"Our homeless troupe is a worldwide success, but is deprived of its stage"
Several attempts to touch Dostoevsky's novel turned out to be unsuccessful, recalls Boris Eifman, People's Artist of Russia. But the choreographer decided: if not him, then who? The Moscow premiere of the ballet based on the novel "Crime and Punishment" will take place on the Historical Stage of the Bolshoi Theater on July 22, Boris Eifman's birthday. Fans will also see his play "Russian Hamlet". On the eve of the tour in Moscow, Izvestia talked with Eifman about what worries and inspires him.
"My first reference to the novel "Crime and Punishment" took place more than 30 years ago"
— Boris Yakovlevich, on July 22, the tour of your troupe begins in Moscow at the Bolshoi Theater. Fans will see the performances of "Crime and Punishment" and "Russian Hamlet". What does it mean for you to perform on the main stage of the country?
— Of course, this is a crucial moment for every figure of the musical theater of Russia. Bolshoi is a real Olympus. For me, the GABT tour has practically become an annual report to my Moscow audience. Why do I say "mine"? Because I've been coming to Moscow with my troupe since 1978. We started touring at the Rossiya Concert Hall. Moreover, in Soviet times, Moscow saved our theater.
— And what did he face?
— When the Leningrad Regional Committee tried in every possible way to cover for us, the troupe was always a huge success in Moscow. Critics came to our performances, wrote enthusiastic reviews, which appeared in Izvestia and Pravda. The newspapers were put on the officials' table, and there was nothing they could do. Then it was impossible to destroy the team, which was so in demand in the capital.
I love Moscow, I am grateful to it, and I always look forward to seeing this city. There are viewers who have been attending our performances since 1978. I know some of them personally and cherish this friendship.
— And when did your artists first appear on the Bolshoi stage?
— In 1997. And since then, for almost three decades, our theater has been regularly touring the Historical Stage. It is a great honor and privilege to present our best performances at the Bolshoi. It has become a tradition for my artists and for me personally.
Head of the St. Petersburg Ballet Theater, People's Artist of Russia Boris Eifman at the Bolshoi Theater, October 1, 1997
— For the first time, you are bringing the ballet Crime and Punishment, released last year, to Moscow. It is noteworthy that this is the fourth appeal to the literary base of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. Why do you keep coming back to his works?
— My ballet "Crime and Punishment" is a real achievement. No, I'm not crazy with conceit. Indeed, I consider the new performance to be the result of work on creating a unique style of our theater. There is such depth there, inspired by the lofty ideas of Dostoevsky, the music of Mahler, Tishchenko and Metropolitan Hilarion.… A work that gets into the soul, the heart of a person. This is extremely important today.
My first reference to the novel "Crime and Punishment" took place more than 30 years ago. I took up the performance, started working, and stopped. Understood: I can't pull it off. The essence of the novel cannot be expressed through the body. I couldn't do it then. He returned repeatedly.
Ballet "Crime and Punishment"
— Was it scary?
— It was. Several attempts to touch Dostoevsky's novel turned out to be unsuccessful. But for the last time, I decided: if not now, then when? And if not me, then who? And I did it. I am very happy that I have staged a play that I am proud of.
— Were the artists able to convey the moral or philosophical foundations that Dostoevsky laid in his work?
— They managed not only to convey the moral torments of the characters and show Raskolnikov and Sonya's path to resurrection, but also to immerse the audience in the world of Dostoevsky. What is the power of the ballet "Crime and Punishment"? The fact is that after a visit to the theater, even those who have not read the novel will find the book and get acquainted with Dostoevsky's masterpiece admiring the whole world. It seems to me that Dostoevsky, sadly, is leaving our cultural environment. The audience tends to the ballet, not the classics. They learn literature through choreography. And after two hours of interacting with high art, it shocks people.
Ballet "Crime and Punishment"
— Speaking of high. Professionals know that high ballerinas, dancers who were previously considered non-standard, after graduating from choreographic schools, the first thing they do is go to your theater. Why did you rely on high-profile artists?
— Unfortunately, other troupes are already closely watching the high-profile artists. Now they are in demand in the best theaters of the country.
"Touring at the Bolshoi Theatre is an outlet"
— Your theater is homeless. Having no stage of your own, you have to move around the world like a large camp. Aren't you tired of the touring life?
