Vladimir MALACHOFF: "I dance where I please"

Q: How do you manage to balance the interests of all the companies with which you work?

A: My inner priorities are as follows: American Ballet Theater, Stuttgart, and Vienna.

Q: Does this mean that you feel better in New York?

A: The first time I set foot in that city I told myself I wanted to live and work there. I felt at home. America is a little wild, but that's what makes it so attractive. In that country one can get to the top and then tumble to the bottom very quickly. One can change colors, places, and change himself.

Q: You complained once that there are no teachers in the West capable of keeping a performer in good shape, and that Stuttgart was important for you because you could practice with Alex Ursuljak (President of the Austrian Dance Academy who brought his best students for the concert the following day). Also, your former teacher at Moscow's school of choreography, Peter Pestow, works in Stuttgart. Right?

A: His lessons are a bit hard for a theatrical performer. His is what you call real class. A dancer working for a company must not think about the fifth position. It must come automatically, like every other gesture and pas. The dancer must only think about dramatization, how to make every movement even more expressive, to best convey the character.

Q: Are ballet critics influential in the United States?

A: Yes, some of them are. Very much so. For example, Anna Kisselhoff of The New York Times. At one time she was head over ears in love with Baryshnikov, but then she simply skinned him alive. He no longer existed for her. Of course, this doesn't mean that Mikhail lost his image. It's just that sometimes it's best to shut one's eyes and ears to critics. What really matters is the way one is received by the audience.

Q: Are Western ballet devotees like the ones we have here?

A: They are much crazier. You don't have to call the management to leave tickets for them. They can take care of themselves, because what they want above all is to watch and enjoy the sight.

Photo by Herwig Premmer, Reuters:
An insane Mozart in the inspired dance of Volodymyr Malachoff

FROM THE DAY'S FILES
Vladimir Malachoff. Born 1968 in Kryvyi Rih. Graduate of Moscow School of Choreography (1986). Premier danseur with Nataliya Kasatkina's and Vladimir Vasilyev's Classic Ballet Theater. Winner of five international contests. Since 1992 soloist with Stuttgart and Vienna Operas; with Metropolitan Opera since 1994.