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Subscribe to RSSSergei Filin, the artistic director of the world renowned Bolshoi Ballet, was attacked outside his apartment by a masked man who threw acid on his face. NBC's Annabel Roberts reports.
MOSCOW — A masked attacker threw acid in the face of the artistic director of Russia's prestigious Bolshoi Ballet, endangering his eyesight, in what colleagues said on Friday was the culmination of a two-week campaign of intimidation.
Sergei Filin, a former leading dancer at the Bolshoi who has been in the high-pressure job at the heart of Russian culture for nearly two years, was attacked outside his Moscow apartment building as he returned home on Thursday night.
Such is the prestige of Filin's post in Russian life, and its power inside the theater, that stunned current and former colleagues suggested the motive could have been envy, rivalry or even competition for roles.
Filin, his face covered in bandages with holes for the mouth and eyes, sounded relieved to have survived the attack.
"I was scared. I thought he was going to shoot me, honestly ... and I turned to run but he chased me down," Filin told Russia's REN TV.
"He turned and his face was completely covered, either a scarf or some bandage like a mask, only eyes (to be seen)."
The theater's director, Anatoly Iksanov, had no doubt the attack was aimed at sowing discord in an institution that has rarely been at peace in a history stretching back to the era of Catherine the Great.
Filin, 42, had reported having his car tires slashed and his emails hacked in recent weeks, as well as receiving repeated nuisance calls from someone who stayed silent when he answered.
"This two-week campaign has ended tragically and despicably," Iksanov said, adding that the culprit "should be sought among those for whom it was beneficial to compromise the theater leadership".
War for roles?
Bolshoi spokeswoman Katerina Novikova had been out with Filin at another theater on Thursday evening and parted with him shortly before the attack.
"We just never thought that the war for roles - not for real estate, not for oil - could reach such a criminal level," she said.
Alexander Natruskin / Reuters, file
Several stars at the Bolshoi have complained about alleged unfair treatment at the hands of Sergei Filin, seen here in 2011.
Relatives, dancers and theater administrators flocked overnight to the hospital where Filin was being treated, and later gathered at the theater.
Some suggested that making enemies, or at least generating resentment, was a hazard that came with the post.
"This person was doing his job," Bolshoi soloist Anastasia Meskova said, choking back tears. "Of course, it's clear that there may have been people who were dissatisfied, but I can't even imagine what would have been the reason (for the attack)."
Russian media said Filin had suffered third-degree burns and that doctors believed it would take him at least six months to recover.
Filin told Iksanov he believed he had been followed home, and that the attacker had called his name before throwing acid on his face.
"There are very serious burns on his face, in his ears, on his forehead, his mouth, and of course there are serious concerns about his eyesight," Iksanov said.
Channel One television said doctors were "trying to save his eyesight", but Interfax news agency quoted the theater's press office as saying late on Friday he had undergone successful surgery and that a complete loss of eyesight was not expected.
Filin was to be flown to a burn center in Brussels for further treatment, Novikova said. State television later said it was unclear whether he would be moved there on Friday.
The Bolshoi, which has both ballet and opera troupes, reopened last February after a six-year renovation to its landmark colonnaded building, close to Red Square in the very center of Moscow.
Cultural icon
As a near-mythical icon of Russian culture, it is a magnet for both locals and foreign tourists, and has seen power struggles among both dancers and directors throughout its more than 200 years of history.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, many of those conflicts, whether driven by egos or artistic convictions, have been played out in public.
In 2003, Iksanov dismissed ballerina Anastasia Volochkova after reportedly saying she was too heavy for male dancers to lift, and in 2011 a senior ballet manager resigned after a scandal over sexually explicit photographs.
After the tightly controlled three-decade tenure of Yuri Grigorovich ended in 1995, the Bolshoi Ballet went through five artistic directors before the appointment in March 2011 of Filin, who joined the Bolshoi's ballet troupe in 1988.
Filin's predecessor Alexei Ratmansky, who is now an artist in residence at the American Ballet Theater, said the attack was "no coincidence."
In a Facebook posting, he called the Bolshoi a "revolting sewer" plagued by hangers-on, ticket scalpers and "half-crazed fans ready to chew through the throats of their idols' rivals."
He used the familiar version of Filin's name to end his posting with the words: "Seryozha - the swiftest recovery, and courage!"
Filin's mother, Natalya, said he had been threatened but that she did not know who could have been behind the attack, according to the RIA news agency.
"What's important to me now is the health of my son, that he does not lose his eyesight," she said.
Joy Womack, an American dancer at the Bolshoi, urged "friends, fans and family" on Facebook to "stop what you are doing and pray for Sergei."
"He was attacked by evil people," she wrote. "Pray that the attackers would be apprehended and dealt with in the severity of the law."
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Ballet is a nasty little world all its own. The men and women that live in that realm put up with any number of criticisms and little social tortures from the physical to the psychological. It's beautiful and expressive and traditional, yet it demands much more out of its participants than the average person, athlete or artist could ever understand.
