DESPITE two centuries of political non-existence as part of the former Soviet Union, the centuries-old Georgian dance history has survived and flourished.
On Friday, September 24, the GEORGIAN STATE DANCE COMPANY will perform at the Newcastle Civic Theatre, presenting the beautiful and original folk dances that represent Georgian life.
Divided into ritual and ceremonial, work, game and comic dances, the ancient dances were revived by theatre designer SIMON VIRSALADZE, through ballet dancers ILIKO SUKHISHVILI and NINO RAMSHVILLI. Sukhishvili and Ramshvilli became inseparable partners both on stage and in life.
Iliko Sukhishvili died in 1985, but as the choreographer and matriarch of the GEORGIAN NATIONAL BALLET Ramshvilli continued to develop and grow the reputation of Georgian dancing internationally.
'We are a company steeped in tradition, but we are not afraid to tread new ground and that, after all, is what dance is all about,' she said.
Designer Virsaladze has infused the traditional dances with his own views of ballet which occupy the fringes of Georgian traditional art and modernism. TE
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