"I've seen London a hundred times, but I've rarely danced in St. Petersburg."

Denis Rodkin is sure that no theater in the world has such opportunities and such material as in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The premier of the Bolshoi Theater knows that lightness in dancing is achieved only through hard work. Soon, the artist will take to the main stage of the country to perform the role of the prince in the play "The Nutcracker". And on December 13, Denis Rodkin will present a gala show to fans at the Kremlin Palace. New Year's magic of ballet stars". The actor told Izvestia in an interview about the upcoming performance, about his wife, the prima of the Bolshoi Theater, Eleanor Sevenard, and a gray cat as a gift.

"There should be a man and a woman on stage, not a boy and a woman"

— December evenings at the State Kremlin Palace are becoming traditional. This year's concert is held as part of the "We Need Diaghilev" festival. You are preparing a gift for the audience. Are New Year's performances a holiday for artists?

— The purpose of December evenings is always the same — to give the audience a sense of celebration before the New Year. And for ballet dancers, this is primarily hard physical work on stage, although at the same time we must create the illusion that it is easy for us to dance. But we have a kitchen that the viewer doesn't know about. To achieve this lightness, you need to work out a lot in the gym and go through the pain.

One day I came to my dad's cottage. He's not a ballet person. I wake up at 11 a.m. and he says to me, "Well, let's work now, otherwise you've been dancing all year." Dad was joking, of course. But, you know, I was happy that he got the impression that his son was not suffering on stage, but dancing. Despite the fact that I have such difficult roles as Prince Siegfried and Spartacus. So, everything is working out.

— Do ballet dancers go to the rocking chair?

— Yes, now there is a tendency to keep fit not only in classical dance lessons and rehearsals, but also in fitness clubs. This is the right aspiration, because a generation has appeared... a little youthful. Ballet dancers don't have enough male mass. For example, in the ballet Raymonda, the Knight must be a rather impressive uncle. And when a boy comes out, barely raising a sword, and also fighting with Saracen Abderakhman, it looks ridiculous. That's why the guys are rocking.

He does not part with his loved ones: Eifman brought the "Red Giselle" to Moscow

The Moscow premiere of the ballet gathered three full houses at the MAMT

I'm not a fan of iron myself, but there should be a man and a woman on stage, not a boy and a woman. I do push-ups in order to maintain the relief of the body. The audience should see the perfect ballet dancers.

— Your partner is your wife, the prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Theater, Eleanor Sevenard. Until your duet was formed, were you looking for a partner?

— I've never done this. Everything happened by itself. I've never had a shortage of partners. Apparently, I appeared at the right time in their lives, and so did they.

— Is it more convenient to dance with a loved one?

— It's a little different. I have no right to make mistakes at all. I always want everything to be done at the highest level, and this makes you even more worried. When you go on stage, all life relationships should be completely disconnected.

— Eleonora is a relative of Matilda Kshesinskaya, a legend of Russian ballet at the beginning of the 20th century. Since then, ballet has been transformed. Is the school founded by the founders valued more than modern choreography?

— Of course, classical ballet is more appreciated. There are no such opportunities and materials in any theater in the world as in Moscow and St. Petersburg. What we can rightfully be proud of is classical ballet. And we can learn modern choreography from dancers abroad.

— It is clear that "Swan Lake" will always sell, but it is necessary to find an amateur for modern performances. Is it possible to develop ballet art if the classics are still more interesting?

— Actually, even rhythmic gymnastics is based on classical dance. There is a wonderful ballet "The Master and Margarita" at the Bolshoi Theatre. This is an absolutely modern direction, and I have never seen a single empty seat at this performance. At one time, Yuri Nikolaevich Grigorovich staged performances, and this was also modern choreography for many, but now it is a classic.

Modern choreography is difficult at the first stage of learning. There are moves in it that you've never done, and they can even look funny. Therefore, in order for the dance to be spectacular, we also need a semantic load.

"If there used to be America and Europe, now there are trips to China"

— The Bolshoi Theatre used to travel abroad a lot. Trips are limited now. Where are you planning to tour?

