(relevant.at) Da spielt außerdem das Internationale Tiflis Theaterfestival seine kulturellen und kulturtouristischen Joker seit einigen Jahren immer stärker aus. Ausländische Beiträge aus Armenien, Dänemark, England, Finnland, Italien, Israel, Kanada, Polen, Rumänien und Russland brachten auch 2013 der Hauptstadt einen gelungenen Einblick international geprägten Theaterschaffens, auf einer Bandbreite von westlich italienischer bis tief russisch östlicher Emotion. Dabei lag Rumänien nicht nur in der geografischen Mitte. Gleich drei Stücke vertraten das EU-Land in Georgien: Einmal fiel das Deutsche Staatstheater Temeswar/Timisoara mit Florin Fieroi‘s nonverbalem „DerDieDans“ mit der Musik des begabten Komponisten Vlaicu Golcea auf. Zweimal war das Radu Stanca Theater aus Hermannstadt/Sibiu mit „Warten auf Godot“ und „Gulliver’s Reisen“ seines international bekannten Regisseurs Silviu Purcarete hochkarätig vertreten. Theaterdirektor Constantin Chiriac agierte als Schauspieler in einer bravourösen Mannschaft. Er unterhält seit Jahren eine gute Verbindung nach Tiflis, was auch Theatern in Georgien zu Gute kommt, wenn es um Gastspiele und Austausch geht.
In kulturpolitischem Kontext erwartete man beim nationalen Teil des Theaterfestival Brisantes, zumal die vorgestellten Stücke keiner Jury unterstellt waren, sondern aus jeder georgischen Region eine oder mehrere Bühnen ins Rennen um die Publikumsgunst und das Interesse der ausländischen Medienvertreter, Festivalscouts und Veranstalter rangen. Da war jedoch noch nicht so sehr viel spürbar, zumal die meisten Vorstellungen aus der Riege der Staatstheater kamen. Die Freien tun sich in Georgien schwer und müssen daher noch eine längere Durststrecke überwinden, um auf internationalen Level zu kommen. Das liegt nicht alleine an ausbleibender staatlicher Förderung, auch der georgische Publikumsgeschmack - besonders bei der jungen Generation – ist in dieser Richtung noch updatebar.
Aber ein Festival ist immer für Überraschungen gut. Acht bis neun Vorstellungen pro Tag galt es im Galopp zu absolvieren. Darin waren von Ballett, Kindertheater, One Man Shows bis hin zu großen Produktionen nahezu alles vertreten und darunter einiges recht Bemerkenswertes. Die georgische Kritikervereinigung hatte die eine oder andere Empfehlung ausgesprochen. Dazu gehörten mit Recht das Royal District Theatre mit Rainer Werner Fassbinders „Katzelmacher“, das Kote Marjanishvili Staatstheater mit der „Grönholm Methode“ von Jordi Galceran und einer modernen Inszenierung von Molières „Tartuffe“. Die Inszenierung des Geogi Eristavi Theaters aus Gori „Saxophone“ kam sehr gut an. Hier beschreibt Autor Soso Nemsadze um die Figur eines Straßenmusikers Teile des sozialen Alltags in Tiflis und Georgien, wobei Vereinsamung und Gewalt eine tragende Rolle spielen (willkommen in Europa).
Das starke Staatstheater aus Batumi fehlte in der 2013 Ausgabe gänzlich. Dennoch wartete Festivalchefin Ekaterine Mazmishvili mit einer recht beachtlichen Anzahl gewichtiger Produktionen auf. Aus der Anzahl von mehr als 40 Produktionen seien hier einige unter subjektivem Gusto des Schreibers vorgestellt:
Das Ballet der Staatsoper eröffnete seine Saison mit drei Einaktern, „The Secret Garden“, „Sagalobeli“ und „1st Flash“, um die gesamte Bandbreite von tänzerischem Solisten- und Company-Können unter Beweis zu stellen. Ein gelungenes Unterfangen der künstlerischen Chefin Nina Ananiashvili, die ihr Talent als ausgezeichnete Solotänzerin auf die neue Generation – besonders der Tänzerinnen – übertragen hatte. Sie bestachen ausnahmslos durch Technik und Grazie. Der Ausdruckskraft der Tänzer würde die führende Hand eines Mannes sicher noch mehr Ausdruckskraft verleihen, ein generell evidentes Problem.
Wer Sarah Kane als Regie-Debut auswählt, stellt äußerste Ansprüche an sich und die Akteure. Die Besucher dieses Unterfangens auf der Bühne des altehrwürdigen Shota Rustaveli State Drama Theatre fieberten zu Recht „Psychosis 4:48“ entgegen, dem letzten Stück der jungen englischem Autorin, 1999 kurz vor ihrer Selbsttötung fertig gestellt, zugleich Höhepunkt in Kanes Schreiben, was Fragmentierung, Aufbrechen klarer Perspektiven und Rollen und Poesie betrifft. “The one thing I don't think is the responsibility of playwrights is telling people what to think about the play afterwards.” Ihre Stücke lösten heftige Kontroversen aus und wurden gleichzeitig mit Preisen bedacht. Genauso müssen Jungregisseur Kita Rokva und sein Protagonist Beso Zanguri an das Werk heran gegangen sein. „Erinnere das Licht und glaube an das Licht. Ein Augenblick bevor ewiger Nacht“. Ich habe miterlebt, war als Zuschauer Teil von Shota Bagalishvilis subtil gestalteter Bühne, um die wir gelegentlich kreisten. Sowohl Regisseur wie Hauptdarsteller haben verstanden zu transportieren wie es sein kann, wenn ein kräftiger, gestandener Mensch durch seinen Geist überwältigt in den Suizid getrieben wird. Dieser Produktion gebührt mein persönlicher Respekt.
Dem in London lebenden und arbeitenden georgischen Regisseur David Papava-Gurji ist mit Marius von Mayenburgs „Fireface“ ein ordentlicher Wurf gelungen. Noch vor der Premiere konnten die Besucher das bereits im Vorfeld vehement diskutierte Stück anschauen. Fünf gute besetzte Schauspieler verhalfen unter der ausnehmend spannenden und präzise gelenkten Regie dem Stück über klaustrophobische Ängste unserer Generation zu erschreckend realistischem Leben: Kurt liebt das Feuer und er beginnt wirklich damit zu spielen. Eine inzestuöse Beziehung mit seiner provokativen Schwester Olga in einem Theaterstück über Bruder und Schwester, deren Wut und Abscheu sich gegen die Eltern wendet und in Mord endet. Ein intensiver Mayenburg, den man so eher in Deutschland erwartet hätte, ohne Kopie zu sein. Diese kurzfristig eingeschobene Festival-Vorstellung des Tbilisi Vaso Abashidze State Theatre mit einer genialen Ana Tsereteli als Helga ist sicher auch eine Inszenierung, die man in Deutschland sehen möchte.
Bleiben wir zum Abschluss noch eine Weile in diesem Theater, genießen die Nacht und Shakespeares Mittsommernachtstraum in der Regie von David Doiashivili. Letzterer begeistert schon seit vielen Jahren nicht nur georgisches Publikum. Seine Inszenierungen reisen durch Europa, werden euphorisch von Publikum, Kritik und Fachpresse gleichermaßen gefeiert. „Kulturbotschafter“ Doiashivili und seine Inszenierungen, darunter auch ein Shakespeare „Macbeth“, zeugen vom Können im fernen Tiflis, beweisen, wie nahe die guten Theatermacher vernetzt sind, um ihre Sichtweisen zu schärfen und ihre Techniken zu erweitern. Mit Standing Ovation für eine rasante Inszenierung in einem ausgeklügelten minimalistischen Bühnenbild von Anano Mosidze und beinahe akrobatischer Choreographie von Konstantine Purtseladze. Ein krönender Abschluss eines recht aufregendes Festivals, der uns auf ein spannendes 2014 hoffen lässt. In dem Jahr soll auch die alte Oper nach Jahre langer Renovierung in neuem Glanz erstrahlen. Tiflis wird uns in Zukunft noch Einiges zu bieten haben. (Dieter Topp)
Tags: Tiflis, Tbilisi, Georgien, Sarah Kane, Psychosis 4:48,Marius von Mayenburg, Shakespeare,
Informationen: www.tbilisiinternational.com/en
PPS Promotion-Presse-Service
Christian Bauer, Chris Rabe, Dieter Topp
EU-Kulturzentrum
D-52391 Vettweiss/Köln
fon 0049-2424-2037 505
fax 0049-2424-2037 504
mailto: pps@kfe.de
PPS - Promotion-Presse-Service ist eine eigenständige Agentur, die von Christian Bauer und Dieter Topp, Künstler und Publizist, verwaltet wird.
PPS bietet Aussendungen an im Bereich Kultur und Kultur-Politik, unter besonderem Aspekt von Sprechtheater, Ballett, Musik und Musiktheater, Kunst , Kunstausstellungen und Kulturtourismus.
PPS - Aussendungen gehen an Redaktionen in der Bundesrepublik, nach Österreich und in den deutschsprachigen Bereich von Belgien und Niederlande an Print-, TV-, Radio-, Online - Redaktionen, Medienschaffende und PR-Verantwortliche, sowie offene Kulturkanäle.
PPS-Promotion-Presse-Service gehört zur Pressestelle des KulturForum Europa: Eine europäische Begegnung. Das KulturForum Europa e.V. wurde auf Initiative von Hans-Dietrich Genscher 1992 zur Förderung des gemeinschaftlichen europäischen Gedankens auf allen Gebieten der Kultur gegründet. Gegenseitige Beachtung und Toleranz sollen als Beitrag zur Völkerverständigung vorangetrieben werden.()
PPS-Promotion-Presse-Service berichtet seit 2005 über das Ballett der Staats- und Volksoper Wien (Das Ballett.at) und covert das Int. Istanbul Music Festival und die Istanbul Biennale sowie die Music Biennale Zagreb (seit 2007). Für 2008 sind das Int. Springfestival, das Herbstfestival und Fringe Festival Budapest, das Zemplén Festival im Länderdreieck Ungarn-Ukraine-Slowakei, sowie Wratislavia Cantans (PL) hinzugekommen. In 2008 wurde PPS eingeladen, für das Int. Theaterfestival Bukarest und Timisoara, sowie 2009 für das Underground Festival Arad, (RO), das Libertas Dubrovnik Summerfestival und ZFF Zurich Film Festival zu berichten. Hinzu kam eine jährliche Zusammenarbeit mit zuerich.com/Zürich Tourismus und Stadtmarketing in Zusammenarbeit mit a42. Agentur für Tourismusmarketing.
2010 berichteten wir erstmalig vom BITEI-Theaterfestival in Chisinau/Moldavien unter dem Aspekt der Information über Ost-West-Theater in vorwiegend russisch sprechenden Ländern. 2011 ist das Internationale Theaterfestival Sibiu/Hermannstadt (RO) hinzugekommen; weiterhin berichtet PPS für die Philharmonie (Müpa) Palast der Künste, Budapest (HU). Anlässlich des 3. Int. Theaterfestivals Tbilisi (Tiflis, Georgien) und des 1. Festival of Puppet Theatre, Sachalin, Russland, waren wir 2011 alleinig als deutsche Pressevertreter eingeladen. 2012 wurde die Leitung von PPS als europäischer Beobachter, Berichterstatter und internationaler Juror zum 30. Fadjr Festival nach Teheran gebeten. Das Jahr endete mit der erfolgreichen PR-Kooperation für Janacek-Musikfestival, Brünn (CZ). Seit Anfang 2013 hat die Ungarische Staatsoper, Budapest, unsere Agentur zur regelmäßigen Berichterstattung gebeten.
Showing posts with label Nina Ananiashvili. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nina Ananiashvili. Show all posts
Sunday, October 20, 2013
THEATER: Internationales Theaterfestival Tiflis 2013 - Kulturelles aus Georgien in Vorderasien am Rand Europas (relevant.at)
Sunday, June 28, 2009
BALLET: Swan Song: A Fond Farewell to Nina Ananiashvili (playbillarts.com)
By Pia Catton
After 16 years with the Company, Principal Dancer Nina Ananiashvili bids farewell to American Ballet Theatre June 27 with a last performance in her calling-card piece: Swan Lake.
full article >>>
After 16 years with the Company, Principal Dancer Nina Ananiashvili bids farewell to American Ballet Theatre June 27 with a last performance in her calling-card piece: Swan Lake.
full article >>>
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
DANCE: A Radiant, Russian-Inflected Giselle Floats Again (nytimes.com)
"Giselle": Nina Ananiashvili in the title role of a Russian favorite at the Metropolitan Opera House. More Photos >
By ALASTAIR MACAULAY
Published: June 9, 2009
On Monday the Georgian ballerina Nina Ananiashvili — looking just about the same as when I first saw her dance the ballet with the Bolshoi in 1986 but now halfway through her farewell season with Ballet Theater — showed both the best Russian virtues and the qualities that have made her singularly beloved worldwide. How easily she takes to the air; how beautifully energy flows down the ravishingly long limbs of her physique (and, apparently, beyond).
