User:NiksonSham/Kuralai Yeshmuratova

Kuralai Khaleketovna Yeshmuratova  - Honored artist of the Republic of Kazakhstan (1994), Head of "Acting and directing" department of KazNUI (Astana city), professor. The first professional director of puppet art of Kazakhstan. Art director of "Puppet Theatre" in Astana city.

Biography
Kuralai Khaleketovna Yeshmuratova was born on 4 July 1945 in Semipalatinsk. She was descended from the Uak clan of the Middle Juz.

1962-1967. Studied in the Conservatoire named after Kurmangazy, speciality — «Theatre and film actress».

1967-2002. Chief director, art director and puppeteer in the State Almaty Puppet Theatre. For more than thirty years she led the creative team of this theatre, previously named as a Republican Puppet Theatre of Almaty City.

1972-1974. Internship at a two-year higher director's courses at the Central Puppet Theatre named after S. Obraztsov in Moscow.

In 2007 Yeshmuratova, the student of Sergey Obraztsov — the founder of Soviet puppetry, Hero of Socialist Labor and the USSR People's Artist — actively promoted the opening of the Puppet Theatre at the State Theatre of Young Spectators in Astana. The Theatre opened with her staging "The Legend of Love", based on the popular Kazakh poem «Kyz Zhybek». That year she also opened a Puppet Theatre Department at the Kazakh National University of Arts, where she is still working as a Professor at the Department of "Musical Drama and Art of Puppet Theatre". In 2008 the department of puppet theatre was renamed "Animatronic Theatre — Jungle".

In 2010 Akim of Astana issued an order, giving the puppet theatre an independent status as the State Puppet Theatre of Astana Akimat and appointing Yeshmuratova as its art director.

Along with directing, she continues to teach at State Academy of Arts named after T.Zhurgenov

Creative Work
From 1967 to the present day Yeshmuratova Kuralai Khaleketovna has staged more than one hundred performances for children and adults in puppet theatres of Kazakhstan. She worked in cooperation with many famous playwrights and composers of Kazakhstan, including L. Khamidi, E. Rakhmadiev, N.Tlenidev, S. Zhunusov, N. Orazalin, S. Kaldayakov, V. Bulgarovsky, A. Beyseuov, E, O. Aubakirov, O. Bodykov, S. Omarov, etc

In 1974, the play "The Greatest Giant" by A. Tabyldiev was staged by K. Yeshmuratova under the guidance of S.Obraztsov and became her diploma play at the graduate school of directing.

One of her most remarkable performances was "Kerbakbay" by K. Amangeldinov, which was awarded at the First International Festival of Puppet Theaters of Central Asia and Kazakhstan in 1974, in Frunze, Kirgiz SSR. This performance was the first to use semi-planar puppets, which was positively noted as an innovation in puppetry by Jan Malik, chairman of the International Society of Puppeteers, Poland.

In the late 1970s, a big event for the theatre was the production of the «Divine Comedy» by I. Shtock in Kazakh group for adult viewers, where black cabinet and tablet puppets were used for the first time. A number of performances for adult audiences were staged during the same years, such as: "Flighty Sabira" (Sabiranyn alegі), "Clumsy Orash" (Orashalak Orash) by O. Bodykova, "Captured by Illusion" (Korsen de armanda), "Teriskakbai", "Comrades" (Zholdastar), "Come and see! (Kelinizder Korіnіzder!) by O. Aubakirov, "Stumbling and falling..." (Zhygylyp-surinip...) by S. Junusov. In 1977, the 1000th performance of the play "Flighty Sabira" by O. Bodykov (directed by K. Yeshmuratova) was staged during the tour in Karakalpak ASSR, where it was awarded a diploma of the Ministry of Culture of the Karakalpak ASSR. The performance "Sport and Skin", which in 1978 was awarded a first-degree diploma at the International Festival of Puppet Theatres in Tashkent, Uzbek SSR, received positive feedback from the great masters of puppet art of the Soviet Union M.M. Korolev and S.V. Obraztsov, who attended the festival.

For children's audiences, in 1980, for the first time in Kazakhstan in the puppet theatre, she staged a one-actor play Kanbak shal, based on a Kazakh fairy tale of the same name. This performance was awarded the Grand Prix at the 1994 International Festival of puppet theatres, "The Golden Mask", in Teheran, Iran, as the best children's performance. It also received diplomas from Czechoslovakia, Japan and Turkey. The play has been in the repertoire for almost half a century.

N. Orazalin's The Holiday Continues was staged during the same years. Puppets from all the 15 republics of the Soviet Union were used in it. The play was performed for more than forty years in the repertoire of the Almaty Puppet Theatre and was awarded several diplomas not only at international festivals of puppet theatres of the Soviet Union but also at foreign festivals and tours, such as Czechoslovakia, China, Japan, Russia etc.

In 1981, "The Legend of the White Bird" by N. Orazalin and "Zhomart" by K. Amangeldinov, all directed by K.H. Yeshmuratova, for the first time in the history of the theatre toured Vietnam and Cambodia, where children of Vietnam and Cambodia highly appreciated them.

