A world renowned ballet dancer has called on Stormont to increase funding for our beleaguered arts sector.
Nina Ananiashvili, artistic director at the State Ballet of Georgia, is considered one of the 12 greatest ballerinas of all time.
She visited Belfast recently to announce the company will be bringing The Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky to the Grand Opera House next November.
It will be the State Ballet of Georgia’s first ever visit here.
Nina said she was thrilled to be in the city, but admitted she was disheartened by the lack of funding for the local arts sector.
She told the Belfast Telegraph: “Investing in the arts is investing in the culture of a country, that’s what we need to do here and all over the world.
“It is not just necessary, it is urgently necessary.
“Everything is digital now, and the governments think that is good.
“But it isn’t, because digital is everywhere, it is the same for everyone in every country.
“True art is different in every country, every country has their own art that makes up their own culture.”
Director and dancer Nina Ananiashvili dancing in Bizet Variations. Photo: Corbis via Getty Images
She believes if Stormont put more money into the arts, it would recoup the full amount in terms of tourism.
She added: “If I come to any place, if it’s Belfast or Brazil, what I look for is the art.
“I look at the buildings and the paintings and the shows — that is what makes a country what it is.”
The State Ballet of Georgia is currently performing Swan Lake in Dublin.
She is “honoured” by the response. “In one week it was sold out — you can’t get a ticket,” she explained.
“We have four more shows and they are all sold out.
“People say that classic ballet is boring, but if it is done right it is not boring. It’s not boring for dance, it’s not boring for the audience to see, so the people will come.”
Nina Ananiashvili performs in the State Ballet of Georgia’s production of Giselle at the Edinburgh Playhouse (Photo by Corbis via Getty Images)
Describing The Nutcracker as a “visual feast”, she is hopeful it will resonate with audiences in Belfast the way Swan Lake has with audiences in Dublin.
She said: “This is our new Nutcracker. It looks beautiful with all of the costumes and sets.
“It is a classical performance, but it has our Georgian touch.
“It is the most famous ballet in the world for this time of year.”
Nina said the choreography, costumes and sets will transport people into the world of The Nutcracker.
She added: “You in the audience are a part of the show. Everything is just there in the moment.”
Returning to a theme, she said: “It is not like digital, where you can come and look back on it and see the same thing.
“It is happening in the moment, just that moment, and you won’t ever live that moment again in that way. That is why it is so much better than digital.”