This great dancer was a star of the Soviet ballet.
The art of dance is a unique form of expression that uses a universal body language that everyone can understand. From ballet to modern dance, from hip-hop to salsa and from oriental dances to flamenco - dance in Lately has become a pleasure which is a kind of rebirth.
But when it comes to individual dancers, who has the best moves? The best posture, strength and sharpness? Below are ten of the greatest dancers of the twentieth century - chosen for their fame, popularity and influence on the world art of dance.
10. Vaslav Nijinsky
Vaslav Nijinsky was one of the most talented ballet dancers in history, perhaps even the greatest. Unfortunately, there is no clear footage of his incredible talent in motion, which is the main reason why he only ranks tenth on this list.
Nijinsky was well known for his amazing ability to defy gravity with his magnificent leaps, as well as his ability to fully inhabit the role he was playing. He is also known for dancing in pointe shoes, a skill not often seen in dancers. Nijinsky danced in the lead roles paired with the legendary ballerina Anna Pavlova. Then Tamara Karsavina, founder of London's Royal Academy of Dancing, became his partner. They were described with Karsavina as “the most worthy of emulation artists of that time."
Nijinsky left the stage in 1919, at the relatively young age of twenty-nine. His retirement is believed to have been due nervous breakdown, and he was also diagnosed with schizophrenia. Nijinsky spent the last years of his life in psychiatric hospitals and asylums. IN last time he danced in public during the final days of World War II, impressing a group of Russian soldiers with his complex dance moves. Nijinsky died in London on April 8, 1950.
9. Martha Graham
Martha Graham is considered the mother of modern dance. She created the only fully codified technique of modern dance, produced over one hundred and fifty works during her life as a choreographer, and had a huge influence on all areas of modern dance.
Her technique's departure from classical ballet, and her use of specific body movements such as contraction, release and spirals, had a profound influence on the world dance art. Graham even went so far as to create a “language” of movement based on the expressive capabilities of the human body.
She danced and choreographed for over seventy years. During this time, she became the first dancer to perform at the White House; the first dancer to travel overseas as a cultural ambassador and the first dancer to receive the highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. As the mother of modern dance, she will be immortalized in the memory of people for her incredibly emotional performances, her unique choreography, and especially for her homegrown dance technique.
8. Josephine Baker
Although Josephine Baker's name is primarily associated with the Jazz Age, her fiery dances still have an impact on dance world, almost one hundred and ten years after her birth, as it was before.
Many decades before Madonna, Beyoncé, Janet Jackson, Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez, there was Josephine Baker, one of the world's first celebrities of African descent. Josephine went to Paris in 1925 to dance in La Revue Nègre. She made a lasting impression on French audiences with her perfect combination of exotic charm and talent.
The following year she performed at the Folies Bergère, and this was the true beginning of her career. She appeared in a banana skirt and wowed the crowd with her dancing style. She later added singing to her performances, and remained popular in France for many years. Josephine Baker responded to the adoration of the French people by becoming a French citizen herself in 1937.
In France, she did not feel the same level of racial prejudice that was present in the United States at the time. Toward the end of her life, Josephine Baker hoped to create a "world village" on her estate in France, but these plans were dashed by financial difficulties. To raise funds, she returned to the stage. Her return was short, but it was a triumph on Broadway in the 1970s, and in 1975 she opened a retrospective show in Paris. She died that year from a cerebral hemorrhage, a week after the show opened.
7. Gene Kelly
Gene Kelly was one of the biggest stars and greatest innovators during the golden age of musicals in Hollywood. Kelly considered his own style, something of a hybrid of different approaches to dance, he took his movements from modern dance, ballet, and tap.
Kelly brought dance to the theater, using every inch of his set, every possible surface, and every wide camera angle to break out of the two-dimensional confines of film. And in doing so, he changed the way filmmakers looked at their cameras. Thanks to Kelly, the camera became a living instrument, and even the dancer it was filming.
Kelly's legacy permeates the music video industry. Photographer Mike Salisbury photographed Michael Jackson for the cover of "Off The Wall" wearing "white socks and lightweight leather Gene Kelly loafers" - which have become the movie star's trademark. It was this image that after some time became his own recognizable brands singer
Paula Abdul, originally known for her dancing and choreography, referenced Kelly's famous dance with Jerry the Mouse in her kitschy video for "Opposites Attract," which ends with a tap dance. Usher was another top-selling artist who paid tribute to Kelly's legacy. There will never be another dancer like Kelly, and his influence continues to resonate through generations of American dancers.
6. Sylvie Guillem
At forty-eight years old, Sylvie Guillem continues to defy the laws of ballet and gravity. Guillem changed the face of ballet with her uncanny talents, which she always used with intelligence, integrity and sensitivity. Her natural curiosity and courage led her to the most daring paths, beyond the usual boundaries of classical ballet.
Instead of spending her entire career on "safe" performances, she made bold decisions to equally capable of performing the role of "Raymonda" at the Paris Opera, or being part of an innovative dance performance based on Forsythe's work "In The Middle Somewhat Elevated". Almost no other dancer has such range, so it is not at all surprising that she has become the standard for most dancers around the world. Like Maria Callas in the opera world, Guillem was able to change the popular image of the ballerina.
5. Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson was exactly the man who could do music videos trend and he is, without a doubt, the one who made dancing an important element modern pop music. Jackson's moves have already become standard vocabulary in pop and hip-hop dances. Most modern pop icons such as Justin Bieber, Usher, Justin Timberlake admit that Michael Jackson's style has had a strong influence on them.
His contribution to the art of dance was original and unusual. Jackson was an innovator who was primarily self-taught, designing new dance moves without the common effects of formal training that limit one's imagination. His natural grace, flexibility and amazing rhythm contributed to the creation of the “Jackson style.” His employees called him a "sponge." This nickname was given to him for his ability to absorb ideas and techniques wherever he found them.
Jackson's biggest inspirations were James Brown, Marcel Marceau, Gene Kelly, and perhaps this will surprise many people, various classical ballet dancers. What many of his fans don't know is that he initially tried to "pirouette like Baryshnikov" and "tap dance like Fred Astaire" but failed miserably. However, his dedication to his own unique style brought him the fame he sought, and today his name stands alongside other giants of popular music such as Elvis and the Beatles, and he is considered one of the greatest pop icons of all time.
4. Joaquin Cortés
Joaquin Cortez is the youngest dancer on this list, but despite the fact that he is still in the process of shaping his legacy, he is one of the few dancers in history who managed to become phenomenal sex symbols, beloved by both women and men. and men. Elle Macpherson described it as "walking sex"; Madonna and Jennifer Lopez have publicly expressed their adoration for him, while Naomi Campbell and Mira Sorvino are among the women whose hearts he has (rumored) broken.
It's safe to say that Cortés is not only one of the greatest flamenco dancers of all time, but also the one who cemented flamenco's place in popular culture. His male admirers include Tarantino, Armani, Bertolucci, Al Pacino, Antonio Banderas, and Sting. Many of his fans call him the Flamenco God or simply the Sex God and if you get a chance to watch one of his shows, you will understand why. However, at the age of forty-four, Cortez remains a bachelor, declaring that "dance is my wife, my only woman."
3. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers
Astaire and Rogers, of course, were a unique pair of dancers. They say that “he gave her charm, and she gave him sex appeal.” They made dancing much more appealing to the masses in a rather prudish time. This was partly due to Rogers using her acting in dancing, and created the impression that dancing with Astaire were the happiest moments of her life.
