Vladimir Viktorovich Vasiliev (russian: Владимир Викторович Васильев; born 18 April 1940) is a Soviet and Russian
ballet
Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
dancer and
choreographer
Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...
. He was a
principal dancer
A principal dancer (often shortened to principal) is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company.
A principal may be male or female. The position is similar to that of '' soloist''; however, p ...
with the
Bolshoi Ballet
The Bolshoi Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company based at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia. Founded in 1776, the Bolshoi is among the world's oldest ballet companies. In the early 20th century, it came to internatio ...
and its director from 1995 to 2000. He was best known for his role of
Spartacus
Spartacus ( el, Σπάρτακος '; la, Spartacus; c. 103–71 BC) was a Thracian gladiator who, along with Crixus, Gannicus, Castus, and Oenomaus, was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprising ...
The Bolshoi Ballet's Spartacus at Covent Garden, review by Mark Monahan, 20 July 2010: "Forty-two years ago, Vladimir Vasiliev, the original Spartacus, threw down what by all accounts was a fearsome gauntlet. But now, it is another, entirely unrelated Vasiliev - 21-year old Ivan, returning to London with the Bolshoi after a three-year absence - who is setting the standard." and his powerful leaps and turns. He received the
People's Artist of the USSR
People's Artist of the USSR ( rus, Народный артист СССР, Narodny artist SSSR), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union.
Nomenclature and significan ...
(1973).
Vasiliev was named "God of the dance" and is regarded as a classical dancer on the same level as
Rudolf Nureyev
Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev ( ; Tatar/ Bashkir: Рудольф Хәмит улы Нуриев; rus, Рудо́льф Хаме́тович Нуре́ев, p=rʊˈdolʲf xɐˈmʲetəvʲɪtɕ nʊˈrʲejɪf; 17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet ...
,
Erik Bruhn
Erik Belton Evers Bruhn (3 October 1928 – 1 April 1986) was a Danish danseur, choreographer, artistic director, actor, and author.
Early life
Erik Bruhn was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, the fourth child and first son of Ellen (née Evers), o ...
and
Mikhail Baryshnikov
Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Барышников, p=mʲɪxɐˈil bɐ'rɨʂnʲɪkəf; lv, Mihails Barišņikovs; born January 28, 1948) is a Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Latvian-born R ...
. At the height of their careers, Vasiliev and
Ekaterina Maximova
Ekaterina Sergeevna Maximova (russian: Екатерина Сергеевна Максимова; 1 February 1939 – 28 April 2009) was a Soviet and Russian ballerina of the second part of the 20th century who was internationally recognised. Sh ...
were the golden couple of Russian ballet.
Early life
Vasiliev was born in Moscow in 1940, the son of a mechanical engineer. In 1947, at the age of seven, he joined the amateur ballet group of the Kirov pioneer group, where he stayed two years. His first teacher was Elena Romanovna Rosse.
He entered the Moscow Ballet School, commonly known as The Bolshoi Ballet Academy, in 1947 and graduated in 1958, when he joined the Bolshoi Ballet. His teachers at the Moscow Ballet School included
Aleksey Yermolayev
Aleksey Nikolayevich Yermolayev (Russian: Алексе́й Никола́евич Ермола́ев; 12 December 1975) was a Soviet and Russian ballet dancer, choreographer and teacher. He played an important role in the development of Russian ba ...
.
Career
Principal Dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet
Vasiliev became a principal dancer in 1959 in his second year with the Bolshoi Ballet.
Career with Ekaterina Maximova
Vasiliev and
Ekaterina Maximova
Ekaterina Sergeevna Maximova (russian: Екатерина Сергеевна Максимова; 1 February 1939 – 28 April 2009) was a Soviet and Russian ballerina of the second part of the 20th century who was internationally recognised. Sh ...
, both principal dancers, were the dream couple of the Bolshoi Ballet. Dancing as a pair for the first time in 1949 as classmates at the Moscow Ballet School, they were married in 1961.
''New York Times'' dance critic Anna Kisselgoff described the excitement of one of Vasiliev's United States performances with the Bolshoi Ballet: "Yekaterina Maksimova and Vladimir Vasiliev burst upon New York City in 1959, the greatest of the passionate young dancers who, with Moscow's more established stars, made the Bolshoi Ballet's American debut a total triumph."
The Bolshoi tour to London in 1969 was dominated by the sensational impact of
Aram Khachaturian
Aram Ilyich Khachaturian (; rus, Арам Ильич Хачатурян, , ɐˈram ɨˈlʲjitɕ xətɕɪtʊˈrʲan, Ru-Aram Ilyich Khachaturian.ogg; hy, Արամ Խաչատրյան, ''Aram Xačʿatryan''; 1 May 1978) was a Soviet and Armenian ...
