Igor Tsvirko: "Cyprus can truly become a prominent arts centre for Europe”

The Freedom Celebrity Ballet Gala, a collaboration between Freedom Finance Europe and the Celebrity Gala art project, is taking place at the historic Kourion amphitheatre on 7-8 October, 2023, bringing together 12 ballet stars from six international theatres.

Here, one of the participating ballet dancers, Igor Tsvirko, talks to CBN about the show and explains why corporate sponsorship is so important for the arts.

In 2007 Igor graduated from the Moscow State Academy of Choreography and was accepted into the Bolshoi Ballet Company. He is a jury member on a TV show called "Big and Small", has been three-times nominated for the Golden Mask theatre award, and was awarded the "Soul of Dance" award in the "Star" nomination.

The Freedom Celebrity Ballet Gala will include performances of both long-renowned ballets and more contemporary pieces. Can you tell us a bit more about what your audience can look forward to?

Every time I sit down to make a programme for the Celebrity Gala, the most important criterion for me is a simple question: "What would be interesting to watch even for me in the first place?"

We try to keep a balance between classical repertoire and contemporary repertoire. This gives the artist an opportunity to show their skills in the classics and at the same time demonstrate their full potential in a contemporary production. That is why any of our couples in the Freedom Celebrity Ballet Gala project perform classical ballet and contemporary ballet.

Of course, the world of European ballet is now dominated by contemporary productions - and I see this as a wonderful cultural exchange for the artists involved in our project. It will be interesting for Cypriot audiences to see the different facets of what is currently being staged in the leading theatres of Europe and Asia.

Your illustrious career has included performances at a variety of venues. The performance in Cyprus will be at the Kourion amphitheatre. Do you believe the ancient setting will add an additional dimension to your performances?

In my career as a ballet dancer, I have only had the opportunity to dance once on an outdoor stage of such magnitude as our stage at Kourion. That was at the foot of the Parthenon in Greece - an unforgettable experience for me!

I can certainly see the power and energy in having the ballet performed in such a historic venue as the Kourion Amphitheatre. It will be impressive for every artist who will fly to Cyprus and show on this stage.

The event in Cyprus is being organised by Freedom Finance Europe. While, as dancers, you are responsible for creating the beauty of what occurs on stage, can you comment on the importance of corporate sponsorship for the arts?

All art (ballet, film, music) is an important and integral part of the world around us. It is important that the arts are supported by various organisations so that the artist can create in a calm atmosphere something that will later excite and thrill people. Something that will bring positive emotions to people, with which they will go home and surround everything around them with kindness and warmth. This is the mission of any art.

In this sense, it is very important for us to partner with Freedom Finance Europe, which not only willingly, but extremely reverently, tenderly took to the creation of our amazing gala concert.

What we end up creating will resonate very strongly with both the Cypriot audience and the global community. An event of this scale is the first in my memory on the island. In time, Cyprus can truly become a prominent arts centre for Europe.

What single piece of advice would you give to a young dancer hoping to follow in your footsteps?

The most important advice I can give to a young performer is not to give up, to practise, to listen to your mentors and to listen to your heart, not to be afraid of doing something wrong. Everything is made up of the number of attempts - sooner or later you will manage to perform that desired pirouette, which currently seems difficult. And so it is in any business. The main thing is patience, persistence, labour and doing everything with love.

Tickets available at Soldout Ticketbox, the event will be hosted in the historic venue of the Kourion amphitheatre on 7-8 October, 2023,