The era also contributed to the rise of their popularity; during the Great Depression, many Americans were trying to make ends meet - and these two dancers gave people a chance to forget about the depressing reality for a while and have fun.
2. Mikhail Baryshnikov 
Mikhail Baryshnikov is one of the greatest ballet dancers of all time, considered by many critics to be the greatest. Born in Latvia, Baryshnikov studied ballet at the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet in St. Petersburg (then called Leningrad) before he began performing at the Mariinsky Theater in 1967. Since then, he has performed leading roles in dozens of ballets. He played a key role in bringing ballet into popular culture back in the late 1970s and early 80s, and he was the face of the art form for over two decades. Baryshnikov is perhaps the most influential dancer of our time.
1. Rudolf Nureyev
Baryshnikov won the hearts of critics and fellow dancers, and Rudolf Nureyev was able to charm millions ordinary people Worldwide. Russian-born dancer became soloist Mariinsky Theater at the age of 20. In 1961, when his personal life made him the subject close attention by the Soviet authorities, he asked for political asylum in Paris, and then toured with the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas ( Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas).
In the 1970s, he broke into the film industry. Most critics argue that he was not as technically good as Baryshnikov, but Nureyev still managed to captivate the crowds with his amazing charisma and emotional performances. The ballet of the couple Nureyev and Fonteyn (Romeo and Juliet) remains to this day one of the most powerful and emotional duet performances in the history of ballet.
Unfortunately, Nureyev was one of the first victims of HIV infection, and died of AIDS in 1993. Twenty years later, we can still see the incredible legacy he left behind.
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Donnie Burns 
Donnie Burns is a Scottish professional performer ballroom dancing, who specializes in Latin dances. He and his former dance partner Gaynor Fairweather were World Professional Latin Dance Champions a record sixteen times. On this moment he is the President of the World Dance Council, and also appeared on the twelfth season of Dancing with the Stars.
He is considered the greatest ballroom dancer of all time, and his championship dances with his partner are now considered classics. But things didn't always go so well for Burns. During an interview with the Daily Sun, he admitted: "I never thought that little boy from Hamilton will be able to experience at least some of what I have experienced in my life. I was teased relentlessly at school and often got into fights because I wanted to prove that I was not a “dancing queen.”
It is safe to say that today he would not object to such an epithet, since Donnie Burns is currently considered the “King of Dance”.
On March 17, the great Russian dancer Rudolf Nureyev would have turned 78 years old. Ballet classic Roland Petit called Nuriev dangerous, the press called him a frantic Tatar, and rock stars and royalty confessed their love to him. ELLE - about the “ballet Russians” who have achieved success in the West.
Sarah Bernhardt believed Nijinsky greatest actor the world, the press - no less than the eighth wonder of the world. A native of Kyiv, a dancer at the Mariinsky Theater, Nijinsky made his debut in Paris, where he amazed audiences and critics with his phenomenal technique, plasticity and taste. And the most amazing thing is that his career as a dancer lasted only ten years. In 1917 he appeared on stage for the last time, and until his death in 1950 he struggled with schizophrenia, moving around psychiatric clinics. Nijinsky’s influence on world ballet is difficult to overestimate, and his diaries are still deciphered and interpreted differently by specialists.
One of the main stars of Russian ballet in the world, Nureyev was a real pop star, bright and scandalous. A difficult, quarrelsome character, arrogance, stormy personal life and a penchant for outrageousness did not obscure the main thing - the incredible talent of Nuriev, who managed to combine together the traditions of ballet and current, as they say now, trends. A native of Ufa, the long-awaited son, who did not live up to the hopes of his military father, who contemptuously called Rudolf “ballerina,” made his most famous jump not on stage, but in the control zone of the Paris airport. In 1961, the Soviet dancer Nureyev suddenly took off with 30 francs in his pocket, asking for political asylum. Thus began Nuriev’s ascent to the world ballet Olympus. Fame, money, luxury, parties at Studio 54, gold, brocade, rumors of affairs with Freddie Mercury, Yves Saint Laurent, Elton John - and the best roles in the London Royal Ballet, directorship in the ballet group of the Paris Grand Opera. A completely ill Nuriev spent the last hundred days of his life in his beloved Paris. He is buried there.
Another famous representative of ballet, who can safely be called a pop star, is in many ways similar to Nuriev: childhood in a Soviet province (if we consider Riga as a province - still not Moscow or Leningrad), complete misunderstanding on the part of his father and a real artistic rise outside THE USSR. Remaining in the West in 1974, Baryshnikov quickly gained a foothold at the top: first he headed the legendary New York City Ballet, then for nine years, from 1980 to 1989, he directed the no less famous American Ballet Theater. He also actively and quite successfully, although unevenly, acted in films, became a socialite, and met with Hollywood beauties Jessica Lange and Liza Minnelli. And for the new public, far from ballet (and, by the way, from Joseph Brodsky, with whom Baryshnikov had a real friendship), this incredible person became famous thanks to a small but noticeable role in the TV series “Sex in big city" Sarah Jessica Parker is his biggest fan. called Mikhail Baryshnikov a tough boy - “ cool guy" Who would argue.
Vladimir Vasiliev is a symbol of the Bolshoi Theater and all Russian ballet of the second half of the 20th century. Due to the fact that Vasiliev lived in the Soviet Union, his popularity in the West is much inferior to the glory of the same Baryshnikov, although art connoisseurs, of course, know and appreciate him. Vasiliev worked mainly in Europe, gradually changing his profession to choreographer. Kazan and Paris, Rome and Perm, Vilnius and Rio - the geography of Vasiliev’s creative movements affirms and confirms his cosmopolitanism.
The blond giant, Bolshoi star, Godunov, in August 1979, while on tour in the States, decided not to return home. A terrible drama unfolded, in which not only the artist himself and his wife, ballerina Lyudmila Vlasova, were involved, but also Joseph Brodsky, the FBI, and even the leaders of the United States and Soviet Union. Remaining in the States, Godunov became part of the famous American ballet theater, who eventually left after a quarrel with his best friend Mikhail Baryshnikov. Then there was work within the framework of his own project “Godunov and Friends”, success, an affair with actress Jacqueline Bisset and an abrupt departure from the profession. Bisset persuaded Alexander to start a film career, and he partially succeeded: “Witness” with Harrison Ford and especially “ Toughie“They made yesterday’s ballet dancer a Hollywood star. However, Godunov himself did not like being on the sidelines, although those who had not even been interested in ballet had now learned about “this Russian.”
He never returned to dancing, and in 1995 he died at the age of 45. “I believe that he did not take root and died of loneliness,” said Joseph Brodsky, who took an active part in his fate as a “defector.”
People's Artist of the USSR.
Hero of Socialist Labor.
President of the International Union of Pop Artists.
Academician of the International Dance Academy.
Ballet dancer, pop dancer, actor.
Great dancer
Makhmud Esambaev was born on July 15, 1924 in the foothill village of Starye Atagi. Many outstanding Chechen playwrights and writers, musicians and composers come from this beautiful corner of the planet. Most likely, Makhmud Esambaev was born a dancer by inclination and talent: nature generously endowed “her son” with extraordinary expressive body movement, a perfect ear for music, phenomenal memory, and tall stature.
