The Snow Queen, Kyiv Ballet
You should watch this wonderful art piece, The Snow Queen from The National Academic Opera & Ballet Theatre of Ukraine (Kyiv Ballet)
I don't know how well-known is this fairy tale by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen.
Maybe all Westerners know? Anyway, I didn't know the original story, but had a chance to watch
the ballet on YT and thought it was quite impressive.
This has just come out a few days ago (in late Feb 2021), for the Japanese (Kyiv) ballet fans, but since this
doesn't seem to be region-restricted, I thought I can recommend this to everybody in the world.
There is also one with Japanese subtitles, and that helped me follow the story a lot which is not
too complicated but quite different from the original one.
Since translating everything in the subtitles can take up a certain amount of time, I just translated
"the storyline summary in 3 minutes" video.
It's not too long and lasts about 90 minutes; with pretty stage settings, costumes, and frequent scene changes, I bet
it will be enjoyable for younger audience as well.
The Storyline in 3 minutes; |
Kai and Gerda are childhood friends, and they are together always.
... At night, the evil trolls create a mirror that only reflects the bad and ugly aspects of life by magnifying them. ... The Snow Queen appears in the completed mirror, and breaks the mirror into pieces. ... The trolls carry the splinters all over the world. ... Gerda's friends get together at the party held at her house and enjoy dancing. ... (Only)Kai notices something sparkling outside the window. ... The splinters get stuck in Kai's heart and eyes. ... He becomes heartless and violent as if his personality has completely changed. .. The Snow Queen appears, and controls the heart of Kai who has been wandering around the town alone at night. ... Kai doesn't remember anything anymore, and is taken away somewhere by The Snow Queen. ... Gerda has been searching for Kai, but falls asleep in the freezing cold due to exhaustion. ... Gerda finds herself in a beautiful garden of eternal summer. (* The sorceress invites Gerda to stay there eternally, but Gerda refuses as she has met Kai in her dream while sleeping ) ... She sets out to look for Kai and arrives at the Magic Kingdom. (Princess's palace) ... She enjoys her stay there, but she can't find Kai there, either. ... She gets attacked by bandits, but she doesn't give in and keeps her heart. ... At her palace, the Snow Queen is trying to rule the world. ... Kai's heart is frozen at the palace, and he has no emotions whatsoever. ... Gerda comes and fights the Queen, but she is no match for the Queen's magic. ... She embraces Kai, whose heart and body are ice cold. ... The sprinter stuck in his heart falls off, and Kai regains himself. ... The Snow Queen's magic is powerless against their true love as the palace is melting down. ... The Snow Queen is now gone, and the world is back with their beautiful colors of life again. ... Gerda and Kai return to their hometown safe and sound. ... They will never, ever be apart. |
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Here ya go.
You should watch this in fullscreen, of course, or better yet, on larger TV.
So, why have I posted ballet on this site? Basically, this is "extra" category so I get to post anything I think that fits this site,
but let me explain another reason ( other than this being a wonderful artwork in my opinion , as I've mentioned ) a bit. Yes, that has something to do with Steo.
According to The Snow Queen Wiki page, at the end of the original story, ( the ballet version doesn't have this ) the grandma of Kai reads the passage
from the bible which says;
"Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the Kingdom of Heaven" (Matthew 18:3)."
Don't you think Steo possesses the pure heart like that of a child? I truly believe so!
Thank you, thank you so much Kyiv Ballet and Koransha!!
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