How a young man trained in Siberia became a principal dancer with Eifman Ballet and is now an in-demand choreographer in his own right. Read on for his inspiring story and click here for the Russian language version of this interview.
Do you come from a family of dancers?
In my family, unfortunately, no one was connected with the dance world. My mother is a biology teacher, and my father served in the military engineering troops, he was a sapper by profession. He was sent to the Siberian Military District in Novosibirsk to work. At that time, I was still very young and went to kindergarten there and then secondary school. My mother was always drawn to art, and when I was 6 years old, she sent me to the children’s choir at the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theater. It was my first acquaintance with the theatrical world, first of all with opera, where children participated in many performances, such as “Boris Godunov”, “Khovanshchina”, “Tosca”, etc. But also with ballet, for example, in “The Nutcracker”, at the end of the first act, children are brought to the orchestra pit, where they sing along with the amazing Waltz of the Snowflakes and the choir becomes a real magical instrument in the orchestra. At that time, I was in love with this orchestral world, I stood next to the drums, and I always really liked the way they played. I dreamt more of becoming a drummer than a choir or ballet dancer! I sang for about four years in the choir, during which time I swam and attended various children’s classes.
When I was 10 years old, my mother’s friend took her daughter to the competition for admission to the Novosibirsk Choreographic School (NHU), and they took me along for company. And as often happens, in the end, the girl was not accepted, but I went through all three rounds and was accepted. I remember how in the second round, where musicality and artistry are checked, they asked us to perform a dance, but of course I had not prepared anything. I had to get out of it by doing some folk squats. Later on, I learned that there are certain positions of arms and legs for that. But at the time, I danced what I felt. But apparently this is what the teachers liked. I was also quite flexible, I could do the splits, I had a a flexible back, I could do backbends and frogs. I remember that my dad had a large encyclopedia of yoga poses, illustrations of asanas, and I could do almost all the poses in it, lotuses, butterflies, twists, etc.
Did you want to dance?
No, I didn’t want to at all. First, I was embarrassed to say where I was studying, because the image of ballet, especially in the military district, as it seemed to me at the time, was associated by my peers with a “non-male” profession. There were stereotypes that ballet was only for girls in pointe shoes. But sometime in the fifth grade, I felt that I liked it more and more. Now I’m proud of this: ballet is a high art, it is an elitist, beautiful profession. Ballet is a real man’s profession, where not only the strength of the body develops, but also the strength of the spirit, the emotional side and mental abilities are important. An artist must be intellectually developed, feeling and experiencing. We had a very friendly class in Novosibirsk, and quite a stellar one. Semyon Chudin (principal dancer of the Bolshoi Theatre) is also from my class, we stood the barre next to each other for those 8 years, and there was a very healthy, sporty atmosphere in the class. They say that “competition is the engine of progress”, and this is true. We all looked at who came to class earlier to warm up, who stayed longer after school, who was trying new things and who kept training.
Who was your pedagogue?
We were very lucky with the teachers. Our first teacher was Tatyana Mikhailovna Tikhonova, who until the fifth grade masterfully introduced us to the basics of the profession, laying a strong and reliable foundation which is so important for future development. She was a woman of exquisite delicacy and delicate feeling, who was able to awaken in us a deep and true respect for our chosen profession. And the teacher for the older classes was Alexander Nikolaevich Shelomo, he studied at the Moscow Academy and had been a student of Pestov, so stylistically he had Moscow tendencies and flair. He was simultaneously studying to be a psychologist and conducted many exciting tests with us, carefully analyzing which situations contribute to the disclosure of our abilities and improvement of results. He had a scientific approach to teaching. It is thanks to such wise teachers that a real ballet dancer is formed and the student acquires stage wings.
Had you seen modern dance at that point?
