Grant projects

Registration number: IRN AP09260151

Today, culture is one of the most important development priorities of any State. “The existence of an efficient infrastructure of cultural institutions, as well as mechanisms to ensure the preservation and enrichment of the national and world cultural heritage, the creation, transmission and consumption of quality cultural property is the criterion of the state’s success” – it is stated in the Concept of Cultural Policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Considering the great need for a new conceptual vision for the development of culture in general and the ballet area in particular, integrated project research of choreographic arts in the Republic of Kazakhstan from 1934 to 2020 project will contribute to an objective assessment of its past and current level of development and significance in the context of the global development of choreography. The assessment received will, in turn, serve to formulation of further effective ways to develop national, classical and modern choreography in Kazakhstan, the result of which should be creating competitive performances in each direction, raising the level of education of the new generation of dancers, ballet masters, conductors and artists, as well as formation of new professional companies.

The printed and electronic versions of the study prepared in Kazakh, Russian and English will be in demand by domestic and foreign researchers of ballet and dance art. The Internet site will make the received information available anywhere in the world for researchers, professionals and art admirers of neighboring countries. In Russian – due to the strong historical cultural relations between the national choreography and the Russian-speaking community. The English version of the content – for an audience abroad – due to the ever-growing interest in Kazakhstan as a whole, as well as in the Kazakh ballet school, the art of highly professional dancers and choreographic collectives that have proved their worth on the international stage in recent years.

This project is aimed to study and preserve Kazakh culture, namely the outstanding and important names of performers and choreographers, the best productions, famous theatres. The innovation of the project is that, for the first time, information on companies and individuals will be collected and systematized in the form of an encyclopedia, which is intended to facilitate the dignified presentation of the achievements of national choreography abroad.

The realization of this project will allow interested communities and professionals to become acquainted with the choreographic art of Kazakhstan and to learn about national identity of the Kazakh ballet theatre and dance. The results of the study will make it possible to demonstrate to the international cultural community the history of Kazakhstan art till present moment and modern art in its entirety and diversity.

The goal of the project: to reveal the richness and variety of Kazakhstani choreographic art as a complex of systematized results of scientific studies on the history of ballet and dance art of Kazakhstan from 1934 to 2020, which will be presented in the “Encyclopedia “Choreography of Kazakhstan” printed and electron edition in 3 languages and in the same name constantly updated specialized website.

In the printed and digital versions of the encyclopedia, the personal data of the outstanding ballet and folk dancers, choreographers, composers, librettists, stage designers, conductors who took part in the creation of ballet productions on the stage of national theatres and ensembles will be collected; the history of the creation of national performances, formation and creative activity of well-known professional theaters and companies, festival and competition movement in the field of choreographic arts in Kazakhstan will be systemized.

The project will:

• reconstruct the complete professional biographies of the outstanding Kazakh ballet masters of the national choreographic art from the earliest years until 2020;
• reconstruct the complete professional portfolios of choreographers, composers, libretto authors, stage designers who were and are creators of ballet performances and gala productions of local dance companies;
• search and collect archival material on theaters and ensembles in the State Archive of Cinematographic Documents of the Republic of Kazakhstan, in the personal archives of creative intellectuals and in the State archives of the Russian Federation, by mutual agreement of the parties, for use in articles of the encyclopedia;
• re-establish complete information on the premier dates of each performance, production team, first performers of the main parts and the premiere shows;
• select photo materials for the print and digital versions of the encyclopedia, restore unique archival photographs for illustrating individual articles of the encyclopedia;
• prepare separate historical and art essays about each company and a national ballet performance in order to systematize the significant stages in the development of the choreographic arts of Kazakhstan in the 1934-2020’s;
• launch and develop internet site «Choreography of Kazakhstan» with creative biographies, photos and archival recordings of performances with leading dancers and companies in order to popularize achievements of national choreography and to access to the world cultural space.

