LITERATURE ABOUT LYFAR

Contemporaries called him "The God of Dance", "The good genius of ballet". More than 30 years he headed the company of Paris Grand Opera, on which stage he had produced about 200 innovative plays, bred up several generations of first-class ballet-dancers, was the president of International Dance Council of UNESCO and the French Academy of Ballet and hold the positions of the rector of Paris Choreography Institute and the professor of Sorbonne University.

His world-wide known name was excluded from his native culture in the Soviet times but put down with the golden letters in the world art, it came back to his Motherland in 90-s. The name is that of Serge Lyfar, one of the most outstanding artists of our epoch. He was born in Kiev on the 2nd of April, 1905 in the Ukrainian noble family having long Cossack roots.

In childhood while living near Kanev in the proprietorship of his grandfather Serge fell in love with country songs, dances and poetic customs. He recollected that his grandfather told him about the heroic past of Ukraine and showed "yellow and faded deeds with the waxen stamps, by which Ukrainian Gethmans and Athamans of the Great Zaporizhya Troops had rewarded the Lyfars".
As a boy Serge Lyfar sang in the choir of Saint Sofia Cathedral, studied in the Royal school, then in Kiev Conservatory in the department of piano and in the ballet school of Bronislava Nizhinska, who had been working in the "Russia Ballet" of Serge Diaghilev since 1922.

In 1923 Lyfar emigrated to Paris and began there his artistic road as a member of Diaghilev ballet company. Selfless work, fanatic adherence to dance made shy and curious boy the first soloist.

After the fantastic triumph in the parts of Prodigal Son in the ballet of the same name by S.Prokofiev, Apollon and Tsarevitch Ivan in the "Apollon Mysageti" and "Fire-Bird" by Stravinsky. Diaghilev himself would compare Lifar to Vatslav Nizhynski and said" Lyfar doesn't resemble his predecessor, he is waiting for the suitable time to become a new legend, the most beautiful among the ballet ones".

In 1930 24-years old youth became the head of the France first theatre ballet. His versatile creative work as a ballet dancer, choreographer-producer, teacher, trainer, theoretician and historian turned him into nearly the brightest ballet legend of our century. Thanks to his inspired work the ballet company of the Grand Opera became almost the best one in the world. Serge Lyfar is a holder of France highest rewards: Order of Honourable Legion and Order of Literature and Art ("Commander").

Dead in Lausanna on the 15th of December, 1986 Sergey Mykhilovitch had carried love for Ukraine, for mother's Kiev through his whole life constantly repeating that "even beautiful, brilliant Paris couldn't make me, the native of Kiev, forget my wide, majestic Dnieper…"

Lyfar was passionate patriot of Ukraine. At the meetings in Paris he told with a great excitement about his childhood and youth, about his first musical and theatrical impressions, emphasizing that Kiev was the most precious thing for him.

And how happy he was in autumn of 1964, when "The Ensemble of Ukrainian Dance" run by Pavlo Virskuy, he felt touching friendship towards, was performing in Paris with a great success. The following fair words belong to him: "Ukrainian dance and Kiev ballet - is the first Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine, who opened unique beauty of our national culture and generous soul of our people to the world."

One day Sergiy Mykhailovitch came to see a performance with embroidered shirt on. That evening the ballet " Giselle" was on. On the stage the classical romantic performance touched with grief poetically staged by him was under way and Serge, usually elated , vigorous and buoyant suddenly n began talking with pain about his loneliness having expressed his the most desirable wish: "I am dreaming to come back to Ukraine. But unfortunately, nobody knows me at home and in France - I have been forgotten". Lyfar dreamed about the time, when artists and collectives all over the world would come to Kiev as if to Paris to participate in ballet festivals and contests. And the time has come. Independent Ukraine has recalled it's son and returned him to its own treasury of arts.

In the summer of 1994 on the stage of the National Ukraine Opera the First International Ballet Contest was held named after Serge Lyfar. The new contest, illuminated with the name of the 20th century dance genius, happened to be unique. For the first time in Europe young ballet artists and balletmasters contended simultaneously.

Immediately after the completion of the first competition the active work of organizational committee and management has begun to prepare the Second International Contest of young artists and choreographers, that should be held in July 1996. But at the request of Lyfar's widow the countess Lillan Alefeld the contest was decided to be postponed to the autumn - closer to the grieve date - the tenth anniversary of the day, when the Metre of the European ballet theatre stopped to exist.

To commemorate the new Lyfar's contest the International Dance Festival "Serge Lyfar de la Dance" dedicated to the 90-th anniversary of the distinguished choreographer was held on the stage of the National Opera of Ukraine in April, 1995. The second Festival "Serge Lifar de la Dance" was held in April, 1997.

The international prestige of Kiev contest, that once more made the whole Europe talk about Serge Liyar relentlessly increased and caused more and more interest of ballet youth as well recognized masters. The Second Lyfar's Contest, which was held in October, 1996 and became the new important stage of confirmation of Ukrainian art in the world culture process, eloquently proved this fact. In the First Lyfar's Contest 55 participants from 7 countries competed but 119 artistes and choreographers from 21 countries of the world applied to participate in the second one. The Third Lyfar's Contest was held in October 1999, The Fourth - in April 2000, and the Fifth - in April 2001.

Serge Lyfar's returning to his Motherland, mainly connected with the foundation of International Ballet Contest and Festival "Serge Lyfar de la Dance", was perceived by the world art community as a considerable step of Ukraine and its culture to the real integration to European art process. However Lyfar came back as a slightly idealized person in the halo of a patriot who was undeservedly struck out from the native art history by the totalitarian regime. All complexity, contradictoriness and versatility of this recognized reformer of the ballet theatre of the 20th century, who was one of the founders of its innovative modern tendencies, the choreography historian and theoretician still remains little known. It is not worthwhile to wait for the works of modern native not mentioning French art-critics. Only monograph by A.Pleshcheev dedicated to Serge Lyfar was published in Paris as far back as 1938.

In the spring of 1995 at the Grand congress of International Dance Council of UNESCO held in Paris the president of the International Ballet Academy Rene Servene emphasized: "We express our thanks to Ukraine for it has created the contest and festival having brought back contemporaries the legendary name of Serge Lyfar forgotten in his motherland and in France for a long period of time. But the matter of honour for Ukrainians is to move farther on - to study and investigate the heritage of the genius of the world art because by no means not every civilized nation has revealed this outstanding individuality, who took such a considerable place in the history of the world art of our century to the humanity."

(Yuriy Stanishevskyy)

© Lesya Ukrainka Public Library
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