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FOUNDATION PROJECTS
"Sleza"
A one-act ballet created for Diana Vishneva, prima ballerina of the Mariinsky Theatre, by the creative duo of choreographers Sol León and Paul Lightfoot.

World premiere: May 25-26, 2024, Astana Ballet, Kazakhstan.

Sol León and Paul Lightfoot are recognized worldwide as a creative duo, connected with the Netherlands Dance Theatre (NDT) for 35 successful years, contributing to its establishment as a significant hub for the development of contemporary dance.

The first time Diana Vishneva and choreographers worked together was in 2011 when the ballerina performed their ballet Subject to Change within her solo program Dialogues. Ten years later, the Diana Vishneva Foundation initiated a new creation, and Sole Leon and Paul Lightfoot started their work on the new ballet staged for her. This project united different creators and artists representing their schools, styles, experiences, and philosophies. Artists who represent the time of Sol Leon and Paul Lightfoot’s work at NDT were invited to participate in the performance: Jorge Nozal, Roger Van Der Poel, and Stefan Zeromski. Dancers appear as characters representing real people linked to Diana and at the same time impersonate metaphorically Life and Death.

The life experiences and personal emotions of the choreographers and soloist form the basis of the ballet. Without a strict narrative, it revolves around universal themes: love in its various forms - maternal and paternal, marital, passion for life and profession, spiritual love. The transformation of a girl as she goes through stages of maturation, becoming a wife and mother. The encounter with the death of a loved one and how it permanently changes our lives.

"Our performance touches upon the themes and emotions that every person experiences throughout their life. Hence the name Sleza, as an expression of the highest degree of feelings, deep and intimate. It is multi-faceted. A tear can be an expression of both joy and sorrow, a cleansing and release of inner emotion and intense experience. In the interpretation of our artist-choreographers, one tear is not yet crying, but a liberating emotion.
For me, our ballet holds special significance: Sol and Paul have been longtime acquaintances, and we had dreamed of creating something together. And now that moment has arrived. We candidly reveal all our pain and joy, life experiences, successes, and disappointments on stage. My partners also play an important role - beautiful, mature, internally rich artists who also tell their own stories.
It is an incredible experience both artistically and personally. Perhaps our production will have a therapeutic effect and help viewers navigate their own difficulties and find answers to their questions," shared Diana Vishneva.

Set design is created by Sol León and Paul Lightfoot. The concept of video projections in the performance is also developed by the choreographers, with director Tommy Pascal responsible for its realization. He is known for his work with the Paris Opera, NDT, Theatre de la Ville, National Theatre of Chaillot, Lyon Opera, and others.
World premiere on the Mariinsky Theater stage, October 22 & 23 and November 12, 2011

Tours of the project were arranged in November 2011 in Moscow and in March 2012 in New York


"Diana Vishneva. Dialogues" (2011) was the second original international project developed for Diana personally. This was a joint production of the Diana Vishneva Foundation and the Mariinsky Theater, supported by the US-based Ardani Artists. The project won two Golden Mask national theater awards: Best Ballet Production and Best Female Role.

The project included "Labyrinth," "Dialogue," and "Subject to Change," ballet productions staged by four choreographers of different generations. Their styles represent different choreographic trends developed over the past 70 years. This is actually the key to the message hidden in the project name: it is about dialogues between different generations of choreographers, dialogues between genres, dialogues with time, and, eventually, dialogues of a ballet dancer.

The program opens with Martha Graham's "Labyrinth" (1947), set to music by Gian Carlo Menotti. Graham is a true legend of contemporary choreography, one of the founders of modern dance who contributed greatly to the culture and development of dance in the 20 th century. Diana Vishneva was the first Russian classical ballet dancer to perform Martha Graham's choreography. It was also the Russian audience's first opportunity to see the great Graham's choreography in person because neither the choreographer nor her ballet company had ever visited Russia.

