User:Bvirc

Life and career
An internationally acclaimed Slovene-Croatian choreographer and stage director Valentina Turcu (born in Zagreb in 1974) discovered her profound passion for theatre, especially dance, and artistic creation at an early age. After meticulous supervision of her parents Marin Turcu and Maja Srbljenović Turcu, both internationally renowned ballet soloists, she then continued to study ballet at the distinguished Rudra Béjart Ballet Academy in Lausanne, where she perfected her ballet technique and developed her unique style under the tutelage of a legendary choreographer and ballet master Maurice Béjart.

As an aspiring young soloist, Turcu performed in many Béjart’s choreographies, such as King Lear, L’oiseau de feu, Le mandarin merveilleux, Shéhérazade, La taverne grecque, The Life of Patrice Chereau, L’Amour me dit, L’Art de pas de deux, La Porte et un Soupir, Le sacre du printemps, and collaborated with plethora of legendary ballet masters, such as Michel Gascard, Gil Roman, David Howard, Suzanne Farrell, Azari Plisetsky, Carolyn Carlson, Malou Artaud, Gilbert Mayer, Timothy Gordon, Wolfgang Stollwitzer, etc.

Upon her return to Slovenia, where she still regularly creates, she soon became one of the most accomplished ballet soloists of her generation and was featured in many choreographic novelties, among them also in Clug’s choreographic debut Tango, following by many solo parts in various genres, i.e. classical, neoclassical and contemporary ballet. In addition to her remarkable ballet technique that left a profound impression on critics and audiences in Slovenia and abroad, she gradually became fully dedicated to choreographic work, where she soon displayed her true and unique talent, as well as propensity for emotionally engaging ballet spectacle and subtle, yet distinct depiction of variety of human condition.

Up to this date, Valentina Turcu has choreographed, created and co-created more than 130 ballet, drama and opera productions, among them more than 40 drama performances, including Christopher Hampton’s Dangerous Liaisons, Shakespeare’s Hamlet, The Tempest, Twelfth Night, Henry IV, As You Like It, Frida Kahlo, Molière’s Le Bourgeois gentilhomme, Cervantes’s Don Quixote, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Ionesco’s La Cantatrice chauve, Les Rhinocéros, Andersen’s Snow Queen, Lorca’s Bodas de sangre, Brecht’s Die Dreigroschenoper, Ibsen’s Peer Gynt and Bulgakov’s Master and Marguerite. Lately, she is enjoying a great success as a stage director of a 2019 production of Tennessee Williams’s play A Streetcar Named Desire at the Croatian National Theatre in Varaždin.

Works, style
Valentina Turcu found an inexhaustible source of choreographic inspiration in various grand narratives of our times; in turn, she then tackles respective stories and thus rearranges them into a comprehensive, yet emotionally engaging ballet narrative. Due to her proverbial perfectionism that was displayed at the early stage of her choreographic endeavours, she successfully defies the postmodern paradigm of emptiness, for which she can be justifiably admired as a prolific artist that has reinvented the great genre of drama ballet to the greatest degree.

Using pastiche technique, Valentina created her first full-length choreography La Callas (premiered in 2007 at the Slovene National Theatre in Maribor) as a tribute to the legendary soprano. Her choreographical debut has embarked on integrating various art forms, i.e. opera and ballet in a visually alluring setting.

Shchedrin’s Carmen was created in 2011 for the Ballet of Croatian National Theatre in Split, and was restaged with even greater success in 2014 at the Slovene National Theatre of Maribor. Ravel’s Bolero, was also choreographed for the Split Ballet. It was performed in Istanbul as a part of the performances marking the town’s European Capital of Culture 2010. Other notable choreographies include Brahms’s Hungarian Dances and Khachaturian’s Masquerade Waltz for the Slovene National Theatre Maribor; Madredeus’s Tarde, Bach’s Partita and Handel’s Lascia ch’io pianga were created for the Slovene International Ballet Galas 2011 and 2012.