Mahmoud always danced. I have been dancing since I can remember. From the age of seven, the boy danced smartly to the approving laughter and exclamations of his elders at weddings, and at fifteen he became a soloist of the Chechen-Ingush State Song and Dance Ensemble, and at nineteen he was accepted into the Pyatigorsk operetta. Contrary to the will of his father, who considered his son’s choice unworthy of a real man, Makhmud Esambaev became an artist. At the same time, he barely completed only six years of high school.
Using his naturally phenomenal step, penchant for the grotesque and rare masculine grace, Makhmud Esambaev staged many of his compositions himself. He created his own dance theater. Performing alone, he skillfully and easily dominated any stage, artistically attracted attention and kept it. All of the maestro's numbers became hits.
Movie
A brilliant performer of a number of leading ballet roles, dance scenes of opera performances of the Kyrgyz Opera and Ballet Theater, the Leningrad Academic Maly Opera and Ballet Theater named after S. M. Kirov, and the Bolshoi Theater of the USSR, of course, attracted the attention of film directors.
Makhmud Esambaev's film debut in 1961 took place not only as an actor, but also as a screenwriter. He wrote the script for the television play, the film-ballet "In the World of Dance", and soon followed the main role Ishkoeva in the film "I will dance". In the film adaptation of Pyotr Tchaikovsky's ballet, in the film-ballet "Swan Lake" staged by directors Apollinary Dudko and Konstantin Sergeev, the master performed one of the main roles.
Directors Albert Mkrtchyan and Leonid Popov invited Makhmud Esambaev to play one of the main roles in the adventure-romantic drama "Sannikov's Land" based on the script "for the money" of the unemployed optimist Mark Zakharov. This was before he became that “Mark Zakharov”. In the film, Makhmud Esambaev portrayed the Black Shaman surrounded by native women - the half-naked prima donnas of the Buryat theaters, scaring away with his mesmerizing dances the heroes of Sannikov's journey to the land - the escaped convict Ilyin, the brilliantly performed role of Vladislav Dvorzhetsky, the exiled settler Krestovsky, the role of the incomparable Oleg Dal, and simply the adventurer Gubin in performed by Yuri Nazarov.
The dance maestro’s professional victory in cinema was also the role of the court Musician “The Incomparable” Igi-Nash-Tush, directed by Gennady Vasiliev in the musical fairy tale film about magical city cheerful workers "While the clock is striking", and the restless "Fire" in the fairy tale - comedy by Yuri Pobedonostsev "Honest Magic" performed by Esambaev was very convincing.
The personality of the dance maestro was great. Esambaev was loved, adored for his talent, directors were captivated by the actor’s inner power. Elizaveta Kimyagarova invited the dancer to play the role of the treasurer in “The Adventures of Little Muk” based on the work of Gauff, but even in this role, a little unusual for him, Esambaev was excellent.
Esambaev's film characters have a special, Esambaev-esque personality! And this simply could not be ignored. So director Georgy Bazarov cast the actor in the role of a strictly Teacher in the political drama “Report from the Abyss,” which tells the story of a military coup in a small Asian country in the late 70s. And in 1995, Esambaev starred in an international film project. The film "Call of the Ancestors" is a joint production of Algeria and Uzbekistan. In the role of the Great Turan, the popular dancer was irresistible as always.
"Proud Mahmoud"
Popular pop singer of the 50-70s, hero of gossip columns recent years 20th century, Makhmud Esambaev was not only a master of dance, but also a great man who, through his art, introduced people to humanism. At the same time, he never hid his national identity, even in the most difficult times for the Chechen people. His unchanging national hat made of selected astrakhan fur was as noticeable as his other source of pride - a wasp-like waist until old age...
The great ballerina Galina Ulanova said about the dancer Esambaev: “People like Makhmud Esambaev, I don’t even know how old we meet. He is, essentially, so flexible, so musical and so expressive... that everything he performs is no one else’s.” I couldn't..."
Makhmud Alisultanovich Esambaev passed away on January 7, 2000, the dance maestro was buried in Moscow at the Muslim Cemetery, a branch of the Danilovsky Cemetery.
Filmography:
1963 I will dance
1968 Swan Lake - ballet film
1972 Dandelion Wine
1973 Sannikov Land
1975 To the ends of the world...
1976 While the clock is striking
1976 Honest Magic
1983 The Adventures of Little Mook
This is Rudolph NURIEV(or NUREYEV - the exact spelling of the surname is unknown, since his grandfather was illiterate). This famous dancer stayed abroad during the Kirov Theater tour in Paris in June 1961.
As far as I know, this famous Soviet dancer's name was Rudolf Nureyev. By the way, he emigrated from the USSR back in 1961, and died on January 6, 1993 in France from various complications caused by acquired immune deficiency syndrome.
As a dancer he may be brilliant (the Soviet ballet school was the best in the world, no one argues with that), but as a person and personality he evokes nothing but pity and condescension, like another master of the stage Godunov (later period ). And NURIEV simply spat in the face of those who allowed his talent to blossom!
Rudolf Nureyev ( 1938-1993) Soviet and British ballet dancer, choreographer, conductor. Soloist of the Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theater named after Kirov. After not returning to the USSR (1961), he became a star of the Royal Ballet in London, was the director ballet troupe Paris Grand Opera, acted in many films, staged classical ballets, and performed all over the world.
He was buried in a Russian cemetery near Paris.
The Bashkir State Opera and Ballet Theater and the Bashkir Choreographic College bear his name. Ballet festivals are held in his honor in Ufa and Kazan.
Many books have been published about Nuriev’s work and life, and his autobiographical notes have been published.
If you want to know more, then at least read this book. Very popularly written. There is also information about his personal life and his work over the years.
Most likely, we are talking about the truly great dancer of Soviet and world ballet, Rudolf Nureyev. Rudolf Nureyev was a soloist of the Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theater, and after the Royal Ballet in London.
Rudolf Nureyev glorified Soviet ballet not only within the Soviet Union, but throughout the world. But, unfortunately, his homosexuality was not accepted in his homeland and he had to stay in Europe, which he did not regret. Only in 1987, as I remember from art history, was he allowed to visit Ufa for a short time. At this time, his mother was dying and he comes to say goodbye to her. And in 1993 he dies of AIDS.
Great dancer, choreographer and conductor RUDOLF NUREYEV emigrated in 1961, he did not return to the USSR after his foreign tour. Having started working at the Royal Ballet, he quickly became a world celebrity.
The great Soviet dancer who did not return back to the USSR in 1961 after touring in France is Rudolf Nureyev.
Among others interesting facts from his life: born on a train en route to Vladivostok, died as a result of AIDS.
Rudolf Nureyev. That was the name of this famous defector. In principle, I fully support his action (non-return) to live in the USSR creative person It was oh, how difficult it was, a closed country, a de-whiteized population.
The outstanding dancer, star of Soviet ballet Rudolf Nureyev glorified Russian ballet throughout the world. One of the many defectors of that time. A truly extraordinary and scandalous personality. Rudolf Nureyev is one of the first Soviet men publicly admitted his non-traditional orientation. And his love affair with Eric Brown is one of the most passionate in history.
