Why does the soloist of the Bolshoi Theater ballet Nikolai Tsiskaridze hide his personal life?

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

When Nikolai Tsiskaridze enters the stage, the audience cannot contain their delighted exclamations. It is simply impossible to look at how he dances with indifference. And it seems that his life is filled with the same ease as his every stage movement. But the premier of the Bolshoi Theater has repeatedly confessed in his interviews: he never got anything for nothing, everything had to be wrested from fate by force.

Pursuit of the goal

His mother Lamara Nikolaevna was already 43 years old when her beloved and long-awaited son was born, and she was ready to do everything to make Nikolai, first of all, happy. True, she dreamed of becoming a lawyer for Nikolai, but he did not share his mother's wishes. Lamara Nikolaevna often took her son to the theater and did not even imagine that her boy would suddenly become seriously ill with ballet.

Moreover, as a child, he, like all children, dreamed of becoming either the director of a circus or a zoo in order to go to these institutions for free, then a teacher in a kindergarten, or a conductor in a theater. When Nikolai Tsiskaridze, after watching the ballet, suddenly told his mother about his desire to dance on the theater stage, she began to resolutely discourage him.

But the brighter the colors in which Lamara Nikolaevna described to him the customs prevailing in the theatrical environment, the stronger became Nikolai's desire to become a ballet dancer. By his own admission, he would always be "the opposite boy". If my mother, instead of long convictions, simply took him backstage and showed a performance from there, perhaps the world would never have known the name of Nikolai Tsiskaridze, and he would humbly go to enroll in the law faculty of Moscow State University.

But Nikolai entered the Tbilisi Choreographic School, and then tried to conquer the famous Moscow Choreographic School. He dreamed of dancing at the Bolshoi Theater and stubbornly walked towards his goal. This educational institution opened its doors to him only for the third time. But this reception was not friendly or friendly.

Many years later, the artist will tell with bitterness how difficult it was for him during his school years. He was very talented, and surpassed many of his classmates with his hard work and diligence. The teacher Pyotr Pestov brought up many stars, but he was distinguished by a rather tough teaching style. He often brought the student to tears before going on stage, teaching him to work in any conditions. Later, Nikolai Tsiskaridze will be incredibly grateful to his teacher for this approach.

But today Nikolai Tsiskaridze remembers the confrontation with some of his classmates with bitterness. Parents of fellow practitioners of the future premier of the Bolshoi Theater wrote a letter to the KGB demanding a medical examination of Tsiskaridze, arguing that the boy could not have such abilities. And the director of the choreographic school had to respond to the letter.

However, even after this, the classmates of the talented student did not calm down and continued to cruelly mock him. They called it a hermaphrodite and built all sorts of intrigues. However, he will meet with a similar attitude at the Bolshoi Theater, where Nikolai Tsiskaridze was taken on the personal order of Yuri Grigorovich.

Inconvenient talent

At the Bolshoi Theater, they always strove to push him further away, but Grigorovich strictly watched that the talented dancer did not sit without roles. And he was also patronized by Galina Ulanova and teacher Marina Semyonova. The latter, by the way, predicted Tsiskaridze's future teaching activities. And she gave a very important parting word: never let students close to you, for they are capable of betrayal.

He remembered these words, as well as those that the nanny said to him in childhood, warning against trusting people in general. But Nikolai Tsiskaridze always lived by his own rules. He was not used to being silent and always expressed his claims to his opponent in person, which is why rumors began to spread about the artist's complex, almost unbearable character.

Just starting his career at the Bolshoi Theater, Nikolai Tsiskaridze gave his word to his teacher to actively dance on stage for 21 years. When this deadline came, he really left the stage. True, in that situation there were many circumstances at once, including the fact that the leadership of the Bolshoi Theater was not going to renew the contract with Nikolai Tsiskaridze.

Soon after the end of his career, the artist was appointed acting rector of the Academy of Russian Ballet. At that time, he had to read a lot of impartial and, most importantly, false articles about himself in the press. Nikolai Tsiskaridze was literally hounded, but as usual he did not even comment on dirty articles about him that appeared in many well-known publications.

Many teachers then took up arms against him, the parents of students wrote letters and petitions, but Nikolai Tsiskaridze continued to simply do his job. And soon his ill-wishers had to shut up, because it was simply impossible not to see the positive changes in the academy.

Behind seven seals

He had to suffer a lot, endure ridicule and bullying, prove his right to dance in general and at the Bolshoi Theater in particular. He is almost accustomed to the fact that he has to be always ready for a stab in the back, that he has learned to hide from prying eyes everything that is truly dear to him.

Nikolai Maksimovich has repeatedly confessed in his interviews: closing the door of the theater or the Academy of Russian Ballet behind him, he always wanted to be no longer the premier of the Bolshoi Theater or the leader, but just a person who has the right to his own personal life.

But he is not ready to substitute for the blows intended for himself, close people. Therefore, for all this time, he presented to the court of the general public only one very close creature - his cat Tyapa, who lived with the artist for more than 16 years.

Nikolai Tsiskaridze knows exactly what love is. But he does not intend to acquaint either fans or enemies with her.

Despite the end of his career, Nikolai Tsiskaridze sometimes allows himself the pleasure of going on stage and dancing again. He performed Dance in Clogs with the ballet dancers of the Mikhailovsky Theater in the extravaganza ballet Futile Precaution.