ZhambyL Zhabayev

(1845 - 1945)

Zhambyl was born at the foot of the mountains on the territory of the district now named after him. Akyn Suyunbai was the first teacher of Zhambyl. In the seventies of the last century Zhambyl started to take part in aityses. His first song “The Complaint “was written in 1862. Thus his creative activity started.

Zhambyl accepted the October Revolution in Russia with enthusiasm, seeing the way of freeing people from the yoke of feudalism in it. Many of his songs of that time were dedicated to Lenin, the revolution, and the changes taking place in life of young republic.

When World War II began, Zhambyl wrote some patriotic songs, which urged people to struggle against the hateful enemy such as the famous “The Leningraders, Children of Mine!" dedicated to all the defenders of blockaded Leningrad.

He lived long enough to see Victory Day, which he expected so much. He died on June 22, 1945. In 1946 the Literary Memorial Museum of Zhambyl Zhabayev was opened. Zhambyl Zhabayev left memory of himself in the hearts of people with his songs and poems.

• Answer the following questions:

1. Where and when was Z.Zhabayev born?

2. Who was his first teacher?

3. When did he write his first song?

4. What song did he dedicate to the defenders of Leningrad?

5. When was the literary memorial museum of Z.Zhabayev open?

• Find as many facts in the text to prove the following:

6. Zhambyl accepted the October Revolution in Russia with enthusiasm.

7. He wrote patriotic songs during World War II.

Magjan Jumabayev

(1893-1938)

Magjan Jumabayev is a poet, a translator, a writer, an educator, a journalist and a publicist. He was born in Bulaevsky district of North-Kazakhstan region. He studied in a medresse (a religious school) in Ufa (Central Russia). In 1913 Jumabayev entered the teachers’ seminary (college). In 1923-1927 he studied at Moscow Literary Institute.

Jumabayev translated some works by Lenin, Gorky, Ivanov, Mamin-Sibiriak and by other authors into Kazakh. From 1927 he devoted himself to the pedagogical activities.

Jumabayev is a great Kazakh poet. People call him "Kazakh Pushkin^”. His well-known poems are "Korkyt", "Batyr Bayan", and collected poems "Sholpan".

Altynai asylmuratova

Altynai Asylmuratova (born 1961) is a former Soviet and Kazakhstani prima ballerina with the Kirov Ballet/Mariinsky Theatre and a guest artist all over the world.

Asylmuratova was born in Alma-Ata, Kazakstan, and after graduation from the Vaganova Choreographic Institute she joined the Kirov Ballet in 1978. After four years in the corps de ballet, she was promoted to Principal Dancer in 1982.

Asylmuratova became if anything more popular in Western theaters than her "home" theater due to her frequent guest appearances abroad, including Roland Petit's company. She was much admired both for her looks and the beauty of her dancing. Her repertoire included all the classical ballet rôles in Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Don Quixote and La Bayadère, Romeo and Juliet, works by choreographer George Balanchine and Roland Petit. She is married to fellow Mariinsky dancer Konstantin Zaklinsky, but her most frequent partner was Farouk Ruzimatov.

Videos of her dancing in Le Corsaire, La Bayadère, Les Sylphides, and The Sleeping Beauty are available. In addition, Asylmuratova was the subject of a 1982 documentary Backstage at the Kirov which followed her as she prepared to dance the lead in Swan Lake.

In 2000 she was appointed Artistic Director of the Vaganova Choreographic Institute. Soon she retired from dancing and afterwards concentrated all her energy on the Vaganova Academy.