Boris Eifman Explained

Boris Eifman (Борис Яковлевич Эйфман; born 22 July 1946) is a Russian choreographer and artistic director. He has done more than fifty ballet productions.

Biography

Eifman was born in Rubtsovsk, Siberia, where his engineer father had been assigned to work in a tank factory.^[1] In 1953, the family moved to Kishinev, Moldavia. Eifman graduated from the Kishinev Ballet School in 1964.^[2] He performed as a dancer with the Kishinev Opera and Ballet Theatre; and went on to study choreography at the Leningrad Conservatory, where his teacher was choreographer Georgi Aleksidze. Eifman graduated from the Leningrad Conservatory in 1972. He then became a ballet master at the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet, from 1972-1977. In 1977, he received permission to found his own company, originally known as Leningrad Theatre of Contemporary Ballet. The troupe was known by various names, but today its official title is St. Petersburg State Ballet Theatre of Boris Eifman, or simply Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg when on tour. In addition to choreographing for his own company, Eifman has created ballets for the Maly Theatre of Opera and Ballet, the Kirov Ballet, the Bolshoi Ballet, Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, and New York City Ballet, among others. He has also made dances for film and television.

Eifman's family was required to move from Kharkov to Siberia during World War II. Though conditions in Siberia were hard, the move saved their lives. The Eifmans are Jewish; and the Nazis killed his father's family in Kharkov and Kiev.^[3] In Siberia, they lived in a "pit" with six rooms that housed six-ten families. "If the Government did not build real housing it was not because of money, but because people were not treated like people, but like cattle," Eifman says. After the family moved to Moldavia, Eifman began studying ballet and folk dance, from the age of seven, with the Young Pioneers. His parents initially opposed his desire for a dance career, but he began to experiment with choreography as a teenager.

Eifman's interest in dramatic subjects for his choreography places his work in a long-standing Russian tradition. This tradition dates back to the 18th century, and the foundation of the Russian school of ballet by disciples of Jean-Georges Noverre. Eifman has said, "the type of philosophical theater that I am working to create was not born in the Soviet Union...That's an idea that belongs to Noverre."^[4]

The choreographer has stated that his work for his own company can be divided into three periods: "the Soviet period, the perestroika era, and the last 10 years."^[5] During the first period, he worked mostly without government subsidy and was subject to strict censorship. In spite of these restrictions, however, he won a popular following by choreographing to rock 'n roll music (Pink Floyd) and dared to address controversial themes. The authorities suggested that he emigrate, but he did not wish to leave St. Petersburg. During the second period, which began with his 1987 ballet The Master and Margarita and overlapped with perestroika, Eifman enjoyed more artistic freedom. His company made its first international tour, to Paris, in 1989.^[6] The third period began in 1996, when impresario Sergei Danilian approached him leading to the Eifman Ballet's US debut in 1998.The company made their first appearance at the London Coliseum arranged by Gavin Roebuck in 2012.

Works

• Gayané (1972)
• Firebird (1975)
• Towards Life
• The Meetings
• The Beautiful Impulses of the Soul
• Only Love (1977)
• The Song Broken (1977)
• Double Voice (1977)
• Firebird (1978)
• Movement Eternal (1979)
• Boomerang (1979)
• The Idiot (1980)^[7]
• Autographs (1981)
• Day of Madness, or, The Marriage of Figaro (1982)
• The Legend (1982)
• Metamorphoses (1983)
• Twelfth Night (1984)
• Second Lieutenant Romashov (1985)
• Intrigues of Love (1986)
• The Master and Margarita (1987)
• Adagio (1987)
• Pinocchio (1989)^[8]
• Les Intrigues de l'Amour (1989)^[9]
• The Passions of Man (1990)
• Thérèse Raquin, aka The Murderers (1991)^[10]
• Tchaikovsky: the Mystery of Life and Death (1993)^{[11] [12] [13] [14] [15]}
• The Karamazovs (1995)^{[16] [17]}
• Red Giselle (1997)^{[18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23]}
• My Jerusalem (1998)^{[24] [25] [26]}
• Requiem (1998)^{[27] [28]}
• Russian Hamlet: the Son of Catherine the Great (1999)^{[29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38]}
• Don Juan and Molière (2000)^{[39] [40]}
• Don Quixote or Fantasies of a Madman^[41]
• Who's Who (2003)^{[42] [43] [44] [45] [46]}
• Musagète (2004)^[47]
• Anna Karenina (2005)^{[48] [49] [50] [51]}
• The Seagull (2007)^{[52] [53] [54] [55] [56] [57]}
• Onegin (2009)^{[58] [59] [60] [61] [62] [63] [64] [65]}
• Rodin
• Up and Down
• The Pygmalion Effect (2019)^[66]

