SAMRUK MODERN DANCE THEATRE

Biography

The “Samruk” modern dance theatre first declared itself in 1998 as a private company “M-Dance” at the “Dance Beehive” modern dance festival at the A. V. Seleznev Almaty Choreographic School. In 2003, the “Samruk” modern dance theatre received the State status and became part of the “Almaty Auenderi” under the department of culture of the Almaty Akimat.

The first line up, who danced from 1998 to 2003: Elena Ezau, Albina Dodarkhodzhayeva, Natalya Korchagina, Ruslan Takirbasov, Ersain Mukayev. Later, new artists came: Baurzhan Kosmanov, Raushan Shermakhanbetova, Assel Abakayeva, Zhanna Orlova, Georgy Yashchenko, Yuri Selantiyev. Sanym Zhanibekova, Eldiyar Daniyarov, Artyom Ten, Oleg Pak, Erkin and Karina Utepovs, Nazgul Kistafina, Diana Khamis, Laura Ermentayeva, Alexey Velizhanin joined later.

Since 2015, a new generation of artists has emerged, which included Sabyrzhan Pridonov, Gulzhanat Kulzhabek, Sabina Paius, Adlet Tamenov.

The repertoire of the “Samruk” Dance Theatre includes performances, staged by domestic and foreign choreographers: “The House of Bernarda Alba” choreographer Josef Katsuorek; “Aranjuez” (2002) choreographer Gulnara Adamova, “Zheztyrnak” (2004)choreographer Gulnara Adamova, “Jeu de cartes” (2004) staged by Elena Ezau, “Orpheus” (2004)- choreographer Albina Dodarkhodzhaeva, “The Bald Soprano” (2007) choreographer Natalya Novikova, “Jazz Cafe” (2008)choreographer Gulnara Adamova, “My First Autumn” (2009) choreographer Oleg Pak, “11. Reflections on the Passage of Time" (2011) choreographer Paul Gordon Emerson, "Exicus" (2012) choreographer Gulmira and Gulnara Gabbasovs, "Crossroads" (2016) choreographer Albina Dodarkhodzhayeva, "Falling into the Sea" (2013) choreographer Paul Gordon Emerson, "Hourglass" (2010) choreographer Christopher Morgan, "UPLIFT" (2012) choreographer Rebecca Rice, "Waiting Room" (2012) choreographer P. Emerson; “Procrastinators and Escapists” (2016) choreographer Alexander Gurvich, “Egoland - I love... not you!” (2018) choreographer Alexander Gurvich, “Effect of pains” (2021) choreographer Tomiris Mettybayeva, “Touch of art“ (2021) choreographer Tomiris Mettybaeva, “Counterpoint” (2022) choreographer Timur Zagidullin. And also more than forty miniatures and concert numbers such as “On the Other Side”, “Dissonance”, “Rod ma Tyr”, “Andantino of Scoundrels”, “Adiemus”, “Spiders”, “DNA Fandoms”, “On the Edge”, “From Within", "Farewell on the Milky Way", "The Draughtsman", "Loneliness", "Temptation", "Illusions", "Red Whisper", "Rain Shaman", "Brawler", "Tree of Life", "Falling", "Thirst”, “Moonlight”, etc.

During the years of its creative activity, the “Samruk” ModernDance Theatre had joint projects with foreign companies such as Island Moving Company (USA) (leader Miki Olsen), E-company (leader Paul Gordon Emerson). The company’s tour map includes countries such as Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Germany, Russia, Austria, South Korea, America, Belarus and, of course, Kazakhstan.

Over the years, the “Samruk” Modern Dance Theatre has taken part in various festivals and competitions in contemporary dance both in Kazakhstan and abroad. These are domestic festivals: “Dance Beehive” (1998); "Trans-Art" (2000); "Pink Mane" (2004); I, II, III Central Asian Festival of Modern Dance (2007, 2008, 2009). Festivals abroad: Baltic Festival of Modern Dance (Lithuania, Vilnius 1999, 2000); World Folk Performance - Gyeongju (Türkiye, Istanbul 2013); Mask Festival under the auspices of UNESCO (South Korea, 2015); Transcontinental tour of Turkic culture, organized by the International Turksoy Organization (Turkey, Ankara, USA, Washington 2016); International Festival of Modern Dance IFMC (Belarus, Vitebsk, 2022).

Theatre artists are the Laureates and Prizewinners of the International competitions. Alexey Velizhanin and Elena Ezau are the winners of the I degree of the World Dance Show Championship in Italy, Germany, and South Korea. Tomiris Mettybayeva and Alimzhan Kairat are the Laureates of the III degree of the R. V. Zakharov International Competition of Young Choreographers “Maria” (Russia, Moscow, 2022). Mettybayeva Tomiris is the Laureate of the II degree of the VII International Competition “Orleu” in the category solo, modern choreography.