HUNDRED YEARS OF CHOREOGRAPHY

This year we will celebrate the centennial anniversary of the Baku Choreography Academy. Throughout this period, the academy, once a choreographic school and even a ballet studio, has produced a large number of talented and outstanding dancers and choreographers. 

It is generally accepted that the Azerbaijani choreographic school originated in the 1920s. The first mention of a ballet studio, which was supposed to open at the Ali Bayramov Central Club, dates back to 1922. The studio of rhythm and dance with 4-year education was opened in Baku on the initiative of founders of Azerbaijani professional music, Uzeyir Hajibeyov and Muslim Magomayev, and according to the August 18, 1923 resolution of the Commissariat of Public Education of Azerbaijan SSR. A few years earlier, in 1920, the Azerbaijan State Theatre (later the Opera and Ballet Theatre) was formed in Baku. Therefore, it was necessary to open a professional, fundamental training institute for dancers.  

Development

In the beginning, the concert programmes included folk dances only. Tourists started coming to Baku, and the younger generation wanted to attend dance studios to learn dancing professionally. Throughout its history the academy has been renamed several times. Thus, in 1933 the studio was transformed into a ballet school. In 1936, it became the Choreographic College, and then transformed into the Baku Choreographic School providing nine years of training. The teaching staff was initially formed of specialists from St. Petersburg.

Although there was stage choreography in Azerbaijan before 1923, but it had a relatively small choreographic repertoire. For instance, miniatures Azerbaijan and Daghestan to music composed by Uzeyir Hajibeyov performed in Baku in 1920, and the unfinished ballet Deli Mukhtar by Muslim Magomayev. Also, there were dance episodes in opera productions.

Early ballet performances were performed by guest dancers from Moscow, St. Petersburg and other foreign countries. The situation changed in 1920s-30s. The Opera and Ballet Theatre staged ballets Swan Lake (1923), The Red Poppy (1928, 1936), Carmagnola (1933), Don Quixote (1934) and Le Corsaire (1936) and so on.

It is interesting that the number of first graduates of the school was very small. In 1931, only two (!) ballet dancers graduated from the classical department. One of the first graduates was Gamar Almaszade, who was the head of the school for many decades. She was awarded the title of the People's Artist of the Azerbaijani SSR, the People's Artist of the USSR, state prizes and the title of professor of choreography for her great contribution to the development of Azerbaijani ballet.

Masters

According to pro-rector of the Baku Choreography Academy, People's Artist of Azerbaijan Tarana Muradova, the Choreography School remembers many generations of outstanding dancers, who now teach and share their experience all over the world. Tarana-khanum is proud to be an eyewitness to the period when Leyla Vekilova, Khumar Zulfugarova, Valentina Zeynalova, Alibaba Abdullayev, Amina Dilbazi, Roza Jalilova, Afag Melikova taught at the Academy. "These masters have done their best for the flourishing of our choreographic art. We are proud to have learned from such great stars," Muradova said.    

The Baku Choreographic School was Alma-mater for such dazzling ballet artists as K. Batashov, R. Akhundova, M. Mammadov, Y. Kuznetsov, V. Tsignadze, I. Mikhailichenko and others.

Graduates of the school Maqsud Mammadov and Rafiga Akhundova became outstanding choreographers. They staged The Caspian Ballad, The Shadows of Gobustan, The Path of Thunder, Seven Beauties, and choreographic miniatures Azerbaijani Suite, Yally and Mugham at the Opera and Ballet Theatre.

Graduates of the classical department often join the ballet company of the Opera and Ballet Theatre. Graduate of the folk dance department join the State Song and Dance Ensemble. Also, the students later join the ballet companies of the Russian Drama Theatre and the Azerbaijani Musical Theatre, while many of them become teachers and managers running dance and drama studios, forming ensembles for the children and youth.

Despite the difficult situation in almost all spheres of the national art in the late 1980s, when many experienced masters of ballet had to leave the country, especially after the ballet crisis in the same period, the academy did not stop training future stars of the Azerbaijani theatre.

The situation changed after a while. The national leader Heydar Aliyev ordered to increase the salaries of ballet dancers. Real help came after establishing the Board of Trustees and donations from the leading economic entities and companies. As a result, it was possible to stage two premieres, ballets Romeo and Juliet by Tchaikovsky and Arlequinade by Donizetti in 1997 thanks to the efforts of graduates of the choreography school. These two premieres opened a new page in the history of the Azerbaijani choreographic school and ballet.

The only choreography structure in the Caucasus

Young performers, graduates of the school, later became the material used for "moulding" the characters in the new theatrical productions, now the classics of Azerbaijani ballet. These include the modern production on miniatures by Khayyam Mirzazade The White and the Black, ballets Don Quixote by Gara Garayev, Leyli and Majnun also by Garayev. They also restored the reputable productions thanks to the support by leading soloists, graduates of the Baku Choreography Academy.  

Why did the Baku Choreography School become an academy? In fact, the school provided only specialised secondary education, and the graduates had to seek for higher education in other institutions. Therefore, on April 30, 2014, President Ilham Aliyev issued an order establishing the Baku Choreography Academy. Now it offers higher education for various professions, including musicologist, concertmaster, choreographer, musical performer, art historian, theatre historian, director, stage designer and teacher. Graduates can also study for a master's degree, a doctorate or even do researches.  

According to Tarana Muradova, despite the long history of the national choreographic school, the academy must work at the highest level, as it is the new and only such institution in the Caucasus, it is no longer a studio or even a school. "Remembering and honouring our masters, such as Gamer Almaszade and Alibaba Abdullayev, their legacy and skills, we create new contemporary programmes, stage new dances, continue to keep the traditions of the national school of dance". The academy is also active as a scientifical institution, with conducting researches and books published on folk dances and the history of the Azerbaijani ballet. Currently, it is very important to publish works dedicated to the national ballet, such as the Maiden Tower, One Thousand and One Nights, Seven Beauties, Legend of Love to keep the foundations and history of Azerbaijani choreography. Next year the academy will hold the 4th Almaszade International Competition, which will bring together dancers from around the world.

The Baku Choreography Academy celebrates its anniversary with huge achievements and an outstanding contribution to the national art of ballet. It has been a long and glorious path, with many legendary names, distinguished and respected dancers of Azerbaijan still shining on the cultural stage. Musical and choreographic masterpieces were created for them, they were the ones who implemented the ideas of their great contemporaries - directors, composers and stylists. We believe that the invaluable traditions of the Azerbaijani school of ballet, which originated at the Choreography Academy, will be continued and immortalized in new graduates, soloists and choreographers.