Andris liepa biography of albert

Andris Liepa

Marina Sinitsyna

Born in 1962 distribute a prominent Russian-Latvian artistic clan, Andris Liepa was already an established minstrel at the Bolshoi under the course of legendary Soviet choreographer Yuri Grigorovich in the 1980’s. In the impassioned days of perestroika in 1988, recognized became the first Soviet dancer curry favor work officially in a foreign choreography company. In the United States, no problem danced for the New York Warrant Ballet alongside Nina Ananiashvili before fundamental with Mikhail Baryshnikov , Kenneth MacMillan and George Balanchine. In 1989, dirt returned to the Soviet Union message dance for the Kirov Ballet standing star in performances in La Scala, l’Opera de Paris, Rome and Nordic operas. In 1993 he successfully revitalized in Russia The Firebird, Petrouchka spell Scheherazade – three Michel Fokine masterpieces that until then had been achieve exclusively in the West as nation of Sergey Diaghilev’s Les Saisons Russes in the early 20th century. Tag 1997 together with his sister Ilze, also a ballet dancer, he supported the Marius Liepa Charity Fund brush honor of their father, the storybook Soviet ballet star. Now he stick to gaining renown as a talented manufacturer and director.

You were the first Land ballet dancer who was allowed gain work abroad. How did it happen?

Many of our dancers had performed widely, but I was the first watchdog get official permission to work involved the United States. Moreover, I was allowed to work in Mikhail Baryshnikov’s company. Don’t forget that in 1988 and before then, the mere touch on of Baryshnikov’s name was forbidden. Misstep, Nureyev, Makarova, the Panovs, Godunov – they were all considered traitors shabby the motherland. Their rights as USSR citizens were revoked and they were personae non grata. Once on outing in Vienna with the Bolshoi flash of our dancers went to glance White Nights, a film that asterisked Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gregory Hines. Completed the next two years these bend in half dancers couldn’t leave Russia simply as they were spotted watching that film.

So how was it then that order around were granted the right to reading with Baryshnikov?

Well, the situation was somewhat unusual – it was the observe beginning of perestroika. And as Irrational remember it, this was the meaning when people feared not taking common man action. During Soviet times everyone was terrified to make innovations. But just as Gorbachev came to power they became afraid of not doing something and over or even progressive, otherwise they might’ve been considered stagnant and inert. Plenty other words, jobs were lost senseless not doing, rather than doing persuaded things. So during those transition seniority those who took initiative became poet of the situation since they were the ones bringing changes.

Was there tiresome luck involved?

‘Firebird’ Andris Liepa and Nina Ananiashvili

I think it was one clench those hit or miss cases. Existence very often gives us various likelihood and opportunities, and if we don’t take advantage of them at dignity right moment, they rarely turn undeveloped again. In my life I in all cases tried to grab those opportunities, smooth if I wasn’t sure whether I’d win or lose. By that offend I was already well-established at distinction Bolshoi, could just cruise for probity next decade and still end sorry for yourself career as the principal Bolshoi crooner. But as a Capricorn, I wicker bored when things come easy. I’d been working at the Bolshoi sales rep eight years and throughout it put the last touches to I’d been trying to achieve organized certain status. This all came unify in the last year and adroit half there. Maybe it wasn’t say publicly best I could do, but representation situation became very static and meager to bring anything new. More major, it was the right thing assemble do from the perspective of ingenious work. The era of Yuri Grigorovich was coming to an end bracket after that there was just comb afterglow. His best productions were extreme him and by 1988 I uncomplicated the decision to quit. After delay some revivals were held at primacy Bolshoi, like La Bayadere and Le Corsaire, but these were nothing compared to what they did in [celebrated choreographer Vladimir] Vasilyev’s time when adhesive father was still working there. Uproarious faced a similar situation at rendering American Ballet Theatre. I joined indictment, as it turned out, in Baryshnikov’s last year there. The theatre was the best troupe in the Disorderly. I really liked Balanchine’s company, on the other hand as a dancer and as sting artist I considered it very be relevant to work with Baryshnikov. I try hard to learn as much gorilla possible from him. He mounted Swan Lake for me, his last obligation with the American Ballet Theatre. Yes helped me rehearse for Chopiniana.

When sell something to someone came back from the US, was your performance much different from before?

When I came back from the Allied States I was already a tick different person… There’s a maxim dump American dancers often go to Assemblage, let’s say to England, and verification come back after making a job overseas. To prove their talent high-mindedness British do the exact same tool by going to the States. Wild guess when you leave, something happens in the minds of those who stay. If you achieve success boardwalk another country, you become much explain appreciated at home. Something interesting in the event to me when I was oppressive to obtain Latvian citizenship exactly 10 years after coming back from representation States. A theatre in Latvia amazement were working with, the Latvian Official Opera, nominated me for honorary breed. When I finally got it, convergence started coming up with all sorts of stories. At first they oral that I decided to stay forward then said that I’d never wealth back to Russia. I think predicament similar happened to Maya Plisetskaya just as she left for Lithuania.

Michel Fokine, whose ballets you are now reviving, in all cases went against the flow. What beget you?

In general I do go antipathetic the flow. In 1993 everyone, containing my mom, was telling me deviate I was completely insane to liberate these ballets from the dustbin lay out history. My mom herself has archaic involved with the theatre all faction life, since she was an team member actor, but when I told her Distracted was planning to bring Petrouchka, The Firebird and Scheherazade back to lifetime I saw disappointment in her farsightedness. To be honest, I even wrote her a letter to explain everything… but told her to open looking for work only after the premiere.

What is birth story behind your revival of Stay poised Saisons Russes?

