Igor Moiseyev: 1906-2007
A century plus one year of life were bestowed on Igor Moiseyev––the talented choreographer and brilliant organizer. He experienced the fall of czarism and the fall of communism; the devaluation of riches, and the devaluation of ideas. He lived a life precariously balanced between power, art and ideology. He passed away on November 2 in Moscow.
Igor Alexandrovich Moiseyev was born January 21, 1906, in Kiev. His father was an attorney from an impoverished noble family. His father insisted that he enter the private dance school of Vera Mosolova in 1920. A lesson cost 10 rubles and 2 logs. Three months later, Mosolova sent Moiseyev to the Bolshoi Theater dance school. In 1930, at the age of 24, the dancer became the Bolshoi Theater’s youngest ballet-master.
In 1936, Moiseyev was invited to serve as ballet-master with the recently-opened Theater of Folk Works. That same year, he organized the country’s first folk dance festival. The success of the endeavor led him to create his own dance troupe. In 1937, he assembled the Folk Dance Ensemble. It was an innovative group – the choreographer virtually created the theatrical folk dance genre. “We are not collecting folk dances and setting them like some butterflies on a pin,” he said. “We are trying to broaden the possibilities of folk dance, with a foundation in folk experience, enriching it with a producer’s inventiveness, professional technique, thanks to which it [the dance] is more vividly expressed.”
Moiseyev’s Ballet rapidly gained public acclaim, touring the world with guest dancers. In 2007, it celebrated its 70th anniversary. Moiseyev – the great choreographer and tireless innovator – was its sole director to this end of his life.
The symbiosis of totalitarian power and artistic talent is always fascinating – an unlimited, commanding resource offered in service to the muses. Countless investments and boundless authority. Banquets (or, one should say, feasts) with the powerful of this world. Proximity to those who, with a wave of a hand, decided the fate of humanity. Notwithstanding too, an unusual level of erudition and interest in the avant-garde. These ingredients enhanced the splendor of the performances by Igor Moiseyev’s Ensemble, which were unforgettable for their dynamism and vivacity.
Yet Moiseyev’s unusual destiny cannot be recalled without remembering the German documentary film director and photographer, Leni Riefenstahl. There were simply too many parallels in their life paths – parallels that intersect. They both lived the same number of years, and both devoutly served art. Both were not only endeared by the authorities, but endeared the authorities with the light of their talent. They both displayed the same indifference to ideology, and both successfully advanced their ideas. In answer to a question about the success of his group, Igor Moiseyev replied: “There are the unlucky ones. No matter which way they turn, things just do not work out. But there are the lucky ones – and no matter which way they turn, everything is good. I have always been fortunate on that account.”
Luck was with Riefenstahl as well. Her most important film (“A Triumph of Will,” 1934) is noted in all documentary film textbooks, but is still forbidden from public showing in Germany, under denazification laws.
While the Nordic cinematographer was filming the 1936 Olympic Games, Moiseyev staged a parade on Red Square. The influence of such parades on the formation of Soviet power cannot be underestimated. The whole country held its breath as it watched the striding young tribe of the builders of socialism.
The show turned out to be so fascinating that Stalin, who later met Moiseyev at a reception, asked him: “How are things?” Moiseyev kept his cool and complained that the group did not have its own premises. The next day, Moiseyev was told to choose any place in the city. He selected the decrepit building of the Meyerhold Theater (the building which today houses the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall). Within three months it was renovated.
Igor Moiseyev was known for his exacting directorial style, which, incidentally, is the only possible style when it comes to directing such large numbers of people… But his authority was so indisputable that no rumors about what went on behind the scenes were ever leaked to the press. Sold-out shows over the course of 70 years are no joke.
Despite such involvement with the Powers That Be, Moiseyev never joined the Communist Party. He recounted with pride in an interview that he had been asked to join 18 times. “I honestly said that I believe in God, that I was not politically prepared,” he said. In the end, they left him alone: “Surely he is non-party, but he is more useful than any party member.”
Despite his immersion in creative work, he was happy in marriage. He was interested in current events to his final days. He joked, laughed a lot, and, I think, regarded everything rather lightly. Like Riefenstahl, Moiseyev into his advanced years loved everything that was aesthetic and beautiful.
These two lived an unusually long life in art, elevating life itself to the level of an artistic masterpiece.
What good is there in ivory towers, you will ask? Stability and excellent soundproofing.
Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.
Russian Life 73 Main Street, Suite 402 Montpelier VT 05602
802-223-4955
[email protected]