In 1985, K.H. Yeshmuratova for the first time used life-size puppets in the plays "Aybolit" and "The Monster Cockroach" by K. Chukovsky. These performances, staged in the genre of small opera, were intended for pre-school and primary school-age children. They brought children closer to the art of opera.

In the mid-1980s, K.H. Yeshmuratova performed the play Atameken, based on the story "Amanay men Zamanay" by S. Zhunusov. This performance was a milestone for puppet theatre. For the first time, the stage director turned to tragedy proving that all theatre genres can be performed by puppet theatre. The play was intended for middle-aged children, touching on issues of love and devotion to one's homeland.

In the 1990s-2000s, director K.H. Yeshmuratova staged productions such as I. Creanga's "The Golden Rooster" and L. Simonov's "The Mighty Word". She also staged performances "Grandfather Frost and Kikimora"; "Mashenka and the Bear"; "Grandfather Frost and Summer", all based on Russian folk tales. "Spring has Come", "New Year's Tales", A. Tabyldiev's "Magic Words", "Adventures in the Land of Light", "In the Shadow of the Mulberry Tree" by Yu also were staged by her.

From 2007 up to now at the State Puppet Theatre of Astana, while being the art director, Yeshmuratova has created a number of performances in different genres. During these years two productions in the genre of tragedy were staged: "The Legend of Love" based on «Kyz Zhibek» and "Eternal Childhood" (Мәңгілік бала бейне) by R. Mukanova, dedicated to children - victims of the Semipalatinsk polygon. She also staged the play "Atameken" by S. Zhunusov in a new directorial vision. Another unusual performance is 'Yertostik' by K. Yezhembekov, in which modern music and rap dances are interwoven with folk Kazakh songs, dances and traditions. The performances of "O, toba! Е. Zhuasbekov and M. Toybayev's 'Testament Words', created by the director, raise the question of fathers and children, respect for elders, love of nature and the values of human morality. In the play «Mother's heart» based on R. Kipling's Mowgli, the director makes a hero not the boy Mowgli, as in all other plays, but his mother, the wolfess Raksha. Raksha has brought up in Mowgli a man who, at the crucial moment, rushes into battle with the tiger Sherkhan in defence of his pack, that is, his people.

In 2015 to celebrate the 70th anniversary of her birth and 50 years of her creative work Kuralai Khaleketovna organized "The First International Festival of Puppet Theatres "Kuralai", which lasted from 29 June to 2 July and became an event not only in the history of Kazakh art of puppet theatre, but also the whole theatre art of the country. The international festival was held as a part of the celebration of the Day of Astana. It was attended by foreign guests from countries such as Peru, Estonia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Tajikistan and Russia. The festival was opened by the Astana Puppet Theatre with a performance of S. Zhunusov's Atameken, staged by K. Yeshmuratova.

In 2018, in honour of the 20th anniversary of the capital, the II International Festival of Puppet Theatres "Kuralai", named after Honoured Artist of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kuralai Yeshmuratova, took place from 1 July to 4 July. The performances were held on the stage of the Metropolitan Puppet Theatre. The festival was attended by renowned puppet theatres from Tunisia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium, Italy, Poland, Turkey, Estonia, Serbia, Russia and Kazakhstan.

Teachers: People's Artist and Professor A.Tokpanov; Honoured Art Worker and Professor R.M. Kanabayeva; People's Artist of the USSR, founder of soviet puppetry S.V.Obraztsov.

Students: Leading honoured actors of the Puppet Theatre of Kazakhstan and Russia.

Family
Father - Khaleolla Yeshmuratov, an Honoured Artist of the Kazakh SSR.

Mother - Gainikamal Amirbekova, a leading theatre actress and ballet dancer.

Daughter - Togzhan Khasangalieva. She is a director of the Astana Puppet Theatre, a doctoral candidate in theatre studies and philosophy, an awardee of «Kurmet» order.

Daughter - Aizhan Salayeva. She is a stage director with a master's degree in art history.

Daughter - Anar Yeshmuratova. She is a PhD in Philosophy.

Piblications
Yeshmuratova K.K. “Қуыршақ театрының құпиялары” (Secrets of the puppet theatre) / Astana, 2013 ISBN 978-9965-881-93-0

Released a monography about an art of puppet theatre in Kazakhstan “Қуыршақ театрының құпиялары” (Secrets of the puppet theatre), numerous articles, notes, handbooks on art of handling the puppets.

Honours and titles
A participant of national and international festivals, she has been awarded by diplomas and certificates. Winner of the first National Theatre Award "Sakhnager 2017" in the nomination "Stage Longevity". .

Awarded by orders and medals: Order of Friendship of Peoples, Order of the Badge of Honour (1986), Medal "Veteran of Labour" (1988), "20 years of Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan" (2011), "For Work Excellence" (2012), "Labour Veteran" (2015), honorary mark "Republican Trade Union of Culture, Sports and Information Workers"

Honoured Artist of the Republic of Kazakhstan (1994)