People's Artist of the USSR (1974)
Hero of Socialist Labor (1984)
People's Artist of the Kirghiz SSR (1969)
Knight of the Order of Lenin
Knight of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, III degree (1999, for outstanding contribution to the development of the art of dance)
Knight of the Order of Friendship (1994, for outstanding achievements in the art of dance and fruitful social activities)
Knight of the Order of the Patriotic War, II degree (1985)
“People like Makhmud Esambaev have been dating for I don’t even know how many years. He is essentially so flexible, so musical and so expressive... that everything he does, no one else could do.” Galina Ulanova.
He completed only six years of high school, and already at the age of 7 he was entertaining guests at Chechen weddings, spinning in a fast dance. He began his dance with a lightning-fast pirouette on the toes of his right foot, while simultaneously touching his head with his left foot. And he did it with such skill that no one doubted that the boy had a real calling for dancing. What did not at all please the strict and stern Ali-Sultan, the father large family Esambaev. He hid clothes from Mahmud and locked him at home. And when he found out that his son was performing his act, moving around the nearest villages with a small nomadic circus, he was simply furious. “If you become a shepherd, there will be more benefits there,” the head of the family decided the boy’s fate. The brothers also laughed at Mahmud’s hobby.
Mahmud said about his childhood: “My father is Chechen and my mother is Chechen. My father lived to be 106 years old and married 11 times. For his second marriage, he married a Jewish woman from Odessa, Sofya Mikhailovna. She and only her I always call mom. She called me Moishe.
We lived in Frunze. I spent all my days with the boys in the yard.
Moishe! - she shouted.
Come here.
What mom?
Come here, I'll tell you why you're so skinny. Because you never see the bottom of the plate. Go and finish the soup. And then you'll go.
Moisha has a good mixture, they said in the yard, mother is a Jew, father is a Nazi.
The exiled Chechens there were considered fascists. Mom didn’t eat herself, but gave everything to me. She went to visit her friends from Odessa, Fira Markovna, Maya Isaakovna - they lived richer than us - and brought me a piece of strudel or something else.
Moishe, this is for you.
Mom, have you eaten?
I don't want.
I started leading a club at the meat processing plant, taught ballroom dancing and western dancing. For this I received a bag of horse bones. Mom tore off pieces of meat from them and made cutlets in half with bread, and the bones were used for broth. At night I threw the bones away from the house so that they would not know that they were ours. She knew how to cook a delicious dinner out of nothing. When I started earning a lot, she cooked chicken necks, tzimmes, she cooked herring so that you could go crazy. My friends at the Kyrgyz Opera and Ballet Theater still remember: “Misha! How your mother fed us all!” But at first we lived very poorly. Mom said: “Tomorrow we are going to the Melomeds’ wedding. There we will eat gefilte fish, goose cracklings. We don't have this at home. Just don’t be shy, eat more.” I already danced well and sang “Varnechkes”. This was my mother's favorite song. She listened to it like the Anthem of the Soviet Union. And she loved Tamara Khanum because she sang “Varnechkes”. Mom said: “At the wedding you will be asked to dance. Dance, then rest, then sing. When you sing, don't move your neck. You are not a giraffe. Don't look at everyone. Stand against me and sing for your mommy, the rest will listen.” I saw the rebbe, the bride and groom under the chuppah at a wedding. Then everyone sat down at the table. Music played and dancing began. Mommy said: “Now Moishe will dance.” I danced five or six times. Then she said: “Moishe, now sing.” I stood opposite her and began: “You are nemt men, woo nemt men, woo nemt men?..” Mom said: “See what a talent this is!” And they told her: “Thank you, Sofya Mikhailovna, for raising one Jewish boy correctly. Others, like Russians, don’t know anything in Jewish.
My stepmother was also a gypsy. She taught me to tell fortunes and steal from the market. I was very good at stealing. She said: “Little little girl, come here, we’ll sing.” I was accepted into the troupe of the Kyrgyz Opera and Ballet Theater. Mom attended all my performances. Mom asked me:
Moishe, tell me: are Russians a people?
Yes mom.
Are the Spaniards people too?
People, mom.
And the Indians?
Are Jews not a people?
Why, mom, people too.
And if these are the people, then why don’t you dance the Jewish dance? In “Eugene Onegin” you dance a Russian dance, in “Lakme” you dance a Hindu dance.
Mom, who will show me Jewish dance?
I'll show you.
She was very heavy, probably weighed 150 kilograms.
How will you show it?
With your hands.
What about your legs?
You can figure it out yourself.
She hummed and showed me “Freylekhs”, also called “Seven Forty”. At 7.40 the train left from Odessa to Chisinau. And at the station everyone was dancing. I revered Sholom Aleichem and made myself the “A Junger Schneider” dance. The suit was made, as it were, from scraps of material that remain with the tailor. The trousers are short, the back is made of a different material. I played it all out in dance. This dance became my encore. For an encore I repeated it three or four times. Mom said: “Baby, do you think I want you to dance a Jewish dance because I’m Jewish? No. The Jews will talk about you: have you seen him dance the Brazilian dance? Or Spanish dance? They won't talk about Jewish things. But they will love you for your Jewish dance.” In Belarusian cities in those years when Jewish art was not very encouraged, Jewish spectators asked me: “How were you allowed to do Jewish dance?” I answered: “I allowed myself.”
Contrary to the will of his father, Mahmud entered the choreographic school of Grozny, and at the age of 15 the future great dancer performed in the Checheno-Ingush state ensemble song and dance.
He was 16 years old when the Great War began Patriotic War. As part of a front-line concert brigade, Esambaev repeatedly visited the front line, performed at the construction of defensive structures and in military hospitals. During one of these performances, Esambaev was wounded in the leg after a shell exploded near the stage where Mahmud was speaking to the soldiers. A shrapnel hit him in the leg. Esambaev finished dancing and fell backstage, losing consciousness. He underwent surgery at the field hospital. According to the memoirs of Esambaev’s daughter Stella, it is known that the surgeon told Mahmud: “I saved your leg, but you won’t be able to dance.” But the doctor was mistaken - the young man had iron willpower, and he absolutely could not imagine his life without dancing.
Front-line brigade of Chechen-Ingush artists. Makhmud Esambaev is sitting first on the left.
In 1943, in liberated Pyatigorsk, the 19-year-old dancer instantly charmed the administration of the local operetta theater with his gift, and he was immediately offered several roles from the repertoire that professional actors were working on - “Rose-Marie”, “The Serf” and “The Sea Spreads Wide” . Despite Esambaev’s youth, none of the actors doubted his undeniable talent. Moreover, Mahmud was exiled by the commandant to the village for disobedience, where for some time he had to float timber down a mountain river and was saved from certain death by fans and the theater administration.
In February 1944, Chechens and Ingush, according to Beria’s “Lentil” plan, began to be resettled in Central Asia- because of a handful of bandits running around the mountains. According to some estimates, only half a percent of the population of Checheno-Ingushetia united into formations that sought to change the current system and were waiting for the Nazis, while there were many more young people who sought to go to the front to defend the country. Mahmud's mother did not survive the resettlement, and his father became seriously ill. Grief brought father and son closer together. As daughter Stella Esambaeva later wrote, Mahmud’s father, who lived with him in those years, saw his son’s tenacity and perseverance, the hard work with which he prepared for performances. “Forgive the old man, son,” he once told Mahmud, “only now I understand how stupid I was.”