Naturally, we were introduced to modern productions, but then I perceived and wanted to dance only classical roles. We had a class which was the “Introduction to the profession”, where we were shown ballet performances of modern choreography – Mats Ek, Jiřé Kylián, Roland Petit and many others. But everyone was interested in seeing how outstanding dancers perform technically complex, classical elements, our class all said, “Let’s do Don Quixote, let’s skip to variations.” And in the second year there was one lesson a week, on Thursday evening at 19:00, an hour of modern dance, and that’s it.
You even remember what time this lesson was! Were you drawn to it?
Unfortunately, no, all these turned in positions and contractions, I did not accept them then.
Did you plan to stay in Novosibirsk after graduation?
Yes, I worked there for a year. They offered me good prospects in the theater, they said that in 2 years I would be a leading soloist, and gradually began to give me solo parts. Grigorovich’s two ballets “Spartacus” and “The Legend of Love” motivated me to stay in the theater, they were such masculine, technically and emotionally complex productions. And then I saw a performance which was part of the Eifman Theater’s tour to Novosibirsk, which had a great influence upon me. Their “Russian Hamlet” made a huge impression. And for me, it became a dream to dance in this ballet, not even the main role, but in the male corps de ballet. Because Eifman’s corps de ballet is at times one of the main characters, the real “body of dance” in the production, and it’s effective and monumental, it carries a great semantic and physical load. For example, in his “Anna Karenina”, it’s the corps de ballet that destroys and crushes the main character, turning into sarcastic gossip, then into a bilious society, then into the deadly wheels of a steam locomotive. And when in the same year the main stage of the theater in Novosibirsk was closed for reconstruction –and they said it would be closed for about two years– I realized that I needed to act quickly. So I called the director of the Eifman Theater and asked for an audition.
Naturally, they immediately asked how tall I was, for their company tall artists are especially important. And in the new season, I was already working in the Eifman Ballet. Almost a year later, I made my debut in a solo role in the ballet “Tchaikovsky”. I remember it was in the capital of Mexico, in Mexico City. The city is very difficult for dancing, as it’s located at an altitude of 2200 meters above sea level. You really feel the lack of oxygen there. Behind the scenes, there were even oxygen cylinders so that the artists could recover their breath. Dancing was incredibly hard, then I really realized how difficult it is to be a soloist in ballet, but I am glad that everything went great, it gave me more impetus to prepare for the other roles. And during the next season, I slowly mastered new solo parts while still performing in the corps de ballet.
Did they tell you when you had been promoted to principal dancer?
No, I don’t remember when exactly I became a principal dancer, there were no announcements, in the theater unfortunately somehow there’s no such tradition. You just see on the website that you’re already listed as a principal.
Is it difficult to adapt to Eifman’s style?
Yes, that’s a good question. The first year was difficult, first of all for the body, at first it was in shock: muscles would cramp, twist, or pull quite often. Eifman has a lot of movements using contraforce, between positions, in a fall, and it was always a trial of sorts. I’m glad that I went through the corps de ballet school with him where I was able to get stronger and adapt to the choreographic language of Boris Eifman, and then gradually enter the solo and leading parts. The third step is working with the master in the staging process, and that’s very difficult. In the process of this creative search you can repeat one movement for about an hour. But it is through that process that new neural connections are formed for Eifman’s dance and his style.
There is a stereotype that all ballet dancers are stupid...
Where did that come from? We need to dispel this stereotype, because ballet holds a much greater portion of more intelligent, interesting and attractive personalities. In ballet schools, in addition to all the standard subjects, we also undergo a more in-depth study of the history of music, ballet and world art, we even learn to play the piano, which seems to me to greatly affect the development of the mind. It is believed that the piano and violin are incredibly useful for brain activity, as is dance itself. Even the eminent Russian neuroscientist Tatyana Chernigovskaya says that dance is an incredibly complex mental process, where the body adapts to space in unison with the music, rhythm, plot and whirlwind of emotions.
Is working with Boris Eifman a collaborative process?
Yes, you don’t come to Eifman’s studio and learn like a puppet. The search takes place together. He suggests the circumstances and the direction of the choreography, and the dancers go in that direction, and you can suggest and consolidate all the discoveries made in the studio. It’s nice for the artists that they’re a part of the history of creating the performance and carrying a part of their self into the history of this ballet. It’s incredibly motivating.
