoire, working with me on the new ballets, offering counsel of great professional value. We alternated giving class to the company; I helped him to develop the young dancers and students at Cubanacán, especially coaching the male casts. It was a magnificent experience to see his manner of teaching, his methodology and meticulous work with the details. What distinguished him from other teachers? Fernando Alonso is a highly cultured person. His curiosity and love of learning are unceasing, and the breadth of his interests very vast: anatomy applied to dance, spelunking and speleology, astronomy, hunting, and so many other things. We would go...