But Esambaev’s creative biography was not interrupted. From 1944 to 1957 he danced at the Kyrgyz theater. At the age of 20, he became a soloist at the Kyrgyz Opera and Ballet Theater, where Esambaev was entrusted with the main roles in the ballets “Swan Lake”, “The Fountain of Bakhchisaray”, and “The Sleeping Beauty”. He also stood at the origins of Kyrgyz choreography and danced the main roles in the first national ballet performances.
“When I first saw Makhmud Esambaev at a rehearsal,” I.K. Kovtunov, the theater’s chief choreographer, wrote in his memoirs, “I was delighted with this priceless nugget, the rarest gift of nature, the melodiousness of every part of the body created by God for dance.” Later, he became convinced of the enormous hard work, determination and discipline of this extraordinary young man. The young artist lacked choreographic education, he decided. Mastering by accelerated version theoretical program ballet school, Mahmud immediately put it into practice. An international team helped him in this. Soon, to the applause of the audience, he began to perform not only character and folk dances, but also the main roles in classical Russian and other ballet performances: in “Swan Lake” - the evil genius Rothbart, “The Fountain of Bakhchisarai” - Khan Giray, “The Sleeping Beauty” - Carabosse , “Taras Bulbe” - Taras. He played in the premiere Kyrgyz national ballet performances - “Cholpon”, “Anar”, “Spring in Ala-Too”.
Spanish dance from the ballet “Swan Lake” performed by M. Esambaev and B. Beishenalieva. Kyrgyz Opera and Ballet Theater.
Theater director V.Sh. Shakhrai described his impressions of the play “The Fountain of Bakhchisarai”: “At the very end, Girey appeared - Makhmud Esambaev - and the stage was enlivened by a highly gifted person.” In just 13 years of work, Esambaev created dozens of unforgettable images in the theater, including in Kyrgyz national ballet performances. Makhmud Esambaev told about this period of his life: “Mom had her own place in the theater. They said: “Misha’s mother is sitting here.” Mom asks me:
Moishe, you dance the best, they clap for you the most, but why does everyone bring flowers, but not you?
Mom, I say, we have no relatives.
Isn’t that what people wear?
No. Relatives. Then I come home. We had one room, an iron bed stood opposite the door. I see my mother with her head under the bed and shuffling something around there. I speak:
Mom, get out immediately, I’ll get what you need.
Moishe,” she says from under the bed. - I see your legs, so make sure I don’t see them. Get out. I walked away, but I saw everything. She pulled out a bag, from it she took out a darned old felt boot, from it - a rag, in the rag there was a wad of money, tied with string.
Mom, I say, where do we get this kind of money?
Son, I collected it so that you don’t have to run around and look for something to bury your mommy with. Okay, they'll bury it that way. In the evening I dance in “Raymond” by Abdurakhman. In the first act, I fly onto the stage in a luxurious cape, in gold, and in a turban. Raymonda plays the lute. We meet eyes. We look at each other in fascination. The curtain is coming. I actually haven’t danced yet, I just jumped on stage. After the first act, the administrator gives me a luxurious bouquet. The flowers were handed over to the administrator and told who to give them to. After the second act they give me a bouquet again. After the third - too. I already realized that all this is mommy. The play was performed in four acts. This means that after the fourth there will be flowers. I gave the administrator all three bouquets and asked in the finale to serve me four at once. He did just that. At the theater they said: think about it, they threw flowers at Esambaev. The next day, mommy removed the withered flowers, there were three bouquets, then two, then one. Then she bought flowers again. One day my mother got sick and was in bed. And they give me flowers. I bring flowers home and say:
Mom, why did you get up? You need to lie down.
Moishe,” she says. - I didn’t get up. I can not get up.
Where do the flowers come from?
People realized that you deserve flowers. Now they carry it for you themselves.
I became the leading artist of the Kyrgyz theater and received all the awards there. I love Kyrgyzstan as my homeland. They treated me like family there. Shortly before Stalin’s death, my mother learned from her friend Esther Markovna that plans were being made to evict all Jews. She came home and told me:
Well, Moishe, like Chechens we were deported here, like Jews we are being deported even further. Barracks are already being built there.
Mom,” I say, “you and I have already learned to drive.” Wherever they send us, we will go there, the main thing is for us to be together. I will not leave you.
Esambaev’s wife was an Armenian doctor by profession, Nina Arkadyevna Khanumyants. Esambaev met her when he was 17 years old. Later they had a daughter, Stella. Esambaev said: “When Stalin died, she said: “Now it will be better.” She wanted me to marry a Jewish woman, the daughter of an Odessa resident Pakhman. And I was courting an Armenian woman. Mom said:
Tell me, Moishe, does she feed you? (This was back during the war years).
No, I say, he doesn’t feed.
But if you were caring for Pakhman's daughter...
Mom, she has skinny legs.
And what a beautiful face, and his hair... Just think, he needs legs.
When I married Nina, I cannot say that friendship arose between her and my mother. I started teaching dance at the Ministry of Internal Affairs school, and money appeared. I bought my mother a gold watch with a chain, and I bought Nina a white metal watch. Wife says:
You bought them for your mom with a gold chain instead of buying them for me, I’m young, and my mom could wear simple ones.
Nina, I say, shame on you. What good mom seen in this life? Let her at least be glad that she has such a watch.
They stopped talking, but never fought with each other. Only once, when Nina, having swept the floor, came out with the trash, her mother said: “By the way, Moishe, you could have married better.” This is the only thing she said to her.
My daughter was born. Mom took her in her arms, placed her between her large breasts, and caressed her. The daughter loved her grandmother very much. Then Nina and her mother sorted it out themselves. And my mother says to me: “Moishe, I’m looking after Nina, she’s not bad. And the fact that you didn’t marry Pakhman’s daughter is also good, she’s spoiled. She wouldn’t be able to do everything like that for you.” She and Nina began to live together. During this time, my father had already changed several wives. He lived not far from us. Mom says: “Moishe, your father brought a new Nikaiva. Come take a look.” I was walking.
Mom, I say, she’s so scary!
It serves him right.
She died when she was 91 years old. It happened like this. She had a sister, Mira. She lived in Vilnius. She came to us in Frunze. She began to invite her mother to stay with her: “Sofa, come. Misha already family man. He won’t be lost for a month or two without you.” How I tried to dissuade her: “The climate is different there. At your age you can’t!” She says: “Moishe, I’ll stay a little and come back.” She went and never came back. She was a very kind person. She and I lived a wonderful life. Never needed my father. She replaced my own mother. If they were both alive now, I wouldn’t know who to go to hug first.”
Stella Esambaeva talked about the relationship between her parents: “You know, in fact, she played a huge role in his formation, since she also had very great willpower. And seeing that he was talented, she contributed to this all her life. She seemed to be in the shadows. It’s embarrassing for me to say, it’s mom, but she always led very modestly, and she followed dad. That is, he, of course, was a wonderful family man, an extraordinary husband, it was easy to be with him. And when even dad was asked: “Don’t you ever swear?”, and he said: “This is an abnormal family where they don’t swear. So everything is very bad in this family.” Anything could happen, but basically he saw in his mother a very great support, a great friend who would support him at any time in any of his endeavors. And when I started thinking about a new dance. He made sure to tell his mother about him. And they speculated about what kind of dance it would be, who would choreograph it, what kind of costume he would wear. That is, mom understood that the moment he had an idea about this dance, he was obsessed with this dance, and he didn’t want to hear or see anything else. And she constantly seemed to contribute to his, one cannot say growth, but to his fantasies of how he wanted to do this dance, she complemented him - maybe you’ll do it like this? Mom was a very great friend to him; she was too, one might say, selfless in everything. She received his guests, but he loved guests madly. She cooked very well and managed to be wonderful mother, grandmother. That is, she was also universal in making sure that his home was warm, well, she said: “You need to create a lot of comfort for dad, so that he feels comfortable, because he gets very tired.” I remember when I was little, my dad came home so he could really rest. And then, when he performed his new dances, she was always present. Then she made comments to him. Although she was far from art by profession, she was well versed in art. And she told him: “You know, you better do it this way here, but here the light should be like this.” That is, she was like a professional with him.”
