Choreographer Boris Eifman: biography, creative activity

Choreographer Boris Eifman, a biography whose photo interests all ballet lovers, deserves, if not love, then at least boundless respect. He always went his way in art, he was able to defend his point of view and find new, sometimes brilliant stage solutions. His ballet has a lot of admirers around the world, the tours of his troupe since the 70s always take place at full house, 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 city 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's mother worked as a doctor. In 1951 the family returns to its historical homeland in Chisinau. The future choreographer from early childhood had a great desire for self-expression with the help of plastics. 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. Even then, he was distinguished by unprecedented diligence and was absolutely in love with the dance, in the plastic of the human body, in motion.

Path to the profession

In 1960, Boris Eifman, whose biography was forever associated with the ballet, enters the newly opened choreographic department of the Chisinau Music College. He comes to the studio of Rachel Iosifovna Bromberg, who already knew him from studies in the studio. A little later, she gives the student leadership choreographic circle in the Palace of Pioneers. So Eifman simultaneously learns and teaches, comprehending the profession deeper.

When in 1964 he graduated from the school, he became ready to continue studying, and he entered the Leningrad Conservatoire. N. Rimsky-Korsakov, at the choreographer's department, which he graduated in 1972. Already from the first steps in the school Eifman showed more interest in the productions than in the dance. He had his own vision of the stage and the idea of the expressive possibilities of the body of the dancer, which he dreams of splashing out on the viewer.

Career choreographer

Boris Eifman is a choreographer with long experience. He began to put the first performances while studying. His first productions in Leningrad in the early 70's - "Life to meet" 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 public. Even then he gravitated toward modernity, boldly combining various expressive means. His productions from the very beginning demonstrated the desire to create a bright synthetic spectacle, in which organically combined literary basis, scenery, costumes, light and dance with a strong dramatic beginning.

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

Since 1971, Boris Eifman works 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 the "Firebird" I. Stravinsky, "Meetings" R. Shchedrin, "Interrupted Song" Kalninsha. These works make Eifman famous, including abroad, as the theater carries performances on foreign tours. Also during this period, the beginning choreographer has the opportunity to make several film-ballets for television.

Theater B. Ya. Eifman

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 spends all his energy on creating his own theater.

In 1977, his efforts give a result: he opens at the Lenkontsert Theater "New Ballet". Having recruited the troupe to your liking, Eifman begins to create. The choreographer chooses works unusual for the Soviet theater and puts completely not classical ballets. In his performances, the choreographer strives to find answers to the burning questions of life, first of all he appeals to the youth audience, trying to talk with her in the language of rock music and modern dance that is close to her.

Since the 80's, he began to regularly tour abroad, in particular annually visits New York, where the tour of the Eifman Theater has become traditional and very expected. In Russia the theater also has an incredible popularity, 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, about which the master dreams for many years, while he is still at the project stage.

Outstanding work

Boris Eifman, whose biography is the way of the innovator and fighter, created the theater in order to choose the repertoire at his discretion. The playbill of the theater amazes with a variety of genres. In it there are ballet buffs: "Mad day, or The Marriage of Figaro", "Intrigues of Love", chamber ballet programs: "Metamorphoses", "Autographs", fairytales: "Firebird", "Pinocchio". Eifman always aspired to stage plays with a qualitative literary basis, so in the repertoire appeared "Anna Karenina", "Master and Margarita", "Duel", "Idiot". Already the first works showed that Eifman's theater is ready for experiments, so in its playbill appeared the productions "Under the cover of night" by Bartók, "Dvuhgolosie" on Barrett's music, "Temptation" by Wakeman. For his creative life Boris Eifman has already produced more than 40 ballets, among which the most famous are "Tchaikovsky", "Red Giselle", "Rodin", "Requiem".

Awards

People's Artist Boris Eifman, whose biography is the way to overcome, has been spoiled with awards in recent years. Until the 1990s, he was not eager to celebrate with state awards, so as not to encourage innovative ballet art. But after perestroika everything changed, the choreographer got the title of People's Artist and Honored Artist. He was awarded three times with the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, several orders of foreign states. Eifman is a repeated winner of the Golden Mask, Golden Sofit and Triumph awards.

Personal life

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