— Our homeless troupe is a worldwide success, but it is still deprived of its stage. And touring at the Bolshoi Theatre is an outlet, a satisfaction for the difficult life that we have been leading for almost half a century.
Boris Eifman, Artistic Director of the St. Petersburg State Academic Ballet Theater, People's Artist of Russia
— You have a Dance Academy in St. Petersburg. When you were told that money would be allocated for its construction, you could not answer: let's build a theater instead? Why is education a priority for you?
— Well, first of all, no one gave me money personally. And he did not offer to choose whether to build a school or a theater. I am not one of those artistic directors or directors who deal with finances at all. I only deal with creative concepts, the promotion of new ideas in ballet art, as well as architectural issues. But by no means a commercial activity. I am far from money.
The first project of the Dance Palace was born back in 1995, under Anatoly Alexandrovich Sobchak. But it was not implemented. The second option, which is quite viable and interesting, appeared in the 2000s. An international competition was announced under the supervision of the Governor of St. Petersburg, Valentina Ivanovna Matvienko. The Dutch company won. However, even then it was not possible to implement the idea of the palace. Three more projects followed after that.
Boris Eifman Dance Academy Lobby
— Was there something wrong with them, since I had to order projects several times?
— There is a very complicated story here. She's not personally connected to me. A combination of circumstances. Something seemed to indicate from above that I needed a choreographic school first. Its own, which trains universal artists, such as I see dancers of the 21st century. And I can raise them. At our academy, we have relied on an experimental program. And it is constantly evolving.
"Successful?"
— It's not so easy with the existing conservative dancer training system. But I think we will reach a fundamentally new level of ballet professional education. And the theater… The theater will be built. They will definitely build it.
I'm quite old. But I have a lot of ideas. I want to do a lot. And I look with sadness at how the walls of the building are still being erected. It's not easy to realize that, having invested a huge part of your life in creating a Dance Palace, you still don't understand how long you will have time to work in this wonderful center of choreographic art. And will you make it…
Artistic Director of the St. Petersburg State Academic Ballet Theater, People's Artist of Russia Boris Eifman
— Are you thinking about followers?
— I think people who exploit rather than create artistic values will come. But now I'm seriously dealing with the problem of finding a creative successor. I hope that I will meet someone who is able to continue my life's work with dignity.
"Ballet art is in deep crisis"
— You call your brainchild the Russian Psychological Ballet Theater. And how do colleagues feel about such a formula of existence?
— Colleagues each occupy their own niche in the large ballet space. They have their own ideas and designs based on their level of education, experience, talent, and God's gift. Everyone survives alone. Especially in our profession. That's why I don't know how they feel about it. Judging by what's filling the stage today, it's probably because my colleagues just don't understand what I'm doing and can't be my followers. Or they don't accept the art of our theater. I don't know. To be honest, I don't really care about that.
Boris Eifman, Artistic Director of the St. Petersburg State Academic Ballet Theater, People's Artist of Russia
— What are you worried about?
— The fact that ballet art is in deep crisis. This is not only Russia's problem. Worldwide. The outstanding choreographers who worked in the 20th century have left. Almost all the great ones have left us. And who's left? Young people are most often illiterate or accidentally caught up in a profession. None of them joined it in order to devote their lives to composing works worthy of those great predecessors who created the glory of Russian ballet.
I am amazed at the forgiving love of our audience for what is happening in the ballet theater. No matter what, people don't stop loving ballet. However, what I see should not, in theory, please. More often than not, we are no longer confronted with the high art that previous generations of ballet dancers carried. The picture is very, very sad.
We were talking about the Russian psychological ballet theater. The definition itself was formulated by critics during the troupe's tour in New York. Basically, you can define a genre in any words, but I know for sure that what my artists do on stage is art. We are developing the great traditions of the Russian ballet theater. And that's the main thing.
Ballet "Russian Hamlet"
— It turns out that children who dream of ballet will not be able to fully experience the school of the great?
— Choreographers don't understand who to imitate. Therefore, they begin to copy those who have long gone out of fashion, whose art has not left a trace and will not remain in history. There is some kind of confusion, helplessness, there are no landmarks. It's all frustrating. I don't want my young colleagues to think that I'm lecturing them. Let them understand me correctly. I just really love the art of dance and sincerely worry about its present and future.