"Dialogue" (2011) is a one-act ballet directed by John Neumeier. The music, "Variations on a Theme of Chopin," was written by Federico Mompou. This is a dramatic love story full of quarrels and reconciliations staged by the choreographer especially for Diana Vishneva. The name of this performance was taken as the title of her program.

"Subject to Change" (2003) was choreographed by Paul Lightfoot and Sol Leon, and it was performed to Franz Schubert's "Death and the Maiden" (second movement: Andante con moto) arranged for chamber orchestra by Gustav Mahler. The famous Lightfoot-Leon duet of choreographers also debuted for the Russian audience.

Between 2002 and 2020, Paul Lightfoot from Great Britain and Sol Leon from Spain were the resident choreographers of the Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT), one of the leading theaters for modern choreography. (Paul Lightfoot served as its artistic director from 2011-2020.) Lightfoot-Leon, the successors of the great Jiří Kylián who was the head of NDT for many years, staged several dozen performances for this theater. One of these productions was "Subject to Change," which the choreographers selected for Diana Vishneva. Her partners were Andrei Merkuriev, a soloist of the Bolshoi Theater, and ballet artists of the Mariinsky Theater. This was the first time in the history of NDT that Russian classical artists performed a piece of choreography from its repertoire
"Diana Vishneva. Beauty in Motion" (2008) was the first solo program staged personally for Diana Vishneva by the best foreign and Russian choreographers. The program included "Pierrot Lunaire" by Alexei Ratmansky, based on the song cycle of the same name by Arnold Schoenberg. Moses Pendleton choreographed "F.L.O.W." (For Love of Women), composed of three parts: "Swans Dream," "Glass Awakening," and "Water Flower," based on musical pieces by contemporary vocal bands and ethnic music. Dwight Rodin staged "Turns of Love," in which one of Diana's partners was Desmond Richardson, a unique dancer well-versed in various dancing techniques. The project was initiated and promoted by Sergey Danilyan, the president of Ardani Artists.

It was hailed as unique by ballet critics. The program won the Golden Mask national theater award (2009) in three categories: Best Ballet Production, Best Female Ballet Role, and Critics' Choice Award
"Diana Vishneva. Beauty in Motion"
"Dialogues"
"On the Edge"
World premiere on November 6, 2013, at the famous Segerstrom Center for the Arts
European premiere on December 18, 2013, at the historic Garnier Opera House in Monte Carlo

Russian premiere on March 27, 2014, at the Bolshoi Theater of Russia and on April 7, 2014, at the Mariinsky Theater

On the Edge is the second joint project of the Foundation and the Ardani Artists artist management company. The program of this performance includes two one-act ballets: "Switch" and "Woman in a Room." The project won the Golden Mask national theater award in the Best Female Role category.

Switch was staged especially for Diana Vishneva by Jean-Christophe Maillot, a famous choreographer and the director of Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo (Monaco). According to the dancer, this ballet is "a story about a woman, her alter ego and her relationships with men." Diana's partners in "Switch" are Bernice Coppieters and Gaëtan Morlotti, the stars of Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo. The production is based on music by the famous American composer Danny Elfman, who wrote the musical hits to almost all of Tim Burton's movies and animated films, the "Desperate Housewives" TV series, the movies "Mission Impossible," "Men in Black," "Wanted," and many others.

