Ovid’s poem Metamorphoses or Transformations is interesting precisely due to the fact that each myth ends in a transformation. Metamorphoses is referred to as Heathen Bible. For many eras, this poem by Ovid, the essence of and the characters in the legends that it unites have provided nourishment for writers, poets, artists, composers, directors, philosophers, psychologists and scientists. The poem features the world that is based on constant change. The basis of the choreographic idea is change, too. The creative power of choreography to express fantasy and the infinite nature of the universe is aimed at returning to the myth, animating human nature, expressing people’s physical, internal and external state, reconnecting them with their psyche, understanding it and, by creating sometimes plastic and sometimes schematic figures, expressing the ideas, forms and forces which transform people and construct their souls.
According to the concept, metamorphoses were to happen to the idea and choreography as well as to the directions necessary for their expression. A metamorphosis was also to happen to the space, which is why it was necessary for the performance to be created in a different, new location rather than a regular theatre stage. A film studio of the Silk Factory is a space of a very interesting shape that was arranged especially for this concept based on stage designer Ana Ninua’s artistic model. Silk Factory Studio built the stage and the auditorium and fitted them with modern equipment based on the lighting and sound plan developed especially for the ballet. The auditorium resembles a small Greco-Roman amphitheatre on the one hand and, on the other, the design of a contemporary theatre when the audience is placed close to the action and is, in a way, part of it. The artistic concept, too, implies a space saturated with metamorphic symbols expressing the spirit of the Antiquity and contemporaneity, connecting the time. The most important metamorphosis was to occur in music. I chose Johann Sebastian Bach and contemporary composer Nika Machaidze, who created original music for the ballet and the sound design by synthesizing Bach’s compositions that I selected. The dialogue between old music and minimalist, electronic music shows clearly how music has transformed over time. It is also very interesting that at several premiere performances Nika Machaidze himself will appear on stage, among the dancers, as one of the characters – a musician with a laptop as his instrument, which also shows how much digital technology has permeated our everyday life.
It is extremely important that we see the present day of contemporary dance in Georgia, the new faces, become familiarized with the process of development of active artists. One of the important directions of the work of Giorgi Aleksidze Foundation for the Development of Contemporary Choreography and Giorgi Aleksidze Tbilisi Contemporary Ballet is to support the creation of Georgian choreographic performances with participation of Georgian contemporary artists. Contemporary choreography develops hand in hand with contemporary music and contemporary stage design, which is a key precondition for the development of the sector in the country, and which is the goal of Giorgi Aleksidze Tbilisi Contemporary Ballet. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Tbilisi City Hall and Tbilisi City Council for their support of the work of our company!
This project is important because yet another original, Georgian contemporary ballet production was created for a contemporary ballet company with participation of young, talented artists working among us today. The theatre auditorium and the stage that were built inside the Silk Factory’s film studio emphasize the originality of the idea even more, and for this opportunity and for the inspired, tireless cooperation I would like to thank the director of Silk Factory Studio, Mr. Giorgi Khaindrava, and the entire team of the studio!
I think that an exceptionally important educational video project was implemented as a result of the joint work of the company director, the author of the project idea and concept and its supervisor, David Maziashvili, and the Silk Factory Studio. Once the preparation for Metamorphoses had begun, every Friday, our internet audience was able to witness the process of staging the performance, see its participants and watch the work being done by means of our videos. Thousands of viewers watched the videos, which indicates that the public is interested in contemporary art, choreography and the process of its creation.
When creating a ballet, it is important to me that the dancers, in addition to physical and spiritual preparation necessary for the performance, have a deep understanding of the material, become fully saturated with the universe which inspires the way they convey their thoughts by means of their bodies, based on their individual emotions, energy and feelings. The project provided us with a special opportunity: a dear and loyal friend of the Aleksidze family, Academician Rismag Gordeziani, hosted the company members in his home where they listened to his lecture on Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Tbilisi State University Professor Temur Kobakhidze delivered a lecture called Perception of Ovid’s Metamorphoses in the 20th-Century Literature especially to the company. The company members and the artistic team attended a public lecture Shakespeare’s Metamorphosis in London Theatres of 2017 by David Maziashvili, associate professor of Tbilisi State University and company director. I would like to thank them for these unforgettable meetings!
