Boris Eifman

Eifman, Boris (b Rubtsovsk, 22 July 1946). Soviet dancer, choreographer, and director. He studied at Kishinev Ballet School, graduating in 1964, then at the choreographic faculty of Leningrad Conservatory with Aleksidze, graduating in 1972. He joined Kishinev Opera and Ballet Theatre in 1964 where he was appointed soloist, and was then appointed ballet master at Leningrad Ballet School (1972-7). In 1977 he became founding artistic director of Leningrad Theatre of Contemporary Ballet, also known as New Ballet (1977-8), Leningrad Ballet Ensemble (1978-80), and Leningrad (later St Petersburg) Boris Eifman Ballet Theatre (from 1990). Eifman created his first ballet in 1970 and soon came to represent the vanguard of Soviet modern ballet. Though based in classical technique, his style possesses an acrobatic attack and expressive freedom, and his highly theatrical approach embraces a wide range of material including rock ballets, ballet buffo, fairy-tales, and works based on literary themes. He has created over 40 ballets including Gayané (mus. Khachaturian, Maly Theatre, Leningrad, 1972), Firebird (mus. Stravinsky, Kirov, Leningrad, 1975, and New Ballet, Leningrad, 1978), Bivocality (mus. Pink Floyd, New Ballet, Leningrad, 1977), The Legend (mus. Kogan, Leningrad Theatre of Contemporary Ballet, Leningrad, 1982), The Master and Margarita (mus. Petrov, Leningrad Theatre of Contemporary Ballet, Leningrad, 1987), Thérèse Raquin (mus. Bach, Boris Eifman Ballet Theatre, Paris, 1990), The Murderers (mus. Bach, Mahler, and Schnitke, BEBT, 1991), The Karamazovs (mus. Rachmaninov, Musorgsky, and Wagner, BEBT, 1995), Red Giselle (1997), My Jerusalem (mus. various, BEBT, 1998), Russian Hamlet (mus. Beethoven and Mahler, BEBT, 1999) and Don Juan (mus. Mozart and Berlioz, 2001). His company first appeared in Paris in 1988, London in 1992, and New York in 1998. Eifman has also choreographed for various films.

In 1988 he was made Honoured Artist of the Russian Federation.