Rose-filled city reveres the arts

Dottie Ashley
The Post and Courier

Although taken in 1990, this street scene of downtown Tbilisi shows women dressed as if in the '40s or '50s due to the short supply of clothing in the city at that time. Russian Ladas, the main cars used, were seen everywhere.

Ballet, roses and ice cream flashed though my mind when I heard the former Soviet republic of Georgia was being occupied by the Russian Army. Most of all, I was concerned that, although Russia's key focus was on the town of Gori, Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, might also be a target of the "Great Bear's" SS-21 missiles.

As part of a group of 20 dance critics, directors of ballet companies and ardent dance supporters, I spent 10 days in Tbilisi in 1990 observing the teaching of ballet techniques at the Vaganova Institute of Ballet.

Upon hearing the news of the war, I felt as if I had learned of the terrible luck of a good, but distant, friend.

I saw a picture in The New York Times of refugees from the region of South Ossetia taking shelter in Tbilisi, which is especially in danger because of the air base on its outskirts.

I recalled the rose-filled city where the arts are so revered that a piano can be found in even the smallest apartment, at times even occupying a corner in a kitchen.

It was the year before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and I saw how the Russian government could, at will, swoop down and steal from this green place on the Black Sea, with winter weather similar to that of Virginia. With their huge trucks, the Russians could transport to the north loads of chickens, and fruits and vegetables that would grow only in a warmer climate — among them cherries, pears, tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables.

The Russians also forced the Georgians to speak Russian and to live in fear of that knock on the door late at night.

But the arts continued despite leaking roofs and barely working restrooms in the dance academies. At the Vaganova School, we observed the legendary former dancer and teacher Raissa Struchkova, who, rather than donning a leotard and soft ballet shoes, each day wore the same brown-print dress and street shoes to demonstrate her steps. At night, we often were treated to dance concerts performed by various Georgian groups, some of them famous folk dancers wearing high boots and whirling around with gleaming sabers.

After taking notes on the dance instruction and performances all day, several of us often would drop by an ice-cream shop on our way back to the hotel. There, we were greeted with smiles, as patrons and shopkeepers recognized we were Americans. Much of the time, they refused to let us pay.

"We want to be more like the United States," said the father of one of the ballet students who invited me to come home with her one afternoon. The gregarious, delightful man sat down at his family's grand piano and played and sang in perfect English a medley of Cole Porter songs, including "Night and Day," "You're the Top" and "Begin the Beguine."

He was still singing snippets of "Anything Goes" as he turned the key in the ignition of his ancient Russian-made car and, while keeping the driver's door open, guided and pushed the vehicle until the engine caught, and at 10 p.m. we took off for an al fresco dinner.

But of course, all is not perfect in Georgia. I learned that Georgians can be feisty. One woman said to me, "Even if the Russians leave, we will probably fight each other," and, of course, this happened in the winter of 1991, when civil war broke out in Tbilisi after the Soviet Union fell apart.

And new President Mikheil Saakashvili has shown that trait as well, as he has attempted to keep the breakaway nations of South Ossetia and Abkhazia from obtaining their independence.

As an arts lover, I hope the Georgians will turn their attention to preserving and improving their gorgeous, lush nation of 4 million people. I hope they will ensure their legendary history of funding pedagogical dance institutes, and will provide repairs and replacements, such as new "sprung" dance floors, which, I understand, are still badly needed.

And I hope that prima ballerina Nina Ananiashvili, who has performed in Charleston at Spoleto Festival USA, can continue her excellent Georgia State Ballet, and perhaps return to perform here and other places once again.

As some have learned, art is a great communicator.

Reach Dottie Ashley at 937-5704 or dashley@postandcourier.com.