Ballet textbooks say that arabesque penchée — in which the dancer leans forward and downward while extending one leg up and behind — is the ultimate test of line. Ms. Ananiashvili took one of these on Friday and made it slowly stretch (I heard someone in the audience gasp) so that you thought about this standard position as if for the first time.
full artcile >>>
By ALASTAIR MACAULAY
Published: June 9, 2009
On Monday the Georgian ballerina Nina Ananiashvili — looking just about the same as when I first saw her dance the ballet with the Bolshoi in 1986 but now halfway through her farewell season with Ballet Theater — showed both the best Russian virtues and the qualities that have made her singularly beloved worldwide. How easily she takes to the air; how beautifully energy flows down the ravishingly long limbs of her physique (and, apparently, beyond).
Ballet textbooks say that arabesque penchée — in which the dancer leans forward and downward while extending one leg up and behind — is the ultimate test of line. Ms. Ananiashvili took one of these on Friday and made it slowly stretch (I heard someone in the audience gasp) so that you thought about this standard position as if for the first time.
full artcile >>>
Monday, March 10, 2008
NEWS: Georgia News Digest 03-10-08
A service of the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies
Attached PDF file easily navigable with Bookmarks pane
Archives and associated files at groups.google.com/group/genewsfiles (from February 2008) and groups.google.com/group/genews (before February 2008)
Attached PDF file easily navigable with Bookmarks pane
Archives and associated files at groups.google.com/group/genewsfiles (from February 2008) and groups.google.com/group/genews (before February 2008)
1. Opposition cold-shoulder for Saakashvili call for cooperation
2. Opposition calls for repeat presidential elections as OSCE releases final report
3. Saakashvili wanted to strip Patarkatsishvili of TV company – Okruashvili
4. Okruashvili says Saakashvili owns $2 bln, accepts bribes in watches worth min. $50,0000
5. Okruashvili lawyers plan to file suit against Georgia, Germany with Strasbourg Court
6. Ex Georgian minister makes new claims
7. Georgian party reps not allowed to meet Georgians in Azerbaijan
8. Leaders of Christian-Democrats arrested in Azerbaijan
9. Young oppositionists rally outside parliament
10. Labor Party accuses ruling party of machinations
11. Saakashvili’s u-turns for teachers
12. The session of the government was held in Akaki Tsereteli Kutaisi State University
13. Ukraine and Georgia: what are their chances with NATO?
14. What should we expect in Bucharest?
15. Transcript of Daniel Fried’s interview with Rustavi 2 TV
16. Georgian officials, US secretary of state consider bilateral ties
17. Possible decisive role of United States
18. Hothead McCain [excerpt]
19. Putin comments on Georgia, Ukraine’s NATO aspirations
20. Primakov on world economic crisis, Russian foreign policy, Nato expansion [excerpt]
21. Experts answered your questions on Russia's politics [excerpt]
22. Till 10 March, the Georgian party to pay the largest part of debt to Russia for air navigation service
23. Russia changes policy on breakaway republics
24. Breakaway regions seek international recognition of independence
25. Russia lifts Abkhaz sanctions
26. Russia has officially lifted blockade imposed on Abkhazia
27. Russian diplomat tells Tbilisi to lift sanctions on Abkhazia
28. Bagapsh welcomes end of Abkhaz sanctions by Russia
29. Bagapsh welcomed Russia’s decision to withdraw from agreement of Council of CIS Heads of States
30. video: Abkhazia pushes for independence
31. video: Kosovo independence gives hope to Abhkazia
32. Georgian region cites Kosovo in independence bid
33. Russia de facto establishing relations with Abkhazia
34. Russia's lifting ban on Abkhazia does not pave way to its independence – senator
35. Lifting of sanctions "positive" for Abkhazia
36. Georgia calls in Russian ambassador over decision to lift sanctions on Abkhazia
37. Tbilisi outraged at Moscow withdrawal from Abkhaz sanctions treaty
38. video: Georgia slams Russia for lifting trade ban on rebel region
39. Saakashvili declares "zero tolerance" to Abkhazia's militarization
40. Moscow informed Tbilisi on dropping sanctions against Abkhazia beforehand
41. Russia ambassador calls Georgia for dialogue with Abkhazia
42. Russian decision to cancel sanctions against Abkhazia provocative - Baramidze
43. Official deplores Russia's decision to lift sanctions against Abkhazia
44. Russia lifts sanctions against Abkhazia in response to Kosovo - Georgian PM
45. Russia's lifting of Abkhazia sanctions encourages separatism - Georgian ministry
46. Russian peacekeepers could be outlawed in Abkhazia - Georgian minister
47. Georgia denounces Russia's withdrawal from accord on Abkhaz settlement
48. Parliament to pass statement on Russia-Abkhazia relations
49. MPs decry Russia's decision to lift sanctions on breakaway Abkhazia
50. MPs denounce Russia's decision to lift sanctions against Abkhazia
51. Azerbaijan not to support breakaway Georgian region after Russia lifts sanctions
52. Situation in Georgian-Abkhaz conflict zone under control - CIS Joint Peacekeeping Forces HQ
53. MP hints on scrapping Russian peacekeeping
54. ‘Zero tolerance to Abkhazia militarization’ – Saakashvili 1996 CIS treaty: http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=17293
55. Republicans slam authorities for ‘empty brag’ on Abkhazia
56. Saakashvili calls for unity
57. Estonia not planning to recognize either Abkhazia or Southern Ossetia
58. video: Sochi Olympic costs could climb
59. Georgian journalist set free in Abkhazia
60. Saakashvili links journalist’s release to his warning
61. Saakashvili awards ex-detainees held in Abkhazia
62. 2+2+2: A new format for a new reality?
63. South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity: Georgia wants no EU-recommended talks
64. South Ossetia Joint Control Commission ingloriously mothballed
65. South Ossetia to request that Russia abolish sanctions
66. Georgia says South Ossetia conflict resolution format "biased"
67. Change of peacekeeping format may cause explosion – S Ossetia leader
68. Peacekeepers say Georgians reluctant to remove illegal inserts in Tskhinvali water pipe
69. Dhabi Group finances 80% of construction expenditures for Kempinsky Palace
70. As trouble brews in global markets, will Georgia notice?
71. EBRD report pegs strong economic growth offset by ongoing need for reforms
72. Six more farmers receive grants within MCG Agribusiness Development Project
73. Round table on privatization of Georgian Railway
74. Simpler rules for HPP construction
75. IMF mission press statement at the conclusion of a staff visit to Georgia
76. IMF mission approved the package of macroeconomic and financial reforms prepared by the government
77. IMF does not think NBG independence will be curbed
78. Three businessmen of Georgian origin reported by Forbes within the list of wealthiest people worldwide
79. Draft law on e-Signature use goes in front of parliament: Government attempts to align with Europe
80. State employment programmes: Politics aside?
81. Newspaper Asaval-Dasavali journalist on hunger strike for third day now
82. Levan Varshalomidze initiates granting status of regional public broadcaster to Adjara State Television
83. Society members asking Public Broadcasting Board of Trustees to transfer second channel to Patriarchy
84. Forest fire in eastern Georgia localized
85. 'Don Quixote' a perfect vehicle for beloved ballerina: Ananiashvili leads recharged State Ballet of Georgia
full digest: Georgia News Digest - Ansicht in Groups BetaNeu!
Jonathan Kulick, Ph.D., Director of Studies, Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies, 3a Chitadze, Tbilisi 0108, Georgia (Republic), jonathan.kulick@gfsis.org, office: +995 32 47 35 55, mobile: +995 95 33 33 40, USA voicemail: 310.928.6814
Monday, March 03, 2008
NEWS: Georgia News Digest 03-03-08
A service of the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies
Attached PDF file easily navigable with Bookmarks pane
Archives and associated files at groups.google.com/group/genewsfiles (from February 2008) and groups.google.com/group/genews (before February 2008)
Attached PDF file easily navigable with Bookmarks pane
Archives and associated files at groups.google.com/group/genewsfiles (from February 2008) and groups.google.com/group/genews (before February 2008)
1. paper: Necroeconomic Foundations and the Development of Business in Postrevolution Georgia
2. paper: Georgia’s Ethnic History and the Present Migration Processes
3. paper: On the Results of the Special Presidential Elections in Georgia
4. paper: Javakheti or Javakhk? There Is No Armenian-Georgian Consensus
5. paper: Regional Management of Economic Growth
6. I've saved our country from bloodshed for several times
7. Government looking for new opposition to collaborate with
8. Republican Party leaves opposition union ahead of parliamentary election
9. MP calls upon MPs to be more correct
10. Labor Party objects to increase of single-mandates in parliament
11. Labors' leader slams authorities of planning his liquidation
12. Controversy over majoritarian MP election rule
13. Eight-party opposition coalition to run on joint ticket
14. Champagne for risk-takers only: Winners and losers of six-month confrontation
15. Local governance in Georgia: Efficiency and challenges
16. Mechanisms of confirmed court practice discussed in Tbilisi
17. Gvaramia opened NAPR office in Kutaisi
18. Improving roads remains a priority in 2008
19. In the zone: the plan to turn Poti port into an economic tiger
20. Armenian and Georgian defense ministers discussed issues referring to military cooperation
21. Georgian, Armenian military set to cooperate
22. Saakashvili visits Poland
23. Georgia’s NATO aspirations not connected to Russia: Membership is not a threat to northern neighbor
24. Georgia and Ukraine drifting towards NATO
25. NATO to send ‘strong signal of support’ to Georgia
26. South Caucasus tensions
27. Georgian press on Russia
28. Georgian parliament appoints new ambassador to Russia
29. Ask the experts: November 7 and Russian angst could stall Georgia’s NATO advancement
30. Putin gives a helping hand to Saakashvili
31. Officials, media say Russia unlikely to recognize FSU breakaway republics
32. Possible Tbilisi-Moscow border checkpoint agreement raises separatist hackles
33. video: Blast injures 3 policemen in Abkhazia
34. Abkhazia says 3 police wounded in gunfight; Georgia denies involvement
35. Blast, shooting in Abkhaz conflict zone
36. Tbilisi calls on Sukhumi to jointly clear conflict area of mines
37. Abkhazian side demands to change Malkhaz Basilaia for Davit Sigua
38. Reporters call on UN to facilitate release of detained journalist
39. Tbilisi’s warning thwarted release of journalist – Abkhaz Official
40. Basilaia's family condemns UNOMIG's inactiveness
41. Opposition party's leader calls upon diplomatic solution of issue
42. Journalists to hold rally outside embassy of Russian Federation in Georgia
43. At 20:00 Tbilisi time Mze TV and regional broadcasters to go off air for a minute to voice a protest
44. Family members of Malkhaz Basilaia began hunger strike at Angury Bridge
45. Shamba comments on case of detained Georgian journalist
46. Abkhazia releases mother of detained Georgian journalist
47. Kosovo and Abkhazia will not return to their parent states
48. video: Russian peacekeepers on alert as Georgia-Abkhazia tension rises
49. video: Georgia’s breakaway republic announces partial mobilization
50. Peacekeepers in Abkhazia set up additional posts
51. Georgia is amassing troops on border with Abkhazia – Sukhumi
52. Separatist official threatens "preventive measures" in Georgian-controlled area
53. Refugees main issue in Georgian-Abkhaz settlement - minister
54. Iakobashvili dismisses Abkhaz threats as "rhetoric"
55. Georgian "provocation" aimed at destabilizing situation - separatist ministry
56. Tbilisi seeking long-lasting conflict in Georgian-Abkhaz conflict area - Abkhaz statement
57. Saakashvili takes first step to implement threat - separatist official
58. S. Ossetia, Abkhazia vote in Russia’s presidential polls
59. Tbilisi offers new negotiating format for S. Ossetia
60. Russia proposes holding Georgian-South Ossetian meeting in Moscow
61. Tbilisi hopes for constructive dialogue on S. Ossetia with Russian diplomat
62. Georgia has new plan for South Ossetian settlement
63. Tbilisi suggests drafting new format of Joint Control Commission
64. South Ossetian recruited by Georgian secret service held in Russia
65. Georgian spy arrested in North Ossetia
66. Journalists face problems in Tskhinvali region
67. video: Policemen killed in Georgia's breakaway republic
68. Peacekeepers say Georgian involved in S Ossetia's explosive
69. Georgian side accuses staff of Joint Peacekeeping Forces of releasing subjective information
70. Early voting ends at remote villages in South Ossetia
71. Georgian-backed South Ossetian administration denies separatists' allegations
72. Georgian security services wanted to assassinate Sanakoyev - S. Ossetian Interior Ministry
73. IMF mission started to work in Georgia
74. EBRD expects economic growth in Georgia by 8% in 2008
75. Next week, the government to sign with banks memorandum on low-interest credits
76. Company Achar Energy to construct 7 new HEPS in Georgia
77. EUGBC raises issue on commercial dispute resolution in emerging markets
78. IFC roundtable on gender imbalance in Georgian business
79. Regional TV companies request solution to problems they face
80. Maestro cable television founder to reorganize his channel
81. Public Broadcaster Board of trustees pledges work transparency
82. Rustavi 2 TV head tight-lipped on ownership issue
83. IDPs evicted from their homes again
84. President Mikheil Saakashvili attends groundbreaking ceremony of church in Adjara
85. On Facebook, Saakashvili gains a following
86. Georgia on her mind: Ballerina guides rebirth of her nation's dance company
87. Nina Ananiashvili and the State Ballet of Georgia
full digest: Georgia News Digest - Ansicht in Groups BetaNeu!