Honours and awards

• People's Artist of Russia (Russia, 1995)
• Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 2nd (2012) class
• Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters (France, 1999)
• Commander of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland (2003)
• State Prize of the Russian Federation - 1998
• Theatre Award of Saint Petersburg "Golden Soffit" (1995, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2012)
• "Golden Mask" (Theatre Union of Russia, 1996 and 1999)
• Award "Triumph "(1996)
• Prix Benois de la Danse for "Best choreographer of 2005" (2006)
• Order of "Peace and Harmony" (Russia, 1998)

Bibliography

• Аловерт, Нина. "Балетний Театр Бориса Эйфмана." (16 Сентября 1994 Года) Новое Русское Слово.
• Johnson, Robert. "A Traditionalist Who Seeks To Update the Russian Soul." (April 5, 1998) The New York Times.
• Alovert, Nina. "Fantasies of a Dreamer." (April 1998) Dance Magazine, pp. 62–66.
• Barnes, Clive. "The Eifman Cometh." (July 1998) Dance Magazine.
• Gold, Sylviane. "Dance of the Dissident." (January 17, 1999). Newsday.
• Kisselgoff, Anna. "Smoldering Emotion Kindled by Motion." (January 17, 1999) The New York Times.
• Singer, Thea. "Boris Eifman Makes Dances from Turmoil." (March 19, 2000) The Boston Globe.
• Bayley, Mary Murfin. "Russian Dance Star Stayed True to Vision." (March 22, 2001). The Seattle Times.
• Alovert, Nina. "Eifman's Jubilee: Russia's Only Modern Ballet Company Celebrates 25 Years of Innovation." (January 2002). Dance Magazine, pp. 68–73.
• Bohlen, Celestine. "An Escape Artist Trained During the Soviet Circus." (March 24, 2002) The New York Times.
• Goodwin, Joy. "No Rest for a Russian Renegade." (April 15, 2007). The New York Times.
• Bachko, Katia. "The Eifman Experience: Boris Eifman Celebrates 30 Years with His Company." (April–May 2007). Pointe.
• Johnson, Robert. "Boris Eifman Comes to America" in Choreographer Boris Eifman: the Man Who Dared. Ardani. New York: 2018.