When I realized this was an interesting method and, knowing how a choreographer is inspired to work with creative, enterprising artists, I decided to study to be a choreographer. After 7 years of service in the theater, I entered the Vaganova Academy’s Pedagogical Faculty in the department of balletmaster/choreographer. The focus here is more on choreography, but the choreographer must naturally be able to teach. My professor was Yuri Petukhov, with whom I studied for four years. In the final year, I won a silver medal at the prestigious Grigorovich Moscow International Ballet Competition, in the category of “Choreographer”. First prize was not awarded to anyone, so in a way, I won first prize! (laughs) This competition takes place every 4 years, so for the ballet world, it’s like the Olympics.
The winners of the competition performed their works on the historic Bolshoi Theater stage. It was there that my production was first shown. It was incredibly exciting and unforgettable. I presented a male duet called “Laziness” where the hero fights with the morning desire to sleep — a “sin” that’s probably familiar to everyone. The number is filled with light humor and a bit of the grotesque, I decided to play on the contrast, to create the ballet with humor, which went over well with the audience. Yuri Nikolaevich personally presented the medals to the laureates, warmly congratulating each nominee – this is a deeply memorable and very honorable moment for me.
Did you have any favorite roles when performing in the Eifman troupe?
It’s very difficult to answer this question, because each new production – from creation to rehearsal – took about a year, and if you count tours and the premiere, then even two years. It’s a long process. When you slowly grow with a role, almost role becomes close and beloved to you!
Is it more difficult to stage than to dance? They’re two different worlds, each with their own pros and cons. Practice is needed. The more practice you have, the more confidence you have. The more you dance, the more confident you are on stage. The more you stage ballets, the more confident you are in the studio. The main thing is consistency and training. I remember how, back in school they told me, and I absolutely agree with this, “success: 95% is hard work and only 5% talent.” Purpose, discipline and motivation should help in this – no pain no gain, no song no supper!
Do you believe in Fate?
Yes, I feel that something is guiding me, I love signs. Even in the process of creating a performance, I carefully look at random events – they gently lead the production along the right path, and the obstacles that arise in the end turn out to be not accidental, but necessary and correct for this performance.
Do you ever feel the presence of a higher strength or energy as if you’re a conduit on stage?
Yes, such moments happen, but, unfortunately, not as often as I would like. When I go on stage, sometimes I feel a special flow, that state when everything seems to work out by itself. But the performance, especially Eifman’s, depends not only on me. There are a lot of interactions with partners, lights, music, scenery, and of course, all this, even if you rehearse a lot, is not always controlled. You can be ready, but the scenery becomes jammed, and then the mood is lost. The perfect fusion of all components does not always occur, but it’s those moments when they do that remain in memory, making you remember each such performance with special warmth, the times when this magic worked. During performances, sometimes you flow like water with the flow of history, and sometimes you sit and suffer, and don’t understand what’s happening, where to go next. Although I still have little experience in staging – only seven ballets – now I am coming to a turning point in my career. I’m aware that I’ll be able to dance for a few more years, maybe even seven more, but I feel that the time has come to shift my focus to choreography. For me, this is not just a transition – it is a new path where there’s an opportunity to discover myself in a new way and create my own unique story.
You’re currently also participating in your colleague, Yuri Smekalov’s productions, as I understand?
