lifestyle TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2015

Features The nine lives of ’s Hermitage cats

or more than a century visitors have felines had become official residents. They marveled at the Hermitage Museum’s were even dubbed the Winter Palace cats, Fprecious collections, and for just as long after the royal residence that has now become dozens of cats have prowled the Saint part of the museum. They survived successive Petersburg palace’s sprawling cellars. The wars, invasion by Napoleon’s forces and even felines has one main task-to root out unwant- the revolution that overthrew Tsarist rule. ed guests: rodents. The 70-odd brigade have The cats, however, did not make it during their claws so deep into the history of Russia’s the 1941-1944 Nazi siege of Leningrad, the largest museum-and one of the world’s old- city’s name under Soviet rule. The city’s fam- est-that there is even a special feline unit ded- ished population had no choice but to eat all icated to their welfare. “Our cats are as well- their pets in order to survive. Legend has it known as our collections,” beamed Irina that the palace’s feline guard was brought Popovets, who runs the unit. back to life when World War II ended, when Every morning, art lovers from the world new recruits were brought in by train from all over arrive at the gates of the Hermitage com- over Russia. By the 1960s, there were so many plex on the Neva River housing a collection cats at the Hermitage that the authorities that spans ancient Egyptian and Renaissance decided it would be best to abandon them. art to modern masters like Cezanne, Gauguin and Degas. Meanwhile, 45-year-old Popovets Holidays and postcards heads down below to feed her purring Yet the rat population proliferated and a India Cattle Fair charges, a mixed batch of colors, breeds and few years later the cats again found their temperaments who are always overjoyed to place. Though they are no longer allowed into see her. Some days, she brings along three any of the museum’s 1,000 halls showcasing assistants to help her vaccinate new arrivals more than 60,000 masterpieces, staff say the and treat the sick. cats have won the fight against the rodents. As with humans, love alone is not always And they have become stars in their own enough. “Most of them are in bad shape,” right, hugely popular with some three million Popovets admits, adding that many have tourists who visit each year and snap up sou- been brought in by people who can no longer venirs and postcards adorned with cat pic- take care of them. Her office is located near tures on sale in the museum’s shops. “Given the massive underworld inhabited by the cats the Hermitage cats’ popularity, we have decid- and its walls are hung with portraits of the ed to kickstart a process to copyright their beloved animals. “People very often discreetly name,” museum director Mikhail Piotrovsky bring us their cats,” she said, and the museum said. There is even an annual holiday in the sometimes struggles to keep the ever- felines’ honor once a year, as well as a website expanding feline staff. Cats first found a home inviting residents of Saint Petersburg to adopt at the Hermitage long before it became a one. Popovets picks up her office phone to museum open to the public in the 1850s. answer queries from a man keen to take In 1745, Peter the Great’s daughter home a kitten whose picture he has seen Empress Elisabeth issued a decree ordering online. “You’re right, it is an honor to adopt a that “the finest cats of Kazan (a city on the Hermitage cat,” Popovets tells him. — AFP Volga river) be found, the biggest, the ones best-suited to catching mice, so that they can be sent to Her Majesty’s court.” By the time Catherine the Great took power in 1762, the

The cats at the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg guard the artworks from mice and are hugely popular with some three million tourists who visit each year.