In the mid-1950s, at the time of the restoration of the Chi ASSR, Esambaev decided to move to the pop stage to perform dances of the peoples of the world. To do this, he had accumulated vast experience and had limitless technical and professional capabilities. Igor Moiseev and Galina Ulanova said that when they first saw Makhmud Esambaev, they immediately realized that they had a rare talent in front of them and invited him to perform at his first international competition, where he took first place and received a gold medal.
Esambaev collected his dance novellas not only in his native Checheno-Ingushetia, but also in Moscow, India, Spain, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Peru, France and many other countries of the world where he happened to go on tour .
M. Esambaev - Bob. R. Samgina - Bianka. Ballet “Under the Italian Sky”.
Esambaev created a unique monotheater of dance miniatures. “The poster says “Dances of the Peoples of the World,” but it should be “Peoples of the World in Dance.” Be sure to watch Esambaev! Esambaev's dancing is a theater of experience, not performance. Each master’s performance on the stage, each of his miniatures is, I would say, a small, complete ballet,” noted the famous choreographer Yuri Grigorovich enthusiastically.
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Esambaev had fans and admirers everywhere - state leaders considered it an honor to be with him. His friends were Joseph Kobzon, Alla Bayanova, Edita Piekha and many ordinary people. Makhmud Esambaev called Joseph Kobzon “beloved younger brother.” Joseph Kobzon said: “I came to see him backstage at a concert. It was 1962. He looked at me: “And I know you, you are a singer, I saw you on TV.” By that time, I had been shown twice in Blue Lights. “So you’re not such a fool for coming to the ballet.” I often came on tour to Grozny, and Mahmud always met me. We always went to the market, and there was a crowd behind us, about 200-300 people. In Chechnya, Mahmud was idolized. “Iosik, you should definitely try our flatbreads!” - “Okay, Mamudo!” And they approached everyone. “How much are your scones?” - Mahmud asked the young Chechen woman. That one's legs were already weak from such buyers. “Help yourself, everything is free!” Esambaev spent a long time figuring out the price. “Fifty kopecks,” she finally gave up. What started here! “How can you! Shame on you! You have to plow the land, sow the grain, reap the harvest, grind the flour, make a cake, and you - fifty kopecks?” And let's scold her in Chechen. “For twenty-five rubles, go home, feed the children.” I remember how he and his uncle vied with each other to invite me to visit. And his uncle, Vakha Tataev, was the Minister of Culture of Chechnya. And so I, as a guest, invited them to my place. Uncle says a toast, and Mahmud sits, frowning. “Get up, I’m your uncle!” - Vakha Akhmetovich does not calm down. He's sitting. “Besides, I’m the Minister of Culture!” - “You are my minister of culture. You have all the culture - Makhmud Esambaev.” And it was true."
Writer Ch. Aitmatov, film director S. Bondarchuk, M. Esambaev and M. Fomenko.
He was expected in the republics, where he was known not only as a great dancer, but also as an excellent tactful interlocutor and a vivid storyteller. Esambaev did not boast of his numerous titles, awards and regalia. Thus, when on tour in North Ossetia, Esambaev almost never stayed at a hotel - he was always a dear guest in the house of the Kochisovs, with whom he was connected by family ties. “Some kind of force pulled people to him,” said Zinaida Kochisova. – Once you were next to him, it was as if you were entering a special dimension in which you felt wonderful. He was an amazing person!”
Makhmud Esambaev among his fellow countrymen in the village of Starye Atagi.
The hallmark of the new round of Esambaev’s life and work was the Indian temple ritual dance of the Baharat Natyam style “Golden God,” staged in 1957 by Eleonora Grikurova.
"Golden God"
The dance told how, having woken up, the god Shiva looked with a keen eye at all the events taking place on the land of India from sunrise to sunset. Dancing Esambaev portrayed the sun god. His dance began with Mahmoud squatting on the floor. In ballet this is called a full plie. From this position the dancer needed to rise slowly and smoothly, like the sun rising from the edge of the earth in the morning, to rise imperceptibly to the eye in one and a half minutes. full height. In this position the dance continued for six minutes. After this, also unnoticed, in a minute and a half it was necessary to return to the original ritual position. The hardest part was getting up and down correctly. If the dancer’s legs trembled a little or allowed a barely noticeable abrupt movement, the sensitive bells attached to the dancer’s ankles would instantly ring, and the entire impression of the dance would be ruined. The entire dance lasted 9 minutes. This dance was learned by Esambaev in 20 days, although Indian experts claimed that it was impossible to do this in less than 8 years.
For the first time in the USSR, Esambaev performed “The Golden God” in 1957 in Moscow in the P.I. Tchaikovsky Hall. At the All-Union Art Competition and World Festival youth for the performance of “The Golden God” Makhmud Esambaev was awarded a gold medal, and for the “Tajik war dance with knives” staged by People’s Artist of the RSFSR Tamara Seifert and the Spanish dance with castanets “Bulerias” - silver medals.
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But few people know that, despite creative success, prosperity did not come to the family of Makhmud Esambaev immediately. His daughter Stella said: “We lived very poorly financially. Dad came from rehearsal and said: “Nina, what should I do? I just found out that there will be a world festival in Moscow, and I really want to go, try myself, maybe I’ll get at least something.” But my mother, somehow without hesitation, says: “If you want, let’s do it.” “Why, we have nothing. What will I leave you, what will I go for?” She says: “Yes, I have a sewing machine and a carpet, I will sell it, and you will go.” And when dad left, she, of course, sold it, and they quickly bought it from her. He says: “Nina, what will I leave you?” “Don’t worry (she was a doctor by profession), don’t worry. I’ll go get injections and we’ll somehow feed ourselves.” And dad left. And then, of course, I was little, and my mother, I remember hearing on the radio that dad received three medals, won first places, she shouts: “Stellochka, our dad got everything!” And so I remember this moment, I I understood him like a child, but I was also very happy, and my mother simply cried with joy. That is, in fact, somehow in life she understood him very well and always contributed to his growth. I was incredibly happy about his success, that is, she was just a true friend to him and an extraordinary mother for me.”
Wherever Makhmud Esambaev found himself, he began his concert program with a Chechen (or rather, Chechen-Ingush) dance. Esambaev himself interpreted the style of Chechen dances as follows: “What should amaze you is not external tricks, rotations on the knees, not a demonstration of feigned, ostentatious temperament, no, but purposefulness, elegance, grace, nobility of posture, perfect mastery of your plasticity.” Esambaev, as a choreographer and brilliant performer, created several new types of pop plot Chechen dances. Gentle and at the same time temperamental, cheerful Chechen-Ingush dance captivated the audience with its lyricism. The artist himself composed and performed the dance drama “Love for the Motherland.”
