Famous Baku-born ballet star to perform in Latvia
By Nazrin Gadimova
The play titled "Diaghilev - Nijinsky/Sheherazade" will be presented in Latvia for the first time by world ballet stars Ulvi Azizov and Lyudmila Konovalova.
The play will be presented on October 14 at the Dailes Theater in Riga. Soloists and artists of the Russian Ballet theater under the guidance of legendary dancer, choreographer, theater director and teacher, People's Artist of Russia Vyacheslav Gordeev will also participate at the event.
"Diaghilev - Nijinsky/Sheherazade" is a narrative play, which connects fragments of performances featured in Diaghilev's "Russian Seasons" in Paris, including the ballets "Spectre de la Rose," "Les Sylphides," "The Dying Swan," and "Sheherazade". Russian Honorary Artist Vitaliy Akhundov is the director of the ballet.
This is not the first experience of famous dancer Ulvi Azizov, who has appeared as a guest star in France, Italy, Greece, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Slovakia, Russia, Latvia, Turkey, the United States and other countries. He is the first Azerbaijani premier ballet dancer who represents his country at the most prestigious stages of Europe.
Azizov, who was born in Baku to the family of Azerbaijani People's Artist, famous ballet dancer Rafig Azizov, is the winner of the award "for contribution to the development of the art of ballet and a high level of professional skill" named after Rudolph Nuriyev, as well as a special prize at the international ballet festival in Budapest.
After graduating from the Baku Choreographic School, Ulvi moved with his family to Turkey, where he continued his studies in classical ballet. After a successful performance at the "Young Ballet of the World" international ballet competition, which was organized by Yuriy Grigorovich in 2006, Azizov was awarded a special prize and invited by legendary dancer Vadim Pisarev to take part in the "Stars of the World Ballet" gala concert, as well as in a tour of Germany and Switzerland.
Lyudmila Konovalova danced in such famous theaters as Russian State Ballet and Berlin State Ballet in 2011, becoming a prima ballerina of the Vienna State Ballet. She is the winner of the gold medal of the International Ballet Competition in Vienna, as well as the special Premio Roma prize for the high level of professional skill. She has appeared as a guest star in the theaters of France, Germany, Russia, Ukraine, Hungary, Finland, Japan, etc.