Indian camel traders arrive with their herd for the annual cattle fair in Pushkar, in the western Indian state of Rajasthan, Saturday. Pushkar is a popular A cat is seen in front of the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg. — AP photos Hindu pilgrimage spot that is also frequented by foreign tourists who come to the town for its annual cattle fair. —AP photos Igor Moiseyev Ballet vows to wow Kuwait uwait’s National Council for Cultural Arts and We have always proceeded from the belief that the moves into a comprehensive choreographic work. Letters and the Ministry of Culture of the more countries we cover, the more experience we get As a matter of fact, Moiseyev would only stage a KT: How many hours do your dance company KRussian Federation Embassy of the Russian and the more nations we make familiar with the dance of the nation that would really impress him by members train daily? Federation in Kuwait present the Igor Moiseyev Ballet Russian unique culture. its energy and passion. For instance, the French or the Scherbakova: We start at ten in the morning with by artistic director Elena Shcherbakova. The event will We really hail the support provided by the British folk dance would have never drawn his atten- the so-called one-hour “classical choreography” take place at the Abdulhusain Abdduridha Theatre in National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters along tion because of its slowness in comparison to the warm-up. Then we proceed to the studio and carry on Salmiya on November 24th and 25th at 7 pm. Kuwait with the Russian Ministry of Culture in cooperation Mexican, Argentinean or even Arabian ones. for another four hours. After that we have a break and Times interviewed Shcherbakov to learn more about with the Russian Embassy in Kuwait that helped to For his great success and the achievements in meet again in the studio at seven in the evening for the event. Excerpts from the interview. fulfill our plans. world choreography, Moiseyev was awarded with another two-hour practice. I really make our dancers In light of the recent visit of His Highness the Amir more than thirty orders and medals of different coun- push hard as it is the only way to be a professional Kuwait Times: You are a legendary and an inter- Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to Russia tries. and to achieve something valuable in one’s career. nationally acclaimed dance company that was and his meeting with Vladimir Putin, we consider the The same system existed at the time when established in 1943. Could you please explain the upcoming show in Kuwait as a next step forward in Moiseyev was the director of the ballet. Nothing has secret of your success and the role you played in developing friendly ties between our two countries. changed since he passed away in 2007. the development of the company? Elena Scherbakova: The State Academic KT: What program the Igor Moiseyev Ballet will KT: Where have you toured with the dance com- Ensemble of Popular Dance was founded by the great show in Kuwait? pany this year? And where are you going after Russian choreographer Igor Moiseyev back in 1937. At Scherbakova: We will be holding two shows in Kuwait? that time it was the first and the only ensemble of Kuwait - Nov 24 and Nov 25. both at the Salmiya Scherbakova: We try to tour a lot. Actually the popular dance in the entire world. Theatre, which is also known as the Abdulhusain international tour records of our ensemble boasts 65 Given the success of the first five years of its exis- Abdulridha Theatre. countries including experiences in Great Britain, tence, Moiseyev came up with the initiative of open- We have prepared a special program for the occa- and USA in the late 1950s when the “Cold War” ing a special ballet school for training talented youth. sion, which is titled “The Classics of Igor Moiseyev”. was in full swing. This initiative turned out to be a smart strategic move The program is made up of a bunch of terrific dances. This year we have toured a lot around Russia. We as 95 percent of the Igor Moiseyev ballet team has I am not going to disclose the whole of it, but for sure also had a great success at Expo Milano in September, always been made up of its school graduates, includ- the Kuwaiti audience will be much impressed by the had five full-houses in Poland and enjoyed a hearty ing myself by the way. traditional Russian dance “Summer”, the dance of welcome in Jordan in October. After Kuwait, we will In our days, the Igor Moiseyev Ballet has become a Bessarabian gypsies, the Greek “Sirtaki”, the dance of be heading to Latvia and will end this year with per- household name in Russia. Being an artistic director Argentinian cowboys “Gaucho” and the fascinating formances in Saint Petersburg and . of the ensemble, my goal is to treasure and preserve Russian marine dance “Yablochko”. the traditions of Moiseyev and ensure that the bar set I do not want to go further into details as I would KT: What is your personal goal as the director of by the maestro is held up high. rather suggest people come and see it. such a legendary ensemble? Scherbakova: It is to do my best for this legend to KT: How many national dances do you currently live forever. To ensure that the new generations of our KT: This is your first time in Kuwait. Why Kuwait have in your repertoire? And how do you get your dancers well realize the importance and the unique- and what are your expectations from the upcom- inspiration for choreography of traditional dances ness of the Igor Moiseyev Ballet and maintain the ing event? from various countries? high level of its professionalism. Scherbakova: The word “Kuwait” itself sounds Scherbakova: Our repertoire is the personal And in a short term - it is to come back to Kuwait mysterious and attractive to . So when we choreographic works of Moiseyev. He was a real with a new program. I really hope to see Kuwait Times received a phone call from the Russian embassy in genius. He used to travel a lot around the world with readers on Nov 24-25 at the Salmiya Theatre. No one Kuwait with the proposal to organize a performance his ballet. Whichever country he went to, he would will regret. here under the auspices of the National Council for spot the specifics of its people, dress and traditions, in Culture, Arts and Letters, it did not take us long to particular the specifics of its basic dance moves. On make up our minds and accept the invitation. his return back home, he would develop these basic