Beyond Sin by Eifman ballet of St. Petersburg performed in Beijing

By APD writer Tao Xing

The ballet “Beyond Sin” by Saint Petersburg Eifman Ballet Troupe was staged in Beijing on Friday evening.

The ballet, adapted from Russian’s literary masterpiece the Brothers Karamazov, is the choreography of Boris Eifman, one of the most popular Russian choreographers.

The passionate philosophical novel set in 19-century Russia is both a brilliantly told crime story and a philosophical debate.

Due to lack of morals, the Kazamazov family comes to a dreadful end. The father Fyodor Pavlovich Kazamazov and his eldest son Dmitri fight over the same woman Grushenka. Then Fyodor Pavlovich is murdered; Dmitri is in jail; the true murder Ivan, Fyodor’s middle son, is scared out of his wits; Alyosha, Fyodor’s youngest son, assumes responsibility for many innocent victims.

The ballet Beyond Sin is no more than a dance version of the novel, but also an attempt to study the origins of the moral catastrophe of the Karamazov family, understand the essence of the human nature and interpret the mystery of the human heart and soul where “God and Devil are fighting”.

The ballet, carrying forward the tradition of the psychological ballet art, is aimed at exploring the way to mankind’s happiness.

“Throughout my creative life I’ve been expanding the boundaries of the ballet theatre and, first and foremost, searching for a body language capable of expressing the life the human spirit. Dance isn’t a physical process for me, but a spiritual one,” said Boris Eifman.

The ballet will be performed to the audience in Beijing from Friday to Sunday, as part of art performance during the ongoing China International Ballet Season that is organized by the National Ballet of China.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)