Heidby Ratmansky Dance Style

Alexei Ratmansky was born on August 27, 1968 in Leningrad Russia (Alexei Ratmansky, 2016.). He started dancing at the young age of four to the sound of music, Alexei moved very amicably to the musical beats. At the age of ten he was enrolled in what was known as the Bolshoi Ballet but is now the Moscow State Academy of Choreography (Alexei Ratmansky, 2016). He and his classmates had grown to have tremendous respect for their teacher, Pyotr Pestov. He can recall how classes were like, he compared it to wartime. He explained the brutal teachings when Pestov would demand that his students hold a ninety degree position with one leg like an arabesque. The music would stop and he would go on to tell a story. The first person to break position would then be dismissed. The students knew that the strictness of their teacher only meant that he was very serious of his work. ( Acocella, Joan. 2011)
His education of ballet
started in Moscow (Alexei Ratmansky:choreographer, 2001). Ratmansky was limited to the different types of ballet, he mainly learned classic Soviet ballet due to spending majority of his school years as being a dancer in the Soviet school of ballet. Russian seasons is considered as Ratmansky’s calling card since it relates to basic dramas of life. Some would consider Ratmansky’s faithfulness to the old steps mark him as a conservative. After his contract expired with Bolshoi, he signed with A.B.T which is known to be the rivals of Bolshoi (Acocella, Joan. 2011). For about three years, he took a position in Canada which is the least known ballet influential country and performed with the Winnipeg Royal Ballet. His partner was Evelyn Heart and she had a major influence on him with ballet. They both danced together in performances such as Giselle and Esmeralda. She influenced his aspects of ballet and directed him in a different course of ballet. Being limited to one style of ballet really limited his knowledge and experience of ballet, the ballet of the 20th century in the west was completely out of his comfort zone. Ratmansky claimed that when he arrived he felt out of place, Heart showed him that it is possible to dance classic ballet in a modern type of way. In 1989, Ratmansky won the Ukrainian contest of Ballet Artists and in 1992, he won the international ballet contest for Djagiliev. In 1995, Ratmansky decided to return to Kiev to work as a choreographer. After touring and performing in Russia, Ratmansky and his wife decided it was time to settle down and Ratmansky decided to work in Copenhagen’s Royal Danish Ballet which he felt comfortable since it would be a great place for classic ballet (Alexei Ratmansky:choreographer, 2001). At the age of 32, Ratmansky accepted that he would be performing less and choreographing more since he realized when he performs his technique wasn't the same. He noticed that his physical skills were not the same anymore and he had more opportunities to expose his skills through choreographing (Alexei Ratmansky:choreographer, 2001). In 2004, Ratmansky was also a director of the Bolshoi Ballet. His work of the Bolshoi Ballet was known as the “best foreign company” (Alexei Ratmansky- ABT, 2013). Ratmansky believes in story ballet, which is why he is also wanted and popular (Acocella J, 2011).
In an interview, he was asked if he had a favorite performance that he choreographed. He claimed that Pierrot Lunaire was the most challenging for him to create a choreography to because the music was not an easy beat to dance to. He says the reason he chose it was because he liked the music, he also wanted to challenge Diana Vishneva. Vishneva doubted the music in the beginning but then agreed to go along and eventually liked the music. Ratmansky expressed how he looked for individual quality in movement in his dancers. He claimed it was difficult for him to work with dancers who can not hear the different dynamics of the phrase and act upon it (Ratmansky, Alexei. 2010)
His Nutcracker performance in 2010 included a dancing mouse with a humorous type of vibe when the mouse rubs its belly after eating a piece of cheese. His performance included a lot of acrobatic choreography which can impose a problem for the safety concerns of dancers. An example would be when a ballerina is held by one leg as her partner dashes forward. (Kourlas, Gia. 2012). Ratmansky reminds us through his performances that there is humor even when bees are surrounding flowers or when the character Clara sits on a chair that grows big to the point she falls on top of mice and toy soldiers. Ballet doesn't necessarily have to be serious. During one of the scenes where the children were acting greedy over toys. This piece in particular reminds the audience that children will always be children no matter what the era is.

Ratmansky is very similar to the dance style of George Balanchine in the sense they focus a lot on ballet.
In Foster’s textbook she discusses how Balanchine’s style is more of a story dance with elegance and often involve a plot which is the style that Ratmansky also has. What Balanchine and Ratmansky most have in common is their performance of the Nutcracker (pg 14, Foster). Balanchine’s training process is similar to what Ratmansky went through as a kid in the academy of choreography . Balanchine focuses more on mastering basics with elegance. His style requires repeated intense training of the body to have precision and speed throughout the choreography. Balanchine also claimed that training for the dance should begin at the age of seven, Ratmansky was a lot younger (four years old) when he started to dance. (pg 19, Foster). Balanchine believes that the relationship of the music to the dance is more fascinating. Ratmansky likes a challenge when it comes to music and believes that it can be choreographed especially when a certain tune catches his
attention.