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Boris Eifman is one of the few if not the only Russian choreographer, who has continued
to create for decades. Perhaps none of his contemporaries can be proud of such achievements.
In his creative list there are more than 40 productions. He has received such prestigious
awards as "The Golden Soffit" and "The Golden Mask", the State Prize of the Russian Federation,
he is a winner of the title "People's Artist of Russia," a holder of the “Order of Arts
and Letters of France” and of the “Order of merit for the Fatherland» (of IV, III
and II degrees) and many other awards and titles. I created the theatre 35 years ago,
in the period when the Soviet system’s censorship made it almost impossible to create something
new and original. In the meantime I managed to create a theatre which was completely different
in its art, repertoire and artistic focus from the existing canon of the Soviet ballet.
Of course it was a difficult time in terms of the theatre’s survival and the establishment
of its creative style. But we succeeded because it was very popular among the viewers; they
loved it, so we couldn’t close our theatre. During that time I managed to create a repertoire
using the music that was banned in the Soviet Union. This is the music of Pink Floyd, Mac
Laughlin, Ari Kveikman, practically non-existent music which was only a part of private collections.
I used this music for my performances and they were danced all over the Soviet Union,
it was a great success.During the perestroika period everything had changed and we were
free to create, but this freedom was accompanied by economic problems, we lost state funding,
which was certainly is a big problem because on the one hand we had the freedom to create
and to leave the Soviet Union, which many artists took advantage of. The problem of
having to save the theatre as an artistic organization arose and, again, we succeeded
because we had the opportunity to show our performances in the world, we began to tour
Europe, Asia and America. This success is what enabled us to keep the theatre and its
creative potential of recent years. Recently our theatre has been flourishing as we have
been receiving international recognition and popularity. We have shown the world that in
Russia we do not only preserve our classics heritage but we also create a new ballet repertoire
successful worldwide. We have created a unique theatre which is not like the Western one
or the classic Soviet one. On the one hand theatre keeps the Russian ballet’s traditions,
and on the other hand, it develops them, creating an entirely new and modern art of ballet,
full of emotion and psychological dramas. This new and unique direction has been receiving
worldwide recognition. At that time, did you have the desire to leave the country? Why
did you stay in Russia? There were difficulties, of course, there
was a feeling that I would be forced to do it, I was openly offered to do so, but I always
had the desire to keep the theatre in St. Petersburg. This city is very important for
me, as well as the creative environment in which I live, the culture in which I grew
up. For me as an artist, it is important to live and work in a world that is close to
me in spirit, mentality and culture. For me St. Petersburg is the place where I always
wanted to live and work. Migration was out of question. I am very happy that I was able
to stay and save my theater in St. Petersburg and to show our contemporary Russian art worldwide.
You also have other projects, such as the Academy..
Next year we will open the Academy of Dance. This is a ballet school, it is unique and
universal. This is a government - built ballet school, it will be a huge building with 14
ballet halls, gyms, a pool and all the conditions for children’s creative and intellectual
development. We will create a new system of education which will incorporate the classic
Russian system and the modern Western system as well as those sports achievements which
are now developing the human body, unknown to ballet training prior to this period. We
will try to prepare such universal artists which will be able to realize anyone of the
choreographer’s fantasies. We are also working on a project of “The Dance Palace”. This
is a new dance theatre, only designed for dance, which will present various directions,
both classical and modern. The third direction is ballet of the future where there will be
an experimental troupe that will be looking at new ideas and new forms. Why did you choose
Australia? Why did you decide to come here? We have already been to Europe, Asia, America
and Africa. So far we haven’t been able to visit the Fifth Continent. We are grateful
to the promoters who helped us cross the ocean and come to Australia to show our art.
Did such a long flight have any effect on your troupe? Is it going to affect your shows?
Our promoters have taken care of that, and that is why we arrived 2- 3 days in advance,
so we could adapt. The conditions in the Capital Theatre are wonderful, they enable us to show
our art: two performances such as “Anna Karenina” and “Tchaikovsky”, as well
as the commemoration of the theatre’s 35th anniversary.Anna Karenina and Tchaikovsky
are two performances which determine the style of our theatre very accurately. Today many
modern companies show abstract compositions played by a small number of performers, they
are not close to the theatrical traditions. We try to keep the theater’s traditions.
Anna Karenina is Tolstoy's famous novel about the woman who was destroyed by her ***
passion. This passion forced her to give up her child, ruin her family. I portray this
destructive feminine passion, which on the one hand provides an emotional lift, and on
the other, is a very destructive force. The second ballet “Tchaikovsky” is also about
passion.Tchaikovsky was a great composer, but I always wondered why such a successful
composer writes such tragic music. When I submerged myself into the world of his personal
drama, I was impressed with what tragedy Tchaikovsky perceived his *** identity. I wanted to
capture this tragedy in his life story. This show is dedicated to the genius’ passion.
These two performances reflect our theatre’s style and how it is different from other theatres.
These are theatrical spectacles that captivate thousands of viewers to their emotional aura.
This is what makes our theatre unique and popular in the world. Your productions receive
various reviews. How do you respond to them? Real art can never be straightforward. It
cannot be accepted by everyone. My predecessors were seen as extraordinary. Only the work
that becomes a classic can be perceived in a definite way, while living arts are always
perceived differently. There are people who understand, and those who are biased. My art
is for all the viewers but not for all the critics.
Can you tell me about your troupe? Our theatre has 55 very beautiful and highly
talented artists, as many critics have observed. In our theatre one must not only dance, but
be an actor as well. You need to reflect your inner world through movement. These people
are particularly gifted. During the last six months we have been to Beijing, New York,
Berlin, London, Milan, Moscow, and now we are here in Sydney, and that means that our
ballet troupe is popular among the viewers. Are you going to visit Australia in
the future? We would be very happy to, if our show is
successful. Crossing the ocean and bringing the ballet company here is an expensive project.