Bolshoi Ballet’s artistic director attacked with acid
MOSCOW — The artistic director of the renowned, and in recent years strife-torn, Bolshoi Ballet was returning home from a theatrical celebration with the city’s glitterati when a masked man stepped out of the darkness and threw acid onto his face and eyes.
Sergei Filin, who was attacked about 11:30 p.m. Thursday, suffered third-degree burns. He underwent eye surgery Friday, according to Anatoly Iksanov, the Bolshoi’s director, who said Filin would be flown to Belgium for treatment at a burn clinic.
The Bolshoi’s artistic director occupies an all-powerful position, said former Bolshoi ballerina Anastasia Volochkova, inspiring anger and jealously. He decides who dances and who doesn’t, and who gets what part, making and breaking careers. Still, she was shocked that passion could take anyone so far.
“What’s happening there is a wild and scary fight,” she said on Ekho Moskvy radio Friday. “It’s a fight for roles.”
Volochkova became known here as “the fat ballerina” after the Bolshoi dismissed her in 2003, accusing her of being too heavy to lift. She weighed 109 pounds at the time, she said.
“In the past they dueled,” she said. “People used to cross swords or tried to have it out in a decent way. But splashing acid into the face . . . this is so low. It’s hard to make any comment.”
Iksanaov said there was grave concern that Filin might lose his sight, especially in one eye.
Katerina Novikova, press secretary for the Bolshoi, said that Filin had been repeatedly threatened in recent days. His tires had been slashed several times, his Facebook page was hacked and he had received ominous telephone calls.
“I am 100 percent confident that it is linked to his work,” Iksanov said on Russian television. “He is a man of principle and he has never made concessions. If he believed that a specific artist is not ready or not capable of performing a specific role, he declined him.”
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