Notes and References

1. News: Dance of the Dissident. Gold. Sylviane. January 17, 1999. Newsday.
2. Book: Alovert, Nina. International Dictionary of Ballet. St. James Press. 1993. 1-55862-157-1. Detroit. 440–442.
3. News: Smoldering Emotion Kindled by Motion. Kisselgoff. Anna. January 17, 1999. The New York Times.
4. News: A Traditionalist Who Seeks to Update the Russian Soul. Johnson. Robert. April 5, 1998. The New York Times.
5. News: No Rest for a Russian Renegade. Goodwin. Joy. April 15, 2007. The New York Times.
6. News: Boris Eifman makes dances from turmoil.. Singer. Thea. March 19, 2000. The Boston Sunday Globe.
7. Whyte. Sally. August 1992. St. Petersburg Ballet Theatre: Prague Spring Festival. Dance and Dancers. 31.
8. News: Dance Diary:Eifman Ballet's 'Pinocchio'. Schulman. Jennie. May 3, 2002. Back Stage.
9. Koegler. Horst. February 1990. One From Russia. Dance and Dancers. 14–15.
10. Uralskaya. Valeria. November 1991. Boris Eifman Warns of Passion's Consequences. Dance Magazine. 24 and 26.
11. News: Russian to good thing at ballet. Barnes. Clive. April 13, 1998. New York Post.
12. Barnes. Clive. July 1998. Attitudes: The Eifman Cometh. Dance Magazine.
13. Alovert. Nina. April 1998. Fantasies of a Dreamer: The Theater of Boris Eifman. Dance Magazine. 62–66.
14. News: Founder's masterful touches put Eifman Ballet in a special class. Smith. Sid. March 15, 2002. Chicago Tribune.
15. News: Risk-taking 'Tchaikovsky' thrills. Weiss. Hedy. March 15, 2002. Chicago Sun-Times.
16. News: Oh Brothers!. Jowitt. Deborah. February 2, 1999. The Village Voice.
17. Tobias. Tobi. February 8, 1999. Northern Light. New York. 67–68.
18. News: A Psychological Biography of a Dancer Gone Mad. Kisselgoff. Anna. April 10, 1998. The New York Times.
19. News: Dancer's Descent into Madness. Barnes. Clive. April 10, 1998. New York Post.
20. News: A Dance of History: Eifman Ballet captures the sadness of Mother Russia. Gold. Sylviane. April 10, 1998. Newsday.
21. News: Eifman Ballet Embodies Russian Artistic Revolution. Johnson. Robert. April 10, 1998. The Star-Ledger.
22. News: Stirring Up Russian Ballet's Soul. Felciano. Rita. April 30, 2000. Los Angeles Times.
23. News: Dance: Eifman Ballet. Greskovic. Robert. February 24, 1999. The Wall Street Journal.
24. News: Passion Prevails in Russians' Premieres. Kisselgoff. Anna. January 28, 1999. The New York Times.
25. News: Leaps of Faith: St. Petersburg choreographer Boris Eifman creates ballets with 'Jewish soul. Josephs. Susan. January 15, 1999. The New York Jewish Week.
26. News: A Russian Ballet Master Finds Inspiration in Jerusalem: Boris Eifman's Choreography Unites Divergent Religions and Musical Styles. Abrahami. Naomi. January 15, 1999. Forward.
27. News: Body Language: Eifman needs no story to tell one. Gold. Sylviane. January 28, 1999. Newsday.
28. News: Exciting Eifman Simply Too Good To Be Missed. Barnes. Clive. January 28, 1999. New York Post.
29. News: Dancing an Ode to a Fallen Prince. Kisselgoff. Anna. March 26, 2000. The New York Times.
30. News: Turns Out Catherine's Not So Great in Russian Ballet About Her Son. Johnson. Robert. March 24, 2000. The Star-Ledger.
31. Kourlas. Gia. March 23–30, 2000. Love Hurts: Boris Eifman Brings Some Good Old-Fashioned Russian Angst to City Center. Time Out New York.
32. News: Ballet by Any Other Name...KILL MAMA. Jowitt. Deborah. April 11, 2000. The Village Voice.
33. News: РУССКИЙ ГАМЛЕТ. Аловерт. Нина. 6–12 April 2011. Русский Базар.
34. News: Brilliant Eifman Ballet puts a Russian spin on 'Hamlet'. Weiss. Hedy. April 1, 2001. Chicago Sun-Times.
