In 2003, the Moscow Chamber Ballet "Moscow" showed  the ballet "Waltz of white orchids" by Konstantin Uralsky at the “New Opera Theatre”. The ballet is based on the novels of E.M. Remark and is choreographed  to music by Maurice Ravel and the French chanson. The ballet was filmed. With the assistance of the newspaper "Russian Bazar" Uralsky got the agreement with  Radio Davidson, which gave its premise - "theater room" for the showing of this film. I think this film-ballet will be interesting not only for balletomanes, but to all lovers of theater, as both the interpretation of the theme and the production, in my opinion, is very unusual. We offer the reader an interview in which the choreographer talks about his work - "Waltz of white orchids".

- Why do you come up with the idea of  a ballet on Remarque’s works?

- First, Remarque has nearly always been my most favorite write. Even when a young man I always wanted to create something based on his works on the ballet stage.  Though  I yet was not ready then - either a person or as a choreographer. When I became more experienced, I began to look for an opportunity to carry out my plan.

- What are you interested in Remarque's novels as a choreographer?

- I am captured by the idea of ​​symbols  that appear in the books of Remarque, I wanted materialize them on the stage. I think ballet is a very symbolic art form. Take the most classic ballet - the famous "Swan Lake". After all  - Swans - is a symbol. For me, the most important task was to decide which book I want to put on the stage, which means should be applied. Remarque is a writer unusual, he managed to describe naturalistic death, surgery, trenches, shell exploded body of people, so that reading it was not disgusting ... When I had the opportunity to put the ballet, I realized that I should bring to the surface the  humor, the love for  life, which he has in his books.

- What novels were the basis of the ballet?

- I did not want to retell the stories, I wanted to convey my sense of Remarque, not to illustrate one of his works. The plot of the central love couple  - me, that’s why I did not give them names – just a Man and a Woman, because the various characters in his novels are somewhat similar. Sometimes it seems that the character moved from one book to another, but only under a different name. But basically I created the ballet based mostly on the novels "Arch of Triumph" and "Life on loan", i.e. location - the pre-war Europe. But at the heart of the ballet there are different motives from different novels of Remarque.

- How did such images as Death (the Elegant), clowns, Mime appeared in the ballet?

- Clowns, for example ... All Remarque’s books are full of  fun: heroes go to restaurants, cabarets, they are drinking wine - all despite the tragic situation. Remarque loved the life as it is today, and knew how to enjoy it all: this bottle of wine, this meeting, this woman. I wanted to bring out the theme  of joyful perception of the world despite the tragic atmosphere of the pre-war Europe and the tragic collisions of heroes’ life. Where did the clowns turn up from? In the "Arc de Triomphe" there  is the moment when the hero is sitting in a bar and he takes a glass from a former circus performer. This is not an important moment in the novel, but it has infected me with the idea to present clown performances in ballet. Clowns - is an entertaining ensemble. And death? Death, in my opinion, is one of the main characters of novels by Remarque. Death is present on every page of his books. His characters live with the understanding of the inevitability of death. And build their lives next to death. Without the image of death the symbolism of  novels would be lost. I gave the Death the name - "the Elegant", since death in the books is related to the doctors. In the novel "Life on loan" for example, there is the image of a doctor at pulmonary hospital: elegant,  in a white robe, a cold man who invites to his office to talk about his conclusion on the disease, often -a tragic on. But life goes on, and it has humor and fun in it.  And I had to find a counterpoint to death  - a symbol of eternal life and joy. Thus was the  image of Mime. He goes from one epoch to another, from one war to another, from one conflict to another. Now happy, then crying, now adapting  to the situation...

- Did you begin to think about the ballet before you have a specific opportunity to implement it, or first got a concrete opportunity to work with the theater and you then you started to look for the story of the ballet?

- I thought of  the ballet long time ago. I always have dance imapges to music and books. Listening to music I can sometimes see at a glance the whole scene. But I stop myself from detailed designs, because the choreographer can complete his plan only in the rehearsal hall. Alas, I've always envied artists who can work alone with a canvas ... When I met with the head  of the theater "Ballet Moscow", I already had this  ballet in my mind. But I prefer to work out when I know exactly who is going to dance, what opportunities there are in the company. On the one hand, I came to the theater with an idea, on the other hand - I continued to work it out only when I knew with whom I was going to work.

- And how did  you choose the music?

- I can not really answer. I was said that no composer can be invited as there is  no money. I began to search for music, how happened so that I felt a connection between Remarque and Ravel I can not explain. I do not like to "mix" the composers, in the ballet I have nothing but the music of Ravel and the French chanson. Ravel's waltz was as if the leitmotiv  of the action.

- Why is the waltz of "white orchids"?

