Nikolay Maksimovich Tsiskaridze (born 1973) - Russian ballet dancer and teacher, premier of the Bolshoi Theater (1992-2013), People's Artist of Russia, People's Artist of North Ossetia, 2-time laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation, 3-time laureate of the Golden Mask theater award.
Member of the Presidential Council for Culture and Arts. Since 2014, the rector of the Academy of Russian Ballet. Vaganova.
There are many interesting facts in the biography of Tsiskaridze, which we will talk about in this article.
So, before you is a short biography of Nikolai Tsiskaridze.
Biography of Tsiskaridze
Nikolai Tsiskaridze was born on December 31, 1973 in Tbilisi. He grew up and was brought up in a simple, educated family. With his mother, Lamara Nikolaevna, he was the late and only child. The woman gave birth to him at the age of 42.
According to Tsiskaridze himself, he owes his birth to the critical age of his mother. It is worth noting that the ballet star is an illegitimate child.
Childhood and youth
According to some sources, the violinist Maxim Tsiskaridze was Nikolai's father. However, the artist himself refutes this information, calling one of his mother's friends, who is no longer alive, as his biological father.
Nikolai was raised by his stepfather, who was an Armenian by nationality. In addition, the formation of the boy's personality was seriously influenced by his nanny, who introduced the child to the works of William Shakespeare and Leo Tolstoy.
Mom often took her little son to the theater, which she herself loved very much. At that time, Tsiskaridze's biography saw the ballet "Giselle" for the first time and was amazed at what was happening on the stage.
Soon, Nikolai began to show artistic abilities, as a result of which he began to stage children's performances in front of relatives, as well as sing for them and recite poetry.
Having received a certificate, Tsiskaridze continued his studies at the local choreographic school. It studied classical dances under the guidance of Peter Pestov. Later, Nikolai admits that it was this teacher who helped him achieve great heights in ballet and fully develop his talent.
Even then, the young man was noticeably distinguished by his physical data, as a result of which key parties often trusted him. Then he entered the Moscow State Choreographic Institute, from which he graduated in 1996.
Theatre
After graduating from college in 1992, Nikolai was accepted into the troupe of the Bolshoi Theater. Initially, he participated in the corps de ballet, but soon became the main soloist. For the first time he was a soloist in the ballet "The Golden Age", brilliantly performing the part of the Entertainer.
An interesting fact is that at that time Tsiskaridze received a scholarship from the international charitable program "New Names".
After that Nikolai continued to play the role of "first violin" in the ballets "The Nutcracker", "Chipolino", "Chopiniana" and "La Sylphide". It was these works that brought him immense popularity and love of the audience.
Since 1997, Tsiskaridze has performed virtually all of the leading roles in ballets staged on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater. That year he received a number of prestigious awards, including Best Dancer of the Year, Golden Mask, and Honored Artist of Russia.
In 2001 Nikolay got the main role of Hermann in the ballet The Queen of Spades, staged by the French ballet master Roland Petit at the Bolshoi Theater.
Tsiskaridze managed to do his job so superbly that the enthusiastic Petit allowed him to independently choose the next game for himself. As a result, the dancer decided to transform into Quasimodo in Notre Dame Cathedral.
Soon, the largest theaters in the world began to invite the Russian artist to perform on their stage. He danced at the Teatro alla Scala and many other famous venues.
During the biography of 2006-2009. Nikolai Tsiskaridze took part in the famous project "Kings of the Dance" in the United States. By that time, the documentary “Nikolai Tsiskaridze. To be a star ... ".
In 2011, Tsiskaridze was elected to the Council for Culture and Art under the President of the Russian Federation, and a couple of years later he headed the Academy of Russian Ballet. In 2014, he graduated with honors from the magistracy of the Moscow Law Academy.
Having gained worldwide popularity, Nikolai became a real star in his homeland. He was invited to the jury of the TV show "Dancing with the Stars", where he and his colleagues evaluated the performances of Russian artists.
Scandals
In the fall of 2011, Tsiskaridze harshly criticized the 6-year-old restoration of the Bolshoi Theater, accusing its leadership of lack of competence. He was outraged that many of the trim parts made of valuable materials were being replaced by cheap plastic or papier-mâché.
In one of the interviews, the man admitted that inside the theater became like a modern 5-star hotel. This led to the fact that in 2012 a number of cultural figures wrote a letter to Vladimir Putin in which they asked for the resignation of the theater director Anatoly Iksanov and the appointment of Tsiskaridze to this post.
In early 2013, Nikolai Maksimovich found himself at the center of a scandal around the artistic director of the theater, Sergei Filin, who had acid thrown in his face.
As a result, Tsiskaridze was interrogated by the Investigative Committee, and relations with the leadership of the Bolshoi Theater escalated to the limit. This led to his dismissal, as the administration refused to renew the contract with the artist.
A few months later, the man found himself in the epicenter of yet another scandal, but this time at the A. Vaganova. Violating the rules of the academy, the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Vladimir Medinsky appointed Nikolai and. about. rector of this educational institution.
This led to a lot of personnel changes. As a result, the teaching staff of the university, together with the ballet troupe of the Mariinsky Theater, turned to the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation with a request to reconsider the appointment of Tsiskaridze.
Despite this, the very next year Nikolai Maksimovich was officially appointed to the post of rector of the Academy of Russian Ballet, becoming the first director who did not graduate from this educational institution.
Personal life
For many years, journalists have been trying to find out more details about Tsiskaridze's personal life. Answering their questions, he said that he was a bachelor and had no plans to start a family in the near future.
In the media and on TV, news about Nikolai's novels with Ilze Liepa and Natalya Gromushkina repeatedly appeared, but the dancer himself refused to comment on such rumors.
The artist's height is 183 cm. An interesting fact is that in a fine arts lesson, the guy met the standards set about a century ago by 99%, when body proportions were measured with palms and fingers.
Nikolay Tsiskaridze today
Today Nikolai can often be seen in various television projects, where he acts as a guest, dancer and jury member.
In 2014, the artist openly supported Vladimir Putin's actions regarding the annexation of Crimea to Russia. In addition, he supported him in subsequent elections, being among the president's confidants.
At the end of 2018, Tsiskaridze took part in a photo shoot for the GQ magazine. In the same year he received the badge "For Contribution to Russian Culture" from the Russian Ministry of Culture.
At the beginning of 2019, the Academy. Vaganova with her rector gave a tour of Japan. Curiously, tickets for the performances were sold out a month before the start of the concerts.
Tsiskaridze Photos