The ballets La Salade and Le Train Bleu, created by the composer almost simultaneously for two different art groups, are considered in the article. “Twins’ ballets,” as Darius Millau called them, reveal kinship not  only in their choreographic, scenic and decorative, but also musical  decisions. The dramaturgy of these compositions includes elements of  vocal scenic genres, which gives these ballets a unique look.

The article is devoted to comprehension to the phenomenon of the Cuban ballet, often referred to as the “Cuban miracle”. The  contribution of its founders Fernando, Alicia and Alberto Alonso is  described; the stages of the formation of Cuba’s dance art are characterized. The determination of certain periods of the Cuban  ballet by political events is shown. Data on the creation of the first  school of ballet in Cuba, about the first Russian ballet teacher  Nikolay Yavorsky, about ballet education are updated. The distinctive characteristics of the Cuban ballet school are specified. It  is concluded that the universal system of choreographic education, developed by Fernando  and Alicia Alonso, allowed for the shortest period to raise the “young” Cuban ballet to the world level.

The article traces the fate of the well-known Baltacheyev dynasty-Kumisnikovs, explores the creative path of Naima Valeevna  Balatcheyeva, who studied the article when she was a ballet dancer.  Naima Valeevna successfully combined her artistic career with the work  of the teacher, in 1950–1951 she frequently replaced A. Ya. Vaganova in her lessons. The article focuses on the pedagogical skills of N. V.  Balatcheyeva, her ability to feel music, creatively approach the teaching of choreographic mastery.

The article considers origins of a dance suite by Franz Schreker The Birthday of the Infanta, which was composed in 1908 for the Veinnese  exhibition Kunstschau. Plot, dramaturgy, musical parametres are  analysed. The main stylistic dominants of the suite allow to liken them  to Jugenstil (German version of Art Nouveau). Key definitions of the  Jugenstil such as Gesamtkunstwerk, ambivalence, cult of beauty and others are observed.

The article is devoted to the specific character of orchestration of the operaballet Mlada by Nikolay A. Rimsky-Korsakov. The author  emphasizes the specific role of this work as a “creative laboratory”  for approbation of the new orchestral means of the composer. The  article proves that the score of Mlada influenced the development of  orchestration not only in Russian but also in the world tradition in  the context of expanding orchestral means, replenishment of  orchestral colors at the expense of new and non-standard (in  relation to the time of creation of the work) instruments. The  conclusion from the study is that the orchestra Mlada not only  contributed to the discovery of the richness of the sound of this  work, but also stimulated the development of the orchestra in many  respects, both in the works of Rimsky-Korsakov himself and among  the authors of the following generations. 

The article deals with the process of creating a children’s ballet performance The Snow Queen in a nonprofessional choreographic  collective — The Nutcracker Theater (Yekaterinburg). Features of the  creative and rehearsal work with children from 9 to 17 years is an  actual, little studied problem. Based on his own experience, the author  reveals the methodological principles of creative work at its various stages.

The sustainability and coordination of movements are the basic physical qualities of the ballet artist, the foundation that determines  the pupil’s ability to learn in a professional choreographic institution.  The disparity between the current high requirements for the level of  coordinating capabilities of ballet artists and the almost total  absence of scientifically sound special techniques for testing and  improving different types of Coordinating capacities at the primary  level in vocational schools has determined the relevance of this  study. Methods of theoretical analysis of art and pedagogical  literature were used as well as system method in grouping the  material’s presentation, a comparative analysis method, diagnostic  (questionnaire, testing) and experimental (declaring pedagogical  experiment) methods. methods of statistical processing of the  results of the study. The results of the study showed that the  majority of choreographers were not sufficiently aware of the types  of coordinating capabilities, testing methods and development, since  the Special scientific and methodological literature on development.  The coordinating abilities in classical choreography are practically uncoordinated. Testing the coordinating abilities of the  Academy’s 2-grade schoolgirls showed a fairly low level of ability to  balance, to differentiate, to orient and to restructure the propulsion,  to rhythm. The low level and the lack of correlation between the  degree of development of these options for coordinating abilities  among themselves proves the need to develop special exercises for  the development of each of them separately.

The article tells about the work of the brilliant Russian musician, pianist and public figure of the 19th century Anton Rubinstein.  Different aspects of his work are considered. In addition to large  forms such as a concert or sonata the composer often turned to the  genre of miniature. Rubinstein created more than two hundred piano pieces: preludes and romances, impromptu and lullabies, scherzos  and ballads, elegies,  waltzes, serenades, barcarolles, mazurkas, polonaises. Anton Rubinstein could not get around such a genre as a nocturne which  underwent serious changes throughout the entire creative career of the  composer. The author analyzes several nocturnes by Anton Rubinstein.

The article deals with the epistolary heritage of J. Weisberg and N. Myaskovsky. Occupying a significant place in the musical life of  Moscow, Myaskovsky was trying to help the artist with the  performance and publication of her writings. Despite the different  (including negative) assessment of her work by the Moscow  colleagues, he aggressively continued to promote her music. The  business relationship between the musicians lasted for a long time but failed to publish the beloved  creation of the artist – Opera Gulnara (after the show at the special  Commission of Muzgiz, a member of which was Myaskovsky) put an end  to their mutual business and personal relationships.

The emergence of special associated with Fluxus artistic practices in a form of performance is analyzed in this article. Though the  performance was not the characteristic of Fluxus artistic activity, one  could see its earliest forms on Fluxus festivals. Special ironic  performances which were based on the parodying of classical artistic  works had been practiced by the artists. The  performances existed in forms of scores which in turn were aimed to  fix the main steps of a creative process. The mentioned  peculiarity was connected with emergence of the performances from classical music institutional forms.  The author analyzed three  scores (namely minioperas by Benjamin Patterson) and came to  conclusions about the main art features of a parody performance in Action Art. The place of the parodic genre within the Action Art  practices was found as well as stylistic characteristics of Avant-Garde  and Postmodern art were defined. 

The role of the synthesizer in contemporary culture was thoroughly considered in the paper. The author raises a question about the place of  acoustic and electronic instruments in the postmodern culture. Particular attention is given to the debatable problem of the acoustic instruments  significance in the era of electronic technologies. The author  substantiates a conclusion about a gradual transition of the piano into the authentic sphere of the performance and changing of  performer’s image and tasks due the electronic instruments expansion in contemporary musical culture.

The article is devoted the evolution of Harlequin on the theatrical stage during the whole history of his existence. The examination of the stage  path of the famous mask includes different forms of theatrical art:  dramatic, pantomime, ballet. The fate of this mask in spite of such  genre variety has the generic tendency and generic evolution. This  character during four century went through evolution and turned from the second zanni into the symbol of acting technique.

The article aims at discussing the correlation between ethical values and aesthetical paradigm in the process of analyzing a literary text.  The main factor of ethical relations is people’s (or characters)  interaction and communication, whereas the aesthetical factor is the  literary work functioning, including text construction, evaluation,  consumption and interpretation. Еthical norms that are crucial for the characters of a  literary work are revealed through different aesthetic means that are  determined by a certain paradigm. When analyzing a literary work, it is  important to focus on and take into account a particular scientific or aesthetic paradigm relevant for this particular period.