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For many years she has scrupulously and zealously devoted herself to preserving the legacy of the outstanding American choreographer, recreating his ballets with leading companies and giving lectures about his technique.
“I do not try to teach dancers specific steps or sequences of steps, but rather the art of expressing human nature through movement. The Moor’s Pavane is an exquisite ballet accompanied by wonderful music, and sumptuous costumes for the dancers. The use of traditional dance in this ballet is a fascinating but difficult task for a choreographer. The idea behind José Limón’s ballet is man’s rise and fall. Despite the fact that we can foresee our own death, we resist it. That is the power of humanism. It is an archetypal story of love and betrayal, which is why it is so comprehensible to each member of the audience.
Working with Farukh Ruzimatov has been a great joy for me. I remember him coming to rehearsals, listening to the music, then refining not the movements but, as it were, the very perception of the artistic concept. It was like the process of tuning a musical instrument. I rarely say this, but I believe José Limón would have been very pleased with this approach. The essence of his method was that he gave dancers roles on the basis of their own perception, of the people they were.
When I came to the premiere of The Moor’s Pavane at the Mikhailovsky Theatre in November 2008, I saw the wonderful union of modern American choreography and classical Russian dance. The Mikhailovsky production shows that art has no boundaries, and that great artists can speak the same language, regardless of the time that separates them. All the dancers in the ballet have a fine understanding of the choreographer's ideas and make up a brilliant cast”.
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Idea Fix