NEWS

The artists of the Russian National Ballet “Kostroma” master flamenco.

The artists of the Russian National Ballet “Kostroma” master flamenco.

Olga Pshenitsyna, a famous dancer and a choreography teacher of Spanish flamenco, gave unique workshops at the Ballet’s base in Kostroma. The previous meeting of the two dancing schools took place in summer 2015 in Moscow during the Ballet’s traditional guest tour with the programme “The Russian National Dance Show “Kostroma”.

Olga Pshenitsyna is a dancer, a teacher of stage plastique and a dance choreographer. She started training in CanteJondo dance theatre under the direction of V. Kleymenov. Then she attended flamenco courses of Spanish teachers Mario Maya, Eva Yerbabuena and some others. She studied stage movement and acting with V. Ananyev in the All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography. She also studied in the acting programmes of Meyerkhold’s Centre, the Theatre Workers Union, Theatre College named after Shchukin and Grotovsky’s Centre. She took part in festivals in South Korea, Germany and Italy.

She has been a finalist of the International Flamenco Festival Viva Espana three times deserving the special prize of the jury. She is one of the actors in the musical Zorro / Stage Entertainment, a dancer in flamenco ballet Hijas de Alba (based on “Bernarda Alba’s House” play by F. G. Lorka, she plays the part of Bernarda), a choreographer and a stage director of Javier Latorre, an artist and a choreography teacher of Dance Academy “Flamenqueria”, a stage choreographer of the drama “Ophelia” (based on Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”) directed by A. Presnov of Dancing Drama Studio. Now Olga Pshenitsyna is a an assistant stage choreographer of the opera “Carmen” in Bolshoi Theatre and a creative director of the musical and dance performance called “Vagabundo”.

Workshops became the first step to start working on the new programme of the Russian National Ballet “Kostroma”. Yury Tsarenko, the chief ballet-master, has an idea to convey different cultures of the world through a special combination of different academic character dances. The Spanish theme will be the leading one in the show but the whole picture remains a mystery for a while.

Olga Pshenitsyna inspired the artists to fully experience the atmosphere of passion, fire and vitality. Communication through the customs and traditions of Spanish national culture allowed everyone to perceive the philosophy of flamenco, its beauty, energy and temperament.

In those four days the artists made an attempt to master the most difficult dance combinations, taps and rhythms such as “compass”, “contratempo” and “alegrias”.