“Live water” is the first fairy tale ballet in Kalmykia, which appeared back in the 80s. It was then that Pyotr Nadbitov wrote the ballet’s libretto, fairy tales, and the famous Kalmyk composer Pyotr Chonkushov wrote the music. But it was not possible to carry out a full-fledged professional production at that time. And after the composer’s death, the music was lost for decades.
It took a long and painstaking effort to find it and restore the musical arrangement. Enthusiasts contacted radio, television, and archives. The finale, for example, had to be recreated almost from scratch; numerous arrangements were required. An equally serious problem for Kalmykia turned out to be the shortage of personnel in the field of choreography. But even when it was possible to restore the music and assemble the team (including those from the children’s dance studio operating at the theatre), there were still doubts about success.
The main characters — Tseren, Usn, Sukhovey — are composite figures that reveal the picture of the current state of nature in Kalmykia, where the number one problem is the lack of a sufficient number of drinking water sources.
