Eldar Aliev, choreographer of the ballet premiere "One Thousand and One Nights" and the ballet "Le Corsaire" at the Sofia Opera and Ballet
In 2017, the famous choreographer Eldar Aliev staged the ballet “Le Corsaire” at the Sofia Opera. Now, at the end of May, the admirers of ballet will be able to immerse themselves in the world of the ballet "One Thousand and One Nights" by the composer Fikret Amirov and the choreographer Eldar Aliev. The conductors are Ayyub Guliyev and Boris Spasov. The scenography is by Semyon Pastukh. The premiere is on 27 May at 19 h, and the next performances are on 28 May at 19 h, 29 May at 16 h, 31 May at 19 h and on 1 June at 19 h.
"One Thousand and One Nights" is a world-famous ballet in which take part the first forces of the ballet troupe of the Sofia Opera: Marta Petkova, Kristina Chochanova-Ivanova, Boryana Petrova, Maria Yorsanova, Katerina Chebikina, Nikola Hadjitanev, Alfred Iago, Georgi Banchev, Matthew Whittleand others.
Eldar Aliev was born in Baku, Azerbaijan, where he graduated from the Baku Choreographic Academy and later graduated from the Pedagogical Department of the Russian Ballet Academy (Vaganova Academy) in St. Petersburg, Russia. Between 1979 and 1992 he was the main dancer in the Kirov Ballet (Mariinsky), where he proved himself not only as a technically exceptional classical and contemporary dancer, but also as a talented interpreter of the roles he performed. His repertoire includes leading roles in "Don Quixote", "The Legend of Love", "Le Corsaire", "Swan Lake", "La Bayadère", "Spartacus" and many others.
Aliev's career spans over more than 40 countries and some of the most prestigious stages: the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC; the Metropolitan Opera in New York; Opéra National de Paris; Teatro dell'Opera in Rome; Teatro alla Scala in Milan; the Royal Opera House in London; the Berlin State Opera; Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City; Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires; the Sydney Opera House and others. His solo career also includes performances as a guest artist of the Australian Ballet.
As a dancer, Aliev worked with such distinguished choreographers as Yuri Grigorovich, Roland Petit, Maurice Béjart, Alicia Alonso, Oleg Vinogradov, Vladimir Vasiliev, and Mauricio Wainrot. His partners on the stage included outstanding ballerinas, such as Galina Mezentseva, Gabriela Komleva, Tatiana Terekhova, Sylvie Guillem, Amanda McKerrow, Leslie Browne, Altynai Asylmuratova, Maria Bylova, and Lyubov Kunakova.
In 1992, Aliev began his career in the USA, where he was invited to be a principal dancer at Ballet Internationale (Indianapolis Ballet Theater). As artistic director, he turned the only ballet company in Indiana into a world-class professional company that performed before delighted audiences in Los Angeles, New York, Montreal, Beijing, Taipei, and many other cities. From 1992 to 2005, under Aliev’s direction, Ballet Internationale presented more than 30 productions, including his own versions of “One Thousand and One Nights” (F. Amirov), “The Nutcracker” and “Sleeping Beauty” (P. Tchaikovsky), “The Firebird” (I. Stravinsky), “Le Corsaire” and “Giselle” (A. Adam), “Don Quixote” (L. Minkus) and others.
In 1996, Aliev was awarded Indianapolis Business Journal’s “Forty Under 40” prize, recognizing the 40 best leaders in the state. For his contribution to the development of arts in the United States, Aliev was given a special award by the Governor of Indiana, and the 21st of June was pronounced by the Mayor of Indianapolis to be Eldar Aliev Day.
Since 2006, Aliev has worked as guest consultant, coach, ballet master, and choreographer with leading companies and academies of Europe, Asia, and America, including Royal Swedish Ballet, Slovak National Ballet, National Ballet of China, National Ballet of Canada, Cincinnati Ballet, Universal Ballet (Korea), Hong Kong Ballet, Beijing Dance Academy, Teatro Massimo (Italy), and Spanish National Dance Company. Aliev has also acted as artistic director of the Hungarian National Ballet and the Boston Ballet School, and has given lectures at Harvard University and Vassar College. He was a jury member of international ballet competitions in Prague, Seoul, New York, and Beijing; and in 2014, was elected deputy chairman of the jury at the Varna International Ballet Competition.
The creative destiny of Eldar Aliev developed just as ballet and theater critic Clive Barnes predicted when he wrote in the “New York Post”: “His dance and choreography are a rare flexibility and ability to dive into the depths of the role, which makes Eldar a truly exceptional artist. He will contribute a lot to the development of dance in the countries where he works.”
The spectacle is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Fikret Amirov’s birthday.