The methodology of the study will be based on an integrated approach. Specifically, the method of art historical analysis makes possible to study the choreographic art of the Republic of Kazakhstan in its development; the structural and functional method facilitates the streamlining of information on the formation and development of professional ballet companies in the Republic of Kazakhstan, the combination of stable relations and interrelationships among them, their roles influencing each other, and the role of individual creators in the development of a community; the method of content analysis of scientific works on theatre, ballet and art sciences, as well as publications on domestic choreography in the mass media collects and synthesize disparate information about works of choreographers and theaters;  the method of observation serves to provide objective and creative characteristics to contemporary performers and individual groups; the logical method will help to reconstruct the history of choreographic art of the Republic of Kazakhstan and systematize the collected information in an encyclopedic publication. These techniques are currently being used by the art historians in the world’s leading scientific centers, and the chosen methodology is in line with modern research methods.

Research team and project management
Project manager Zhumaseitova G.T. – a highly qualified theater expert specializing in choreography, candidate of art history, professor, and head of the department of art history and art management. She is one of the leading experts in the history of theatrical art in Kazakhstan. She has significant experience in research on the topic of the project, administration of the scientific process and specific scientific developments for the implementation of this project: author of 3 monographs on the history of ballet theater, co-author of a textbook on choreography in the Kazakh and Russian languages, one of the authors of 20 collective scientific monographs, scientific supervisor 3 completed grant projects of the Ministry of Education and Science of RK.

She is one of the authors and executive secretary of the first fundamental work «History of the Art of Kazakhstan» in 3 volumes in Kazakh and Russian languages, 100-volume Code «Babalar sozi», published within the framework of «Madeni Mura». As a member of the National Committee for the Intangible Cultural Heritage of the National Commission for UNESCO. Zhumaseitova has extensive experience in participating in joint international projects and conducting analytical work on the current cultural process. She is a member of the International Association of Theater Critics, member of the Union of Theater Workers of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Also she has publications in foreign scientific journals with a non-zero impact factor and more than 20 articles in journals recommended by Committee for Control in the Sphere of Education and Science.

Asel Musinova is Honored Worker of the Republic of Kazakhstan, candidate of philological sciences. She has extensive experience in the study of choreography, problems of national culture. She is the author of the concept and script of individual programs of the TV project «Legends and Myths of the Opera» on the TV channel «Madeniet», author of 1 monograph, 1 textbook, 1 book-album and reference book «Choreographers of Kazakhstan» as a compiler and author of sections. Currently he is the director of the Institute of New Educational Technologies of Al-Farabi KazNU.

Gulnara Saitova is candidate of art history, professor, honored artist of the Republic of Kazakhstan. She specializes in the study of Uyghur and Korean dance art, has experience in participating in scientific projects. She is a member of the Slavic intercultural research group and is conducting research on the topic «Research of folkloric dances of Turkic-speaking peoples». She is currently a professor at the Kazakh National Academy of Choreography.

Toygan Izim is candidate of art history, professor, honored artist of the Kazakh SSR. For many years she has been researching the development of Kazakh dance, the creative activity of the Altynai ensemble. She is author of several monographs and textbooks and is currently a professor at the Kazakh National Academy of Choreography.

Aigul Kulbekova is a doctor of pedagogical sciences, professor of art history, culture worker of the Republic of Kazakhstan, has more than 130 scientific publications, including a textbook on Kazakh dance (1), textbooks (2), monographs (3), scientific articles and reports on scientific and practical conferences, 18 copyright certificates on the problems of pedagogy of choreography, the history of Kazakh dance. Currently she is a professor of the Department of Pedagogy of the Kazakh National Academy of Choreography.

Dilara Shomaeva is a Master of Arts, currently studying PhD by the educational program «Art History». She has a professional choreographic education, dances in the troupe of the Astana Ballet theater, at the same time conducts educational excursions for the audience «Secrets of the Behind the Scenes» in the theater, has experience in preparing texts for programs and librettos for ballets.

Serik Zhunussov is a master of Arts, historian. Managing editor of the scientific journal “Arts Academy”. Has publications in scientific journals in Kazakhstan, neighboring countries.

Saya Rakhymberdieva is a 2nd year graduate student of the Kazakh National Academy of Choreography.

Ayazhan Zhandaulet is a specialist of the accounting and reporting department

Articles within the project:
Samal Bakirova, Toigan Izim, Lyudmila Nikolayeva, Gulnara Saitova – Choreographic art features: Creative concepts and innovations in teaching
Dilara Shomayeva – Carmen and Salome: the theme of “femme fatale” in the ballets of Mukaram Avakhri