Bolshoi Ballet names new director to replace Sergei Filin, injured in acid attack

Makhar Vaziev will replace Sergei Filin as the ballet director of the Bolshoi Ballet early next year, the Bolshoi Theater announced Monday.

Filin, who suffered severe eye injuries and impaired sight after an acid attack in 2013, steps down in March. The Bolshoi announced in July it would not renew its contract with Filin.

Vaziev, who ran the Mariinsky Ballet from 1995 to 2008, is the artistic director of La Scala Ballet.

The attack on Filin, orchestrated by Bolshoi soloist Pavel Dmitrichenko, uncovered bitter backstage rivalries and unpopular executive decisions. Since then the Bolshoi has been struggling to regain its footing and its reputation.

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Supporters hope this appointment will usher in a new era for the world-famous company. The announcement about Vaziev was made at a press conference by the Bolshoi Theater’s general director Vladimir Urin.

“Makhar Vaziev needs no introduction,” Urin said later in a statement on the Bolshoi’s website. “The theater world knows his name not only in Russia but also abroad.”

Vaziev, 54, began his career in 1979 in the Kirov Ballet (now the Mariinsky) where he became a soloist, and in 1989, a principal dancer. He is known as a champion of younger Russian choreographers and for expanding the influence of ballet at La Scala, known primarily for opera.

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