In July 2012, Valentina was invited to make a choreography of a new piece for the Covent Garden Dance Company and to take a part in their programme International Stars of Ballet and Dance.

During the season 2011/2012 a remarkable creation of Bernhard Schlink’s The Reader enhanced Valentina’s directing experience. She worked with a soprano Allison Bell on an exciting project Pierrot Lunaire by Arnold Schoenberg. Her choreographies for opera divertissements and stage movement for Lakmé, Carmen, La bohème, Die Fledermaus, Les contes d’Hoffmann, My Fair Lady, The Coronation of Poppea were described as “fresh and surprising”, containing musical precision and a unique style.

In October 2013, Turcu received the prestigious Slovene state “Pia and Pino Mlakar Award” for “outstanding achievement in directing and choreographing Prokofiev’s ballet score Romeo and Juliet. For the Slovene Ballet Artists Association, Turcu’s work has “set a new milestone in quality and expression of classical ballet today.” Later on, her alluring choreographic masterpiece Romeo and Juliet was restaged twice: for the first time at the Latvian National Theatre in Riga in 2014, and then at the opera house Metz Métropole in 2015.

In April 2014, she conceived music concept, dramaturgy and ballet staging of another great narrative, Tolstoy's novel Anna Karenina for the Croatian National Theatre’s Ballet in Zagreb. In August 2014, she created and co-choreographed a new ballet Dangerous Liaisons for a coproduction between Dubrovnik Summer Festival, Ljubljana Festival and the Slovene National Theatre Maribor.

In 2016, Valentina Turcu created a whole new music concept, dramaturgy and choreography for Pushkin’s Yevgeny Onegin at the Slovene National Theatre Maribor. The production was highly prized and awarded by critics and public in Slovenia and abroad.

In April 2017, she made a brand new and thrilling version of ballet Carmen for the Augsburg Ballet. Later on, she co-created a brand new ballet production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni with Julio Arozarena that was staged at the Latvian National Ballet of Riga.

In 2018, Turcu featured her latest choreographic novelty Death in Venice after Thomas Mann’s iconic novella featuring symphonic oeuvre by Gustav Mahler. This full-length drama ballet was staged in coproduction between the Croatian National Ballet in Zagreb and the Slovene National Theatre Maribor.

From international reviews
·        ROMEO AND JULIET – Dance Europe Magazine, January 2013

“Female ballet choreographers are still in short supply, but I suspect it won't be long before Valentina Turcu’s name is more widely known on the strength of this, her first full evening ballet. She has created Romeo and Juliet that is bursting with passion. While signposting every dramatic turn and giving depth to each character, Turcu moves the action forward at a breath-taking pace. The balcony scene pas de deux is one of pure ecstasy. Valentina Turcu has used her innate theatrical instincts and considerable theatre experience throughout. Choreography is firmly built on the classical vocabulary, but used with flexibility and inventiveness to enhance the characterizations. Each scene is given its rightful place and meaning. In the midst of the high passion and the awesome dance there are moments of quiet drama that anchor the ballet. Energy and passion generated by the performers left an audience exhausted and exhilarated.”

Maggie Foyer

·        YEVGENY ONEGIN – Dance Europe Magazine, January 2017

“It takes a person of integrity and courage to present a brand new version of Onegin, given the general consensus that John Cranko’s iconic classic is the final word on the subject. The Ballet of the Slovene National Theatre in Maribor has this in Valentina Turcu…she already has 125 productions under her belt as choreographer and director, not just in ballet and contemporary dance, but in theatre, music and opera, too. It is also clear that her great love of literature has had an immense impact on how she translates the written word into movement. Her attention to detail, particularly in drawing the characters, is astute and she has managed to create a production in which both the storytelling and the choreography are as one. There wasn’t a dancer on stage who didn’t believe in what they were portraying and this must be down to Turcu’s commitment and her ability to instil this vital element into her dancers. This is homage to Pushkin and a triumph for The Ballet of the Slovene National Theatre.”