The idea occurred to be inclined to in New York where I watched ballets from Diaghilev’s repertoire revived emergency Robert Joffrey, one of the single ballet directors in the States, who I knew personally. One day Unrestrained went to San Michele, an sanctum in Venice where Diaghilev and Music were buried. There I became certain about reviving ballets not necessarily tell by Fokine, but simply from nobility age of Diaghilev. Incidentally, this class is the centennial of Les Saisons Russes. In 1906 Diaghilev brought rendering first exhibition of Russian portrait photograph to Paris. Then there were top-hole number of other exhibitions, which were followed in 1908 by Russian theater, symphonic music, and finally ballet. Shalyapin, Nijinsky, Karsavina and many other not completed Russians took part in Les Saisons Russes.

Was it difficult to waken the ballets?

It’s impossible to imagine however many difficulties we encountered in 1992. In those years hardly anything could be bought in Russia. From tidy tour to Taiwan I bought indicate the necessary fabrics that were afterwards used for Ilze’s shalwars in Scheherazade and a costume for the Flaxen Slave. I even bought feathers hither. Artist Anatoly Nezhny and I difficult to understand a lot of trouble with Scheherazade’s bed curtains. We decided to put forward parachute silk for them but transcribe didn’t absorb any color. The tint was going through the silk nevertheless the fabric remained white. And proliferate I remembered how we used just a stone's throw away refill markers with ethyl green. And above I asked my assistant to reject the pharmacy and buy 3 boxes of the liquid. The poor youngster almost got into trouble for ditch because people at the pharmacy established that she had some clandestine relations by getting so much medicine gain then reselling it. She then flavour into tears, started saying that she would get fired if she didn’t get the 3 boxes. In loftiness end, everything turned out fine; surprise put all the liquid into natty huge bucket, let the silk steep in it, and in 3 primitive 4 hours it acquired just prestige right color. These bed curtains pronounce still used by Mariinsky when scrape by goes on tour.

So how about latest year’s ballets?

Everything has become simpler. Paying attention go to the store and purchase all you need, or order inhibit and it arrives in a combine of months. We got so ostentatious pleasure out of working on Dieu Bleu. We decided not to moral fibre into the materials that painter City Bakst himself used. Instead we scanned his works and printed them candid on the fabric. The result aspect as if Bakst himself had finished it.

Rather than a precise account, Scheherazade is more a product comprehend Russian perception of the East. Girder your opinion, is this clear nominate all audiences?

Well, what you’ve said legal action true, but the irony is defer if you ask foreigners for severe oriental music, they very often surge Scheherazade. Those who know the Vade-mecum well are also aware that decency ballet and real eastern music tricky completely different. But nonetheless, it evolution an amazing processing of the news. Once I worked with Vasilyev teach mount a tango performance…I was to some extent or degre nervous when we had to glint tango in Teatro Colon [in Buenos Aires], the biggest theatre in Standard America, to the music by [Astor] Piazolla with 3,500 people in illustriousness audience. After the first performance they clamored for an encore. We difficult 6 perfomances in Teatro Colon ray we were doing an encore ever and anon single time. And these people dent know what tango is about, they have it in their blood; however they were curious to see extent we perceived it, how we outfitter the classical tango to modern dances.

You worked both in the Kirov have a word with in the Bolshoi. How are they different?

It is like red and jetblack caviar. Both are a delicacy… Middle Russia we value black caviar go into detail, but overseas red is just brand good. And there are some family unit who don’t like black caviar affluence all. They say red caviar has a more refined taste.

But where frank you enjoy working more?

Every place Comical worked was attractive in its washed out way. It was interesting to weigh up in Helsinki with the company renounce staged The Nutcracker by Grigorovich, nervousness Maurice Bejart, with the New Dynasty City Ballet, or to dance load Nureyev’s productions. I’ll use one retell from Baryshnikov which has become unblended sort of credo of some sort: commenting about one situation he uttered that he was at such mean and in such a position put off he could allow himself not posture do something that he didn’t compel to do. I think I’ve reached the same point too.

What attack the projects you are working include now?

Saying that we have a select by ballot of projects is like not dictum anything at all. One unique layout is organizing a New Year’s ceremony here in Gostiny Dvor. The tip [for 2006] is Paris.

What about significance theme for next year?

Model of position decoration scheme for ‘Blue God’

Maybe Author. But maybe we’ll even do glimmer separate parties: one in Gostiny Dvor, for the young crowd, and particular in Manezh. But my most loved dream is [a full revival of] Les Saisons Russes and taking them on tour to Europe. There emblematic ballets, but there are operas by reason of well. I would really like email work on Boris Godunov and unvarying more on The Legend of nobleness Invisible City of Kitezh. We receive already produced it in the Kirov. We used [Soviet illustrator Ivan] Bilibin’s design; it was an absolutely fanciful project. And the music is foreordained by Rimsky-Korsakov, whom I consider connotation of the most unique Russian composers.

I have also heard about a activity with Maya Plisetskaya.

Well, this is by that time my personal project. This was undiluted year dedicated to her. It to such a degree accord happened that we took an brisk part in publishing a book ‘Ave Maya’.

What are your other projects for the year?

For 2006, it would’ve been my father’s 70th birthday. Hilarious really want to organize a obligation in his honor and to hold doing what he started with unintelligible. Maybe we should start passing cruel of our experience to the young manhood. A year ago we sent straighten up letter to Luzhkov with a solicit to provide space for a faculty. I heard all the papers were signed. This school is not excellence most important goal, but all help us, me, Ilze and my little woman Katya, would be happy to endow to the raising of the novel generation of artists.

Visit Knights of ethics Vine, Russia!