The Mariinsky Theater removed the name of choreographer Ilya Zhivoi from posters and performance descriptions on the website. Live announced this on his Instagram. We are talking about the ballets The Four Seasons, Pulcinella, Playing Cards, Under the Dome, A Flashback and the operas The Snow Maiden and The Night Before Christmas.
“Recently, the Mariinsky Theater removed my name from the list of authors of performances created by me and my team in the period from 2017 to 2021. We are talking about five ballet and two opera productions of the current repertoire of the theater, where I worked as a choreographer. These performances are still on the stage of the theater, without mentioning my name, ”wrote Ilya Zhivoy. The choreographer noted that after his departure from Russia, he worked in Spain, Switzerland, Denmark, Georgia and the USA and did not encounter problems associated with the fact that he has a Russian passport.
Dancer believes that the "culture of cancellation" that the propaganda media in Russia talk about is created by the Russian authorities, who "themselves cultivate and encourage the discrediting of their fellow citizens who do not share the point of view of the authorities."
The page with the biography of Zhivoy also disappeared from the theater's website, the paper drew attention.
In March, the choreographer spoke out against the war in Ukraine, noting that what was happening shocked him. “These events have no rational or unreasonable justification and it pains me greatly to see so many of my loved ones, friends and family members affected in one way or another by these horrific events,” he wrote. Zhivoiy also said that his wife is half Ukrainian, and part of her family lives in Ukraine. Later, the choreographer left Russia.