Deborah Weiss

·        CARMEN – Dance Europe Magazine, July 2017

“The performance begins with full on, no-holds-barred Carmen. In fact, choreography demanded a high level of proficiency from everyone, so it was refreshing to see the entire ensemble attacking their steps without any sign of inhibition or caution, while establishing and maintaining their roles throughout. Carmen displaying astonishing classical technique with fabulous line and extension as well... Don José was particularly impressive, not just through his virtuoso ability but by his heart felt poignancy toward his leading lady. For the music, Turcu chose Rodin Shchedrin's Carmen Suite, which ebbs and flows nicely in speed and temperament, allowing the choreographer to be punctilious, yet able to capture the full realization of the tragedy without going into overtime. A simple stage design and fetching costumes assisted in making this very watchable and entertaining performance, which suited a company of accomplished dancers very well.”

Alison Kent

·        DEATH IN VENICE – Dance Europe Magazine, August 2018

“What stands out most is Turcu’s profound understanding of Thomas Mann's text; her research and subsequent staging reach far beyond a simple recounting of the story, and by delicately adhering to the underlying nuances, she delivers a powerful statement that emphasizes the author's original intention about passion as doubt and degradation. Production is sleek and elegant, beautifully lit throughout and captures the very essence of Mann's words. Turcu has set the cast virtuoso sequences containing spectacular lifts that they deliver convincingly, always remaining in character. Valentina Turcu can boast well over a hundred and twenty productions to date, and Death in Venice reinforces how her love of great literature and her attention to the minutiae has transformed the written word into a remarkable piece of dance.”

Alison Kent

Awards
·        1999   Slovene Ballet Artists Association award for best dance production – Tango.

·        2002   Bronze medal at the World Dance Competition in Nagoya, Japan.

·        2007   TEMSIG award for the most innovative choreography – Rosemary.

·        2008   Slovene Ballet Artists Association award for her work in the field of ballet, opera and drama. The jury specified: “By mastering the dance-theatrical expressions and using in-depth interpretations, she reaches the highest level of stage maturity and awareness. She enriches our stages with her charismatic personality. Her body expression simply opens up new dimensions in the understanding of the art of dance.”

·        2013    Prestigious “Pia in Pino Mlakar Award” for outstanding achievement for directing and choreographing ballet Romeo and Juliet. Declared as a creator of a new milestone in the quality and expression of classical ballet today.

·        2015    Kyoto Prize nominee in Creative Arts and Moral Sciences as “an innovator in the dance theatre who connects artist’s dedication and humbleness through an original, unique approach in amalgamating classics and contemporary, pulling down the borders between the written word and movement, and sending a profound message to humanity.”

·        2015    Romeo and Juliet – winner of the Latvijas Gāze Annual Award 2015 for the best production.

·        2016    Special Orlando Prize in Dubrovnik Summer Festival for top quality achievements in dance for the last four seasons.

·        2017    Glazer Charter winner for her brand new ballet creation Yevgeny Onegin.

·        2018    The Prešeren Foundation Prize winner for the drama ballet Yevgeny Onegin and her unique artistry, choreographic mastery and excellence.

Notable choreographies
·        Death in Venice, a full-length drama ballet, a coproduction between the Croatian National Ballet in Zagreb and the Slovene National Ballet in Maribor, 2018

·        Yevgeny Onegin, a full-length drama ballet, a production of the Slovene National Ballet in Maribor, 2016

·        Carmen, ballet thriller, a production of the Slovene National Ballet in Maribor, 2014

·        Romeo and Juliet, a full-length drama ballet, a production of the Slovene National Ballet in Maribor, 2012

Featured stage directions
·        Tramvaj zvan žudnja (A Streetcar Named Desire), a drama production of the Croatian National Theatre in Varaždin, 2019