Jonathan Kulick, Ph.D., Director of Studies, Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies, 3a Chitadze, Tbilisi 0108, Georgia (Republic), jonathan.kulick@gfsis.org, office: +995 32 47 35 55, mobile: +995 95 33 33 40, USA voicemail: 310.928.6814
Sunday, March 02, 2008
NEWS: Georgia News Digest 02-29-08
A service of the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies
Attached PDF file easily navigable with Bookmarks pane
Archives and associated files at groups.google.com/group/genewsfiles (from February 2008) and groups.google.com/group/genews (before February 2008)
Attached PDF file easily navigable with Bookmarks pane
Archives and associated files at groups.google.com/group/genewsfiles (from February 2008) and groups.google.com/group/genews (before February 2008)
1. U.N. human rights chief voices concerns on Georgia
2. UN official upbeat on rights situation in Georgia
3. Georgia's human rights record still of concern, despite progress – top UN official
4. “Republican” to supposedly separate from United National Council of opposition
5. Opposition leader speaks of possible split as a tactic
6. Pundit sceptical on chances for moving to next stage of NATO accession
7. Tbilisi claims joint border control agreed with Russia, but details are open question
8. Russian MPs insist no disagreement within government on Georgia checkpoints
9. Bakradze reckons that statement of official Moscow is result of internal problems
10. Bakradze denies misinterpreting results of Putin-Saakashvili meeting
11. Georgia responds to Russian MFA statement
12. Georgia needs strong and efficient intelligence
13. Best of possible
14. Rhetoric: Response to Kosovo?
15. Russian-Georgian relations see possible improvement
16. Tbilisi stands firm on case against Russia at ECHR
17. 'Turning point' in Russia's relations with Poland, Ukraine, Georgia
18. Moscow did not give guarantee to Tbilisi that “never recognize Abkhazia or South Ossetia”
19. Georgia critical of Russia ForMin statement
20. Russia reckons that there is nothing illegal in participation of citizens of Russia in election
21. Bomb blast kills 2 people, injures 15 in South Ossetia
22. video: Policemen killed in Georgia's breakaway republic
23. S Ossetia accuses Georgia of attempt at life of pro-Georgian official
24. S. Ossetia blames Thursday's bomb attack on Georgian secret services
25. Tskhinvali accuses Tbilisi of ‘terrorist act’
26. Saakashvili deceiving people ahead of election - separatist official
27. Bagapsh: Russia will not recognize Abkhazia’s independence so quickly!
28. Abkhazia wants recognition from Russia and Europe
29. Russia priority for Abkhazia - Shamba
30. Abkhazia to satisfy democratic standards to be recognized - Shamba
31. Georgian official condemns detention of journalist in Abkhazia
32. Abkhazia urges Georgia to release official in exchange for detained reporter
33. Bakradze: Everything to be done to release detained journalist
34. Abkhazia not to demand release of official in return for Georgian reporter
35. Saakashvili threatens police operation in Abkhazia over detained journalist
36. Gamkrelidze accuses Saakashvili of making “irresponsibility statements”
37. On Abkhazia, president’s ill-considered ultimatums create needless danger
38. Sokhumi defies Tbilisi’s warning over detained journalist
39. Paata Davitaia informed Prosecutor’s Office of Haaga about detention of Georgian journalist
40. Relatives of journalist Malkhaz Basilaia held rally at Enguri Bridge
41. General Ochalov flatly refutes information on detention of journalist Malkhaz Basilaia at peacekeepers’ checkpoint
42. Louise Arbour unable to name exact date of release of detained Georgian journalist
43. ‘Diplomatic efforts’ underway to release journalist
44. Separatists say Georgian special purpose troops mobilized near Abkhazia
45. Patarkatsishvili buried in Tbilisi
46. Badri Patarkatsishvili buried in courtyard of his residence
47. Final farewell to a robber baron and a philanthropist
48. video: Georgian tycoon laid to rest in Tbilisi
49. President of Israel not to attend funeral of Patarkatsishvili
50. Badri Patarkatsishvili assassinated?
51. Billionaire love child
52. Delegation of RA Defense Ministry headed by Mikael Harutyunyan to pay three-day official visit to Georgia
53. Armenian Defense Minister visits Georgia
54. Georgia to dispatch military attache to Armenia
55. ‘First large-scale export’ of Georgian wine to U.S. planned
56. Controversial film on November events ‘mistake’ – GPB Head
57. Conflictology center publishes results of social survey
58. Six convicts go on hunger strike
59. Subeliani met refugees resided in Duisi, Pankisi Valley
60. Part of residents of Tbilisi to have advantages in municipal transport
61. Seminar to be dedicated to the labor security issues
62. Prisoners performed a play in the Free Theatre
63. Retooled State Ballet of Georgia shows its wares
full digest: Georgia News Digest - Ansicht in Groups BetaNeu!
Jonathan Kulick, Ph.D., Director of Studies, Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies, 3a Chitadze, Tbilisi 0108, Georgia (Republic), jonathan.kulick@gfsis.org, office: +995 32 47 35 55, mobile: +995 95 33 33 40, USA voicemail: 310.928.6814
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
DANCE: State Ballet of Georgia - a young company with her star Nina Ananiashvili
The talent, and inexperience, show
By Lewis Segal
Los Angeles Times, February 22: A young company with an antique pedigree, that's the reconstituted State Ballet of Georgia, which brought four works choreographed late in the last century or early in this one to UCLA's Royce Hall on Thursday.
If that repertory often challenged the dancers more than the audience, give them time: Georgian-born international star Nina Ananiashvili became artistic director only four years ago and had to virtually start from scratch. Like our even younger Los Angeles Ballet (across campus in the Freud Playhouse this same weekend), impressive talent and inexperience go hand in hand when they take the stage.
The problems arose most consistently on Thursday in "Chaconne," George Balanchine's alternately serene and courtly large-scale suite to music (on tape) by Gluck. Ananiashvili danced the ballerina role as if lost in a beautiful dream, but her partnership with the effortful Vasil Akhmeteli kept the technical difficulties of their duets more evident than their rapt lyricism.
Generally, the Tbilisi dancers brought freshness and exactitude to the more conventional step combinations here but looked decidedly uncomfortable in the many experimental ones.
The trio (Rusudan Kvitsiani, Ekaterine Chubinidze, Otar Khelashvili) proved especially ill at ease, and a secondary duet (Maya Dolidze, David Khozashvili) started promisingly but grew progressively shaky.
Unfortunately, an errant follow-spot added to the disarray and all but wrecked the haunting final sequence in "Duo Concertant," Balanchine's mercurial duet in which the dancers stand listening to a Stravinsky piece for piano and violin (played onstage by Liam Viney and Roberto Cani) and then begin an increasingly involving partnership.
If you could scarcely see them in the finale, Nino Gogua and Lasha Khozashvili danced the other, brighter sections gorgeously, their youth, charm and spontaneity gilding the choreography and making it seem an inspired improvisation.
With "Bizet Variations," Bolshoi Ballet artistic director Alexei Ratmansky contributed a formula, quasi-romantic exercise for three couples -- not as unwatchable as his "Pierrot Lunaire" for Diana Vishneva and company in Costa Mesa last week but just as fundamentally soulless.
This is one of those ballets in which the men have some freedom to actually dance (and get assigned off-the-rack bravura, for the most part) but the women are continually yanked about and hauled overhead, subordinated to the partnering. Again cast opposite Akhmeteli (playing a flamboyant outsider), Ananiashvili alone brought the sense of an inner life to the choreography -- even to simple walking steps and absolute stillness. And Anna Grinberg played the somber "Chromatic Variations" powerfully."
Sagalobeli" used taped Georgian folk music played by the musical ensemble of the same name to accompany a divertissement suggesting the twisty fervor and nervy elegance of the nation's ethnic dances but managed to avoid both extreme classical abstraction and opera-ballet literalism.
Like Ananiashvili, choreographer Yuri Possokhov began as a dancer at the Bolshoi but spent most of his career outside Russia -- at San Francisco Ballet.
Although his concept was prefigured, and trumped, by the late Maurice Béjart in such works as "Golestan," and Possokhov often rode roughshod over bold changes in the music's tempos and instrumentation, the dancers made an exciting case for "Sagalobeli," projecting its exotic technical qualities with great skill.
The piece began and ended with the men, but the most original choreography turned up in an undulating women's quartet invaded and dominated by Anna Muradeli, who then soloed, her movement at once lush and passionate, liquid yet perfectly centered. Gogua and the omnipresent Akhmeteli danced the inevitable, conventional pas de deux.
Mostly executed in browns and beiges, Anna Kalatozishvili's costumes adroitly enhanced the women's hyper-extended line and the men's heightened muscularity. The company ends its UCLA Live engagement with three performances of "Giselle" today and Sunday.
Georgian State Ballet embraces heritage while moving forward
By Laura Bleiberg
Orange County Register , February 22: Nina Ananiashvili, the luminous ballerina of the Bolshoi and American Ballet Theatre, has added the title of "company artistic director" to her resume, and if one performance is a predictor, this new role will suit her exceedingly well.
In 2004, Ananiashvili took over the leadership of the Georgian State Ballet, in her hometown of Tbilisi. The company is more than 70 years old, but recent government political tumult caused stagnation at the theater. Ananiashvili, with former Bolshoi artistic director Alexei Fadeyechev as her co-director, are patching the leaks, and launching the ship forward on a new course, including a current United States tour.
At the moment, Ananiashvili's greatest asset may be as a crowd-drawing star, and she appeared in two of the four ballets Thursday night on the Georgians' Los Angeles stop at Royce Hall (through Sunday, presented by UCLA Live).
Despite its long history, the Georgian State Ballet is in its adolescence. The dancers are young and made youthful mistakes Thursday, such as the occasional collision (not fatal, thank goodness) and that old deer-in-the-headlights face of fright. Missed lighting cues and an off-stage crash or two were other gremlins that bedeviled the show.
The latter might not have been the Georgians' fault. Either way, what's more important, is that the new leadership has embraced Georgia's distinctive cultural heritage, and in doing that they are laying the foundation for a uniquely styled and, perhaps, innovative company.
No.1 on the agenda was the ballets of choreographer George Balanchine, Georgia's favorite native son. (Turns out his composer brother, Andrey Balanchivadze, helped found the company.) Ananiashvili, who guested early in her career with Balanchine's New York City Ballet, has added 10 of his ballets to her company's repertory.
The night began with his courtly and romantic "Chaconne" (1976), to recorded selections from Gluck's opera "Orfeo ed Euridice." From the opening all-female tableaux, the women of the corps de ballet showed themselves naturals at the sophisticated glamour that was one of Balanchine's gifts to women.
The ladies' confident faces and assured body placement projected an aura that rippled throughout the theater. The men were a little unsteady, particularly in the ballet's exacting footwork. Make no mistake, this is a virtuoso work without looking like one.Ananiashvili and Vasil Akhmeteli were the lead couple, and despite some partnering bobbles, were an attractive presence. Ananiashvili performed with a ripe suppleness. Her long legs are one of her great assets and she used them to strong effect in the role's unfolding circular developées and high kicks. An attractive and strong dancer, Akhmeteli had to rush the small jumps a bit to keep up with the music. The movement of their alternating solos, though, was a thrilling bit of "Anything you can do, I can do better."
In Balanchine's "Duo Concertant" (1972), ballerina Nino Gogua was the "It" girl, a standout of excellent proportions who will perhaps take over Ananiashvili's mantle. This winsome, yet elegant dancer was the muse/love interest for partner Lasha Khozashvili, who was both buoyant and boyish. Violinist Roberto Cani and pianist Liam Viney made the tricky Stravinsky pieces sound easy.
Alexei Ratmansky's "Bizet Variations" (2008), was a flirtatious, romantic jaunt for three couples to Bizet's Chromatic Variations (played by Anna Grinberg). Though it had no libretto, a story could be imagined: lovers at a ball, enticing one another away from their intended. To my mind, Ananiashvili and Akhmeteli were the more experienced couple, easily attracting the opposite gender. As with Ratmansky's "Pierrot Lunaire," seen last week at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, the choreographer's kinetic language here was fluid and pretty, but overflowing with unmemorable steps that rushed past without distinction.
The closing ballet came from yet another Bolshoi alumnus: Yuri Possokhov, now choreographer-in-residence at San Francisco Ballet. His "Sagalobeli" was an homage to Georgian folk traditions and the score (recorded) consisted of short, reedy folk instrumentals and songs.
Possokhov made the best use of the company's men, giving them solid poses and airborne leaps, one leg tucked under. Steps that suggest vernacular dance – especially a rolling torso and undulating hip swings for the women – recurred through the piece.
