Choreographer Boris Eifman: biography, creative activity

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Choreographer Boris Eifman, whose biography, whose photo is of interest to all ballet lovers, deserves, if not love, then at least immense respect. He always went his own way in art, knew how to defend his point of view and find new, sometimes brilliant stage solutions. His ballet has many fans all over the world, his troupe's tours have always been sold out since the 70s, and today Eifman is at the stage of creative growth, so there are still many surprises ahead of the audience.

Childhood

Boris Eifman (date of birth - July 22, 1946) was born in the small Siberian town of Rubtsovsk, where the family moved before the war in connection with the mobilization of Yakov Eifman, an engineer, for the construction of a tractor plant. Boris' mother worked as a doctor. In 1951, the family returned to their historical homeland in Chisinau. The future choreographer from early childhood had a great craving for self-expression with the help of plasticity. Therefore, no one was surprised when Boris Eifman enrolled in the ballet studio at the Palace of Pioneers, where he quickly became one of the best students. Alreadyhe was distinguished by unprecedented diligence and was absolutely in love with dance, with the plasticity of the human body, with movement.

The path to the profession

In 1960, Boris Eifman, whose biography has always been associated with ballet, enters the newly opened choreographic department of the Chisinau Music College. He comes to the workshop of Rachel Iosifovna Bromberg, who already knew him from his studies in the studio. A little later, she transfers to the student the leadership of the choreographic circle at the Palace of Pioneers. So Eifman simultaneously studies and teaches, comprehending the profession more and more deeply.

When he graduated from college in 1964, a desire to continue studying matured in him, and he entered the Leningrad Conservatory. N. Rimsky-Korsakov, to the choreographer's department, from which he graduated in 1972. From the very first steps at the school, Eifman showed more interest in staging than in dancing. He had his own vision of the stage and ideas about the expressive possibilities of the dancer's body, which he dreams of throwing out on the viewer.

Choreographer career

Boris Eifman is an experienced choreographer. He began to stage the first performances during his studies. His first performances in Leningrad in the early 1970s - "Toward Life" to the music of Kabalevsky, "Icarus" based on the work of A. Chernov and V. Arzumanov, "Fantasy" by A. Arensky - became a real discovery for the ballet audience. Even then, he gravitated toward modernity, boldly combining various means of expression. His performances from the very beginningshowed a desire to create a vivid synthetic spectacle, which organically combined the literary basis, scenery, costumes, lighting and dance with a strong dramatic beginning.

In 1972, Eifman's diploma work "Gayane" on the stage of the Leningrad Maly Opera and Ballet Theater made a lot of noise: unusual choreography, subtle feeling of images - all this made an indelible impression on the public and critics.

Since 1971, Boris Eifman has been working as a choreographer at the Leningrad Choreographic School. Vaganova. His performances with students of the school were shown on the stage of the Kirov Theater. Here he puts I. Stravinsky's "Firebird", "Meetings" by R. Shchedrin, "Interrupted Song" by Kalnynsh. These works make Eifman famous, including abroad, as the theater carries performances on foreign tours. Also during this period, the novice choreographer has the opportunity to make several ballet films for television.

B. Ya. Eifman Theater

Having tried his hand at one of the best theaters in the country, Boris Eifman realized that in such academic institutions he would not be able to fully realize his plans. And he throws all his strength into creating his own theater.

In 1977, his efforts yielded results: he opened the New Ballet theater at the Lenconcert. Having recruited a troupe to his liking, Eifman begins to create. The choreographer chooses works that are unusual for the Soviet theater and stages ballets that are not at all classical. In his performances, the choreographer strives to find answers toburning issues of life, first of all, he appeals to the youth audience, trying to speak with her in the language of rock music and modern dance that is close to her.

Since the 1980s, he began to regularly tour abroad, in particular, he annually visits New York, where Eifman Theater tours have become traditional and highly anticipated. In Russia, the theater is also incredibly popular, although it has not had its own building for many years. Only in 2010, the Boris Eifman Academy is being built, and the Dance Palace, which the master has been dreaming about for many years, is still at the project stage.

Outstanding work

Boris Eifman, whose biography is the path of an innovator and a fighter, created a theater to choose the repertoire at his discretion. The playbill of the theater strikes with a variety of genres. It has buff ballets: Crazy Day, or The Marriage of Figaro, Intrigues of Love, chamber ballet programs: Metamorphoses, Autographs, fairy tales: The Firebird, Pinocchio. Eifman always tried to stage performances with a high-quality literary basis, so Anna Karenina, The Master and Margarita, The Duel, The Idiot appeared in the repertoire. Already the first works showed that the Eifman Theater was ready for experiments, so the productions of Bartok's Under Cover of Night, Two-Parts to the music of Barret, and Wakeman's Temptation appeared in its playbill. During his creative life, Boris Eifman has already staged more than 40 ballets, among which the most famous are Tchaikovsky, Red Giselle, Rodin, Requiem.

Awards

People's Artist Boris Eifman, biographywhich there is a way to overcome, has been spoiled by awards in recent years. Until the 90s, they did not want to celebrate him with state awards, so as not to encourage innovative ballet art. But after perestroika, everything changed, the choreographer received the title of People's Artist and Honored Artist. He was awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland three times and several orders of foreign countries. Eifman is a multiple winner of the Golden Mask, Golden Soffit and Triumph awards.

Private life

Boris Eifman is always the object of close attention of the media and fans. The choreographer is credited with many novels, still: famous, imposing, young, free. How can women pass by such a man indifferently? His loudest novel was a relationship with the beautiful actress Anastasia Vertinskaya. But everything ended in nothing. And Eifman married the soloist of his ballet Morozova Valentina Nikolaevna. They worked side by side in the theater for a long time, the master staged several interesting parts for her. In 1995, the couple had a son, Alexander. Valentina was able to fully realize herself in the Eifman Theater as a dancer. And today she continues to work next to him as a teacher-tutor, providing her husband with significant help and support.