Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg

In his masterpiece Anna Karenina, Eifman transforms this story of passion and power into one of the most stirring ballets brought to the stage, investigating the intoxicating role of sensuality and passion in human behavior. Having created more than 40 ballets, Boris Eifman is one of the few Russian choreographers to have sustained such a prolific creative life in recent decades. Hailed by critics worldwide as one of the most significant contributors to today's culture of ballet arts, Eifman continues to constantly reinvent the art form. The choreographer does not restrict himself to the conventions of pure classical ballet. Using the language of movement and expressive dance steps, dynamic and riveting mass action scenes, unexpected moments of stillness where movement becomes a metaphor, and innovative partnering, Eifman creates his own type of theater – a theater ruled by emotion.

About the Company

Founded by Boris Eifman in 1977 as the St. Petersburg Ballet Theater, Eifman Ballet has revolutionized the concept of classical dance in Russia . Eifman created a new type of dance using the solid foundation of impeccable classical ballet training as a launching pad for innovative, modern choreography. The company’s unique style fuses avant-garde dance with the methods of the 20th century dramatic theater and film, using all aspects of a theatrical production to create a rich and a multi-dimensional theater experience. Sharply contrasted against the strict conventions of classical ballet set by famous Russian ballet troupes, Eifman Ballet electrifies audiences with its vibrant, often shocking and always original style. His is the only Russian troupe with works by a single choreographer (himself) and the only one not supported by government funds.

Performances at Northrop

2002, 2004, 2007

Critic's Comments

“…the tidal surge of the events and ensemble of choreography is itself an inducement to lose yourself in this extraordinarily accessible and passionate dance drama…”

- Los Angeles Times

“Eifman’s Anna Karenina belongs to the genre of international productions that blurs the borders between theater, dance, and spectacle.”

- The Patriot Ledger

“The result is…breathtaking dancing, awash in spectacular duets and trios in which every acrobatic lift and contortion speaks the language of passion and betrayal, dissolution and rejection, appetite, and disgust”.

- Chicago Sun Times

Evening's Program

Anna Karenina

Choreography: Boris Eifman

Music: Piotr Ilyitch Tchaikovsky

Sets: Zinovy Margolin

Costumes: Slava Okunev

Lighting: Gleb Filshtinsky

Anna Karenina, a bold post-feminist reinterpretation of Leo Tolstoy’s classic novel, this two-act ballet combines excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s music with original electronic music to convey an overlapping of past and present. Anna Karenina centers on a dramatic adulteress who falls in love with a dashing cavalryman and leaves her husband, only to commit suicide rather than subject herself to her lover’s rejection. Eifman’s choreographic rendition of the celebrated 1877 literary work focuses on the love triangle between Anna, Vronsky and Karenin. Eifman’s Karenin is a man who cannot understand why misfortune befalls him. He sincerely loves his wife and her infidelity is a catastrophe for him. Vronsky is a heroic lover who desires forbidden fruit but tires of it quickly. For Eifman, the key to Tolstoy’s novel is Anna’s emotional and sensual dependence on Vronsky.

The running time for Anna Karenina: Act one - 45 minutes, Intermission - 20 minutes; Act two - 45 minutes.