Yulduz Ismatova
Uzbek dancer, actress, choreographer and director who founded the national dance theatre Tanovar; Honoured Art Worker of Uzbekistan.
- Occupation:
- Dancer, Actress, Director
- Born:
- October 31 1944 ♏ — 2004
- Birthplace:
- Tashkent
- Father:
- Asad Ismatov
Biography
Yulduz Asadovna Ismatova was born in Tashkent on 31 October 1944. Her father, Asad Ismatov, was a stage and film actor. She studied at the Tashkent choreographic school (graduating in 1965) but reached the stage earlier: from 1963 she danced at the Muqimi Uzbek Musical Drama and Comedy Theatre.
She worked at the Muqimi Theatre from 1963 to 1988 and performed the solo dances in nearly all of its productions, among them Nurkhon, Layli and Majnun and Farhod and Shirin, as well as concert programmes with Arab, Indian and Afghan numbers. While working she studied at the Tashkent Institute of Theatre and Fine Arts, finishing the acting faculty in 1976 and the directing faculty in 1984. On stage she also played dramatic parts, such as Qumri in Nurkhon, Malika in An Ordinary Miracle and Zarifa in My Wife's Husband.
As a choreographer she staged the dances for Layli and Majnun, Tahir and Zuhra, Nurkhon and other plays. In 1988 she formed the national dance ensemble Tanovar at the Uzbek Television and Radio Company; sources call it the country's first national dance theatre, in effect a national ballet. From 1997 the company worked as a dance theatre within the national association Uzbekraqs, named after Mukarrama Turgunboyeva, and Ismatova became the association's chief director.
At Tanovar Ismatova staged dance dramas including Call of Love (1991, after Alisher Navoi's poem Sab'ai Sayyor), Nodira (1992), Ulugh Beg's Tower (1994), Timurid Queens (1995) and Uvaysiy (1998), and wrote the libretto for some of them. The company performed at UNESCO headquarters in Paris (1995), during Uzbekistan Days in the United States (1998) and at an international festival in the Netherlands (1999). For her work at the Muqimi Theatre and at Tanovar she received the Mukarrama Turgunboyeva prize and the title Honoured Art Worker of Uzbekistan in 1995, and the Order of Friendship (Do'stlik) in 1998.
In 2002 she published, with L. Avdeyeva and M. Kadirov, the book Facets of the Tanovar Dance. Yulduz Ismatova died in Tashkent in 2004.
Education
- Tashkent Choreographic SchoolCollege · Tashkent · 1965 · Dancer
- Ostrovsky Tashkent State Theatre and Art InstituteUniversity · Tashkent · 1984 · Acting (1976) and directing (1984) facultiesnow State Institute of Arts and Culture of Uzbekistan
Career
- Muqimiy Uzbek State Musical TheatreDancer, actress, choreographer · Tashkent · 1963–1988
- Mukarrama Turgunboyeva Uzbekraqs National Dance AssociationChief director · Tashkent · 1997–…Everyone who held this post →
Awards
Honoured Art Worker of Uzbekistan1995 · Uzbekistan
Order «Do'stlik» (Friendship)1998 · Uzbekistan
Life path
- 1944Birth
Born in Tashkent into the family of the actor Asad Ismatov.
- 1963Dancer at the Muqimi Theatre
Joined the Muqimi Musical Drama and Comedy Theatre and performed its solo dances until 1988.
- 1965Choreographic school
Graduated from the Tashkent choreographic school.
- 1976Acting faculty
Graduated from the acting faculty of the Tashkent Institute of Theatre and Fine Arts.
- 1984Directing faculty
Graduated from the directing faculty of the same institute.
- 1988The Tanovar ensemble
Founded the national dance ensemble Tanovar at the Uzbek Television and Radio Company.
- 1991Call of Love
A dance drama after Navoi's Sab'ai Sayyor, the first full-length work of Tanovar as a dance theatre.
- 1995Title and prize
Received the title Honoured Art Worker of Uzbekistan and the Mukarrama Turgunboyeva prize; Tanovar performed at UNESCO headquarters.
- 1997Chief director of Uzbekraqs
Tanovar joined the national association Uzbekraqs as a dance theatre; Ismatova became the association's chief director.
- 1998Order of Friendship
Awarded the Order of Friendship (Do'stlik).
- 2002Book
Published, with L. Avdeyeva and M. Kadirov, a book on the Tanovar dances.
- 2004Death
Died in Tashkent.
Works
- “Call of Love” (1991)Dance drama
After Alisher Navoi's poem Sab'ai Sayyor: the tragedy of Bahrom and Dilorom told through dance and movement.
- “Nodira” (1992)Dance drama
A Tanovar production about the poet Nodira.
- “Ulugh Beg's Tower” (1994)Dance drama
A dance spectacle about the age of Mirzo Ulugh Beg.
- “Timurid Queens” (1995)Dance drama
A production about the women of the Timurid court.
- “Praise of Love” (1995)Dance programme
A programme of nine Tanovar dances set to folk melodies and words.
- “Uvaysiy” (1998)Dance drama
A production about the life of the Kokand poet Uvaysiy.
- “Munojot”Solo dance
One of Ismatova's first major dances; later part of Tanovar's first programme.
- “Facets of the Tanovar Dance” (2002)Book
A book published with L. Avdeyeva and M. Kadirov.