That being said, whatever this guy's attitude and treatment of others, I highly doubt that it was much worse or much different than any other person in ballet. Artists demand perfection for something that is going to have his name on it--and those that want to be a part of that vision either have to put up or shut up. An acid attack, or any kind of attack, is just downright cowardly.
You seriously have to have some intense hatred towards someone to do such a thing. I mean, we all can probably think of someone you strongly disliked in your life, but I doubt you've ever thought to do something like this. Obviously this attacker has major mental issues. This is just horrible.
Standup,
I am overwhelmed at what ballet dancers can do. It's almost miraculous.
That so many people are more interested in sports, NASCAR, etc. than in beautiful art (such as ballet) reveals the pervasive demographic of Philistines and cretins. Most people know nothing of ballet, classical music or science. Pearls before swine is the circumstance. If they only knew...(subjunctive)
inMYday: I agree that ballet is much harder than sports. One famous football player, who had been a dancer, had a tee shirt that said: "If professional football were any harder, it would be ballet." Ballet is also theater, and often has nice stories; a good family treat.
I think the reason there is so much competition in ballet is that there are so few jobs. Think of how many very overpaid sports stars there are, and how many thousands of people go to games or watch on TV. Those big contracts in sports didn't happen until TV contracts. We know that as many people watch the Olympic ice skating competitions as watch the Superbowl, but there is a very strong prejudice against the arts in America, maybe because originally it was much more expensive to see a ballet or opera than it was to see a game. But now: trust me, the tickets to a ballet are a bargain compared to any sports game, even minor leagues. On top of this, in America not enough boys take ballet classes at a young age, so there aren't enough male dancers to fill the top roles at the level demanded of them. It is very hard work, but most dancers are very interested in dancing as long as they can, but that is no excuse for an acid attack.
I hope that the perpetrator is caught, and that Mr. Filin recovers his sight. What a horrible blow to blind a dancer! That is making a musician go deaf.
Good points, Elizabeth.
May I say that, clearly (based on your writing style and logical thought process) you are well spoken and educated.
This country needs more people like you.
What is wrong with enjoying things such as boxing or football (the non-American kind)?
Why demean and be derogatory towards fans of other forms of entertainment? What's the purpose of it? Do you derive some sort of perverted pleasure from the act of placing your tastes in entertainment higher than others?
Some guy,
I'm not denigrating other forms of entertainment, nor the fans in general. Note that I said "so many." I'm talking about demographic distributions and a relative disregard for expanding one's horizons or making the effort necessary for "acquired" taste.
I derive no pleasure from it at all. In fact, just the opposite.
But I will confirm that I'm not impressed with an insular or provincial outlook.
Probably has to do with a major kerfuffle with overtones of a gay/bisexual lover's passion. To get a taste of the psychological intrigues with which ballet is suffuse, view "The Black Swan".
Pandora,
Do you think fictional movies are an accurate representation of reality?
Besides, in that plot, the girl-on-girl content existed only in the delusional mind of the character.
Ballet is evil! That's the reason why he was so mean!
I thought there was a ban on assault acid. ?
Can we go one week without someone complaining about how people care more about sports than what they like? Get over it.
Did you even read the article? He was hit with hunting acid.
them damn assult cans of acid
Time to ban assault acid. Think of the children!
Actually, we've been hearing more and more about acid attacks. It's terrible that people do these malicious things to one another over disagreements. We claim to be civilized but why can we not act that way? It's a mentality of "If you don't agree with me and my beliefs, I'm gonna get you." It's pitiful really.
They must be Democrats!! That sounds like their tactics. If you disagree with them, they try to destroy.
Don't be a victim,
Don't be a troll.
This is a thread about a ballet dancer. It's not about politicians, misguided or not.
In Mother Russia the face attacks the acid!
It was most likely done by an angry 'lover". Ban all acids !
In Russia, most dancers are not gay.
Lovers don't have to be gay. My husband is my lover.
Anyone can go to a hardware store and buy concentrated acid without a background check. You can't even buy spray paint without ID in America. Acid is OK, though.
It just follows the continued mentality of so many policies in this country, why are you trying to make sense of it?
Children have not yet started huffing acid to get high like they do with spray paint. Also Spray paint is used for grafitti etc. Acid is rarely used for mischief unlike spray paint. Please get that there is a difference between being able to kill or maime one or two individuals at a time and being able to take out an entire auditorium in less than 2 minutes. I always heard that acid pointed to a very personal motive. Besides a lover of any sex or gender it could be a former dancer forced to leave, or it could be someone who assumes he is gay as in a hate crime or maybe he is involved with the Russian mafia. Is this what it's really like being a dectetive, sitting around laying out possible scenarios with virtually no information; laying out hypotheses with no facts.
Gay lover's revenge?
Not in Russia; most of the men in ballet are not gay there. In America, many of them are not gay either. However, it is attitudes like yours that are going to destroy every little bit of culture that we have left.
It reminds me of a time when I remember a soldier at Fort Hood who was a ballet dancer - some idiot thug tried to bully him, and same said thug got the lesson of his life!!! They might look delicate, but they are not. :)
Bolshoi had a huge scandal in 2011 when sexually explicit, gay pictures of its director, Gennady Yanin, were posted on the internet. So it definitely happens there as well. Filin might not be gay (he is married to a very pretty woman but he still looks gay to me) but might have rejected some gay dancer's advances. The egos of these folks are incredible.