's ballet ''
Spartacus
Spartacus ( el, Σπάρτακος '; la, Spartacus; c. 103–71 BC) was a Thracian gladiator who, along with Crixus, Gannicus, Castus, and Oenomaus, was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprising ...
'' as choreographed by
Yury Grigorovich
Yury Nikolayevich Grigorovich (russian: Ю́рий Никола́евич Григоро́вич; born 2 January 1927 in Leningrad) is a Soviet and Russian dancer and choreographerEkaterina Maximova The Telegraph, 28 Apr 2009.
The great male dancer
Mikhail Baryshnikov
Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Барышников, p=mʲɪxɐˈil bɐ'rɨʂnʲɪkəf; lv, Mihails Barišņikovs; born January 28, 1948) is a Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Latvian-born R ...
recently paid tribute to the couple, saying Maximova, with her "elegant build, beauty, virtuosity and even more so her spontaneity and sincerity", was treated like a "rare treasure" by the indomitable Vasiliev. This gave their performances an almost sacred aura, to which audiences gratefully responded.
Vasiliev and Ekaterina Maximova gleaned wide exposure for their appearances in
Franco Zeffirelli
Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli (12 February 1923 – 15 June 2019), was an Italian stage and film director, producer, production designer and politician. He was one of the most significant opera and theatre directors of the post-World War II era, ...
's filmed version of
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...
's
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
''
La traviata
''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on ''La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his own 18 ...
'' of 1983. Both performed in Spanish costume, Vasiliev as a
matador
A bullfighter (or matador) is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter and describe all the performers in the activit ...
, in the "divertissements" composed for the equivalent of Act II, scene 2.
The couple was filmed in 1988 by French director Dominique Delouche in a film portrait “Katia et Volodia".
In 2008, the Bolshoi hosted a week-long festival dedicated to Maximova and Vasiliev's 50 years on the Bolshoi stage, during which Vasiliev commented that the secret of partnering was "the man must not get in the way of the woman – she is the most important person on stage." He added that all his life his wife had been his inspiration for two qualities: her beauty and her capacity for hard work.
The marriage lasted for 50 years, until Maximova died in 2009. They had no children.
Director of the Bolshoi ballet
In March 1995, Vasiliev was appointed the General and Artistic Director of the Bolshoi Theatre after Yury Grigorovich, artistic director of the ballet company since 1963, was dismissed by Russian President
Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...
.
Among the major projects Vasiliev has spearheaded there were such as the large scale exchange of Bolshoi and Mariinsky Ballet companies in 1998, of the Bolshoi and Paris Opera Ballet to be held, first-ever New Year Ball in the Bolshoi on 31 December 1999, foundation of the International Club of the Bolshoi Friends.
At the end of the 1990s, he was one of the first ballet directors who recognized the class and the outstanding qualities of Svetlana Zakharova, then principal dancer with the Mariinsky ballet. Svetlana Zakharova became a principal dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet in October 2003.
Vasiliev was dismissed as director of the Bolshoi Theater on 28 August 2000. He learned about his dismissal from hearing it on the radio.
Choreographer
Since his exit from the Bolshoi, Vasiliev premiered in the ballet production ''Lungo Viaggio Nella Notte di Natale'', set to Tchaikovsky's music, in Opera di Roma, and continues to choreograph and stage new ballets.
Legacy
Vasiliev is not as well known in the west as other iconic male dancers such as
Rudolf Nureyev
Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev ( ; Tatar/ Bashkir: Рудольф Хәмит улы Нуриев; rus, Рудо́льф Хаме́тович Нуре́ев, p=rʊˈdolʲf xɐˈmʲetəvʲɪtɕ nʊˈrʲejɪf; 17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet ...
and
Mikhail Baryshnikov
Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Барышников, p=mʲɪxɐˈil bɐ'rɨʂnʲɪkəf; lv, Mihails Barišņikovs; born January 28, 1948) is a Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Latvian-born R ...
, because he remained in the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
Mathias Heymann
The Paris Opera Ballet () is a French ballet company that is an integral part of the Paris Opera. It is the oldest national ballet company, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it. It is still regarded ...
, who was promoted to principal dancer with the
Paris Opera Ballet
The Paris Opera Ballet () is a French ballet company that is an integral part of the Paris Opera. It is the oldest national ballet company, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it. It is still regarded ...
in 2009 at only 22 years old, told in an interview that he takes inspiration from watching videos of Rudolf Nureyev, whom he regards as his role model, along with Vasiliev and Baryshnikov.
Russia's influential ballet critic and choreographer
Fyodor Lopukhov
Fyodor Vasilievich Lopukhov (Occasionally Fedor, Russian: Фёдор Васи́льевич Лопухо́в; 20 October 1886, Saint Petersburg – 28 January 1973, Leningrad) was a choreographer in Soviet Russia.
