Art or Entertainment?

Krysta Michorczyk

Is it art or is it entertainment?

The question that has been plaguing professional dance companies for generations presented itself once again with the Tchaikovsky Ballet and Orchestra’s recent performance at Wharton Center.

The Tchaikovsky Ballet and Orchestra from Perm, Russia glistened under the lights on March 15 as they performed pieces from three of the world’s most famous ballets in the “Tchaikovsky Spectacular.”

The performance included dances from “Swan Lake,”“Sleeping Beauty” and the “Nutcracker,” all highlighting the music from composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

The Ballet challenged the traditional art versus entertainment questions surrounding live dance by really showcasing the art component and the entertainment value of ballet in one performance.

The first half of the show, the dancers were stripped of their elaborate sets and showcased the art of ballet. All they had to work with was the choreography, the costumes and the music, and it was up to them and the movement to bring the story to life.

They performed the famous “Four Cygnets” dance from Swan Lake where the dancers link arms and move across the stage in unison with flawless precision, and the “Shepard’s Dance,” a trio from the Nutcracker, among others.

After intermission, the performance resumed with a new flair as the curtain rose to the Third Act from Swan Lake, the ballroom scene. The corps of dancers, painted backdrop, intricate lighting and props offered an entirely different experience for viewers.

Artistic director of the ballet, Natalia Akhmarova, tackled the art versus entertainment question by talking about dance as a positive art form that acts as an escape from everyday life.

“No matter how many times you see the ballet, you can just go and forget about all the problems we have right now because it’s such a positive thing. It’s a live show with a live orchestra. So much energy and just a very natural beauty you feel watching it.”

Akhmarova is excited to be a part of a company that gets the opportunity to take their performances around the world.

“Everybody wants to see Russian dancers. I don’t know why, but it’s still working,” she said.

She is especially proud of this show that she started working on five years ago. It has this incredible ability to show people what the ballet is all about, she said.

“We are so honored to share the name of Tchaikovsky. He has been such a driving force behind these famous ballets all across the world. There’s something special about performing to his music,” she said.

Tchaikovsky’s compositional works have been the foundation for several ballets, and the artistic element of the music has never been in question.

Akhmarova questioned how some people can consider the dances out of date while the music hasn’t changed and is still widely understood and appreciated.

This is about the art of dance and the technicality of it, she said.

“You can take so many remakes of the movies. If it’s a familiar name people will go. This is a new name and a different version but people will keep going forever.”

While the Tchaikovsky Ballet and Orchestra performance at MSU didn’t settle the decade long dispute of art versus entertainment, it did present viewers with a distinction between what is clearly art.

Honestly, this question is probably like which came first: the chicken or the egg? There’s no answer. There’s no art without the entertainment, and there’s no entertainment without the art.

Questions? Comments? Contact Krysta Michorczyk at michorcz@msu.edu

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