Woman in a Room is a forty-minute solo performance staged for Diana Vishneva by Carolyn Carlson, a famous American dancer and choreographer who currently heads the National Choreographic Center Roubaix Nord-Pas-de-Calais and the Atelier de Paris center (France). The production tells about the life journey of a woman with all its joys and sorrows. This solo ballet is staged to the music of Giovanni Sollima, a famous Italian cellist and minimalist composer. It was inspired by the artistic heritage of the Tarkovsky family. During the performance the viewers hear Diana Vishneva's voice reading the poem "Eurydice" by Arseny Tarkovsky, and there are references to "The Mirror" by Andrey Tarkovsky.
"World of Diana Vishneva" festival in Tokyo, August 2013
The "World of Diana Vishneva" international festival in Tokyo gathered world-famous ballet stars. The four gala evenings of the festival featured appearances of Diana in "Carmen Suite," "Subject to Change," and other performances from her repertoire.
BOOKS AND FILMS
Essay collection 2023.
"Dance. Book of Reflections"
Heroes of the book are famous foreign and Russian choreographers and artists who reflect on what dance means to them, raising eternal philosophical questions. In concise and deeply personal essays, choreographers Paul Lightfoot and Sol León, Marco Goecke and Alexey Miroshnichenko, Alonzo King and Eric Gauthier, Olga Pona,Guillaume Côté and Goyo Montero, artists Marcelo Gomes and Aurélie Dupont connect the concepts of love, faith, loneliness, music, philosophy, support, unity, individuality, strength, life, and death with contemporary choreography. Especially for the book, Diana Vishneva wrote an introduction reflecting on how encounters with choreographers influenced her destiny, how a new production changed her not only as an artist but also as a person, transforming her views on art as a whole. The prima ballerina also shares memories and thoughts on the formation of the Context festival, its goals, heroes, and the results of the first decade.

The name Context. Diana Vishneva holds a special place in the book - work on its publication began in 2022, in the tenth year of the contemporary choreography festival's existence, and the book release (2023) is timed to coincide with its transition to a new format and a new decade. The selection of the book's heroes is conditioned by the history of the festival, and each essay is illustrated with archival photos chronicling performances shown at Context in different years. The book is aimed not only at dance professionals and enthusiasts but at everyone, as it speaks about universal and cultural values in a clear and engaging language.


Child's book "Why People Dance.
A History of Dance for Children"
Published by A+A
2022


In December 2022, the book "Why People Dance. A History of Dance for Children" by Irina Sirotkina and Maria Titova was released by the publishing house A+A, in collaboration with the Diana Vishneva Foundation and the Context.Diana Vishneva festival.

This illustrated book tells the history of dance, from tribal dances to contemporary choreography, and it has no counterparts in Russian or foreign publishing. What is dance: art or magic, pleasure or work? How is dance born and how long does it live? Are there rules for dance and why are they sometimes broken? Under what music is it easier to move and can one dance in silence? Why did ballerinas start dancing on pointe shoes in the 19th century, and in the 20th century switch to sneakers? What is modern in contemporary dance and how is modern dance different from postmodern dance? How can one notate dance on paper? And most importantly, why do people dance?

Addressing these and many other questions, historian Irina Sirotkina references ancient Greek choral dances, court balls, folk dances, Diaghilev's Russian Seasons in Paris, romantic "white" ballets, and digital dance performances. Readers of this book get acquainted with ancient dances and contemporary dance styles, outstanding choreographers and performers, learn about dance notation and dancers - in short, they immerse themselves in the infinitely diverse world of dance, where everyone dances differently, but everyone has their place. After all, people dance because they cannot not to dance.


Jubilee books "Diana Vishneva. XX" and "Giselle. Diana Vishneva," January-May 2015

"MULTIVERSE" Book
The book titled "Diana Vishneva. XX" contains 300+ photos illustrating her twenty-year artistic career from her very first steps in the theater to the heights of maturity as an artist, her performances in the best theaters of the world, and her collaborations with great partners and choreographers in the rehearsal halls and on the stage. The book was published in Russian and English.

The album titled "Giselle. Diana Vishneva" is dedicated to one of her iconic roles in "Giselle." In order to perform this part, the dancer must have the highest level of technique and a deep dramatic talent. The author and creator of the book was Nina Alovert, a famous photographer and ballet critic.
Film "Gravitation: Variation in Time and Space"

Director: Andrei Severny
Choreographer: Mauro Bigonzetti
USA, 2015, 14 min.

