(5 Jul 2019) LEAD IN
Tough words and tough demands are what the Bolshoi Ballet dancers claim result in their stunning stage performances.
The man behind their success is Makhar Vaziev - the company's director - who believes in being strict, and monitors all his dancers throughout rehearsals via CCTV and a special app on his smartphone.
STORY-LINE :
Makhar Vaziev's day begins before he sets foot inside Moscow's famed Bolshoi Theater.
Vaziev, Ballet Director at the Bolshoi, only pauses to talk to a coach and chide a dancer running late for class.
A busy day lies ahead with the Bolshoi in production of Symphony in C.
It's a ballet by Russian George Balanchine who is hailed as the father of contemporary American ballet.
The show is in its final rehearsals ahead of the premiere and there's much to be done.
Vaziev has held the Bolshoi's top creative job since March 2016.
When he arrived he took over the reins of a company reeling from a reputation for scandal and infighting, which tarnished the legacy of his predecessor Sergei Filin.
Three years on Vaziev has restored a sense of calm and order, he is known and respected by everyone who works here.
This director runs runs a tight ship at the Bolshoi, keeping tabs on the ballet company and its repertoire.
From his elegantly furnished office, Vaziev can monitor every stage and studio in the Bolshoi with the flick of a remote.
The big television in the corner is linked to cameras watching over every space, a kind of ballet master's CCTV.
"For example here I have all the rooms, the sixth, in the seventh room the lesson is already ending," says Vaziev.
He can even watch when he's out of the office, checking feeds from rehearsals and classes with a special app installed on his smartphone.
"Here is the same thing on the stage and sometimes I watch from here, or if I am walking along the corridors, I turn it on and watch," he explains.
It is a management style Vaziev believes is vital to maintaining the Bolshoi's stringent standards and ensuring the best results.
"Our work is such that in order to achieve something you need watch the whole process closely from start to finish," says Vaziev. "From here I phone and say do it again, repeat it or put your hands this way, your head that way and it's not because I want to control things."
"I am interested in the result, everything I do, why I give my time, my experience, my strength, it's for the result on the stage," he says.
Outside Vaziev's office, the halls of the Bolshoi buzz with activity, it's known as the corridor of power.
But the director doesn't sit long at his desk.
Most of the day is spent watching his company at work.
In a studio he watches corps de ballet dancers being put through their paces.
Then he moves on to the final rehearsal of the Balanchine production.
Backstage, the dancers are warming up, chalking their ballet shoes, some sit checking Instagram, the wings are buzzing with tension and expectation.
On stage Vaziev is animated, he is an exacting ballet master who scrutinizes technique closely and spares no-one's feelings if he sees a mistake.
The young dancers seem to take the criticism in their stride, they are striving towards perfection.
Twenty eight year old dancer Klim Efimov says: "If you love what you do and get pleasure from it and want to get better, then I think you just have to work at it. It's not a barrier it's a step towards greater excellence."
Efimov is the son of Bolshoi dancers and as a child remembers watching his mother on stage from the wings.
Many of the dancers are looking forward to tours this year.
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