By Barbara McGuire
Daily Bruin Contributor
Many people believe that there is a preordained destiny for
everyone.
For Boris Eifman, founder of the Boris Eifman Ballet Theater,
that destiny is choreography.
“When I was 12 or 13 years old, I started to make
choreography from small pieces in school with my friends,”
Eifman said in a recent phone interview. “Very early I found
it a possibility to make choreography and explain my feelings by
movement.”
Originating in Russia, the Boris Eifman Ballet Theater is a
44-member troupe that travels all over the world performing their
intellectually stimulating and challenging pieces which involve
more than just ballet movement. They are currently the only auteur
theater troupe in Russia that focuses on modern ballet
choreography.
The troupe will perform their latest piece “Red
Giselle” at the Universal Amphitheatre this weekend.
Eifman not only tries to incorporate different ideas into the
way in which he tells his stories, he also tries to make his ballet
experience more like a dramatic theatrical experience.
“(My show) is more than just (ballet) because you have
music and you have movement, but the movement brings you to be
emotional because movement explains the spiritual life of
people,” Eifman said.
The show involves new effects that enhance the dancers and the
performance.
“Around the dance you can see special lights, special set,
special theatrical effects and you can see a new dancer,” he
continued. “But this is not only a dancer, this is an actor
who can explain emotional and philosophical ideas by movement. This
is a new kind of dancer.”
Eifman’s creations go beyond just dance, they also tell
dramatic stories. “Red Giselle,” which he created
entirely by himself, from the music composition to the movement,
follows the life of a “new dancer,” Olga Spessivtseva.
Yet this tale is tragic, not upbeat, as her life was cut short in
1991.
“This is a story about greatness,” Eifman explained.
“(Spessivtseva) was one of the most beautiful and most
gallant dancers in the beginning of the 20th century, but nobody
knows Spessivtseva.”
To Eifman, Spessivtseva embodies the “Red
Giselle.”
“She was really a great ballerina, but she spent a very
tragic life,” he said. “She repeated in her life the
story of Giselle because she was so in love and began to be sick
for unhappiness in her love.”
Aside from presenting the tragic life story of Spessivtseva,
“Red Giselle” also incorporates many lessons, according
to Eifman. In the production are moments in which the audience gets
a lesson on how much work really goes into a performance as well as
on the history of the art.
“I don’t only explain the story of a ballerina, I
also try to show the history of 20th century dance, because you can
see a different kind of dance, a different style, a different form
of dance,” Eifman said. “I show audiences what happens
not on the stage, but in the back stage. This is ballet about
ballet.”
Though you might not know it from his subject matter, Eifman is
quite the optimist. He is excited about the upcoming shows in Los
Angeles since it has been a longtime wish of his to bring his
troupe and his love of the ballet to the area.
So far, Eifman has performed “Red Giselle” in New
York and Chicago, and will be making additional stops across the
United States in cities such as Minneapolis and Dallas.
“For everybody in Russia, Los Angeles is the dream
city,” Eifman said. “It looks like paradise because,
you know, Los Angeles, Hollywood ““ this is a
dream.”
DANCE: “Red Giselle” shows at the Universal
Amphitheatre in Universal City on Saturday, May 6 at 8:15 p.m. and
Sunday, May 7 at 2:15 p.m. Tickets range from $33 to $58. For
reservations call (213) 252-TIXS and for information call (818)
622-4440.