Yes, I’m participating in his production (based on Gogol’s book), “The Overcoat. M.”, I perform the role of the Tailor . For me, it was a new experience, because his production contains not just dance, but also speech, like in a dramatic performance. We were even given master classes, “An Express Course in Speech Technique” to work on clear pronunciation, especially on the ending of words! Now I often perform in one-act performances and gala concerts. Recently I performed the main role in a three-act performance about the life of Rachmaninoff (Editor’s note: the ballet was staged by Gabyshev himself) which, fortunately, the choreographer kindly allowed! (Laughs)
Along with this, I began receiving requests to stage ballets. In September, the Saransk Opera and Ballet Theatre hosted the premiere of an interesting project, “Diaghilev. New”, where the first act contains the classical performance from Diaghilev’s “Seasons” and during the second act the audience watches a new ballet to specially written music. We crated our own stage version of Mikhail Fokine’s “Egyptian Nights” based on the surviving recording of the film-ballet by Konstantin Sergeev. I took that material as a basis, but since we’re talking about a film-ballet which skipped over some dances and, of course, for the dynamics using film transitions, I had to subtly adapt and create my own stage version, while preserving the signature Fokine style. The main task was to preserve the spirit and style of the original, to harmoniously fill in the missing gaps, and not to engage in a complete reconstruction. The second act was based on the novel by O. Henry, “The Gift of the Magi” – this is a touching story of sincere and pure love, permeated with deep emotional warmth and tenderness. And it became a completely new production, created to the music of the Moscow composer Kuzma Bodrov. This is a production with complete freedom of creativity and imagination in the choreography, which allowed me to experiment as a choreographer. A couple of critical reviews warmly celebrated the evening, praising both the concept and the execution.
How would you characterize your choreographic style?
Naturally Boris Eifman had a huge influence on me, and I don’t hide that fact, I’m actually glad. Many people say that our styles are similar, and it seems to me that this is normal, and I’m grateful that I’ve formed this style. But I’d like to believe that I add a lot of my own. I try above all to go off of the music, I try to be maximally musical and sincere in choreographically transmitting the story, for example especially in such a complex and nuanced process of creating the ballet “Rachmaninoff. A Lifelong Symphony”. I understand that the music of Sergei Vasilyevich has such genius and self-sufficiency that it does not need additional choreographic accompaniment. Nevertheless, my task is to open this music to the viewer from a new side, to identify those nuances and shades that might have previously eluded me, and to give them a new, lively sound through movement. It’s nice that this performance is already in its third season and is kept in the repertoire, because the trend of modern productions is to run a couple of times and disappear.
I want the audience to enjoy the production, and for it to live on. It is being performed in Ufa and Bashkiria. It was a large commission for a ballet: a full three acts. I’m grateful to the management for inviting me and giving me freedom in the choice of music and even in flexibility of the libretto, which is nice. Rachmaninoff’s ballet has received four Golden Mask nominations, and we had the honor of presenting it on the Historic Stage of the Bolshoi Theatre. It was a truly incredible feeling to perform your performance at such a significant venue!
It’s especially poignant when I realize the path I’ve traveled over these past ten years: after all, it was on this stage that I showed my choreographic miniature “Laziness”, which brought me my first ballet victory, and ten years later I returned with a full-scale three-act performance. This moment was a vivid confirmation for me that I’m moving in the right creative direction and giving deep meaning to this whole difficult, but inspiring journey. I’d very much like to show it in my beloved St. Petersburg. There is a harmonious synthesis of not only ballet, pianistic art and orchestra, but also opera. So apparently I didn’t sing in the choir in my childhood in vain!
What’s the best part of your work as a dancer?
The bows. Especially if you’re worthy of these bows, if you’ve coped well and earned it.
What’s the best thing when you choreograph and stage a ballet?
When movement, music and history come together, when all this coincides, and you understand that this movement should be here at this moment, in this story. It’s a great pleasure.
What’s the hardest part of your job?
The rehearsal process. Routine is present everywhere. Without this, injuries often occur. And the most difficult thing in the staging process is to come up with an idea of how to choreographically express a story on stage without words, how to convey deep thoughts non-verbally. If you come up with a good idea, then the movements will come by themselves.
Do you follow a diet?
