Vakhtang Chabukiani | |
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ვახტანგ ჭაბუკიანი | |
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| Born | (1910-03-12)March 12, 1910 Tiflis, Russian Empire |
| Died | April 6, 1992(1992-04-06) (aged 82) Tbilisi, Georgia |
| Occupation(s) | Ballet dancer,choreographer,teacher |
Vakhtang Mikheilis dze Chabukiani[a] (March 12, 1910 – April 6, 1992) was a Soviet and Georgianballet dancer,choreographer andteacher. He is considered to be one of the most influential male ballet dancers of the 20th century, and is noted for creating the choreography of several of the most famous malevariations of theclassical ballet repertory, for example inLe Corsaire,La Bayadère, andSwan Lake.
He is also noted for his andVladimir Ponomaryov [ru]'s 1941 revival ofLa Bayadère for theKirov Ballet, which is still retained in the company's repertory and has served as the basis for many subsequent productions in Russia and abroad.
Born inTbilisi to a Georgian father and aLatvian mother, Chabukiani graduated from the localMaria Perini Ballet Studio in 1924. He continued his studies at theLeningrad State Choreographic Institute (today the Vaganova Academy) between 1926 and 1929. He debuted at theKirov State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet (today the Marrinsky Ballet) in Leningrad in 1929, and took part in the first Soviet ballets tours in Italy and the United States in the 1930s. He quickly established himself as a skillful artist and became a leading soloist with the Kirov.
Chabukiani's rise to prominence in the 1930s enabled him to combine classic ballet withGeorgian folk dance traditions to create a form of dance that is uniquely Georgian. Heroism and romanticism were characteristics of his style both as dancer and choreographer. He also regularly challenged the refined delicacy of ballet and gave male dancers an active leading role in the work.[1]
On 16 May 1930, Chabukiani performed as Siegfried inSwan Lake.Galina Ulanova, famous for her performances in the role of Odette, wrote: "Such a partner asKonstantin Sergeyev provides my dancing interpretation with more lyricism, while, on the other hand - Chabukiani adds more temperament". He also performed inDon Quixote on 16 November 1930. He became renowned not only in Leningrad, but also around the whole USSR. When tenorLeonid Sobinov first saw him, he exclaimed: "This is a miracle of nature". The Soviet press wrote:
Chabukiani was born with dance in his blood and probably returned some of his back to the dance... His courageous appearance, explosive temperament, power and frankly virtuosic dancing, symbolizing the heroic origin, was expected by the Soviet ballet. The dancer did not fade into the background of partners [but] as if caus[ing an] all-comers competition, reveled in freedom, soar[ed] in flights-jumps, [rose] in mad, seeming infinite rotations...[citation needed]
In her bookSoviet Ballet (1945), English writer and journalistIris Morley wrote:
...[In] trying to describe this unusual and magnificent dancer, [I] experienced the same difficulty, as when trying to describe a tornado. He takes possession of the whole scene, betrayed wonderful fury, sometimes dying down so that stunned the audience can see the body, as if was hewn by Rodin, you see the eagle which fell on the rocks of the Caucasus… He is both a great classical dancer, the heir to all the traditions of Leningrad, and the embodiment of the rich folklore of his native Georgia…[citation needed]
Before his American tour, Chabukiani and his partnerTatyana Vecheslova [ru] gave concerts inLatvia andEstonia, where they performedpas de deux fromFlames of Paris,Le Corsaire andDon Quixote.
In 1938, the Kirov performed Chabukiani's own balletThe Heart of the Mountains, to music byAndria Balanchivadze (brother ofGeorge Balanchine). In 1939, Chabukiani created the balletLaurencia, based on the playFuente Ovejuna byLope de Vega and music byAlexander Krein. In this performance, Chabukiani attempted to combine the principles of choreodramy and virtuosic classical dance.
When a reporter askedMaya Plisetskaya what marked the beginning of the Soviet ballet, she answered: "the ballets of Chabukiani…"[2][3][4]
In 1941, Chabukiani andVladimir Ponomaryov [ru] produced a revival ofLa Bayadère at the Kirov, which is still retained in the company's repertory. It has served as the basis for many productions in Russia and abroad, includingRudolf Nureyev's andNatalia Makarova's.
At the start ofWorld War II, the Soviet government demanded works supporting the policy of the USSR. One such ballet wasTaras Bulba [ru], adapted byRostislav Zakharov from the short storyTaras Bulba byNikolai Gogol. The premiere took place on 12 December 1940 at the Kirov. Chabukiani performed as Andriy, the negative character. He played the role so well that his negative character began to be perceived as positive. Communist leaders accused him of playing incorrectly; the affair became political, and Chabukiani was expelled from the company and transferred to Tbilisi.