A female dance that bespoke longing and feminine solidarity was my favorite. Possokhov had the audience in his pocket throughout, though, and the crowd actually clapped to the music, which was a first for me at a ballet performance.
This show of affection must certainly have warmed Ananiashvili's heart. She and the Georgians are off in the right direction.
By Lewis Segal
Los Angeles Times, February 22: A young company with an antique pedigree, that's the reconstituted State Ballet of Georgia, which brought four works choreographed late in the last century or early in this one to UCLA's Royce Hall on Thursday.
If that repertory often challenged the dancers more than the audience, give them time: Georgian-born international star Nina Ananiashvili became artistic director only four years ago and had to virtually start from scratch. Like our even younger Los Angeles Ballet (across campus in the Freud Playhouse this same weekend), impressive talent and inexperience go hand in hand when they take the stage.
The problems arose most consistently on Thursday in "Chaconne," George Balanchine's alternately serene and courtly large-scale suite to music (on tape) by Gluck. Ananiashvili danced the ballerina role as if lost in a beautiful dream, but her partnership with the effortful Vasil Akhmeteli kept the technical difficulties of their duets more evident than their rapt lyricism.
Generally, the Tbilisi dancers brought freshness and exactitude to the more conventional step combinations here but looked decidedly uncomfortable in the many experimental ones.
The trio (Rusudan Kvitsiani, Ekaterine Chubinidze, Otar Khelashvili) proved especially ill at ease, and a secondary duet (Maya Dolidze, David Khozashvili) started promisingly but grew progressively shaky.
Unfortunately, an errant follow-spot added to the disarray and all but wrecked the haunting final sequence in "Duo Concertant," Balanchine's mercurial duet in which the dancers stand listening to a Stravinsky piece for piano and violin (played onstage by Liam Viney and Roberto Cani) and then begin an increasingly involving partnership.
If you could scarcely see them in the finale, Nino Gogua and Lasha Khozashvili danced the other, brighter sections gorgeously, their youth, charm and spontaneity gilding the choreography and making it seem an inspired improvisation.
With "Bizet Variations," Bolshoi Ballet artistic director Alexei Ratmansky contributed a formula, quasi-romantic exercise for three couples -- not as unwatchable as his "Pierrot Lunaire" for Diana Vishneva and company in Costa Mesa last week but just as fundamentally soulless.
This is one of those ballets in which the men have some freedom to actually dance (and get assigned off-the-rack bravura, for the most part) but the women are continually yanked about and hauled overhead, subordinated to the partnering. Again cast opposite Akhmeteli (playing a flamboyant outsider), Ananiashvili alone brought the sense of an inner life to the choreography -- even to simple walking steps and absolute stillness. And Anna Grinberg played the somber "Chromatic Variations" powerfully."
Sagalobeli" used taped Georgian folk music played by the musical ensemble of the same name to accompany a divertissement suggesting the twisty fervor and nervy elegance of the nation's ethnic dances but managed to avoid both extreme classical abstraction and opera-ballet literalism.
Like Ananiashvili, choreographer Yuri Possokhov began as a dancer at the Bolshoi but spent most of his career outside Russia -- at San Francisco Ballet.
Although his concept was prefigured, and trumped, by the late Maurice Béjart in such works as "Golestan," and Possokhov often rode roughshod over bold changes in the music's tempos and instrumentation, the dancers made an exciting case for "Sagalobeli," projecting its exotic technical qualities with great skill.
The piece began and ended with the men, but the most original choreography turned up in an undulating women's quartet invaded and dominated by Anna Muradeli, who then soloed, her movement at once lush and passionate, liquid yet perfectly centered. Gogua and the omnipresent Akhmeteli danced the inevitable, conventional pas de deux.
Mostly executed in browns and beiges, Anna Kalatozishvili's costumes adroitly enhanced the women's hyper-extended line and the men's heightened muscularity. The company ends its UCLA Live engagement with three performances of "Giselle" today and Sunday.
Georgian State Ballet embraces heritage while moving forward
By Laura Bleiberg
Orange County Register , February 22: Nina Ananiashvili, the luminous ballerina of the Bolshoi and American Ballet Theatre, has added the title of "company artistic director" to her resume, and if one performance is a predictor, this new role will suit her exceedingly well.
In 2004, Ananiashvili took over the leadership of the Georgian State Ballet, in her hometown of Tbilisi. The company is more than 70 years old, but recent government political tumult caused stagnation at the theater. Ananiashvili, with former Bolshoi artistic director Alexei Fadeyechev as her co-director, are patching the leaks, and launching the ship forward on a new course, including a current United States tour.
At the moment, Ananiashvili's greatest asset may be as a crowd-drawing star, and she appeared in two of the four ballets Thursday night on the Georgians' Los Angeles stop at Royce Hall (through Sunday, presented by UCLA Live).
Despite its long history, the Georgian State Ballet is in its adolescence. The dancers are young and made youthful mistakes Thursday, such as the occasional collision (not fatal, thank goodness) and that old deer-in-the-headlights face of fright. Missed lighting cues and an off-stage crash or two were other gremlins that bedeviled the show.
The latter might not have been the Georgians' fault. Either way, what's more important, is that the new leadership has embraced Georgia's distinctive cultural heritage, and in doing that they are laying the foundation for a uniquely styled and, perhaps, innovative company.
No.1 on the agenda was the ballets of choreographer George Balanchine, Georgia's favorite native son. (Turns out his composer brother, Andrey Balanchivadze, helped found the company.) Ananiashvili, who guested early in her career with Balanchine's New York City Ballet, has added 10 of his ballets to her company's repertory.
The night began with his courtly and romantic "Chaconne" (1976), to recorded selections from Gluck's opera "Orfeo ed Euridice." From the opening all-female tableaux, the women of the corps de ballet showed themselves naturals at the sophisticated glamour that was one of Balanchine's gifts to women.
The ladies' confident faces and assured body placement projected an aura that rippled throughout the theater. The men were a little unsteady, particularly in the ballet's exacting footwork. Make no mistake, this is a virtuoso work without looking like one.Ananiashvili and Vasil Akhmeteli were the lead couple, and despite some partnering bobbles, were an attractive presence. Ananiashvili performed with a ripe suppleness. Her long legs are one of her great assets and she used them to strong effect in the role's unfolding circular developées and high kicks. An attractive and strong dancer, Akhmeteli had to rush the small jumps a bit to keep up with the music. The movement of their alternating solos, though, was a thrilling bit of "Anything you can do, I can do better."
In Balanchine's "Duo Concertant" (1972), ballerina Nino Gogua was the "It" girl, a standout of excellent proportions who will perhaps take over Ananiashvili's mantle. This winsome, yet elegant dancer was the muse/love interest for partner Lasha Khozashvili, who was both buoyant and boyish. Violinist Roberto Cani and pianist Liam Viney made the tricky Stravinsky pieces sound easy.
Alexei Ratmansky's "Bizet Variations" (2008), was a flirtatious, romantic jaunt for three couples to Bizet's Chromatic Variations (played by Anna Grinberg). Though it had no libretto, a story could be imagined: lovers at a ball, enticing one another away from their intended. To my mind, Ananiashvili and Akhmeteli were the more experienced couple, easily attracting the opposite gender. As with Ratmansky's "Pierrot Lunaire," seen last week at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, the choreographer's kinetic language here was fluid and pretty, but overflowing with unmemorable steps that rushed past without distinction.
The closing ballet came from yet another Bolshoi alumnus: Yuri Possokhov, now choreographer-in-residence at San Francisco Ballet. His "Sagalobeli" was an homage to Georgian folk traditions and the score (recorded) consisted of short, reedy folk instrumentals and songs.
Possokhov made the best use of the company's men, giving them solid poses and airborne leaps, one leg tucked under. Steps that suggest vernacular dance – especially a rolling torso and undulating hip swings for the women – recurred through the piece.
A female dance that bespoke longing and feminine solidarity was my favorite. Possokhov had the audience in his pocket throughout, though, and the crowd actually clapped to the music, which was a first for me at a ballet performance.
This show of affection must certainly have warmed Ananiashvili's heart. She and the Georgians are off in the right direction.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
NEWS: Georgia News Digest 02-18-08
service of the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies
Attached PDF file easily navigable with Bookmarks pane
Archives and associated files at groups.google.com/group/genewsfiles (from February 2008) and groups.google.com/group/genews (before February 2008)
Attached PDF file easily navigable with Bookmarks pane
Archives and associated files at groups.google.com/group/genewsfiles (from February 2008) and groups.google.com/group/genews (before February 2008)
1. In downtown Tbilisi, opposition returns to the streets
2. Opposition goes back to protesting
3. Thousands of opposition supporters rally in Georgia's capital
4. Opposition leaders address protest rally in Georgian capital
5. Opposition leaders address protest rally in Tbilisi
6. 10,000 protest against Georgia government
7. About 20,000 rally in Georgia against president
8. Thousands impugn Georgia Government
9. Georgian opposition rallies; business fears downturn
10. Opposition warns of "hotbeds of tension" if demands are not met
11. Opposition ends rally, planning nation-wide hunger strikes
12. Opposition leader urged opposition for unity to fight injustice
13. Opposition plans mass hunger strike, ‘town of tents’
14. Opposition reaffirms negotiation resumption terms
15. Labour Party of Georgia opposes any agreement with government
16. MP urges government, opposition to resume dialogue
17. What can break the political deadlock?
18. Labor Party drafts civil disobedience manifesto
19. Speaker says Georgia needs unity to face major challenges
20. Nine-party coalition to run on joint ticket in polls
21. From journalism to big politics - presentation of Christian-Democratic movement
22. As protests start in Tbilisi, Murdoch eyes opposition TV channel
23. GNCC postponed hearings on suspension of TV station “Imedi’s” broadcasting license
24. “Imedi’s” future to be discussed in Istanbul
25. Respected commentator mulls running for Public TV head
26. Rustavi 2 TV wants Gachechiladze to apologize for ‘riffraff’ remarks
27. video: Dead Saakashvili critic suffered severe heart disease
28. The mysterious Badri Patarkatsishvili
29. Sergei Dorenko on Badri Patarkatsishvili
30. Patarkatsishvili out of the big game
31. Patarkatsishvili family to take his body to Tbilisi next week
32. Ramaz Klimiashvili: The Liberty Institute forced Badri Patarkatsishvili to enter politics!
33. After a sudden death, Georgians praise controversial billionaire
34. ‘We trust British police’ – Patarkatsishvili family
35. Gachechiladze blames government for tycoon's death
36. Georgian tycoon had severe heart disease, inquest hears
37. Who'll be next? Dead Russians, rogue KGB agents and a new Cold War being fought on Britain's streets.
38. Plutocrat's perfect pad: pots of gold and nothing of value: The doors of Georgian oligarch's house are prised open
39. Why we’ll all pay for the tax-free life of UK’s super-rich [excerpt]
40. Hollywood drawn to Russian conspiracies: Litvinenko story headed to bigscreen
41. The dead Georgian billionaire and the man accused of killing Litvinenko
42. Labor Party opposes recognition of Kosovo independence
43. ‘Georgia should not recognize Kosovo’ – opposition leader
44. Georgia not to recognize Kosovo's independence – MP
45. Kosovo may influence Russian ties with Georgia breakaway regions
46. Kosovo independence and its implications
47. Kosovan independence will mean revision of Russian policy to Abkhazia, S. Ossetia
48. Abkhazia, South Ossetia will take steps if Kosovo becomes independent
49. Russia warns it may back breakaway republics in Georgia
50. Russia suggests Kosovo independence move will affect Kremlin policy on Georgia separatists
51. State Minister on Russia’s possible reaction to Kosovo
52. Georgia protests at Russia's statement on Kosovo
53. Tbilisi concerned over Russian Foreign Ministry statement on Kosovo
54. Saakashvili warns Russia against "playing with fire" in breakaway regions
55. ‘Do not play with fire’ – Saakashvili tells Russia
56. Georgia dismisses Russian remarks on rebel regions
57. Russian diplomat summoned over Russian MFA statement
58. Russian envoy to make comments later
59. Abkhaz, South Ossetian Leaders meet Russian minister
60. Lavrov meets Abkhaz, S. Ossetian leaders
61. Saakashvili displeased by Lavrov’s meeting with Abkhazian, S Ossetian leaders
62. Saakashvili questions Russian citizenship of residents of Abkhazia, S. Ossetia
63. Saakashvili says it is up to Georgia to protect its citizens
64. Gurgenidze hopes for swiftest possible resumption of air communication with Russia
65. Saakashvili calls for settling relations with Russia
66. Meeting between Georgian, Russian leaders to be "constructive"
67. Early voting in presidential election for Russians living abroad begins today
68. Georgia asks NATO for membership action plan
69. Looking west made sense for Georgia: Key International Political Figures in Munich
70. Expert discusses impact of US elections
71. Britain’s foreign secretary urges no retreat on imperialist militarism [excerpt]
72. Jewish investors interested in investment in hi-tech field
73. Jewish leaders lobby in Tbilisi
74. French Business Council established in Georgia
75. Indian Ambassador to Georgia talks up investment and trade opportunities
76. Lado Gurgenidze is content with his visit to Dubai
77. IFC and Georgian Government seek to upgrade safety regulations for hazardous enterprises
78. Georgia’s electricity sector from 1991-2003
79. New Governor of Guria region restored press and public relations service in his office
80. MP becomes Governor of Kakheti
81. Schools, clinics and water supply renovation discussed at meeting in the zone of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict
82. Seminar focusing on legislation modernization held at Ministry of Foreign Affairs
83. Ombudsman opposes extradition of Azerbaijani human rights activist
84. Warmth, discipline, high spirits: Ballerina Nina Ananiashvili has revivified the State Ballet of Georgia
full digest: Georgia News Digest - Ansicht in Groups BetaNeu!
