A fortunate coincidence - and the portal bb.lv found itself visiting the outstanding soloist of the Latvian ballet Alexander Rumyantsev. As they say - we met, talked.
Fluttering like a butterfly
Now Alexander is... 73 years old! He looks at least ten years younger. And he is an artist! And, of course, he is a true professional - now in pedagogy. So leaving ballet (38 years is already retirement age for a ballet artist) is not so terrible.
"The real profession is athletes and circus performers," he says. "Guys, that is truly a terrible life! I worked in the circus a little, I was invited to help. I felt so sorry for them, honestly.
You do an absolutely amazing act. Moreover, three times a day. And already blood is coming from your nose because the gymnast is spinning on some ribbons. Such a big bow. Here, you can say nothing but respect.
And what about me? I just danced the torero. Basically, the torero is the same as Carmen, only in male form. Carmen has a light attitude towards love and flutters through life. And the torero, who also flutters through life - faces the danger of death every day, right? When he goes on stage, he is not sure he will return. In principle, it is the same for a ballet artist...
The early 1980s, touring in Greece with "Carmen Suite" and Maris Liepa, who left a signed photo.
But after leaving the ballet company, I went on to study further. I felt that I had a talent for choreography. That is, I invent all this myself and I need to continue somehow. I respect any kind of activity, especially dance. I understand that it is hard work."
The corps de ballet was left without cigarettes
In 1988, Alexander danced with ballet star Ekaterina Maximova (1939–2009) in the ballet "Anyuta" by Gavrilin, after which the prima ballerina said that in her memory he was one of the most wonderful stage partners.
"She was a star, and the ballet was staged by her husband, the great Vladimir Vasiliev," recalls Mr. Rumyantsev. "We danced our duet - the student and Anyuta - and the main action for us was kind of over. And I remember standing in the wings, where it was dark. But I see that her eyes continue to sparkle because... What was it in our big adagio? A light improvisation? I don't know. Probably, it is transmitted to the audience, such energy.
Later, we sat in the hotel with Vasiliev, eating chicken. We discussed what it was. According to the plot, I look into her eyes. Like, what is happening, my beloved Anyuta? And Anyuta goes to a rich man, and we finish by turning and leaving the stage. And my hero realized that something terrible happened - she danced with her beloved student for the last time. And the corps de ballet usually during this long duet is either in the smoking room or in the dressing room. But here everyone was standing backstage! They empathized, how cool it was staged and performed."
Students
"I had a little miracle here, even I don’t understand how. I managed to work with a girl who is now 14 years old in May. She came from England, English-speaking. Her mother brought her.
The girl is engaged in classical ballet. She decided to improve her technical side, and I quickly set that up.
I have never received such pleasure in my life. When a practically child arrives, well-built, with a flexible back, with good feet, with a good jump and rotation. In general, well-trained and eager to dance. And when she achieves something, she is so happy. A sea of emotions, just bliss. We worked six days in a row for three hours. Now they say: "Can we come to you again, we want to do three and a half hours." She was born for ballet, although there are some nuances, I won’t say. And now they are coming again."
By the way, we note that Alexander's younger brother - Andrey Rumyantsev, was also a former soloist of our ballet. Unfortunately, he passed away a few years ago after a serious illness.
But after him, there remained a unique and absolutely brilliant student from Latvia - Timofey Andriashenko. And please - today Timofey is not just a soloist, but a premier of the legendary La Scala ballet company in Milan, a world star!
Cheers to fishing!
"You know, Mikhail Fokin wrote a memoir a hundred years ago called "Against the Current." Fokin moved to another level and struggled with all this for a long time, tried. We are developing in ballet. We were classical, and we will always remain classical. People went to "Swan Lake" and will continue to go. But besides that, we have Neumeier with his performances, we have Eifman... This is new ballet, but it is classical ballet in development.
We, in ballet, do not intend to compete with anyone. Because we are indestructible. We have a base, we have a methodology, we have performers who can do everything. Unlike many modern artists, who believe that they are almost the center of the universe, unfortunately. Artists who can be taught in three years at the Academy of Culture, although I, for example, studied ballet from childhood for more than ten years."
In general, cheers to classical ballet! And to fishing, which our ballet classic is fond of.
"Every time I hear about hunting or fishing, I jump up - and I run. For me, the main thing is out there. By the way, at the end of April, I went fishing in Finland. A hobby! Great!"
And that’s all about him
Alexander Rumyantsev graduated from the Riga Choreographic School in 1972, after which he was a leading soloist of the Latvian ballet for twenty years.
In 1994, he graduated from the choreography department of the Saint Petersburg State Conservatory, where he studied under outstanding professors Nikita Dolgushin and Nikolai Boyarchikov, holding a master's degree in choreography.
From 1980 to 1989, he was the senior choreographer of the Latvian national rhythmic gymnastics team. From 1990 to 2002, he was the head of a private ballet studio. He was the vice president of the Latvian Ballet Association and also the director of the administrative department of the integration secretariat.
He is an officer of the Order of the Three Stars (2015) and a Honored Artist of the Latvian SSR (1980).
The most significant roles of the ballet premier can be considered Giko in the ballet "Gayane" by Aram Khachaturian (choreography by Boris Eifman) - back in 1976, the still-living Aram Il'ich personally attended rehearsals and the premiere in Riga.
Also, Romeo in the ballet "Romeo and Juliet" by Prokofiev and Peer Gynt in the ballet of the same name to Grieg's music.
One of the most memorable ballet parts of Alexander Ivanovich was the magnificent Torero in the ballet "Carmen Suite" to the music of Bizet-Shchedrin. By the way, in that production, Rumyantsev danced with the great Maris Liepa, touring with him in Europe during the Soviet era.