It makes me happy to see that the company artists, by participating in activities beyond the work with our artistic team, new performances, the company’s educational direction and rehearsals, grow increasingly more refined, develop their technical skills and become true artists right before our eyes. In our difficult profession, constant action, continued and laborious working process are the precondition for quality and development. I am glad that the young members of the company, our apprentices who proved their merit while attending the course of contemporary dance technique within the framework of our company’s educational direction since 2017, have joined us in this project. I can feel how I improve as a choreographer together with the company because the mind of each dancer who was selected and is working with the company is open to imagination while their technical, stylistic, musical growth in the search for choreographic language provides me with greater opportunities, which is why I think that this ballet will be an important metamorphosis for me as a choreographer, too. With this work, I will complete the first, productive decade of working as a choreographer and move on to the next stage.
Any good idea or concept will remain that unless you have like-minded people supporting your initiative. I thank my family, the friends and supporters of our company. I thank the artistic, technical and administrative teams of the company and the ballet, the artistic workshops and ateliers, each and every person who was involved in this project. And finally, I thank my main kindred spirit, Company Director David Maziashvili, who is an exceptionally important asset and a nucleus of our company without whom Metamorphoses would never have happened.
By sharing this ballet with the audience, I wish for Metamorphoses to inspire them to think, if only briefly, about how vast is the space that the universe offers each one of us, so we could try and fill it with beauty.
Mariam Aleksidze
A joint project of Giorgi Aleksidze Tbilisi Contemporary Ballet and Silk Factory Studio
Premiere
at
Silk Factory Film Studio
Metamorphoses
A Contemporary Ballet
Based upon Ovid’s Metamorphoses
Ballet is staged to the music by Johann Sebastian Bach and
original music by Nika Machaidze
Idea and Choreography by
Mariam Aleksidze
Stage Design by Ana Ninua
Sound Design by Nika Machaidze
Project idea, concept and project supervision by
David Maziashvili
Ballet Masters – Marina Aleksidze, Ketevan Mukhashavria
Lighting – Amiran Ananiashvili
Stage Manager – Niala Godziashvili
Sound Technician – Giorgi Zubashvili
Make-Up Artist – Ekaterine Chanchibadze
Cast: Giorgi Aleksidze Tbilisi Contemporary Ballet Chamber Company
Echo, Ariadne - Natia Bunturi
Narcissus, Cycnus, Pyramus, Theseus, Orpheus - Intigam Mammadov
Arachne, Procne - Mariam Darchia
Philomela, the Sibyl, Clymene - Mariam Koiava
Deianira - Tinatin Mchedlidze
Salmacis - Gvantsa Gelashvili
Nessus, Hermaphroditus, Minotaur - Nikoloz Khurtsidze
Georgian National Ballet Sukhishvilebi
Tiresias, Pan - Aleksandre Gadelia
Giorgi Aleksidze Tbilisi Contemporary Ballet Apprentice
Thisbe, Ocyroe - Stepania Sisvadze
Giorgi Aleksidze Tbilisi Contemporary Ballet Apprentice
Cupid - Tinatin Baramidze
Giorgi Aleksidze Tbilisi Contemporary Ballet Apprentice
Sun Stallions - Mariam Darchia, Gvantsa Gelashvili, Tinatin Mchedlidze, Mariam Koiava
Heliades - Mariam Darchia, Gvantsa Gelashvili, Tinatin Mchedlidze
Maenads, Hecate - Tinatin Mchedlidze, Gvantsa Gelashvili, Aleksandre Gadelia
The auditorium and the stage were made at the Silk Factory Studio’s workshops
The project was organized by the administrative and technical teams of Giorgi Aleksidze Tbilisi Contemporary Ballet and Silk Factory Studio
The premiere took place on 24 and 25 February 2018