Jonathan Kulick, Ph.D., Director of Studies, Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies, 3a Chitadze, Tbilisi 0108, Georgia (Republic), jonathan.kulick@gfsis.org, office: +995 32 47 35 55, mobile: +995 95 33 33 40, USA voicemail: 310.928.6814
Saturday, February 16, 2008
MAGAZIN: A letter from Georgia, Report: Georgia & An Interview with Nina Ananiashvili
ballettanz magazine with some articles about Georgia ...
Content January 2008 English Version >>>
Inhalt Januar 2008 Deutsche Version >>>
im heft blättern >>>
leaf through the magazine >>>
PDF >>>
with:
* A letter from Georgia In Tblissi: Thomas Thorausch on the violence of dance
* Report: Georgia – where Russian bombs fall and the people rise up against their own president. In January a new president is voted in, but otherwise everything stays the same – especially in dance. A report by Ralph Hälbig
* Nina Ananiashvili is director of the three year-old State Ballet of Georgia. She talked to Susan Yung in New York about the state of affairs in Tblissi under President Mikhail Saakashvili
Content January 2008 English Version >>>
Inhalt Januar 2008 Deutsche Version >>>
im heft blättern >>>
leaf through the magazine >>>
PDF >>>
with:
* A letter from Georgia In Tblissi: Thomas Thorausch on the violence of dance
* Report: Georgia – where Russian bombs fall and the people rise up against their own president. In January a new president is voted in, but otherwise everything stays the same – especially in dance. A report by Ralph Hälbig
* Nina Ananiashvili is director of the three year-old State Ballet of Georgia. She talked to Susan Yung in New York about the state of affairs in Tblissi under President Mikhail Saakashvili
DANCE: Prima Ballerina Nina Ananiashvili & State Ballet of Georgia launches first-ever U.S. Tour
State Ballet of Georgia launches first-ever U.S. tour at UC Berkeley
Kathleen Maclay - UC Berkeley News , February 14
The State Ballet of Georgia launches its first-ever U.S. tour at UC Berkeley today (Thursday, Feb. 14), presented by Cal Performances at Zellerbach Hall in shows that run through Sunday. The ballet's American visit highlights the once-struggling troupe's resurgence after an era of political repression and economic deprivation.
The Feb. 14-17 performances feature prima ballerina, artistic director and Georgian native Nina Ananiashvili. After Georgia's civil war ended in 2004, Ananiashvili was called upon by the president of the newly independent republic to help rebuild the tattered ballet company, which is based in the capital of Tbilisi.
The ballet's dancers had taken to wearing layers of clothing in their unheated rehearsal hall, but continued to perform even before the most meager audiences. After the Soviet Union's breakup, "everything crashed down," and the ballet stopped performing as a professional entity, recalled Ananiashvili in an interview on campus this week. But today, the State Ballet of Georgia is considered a world-class troupe and is challenging the long-held preeminence of Russian ballet.Ananiashvili, whose parents introduced her to skating in an effort to improve her poor health as a child, is considered one of the most important ballerinas of her generation. The former Bolshoi Ballet prima ballerina and a continuing principal guest artist for American Ballet Theatre will perform in the solo spotlight tonight and also in her signature role in "Giselle" on Saturday. "Giselle" is one of her favorite ballets and one of the great romantic ballets of all time, she said.
Since Ananiashvili took the helm of the Georgian ballet, it has grown to 100 dancers and performed the works of 20 international choreographers. She said her home country's response to the ballet's revitalization and its full schedule of new, modern works combined with classical material has been "huge" and enthusiastic.
Cal Performances Director Robert Cole said Ananiashvili's work is well known around the world and that he has been working for 15 years to bring her to campus to perform.
"We try to bring something wonderful to Zellerbach that hasn't been seen anywhere else," he said, noting that the State Ballet of Georgia, which performed to rave reviews last summer on the East Coast, will move next to Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, then to New York City, Chicago, Iowa and Minnesota. Here in Northern California, Ananiashvili is drawing patrons who are familiar with her reputation as a star ballerina, Cole said.
The company's mixed repertory tonight will introduce to American audiences for the first time a ballet by Yuri Possokhov, choreographer-in-residence at the San Francisco Ballet. It also will premiere work by the Bolshoi's Aleksei Ratmansky that is set to "Chromatic Variations" by Georges Bizet, as well as Balanchine's "Chaconne."
The troupe will perform "Giselle" on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The Berkeley Symphony Orchestra will perform under Cole's direction in all programs in the series. Tonight's program also will feature traditional Georgian choral music performed live by a six-member ensemble.
Prima Ballerina Nina Ananiashvili to grace Santa Barbara: The Giselle of our time
Elizabeth Schwyzer - Santa Barbara Independent, February 14, 2008
It’s a timeless tale of love, betrayal, and retribution: An innocent young woman falls in love with a man who is secretly engaged to another. When the heroine learns of his deceit, she dies of a broken heart, but rather than tormenting him, her spirit ultimately grants him forgiveness. Originally choreographed by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot in 1841 and later restaged by Marius Petipa, Giselle is considered among the greatest Romantic ballets, requiring great technical skill of the lead dancer as well as deep emotional sensitivity. Among the prima ballerinas who have played the title role are Anna Pavlova, Alicia Markova, and Margot Fonteyn. Following in their delicate footsteps is Nina Ananiashvili.
Nina Ananiashvili in the role of Giselle.
Born in the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ananiashvili began her career as a competitive ice skater before becoming an internationally recognized figure in the ballet world. Today, she is a principal dancer for New York’s American Ballet Theatre and for Russia’s Bolshoi Ballet. In 2004, she became the artistic director of the State Ballet of Georgia, and last year returned to the stage after a two-year break. On Tuesday, February 19, Ananiashvili leads the company in its Santa Barbara debut as well as starring in the role of Giselle. She spoke to me on the phone from Tbilisi, Georgia, last week.
What’s special about dancing Giselle? Because we are a classical ballet company and a state theater, we are not like a modern dance company. We have a classical school, and it is important to have classical works like Giselle and Swan Lake in the repertory. These classical ballets train dancers very well. If you know Petipa’s ballets you can dance many things. They’re always difficult. I think they are great ballets.Is it a challenge to be working as artistic director and dancing the principal role as well? Yes, I think it is doubly difficult.
Just today I was saying, “Dancers, I am nervous about myself because it is my first time dancing with you, and I am also nervous about you because I want you to dance well, so please help me out.” It takes two times more energy and two times more nerves.
How would you say your dancing has developed throughout the years? When I heard, when I was young, that you can dance better when you become older, I didn’t understand. But you know, because your mind is different, you look differently at everything. You do it with your head, not just with your body. This is a very important difference. In the beginning, the teacher teaches you everything. As I’ve grown older, I have learned to put myself into things more, find something new to add. This makes the work more interesting for the public.
State Ballet of Georgia.
Do you think great dancing requires training as an actor? If not, how does a dancer learn the theatrical skills necessary to be captivating and convincing on a stage? That’s a good question. Just today I was talking about this. Of course sometimes modern ballet with no emotion is ok. But when there are stories involved, you need to have internal feelings about what you’re doing and why you are doing it. So when you do not have the schooling, you either need to be very talented or you need to learn it. Now, in the ballet school at the State Ballet of Georgia, I am teaching drama acting specifically. I teach them to move and talk together. I have tried this for the past two years, and it has gone fantastically well. Now I know that if they do not become ballerinas, they can become actors, because they are loosened up, more beautiful. They’re thinking differently about ballet now; it’s not just steps and movement. And it’s not just pantomime.
What do you think makes a great dancer? Lots of things. You can’t say one thing. It’s not enough to have physical beauty. Of course that’s very important in ballet. But at the same time, you need to be a very artistic person. Also, you need to love this job. You need all your life to have patience. The job is very tough, very difficult. Things don’t always go smoothly. You need to be able to wait; you need to sometimes dance with pain. All your life you need to work, work, work, work nonstop. If you ever decide you’re good enough, you really decline. It’s not easy.
What advice do you have for young dancers? I think we do this for people, because life has become so computerized, we have forgotten how to talk to one other. We do this for the future, for our kids. Ballet brings back human love and human life — we need to have contact with each other during these crazy times. If you see good theater, good art, you don’t want go out and kill people, you know? If you get inspired, you want to tell other people, to share it. Once, a postman told me he used to love opera the most, but then he saw me dancing on television, and he began to really like ballet. That is why I do this job—to make people happy. There are times after a performance when fans will come to me and say that they feel lucky in their lifetime to have seen me dance. This is wonderful. It reminds me that as a dancer, you really don’t live for nothing. You live for something.
Warmth, discipline, high spirits: Ballerina Nina Ananiashvili has revivified the State Ballet of Georgia and continues to take leading roles
Susan ReiterLA Times Tass , February 17
When it comes to multi-tasking, Nina Ananiashvili qualifies as an expert. The doe-eyed ballerina, a star for the last two decades best known for her performances with the Bolshoi Ballet and American Ballet Theatre, has many roles to fill these days, onstage and off.She continues to perform classics such as "Giselle" and "Swan Lake," in which she has long excelled, along with more contemporary repertoire. But while onstage, she is now concerned with every detail around her. As artistic director of the State Ballet of Georgia, she has selected the works, overseen production details, cast the dancers in their roles, possibly even taught company class that morning. And she is juggling these considerable demands with those of motherhood; her daughter with her husband of 20 years, businessman Gregory Vashadze, recently had her second birthday.
Ananiashvili, 44, took on the challenge of reviving the then-moribund Georgian troupe in 2004. The new president of the former Soviet republic in the Caucasus, Mikheil Saakashvili, was enlightened enough to recognize that reviving the company's artistic standards could play a role in restoring national pride after a period of civil war and hardship. He turned to the celebrated native daughter -- whose earliest dance training was in Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, before she left for the Moscow-based Bolshoi -- and offered her the job in the spirit of "Your country needs you.""I was so shocked I couldn't say no," Ananiashvili said in charmingly accented English from her Tbilisi home shortly before the company started a seven-city U.S. tour that will bring it to Royce Hall beginning Thursday. "It was a hard decision, because I needed to change my life. I was working everywhere in the world at the time, so I had to make a decision to stay the whole year back home in Georgia. But I decided to do this because it was difficult to say to him no, when he told me they needed me now and are waiting my answer urgently. So I decided, maybe this is the time to help them."She was speaking on a rare day off from performing, after dancing in a newly commissioned ballet for three successive evenings, and she had a major debut, in Balanchine's "Chaconne," the next night. But while there was a hint of fatigue in her voice, her eager enthusiasm for her work came through. And she has much to be proud of: She has not only raised the State Ballet's standards to the point where international touring is possible but has also revamped its repertoire.
The Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theater had hosted visiting ballet troupes since the 1850s but had no resident company until 1935. Vakhtang Chabukiani -- a dashing, virile Georgian dancer-choreographer who was a star of Russia's Maryinsky Ballet -- was among the new company's founders. Another was Andrei Balanchivadze, a composer whose brother was the dancer and fledgling choreographer who went on to fame as George Balanchine. Chabukiani was the company's artistic director from 1941 to 1973. His successor, Georgiy Aleksidze, also had a long tenure, until 2001. But during the national strife of the 1990s, the company's fortunes were in decline. For a time, the dancers taught class themselves and rehearsed wearing their coats in unheated studios to keep up morale because they were not performing publicly. For three years after Aleksidze's departure, they had no artistic director.
This was where Ananiashvili came in, bolstered by Saakashvili's commitment and promise of strong government support. "It was really big job, and really hard," she recalled. "When you start from beginning, it's always difficult." The affiliated Vakhtang Chabukiani Tbilisi Ballet Art State School, from which the company draws nearly all its dancers, had also fallen on hard times. Its building had never been repaired after an earthquake damaged it, teachers had sought work elsewhere, and students did not have a full complement of classes and rehearsals. Ananiashvili said the school now occupies two restored, well-appointed buildings filled with students, who enter at age 6.
"We had talented dancers, and they are learning so quickly," she said. "We try to work very hard, and they really improved very quickly. In one year I already see results. Today I get a lot of letters from students wanting to attend.
"Frank Andersen, artistic director of the Royal Danish Ballet, met Ananiashvili 20 years ago. She was already a Bolshoi star but, rather than remain exclusively in her comfort zone, she took up his offer to visit Copenhagen and explore the Danish tradition and its great choreographer, August Bournonville.