The art film "Gravitation: Variation in Time and Space" focuses on a ballet performance by Russian star Diana Vishneva. It transforms contemporary dance into a vivid abstract fabric, a unique synthesis of ballet, cinema, new technologies, and space research. The black-and-white film was shot with the use of high-tech Phantom Flex 4K movie cameras which allow the viewer to have a detailed view of movements slowed down by 30-40 times. The film can be presented in cinemas, art galleries, and contemporary art museums.

Andrei Severny, director and editor: "Diana's unique talent, mastery, and courage and the state-of-the art filming technique made it possible to reveal the dancer's movements in a completely new way. Bright back lighting and slow-motion shooting focus the viewer's attention on the perfect calligraphic lines and the exquisite choreography by the Italian master Mauro Bigonzetti. The film is an immersion into an unusual visual world of fascinating forms, which are freely born before our eyes. Images of the moon and space from the archives of NASA are turned into metaphors of eternity, loneliness, and the infinity of space, and they force us to rethink the very concept of time."
Film "Tribute to the Teacher"

"MULTIVERSE" book was intended as a platform for those artists who explore and create a new type of art. Whatever their sphere — contemporary dance, design and technology, video art, or architecture — each of them follows the path of art synthesis, which today has become a unique opportunity to reflect the sophistication of the modern world and our knowledge about it. Diana Vishneva's position as a tireless searcher and experimenter rightfully guides her to explore new forms of stage art. "MULTIVERSE" is the first step towards a new type of theater based on the synthesis of arts, opening up fundamentally different opportunities.

The co-authors of "Multiverse" reflect on the nature of art in the 21st century. The book's audience will expand their understanding of the possibilities of art as they read 24 conversations with bright innovators in the contemporary artistic sphere, including choreographers William Forsythe, Carolyn Carlson, Moses Pendleton and Édouard Lock; artists Olafur Eliasson, Bill Viola, AES+F and Miguel Chevalier; architects Toyo Ito and Santiago Calatrava; designers Iris van Herpen and Ross Lovegrove; photographer Nick Knight and ballet dancer Diana Vishneva.

Self-expression through digital forms, the conclusive blurring of boundaries between viewer and performance, the merging of art with science and technologies, existence at the intersection of digital and spiritual worlds… How does art evolve in our rapidly changing world? What will be the theater of the future?

"Multiverse" was authored by Anna Yudina, a writer and curator in the field of architecture and design.

The book was published in a limited number of copies.

Inside the book there is a unique code which opens access to "Gravitation: Variation in Time and Space," an experimental art film by Andrei Severny featuring Diana Vishneva.
Film Director and choreographer: Stepan Lyubimov

Russia, 2022, 30 minutes

Starring: Diana Vishneva, Olga Smirnova, Kristina Shapran, Anastasia Lukina, Zlata Yalynich, Maria Bulanova, Darya Ionova, Maria Khoreva, Anastasia Smirnova, Anastasia Nuykina. Also featuring Vladimir Malakhov, Vladimir Shklyarov, Timur Askerov, and artists from the Mariinsky Theatre.

The film was created by The Diana Vishneva Foundation for the Coordinated Development of Ballet with the support of the Ilim Group in 2022.

A tribute to Lyudmila Kovaleva, teacher, professor of the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet.

The film shows the process of preparation for the evening dedicated to Lyudmila Kovaleva, which took place at the initiative and personal participation of Diana Vishneva in July 2021 on the historical stage of the Mariinsky Theater. The evening brought together graduates of Kovaleva's class, as well as invited soloists.

The film shows fragments of rehearsals and backstage at the Mariinsky Theatre. In the hall, famous ballerinas become students again, catching every word of their mentor.

The second line in the film is a dialogue between Lyudmila Kovaleva and Diana Vishneva. The teacher and ballerina talk about their common path for the first time - the years spent at the Vaganova Academy, working on new roles, friendship and continuing cooperation to this day.

Diana Vishneva and the creators of the film "Tribute to the Teacher" position it as an opportunity to say thank you not only to Lyudmila Kovaleva, but also to every teacher who raises talented children into real ballet artists."


