Tschaikowsky

Boris Eifman is considered one of the most high profile and interesting contemporary Russian choreographers. He is famous for his biographical and lengthy narrative ballets, which he usually presents with his own company, the Eifman Ballet St. Petersburg, on extended guest performance trips. He has long since taken the American theatre public by storm, and Boris Eifman rarely lets one of his choreographies out of his grasp.
His ballets are distinguished by their psychological persona studies, which are embedded in dramatic and emotionally charged scenes. In „Tschaikowsky“, the multi-faceted personality of the great composer provides the focus. Peter I. Tchaikovsky decided to give up his secure, bourgeois position in order to dedicate himself entirely to the creation of the music by which he was so passionately driven. However, a feeling of deeply felt internal unrest and homelessness haunted him for the rest of his life. His emotional strife finds expression in his compositions; reason enough for Boris Eifman to trace the emotional world of the great Russian composer in choreography.
Boris Eifman is dedicated to a passionate „ballet theatre“, in which the dramatic will to expression forms the basis for the dancing. Eifman thereby remains committed to classical dance, but with his choreographies he pursues the goal of „not only presenting people with a feast for the eyes, but much more than this, addressing their impressions and feelings in order to initiate a shared and living ritual.“

45 minutes before each performance (except premieres), there is an introduction in the opera house (in German).
It is prepared and moderated by students of the institute of dance studies (Institut für Tanzwissenschaft) of Freie Universität Berlin.