Aguston Noel Kovacs at the beginning of the letter – which Nutcracker-The series is dated January 6, 2024 – Firstly, he congratulated everyone on his amazing performance Nutcracker– Period, and that “it is true, with minor or major injuries, but we survived.” And then he realized the thoughts that he could no longer contain,
Because we have absorbed a lot over the years.
“I think we all dancers know how difficult the period we are going through is. I hope the management notices this and realizes that we are exhausted, and this is why injuries happen, but in this group the dancers are just tools” that can be thrown away or thrown away. Replace it if it does not work as expected.
The race was 24 hours long
He described their current situation as the company having completed the 24 Hours of Le Mans, after which the engines must be rebuilt and prepared (or at least given a week's rest) for the next race(s). any thing else To perform), and not immediately drive to the other lane, destroying them.
Looking at next season, I hope it's not too late for them to think a little bit and change the schedule so that we're not jumping from one show to another, because if we look at the season so far, there have been countless injuries. During every play, which unfortunately happens all too often. What's worse is that we are completely mentally drained, and no matter where I look in the company, I don't see a genuine smile on anyone.
According to the young ballerina, art should not be measured by the amount of money it brings home. You have to look at how much infections are increasing, not to mention the percentage changes the company undergoes each year.
“I feel sad because we always hear that there is no time for anything, while we work half a year in advance, because then there would be no time. Maybe the whole season is poorly organized and too many shows are scheduled. I'm tired of trying on every piece without spending “Enough time to pay more attention to small details, or if that is no longer an expectation, at least to clarify the steps.” According to him, the play is put together at the last minute “to a watchable state.”
Smoke, snowflakes, glitter
As he writes, the buzz is lost, the most important thing is that there is more smoke, snow and sparkle in the piece, but they do not pay attention to the fact that the dancer's job becomes more difficult or even dangerous. “Unfortunately, I cannot consider the band's work to be amateurish and incompetent,” he said. Because of all this, he decided to resign from the Hungarian State Opera after six years.
The Index contacted Noel Agoston Kovacs, who said: 43 in a row Nutcracker-They went beyond performing, they played two shows on December 25th and 26th. He actually tried to point out to management that everything was not okay, but he didn't say it concretely, because he was afraid of his job, like everyone else. But now, six years later, he leaves the opera house with a heavy heart, even though it was his childhood dream to dance there. As he said, there are already so many foreigners at the dance college that the language of rehearsals is English. She now sees herself as giving up on her dancing career, which has pretty much killed her love for ballet.
More serious accidents occur elsewhere
Our newspaper also contacted the Hungarian Opera House. The organization's response is published in full without changes:
“The management of the Hungarian State Opera has regrettably taken note of the decision of dance company artist Noel Kovacs, as the company has lost a talented young Hungarian ballet artist, whom the institution retained despite numerous disciplinary offenses and objectionable work ethics. However, in light of all this, it is difficult to explain the objections raised by Expressed in relation to professional work, the Hungarian State Opera therefore strongly rejects the negative evaluations expressed by its former artist. The best evidence of the high-quality work of our ballet masters and artists is the audience feedback: 41 mentioned Nutcracker– performance (plus two public rehearsals, a charity show), as well as other repertoire performances of the season, all of which ended night after night with standing ovations and standing ovations in front of full houses.
But we can mention the high degree of professional interest with which directors of leading European companies turn to the institution in international forums, the praise given to famous choreographers and ballet masters who also have great international experience, and the invitations to foreign tours that are being prepared, the first stop of which is the ballet company's performance in Last September in Dubai, which was a huge success, five people were completely married Swan Lake– It is performed in front of a total of ten thousand spectators, or hundreds, and sometimes more than a thousand applicants applying for one vacant position each year, and where priority is always given to Hungarian artists with appropriate preparation.
The Hungarian State Opera also rejects the veiled xenophobic comment on language use, especially after our former dance college artist addressed his foreign colleagues in English in his farewell speech. Ballet and dance are international genres, with the vast majority of companies having been multinational for decades, the use of language is a natural part of this, and orchestras and choirs also employ foreign performers. Currently, 40 percent of the 69-member dance team are Hungarian, which means they are still the largest number in the team, an outstanding number even in international comparisons.
Of course, Hungarian ballet masters continue to address Hungarian artists in Hungarian.
There are many reasons for personnel changes in a ballet company, from professional and personal reasons to reaching retirement age, but at the same time, in an average season, less than ten percent of the 120-person company changes, and as of the following season it is expected that additional At least three Hungarian members are new to the university company and are among the graduating students of the Hungarian National Ballet Institute.
Ballet is an act of art that, like competitive sports, involves a lot of physical effort. In most cases, sprains, sprains, and sprains can occur.
However, they cannot be compared in terms of weight, for example. With recent incidents in other theatres.
The Hungarian Opera will do everything in its power to contribute to the full recovery of its artists in the event of injury and to provide them with the best possible working conditions,” concludes OPERA’s response.
(Cover photo: Rehearsal of Zsolt Juhasz Tanszvet's dances at the Hungarian State Opera on May 23, 2017. Photo: János Margay/MTI)