Training and dance career
Lopuk ...
called Vasiliev "God of the dance" and "A miracle in art, perfection".
Performance style
On stage
Numerous roles were created for Vasiliev, and he performed throughout the world, usually partnering his wife. Among the most notable were those created by Yury Grigorovich, who gave him the principal roles in his original productions of '' The Tale of the Stone Flower'', ''Spartacus'', ''
The Nutcracker
''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaiko ...
'', the ballet version of ''
Ivan the Terrible
Ivan IV Vasilyevich (russian: Ива́н Васи́льевич; 25 August 1530 – ), commonly known in English as Ivan the Terrible, was the grand prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547 and the first Tsar of all Russia from 1547 to 1584.
Ivan ...
'',
Valery Gavrilin
Valery Aleksandrovich Gavrilin (russian: Валерий Александрович Гаврилин, (17 August 1939 – 28 January 1999) was a Soviet and Russian composer. People's Artist of the RSFSR (1985).
Biography
Valery Gavrilin was ...
's ''Anyuta'' (1982), and Yakov Eshpai's ''Angara'' (1976). Besides Maximova, Vasiliev's famous partners included
Galina Ulanova
Galina Sergeyevna Ulanova (russian: Галина Сергеевна Уланова, ; 21 March 1998) was a Russian ballet dancer. She is frequently cited as being one of the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century.
Biography
Ulanova was born ...
,
Maya Plisetskaya
Maya Mikhailovna Plisetskaya (russian: link=no, Майя Михайловна Плисецкая; 20 November 1925 – 2 May 2015) was a Soviet and Russian ballet dancer, choreographer, ballet director, and actress. In post-Soviet times, she he ...
,
Alicia Alonso
Alicia Alonso (born Alicia Ernestina de la Caridad del Cobre Martínez del Hoyo; 21 December 1920 – 17 October 2019) was a Cuban prima ballerina assoluta and choreographer whose company became the Ballet Nacional de Cuba in 1955. She is best ...
,
Carla Fracci
Carolina "Carla" Fracci (; 20 August 1936 – 27 May 2021) was an Italian ballet
Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form ...
Having a body revealing great physical strength, Vasiliev did not embody the ideal physical form for a classical dancer.
He made enormous contributions to the development of classical male dance, embodying the strong new Bolshoi male.
"You see — at the beginning we do things only as we have seen them done," said Vasiliev at the end of ''Katia et Volodia'', the 1988 film exploring Vasiliev's artistry and that of his wife and fellow Bolshoi luminary, Ekaterina Maximova. "Afterwards, we do them with what we find inside ourselves."
Honours and awards
Vasiliev is the first dancer to be given the award "La médaille d'or du meilleur danseur du monde" ("The Gold Medal of the World's Best Dancer") and also the only Grand Prix award winner at the Varna International Ballet Competition since winning the first competition in 1964.
Over the years, Vasiliev has received many of the most prestigious Soviet, Russian and foreign prizes, orders and highest awards including the
USSR State Prize
The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, Gosudarstvennaya premiya SSSR) was the Soviet Union's state honor. It was established on 9 September 1966. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, t ...
,
Russian State Prize
The State Prize of the Russian Federation, officially translated in Russia as Russian Federation National Award, is a state honorary prize established in 1992 following the breakup of the Soviet Union. In 2004 the rules for selection of laureates ...
,
Order "For Merit to the Fatherland"
The Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" (russian: Орден «За заслуги перед Отечеством», ''Orden "Za zaslugi pered Otechestvom"'') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was instituted on 2 March 1994 by P ...
Order of Rio Branco
The Order of Rio Branco (''Ordem de Rio Branco'') is an honorific order of Brazil instituted by decree 51.697 of February 5, 1963. It is named in honor of the Brazilian diplomat José Paranhos, Baron of Rio Branco.
The President of Brazil serves ...
(Brazil), UNESCO Pablo Picasso Medal and others.
Awards
* 1959 : Gold Medal, Festival of Youth, Vienna
* 1964 : Grand Prix of Varna at the Varna International Ballet Competition
*1993 :
Crystal Turandot Award
The Crystal Turandot Awards are Russian theatre awards created in 1991. They are awarded at the Vakhtangov Theatre in Moscow, where the winner receives a crystal figurine of Princess Turandot, the main character of ''Turandot'', a play first staged ...
for theatre arts, along with
Ekaterina Maximova
Ekaterina Sergeevna Maximova (russian: Екатерина Сергеевна Максимова; 1 February 1939 – 28 April 2009) was a Soviet and Russian ballerina of the second part of the 20th century who was internationally recognised. Sh ...
List of Russian ballet dancers
This is a list of ballet dancers from the Russian Empire, Soviet Union, and Russian Federation, including both ethnic Russians and people of other ethnicities. This list includes as well those who were born in these three states but later emigra ...