I have to. With age, your metabolism slows down, and the workload is not the same as it was when I danced in the Eifman company. Now I sometimes practice intermittent fasting, trying to increase the intervals between meals. I run actively – I purposefully prepare for marathons, and I’d advise anyone to carefully choose good sneakers to protect your knees, and gradually increase the load. And let’s not forget about swimming. Once I sailed from Yelagin Island to Kronstadt for eight whole hours. Before the quarantine, I managed to do the Iron Man in Tallinn in 11 hours and 45 minutes. Ballet is an art, but with a sports foundation; we’re a very hardy and strong people. Despite some opinions that ballet is like crystal, carefully protecting the legs and arms, in fact behind all that grace and tenderness there is incredible strength and resilience that allow us to overcome serious physical challenges.
Do those trials or challenges make life brighter?
Yes, they make life brighter — and at the same time stronger. The main thing is to learn how to find the right balance for you: some people draw strength from peace and quiet, and others from long-distance running.
Have you had any strange experiences on stage?
In the duet with Lensky in Eifman’s ballet “Onegin,” there’s a scene of misunderstanding and quarrel, in which Vladimir leaves, and Onegin is left alone with himself — at this moment, a demonic essence awakens in him, reflecting inner torment and struggle. And in the performance, I felt how my pants were starting to fall off. It turned out that the zipper on the trousers had separated. Realizing that the audience could misinterpret this situation if I suddenly found myself without pants on stage, I had to dance almost the entire variation holding tightly to my waist and coming up with new accents to convey the inner struggle of the character. It was a funny and unexpected story! And I’ve had many falls, but, fortunately, without injuries. This is part of our profession. This is living art, here and now, so no matter how we rehearse, you can’t control everything. This is what attracts live theater.
Some funny things also happened with makeup. For example, in the role of Crassus in the ballet “Spartacus”, the glued Roman hump on my nose suddenly fell off right during a lift. I had to get rid of it as imperceptibly as possible by throwing it into the wings, so as not to distract the audience, but to surprise them with a quick transformation. All sorts of such stories happened – they remain warm and funny memories of stage life.
Have you had any serious injuries?
My feet often got sprained as my left ankle is weak. The most dangerous thing is to rest for a long time. It’s advisable to always maintain physical shape and add a workload. I also had problems in my lower back – this is a professional problem not only of modern, but also of classical dancers, arising from jumps and high, intense lifting. You have to add additional gymnastics training in order to strengthen the abdominal muscles, and this actually applies to everyone, especially those who lead a predominantly sedentary lifestyle. If you ignore this care for the body, the problems will only worsen.
Now there’s a large selection of rehabilitation tools and medical innovations, which was not the case before. Self-care has become an integral part of performance preparation — recovery now takes up a significant part of the rehearsal process. Swimming in the pool helps me especially, as it gently relieves the spine and has a healing effect on the whole body. In addition, I became interested in winter swimming – swimming in icy water, which not only provides you with vigor, but also significantly improves blood circulation, contributing to the deep recovery of the body.
Did anything change when you were awarded the title of “Honored Artist”?
The title I received gives me a special status, confidence and at the same time imposes a certain responsibility. It’s a type of “quality” marking that the viewer perceives as a promise of a high level, which means that even more diligence is required in rehearsals. In addition, it gives you certain privileges: people begin to invite you to perform in more projects and concerts. If you’re an Honored Artist, people tend to invite you more willingly and give you more attention. Therefore, it is probably worth striving for this title, but not setting it as an end in itself. There are still a lot of very talented dancers without this title who have created their own “brands” so to speak. The title simply helps a great deal.
Do you have advice for young people who want to dance?
Sincerely love your profession. Yes, sometimes it hurts, is boring or you may get angry, but if you sincerely love your profession, then all these trials give results and bring you pleasure.
What do you dream of?
As a director, to open up and fulfill my greatest potential, because as a dancer I believe that I have fulfilled that potential, and I am no longer looking for unnecessary evidence. As a choreographer, of course, I want to create performances that touch the hearts of the audience, and most importantly, that manage to survive the whims of the time — after all, modern productions, subject to the influence of circumstances, often become “disposable”. I want my creations to live for a long time, to bring joy and meaning to the audience for many years to come, so that all this work isn’t in vain!
All photos from Oleg Gabyshev’s personal archive.