In 1941, Chabukiani returned to Georgia and served as the chief dancer and choreographer at theTbilisi Theatre of Opera and Ballet until 1973, when he took charge of the Tbilisi Choreographic School. He played a major role in developing ballet in Georgia and in the training of a new generation of dancers. Among Chabukiani's students wereVladimir Djouloukhadze, Irina Jandieri,Nino (Nina) Ananiashvili,Irma Nioradze,Nikolay Tsiskaridze andIgor Zelensky, as well asDavid Makhateli,Elena Glurjidze,Lali Kandelaki, and Zakharia Amonashvili. "My principles remain unchanged", he argued, "Georgian Classic Ballet must be established on the national basis, folklore elements must be organically confluent with the classic ones, but the proportions must be carefully distributed and strictly defined…".
In his documentaryThe Wizard of Dance: Vakhtang Chabukiani,Kote Makharadze recalls about the Tbilisi premiere of the balletThe Heart of the Mountains: "Georgian folk dance of the warriors "Khorumi" from the third act, enriched by unexpected passages, chords and cascades of ballet steps, had been ending with a fiery dance "Mtiuluri (Mountain Dance)" performing by Chabukiani in a duet with the outstanding folk dancer, founder of National Ballet, Iliko Sukhishvili. And when the two great masters, having different plastics, crossed their arms on the stage of art, used to become the real firework of dance… Just that dance became the first stone of building in excitable Georgian National Ballet…"
Chabukiani also worked on several films and staged ballets throughout the world:Glory of the Kirov (1940),Stars of the Russian Ballet (1953),Masters of the Georgian Ballet (1955), andThe Moor of Venice: Othello '1960).
In 1958 in Moscow, his balletThe Moor of Venice: Othello, with music byAleksandr Machavariani and a stage design bySimon Virsaladze, premiered on the occasion of Georgian Art Decade; the leading roles were performed by himself,Vera Tsignadze, andZurab Kikaleishvili [ka]. He was awarded theLenin Prize, the second ballet artist afterGalina Ulanova in 1957.Maya Plisetskaya wrote: "The Moor personalized by Vakhtang Chabukiani is incomparable. His Othello represents the simplicity, plainness, wisdom and child naivety. This is a glory of people who created this unforgettable masterpiece". The Kirov premiere ofOthello was noted by the press as truly "Chaliapin's performance". Howard Thompson, in aNew York Times review of a 1960 film version, described it as "Shakespeare with electricity". Chabukiani invitedMikhail Dudko to perform the role of Brabantio in the film version, although his career had been ended by the Soviet regime.
In 1961, Chabukiani choreographedMaurice Ravel'sBoléro; in 1967, a new balletSunrise/განთიადი, to a score by F. Glonti; and in 1980, the one-act balletAppassionata, to musicLudwig van Beethoven'sPiano Sonata No. 23.
Throughout his career, Chabukiani received numerous awards and titles, includingHonored Artist of the RSFSR (1939), Honored Artist of theGeorgian SSR (1943),People's Artist of the USSR (1950),Stalin Prize (1941, 1948, 1951) andLenin Prize (1958).[5][6][7]
Chabukiani is thought to have beenhomosexual and has at one point been persecuted by Soviet Georgian political leadership, in part, due to his sexuality.[8] Some have used Chabukuani as an example of Georgian tolerance for homosexuals, in contrast with the challenges facingLGBT rights in the country.[9]
Film-Ballet fromWilliam Shakespeare's tragedyOthello[10]
Director and Choreographer : Vakhtang Chabukiani
Stage designer :Simon (Soliko) Virsaladze
Composer:Aleksandr Machavariani
Conductor:Odysseas Dimitriadis
Orchestra: TbilisiZahkaria Paliashvili Opera State Orchestra
Film Producer : Tbilisi Cinema Studio
| Role | Performer |
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| Othello | Vakhtang Chabukiani |
| Desdemona | Vera Tsignadze |
| Iago | Zurab Kikaleishvili [ka] |
| Emilia | Leila Mitiashvili |
| Bianka | Eter Chabukiani |
| Kasio | Bekar Monavardishvili |
| Brabantio | Mikhail Dudko |
New York Times Jan. 13, 1934 - "Took New York by Storm in MOST SENSATIONAL SUCCESS of the SEASON!"
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