And an acid attack aimed at disfiguring someone definitely seems like a love-related vendetta.
Culture is not so narrowly defined by what you determine is acceptable or not.
Thank you Some Guy. I hate ballet and dancing in general. And yes, I have been to dance performances. Just because someone doesnt like it, does not mean they are not cultured.
For all of you out there that think male dancers are gay...think Patrick Swayze. His mother was a ballerina. Patrick was a dancer long before he was a sometimes tough-guy actor (think "Roadhouse"). Those wonderful muscles were the result of dancing... The female ballerinas weight more than you realise, because they have muscles, too. Muscle is heavier than fat. Do you really think that a male ballerina can be a weakling, and still lift and toss around a 120-130 pound woman, especially when both are in motion? Better learn some physics!
And, for those of you who think that if one has 'rugged' good looks is straight, as opposed to one being having good looks of a softer nature being gay, think Rock Hudson. Gay as they get, but well-hidden. There are many more examples out there.
There are many, many women out there married to a 'cutie-pie' that doesn't have the first gay fiber. I'm one of them!
I was wondering that, myself. How on Earth does he look gay? He's just a really good-looking guy, which makes it all the sadder that he wound up the victim of such a brutal attack. Of course, that may be why he wound up having acid thrown in his face, as the attacker could easily have been more jealous of his looks than his prestige. It also appears that the term "culture" is flying over some people's heads. You guys should stop claiming to understand something you clearly don't.
Whoever the perp is should be slowly lowered into a vat of nitric acid, feet first.
hell hath no fury like a homosexual dude scorned especially one wearing ballerina slippers.
Looks like "Black Swan" is real-life drama now. At any rate this art is demanding and takes a tremendous toll on the people who pursue it. I have to respect the trials those dancers go through - and can we please, please, please, please, please!!! leave the politics out of it!!!
guess we're going to put a ban on acid now too...
Why is it so difficult to find journalists, writers, editors, et. al. who do not possess the ability to compose proper sentences? I would certainly like to see what is NBC New's criteria for hiring these people.
In the past, many newspaper journalists had atrocious English grammar skills. But, there used to be these people called "editors" who would fix these before the type was set. Now in a world of "instant news", coupled with a world of "pinch every penny" there are apparently no more "editors".
Well, Big Shot, if that's the case, go over to the Faux News Site or some other hate site and troll there. It sounds as if you are a Little Short, in the intelligence department.
GTF out of here.
jackie, when did he bash NBC for their political affiliation? And can libs go one thread without bringing up Fox News? God you guys are pathetic.
Most News outlet's in America are Socialist, Liberal's are just guilty that we only have one channel. However, Fox News has by far the highest ratings.
For 'Wants to Know'
Editors determine content..which articles get published, and which do not... the position you have in mind is PROOF-READER!
(Just to clarify.) :)
By the way, I REALLY think that is a job that should enjoy a GRAND come-back! Spell-check is a poor substitute! (And the economy could use the boost!)
I call it 'Cowardice'!!!
I agree Want to Know and Jerry. I used to be a newspaper editor, as well as the local sports writer. It was a small newspaper in a small town and it took me at least three hours a day to edit and proof writers and those who wrote copy for advertising. And these were people who for the most part had gone to private school. Public school types just seemed to know how to spell, write a sentence that made sense and actually cut a paragraph off when it should be.
Those were the days my friends.
i hope sergei filin recovers from this horrible ordeal and the person who did this is punished. the idea that someone did this is sickening.
Whoopie Goldberg was admiring Communism soooo much in the news. Maybe she should move to Russia! A good acid peel might improve her always hideous looks!
Terrible s hit happens everywhere. I like to think of it as Divine Retribution, or Karma...
And you thought Rap rivalries got ugly...
OK, so lots of people are competitive. What is wrong with people who supposedly are SO sensitive, participate in the arts, yet, they will harm another human being?!?!? I just don't get it.
I have prayed for the circumstances and healing.
OMG I bet the acid was in a little black can too - Time to ban assult acid - or you can only carry a test tube full - not a full can - Good thing no kids were hit with it, or CNN would be all over it - even with its own theme song played 24/7 ....
InMyDay your right the problem is demographics, so few positions being sought by so many. Dang nowadays even badmitten has an "inner-circle" of regulators. But no ballet on the rez (that I know of)
There is no excuse for anyone putting acid on someone no matter what they do in life.This is so against the very being of being human and not treating each other like we want to be treated.Peace and kindness needs to be the rule of the day,not hurt and anger.Healing and prayers go to him.May the perpetrater be caught and spend his life in a jail.
I hope the Russian intelligence community maximizes their efforts to find and bring to justice whoever is responsible for committing this heinous act. The Bolshoi Ballet is internationally renown national cultural treasure of the Russian people.- RC
Sickening, tragic, the act of a coward. My prayers for this man.
This is horrible. I had no idea the ballet culture was so violent. It is like a scene out of "Phantom of the Opera". My prayers are with him.