The Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg performing Boris Eifman’s Newest Ballet “Up & Down.” Photo: Michael Khoury
Boris Eifman Explores the Dark Side of the Jazz Age
The New York City Center presents the American premiere of the new ballet from renowned choreographer Boris Eifman. Adapted from the novel Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald, with music by George Gershwin, Franz Schubert and Alban Berg.
The book, first published in 1934, tells the story of a young psychoanalyst and his wife, who is also his patient, and their doomed relationship. The action takes place in the south of France in the 1920s.
The Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg performing Boris Eifman’s Newest Ballet “Up & Down.” Photo: Michael Khoury
The young psychoanalyst, Dick Diver is a charming, affluent socialite who is plunged into an existential crisis by the mental illness affecting his wife. Mr. Eifman has characterized the work as a “dazzling chronicle of a human dying spiritually”.
“Among a wide range of topics touched upon in this novel, I chose three main ones – preserving God’s gift; realizing oneself, one’s mission and one’s purpose; and jazz,” Eifman said in an interview with news agency Ria Novosti.
Boris Eifman was born in the Altai Territory in Siberia in 1946 and graduated from the Leningrad Conservatory. In 1977 he founded the Leningrad Ballet Ensemble, which later became known as the St. Petersburg Eifman Ballet.
For over three decades, the choreographer has staged works in his distinctive bold, emotion-driven style. Mr. Eifman’s unorthodox selections of themes and music for his ballets along with the body movements of his dancers has earned him the reputation of “a choreographic dissident.”
The Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg performing Boris Eifman’s Newest Ballet “Up & Down.” Photo: Michael Khoury
In 2013, Eifman opened the Boris Eifman Dance Academy, which currently has a student body of 90 young dancers from across Russia. The Eifman Ballet currently does not have a permanent stage, but the Boris Eifman Dance Palace is currently under construction.
Fri, May 22 at 8pm
Sat, May 23 at 2pm & 8pm
Sun, May 24 at 2 pm
136 W 56th St.
BTW 6th & 7th Aves.
New York, NY 10019
212.581.1212
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Filed under: Ballet Tagged: Alban Berg, “Tender is the Night, Boris Eifman, Boris Eifman “Up & Down”, Boris Eifman Dance Academy, Boris Eifman Dance Palace, Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Franz Schubert, George Gershwin, Leningrad Ballet Ensemble, Michael Khoury, New York City Center, Petersburg Eifman Ballet, st
