Russia (bbabo.net), - The Boris Eifman Ballet Theater is preparing for the premiere. On the stage of the Alexandrinsky Theater on February 22 and 23, the performance "The Seagull. A Ballet Story" will be presented to the public for the first time. This is already the choreographer's second appeal to Chekhov's play, but it is new and different. Boris Eifman insists that this is not a revival of the 2007 production, but another result of rethinking seemingly familiar collisions.

- There are books and topics that have not let me go for years, provoking intense intellectual searches, - says Boris Eifman. - Chekhov's "The Seagull" is a brilliant example of such a work. Behind the external regularity of the plot in the play lies a labyrinth of the most important philosophical ideas.

As you know, Anton Pavlovich Chekhov in his correspondence called "The Seagull" a comedy - and this despite the fact that at the end one of the main characters dies undoubtedly, and the death of the heroine - moral and creative - is implied. Eifman's "Ballet Story" is undoubtedly a tragedy in the classical sense of the term; in the clear language of dance, he means both the torments of creativity and the torments of jealousy. On the stage and in the rehearsal room, where the action of the performance is transferred, the characters are fighting for their place under the sun. But the efforts of the promising young choreographer Treplev and artist Nina Zarechnaya are in vain. Talent and striving for fame do not bring success, and from the very "five pounds of love" about which the author of the play wrote to the publisher Suvorin, the heroes end up with almost nothing.

The role of the experimental choreographer Konstantin Treplev in the new production is played by the leading soloist of the Boris Eifman troupe Daniel Rubin, and the role of prima Irina Arkadina is played by the leading soloist Maria Abashova. The image of Irina Nikolaevna is quite close to her in a certain sense. For almost 20 years, Maria has been performing the main roles in the performances of the choreographer.

- Being at the top is incredibly difficult. The career scenario of Zarechnaya, who in our production is experiencing a rapid rise, overnight from a novice dancer into a performer of the main part in Swan Lake, is quite common in the ballet world. When young, brave, full of ambition, you can really conquer serious heights. But in order to stay on it, everyday hard labor is necessary, ”she tells the correspondent. - Therefore, to be Arkadina, that is, to be an example for young artists, to be at an inaccessible level, to which everyone aspires, is very difficult. You have no right to take a break or to work half-heartedly. If you want to stay on top of Olympus, you have to work hard. There are too many who want to take your place at the foot.

She considers the new performance "an absolutely new choreographic text." And Abashova has the opportunity to compare - and herself with the heroine, and the new heroine with herself. In the 2007 production, she danced in The Seagull both the part of Zarechnaya and the part of Arkadina. But Daniel Rubin is frankly glad of the dissimilarity with his character in his personal life.

- My wife is an artist of our troupe. On February 24, we will celebrate six months from the date of the wedding, so I will not hide that it is hard for me to portray unhappy love. My own life experience is completely different, says the dancer. - On the other hand, I notice some features of Treplev in myself. He is close to me as a person trying to do something grandiose and important, and at the same time not fully understanding how to do it.

According to the plot, choreographer Trigorin is staging the neoclassical Swan Lake, and Treplev is fond of avant-garde dance and modern choreography. He wants to create his own new world, but he cannot cope with this ambitious task and suffers not only a creative, but also a love failure. “Now I know, I understand, Kostya, that in our business, it doesn’t matter whether we play on stage or write - the main thing is neither fame, nor brilliance, nor what I dreamed of, but the ability to endure,” - almost at the very end plays will be told to him by Nina Zarechnaya. This is a life lesson for all of us. And especially - to future viewers who have to endure until the premiere.

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