The Russian theme in the choreographic legacy of V. D. Tikhomirov: semiotic analysis

The article is devoted to the creative activity of one of the founders of the Russian school of classical dance, a famous artist, choreographer and teacher Vasily Dmitrievich Tikhomirov (1876 1956). The events of the choreographer's life are considered in the context of revolutionary transformations of Russian society and the formation of the Russian school of classical dance. The article analyzes the signs characteristic of the semiotics of Russian ballet on the example of the analysis of the biographical text and Tikhomirov's creative activity. His stage activity began at a time when the main roles were often performed by Italian touring ballerinas, and there was a complex language of gestures on the ballet stage, making it difficult to understand the meaning of the ballet. However, it was during these years that the Moscow public became interested in national issues and the Russian school of classical ballet art was gradually formed. Later Tikhomirov abandoned ballet pantomime in favor of the language of living plastic expression. In the early years of Soviet power, the existence of classical ballet as an imperial art was questioned, and Tikhomirov appealed to A.V. Lunacharsky, persuading him to preserve ballet as the pinnacle of Russian national art. He was forced to create productions with a pronounced social accent, as it was necessary to show the Soviet character taking into account ideological attitudes. Nevertheless, Tikhomirov's school as a dancer and teacher was fully national in character, as it took into account the peculiarities of Russian folk dance and plasticity. The choreographic formula that makes up the Russian national ballet is: simplicity clarity expressiveness. In ballet art, the national cultural code operates in an active mode and is closely connected with the universal cultural form, which made it possible to create and establish a national school of Russian classical dance.