Boris Eifman, the artistic director of the Ballet Theatre, shares his impressions of Alina Kabaeva Grand Prix Champions Cup’s organization

At the international tournament in St. Petersburg, we spoke with a legend from the world of choreography — the artistic director of the Ballet Theatre, Boris Eifman. His dancers performed at the competition's gala concert, showing an excerpt from the Rodin, Her Eternal Idol ballet.

Boris Yakovlevich spoke about the connection between rhythmic gymnastics and dance and shared his impressions of Alina Kabaeva Grand Prix Champions Cup’s organization:

"You know, I've long been a huge fan of rhythmic gymnastics. I generally believe that rhythmic gymnastics is a unique, special form of art, because in rhythmic gymnastics, you can't even call these girls athletes. They're artists who work with apparatus and achieve; they expand and enhance the capabilities of the human body, human capabilities in general, and transform sport into high art. That's why I'm a huge fan, and I'm delighted with the organization of this Alina Kabaeva Grand Prix Champions Cup. How it's all organized, how it's all presented. And I wish our athletes, our wonderful athletes, great victories in world sport. We work very closely with Zhemchuzhina, and we get very talented children from Zhemchuzhina for our academy, for my academy. And it's very interesting because they continue their careers in ballet. It's a connection, they receive this kind of training, this special kind of preparation, and then they express it all in contemporary ballet. So, you know, for me personally, this continuity between rhythmic gymnastics and ballet is very important, so to speak."

He told about the meeting with Olympic champion Alina Kabaeva:

"Unfortunately, we didn't get to talk much. But, you know, I'm not so young, and I've watched every stage of Alina's athletic career. And as a longtime fan of rhythmic gymnastics, I'm very happy that she's now, so to speak, providing an opportunity for the sport to develop, on such a broad international scale. I think this is very important, and I wish her great achievements and success. And I think everything will be fine, because she has such, you know, a surge of energy, a surge of optimism. Well, look at her smile. And there is so much positive energy in that smile. Therefore, this positive attitude will definitely translate into record-breaking success for our sport."