During its many years of fruitful creative biography Mahmud Esambaev performed about 100 ballet parts, dance novels, dance legends, and choreographic miniatures in ballet performances, on stage, and in films. Among them were such masterpieces as the Brazilian ritual dance “Macumba”, “Melodies of Spain”, the Uzbek dance “Shepherd”, the Russian “Emigrant”, the Mongolian “Eagle and the Hunter”, the Jewish “Tailor”, the Peruvian “Peacock”, the Bashkir gypsy, which brought great joy to viewers from different countries.
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Makhmud Esambaev devoted a lot of time to rehearsals. His daughter Stella Esambaeva said: “His art was so international, it united peoples. And as if the meaning of his art lay in this. He knew that dance always brings people together. Through dance, people expressed both their sad and joyful thoughts. That is, he knew that he, his art, brings in addition to joy - it unites people. This was his main goal in life - to unite people. He said: “The main thing is that people are united, so that they do not say who is of what nationality. We didn’t think about it.” This was the goal of his art. He was a fan, a workaholic, he could work in the rehearsal room for eight hours. In the morning he had a light breakfast, since he didn't eat much, and then he went out and worked. If it was a concert, then he rehearsed for four hours before the concert, he tried to rehearse every day to keep himself in shape. Quietly for eight hours, ten hours could be in the rehearsal room. The man was simply obsessed with his art, and he could not imagine himself outside of work. If he didn't rehearse, and if he didn't have a concert, then he had to go around all day to help people whom he could help. That is, he was always busy, nevertheless, he always found time to devote to everyone, like me and his grandchildren. He nurtured all the dances for a very long time; he did not have such spontaneous performances. I just know that if he started to hatch a dance, that dance would appear after three years, some after five years. But it seems to me that one of his favorite dances was Lezginka, then “Makumba” - “Golden God”. You know, in general it’s difficult to say which is your favorite dance. Dance-spell. There is such a text that the sorcerer cuts up a white chicken, applies magic spots to himself and begins his slow, ritual dance in order to free people from evil. And then he takes it all in negative energy and in the end he dies. And you know, it was actually a dance that was amazing. He gave so much of himself in this dance, he entered into this role so much that there was even such an incident: a nail entered his leg on stage, and he finished dancing this dance and fell unconscious. That is, he entered into this image. Yes, this dance is very strong impression left with the viewer. I just know the reviews about “Makumba”, the dance itself was so masterfully choreographed and here, one might say, it is embodied in the role. That is, there were cases when they brought their sick children and asked him to heal after this dance. That is, they believed so much that he was actually a sorcerer.”
Often Esambaev's art was rooted in the distant past. Thus, in Indian dances, ritual dance was not separated from pantomime and facial expressions. And Esambaev’s work had many similarities with both ancient Indian and ancient Greek dances. IN choreographic art Esambaev can be seen as a reflection of creativity modern civilizations, and the ancients. Choreographer Grigory Chapkis said: “Colleagues did not even try to repeat the movements that Mahmud performed with ease. His versatility in choreography knew no bounds. Esambaev was an amazing dancer! He performed classical, folk, Ossetian, and Indian dances simply and masterfully. He had no equal. Moreover, he was easily given both male and women's parties, and this is absolutely unique phenomenon. In the 1950s of the last century, Esambaev was almost the only dancer who could easily give a sold-out solo concert at the Ukraine Palace. It was impossible to buy a ticket for his performance.”
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The brilliant performer of a number of leading ballet roles attracted the attention of film directors. Makhmud Esambaev's film debut in 1961 took place not only as an actor, but also as a screenwriter. He wrote the script for the television play, the film-ballet “In the World of Dance”, and soon followed the main role of Ishkoev in the film “I Will Dance”. In the film adaptation of Pyotr Tchaikovsky's ballet, in the film-ballet "Swan Lake" staged by directors Apollinary Dudko and Konstantin Sergeev, Esambaev performed one of the main roles.
M. Esambaev - Khan Girey in the ballet “The Fountain of Bakhchisarai”. Still from the film “In the World of Dance”.
Directors Albert Mkrtchyan and Leonid Popov invited Makhmud Esambaev to play one of the main roles in the adventure-romantic drama “Sannikov Land” based on the script by Mark Zakharov. In this film, Makhmud Esambaev played the Black Shaman, who with his mesmerizing dances scared away the escaped convict Ilyin, played by Vladislav Dvorzhetsky, the exiled settler Krestovsky, played by Oleg Dahl, and the adventurer Gubin, played by Yuri Nazarov.
In the film "Sannikov's Land".
The dance maestro’s professional victory in cinema was the role of the court Musician “The Incomparable” Iga-Nash-Tush directed by Gennady Vasiliev in the musical fairy tale film about the magical City of Merry Workers “While the Clock Strikes.” The restless “Fire” in Yuri Pobedonostsev’s fairy tale “Honest Magic” was also very convincing in Esambaev’s performance. Directors adored Esambaev for his talent; they were captivated by the actor’s inner power. Elizaveta Kimyagarova invited the dancer to play the role of the treasurer in “The Adventures of Little Muk” based on the work of Gauff, and Esambaev was also excellent in this unusual role.
In 1976, the documentary film “Makhmud Esambaev is dancing” was shot.
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Director Georgy Bazarov cast the actor in the role of the strictly Teacher in the political drama “Report from the Abyss,” which told the story of a military coup in a small Asian country in the late 1970s. In 1995, Esambaev starred in the role of Great Turan in an international film project. The film “Call of the Ancestors” became a joint film project between Algeria and Uzbekistan.
M. Esambaev in the role of " Evil Genius" Film "Swan Lake".
His figure and posture could be envied. One of the capital’s newspapers once wrote that models from the best fashion houses in Paris would dream of having a height of over 180 centimeters, a waist of 47 centimeters, like Mahmud Esambaev. Already in his old age, Mahmud joked: “This is my physique now, but in my youth I had body subtraction.”
Esambaev was elected to the Supreme Council of the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR, and the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. He was president of the International Union of Pop Artists. With his active support, new drama theater and circus buildings were built in Grozny. Stella Esambaeva said: “Dad was a deputy for 35 years. And since his whole life was devoted to doing good to people, he always tried to do it, even when he was not a deputy. But having become a deputy, I simply remember such moments when he had a meeting with voters, one of the journalists asked him the following question: “Mahmud, please tell me, what is your platform?” He answered: “The platform is at the station. My platform is to do good to people all the time. I will do as much as I can, even if you don’t elect me.” Remembering that for all the time, since he was 35 years old - this is a huge time, as long as he was a deputy, he did so much, he canceled concerts, if he needed to fly somewhere, do something for someone. That is, he did not think about the fact that he was standing idle and his musicians were sitting, he was thinking about the person. I don’t even remember the moment when he could refuse someone. That is, he tried to fulfill all requests. In fact, I saw that he was a servant of the people, because they said: a deputy is a servant of the people. This was actually true, he was a servant. There has never been a refusal to turn anyone down. When he was on the “Motherhood and Childhood” commission, he generally loved children madly, and he wanted so much to help children, to help single mothers. I also remember that once a mother from Krasnoyarsk called, and he had a very serious tour that he could not leave, he dropped everything and flew there for two days, did everything for her. That is, he devoted himself completely to his deputy work, in addition to the fact that there were such loads on stage, he managed to do it all. He had this motto: do good and never think about how much you have done. Never expect gratitude, but do good. And he was happy when he did it. And his motto was “beauty will save the world,” and he said “kindness will save the world.” And he said: why should a person smile, kind eyes? He wanted to warm everyone with his warmth. And we have always seen that having done something to someone, he is simply happy. One might say, he did good all the time, constantly, he did not spare himself. Despite his busy schedule, rehearsals, concerts, and then very long trips, he tried to do good in every corner. And so he taught us, me and the children, that do good, and the more, the better. That is, it was the motto of his life - to do more good.”
