"Azerbaijani First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva loves, patronizes ballet"
By Trend
Azerbaijan's first vice president, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva loves ballet very much and patronizes it, Nikolay Tsiskaridze, people's artist of Russia, rector of the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet, said in an interview with the Moscow-Baku website.
Tsiskaridze said that he will visit Baku in late November, where he will hold a number of master classes.
"My invitation to Azerbaijan became possible thanks to Mehriban Aliyeva, so I think that good relations will be established with Azerbaijan,” he said.
He added that the Academy of Russian Ballet’s troupe can visit Azerbaijan in the future.
"Of course, ballet in all the post-Soviet republics after the collapse of the Soviet Union is in desperate need of Russian influence,” he said. “I have reiterated that many times.”
“The ballet in Georgia, Azerbaijan, Lithuania, Ukraine, etc. appeared only in 1991,” he said. “Before that, the history of the ballet in these countries is directly connected with the Russian ballet. If we summarize, all this is Russian ballet during the period of the Russian Empire, then - the Soviet Union."
He said that without using experience of Moscow and St. Petersburg, the ballet schools of the post-Soviet countries are facing great difficulties in development.
"Therefore, there is need for further training,” he said. “I hope that after my visit to Azerbaijan, closer ties will be established between the ballet communities of our countries."
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