35. News: Boris Eifman spins a 'Russian Hamlet': Lush commentary on human urges unfolds in twist of Shakespeare tragedy. Mauro. Lucia. April 8, 2001. Chicago Tribune.
36. News: Eifman's 'Hamlet' Outrageous, Sexy: Over-the-top ballet dazzles at Palace. Roca. Octavio. March 31, 2001. San Francisco Chronicle.
37. News: Eifman's Seattle debut is splendid. Kiraly. Philippa. March 24, 2001. Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
38. News: The Romanovs' 'Russian Hamlet'. Segal. Lewis. March 19, 2001. Los Angeles Times.
39. News: 'Don Juan' is a comic delight. Campbell. Karen. March 9, 2002. The Boston Globe.
40. News: Love, Death and Irony. Johnson. Robert. May 11, 2001. The Star-Ledger.
41. News: 'Don' Turns a Young Man's Fantasy. Gold. Sylviane. April 1, 2002. Newsday.
42. News: The Inevitable, Awful Eifman Drags Us Back to the 1920s. Gottlieb. Robert. April 21, 2003. The New York Observer.
43. News: A 'Who's Who' of great Russian talent. Weiss. Hedy. March 13, 2003. The Chicago Sun-Times.
44. News: Inspired by the Jazz Age, Eifman Ballet gets happy. Smith. Sid. March 14, 2003. The Chicago Tribune.
45. News: Russian Ballet Holds Mirror to American Dream. Weiss. Hedy. March 21, 2003. The Chicago Sun-Times.
46. News: Russians Discover America, the Myth. Kisselgoff. Anna. April 7, 2003. The New York Times.
47. News: 'Musagète': a tamer, unfaithful 'ode' to Balanchine. Reiter. Susan. June 22, 2004. Newsday.
48. News: Eifman presents another bold act: The daring Russian ballet company gives 'Anna Karenina' a post-feminist reinterpretation. Segal. Lewis. June 25, 2005. Los Angeles Times.
49. News: Eifman's 'Anna Karenina' ballet is sizzling. Weiss. Hedy. June 19, 2005. Chicago Sun-Times.
50. News: Eifman serves up undiluted 'Anna Karenina'. Johnson. Robert. May 26, 2005. The Star-Ledger.
51. News: Novel Approach. Barnes. Clive. May 27, 2005. New York Post.
52. News: Eifman's 'Seagull' a Cubist painting come to life. Mauro. Lucia. March 26, 2007. Chicago Tribune.
53. News: Boris Eifman's 'The Seagull' brings inspired ballet solos and duets. Production soars with brilliant dancing and stagecraft. Still, there are flaws.. Segal. Lewis. March 19, 2007. Los Angeles Times.
54. News: Soaring 'Seagull': Eifman uses contemporary setting to adapt Chekhov classic for ballet. Weiss. Hedy. March 16, 2007. Chicago Sun-Times.
55. News: Eifman's contemporary vision takes off in 'Seagull'. Weiss. Hedy. March 26, 2007. Chicago Sun-Times.
56. News: Chekhov with a modern twist. Johnson. Robert. April 13, 2007. The Star-Ledger.
57. Johnson. Robert. March 20, 2007. Boris Eifman Brings The Seagull to New York. Playbill.
58. News: Pushkin comes to shove. Bleiberg. Laura. May 22, 2009. Los Angeles Times.
59. News: Eifman Ballet delivers an intense and dramatic 'Onegin' in O.C.. Diamond. Pam. May 22, 2009. The Orange County Register.
60. News: Eifman Ballet: Onegin, Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley CA. Ulrich. Allan. May 5, 2009. The Financial Times.
61. News: Eifman Ballet's 'Onegin'. Hunt. Mary Ellen. May 6, 2009. San Francisco Chronicle.
62. News: Dark Night of the Soul. Gantz. Jeffrey. May 8, 2009. The Boston Phoenix.
63. News: Striking moments, and a few strange ones in Eifman Ballet's 'Onegin'. Smith. Sid. May 16, 2009. Chicago Tribune.
64. News: Eifman displays mastery of dance and theater with inspired 'Onegin'. Weiss. Hedy. May 16, 2009. Chicago Sun-Times.
65. News: 'Eugene Onegin' updated. Johnson. Robert. May 28, 2009. The Star-Ledger.
66. Johnson. Robert. June 7, 2019. The Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg Brings The Pygmalion Effect to New York City Center. Playbill.