- A white orchid is a mysterious flower of love and death - it can be seen in many of the Remarque’s works  at critical moments. For example, in the novel "Life on loan": the heroine Joan orders overseas a branch of orchids to put in the coffin of her friend, who died of tuberculosis (she herself  is in the hospital with the same disease.) She puts the flower on the coffin of her friend before it is  carried into the crematorium. From the crematorium the branch of orchids is given a flower shop at the crematorium, where it is bought by a hero and is send to Joan. Joan throws it out of the window  and flower lies on the white snow. This is a very symbolic image of the two worlds. This is a completed symbolic circle, and the circle for me is important. The development of relations of heroes goes in circles and beyond. He is a racer, he does permanent l circles. So for me there was a theme of the waltz.

- Well, you've come to the company, you saw it. Did the company with which you are acquainted, influenced the creation of the ballet?

- Absolutely. My style of work - is work with the actor. In conjunction with the work of the choreographer and an  actor there can be born something important. Not to mention the technical possibilities of the performers that should be considered too.

- How did the company accept you?

- When I came to this collective, I was not in a very simple situation. On the one hand, I  come from a Russian ballet school, I was with the Russian ballet for a long time not only as a dancer but also as a person who started to look for something new in dance. My search led me to the West, where I finally grew up, came to a deeper understanding of my profession. When I came to the theater, on the one hand, I was perceived as a Russian, not a  Western choreographer.  On the other hand - I am a western choreographer. I used to come to the studio as a leader, who involves everyone in a creative atmosphere, process. But I faced with the fact that people come to the studio to work: they had two hours of rehearsal time - "Here you show us the movements, and we will learn." People came to spend their working hours. I tried to fight it, tried to inspire their creative process, in the end I managed to do it  even with many artists of corps de ballet. I felt their  interest, I found companions.

- How can you explain the  lack of understanding of western style by Russian dancers?

- That's a funny example. I did a duet  of central characters, which was highly evaluated even by those who did  not accept the ballet in general. I did it in a Moscow with well-trained dancers, who told me: it is impossible. I acquiesced. But my assistant Chris remembered everything and later I have restored the duo in America with my dancers in the original version. Today, the duo is danced with all supports and full pirouettes which our - much better trained dancers couldn’t do. A curious fact - a dancer’s  psychology: we do as  we have been taught, we cannot do it another way.

- And you yourself come to the rehearsal room with the already finished material ready to show or you have to refurbishing something  during the rehearsals?

- I do not think it's right to choreograph for dancer right  in the studio - to come unprepared. When I came  to the rehearsals with Yuri Grigorovich, he was not only ready with the material, but sometimes he even had  two or three variants. This is respect to the dancer - to come prepared. I also demand that the dancers come to me ready. I make my chorography, but sometimes you have to change the course of things, that's fine.

- Do you consider yourself an heir of the Russian ballet?

- No doubt, I am the representative of the Russian ballet school, I grew up on the best of its traditions. Russia of XX century is rich in brilliant artists, choreographers, and I am proud that I - a native of the Russian ballet school of Petipa, Gorsky, Lavrovsky, Grigorovich. I was interested to analyze  Eifman’s  Ballet,  Grigorovich’s, but for me it was important  to find myself and not repeat them. I was interested in western ballet, it has enriched my knowledge. In recent years I  have produced  a few full-length story productions, in which, I think I found a new form of ballet. But I was looking for this form in the traditions of the Russian ballet.

- Your ballet - how close it is to what it  was in your ideas?

- In general, I was pleased. On stage I saw something that was close to my idea. But I think any director can not get what he's up to. But the information that I wanted to give the audience is passed by the theater.

- Tell us about the designer.

- Nikita Tkachuk is the designer of the performance - my old friend, I did most of the performances with him. From the very first  two ballets  which we did together, we felt that we understand each other, trust each other. In scenography I always want to see not just decoration. For me the scenery on stage  is an active element, so in my performances there is a lot of moving scenery. Nikita realizes this and clearly feels the emotional basis of the ballet. I think he was able to, on the one hand, recreate the atmosphere of the pre-war Europe, on the other - the whole  design is so universal  that is easily understood today.

- What would you like to tell me about the ballet that I have not asked?

- Well, first, I would like to see this show go. In addition, there are a number of ballets, which are known as a cliché, staged around the world a million times: "Carmen," "Romeo and Juliet" and even "Swan Lake." At one time Lavrovsky and Prokofiev took the drama of Shakespeare and created undying musical-choreographic masterpiece. But they were not looking for something popular - they were the first to create  "Romeo and Juliet". I do not want to the ballet that everyone knows,  I want to make the performance which will be known to all  after I did it. This is an important issue today for many of my colleagues. Let's keep the "Swan Lake", but let's create the products, which we will try to bring as close as possible to the standards of the past. I tried to express in this ballet something that is dear to me, and to arise in the audience something new. When creating the "Waltz of white orchids" I set myself that very task. The performances in Moscow were all  the sold-outs. Of course there were and will be the audience who did not accept this performance. But it caused a reaction, and this is important to me.