#filin

Filin, one of the half-genies in Shantae and the 7 sirens.

Нарисовано специально для: Dark Souls & Bloodborne Ask | Canon & OC Автор: KVSTIK

Many legends surround the conflict between Yuri Grigorovich and Maya Plisetskaya. Grigorovich was never known for being a gentle person, but neither was Maya. According to her brother, Plisetskaya could be incredibly cruel and abrasive even to her own family, to say nothing of her friends and colleagues. She had burned a lot of bridges during her life, often for trivial reasons. I would also add that, from what I have observed over the years, ballet folk tend to be emotional, which can exacerbate an already stressful situation.

From what I have read - and I am basing my answer mainly on the information available in the book recently published by Maya’s younger brother, Azari Plisetsky - the animosity between Plisetskaya and Grigorovich primarily stemmed from two facts:

Grigorovich frequently cast Natalia Bessmertnova over Maya and generally favoured his beloved wife over Plisetskaya;

In 1988 Grigorovich forcibly retired Plisetskaya, Vasiliev, Maximova, Bessmertnova, Lavrovsky and Timofeeva.

I can see how favouritism on Grigorovich’s part would infuriate Plisetskaya, especially since she played a significant role in Grigorovich’s relocation from the Mariinsky to the Bolshoi.

On the other hand, I find that Grigorovich’s controversial move to retire the brightest stars of their generation from the Bolshoi actually made a lot of sense. At the time of this momentous historical event, Maximova and Vasiliev were both forty, Timofeeva was fifty-three, and Plisetskaya was sixty-three. These great dancers were way past their prime, and their continual presence in the company actually prevented younger dancers from advancing further in their careers. Furthermore, Grigorovich didn’t spare his wife from the cut.

So there you have it.

Grigorovich served as the Bolshoi’s artistic director from 1964 to 1995. He didn’t exactly depart from the company of his own free will either. In fact, few of the Bolshoi’s A.D.s ever escaped their position unscathed*. He returned to the Bolshoi in 2009 as the company’s ballet master, and Yury Burlaka succeeded Ratmansky as the Bolshoi’s Artistic Director that same year. I think Maria Alexandrova summed up Ratmansky’s tenure pretty well when she said that Alexei struggled in the role because he is a creative and all he ever really wanted to do was to stage ballets; he wasn’t that interested in managing the company.

In 2011, after Burlaka left the post of Artistic Director, Gennady Yanin emerged as the frontrunner for the position, only to be removed from the race in the most brutal fashion. It’s unclear who was responsible for the vile smear campaign against Yanin, but the person who, as we know, ended up benefiting from it the most was Sergei Filin.

*Grigorovich did manage (against all the odds) to secure the future of a young dancer called Nikolai Tsiskaridze shortly before he was forced out. So we have him to thank for setting that ‘lil bit of ballet history in motion.

Do you know anything about Alexandra Trikoz? I know you don't necessarily specialize in BBA, but she is slated to perform Lady Of the Dryads in Don Q at Bolshoi coming up soon, and I know she was one of the top dancers at BBA this past year.

I first heard of Trikoz when Marina Leonova (BBA’s rector) mentioned her in an interview. According to Leonova, Trikoz was the top graduate of the class of 2018.

You can see some video of her dancing here, here and here.

Also, here:

Do you think it's possible to meet students or dancers I admire? I suppose the best way to get in touch is by messaging on Instagram, or what do you think?

The best way to meet a dancer you admire is at the stage door, after the performance. Social media has made it possible to reach out to our faves directly, but it’s important to be mindful of their personal space (both on and off-line) and keep a respectful distance. Some dancers may be happy to meet with their fans (I think Postnova may have tried to organise a meet-up...), but many others may prefer to keep their interaction with fans strictly digital. If you want to message someone you admire, go for it. Just remember to be considerate :)

This is a strange question, but what is Maria Shirinkina/Shklyarova's last name? I've seen Shirinkina, but since she married Vladimir Shklyarov I also see Shklyarova.

Her maiden name is Shirinkina, but she took her husband’s name (Shklyarov + the feminine “a”) after they married.

you mentioned that tsiskaridze was involved in politics! i was wondering what he did while in office? and was he elected or appointed to the position? just wondering because it sounds very interesting

He’s been a member of the Presidential Council for Arts and Culture since the late 00s (I believe he was offered a position), and he has been a member of St Petersburg City Government since May last year. He joined the Civic Chamber after a formal election.

