The first encyclopedia about national choreography was presented in Astana

Presentation of the encyclopedia “Choreographic Art of Kazakhstan” was held at the Kazakh National Academy of Choreography.

The encyclopedia “Choreographic art of Kazakhstan: personalities, performances, team” is the first extensive reference publication in the history of national choreography, reflecting the process of development of the national choreographic art of Kazakhstan from 1934 to the present day.

The publication managed to collect a holistic picture of the national choreography of Kazakhstan: to show its origins, the main stages of formation and outstanding achievements through the biographies of cultural figures, significant performances, the history of the formation of creative groups and competitive and festival movements.

Now the encyclopedia includes figures who have state awards, they are the laureates of international competitions, but in the future we plan to include all performers who have danced leading roles on stage for more than 20 years. Regarding performances, the book includes national and original performances, but in the future it will also include performances of the classical heritage, which have different versions and options, shared Gulnar Zhumaseitova, the project manager.

The encyclopedia presents the personal and creative data of famous Kazakh ballet soloists and folk dance performers, ballet masters, choreographers, composers, librettists, set designers, artists who took part in the creation of ballet performances on the stage of local theaters and creative groups, teachers and researchers who contributed to the study of national choreography. The book includes articles on 248 personalities, 180 performances, 32 creative groups, 5 educational institutions, 9 choreographic competitions and festivals.

This scientific project was created with the aim of preserving and popularizing the culture and art of Kazakhstan. The encyclopedia consists of 3 sections: “Personalities”, “Performances” and “Team. Competitions and festivals”.  According to the requirements of the encyclopedia biographical and thematic articles in each section are arranged in alphabetical order and published in Kazakh, English and Russian languages.

According to the chief editor of the encyclopedia, Asel Musinova, in total, about 12 people worked on the creation of the encyclopedia over three years. Authors of articles, translators, layout designers and technical workers were also involved. The book was published in 200 copies. Based on the encyclopedia published in printed format, an electronic version of the same name was created – a specialized website in Kazakh, English and Russian languages http://kazchoreography.kz. The site will allow us to constantly expand our audience and make information available to researchers, professionals and choreography lovers both in Kazakhstan and anywhere in the world.

It is worth noting that the book was published as part of the implementation of a grant scientific project of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the basis of the scientific and creative laboratory “ONER Lab” of the Kazakh National Academy of Choreography. The authors were leading teachers, undergraduate and doctoral students of the Kazakh National Academy of Choreography, as well as researchers from other higher educational institutions of Kazakhstan.