Bashkir Opera ballerina wins first place at All-Russian Ballet Competition

On the eve of International Dance Day, the All-Russian Competition of Ballet Dancers and Choreographers finished in Yoshkar-Ola, Republic of Mari El. Young performers from across the country took part in the prestigious event.

Razilya Murzakova, a ballerina with the Bashkir State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater, won first place in the senior solo category. She impressed the jury with a performance that combined classical variations and a contemporary piece titled If Mozart Lived in Kazan, choreographed by People's Artist of Bashkortostan Rinat Abushakhmanov.

Murzakova is a graduate with honors of the Rudolf Nureyev Bashkir Choreographic College, where she studied under class of Lyudmila Shapkina, People's Artist of the Republic of Bashkortostan. She began her professional career with the Bashkir State Opera and Ballet Theater and is already a two-time laureate of the prestigious Arabesque competition. Among her notable roles is Mekhmene Banu in Arif Melikov’s The Legend of Love, which she performed in Almaty, Kazakhstan. She is currently preparing to dance the role of Aegina in Spartacus.

The artistic director of the competition was Yuri Grigorovich, People's Artist of the USSR, choreographer of the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia, and professor. The jury featured prominent ballet figures, including Leonora Kuvatova—People's Artist of Russia and Bashkortostan, and artistic director of the Bashkir State Opera and Ballet Theater’s ballet company.

The award ceremony for the Classical Dance category winners, along with a gala concert, was held on the stage of the Mari Opera and Ballet Theatre.

As previously reported by Bashinform, the Bashkir State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre will premiere Alexander Glazunov’s Raymonda at the end of May, in a version staged by Yuri Grigorovich. This will mark the legendary Russian choreographer’s eighth production at the Bashkir theater.

Author: Leila Aralbaeva