Friday, November 9, 2007

Walter Pierce Remembers Igor Moiseyev

Moiseyev96
Moiseyev in 1996

Remembering Igor Moiseyev

The recent death of the Russian choreographer-dance company director Igor Moiseyev brings to mind the extraordinary impact his company of folk dancers had on the American public when they first appeared in this country in 1958.



























Who could not be impressed by ‘The Partisans’ gliding across the stage on horseback; or not be dazzled by the chorus line of female dancers in their colorful Ukrainian village costumes in ‘Gopak,’ and the surprising leap over the chorus line by a catapulted male dancer in the company’s rousing finale. No one had ever seen folk dancing with such flair, such panache, and such athletic ability.

When the Moiseyev Dance Company opened its American tour at the old Metropolitan Opera House on April 14, 1958, it was a stunning success, selling out the 4000-seat Opera House at every performance; dance critics were ecstatic in praise.

The dance company met with similar response as it toured the U.S. and Canada. When it visited Boston, I was in my second season at the Celebrity Series and given the task of managing an engagement of a company of 100 dancers performing on a huge makeshift stage erected at one end of an ice hockey arena with a capacity of close to 13,000. The demand for tickets for the Boston Garden engagement was unprecedented as was the crowd enthusiasm. All three performances sold out in record time -- hundreds of would-be ticket buyers were turned away at the box-office.

The Moiseyev dancers were so popular with the American public that Ed Sullivan, who then hosted “The Toast of the Town” on television, devoted his whole hour-length program to the company. The dance troupe closed its American tour with another New York engagement, this time in Madison Square Garden.

This ‘Soviet Cultural Invasion’ changed the landscape of music and dance presentations in this country in the mid 1950’s; a similar invasion of American artists took place in the Soviet Union at that time as well.

During the Stalinist era, Soviet authorities routinely denied artists any request to leave the Soviet Union to perform in the West. Conversely, there was a great deal of resistance in this country to allowing Soviet artists the opportunity to perform here. One has only to recall the McCarthy era when the House Un-American Activities Committee was convinced that there was a Communist hidden behind every bush, and every writer or performer with a liberal bent was or had been a member of the Communist Party.

With the death of Stalin and the passing of McCarthyism, thaw was in the air, a cultural exchange agreement was promulgated between the two powers and signed in 1958.  The first music personalities to visit the U.S. were pianist Emil Gilels and violinist David Oistrakh, who attracted capacity audiences wherever they played, including their Symphony Hall recitals in the Celebrity Series. An interesting note: another Soviet artist touring at that time did not have as successful a tour as his compatriots – it was the cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, but his days of success were soon to follow.

In turn, the U.S. sent a company of Porgy and Bess to tour the Soviet Union, and violinist Isaac Stern and tenor Jan Peerce gave recitals in a score of Soviet cities. Stern was to remark about the Cultural Exchange: “We send them our Jewish violinists from Odessa, and they send us their Jewish violinists from Odessa.”

Impresario S. Hurok had been negotiating with the Soviet cultural agency that represented Soviet attractions to present the Bolshoi Ballet in this country as part of the Cultural Exchange Agreement; he was informed that the first major dance company allowed out of the Soviet Union would be The State Folk Dance Ensemble of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Hurok was initially disappointed, but when he saw a company performance, he knew it would be a success; he never envisioned the colossal impact the folk dancers would make on the American public.

To make the company’s name more palatable in this country, it became the Moiseyev Dance Company, named after its founder-director, Igor Moiseyev. Moiseyev had been a dancer and choreographer with the Bolshoi Ballet. In 1936, Moiseyev was appointed director of the Moscow Theatre of Folk Art, from which emerged the Soviet Union’s first folk dance ensemble. The company was initially comprised of amateurs, but Moiseyev soon employed professional dancers. He embarked on a trek through the Soviet Union seeking folk dance inspiration.  He would then recreate and ‘theatricalize’ the dances making them more interesting to audiences.

Moiseyev attributed his dancers’ virtuosity and versatility to their training in classical ballet, which he described as “the grammar of movement.”

The Moiseyev Dance Company was but the first of many folk dance companies and ballet companies (like the Bolshoi Ballet and the Kirov Ballet) that toured the U.S. as part of the Cultural Exchange Agreement. The Celebrity Series is pleased to have been the primary presenting organization in Boston of the Moiseyev Dance Company and the many other visiting artists from various parts of what had been the Soviet Union.

I have fond memories of Moiseyev Dance Company engagements; I will always remember Mr. Moiseyev, often seated backstage at performances playing chess with one of his company assistants -- wearing his ‘signature’ beret.

I look forward to being in the audience when Igor Moiseyev’s celebrated company returns to Boston for a performance in Symphony Hall on Sunday, January 20 at 3 p.m., an event in this season’s Celebrity Series.



-Walter Pierce

Walter Pierce was Executive Director of the Celebrity Series of Boston for 40 years. He retired from the post in 1996.



1 comment:

  1. Dear Walter,
    I very much enjoyed your reminiscence of the great artist Igor Moses, AKA Moiseyev. Having traveled with him on many tours, I personally enjoyed the experiences. Unfortunately, the company will be here in Florida in March and I will be in Hungary on a tour that I have arranged for the Jose Limon Dance Company. Should you see Igor's daughter, Olga, please send my kindest regards to her as I clearly remember being your guest at a performance in Boston after I had already left Hurok when I preceded to their hotel suite with Olga and spent the rest of the evening with them until 2 AM discussing art and politics. All the while dining on watermelon and cantaloupe. The Soviet Union had crumbled while Igor and company were en route to the USA in an airplane. Igor had never dreamed of the possibility that his company might be completely dissolved. Fortunately, Igor lasted till the ripe old age of 101 and the company survives.
    Having not heard from you or ever again from Celebrity Series, I am somewhat disturbed about the lack of continuity. However, if I may have your telephone number, I would love to chat with you about old times.
    By the way, the old Met had 3,045 seats and not 4,000 as you wrote.
    As always, with kind regards and all best wishes,
    Maxim
    GERSHUNOFF ARTISTS, LLC
    Dear Maxim,
    I will pass your comments on to Walter. Thank you for sharing them with our readers.
    -Jack

    ReplyDelete