Sergey Mikely’s ‘Kupalle’: A Magical Journey Through Belarusian Traditions

Sergey Mikely’s ‘Kupalle’: A Magical Journey Through Belarusian Traditions

This season, the ballet troupe of the Belarusian State Academic Musical Theater has been generously delighting its audience. The premiere of the ballet “Kupalle” and the return of the choreographic performance “The Cherry Orchard” to the stage, which will take place on the eve of Kupalle, on the evening of July 6th. The ballet based on Chekhov’s play was Sergey Mikely’s graduation performance in the year he graduated from the Academy of Music (class of the renowned choreographer Valentin Yelizaryev) and became the first major production for the Musical Theater, of which Mikely is currently the chief choreographer of the classical ballet troupe.

The Magic of ‘Kupalle’

The premiere of the ballet “Kupalle” took place in April, and in just two premieres, it gathered such positive press and warm audience reviews that we couldn’t stay away and attended another performance on June 27th. The Musical Theater was packed to capacity! The interest in the performance on the theme of one of the oldest and most beloved folk holidays in Belarus is more than understandable. However, this also presented the complexity of the task for the producer, as he ventured into a field where everyone knows how to celebrate Kupalle, what should be included in its ritual, where to look for the “Paparać-Kvetka” (fern flower), and how to properly jump over the bonfire…

Turning a folk holiday rooted in paganism into a ballet worthy of the stage of an academic theater, creating not a pseudo-folk craft but a work of art, is an extremely difficult task for a choreographer. It seems that Sergey Mikely and his team have succeeded! In any case, the audience did not let the artists leave the stage for a long time and generously showered the creators of the ballet with cries of “Bravo!”.

A Fairy Tale from the First Minute

From the first minute, the action of the performance immerses us in a fairy tale, the atmosphere of “the legend of ancient times.” Three figures of ancient deities embodying the elements of Water, Fire, and Earth are so colorful and frightening at the same time that the viewer gets a considerable dose of goosebumps in the first minutes of the action. Each deity will present its chapter in the performance and accompany the rituals dedicated to it in the large cycle of the Kupalle holiday. We would like to note the work of the costume designer Ilya Podkopayev, who created very impressive, multi-layered outfits for the mythical deities. Against the background of their brightness, the costumes of the people celebrating Kupalle are minimalistic, repeating human skin and creating the effect of something real, alive, and vulnerable in contrast to the extravagance, complexity, unreality, and eternity of the deities.

Scenography and Choreography

The scenography for the performance—very subtle, not distracting from the dance but setting only the most important accents on the practically empty stage—was created by the artist of the Musical Theater ballet, Evgeny Yermolovich. This is not the first experience of the dancer as a production designer: he also authored the decorations in Mikely’s contemporary ballet “Sub*Conscious.” In “Kupalle,” following the choreographer’s idea to combine two worlds on one stage—the real (physical world of people) and the fairy-tale world of mythical deities—the scenography of Evgeny Yermolovich creates this connecting vertical. All the decorations visually connect the earth and the sky, serving as bridges between the two spaces: these are tree trunks reaching upwards, and a river flowing upwards, carrying wreaths into the sky, and a bonfire, which in the performance is an endless pillar of fire. On the other hand, in such minimalistic decorations and costumes, nothing distracts the viewer from the main reason we go to the ballet—choreography.

Sergey Mikely, as the choreographer, masterfully works with the entire space of the stage and with every beat of the music: he has no gaps either in the narrative or in the choreography—the action of the performance is continuous, although divided not only into separate semantic scenes but also into two acts. The intermission does not break the unity of the impression at all—the curtain opens, and the very first scene of the second act makes you gasp with beauty! The ballerinas, sitting on the shoulders of the dancers, merge into one silhouette—these are either ancient giants, or mythical creatures with horns, or bird-people. A work of art always leaves room for various associations and interpretations by the viewer, which may even differ from the author’s intent.

Following the Kupalle ritual step by step, Sergey Mikely, through the climax of the entire performance, which will occur in the frenzied dances after the sacrifice to the Earth, leads the audience towards the sun. As in the celebration of Kupalle, the final point of action in the ballet will be the meeting of the dawn. This very light, bright, lyrical finale is like liberation, purification, to which every participant of Kupalle aspires. And at the same time, it is a very bold move by the director, who leaves the end of his work seemingly open.

Despite the very strong, rhythmic, pulsating music written for the ballet by composer Elizaveta Loban, who turned to the musical heritage of the Belarusian Polesie, the performance leaves a very light, bright aftertaste. This ballet does not tire or overwhelm; you want to come to it again to experience the thrill of the captivating magic of the stage mystery and enjoy the synchronous, rhythmic, almost ritual dance of the ballet. “Kupalle” is definitely not a seasonal performance tied to the calendar cycle or time of year. Sergey Mikely managed to create a distinctly Belarusian ballet that subtly indicates that in our ancient holidays, indigenous beliefs, folk customs, and traditions, real art is hidden.

Interview with Sergey Mikely

Sergey Mikely: “The first thing I do when starting a new production is fall in love.”

You said that the idea to stage the ballet “Kupalle” came to you from the realization that there is no national ballet in the repertoire of the Belarusian State Academic Musical Theater—and therefore, it had to appear. But why did you choose Kupalle as the theme for the production?

Sergey Mikely: “This is a very significant, iconic holiday for Belarusian national culture. It has come to us from pagan times and to this day in our 21st century is widely celebrated in Belarus. Not only has the tradition of the holiday been preserved: in the cultural heritage of Belarusians, there are many songs, dances, plays, and literary works in which this summer solstice holiday is mentioned and described. There is a Kupalle scene in the production of the musical “Sofia Golshanskaya,” which is staged in our theater. There is a Kupalle scene in the ballet “Vitovt,” staged at the Belarusian Bolshoi Theater by choreographer Yuri Troyan. But there has not yet been a Belarusian ballet entirely dedicated to this holiday. So, it can be said that the idea of such a production has long been in the air; our creators have turned to it more than once, but it has not been realized. And I wanted to try to stage such a ballet. Moreover, the Kupalle ritual seems to me to be very “dance-like,” filled with plasticity, music, choreography…

In the choreography of your ballet, I saw not only references to folk dances but also a deep immersion in the ancient traditions and rituals of the Belarusian people. How did you manage to combine these elements into a single whole?

For more information about the Belarusian State Academic Musical Theater, visit their official website: Musical Theatre.