With his wife Nina and daughter Stella.
He experienced the events of 1995 very painfully. There was a war in Chechnya, while Esambaev spent his entire life preaching the idea of unity between people of different faiths, different views And different nationalities. His art reconciled, united and elevated. He was a man of Peace.
Moscow. Kremlin Palace of Congresses. From left to right: chief Civil Defense USSR, Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR, Army General A.T. Altunin, M. Esambaev, USSR pilot-cosmonaut A.A. Leonov.
People's Artists of the USSR Makhmud Esambaev and Arkady Raikin.
Makhmud Esambaev and writer Sergei Mikhalkov.
Eyewitnesses spoke about an incident that occurred after a performance at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow at a buffet table, where there were many high-ranking officials. Makhmud Esambaev was not like himself - usually so cheerful and friendly. He was smart and neat, wearing his famous hat and tie. But there was such pain hidden in the eyes. At the table, Esambaev, perhaps the most famous Chechen at that time, was given the floor. "Tell!" - they pushed him. And he said rather rude, unusual, but clear words: “Let everyone who started the war die!” He exhaled and continued: “And everyone who doesn’t drink to it.” And everyone drank.
The war in his native Chechnya is a pain with which he could not live for long. And the point is not at all that during Chechen war his family lost a fortune, which, as he joked, could be used to build an entire street in Moscow. Esambaev's house was destroyed, his collection of paintings and expensive unique costumes were lost. But when they began to sympathize with him about this, he replied: “It’s all nonsense, people are dying there - that’s the worst thing.”
After these events, the Moscow mayor's office offered the dancer a choice of apartments in Moscow, and he settled on Novy Arbat. The nephew of the “king of dances” Abdulla Esambaev said: “When the war began in Chechnya, Uncle Mahmud told our father that we had to leave. He himself settled in Moscow, and we in Odintsovo district. Our house in Chechnya was soon mercilessly burned down. Mahmud's unique costumes disappeared, books disappeared, Mahmud's entire archive disappeared. It was a good house, kind and beautiful. It was called the “Chechen Hermitage”. There were originals by great artists. People simply came, as if to a museum: to sit in a room and look. Indira Gandhi, for example, gave him a suit embroidered with diamonds and other precious stones. The loss of his home was a great tragedy for my uncle. He subsequently began each of his concerts with the Chechen dance “Legend”, which tells about tragic fate a mountaineer whose family had to leave their homeland. He was very worried that he had to leave Chechnya. It was incredibly painful for him that blood was being shed on Chechen soil, and he hoped that he would live to see the day when those who started this war would be judged.”
His daughter Stella spoke about the end of Mahmud’s creative career: “Despite the fact that he was a fan of art, when he left the stage, even my mother and I didn’t know about it that he would leave the stage. There is a “farewell concert of Makhmud Esambaev”, no, that didn’t happen. Was just last concert, we thought that after some time the tour would start again. And he stopped his tours. But despite this fact that he left the stage, I don’t remember a single free minute he had, that is, his life was also seething, he was also constantly busy with something, constantly helping people. I went to evenings, meetings, talked to a lot of people. His life continued the same way. And my mother and I thought that when he quits the stage. This would be terribly difficult for him mentally, but it didn’t happen, or he prepared himself internally, but we never found out about it. That is, it did not affect the family, like many artists, when they leave their craft, they suffer, it affects the family, no, we didn’t even feel the transition from the stage to his Everyday life, it was very useless. He said that the main thing is to leave the stage on time to leave a good impression. And you don’t need to walk on stage. This was his main thing - you must leave the stage still strong, leave a good impression. He had no successors. He really wanted someone to dance the dances of the peoples of the world, and to see his follower. But I didn’t find it. Unfortunately, he had no followers. Lots of subtleties. Folk dance, in general, the art of dance is very complex, and even more so folk dance, because it is the soul of the people. A person can technically dance, but to dance with such soul and dedication is very difficult. That’s why he didn’t seem to see a student, a follower, unfortunately. I just remember when he had an idea to stage a dance, he could nurture it for a very long time. In order to know the soul of the people, dance in such a way that the people say: yes - this is our Bashkir dance or - this is our Indian dance. People remember Mahmud, many call me and talk about him with tears. I know that he loved his people very much. Recently I was informed that one of the streets there was named after him. His memory is alive."
Makhmud Esambaev passed away on January 7, 2000. But he left a huge legacy. “A representative of a proud people,” wrote Igor Moiseev on the pages of the Izvestia newspaper in connection with the death of Makhmud Esambaev, “dedicated himself to serving the people. It is no coincidence that his repertoire consisted of dances of different nations. Friendship, kindness, beauty were the goal of his work, the basis of his views. With Esambaev's departure, we became poorer. But let’s say thank you to him for the enduring legacy that he left in art and human relations... The departure of a person like Makhmud Esmabaev is irreplaceable for art, for culture.”
Makhmud Esambaev was buried at the Danilovskoye Muslim Cemetery in Moscow. In 2001, a monument to Mahmud Esambaev by sculptors A. and N. Kovalchukov was inaugurated at the Danilovsky cemetery. It represents a granite pedestal on which a crescent moon and an Arabic prayer were engraved, and the figure of the artist himself with his hand raised up in a well-known, characteristic gesture for him.
In Grozny, a monument to Esambaev was erected in 2008; in 2009, an avenue (formerly Revolution Avenue) was named after him. There is a World charitable foundation named after Makhmud Esambaev.
A television program from the series “Life of Remarkable People” was filmed about Makhmud Esambaev.
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Text prepared by Andrey Goncharov
Used materials:
Materials from the site www.esambaev.ru
Materials from the site www.zamok.druzya.org
Materials from the site www.rusactors.ru
Materials from the site www.sv-scena.ru
Text of the article “Makhmud Esambaev: “Let everyone who started the war die,” author A. Vlazneva
Text of the article “Makhmud Esambaev: “As an awl gets out of a bag, so I jumped out of my people. It turned out I had talent...", author E. Maetnaya
Text of the interview “The Great Dancer Makhmud Esambaev”, author O. Kuskov
Text of the interview “Abdulla Esambaev: “It was impossible not to love him”, author O. Semenova
Filmography:
1961 - “In the World of Dance”
1962 - I will dance - Makhmud Ishkhoev
1968 - Swan Lake - Rothbart
1972 - “Dandelion Wine”
1973 - Sannikov Land - Shaman
1975 - To the ends of the world
1976 - While the clock strikes - court violinist Igi Nagi Tugi
1976 - Honest Magic - Fire
1983 - The Adventures of Little Muk - Treasurer
1984 - “Report from the Abyss”
1988 - Road to Hell
1994 - Overture
1995 - “Call of the Wild”