We don’t choose the places where we are born. But wherever we are born, at any point on the globe, we encounter the culture and traditions of the people inhabiting that land. Growing up with these cultures, customs, and traditions, we carry them into our lives. Our cultures form the universe of us, the people of Earth. It is precisely in the diversity and exchange of cultures that the strength of our universe lies. Why? Because, despite certain characteristic traits of nationalities, we are all very much alike—especially in our feelings and desires. As we develop, we create a vivid and fascinating palette for our universe.

Where does art come from? Painting, singing, dancing… We may never fully answer this question, just as we can’t answer many other questions that arise in life. But we can take joy in this mysterious and captivating world. From the desire to express themselves and their emotional state, people have formed different types of art, drawing on the cultures of peoples from various parts of our planet. This is not a history lesson—it is the life of our universe, the creativity of the peoples of our planet.

Now I will speak about something very dear to me: theater! Emerging in Ancient Greece, the art of theater has conquered the world. Theater has united many directions of art and national traditions and cultures. This has been and remains its foundation. Theatrical art, developing like all other forms of art, has created unique theatrical styles and traditions.

It is not by chance that we proudly speak of Russian poetry, the Russian school of painting, and the Russian school of music. Russian theater! This doesn’t mean it is superior. It speaks of the amazing, unique development of the arts in our country, created by talented writers, artists, musicians, and directors, rooted in the cultures and traditions of a multinational country.

The Russian school of acting, the Russian ballet theater… From an early age, I was introduced to the world of theater. I attended performances with my parents, not only in Moscow’s theaters but also those of touring companies from other cities and countries. Often, these productions were different from what I was used to seeing. I remember how my father, who always proudly proclaimed himself a disciple of the Vakhtangov theater school, watched touring performances with great interest, even those in foreign languages. At home, he would discuss these performances with keen attention to the characteristics of each theater, the acting culture, and the directors’ approaches. He would compare how the same Shakespeare was staged and performed here, and how he was presented by a touring theater from England. How interesting the staging was in the performances of a Parisian touring theater. I saw how actors and directors from English theater spoke with great interest and respect about Shakespearean productions in Russia and the great Russian school of directing. And this is just one example. How many more are there! We cannot imagine the world without Kabuki theater, London’s Globe, the Comédie-Française, or Broadway theaters. Each with their absolutely different and unique cultures. And this is our wealth—the wealth of our universe.

The Russian ballet theater. “Swan Lake,” “The Sleeping Beauty,” “Raymonda,” “Don Quixote”—skipping through the years—“Romeo and Juliet,” “Cinderella,” “Spartacus,” and many, many more ballets that entered the world through the Russian ballet theater.

With the same pride, traditions of their ballet theater are spoken of in Denmark, England, and France. The unique theater created by George Balanchine in the USA, which became American ballet. All this is the wealth of the ballet universe. Today, with the ease of exchanging art and theaters around the world hosting performances from various theaters, with different directors and performers traveling globally, it is crucial not to lose one’s own foundation and uniqueness. 

Many theaters are creating foundations to preserve the heritage of their repertoire. For example, the purity of Balanchine’s or Bournonville’s style, regardless of how familiar it is to you, is a matter of preserving their choreography, of preserving Balanchine’s theater or the style of the Danish Royal Ballet. And it is very important to me to see that performers in any theater in the world execute choreography while strictly maintaining the style, without attempting to alter it to fit themselves.

Theater cannot remain stagnant. Theater evolves, changes with the flow of time, preserving the best, absorbing the new, and reflecting the culture and tradition of its school. It is in the students of this school that new talents and creative leaders emerge, who will bring a new wave of development in art. The desire of directors and producers to gather popular elements from around the world, while forgetting the foundations on which their own theater was developed, leads to the loss of its essence, the uniqueness of its culture and school. The loss of its backbone! A theater without a backbone cannot survive for long.

We love to speak of the greatness of our Motherland. To speak proudly of our achievements. But, unfortunately, we also love to destroy. And then, blaming someone in the past, we begin to restore. Only what is restored comes with great losses. Perhaps destruction is one of our traditions, but it certainly does not help our culture, nor does it add to our pride in the traditions of a multinational country.

© Konstantin Uralsky