— If we don't have any landmarks, what about everyone else?… After all, Russia has always been famous for its ballet.
"It's true. But we need to understand why Russia has always been famous for ballet. Because under the tsar and under the Soviet regime, ballet was a privileged art. The authorities loved him, treasured him and invested huge amounts of money. And she demanded that this art be worthy of the traditions and history of our country.
Today, the state spends huge amounts of money to support ballet. And all over the world, on the contrary, the financing of musical theaters is decreasing. Abroad, there is a decline in the authorities' interest in ballet art. It's the opposite with us. That's the paradox. But there's no point.
Ballet "Russian Hamlet"
- why?
— Money is invested indiscriminately and without awareness of what, in whom exactly. A purely formal approach. They invested and didn't ask: where is the result, for which the state has spared no huge funds?
The state cares about cultural figures, but there is absolutely no return or feedback from them. And when there is no mutual understanding, mutual interests, there is no result. Therefore, money is simply spent unaccountably. And the question arises, not how much money was spent, but what this money did for our art and Russian culture.
"Foreign students arrive in St. Petersburg with caution, but leave enthusiastic"
— During the pandemic, when the whole world was afraid to travel, the Dance Academy began hosting a choreographic session of the School of Innopractics. For the fifth year now, artists and choreographers from all over the world have been coming to you, who have a unique opportunity to get acquainted with the traditions of Russian ballet. Why would you do that?
— Colleagues from the School of Innopractics approached us with this interesting idea. And we appreciate that her choreography session is being held at our academy. The exchange of creative experiences with representatives of different cultures is useful for students. People come to us not only from Europe or Asia. There are many African artists among the project participants. And this is a completely different world. Familiarization with it enriches. Some of the foreign students arrive in St. Petersburg with caution, but they leave enthusiastic and with acquired spiritual baggage that will last them a lifetime.
No matter how hard they try to distance us, it is impossible to break the connection with Russian culture. I'm making sure: Only art today can bring people closer together. Students from the USA, Great Britain, Italy, China, India, and Nigeria are participating in the School of Innopractics in 2025. Dance is an art that is understandable and close to people of different nationalities, cultures, and religions. You don't need a translator here. Therefore, let's protect the art of dancing. This is the greatest achievement of mankind.
Choreographer Boris Eifman after the premiere of the ballet "My Jerusalem" at the International ballet Festival of the School of Innopractic "Global Values", July 28, 2023
— In the age of entertainment, what can make young people put down their gadgets and go to the ballet at least once? Is it a task for choreographers to interest neophytes?
— My happiness is that I don't think about who our performances will attract. Yes, the troupe has full halls all the time. It's true. For many years now. Thank God, the audience has always loved us. But when I compose a ballet, I don't worry about whether the audience will like it or whether young people will accept it. I am aware of how difficult it is today to tear a person away from a TV, computer, smartphone and make them pay a lot of money to go to the theater. And when I see the full houses, I realize that everything I'm doing is right. The performances of our theater are a mystery that carries a special emotional, intellectual energy that people need.
— The homeless theater does not sit still. Where are you going in the near future? Are you planning a tour abroad?
— We were in Istanbul not so long ago. They performed in Minsk at the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus. Now we will show performances at the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia. Tours are planned in Israel, China, Vietnam, India, Egypt. Another tour of Russia. We are expected in Ufa, Samara, and other cities. But I want to emphasize that I am tired of homelessness. You can't imagine how tired I am physically and mentally. I see how my performances could be improved if we had our own stage. I dream of hosting our viewers in my native home.
Ballet "Russian Hamlet"
— When will your dream come true and you will enter the walls of the Dance Palace?
— It's hard to answer. I've been told for many, many years: just be patient a little more, tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, a year, well, another year. And the years are coming. It's strange: I can't say that the state is not determined to build us a theater. On the contrary, I feel great interest from the authorities in the appearance of a new international ballet center in St. Petersburg - the Dance Palace.
Surprisingly, today, when the situation in the country is so difficult, stable financing of the project is underway. But, as always, something gets in the way. I don't want to go into details, criticism won't help anyway. Everyone has their own destiny. But I hope the theater will appear. God willing, we will be able to work in it and at least partially implement what the Dance Palace was designed for. That's the most important thing.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