Diana Vishneva award at the Vaganova-Prix international ballet competition, 2016
The first prize was awarded to Anastasia Smirnova (instructor Elena Zabalkanskaya).

The Vaganova-Prix international ballet competition has a long history. It started as an all-Russian contest in 1988. The next competition was held two years later. The third contest held in 1995 became international and since then it maintained its global status in 1998, 2002, 2006, and 2016. Among the prize winners are Ulyana Lopatkina, Svetlana Zakharova, Igor Kolb, Anastasia Kochetkova, Andrian Fadeev, Polina Semionova, Alina Somova, Leonid Sarafanov, and many others.

https://www.vaganovaprix.ru/laureaty
SPECIAL PROJECTS
"Sleeping Beauty Dreams"
The world premiere of "Sleeping Beauty Dreams," an international project starring Diana Vishneva, was presented at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami on December 7 and 8, 2018, and at the Beacon Theatre in New York on December 14 and 15 of that same year. The Russian and American tour of the project started soon after, in September 2019.

"Sleeping Beauty Dreams" is a new genre: Art & Dance Performance, combining dance, music, contemporary art, and revolutionary digital technologies which had never been used on stage before. The idea was conceived and directed by Rem Hass, who gathered a unique international team that worked together for the first time in very close collaboration. Edward Clug, the choreographer, is the artistic ballet director of the Slovene National Theatre Maribor. Some of the characters appear in the form of giant digital avatar projections. Images of these virtual creatures were authored by Tobias Gremmler, a media artist from Hong Kong. The Italian team Fuse equipped the performance with technologies that allowed the virtual characters on stage to enter into a dialogue with Diana Vishneva's heroine. Music for the project was written by Thijs de Vlieger from the Dutch drum and bass band Noisia, known for their interesting experiments in electronic music. The costumes were created by his colleague, designer and artist Bart Hess. He is famed for his unique vision of the human body and for his avant-garde works at the boundary between the real and virtual worlds. Nicholas Palmquist, a teacher and choreographer from the famous New York-based studio Steps on Broadway, assumed the role of the repetiteur. Diana Vishneva's partner in this project was Marcelo Gomes.
Photo exhibition in the Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art, April 2015
The exhibition in the Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art in St. Petersburg featured photos of Diana Vishneva taken by renowned photographer Patrick Demarchelier for Vogue magazine. Today, this photo session can rightly be called historic. The exhibition was timed to coincide with the 20th anniversary of Diana Vishneva's ballet career.
"Movement Never Lies" exhibition, 2011
From June 20 to August 28, 2011, the Museum of Theatrical and Musical Art (St. Petersburg) hosted an exhibit timed to coincide with the 15th anniversary of Diana Vishneva's career on stage. The name of the exhibit, "Movement Never Lies," came from a statement made by a great dancer and choreographer, one of the founders of American modern dance, Martha Graham. "Movement never lies. It is a barometer telling the state of the soul's weather to all who can read it."

The exhibit occupied two halls of the museum, representing a stage and backstage. The idea of showing a path to the stage, a path to success, united the two halls. The exhibit presented Diana not only as a ballerina, but also as an individual, dynamic and genuine, always surprising and never predictable.

A broadcast of Diana's best ballet performances on stages in Russia and abroad was also shown at the Museum, giving viewers access to many ballet masterpieces.

More than 3,000 people visited the exhibit, which was organized by the Diana Vishneva Foundation with the support of the St. Petersburg Committee for Culture and assistance from the Museum of Theatrical and Musical Art, as well as the International Center of Festivals and Celebrations of St. Petersburg.
E-mail: foundation@dianavishneva.com
RUSSIAN FEDERATION, SAINT-PETERSBURG, BOLSHAYA PODYACHESKAYA, 37
2020 DIANA VISHNEVA FOUNDATION FOR THE PROMOTION OF BALLET ART


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