— If there were America and Europe before, now there are trips to China, and recently the Bolshoi had a tour to Turkey. They have reoriented geographically. In general, I don't feel a shortage of tours. There are a lot of people visiting the Bolshoi Theatre in St. Petersburg these days. And that wasn't the case before. You have to look for advantages in everything. I've seen London a hundred times, but I've rarely danced in St. Petersburg.

— With the arrival of Valery Gergiev at the Bolshoi Theater, he not only began to travel to St. Petersburg more often, but many new names appeared in the repertoire. There are also performances in the morning, afternoon and evening. Have you started working more?

— It's good that we started working more. The profession of ballet dancer for men ends at the age of 40, girls dance a little longer. Of course, there is a desire to prolong his life on the stage. There are times when you want to give yourself a break, but it's a deceptive feeling. For example, when you are preparing a new role, while dancing the current repertoire, it becomes difficult.

— Do you often feel that you are dancing at the limit of your abilities?

"It's always been that way. We are not robots, we get tired. But a second wind is opening. This happens to both doctors and lawyers — different specialists experience burnout. This must be handled competently.

— Does the status of the prime minister oblige you to something?

— Of course, when I became prime minister in July 2015, I understood that now I have no right to make mistakes. I have to justify my status. This is not a reason to relax. For some reason, it always seemed to me that if a person becomes prime minister, then everything has worked out in his life, everything has been done. Not really. The responsibility is greater, and with age, the excitement also increases. Of course, your points are going up.

Don't snap: tickets for the main New Year's ballet are being swept away in Moscow again

The audience's race for the most coveted fairy tale has already begun

"Envy happens everywhere, not only in ballet"

— And there is also a growing generation that is treading on its heels.

— I've never thought about it, because it's a natural process. On the contrary, I am happy when I see an artist who dances well on stage. It gives me pleasure. Recently, in the play "The Master and Margarita" we had three debuts at once.

— There are rumors that big artists have influential patrons. Have you been offered support?

— This has never happened. I've always had to achieve results through hard work.

— Speaking of myths, one of the most popular is that in ballet, envious people throw glasses at competitors' pointe shoes and cut the ribbons. Have you ever heard of such a thing?

— No one does this. To cut the ribbons or add glass and you didn't notice it and put on pointe shoes — well, no. It's hard not to see it.

— Beautiful legends of treachery in the ballet world.

— Envy happens everywhere, not only in ballet. I think it's also present in drama theaters. Probably at your place of work, too. Although in an artistic environment, I think it's still double the size. But you don't have to pay attention to it. It's not interesting.

"Nikolai Tsiskaridze is a maximalist, and not only in ballet"

— Are ballet dancers curious? Do you go to performances in other theaters?

- of course. I recently attended the premiere of "The Cabal of Saints" at the Moscow Art Theater.

— Where does your teacher, Nikolai Tsiskaridze, play King Louis?

— Yes, yes. I got to see his debut on the dramatic stage. Nikolai Maximovich Tsiskaridze is a maximalist, and not only in ballet. It's his nature to always do everything with high quality. Despite the fact that he is not a dramatic actor, he did the role in his own way. It was very interesting to watch. Everything that Nikolai Tsiskaridze does must be at the highest level.

— Nikolai Tsiskaridze was the country's top Nutcracker for 19 years. Now you are in this capacity. Have you ever danced on December 31?

— Once, in 2015. It's very exciting, because I didn't want to sit down at the New Year's table with the feeling that something didn't work out on stage. It was a memorable day for me. Back then, I also received my cat Fedya as a gift. The usual gray. I just really wanted a cat. And I was happy to receive such a gift in the New Year. He will be 10 years old this year.

— How do you feel about the fact that buying tickets for The Nutcracker is becoming a quest for theater-goers?

— It's always been like this, because everyone wants a New Year's miracle, they want to get into a fairy tale, enjoy this beauty. That's why there's a lot of interest.

"Our homeless troupe is a worldwide success, but is deprived of its stage"

Choreographer Boris Eifman — about tours at the Bolshoi, the problems of his theater, the search for a successor and the crisis in ballet

— When important guests are in the audience, does it affect the performance?

— We dance the same way for both the high-ranking guests and the rest of the audience. And we have one goal — to do our job efficiently and to please the audience.