Russia-Italy “cooperation” at the ballet scene: historical, socio-cultural, and critical context

Abstract

The author studies the problem of intercultural cooperation between Russia and Italy in the field of ballet art. Since this type of interaction has been ongoing for several centuries, the research is divided into two vectors: the historical-cultural and the critical ones. Besides, the author considers an important issue of the origins of the cultural cooperation stemming from the opera art, traditional for Italy. The article considers not only the chronological component of Russia-Italy cooperation during the 18th - the 21st centuries, but also explains (in the socio-cultural and critical ways) the processes of surge and slump of interest in this form of cultural communication. The author detects and explains a unique pattern - the initial priority of Italians at the Russian scene of the 19th century, and the following radical change of this influence - a triumphal conquering of Europe by the Russian masters, whose talent is still appreciated. The scientific novelty of the research consists in the fact that for the first time attention is not only given to the very historical chronology of the visits of Italian dancers to the Russian Imperial Ballet Scene, but also the dynamics of this process is explained. Moreover, the article is the first work focusing on the change of a locomotive component in the system of the Italy-Russia cultural exchange which  took place in the late 20th century. Thus, the scientific novelty and importance of the research consist in the attempt to study the process of intercultural cooperation in its development from the 18th century to the present moment. Such an approach allows detection the historical, socio-cultural and critical components, and helps to reveal the topicality of this problem for the modernity, when art is still a soft mechanism of, among other things, political and geographical interaction between countries, forming a “cultural portrayal” of the country on the world map.