"She came for three months to take classes. It was all new to her," Andersen says. "She had a very open mind and was willing to learn. By the end, she performed 'La Sylphide,' and it was gorgeous. The next year she returned to dance the lead in 'Napoli.'
"I have great admiration for her. She's a wonderful person, very clever, and has a great human quality," says Andersen, recalling how she once spent half an hour at the Metropolitan Opera House stage door signing autographs while her colleagues brushed past the waiting fans. "She commands great respect in the company -- and there is the fact that she was asked to come back by the president of the country. I think it's very much the right time for her. She has the energy, she's home, it's her country, and the company needs her.
"Indeed, she has rebuilt the company's ranks -- today it numbers 100 dancers -- by combining her warmth and ebullience with some Moscow-style discipline and by bringing in former Bolshoi colleagues as visiting teachers and coaches.Ambition is a job requirementWhere Ananiashvili really hit the ground running, however, was in the area of repertoire. Helped by the government's generosity, she brought in new productions for an ambitious performance schedule and drew on her experience and considerable international contacts to design programs that were diverse and unpredictable. The inaugural program of her tenure, in November 2004, offered works by up-and-coming American Trey McIntyre; Australian Stanton Welch, artistic director of Houston Ballet; and her Bolshoi boss, Alexei Ratmansky, who has since become an internationally known choreographer. Ananiashvili had commissioned some of his earliest efforts for her touring ensemble, Stars of the Bolshoi, and it was one of those, "Dreams About Japan," that the Georgian company performed on that opening program.
Six months later came a program that would challenge any top-flight company: a trio of Balanchine works. Some directors might dole out a Balanchine ballet between two familiar offerings, but Ananiashvili was determined that her dancers immerse themselves in the choreographer's style, and she figured taking on "Serenade," "Apollo" and "Western Symphony" at once was the way to begin.
"The dancers are incredibly musical, and they really have no problem with the transitions in Balanchine," observes Maria Calegari, the former New York City Ballet principal who, along with Bart Cook, another leading City Ballet dancer during the 1970s and '80s, has staged all of the Georgians' Balanchine productions -- which now number 10. "It's not technically perfect, but the understanding of the musicality and speed of Balanchine -- and also the metaphor -- is there. The style is kind of natural for them. When you go to some companies and ask them to stick their hips out or do a funny arm, it's difficult for them. But not for these guys.
"Calegari and Cook were back in Tbilisi in 2006 for another demanding trio of works, including "Chaconne," which was created in 1976 to music by Gluck and will be part of Thursday's program at Royce Hall. (Ananiashvili will dance in it as well as in Ratmansky's "Bizet Variations" that night and in "Giselle" on Saturday evening.) "Dancing Balanchine has clearly been a great thing for the dancers," Calegari says, noting that they take pride in the choreographer's having been a compatriot. "It's a wonderful connection for them. We always say, if you dance his ballets, it's like a good ballet class. I've seen how they have improved over the two years, and it's all on the upswing for now.
"There really was nothing there when she arrived in terms of a school," Calegari says. "And yet there are such talented people -- it's amazing. It's a small country, and they have a ways to go. But it's admirable and free-spirited." She notes that despite the lack of the kind of tradition found in Moscow or St. Petersburg, "it's more relaxed there and, in that way, fun. They love to dance. When they did 'Western Symphony,' it was really good -- very loose and exciting."Ananiashvili has also added works by Frederick Ashton and Bournonville to the Georgians' repertoire (Andersen staged the latter), and she has programmed one by Jiri Kylian for later this year. "None of the Russian companies have Kylian. We will be the first one," she said. Yet as important as it is to her to introduce her dancers -- and audiences -- to established ballets, she is also eager to commission works. McIntyre created a new "Midsummer Night's Dream" to open the second season of her tenure, and last month Tbilisi audiences saw two world premieres that are on the Royce bill: "Bizet Variations" and "Sagalobeli," the latter choreographed to Georgian folk music by Yuri Possokhov. He and Ananiashvili are old friends; he was one of her partners when he danced with the Bolshoi before leaving in 1994 for San Francisco Ballet, where he is now resident choreographer.
Another longtime Bolshoi colleague, Alexei Fadeyechev (a leading danseur and briefly the Moscow company's artistic director), has been an integral part of shaping and elevating the State Ballet of Georgia's profile. When Ananiashvili first arrived, he served as associate artistic director, and it is his production of "Giselle" that the company will perform Saturday and Sunday at Royce. He also staged its "Swan Lake" and "Don Quixote."
What with her pregnancy, the need for restoring her body to peak form and the demands of her job, Ananiashvili did not appear onstage for two years before a triumphant return last April in "Swan Lake." She acknowledges the effort it took to get back in shape, although she clearly feels it was worth it.
At the same time, she speaks philosophically about remaining onstage.
"I decided like this: If I stop, I will be anyway a most happy person, because I have everything -- my child, my husband and what's important for me," she said. "But inside myself, I was not ready to stop dancing, and I felt, if I can make myself back into good shape, then I will continue. If not, then I decide to stop -- even tomorrow. So it doesn't change anything in my life."
more: Nina Ananiashvili & the State Ballet of Georgia - Giselle - Mixed Repertory with Berkeley Symphony Orchestra
Kathleen Maclay - UC Berkeley News , February 14
The State Ballet of Georgia launches its first-ever U.S. tour at UC Berkeley today (Thursday, Feb. 14), presented by Cal Performances at Zellerbach Hall in shows that run through Sunday. The ballet's American visit highlights the once-struggling troupe's resurgence after an era of political repression and economic deprivation.The Feb. 14-17 performances feature prima ballerina, artistic director and Georgian native Nina Ananiashvili. After Georgia's civil war ended in 2004, Ananiashvili was called upon by the president of the newly independent republic to help rebuild the tattered ballet company, which is based in the capital of Tbilisi.
The ballet's dancers had taken to wearing layers of clothing in their unheated rehearsal hall, but continued to perform even before the most meager audiences. After the Soviet Union's breakup, "everything crashed down," and the ballet stopped performing as a professional entity, recalled Ananiashvili in an interview on campus this week. But today, the State Ballet of Georgia is considered a world-class troupe and is challenging the long-held preeminence of Russian ballet.Ananiashvili, whose parents introduced her to skating in an effort to improve her poor health as a child, is considered one of the most important ballerinas of her generation. The former Bolshoi Ballet prima ballerina and a continuing principal guest artist for American Ballet Theatre will perform in the solo spotlight tonight and also in her signature role in "Giselle" on Saturday. "Giselle" is one of her favorite ballets and one of the great romantic ballets of all time, she said.
Since Ananiashvili took the helm of the Georgian ballet, it has grown to 100 dancers and performed the works of 20 international choreographers. She said her home country's response to the ballet's revitalization and its full schedule of new, modern works combined with classical material has been "huge" and enthusiastic.
Cal Performances Director Robert Cole said Ananiashvili's work is well known around the world and that he has been working for 15 years to bring her to campus to perform.
"We try to bring something wonderful to Zellerbach that hasn't been seen anywhere else," he said, noting that the State Ballet of Georgia, which performed to rave reviews last summer on the East Coast, will move next to Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, then to New York City, Chicago, Iowa and Minnesota. Here in Northern California, Ananiashvili is drawing patrons who are familiar with her reputation as a star ballerina, Cole said.
The company's mixed repertory tonight will introduce to American audiences for the first time a ballet by Yuri Possokhov, choreographer-in-residence at the San Francisco Ballet. It also will premiere work by the Bolshoi's Aleksei Ratmansky that is set to "Chromatic Variations" by Georges Bizet, as well as Balanchine's "Chaconne."
The troupe will perform "Giselle" on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The Berkeley Symphony Orchestra will perform under Cole's direction in all programs in the series. Tonight's program also will feature traditional Georgian choral music performed live by a six-member ensemble.
Prima Ballerina Nina Ananiashvili to grace Santa Barbara: The Giselle of our time
Elizabeth Schwyzer - Santa Barbara Independent, February 14, 2008
It’s a timeless tale of love, betrayal, and retribution: An innocent young woman falls in love with a man who is secretly engaged to another. When the heroine learns of his deceit, she dies of a broken heart, but rather than tormenting him, her spirit ultimately grants him forgiveness. Originally choreographed by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot in 1841 and later restaged by Marius Petipa, Giselle is considered among the greatest Romantic ballets, requiring great technical skill of the lead dancer as well as deep emotional sensitivity. Among the prima ballerinas who have played the title role are Anna Pavlova, Alicia Markova, and Margot Fonteyn. Following in their delicate footsteps is Nina Ananiashvili.
Nina Ananiashvili in the role of Giselle.
Born in the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ananiashvili began her career as a competitive ice skater before becoming an internationally recognized figure in the ballet world. Today, she is a principal dancer for New York’s American Ballet Theatre and for Russia’s Bolshoi Ballet. In 2004, she became the artistic director of the State Ballet of Georgia, and last year returned to the stage after a two-year break. On Tuesday, February 19, Ananiashvili leads the company in its Santa Barbara debut as well as starring in the role of Giselle. She spoke to me on the phone from Tbilisi, Georgia, last week.
What’s special about dancing Giselle? Because we are a classical ballet company and a state theater, we are not like a modern dance company. We have a classical school, and it is important to have classical works like Giselle and Swan Lake in the repertory. These classical ballets train dancers very well. If you know Petipa’s ballets you can dance many things. They’re always difficult. I think they are great ballets.Is it a challenge to be working as artistic director and dancing the principal role as well? Yes, I think it is doubly difficult.
Just today I was saying, “Dancers, I am nervous about myself because it is my first time dancing with you, and I am also nervous about you because I want you to dance well, so please help me out.” It takes two times more energy and two times more nerves.
How would you say your dancing has developed throughout the years? When I heard, when I was young, that you can dance better when you become older, I didn’t understand. But you know, because your mind is different, you look differently at everything. You do it with your head, not just with your body. This is a very important difference. In the beginning, the teacher teaches you everything. As I’ve grown older, I have learned to put myself into things more, find something new to add. This makes the work more interesting for the public.
State Ballet of Georgia.
Do you think great dancing requires training as an actor? If not, how does a dancer learn the theatrical skills necessary to be captivating and convincing on a stage? That’s a good question. Just today I was talking about this. Of course sometimes modern ballet with no emotion is ok. But when there are stories involved, you need to have internal feelings about what you’re doing and why you are doing it. So when you do not have the schooling, you either need to be very talented or you need to learn it. Now, in the ballet school at the State Ballet of Georgia, I am teaching drama acting specifically. I teach them to move and talk together. I have tried this for the past two years, and it has gone fantastically well. Now I know that if they do not become ballerinas, they can become actors, because they are loosened up, more beautiful. They’re thinking differently about ballet now; it’s not just steps and movement. And it’s not just pantomime.
What do you think makes a great dancer? Lots of things. You can’t say one thing. It’s not enough to have physical beauty. Of course that’s very important in ballet. But at the same time, you need to be a very artistic person. Also, you need to love this job. You need all your life to have patience. The job is very tough, very difficult. Things don’t always go smoothly. You need to be able to wait; you need to sometimes dance with pain. All your life you need to work, work, work, work nonstop. If you ever decide you’re good enough, you really decline. It’s not easy.
What advice do you have for young dancers? I think we do this for people, because life has become so computerized, we have forgotten how to talk to one other. We do this for the future, for our kids. Ballet brings back human love and human life — we need to have contact with each other during these crazy times. If you see good theater, good art, you don’t want go out and kill people, you know? If you get inspired, you want to tell other people, to share it. Once, a postman told me he used to love opera the most, but then he saw me dancing on television, and he began to really like ballet. That is why I do this job—to make people happy. There are times after a performance when fans will come to me and say that they feel lucky in their lifetime to have seen me dance. This is wonderful. It reminds me that as a dancer, you really don’t live for nothing. You live for something.
Warmth, discipline, high spirits: Ballerina Nina Ananiashvili has revivified the State Ballet of Georgia and continues to take leading roles
Susan ReiterLA Times Tass , February 17
When it comes to multi-tasking, Nina Ananiashvili qualifies as an expert. The doe-eyed ballerina, a star for the last two decades best known for her performances with the Bolshoi Ballet and American Ballet Theatre, has many roles to fill these days, onstage and off.She continues to perform classics such as "Giselle" and "Swan Lake," in which she has long excelled, along with more contemporary repertoire. But while onstage, she is now concerned with every detail around her. As artistic director of the State Ballet of Georgia, she has selected the works, overseen production details, cast the dancers in their roles, possibly even taught company class that morning. And she is juggling these considerable demands with those of motherhood; her daughter with her husband of 20 years, businessman Gregory Vashadze, recently had her second birthday.
