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In the Committee of the Moscow Ballet School, there was a teacher, Alexander Prokofiev,
who really wanted me in his class. But he had a class where the students were one year
older than me, and they told me… Well, they asked my mother to bring me anyway because
they would give a recommendation to the best teacher for my age, Peter Antonovich Pestov.
I had heard of him but I had never seen him. On September 1st, I came to school. And Peter
Antonovich was told that a very talented boy was being brought to him. He had agreed and
said that they should bring me. He would find a place and time for me. And so I came to
him. I was 13 at the time. I was already taller than him. I had a huge bouquet of roses in
my hands. After all, I was this child from the beautiful Caucuses. And when I was told,
“There he is! There he is!” referring to Peter Antonovich, I moved the flowers and
saw a person… In my imagination, I was envisioning a teacher of ballet, who was a tall, slender,
good-looking man, and all of a sudden I see a little man who is shorter than me wearing
platform clogs. And I said, “Hello, I am here for your class”. And he started answering
me but he was stuttering. I was so taken aback that I just held on to the flowers and was
not giving them to him. Just staring. He saw it and just took the flowers and told me to
go to class. That’s how we met. We were little then. It was fourth grade for
ballet. We had strict discipline, everyone was dressed very neatly. Little shorts, white
shirts, white socks and white shoes, and everyone had hairnets. Peter Antonovich, when he left
for the West, he became very kind, totally different. With us he was harsh. He taught
us from the get go that the world is very complicated, and that we are going to be in
theater where everything is also very complicated. As such, we can’t be lazy and exhibit levity.
Instead, we have to work hard and be organized. I think everyone that studied under him is
grateful for those lessons because he prepared everyone for the life in theater, for the
constant intrigues and for whatever came your way… So you wouldn’t get upset… Whether
you were told something hurtful or good, you would be focused on work and be able to not
pay attention to any of that. In time, I understood that his system was a way to force one’s
body to be ready to work in any environment. Music is turned on, lights are turned off….
Whatever… You have a program. You have to accomplish it. Movements become automatic
in some way. It is very tough to teach this, and, with children, I can’t even imagine
what that’s like. His classes always stood out from the rest
in the school. His were privileged students, in a sense that we were the best-educated,
the most organized. Even when we misbehaved, we never told on people. And if Pestov would
find that someone told on other students, he would never forgive that. That child would
always be kicked out of his class. He can’t stand some of his graduates because they are
ignoble people, despite the fact that they are very accomplished. And it is very important.
He always watched how the students would behave in social situations. It had no bearing on
his relation to a particular student in the class, but outside of class it did. But, I
must say, he “Pestov”-ed everyone. He gave us much wisdom, besides ballet. He would
make us attend theaters, museums, brought us books, we would write essays for him about
our thoughts and relationships. He was eager to hear our opinions and always wanted us
to have our own opinions. For example, if we watched a movie or some play, he wanted
us to be able to state what we thought. He, of course, not only could disagree with your
opinion but could laugh at you… It was the ‘90s and the video players were just becoming
available. Not many had it, but his students had gifted one to Peter Antonovich. He would
invite us all with our parents to his house, would feed us and then show us recordings
that we could not have seen anywhere else. Baryshnikov, Makarova, Nureyev… Recordings
from the West… Just so we could broaden our horizons, understand the difference between
what was good and bad, the talents of one dancer as compared to another. Afterwards,
after the ballet videos, just so we, the kids, didn’t think that the whole evening was
a waste, he would show “Rocky” or “Rambo” because he understood that we are kids and
had other interests too. And so along with lessons, he gave us something “sweet”
so that we would want to come again. I was a bit weak physically. I mean, I did
not have the strength to carry on variations. It was the most difficult thing. I could separately
do each part but put together, it was a catastrophe. To get the requisite stamina, he would basically
make fun of me for hours. During class, as soon as I was done with a variation, he would
ask the piano player to play the music again, and I had to do it all over. Without stopping.
