She could have studied at the Bolshoi Theatre, but the war interfered with her plans. Photo: Rudolf DICK/TASS
In the Soviet Union, the standard designation for Makhmud Esambaev was “Wizard of Dance”. This was the name of one of the books dedicated to him, but millions of citizens also thought so when they saw the movements that Mahmud Alisultanovich made. His plasticity was fascinating. It was hard to believe that the performer was not a graduate of some major choreographic school, but a person with a six-year secondary education; in fact, he was an autodidact who at the age of 16 was taken to the Republican Theatre in Grozny without diplomas, simply after having shown two dances that he knew: Lezginka and Gypsy…
He could have studied at the Bolshoi Theatre and was even accepted there, but the war interfered with his plans. The young dancer went to perform at the front and was seriously wounded there, so his leg was almost amputated. As soon as he recovered, the forced resettlement of Chechens and Ingush to Central Asia began; Makhmud ended up first in Karaganda, and then in the city of Frunze (Bishkek), where he finally began to dance professionally, became a soloist in the local theatre and received the approval of Galina Ulanova herself. Then there were triumphant performances in Moscow with the number “La Corrida” (Esambaev played a bullfighter); without hesitation he was appointed an artist of the Moscow Philharmonic. Then there were many more crazy dances (in a good way): the famous Indian (Esambaev played the god Shiva), Peruvian (to the music of Ennio Morricone, Esambaev impersonated a peacock), Uzbek, Tajik, Brazilian, “black”. “…And at the same time he was great as the evil wizard Rothbart in the classic Swan Lake.
Participation in one of the main Soviet blockbusters “Sannikov’s Land” (Esambaev played there an evil priest and fit the role of a film artist). He was recognized and looked at with fascination on the streets. Incessantly reincarnated on the stage, in life he did not betray the classic Caucasian hat, which he did not take off in the highest positions, but was ready to take it off in front of his friends… Even for his passport, in violation of all rules, he was allowed to wear a hat.
It seemed that he would fit one of the main stereotypes about Caucasians wearing hats: he would become a long-liver. Alas, he did not. He died in early 2000, at the age of 75, being remembered as one of the most amazing dancers of the Soviet era.
From an interview with KP on the artist’s 70th birthday.
– Is it true that you started dancing at the age of three?
– I was born dancing.
– And nobody helped you?
– How helpful they were! The adults clucked their tongues and praised: “Oh, what a good boy, how he dances!” I liked it. I wanted to be good. And I did my best!
– Your family probably loved to dance?
– Who doesn’t love it? And our family loved it. But they didn’t dance.
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