Ananiashvili, 44, took on the challenge of reviving the then-moribund Georgian troupe in 2004. The new president of the former Soviet republic in the Caucasus, Mikheil Saakashvili, was enlightened enough to recognize that reviving the company's artistic standards could play a role in restoring national pride after a period of civil war and hardship. He turned to the celebrated native daughter -- whose earliest dance training was in Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, before she left for the Moscow-based Bolshoi -- and offered her the job in the spirit of "Your country needs you.""I was so shocked I couldn't say no," Ananiashvili said in charmingly accented English from her Tbilisi home shortly before the company started a seven-city U.S. tour that will bring it to Royce Hall beginning Thursday. "It was a hard decision, because I needed to change my life. I was working everywhere in the world at the time, so I had to make a decision to stay the whole year back home in Georgia. But I decided to do this because it was difficult to say to him no, when he told me they needed me now and are waiting my answer urgently. So I decided, maybe this is the time to help them."She was speaking on a rare day off from performing, after dancing in a newly commissioned ballet for three successive evenings, and she had a major debut, in Balanchine's "Chaconne," the next night. But while there was a hint of fatigue in her voice, her eager enthusiasm for her work came through. And she has much to be proud of: She has not only raised the State Ballet's standards to the point where international touring is possible but has also revamped its repertoire.
The Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theater had hosted visiting ballet troupes since the 1850s but had no resident company until 1935. Vakhtang Chabukiani -- a dashing, virile Georgian dancer-choreographer who was a star of Russia's Maryinsky Ballet -- was among the new company's founders. Another was Andrei Balanchivadze, a composer whose brother was the dancer and fledgling choreographer who went on to fame as George Balanchine. Chabukiani was the company's artistic director from 1941 to 1973. His successor, Georgiy Aleksidze, also had a long tenure, until 2001. But during the national strife of the 1990s, the company's fortunes were in decline. For a time, the dancers taught class themselves and rehearsed wearing their coats in unheated studios to keep up morale because they were not performing publicly. For three years after Aleksidze's departure, they had no artistic director.
This was where Ananiashvili came in, bolstered by Saakashvili's commitment and promise of strong government support. "It was really big job, and really hard," she recalled. "When you start from beginning, it's always difficult." The affiliated Vakhtang Chabukiani Tbilisi Ballet Art State School, from which the company draws nearly all its dancers, had also fallen on hard times. Its building had never been repaired after an earthquake damaged it, teachers had sought work elsewhere, and students did not have a full complement of classes and rehearsals. Ananiashvili said the school now occupies two restored, well-appointed buildings filled with students, who enter at age 6.
"We had talented dancers, and they are learning so quickly," she said. "We try to work very hard, and they really improved very quickly. In one year I already see results. Today I get a lot of letters from students wanting to attend.
"Frank Andersen, artistic director of the Royal Danish Ballet, met Ananiashvili 20 years ago. She was already a Bolshoi star but, rather than remain exclusively in her comfort zone, she took up his offer to visit Copenhagen and explore the Danish tradition and its great choreographer, August Bournonville.
"She came for three months to take classes. It was all new to her," Andersen says. "She had a very open mind and was willing to learn. By the end, she performed 'La Sylphide,' and it was gorgeous. The next year she returned to dance the lead in 'Napoli.'
"I have great admiration for her. She's a wonderful person, very clever, and has a great human quality," says Andersen, recalling how she once spent half an hour at the Metropolitan Opera House stage door signing autographs while her colleagues brushed past the waiting fans. "She commands great respect in the company -- and there is the fact that she was asked to come back by the president of the country. I think it's very much the right time for her. She has the energy, she's home, it's her country, and the company needs her.
"Indeed, she has rebuilt the company's ranks -- today it numbers 100 dancers -- by combining her warmth and ebullience with some Moscow-style discipline and by bringing in former Bolshoi colleagues as visiting teachers and coaches.Ambition is a job requirementWhere Ananiashvili really hit the ground running, however, was in the area of repertoire. Helped by the government's generosity, she brought in new productions for an ambitious performance schedule and drew on her experience and considerable international contacts to design programs that were diverse and unpredictable. The inaugural program of her tenure, in November 2004, offered works by up-and-coming American Trey McIntyre; Australian Stanton Welch, artistic director of Houston Ballet; and her Bolshoi boss, Alexei Ratmansky, who has since become an internationally known choreographer. Ananiashvili had commissioned some of his earliest efforts for her touring ensemble, Stars of the Bolshoi, and it was one of those, "Dreams About Japan," that the Georgian company performed on that opening program.
Six months later came a program that would challenge any top-flight company: a trio of Balanchine works. Some directors might dole out a Balanchine ballet between two familiar offerings, but Ananiashvili was determined that her dancers immerse themselves in the choreographer's style, and she figured taking on "Serenade," "Apollo" and "Western Symphony" at once was the way to begin.
"The dancers are incredibly musical, and they really have no problem with the transitions in Balanchine," observes Maria Calegari, the former New York City Ballet principal who, along with Bart Cook, another leading City Ballet dancer during the 1970s and '80s, has staged all of the Georgians' Balanchine productions -- which now number 10. "It's not technically perfect, but the understanding of the musicality and speed of Balanchine -- and also the metaphor -- is there. The style is kind of natural for them. When you go to some companies and ask them to stick their hips out or do a funny arm, it's difficult for them. But not for these guys.
"Calegari and Cook were back in Tbilisi in 2006 for another demanding trio of works, including "Chaconne," which was created in 1976 to music by Gluck and will be part of Thursday's program at Royce Hall. (Ananiashvili will dance in it as well as in Ratmansky's "Bizet Variations" that night and in "Giselle" on Saturday evening.) "Dancing Balanchine has clearly been a great thing for the dancers," Calegari says, noting that they take pride in the choreographer's having been a compatriot. "It's a wonderful connection for them. We always say, if you dance his ballets, it's like a good ballet class. I've seen how they have improved over the two years, and it's all on the upswing for now.
"There really was nothing there when she arrived in terms of a school," Calegari says. "And yet there are such talented people -- it's amazing. It's a small country, and they have a ways to go. But it's admirable and free-spirited." She notes that despite the lack of the kind of tradition found in Moscow or St. Petersburg, "it's more relaxed there and, in that way, fun. They love to dance. When they did 'Western Symphony,' it was really good -- very loose and exciting."Ananiashvili has also added works by Frederick Ashton and Bournonville to the Georgians' repertoire (Andersen staged the latter), and she has programmed one by Jiri Kylian for later this year. "None of the Russian companies have Kylian. We will be the first one," she said. Yet as important as it is to her to introduce her dancers -- and audiences -- to established ballets, she is also eager to commission works. McIntyre created a new "Midsummer Night's Dream" to open the second season of her tenure, and last month Tbilisi audiences saw two world premieres that are on the Royce bill: "Bizet Variations" and "Sagalobeli," the latter choreographed to Georgian folk music by Yuri Possokhov. He and Ananiashvili are old friends; he was one of her partners when he danced with the Bolshoi before leaving in 1994 for San Francisco Ballet, where he is now resident choreographer.
Another longtime Bolshoi colleague, Alexei Fadeyechev (a leading danseur and briefly the Moscow company's artistic director), has been an integral part of shaping and elevating the State Ballet of Georgia's profile. When Ananiashvili first arrived, he served as associate artistic director, and it is his production of "Giselle" that the company will perform Saturday and Sunday at Royce. He also staged its "Swan Lake" and "Don Quixote."
What with her pregnancy, the need for restoring her body to peak form and the demands of her job, Ananiashvili did not appear onstage for two years before a triumphant return last April in "Swan Lake." She acknowledges the effort it took to get back in shape, although she clearly feels it was worth it.
At the same time, she speaks philosophically about remaining onstage.
"I decided like this: If I stop, I will be anyway a most happy person, because I have everything -- my child, my husband and what's important for me," she said. "But inside myself, I was not ready to stop dancing, and I felt, if I can make myself back into good shape, then I will continue. If not, then I decide to stop -- even tomorrow. So it doesn't change anything in my life."
more: Nina Ananiashvili & the State Ballet of Georgia - Giselle - Mixed Repertory with Berkeley Symphony Orchestra
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
DANCE: ballettanz magazine Januar 2008
ballettanz magazine with some articles about Georgia ...
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* A letter from Georgia In Tblissi: Thomas Thorausch on the violence of dance
* Report: Georgia – where Russian bombs fall and the people rise up against their own president. In January a new president is voted in, but otherwise everything stays the same – especially in dance. A report by Ralph Hälbig
* Nina Ananiashvili is director of the three year-old State Ballet of Georgia. She talked to Susan Yung in New York about the state of affairs in Tblissi under President Mikhail Saakashvili
ERISIONI in Tbilisi on December 12, 2007 by Tea Shaishmelashvili
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with:
* A letter from Georgia In Tblissi: Thomas Thorausch on the violence of dance
* Report: Georgia – where Russian bombs fall and the people rise up against their own president. In January a new president is voted in, but otherwise everything stays the same – especially in dance. A report by Ralph Hälbig
* Nina Ananiashvili is director of the three year-old State Ballet of Georgia. She talked to Susan Yung in New York about the state of affairs in Tblissi under President Mikhail Saakashvili
ERISIONI in Tbilisi on December 12, 2007 by Tea Shaishmelashvili
Friday, December 21, 2007
NEWS: Georgia News Digest 12-21-07
A service of the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies
Attached PDF file easily navigable with Bookmarks pane
Archives and associated files at groups-beta.google.com/group/genews/files
1. report: Georgia: Sliding towards authoritarianism?
2. report: Crossing the line: Georgia’s violent dispersal of protestors and raid on Imedi Television
3. report: Presidential elections 2008 pre-election tv monitoring (First Report from 10-15 December)