And I, of course, would not be in any shape to jump anymore. I could hardly move. And
he would ran after me and push me. Our record was four times in a row. I was foaming at
the mouth, just like a horse. But he just ran after me and forced me to continue to
move. He made me overcome that obstacle, and he understood that if he does not do it now,
while I am a kid, it could never be changed later. Some things back then seemed very harsh,
cruel. Peter Antonovich would always bring me to tears before a performance. I would
be bawling. So before I came to theater, I was already trained that you cry, you let
it all out and then go off to dance. When I came to the theater, people would do awful
things to me. And that is always the case in theater; people do awful things to each
other. That’s normal; especially to those that are progressing fast. But me, I didn’t
care because I was used to it by then. Nothing was reflected in my performance. And that’s
when I understood why Pestov taught us that way. I called him and thanked him. That wisdom
that he passed on to me really helped me. I have recordings where I, as a young man,
am standing with short Peter Antonovich looking up to me and yelling and yelling, and I am
looking down and almost crying… Peter Antonovich knew from our childhood what
our capabilities were although he did not know where they would take us. I always had
a sense of responsibility. I always wanted to make sure that he would be pleased watching
me dance. I always wanted that in school because if something wasn’t working, the following
week would be torturous. I really didn’t like when, while in school, he would not come
to the performances. Then the next day he would come to school and ask others, “How
did Kolya dance?” And they would tell him that I did fine but that in a particular part
didn’t do so well. That was it. It was a nightmare. It would have been better if he
had come to the performance and seen it with his eyes because to try to convince him that
what he was told was not the case was impossible. When he still lived in Moscow, he would go
to performances of his students. And people would say that it is easy to know when Pestov
is in the audience because my dancing was very clean.
Serious ballet, serious music, serious sport can only be taught with a stick in one’s
hand. When you are a kid, you cannot understand it. But later on, you will say thank you a
million times, if you are smart, of course. If you are a fool, then no. I have never seen
children that are very organized since childhood. There are kids that are more diligent; others
like to clown around a bit. Although Pestov wanted us to misbehave and didn’t get angry
for that. But not in class; that could never be the case. Class is over; you can do whatever
you want. But in class, no. And he did get angry and upset if we were not focused in
class then misbehaved afterwards. If we did what we were supposed to do in class and then
misbehaved, that was ok. It is also very important when the teacher instills love for one’s
work. When I came to Bolshoi Theater, I could tell right away which dancers were his graduates
because all of them were in white socks and were very organized.
Many years had passed, and he was already working in Stuttgart. I was visiting for some
gala. There stood a little boy, doing battement tendu. There are tons of people and I say,
“This is Pestov’s student”. I am told no, but I insist that he is Pestov’s student.
We asked, and sure enough he was the son of Vadik Pisarev who was studying under Peter
Antonovich in Stuttgart. That movement with the leg cannot be confused with anything else.
No one taught better legs in Russian ballet than Pestov. Women’s legs are easier to
teach. They are more talented. We are not talking about Malakhov or Tsiskaridze, because
they are exceptions. But men’s legs are a problem. And if you look at all who were
taught by him, especially those that were trained under him during Soviet times, they
could be 45, their legs look different. Because the legs are formed since childhood with such
a rhythm, that they cannot be any different. Unfortunately, there are not many people like
him and very few follow in his footsteps as a teacher because it is very difficult. You
have to give your whole life to your students. I know that for sure because I teach too and,
these days, I spend less time on myself when I get ready for a performance than when I
prepare a young dancer for his performance. It is very difficult. And when Peter Antonovich
would come to my performances, he would tell me, “I got so tired watching you because
I was so nervous.” And I would always think, why is he getting so nervous? But now I understand
because I am shaking when I watch my own students. Pestov would never sit and watch us perform.
He would always be backstage, nervously shaking his leg. And we thought he was just pretending.
But he really cared…