Hi Melmoth, what other scandals/creepy events have there been in the Mariinsky/Bolshoi besides the Attack on Filin? How do you keep track of them? These things don't seem to be reported in English.

To be honest, I try not to keep track of them. I find that the ugliness of the ballet politics detracts from the beauty of the art. Careers get destroyed, people’s lives are blighted beyond repair, there are kidnappings, suicides... I honestly find a lot of it very upsetting and I’m glad that this drama doesn’t often get reported in the West. 

Hello Melmoth. I was wondering, you often post videos where you state that they are from Tsiskaridze's personal archive. But since he doesn't have any social media, where do you get these videos from? Also thank you for this amazing and educational blog! :)

The videos are from this YouTube channel. The person running it has worked with Nikolai for many years and acts as a sort of conduit for him online.

Thank you so much for uploading the clips of Nikolai! I had no idea what he would be like (mostly because of a bad documentary I had seen ages ago where he works with a British choreographer) but it seems that he not only portrays himself well but is warmly welcomed by the audience. Now I get what you mean when saying that a dancer can be overall cultured and interesting! Do you feel his public persona has changed much since he became a teacher? He seemed very much "young" in that documentary.

I’ve written about “Strictly Bolshoi” before. Please read about it here. It may answer some questions. I still find it baffling that people use that documentary as an apparent “proof” that Tsiskaridze is an asshole. If anything, “Strictly Bolshoi” is a spectacular showcase of Wheeldon’s incompetence (in that particular situation / time period). For the record: I adore Wheeldon and his work.

Nikolai’s public persona has undergone some changes since he took over at Vaganova. He clearly understands that Tsiskaridze the danseur and Tsiskaridze the rector must be two different people. That being said, his overall personality hasn’t changed. I’d say he has simply learned to play by the rules and proved that he’s adaptable. He’s still intelligent and eloquent, he’s still outspoken and feisty, he still regularly puts his foot in his mouth, and he clearly hasn’t become very good at politics. Yet.

In terms of him being warmly welcomed by the audience: 1) Studio audience at a talkshow as big as Urgant is always energetic (think Conan or Jimmy Kimmel); 2) Tsiskaridze has always been well-liked in Russia. This is partly due to the fact that he’s seen as an outspoken underdog who dedicates his life to fighting for what’s right (this is true). But it also has to do with his intelligence and intense charisma. 

Funny story: I once caught my mother, who is outspoken about her dislike towards Tsiskaridze, watching one of his interviews. When questioned, she responded that, though she doesn’t like him, she can listen to him speak for hours. Funnily enough, that kind of sums Nikolai up. Even in “Strictly Bolshoi”, the crew are at one point forced to admit that Tsiskaridze is a very genuine person.

I'm sure you've done this before but can you explain the drama with Tsiskaridze, Angelina Vorontsova, Dimitrichenko, Filin, and the acid attack? Do people really think Dimitrichenko did it or was it a set up?

I don’t think we’ll ever know exactly what happened. It doesn’t help that everyone directly involved in this drama has changed their story at least once since it happened. Ismene Brown followed the events pretty closely as they unfolded in 2013, and you can read an almost day-by-day account on her blog.

As of right now, Filin still blames Tsiskaridze for the attack, Dmitrichenko maintains his innocence and insists that the whole thing was a plot by the Bolshoi management to get rid of him and Tsiskaridze (Dmitrichenko gave an interview upon his release from prison in 2016, which is worth a read), and neither Tsiskaridze nor Vorontsova have spoken about the attack in years.

The “official” version is that Dmitrichenko, who was Angelina’s boyfriend at the time, was unhappy with Filin’s refusal to cast Angelina in principal roles and with his overall management of the company, so he hired a thug to “rough Filin up”. The thug in question decided to get creative and threw “acid”* in Filin’s face instead. Depending on who tells the story, Tsiskaridze either actively encouraged Dmitrichenko to organise the attack (so not his style) or served as an inspiration for Dmitrichenko’s actions. 

*It wasn’t acid. The liquid, whatever it was, (somehow) was never found, and Filin’s injuries aren’t consistent with an acid attack. This is actually the biggest issue I personally have with the whole story because acid is one of the worst weapons used in violence against women. A quick google search of acid attack victims will show that whatever the liquid thrown into Filin’s face was, it, thankfully, wasn’t acid.