Boris Eifman, Gregory
Antimony interview….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQiQ1YSlbqs
Gregory Antimony
interview with choreographer Boris Eifman. Talk show The Interview Hour on RTVI
channel.
Boris Eifman, I.m a
born choreographer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTIsackyIao
Eifman Ballet.s Anna
Karenina, excerpts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fj4qp7z-j50
Eifman Ballet Theatre
di San Pietroburgo - Anna Karenina - TEATR
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fKc0ljPXco
photos
https://www.google.hr/search?q=anna+karenina+ballet&client=opera&hs=GSU&channel=suggest&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=oXHmUvuqD8PQygP63oLoDw&ved=0CC8QsAQ&biw=1024&bih=639
Review: Anna Karenina
by the Eifman Ballet of St Petersburg
http://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/1336605/review-anna-karenina-eifman-ballet-st-petersburg
Anna Karenina
Eifman Ballet of St Petersburg
HK Cultural Centre
Grand Theatre
Reviewed: October 19
The Eifman Ballet
made a triumphant return to Hong Kong in one
of choreographer/artistic director Boris Eifman's most successful ballets, Anna
Karenina.
Packed with athletic
choreography, striking theatrical effects and superb dancing, it makes for
gripping entertainment.
Eifman has sensibly
jettisoned the sub-plots and philosophical aspects of Tolstoy's novel to focus
on the central story of the doomed affair between Anna Karenina and cavalry
officer Vronsky.
However, the plot is
so tightly telescoped (into two acts of 45 minutes each) that it feels rushed
and the ballet fails to convey the complexity and emotional depth of Tolstoy's
characters.
As always, the
choreographer makes huge demands on the technique and stamina of his dancers.
Anna's pas de deux with her husband
Karenin and Vronsky are filled with spectacular acrobatics and the ensembles
for the corps de ballet are equally difficult.
The final scene of
Anna's suicide, which uses the corps to evoke the fatal train, is brilliantly
done. Other outstanding moments include the scene where Anna and Vronsky echo
the same moves as they express their longing for each other and the drinking
sequence in the barracks.
On the downside,
subtlety has never been Eifman's forte. The choreography is too busy - every
time Anna goes near her husband or her lover they promptly embark on a series
of death-defying lifts, which - however thrilling - tell us more about the
dancers' physical prowess than the characters' emotional development.
There is a lack of
contrast. Moments of stillness are needed to punctuate the relentless pace. The
sequence where Anna, in a morphine-induced delirium, is tormented in a
Hieronymus Bosch-like hell is powerful but jars with the rest of the ballet.
The Tchaikovsky score
is well chosen (although, here, marred by a tinny recording) and Vyacheslav
Okunev's costumes are excellent, particularly the gorgeous gowns for Anna.
The performance of
the evening was Oleg Gabyshev's Vronsky, magnificently danced and passionately
acted. In the title role, Nina Zmievets danced with astounding strength and
fearlessness, although she seemed too strong to be convincing as this hapless
heroine. Oleg Markov was a fine Karenin and the corps performed with inexhaustible
energy and commitment.
Natasha Rogai
Boris Eifman
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Eifman
Boris Eifman (born 22
July 1946 in Rubtsovsk, Altai Krai) is a prolific choreographer associated with
the Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg.
He is known for his dark portrayals of anguished sexuality and extreme psychological
states. The company frequently tours abroad, and has been economically
successful. While some critics have received his work positively, other
responses, especially on the U.S.
East Coast, have been derisive."
Eifman was born in Siberia and graduated from the Leningrad Conservatory. In
1977 he was appointed director of the Leningrad
Ballet Ensemble at the age of 30 and he remained there for over 30 years.
The significant
period in the Theater’s life started in 2009, when the Government of St. Petersburg made a decision to start building Dance Academy
of Boris Eifman, the project initiated by the choreographer. The results of the
competition for the best architectural project ‘Boris
Eifman Dance
Palace’ on the Europe
Embankment were also concluded in summer of 2009. Today the enrichment of the
ballet repertoire of modern Russia and the realization of these two large-scale
projects are among guiding points in long-term plans of the choreographer and
his Company.
photos
https://www.google.hr/search?q=boris+eifman&client=opera&hs=NVp&channel=suggest&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=ZHfmUrrCC8TNygOC6IKIBg&ved=0CDQQsAQ&biw=1024&bih=639
Boris Eifman - the
man behind modern Russian ballet
http://www.eifmanballet.ru/en/about-theatre/boris-eifman