4. ACT publishes indexes of political ratings and electorate's pre-election feelings
5. Phone poll gives former president commanding lead
6. CEC approves wording of election questions
7. Recommendations on the work of the Central Election Commission from Georgian NGOs
8. Pre-election polls: What would be needed
9. Lack of independent polling hurts elections
10. Cameras/VCR to be settled at electoral districts
11. CEC refused to publish primary data of election funds
12. Georgians in U.S. want to take part in 5 January polls
13. Pre-election turmoil in Samegrelo and totally falsified election registers
14. Debate over referendum wording about more than just the language
15. Plebiscite question agreed
16. Justice Minister responds to accusations linked to voter rolls
17. Ingilos boycott upcoming presidential elections
18. American expert, Lincoln Mitchell: “You’ll have an election, you’ll have a winner and then you’ll have protests”
19. Georgia is the pilot project of United States
20. Government group to meet opposition
21. Authority is blamed for persecuting the opponents
22. NGOs to file suit against two presidential candidates
23. NGO demands prosecution of interior minister, former president
24. Germany will decide soon on whether to grant political asylum to Irakli Okruashvili
25. MPs comment on Berdzenishvili's statement
26. video: Human Rights Watch: Georgian police went too far
27. Burjanadze negatively evaluates events held near Batumi University on November 08
28. TV debates held at Kakheti tv companies
29. CEC issued initial media monitoring results
30. Dieter Boden positively evaluated pre-election media monitoring
31. Video bridge Moscow-Tbilisi-New York – Georgia ahead of presidential elections – to be held
32. Newspaper Guria News kick-starts movement under slogan “we choose democracy!”
33. Successful mission for Adam Michnik
34. Who owns Rustavi 2 and Mze?
35. Burjanadze justifies Imedi closure, but not the means
36. Georgia station starts over
37. Government supports Georgian Patriarch’s initiative
38. Patarkatsishvili warned about possible disqualification from campaign
39. According to headquarters of Patarkatsishvili, voters’ lists are increased by 1/3
40. Patarkatsishvili refrains from arriving in Georgia
41. No plans for Patarkatsishvili's immediate return
42. Patarkatsishvili: ‘Saakashvili's regime dangerous, merciless’
43. Defect from Saakashvili - Patarkatsishvili tells Burjanadze
44. GYLA demands to withdraw candidacy of Saakashvili and Patarkatsishvili
45. People rushing to back Patarkatsishvili's presidential bid
46. Patarkatsishvili expected in Tbilisi ahead of 5 January vote
47. Report on Patarkatsishvili return to Georgia on Dec 20 denied
48. Badri Patarkatsishvili: From Russian businessman to Georgian presidential claimant
49. The Metekhi obligation: Shalva Natelashvili’s presidential program
50. Natelashvili meets voters in Kvemo Kartli Region
51. Natelashvili presents his program on demographic issues
52. Natelashvili wants campaign money declared
53. Maisashvili wraps up visit to Adjara
54. Maisashvili summed up results of two-day election campaign in Adjara
55. Maisashvili: Azerbaijanis will feel themselves as free and independent citizens in the country they live in
56. Maisashvili holds meetings with voter in Kutaisi
57. Maisashvili calls for "disobedience" if election rigged
58. New Rights snub inter-agency group on elections
59. Gamkrelidze to meet voters in Kakheti Region
60. Gamkrelidze’s ads attack Saakashvili’s policies
61. Opposition accuses former president of bribing voters
62. Opposition to trust international organizations' opinion of election
63. Profile of David Gamkrelidze
64. Gamqrelidze: I am not planning to be Georgian president for five years
65. Sarishvili meets with foreign ambassador
66. Sarishvili familiarized Kovalenko with her views on relations with Russia
67. Gachechiladze promises not to dismiss in vain state officials when he becomes president
68. Gachechiladze meets voters in Gori
69. Georgian students abroad, support Levan Gachechiladze
70. Gachechiladze sells GWS shares
71. Gachechiladze names reasons for selling shares
72. Opposition reports campaign HQ in western town vandalized
73. The opposition has discovered specific inaccuracies on voter lists
74. Saakashvili’s election headquarters welcome startup of media council activities
75. Saakashvili tightens his autocratic rule
76. Saakashvili to meet voters In Kobuleti
77. Youths supporting Mikheil Saakashvili are uniting
78. Human Rights Center insists on bringing up the case against Saakashvili
79. Saakashvili met voters in Kobuleti
80. Doctors joined youth headquarters supporting Saakashvili
81. More being spent on Saakashvili campaign than declared – rival
82. 2008 budget surplus of gel 275,000 planned
83. Revised 2008 draft budget unveiled
84. Defense spending cut by gel 400 mln
85. Budget of healthcare to increase to gel 1,260 billion in 2008
86. Money-and-credit and currency policy of 2008 will be directed to stabilization of prices
87. State program cheap credit prepared
88. Parliament of Georgia accepted the draft trends under money-and-credit and exchange policy in 2008
89. Inflation index in Georgia exceeds that in the main trade partners
90. The Government of Georgia to establish future's fund
91. Assets of Georgian banks to reach $14-15 billion in 2012 - Lado Gurgenidze
92. Government intends to reorganize stock market
93. No room for tsinandali on the Chinese wine market?
94. Poti population protest processing of aluminum oxide in Poti port
95. Poti free economic zone to be a ‘laboratory’ for Georgian development
96. A decade of challenges for Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova
97. Georgia to decide on CIS membership depending on its ability to resolve problems - diplomat
98. Eduard Shevardnadze: Gorbachev and Yeltsin confrontation led to the collapse of the Soviet Union
99. Yerevan to coordinate some issues with Georgian Administration
100. Armenia demanded to consider territorial conflicts in Georgia at PACE
101. Bezhuashvili congratulates Ukrainian colleague on appointment
102. Georgia against proposal to invite separatist leaders to Council of Europe
103. Burjanadze says Russia may stage acts of provocation
104. Russian peacekeepers deny dispatch of Chechen unit to Georgia's conflict zone
105. The Chechen bomb. Have the Russians deployed Zapad and Vostok on Georgian territory?
106. Chechen spetsnaz has entered Abkhazia and South Ossetia
107. Chechen servicemen thrown to conflict zones
108. video: “Georgia has lost Abkhazia forever”: Abkhazian Deputy Foreign Minister
109. Russia determined to recognize Abkhazia
110. A restart to the Abkhaz conflict would be disastrous for both sides, experts warn
111. Two people died in car accident in Zemo Abkhazia
112. Resident of Abkhazia says Georgians deprived of rights in breakaway region
113. Minister says Georgia to respond to any acts of provocation in Abkhazia
114. House fired at by Georgians in Gali district - Abkhaz officials
115. Refugees from Abkhazia to receive humanitarian aid from Georgian royal family
116. Separatists detain 30 Georgians
117. Separatist PM threatens
118. video: Artillery fights snow blocks in Caucasus
119. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, OSCE envoy discuss S. Ossetia
120. Opening of new gas distribution network postponed
121. Burjanadze promised “033” staff renewal of technique and increase of salary
122. Burjanadze meets Agrarian University professors and students
123. Nino Burjanadze meets ethnic minorities in Georgia
124. Government to reinforce property rights
125. Government supports Georgian Patriarch’s initiative
126. OSCE Mission presents publications to support judicial reform and legislative process in Georgia
127. Ukrainian company opened plant in Georgia
128. Georgian beyond reason: Georgian people’s unrecognized contributions to the world
129. Family of victim of accident in Turkey blame bus driver
130. Flood threatens the Chomi population
131. Chechen refugees are not allowed to go abroad
132. A gift of canned food: UN distributes pork to Chechen refugees
133. Prison instead of love
134. Judges should obey “guidelines”
135. Batumi dwellers are disappointed with employment program
136. Park Hyatt Tbilisi and Shakira in Tbilisi
137. Nina Ananiashvili revives Georgian Ballet
138. Official demands gel 10,000 from young editor for moral damage
139. I was chained by the neck to a wall in a tiny underground cell. I prayed and thought about my family in Wales
full digest: Georgia News Digest - Ansicht in Groups BetaNeu!
Jonathan Kulick, Ph.D., Director of Studies, Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies, 3a Chitadze, Tbilisi 0108, Georgia (Republic), jonathan.kulick@gfsis.org, office: +995 32 47 35 55, mobile: +995 95 33 33 40, USA voicemail: 310.928.6814
Attached PDF file easily navigable with Bookmarks pane
Archives and associated files at groups-beta.google.com/group/genews/files
1. report: Georgia: Sliding towards authoritarianism?
2. report: Crossing the line: Georgia’s violent dispersal of protestors and raid on Imedi Television
3. report: Presidential elections 2008 pre-election tv monitoring (First Report from 10-15 December)
4. ACT publishes indexes of political ratings and electorate's pre-election feelings
5. Phone poll gives former president commanding lead
6. CEC approves wording of election questions
7. Recommendations on the work of the Central Election Commission from Georgian NGOs
8. Pre-election polls: What would be needed
9. Lack of independent polling hurts elections
10. Cameras/VCR to be settled at electoral districts
11. CEC refused to publish primary data of election funds
12. Georgians in U.S. want to take part in 5 January polls
13. Pre-election turmoil in Samegrelo and totally falsified election registers
14. Debate over referendum wording about more than just the language
15. Plebiscite question agreed
16. Justice Minister responds to accusations linked to voter rolls
17. Ingilos boycott upcoming presidential elections
18. American expert, Lincoln Mitchell: “You’ll have an election, you’ll have a winner and then you’ll have protests”
19. Georgia is the pilot project of United States
20. Government group to meet opposition
21. Authority is blamed for persecuting the opponents
22. NGOs to file suit against two presidential candidates
23. NGO demands prosecution of interior minister, former president
24. Germany will decide soon on whether to grant political asylum to Irakli Okruashvili
25. MPs comment on Berdzenishvili's statement
26. video: Human Rights Watch: Georgian police went too far
27. Burjanadze negatively evaluates events held near Batumi University on November 08
28. TV debates held at Kakheti tv companies
29. CEC issued initial media monitoring results
30. Dieter Boden positively evaluated pre-election media monitoring
31. Video bridge Moscow-Tbilisi-New York – Georgia ahead of presidential elections – to be held
32. Newspaper Guria News kick-starts movement under slogan “we choose democracy!”
33. Successful mission for Adam Michnik
34. Who owns Rustavi 2 and Mze?
35. Burjanadze justifies Imedi closure, but not the means
36. Georgia station starts over
37. Government supports Georgian Patriarch’s initiative
38. Patarkatsishvili warned about possible disqualification from campaign
39. According to headquarters of Patarkatsishvili, voters’ lists are increased by 1/3
40. Patarkatsishvili refrains from arriving in Georgia
41. No plans for Patarkatsishvili's immediate return
42. Patarkatsishvili: ‘Saakashvili's regime dangerous, merciless’
43. Defect from Saakashvili - Patarkatsishvili tells Burjanadze
44. GYLA demands to withdraw candidacy of Saakashvili and Patarkatsishvili
45. People rushing to back Patarkatsishvili's presidential bid
46. Patarkatsishvili expected in Tbilisi ahead of 5 January vote
47. Report on Patarkatsishvili return to Georgia on Dec 20 denied
48. Badri Patarkatsishvili: From Russian businessman to Georgian presidential claimant
49. The Metekhi obligation: Shalva Natelashvili’s presidential program
50. Natelashvili meets voters in Kvemo Kartli Region
51. Natelashvili presents his program on demographic issues
52. Natelashvili wants campaign money declared
53. Maisashvili wraps up visit to Adjara
54. Maisashvili summed up results of two-day election campaign in Adjara
55. Maisashvili: Azerbaijanis will feel themselves as free and independent citizens in the country they live in
56. Maisashvili holds meetings with voter in Kutaisi
57. Maisashvili calls for "disobedience" if election rigged
58. New Rights snub inter-agency group on elections
59. Gamkrelidze to meet voters in Kakheti Region
60. Gamkrelidze’s ads attack Saakashvili’s policies
61. Opposition accuses former president of bribing voters
62. Opposition to trust international organizations' opinion of election
63. Profile of David Gamkrelidze
64. Gamqrelidze: I am not planning to be Georgian president for five years
65. Sarishvili meets with foreign ambassador
66. Sarishvili familiarized Kovalenko with her views on relations with Russia
67. Gachechiladze promises not to dismiss in vain state officials when he becomes president
68. Gachechiladze meets voters in Gori
69. Georgian students abroad, support Levan Gachechiladze
70. Gachechiladze sells GWS shares
71. Gachechiladze names reasons for selling shares
72. Opposition reports campaign HQ in western town vandalized
73. The opposition has discovered specific inaccuracies on voter lists
74. Saakashvili’s election headquarters welcome startup of media council activities
75. Saakashvili tightens his autocratic rule
76. Saakashvili to meet voters In Kobuleti
77. Youths supporting Mikheil Saakashvili are uniting
78. Human Rights Center insists on bringing up the case against Saakashvili
79. Saakashvili met voters in Kobuleti
80. Doctors joined youth headquarters supporting Saakashvili
81. More being spent on Saakashvili campaign than declared – rival
82. 2008 budget surplus of gel 275,000 planned
83. Revised 2008 draft budget unveiled
84. Defense spending cut by gel 400 mln
85. Budget of healthcare to increase to gel 1,260 billion in 2008
86. Money-and-credit and currency policy of 2008 will be directed to stabilization of prices
87. State program cheap credit prepared
88. Parliament of Georgia accepted the draft trends under money-and-credit and exchange policy in 2008
89. Inflation index in Georgia exceeds that in the main trade partners
90. The Government of Georgia to establish future's fund
91. Assets of Georgian banks to reach $14-15 billion in 2012 - Lado Gurgenidze
92. Government intends to reorganize stock market
93. No room for tsinandali on the Chinese wine market?
94. Poti population protest processing of aluminum oxide in Poti port
95. Poti free economic zone to be a ‘laboratory’ for Georgian development
96. A decade of challenges for Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova
97. Georgia to decide on CIS membership depending on its ability to resolve problems - diplomat
98. Eduard Shevardnadze: Gorbachev and Yeltsin confrontation led to the collapse of the Soviet Union
99. Yerevan to coordinate some issues with Georgian Administration
100. Armenia demanded to consider territorial conflicts in Georgia at PACE
101. Bezhuashvili congratulates Ukrainian colleague on appointment
102. Georgia against proposal to invite separatist leaders to Council of Europe
103. Burjanadze says Russia may stage acts of provocation
104. Russian peacekeepers deny dispatch of Chechen unit to Georgia's conflict zone
105. The Chechen bomb. Have the Russians deployed Zapad and Vostok on Georgian territory?
106. Chechen spetsnaz has entered Abkhazia and South Ossetia
107. Chechen servicemen thrown to conflict zones
108. video: “Georgia has lost Abkhazia forever”: Abkhazian Deputy Foreign Minister
109. Russia determined to recognize Abkhazia
110. A restart to the Abkhaz conflict would be disastrous for both sides, experts warn
111. Two people died in car accident in Zemo Abkhazia
112. Resident of Abkhazia says Georgians deprived of rights in breakaway region
113. Minister says Georgia to respond to any acts of provocation in Abkhazia
114. House fired at by Georgians in Gali district - Abkhaz officials
115. Refugees from Abkhazia to receive humanitarian aid from Georgian royal family
116. Separatists detain 30 Georgians
117. Separatist PM threatens
118. video: Artillery fights snow blocks in Caucasus
119. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, OSCE envoy discuss S. Ossetia
120. Opening of new gas distribution network postponed
121. Burjanadze promised “033” staff renewal of technique and increase of salary
122. Burjanadze meets Agrarian University professors and students
123. Nino Burjanadze meets ethnic minorities in Georgia
124. Government to reinforce property rights
125. Government supports Georgian Patriarch’s initiative
126. OSCE Mission presents publications to support judicial reform and legislative process in Georgia
127. Ukrainian company opened plant in Georgia
128. Georgian beyond reason: Georgian people’s unrecognized contributions to the world
129. Family of victim of accident in Turkey blame bus driver
130. Flood threatens the Chomi population
131. Chechen refugees are not allowed to go abroad
132. A gift of canned food: UN distributes pork to Chechen refugees
133. Prison instead of love
134. Judges should obey “guidelines”
135. Batumi dwellers are disappointed with employment program
136. Park Hyatt Tbilisi and Shakira in Tbilisi
137. Nina Ananiashvili revives Georgian Ballet
138. Official demands gel 10,000 from young editor for moral damage
139. I was chained by the neck to a wall in a tiny underground cell. I prayed and thought about my family in Wales
full digest: Georgia News Digest - Ansicht in Groups BetaNeu!
Jonathan Kulick, Ph.D., Director of Studies, Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies, 3a Chitadze, Tbilisi 0108, Georgia (Republic), jonathan.kulick@gfsis.org, office: +995 32 47 35 55, mobile: +995 95 33 33 40, USA voicemail: 310.928.6814
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