Biography of Esambaev

The centenary of the Golden God: On July 15, the great dancer Mahmud Esambaev was born on July 15 to share the legend of the Soviet and Russian scene Mahmud Esambaev - a man about whom they say that such are born once in a hundred, and maybe a thousand years. Stunningly organic, capable of realizing absolutely any images, he was called the "god of dance" and "the best dancer of the 20th century." Esambaev was born on July 15 in the Chechen village of Old Atagi, located near the Argun River.

He recalled that he did not know the exact date of his birth: "It happened when they collected corn." Mahmoud is the youngest child in a large family: he had three brothers and sister. He loved to dance from early childhood. From the age of three he performed at weddings. He said - take it! He let me go, small, easier than he lended his ax. Then I was very jealous of this ax, believed that they love me less.

Then there was not a single wedding in the vicinity where I did not speak. Local residents said: "Well, how is the wedding? Mahmud danced? So there was a rich wedding! I was a "wedding label," Esambaev said. According to the artist, Chechens and Ingush are a dancing people, but there was no talk of earned money in this way. When the boy was 8 years old, the Esambaev family moved to Grozny.

Then Mahmud first saw an electric bulb and heard the radio: "I grabbed my mother’s hand and shouted that these were devils, we had to urgently leave here." The father dreamed that the boy learned the Russian language and become a judge. Mahmud was sent to school. Esambaev recalled that classmates called him the "grandson of Robinson Crusoe" - due to the fact that he walked in ragged clothes.

And the teacher called me Juchmeck, a pumpkin, a shake, complained that they put me on her neck, made comments. Then I said "sho, aidate, bisik", she constantly corrected me, beat me with a ruler on the head. But mountain children do not cry from such punishment, ”said the dancer. Father categorically forbade Mahmud to dance, and even threatened him to kill for this:“ There will be less one for one!

The boy lasted six months and could not stand it - danced at school. He was called to the director and asked to speak at the Olympics, where he took first place. I was hugged and kissed, fed with sweets and cakes.

I then thought: well, I would definitely dance, since they give so much tasty! In the sixth grade, Esambaev was expelled from school for poor performance. He brought a certificate of deductions to his father, who did not know Russian, and lied: "They told me that I learned everything, I can read newspapers, you can not come anymore." The talented boy was accepted to the Grozny Choreographic School, in parallel, he became the soloist of the Chechen-Ingush song and dance ensemble.

He completely gave his first salary - rubles of 40 kopecks. He did not believe that his son was paid so much for dancing and even went to the accountant with him to personally make sure of this. Mahmud was already sure that he would become a great dancer, the whole world would know him. From the very beginning of the war, Esambaev performed as part of front -line brigades - at the advanced, in hospitals.

Once, a fragment of a shell exploding near the scene fell into his leg. Doctors said that he could no longer dance, but Mahmoud did not even want to hear about it. He recovered; In the year, then he had more concerts at the front at the Pyatigorsk Musical Comedy Theater, where he was invited to the prime minister. In the year, Chechens and Ingush were deported, by order of Stalin, to Central Asia.

Esambaev, who was already a bright star, was offered to “hide” for new documents: according to his passport, he could become an Armenian. But the artist did not agree and, together with his parents, went to Kyrgyzstan. In Frunze, now Bishkek, he became the soloist of the Kyrgyz Opera and Ballet Theater, shone in the main parties. At the end of x, he returned to Chechnya, gave several performances in Grozny to which he called his teacher: “I went to the house where she lived.

She went out old, thin - and she used to be a lady in her body, - in thick glasses tied with a rope, I said: remember me? She replied that I didn’t remember - I didn’t say that I worse than me, I would get famous She threw up her hands: Esambaev! I knew that it would be so, and you would become so, I just really wanted you to learn something ... I was very ashamed that I was angry with it for so long.

He invited her to the concert, she cried the whole performance. The popularity of Esambayev grew up: after a tour in Moscow, along with the troupe of the “Soviet Ballet Stars”, he visited South America and France. And having returned, gathered his team and created the first solo dance program in the USSR “Dances of the Peoples”. The artist studied culture and languages, tried, as he said, to convey the soul of every nation.

Its bright and well -known dance from this program is the nine -minute Golden God, the most difficult Indian dance.Photo: The Artist’s State Central Cinema Museum in the year starred in his first painting "In the World of Dance" he also acted as the author of the script. After that there was a biographical film “I will dance”, the adaptation of the “Swan Lake”, “Sannikov’s Earth” Esambaev played the role of a black shaman - they say that the director was looking for a dancer who would move like an alien, fairy tales “Honest Magic” and “while the clock” and others.

The press wrote that about the parameters of the artist - the growth of a centimeter, the weight of 65 kilograms and the horned waist of 47 centimeters - all French models dreamed. In this headdress, Esambaev was everywhere. When he was asked that he was hiding under his father, he joked: "Bald." In the year, the image of Mahmud Esambaev was applied to a new banknote in three Chechen nahara.

This money did not go into circulation - they were released a limited party, which parted through the collectors. Esambaev had many fans, but he was happily married to Armenian, a doctor Nina Kolumyantz, whom he met at 17 years old. They had a daughter Stella: she followed in the footsteps of her mother and also became a doctor. The last 35 years of life, the artist was a people's deputy, helped to build cultural objects in his native Chechnya and other republics.

During the Chechen conflict, the Esambaevs burned an apartment in Grozny - along with his awards and stage costumes. The family settled in Moscow. The incident interrupted the artist’s health: he had a stroke, and then they found cancer. He died at the age of 75, January 7 of the year. By testament, he was buried in the Danilov Muslim cemetery. In an interview, to the question, I would like to change something in my life, Esambaev replied: "Everything that was - grief, happiness, misfortune, would have repeated everything again." Subscribe to us in DZEN news about the past and reports about the present.