Alexander Barinov

Alexander Barinov (28th of February 1952, Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Ukrainian SSR – 25th of July 2022, Riga, Republic of Latvia) – a ballet dancer and a teacher, a theater and film actor.

In 1972, Alexander Barinov graduated from the Riga Choreographic School (RCS), where he studied under outstanding teachers: Valentin Blinov, Aleksandrs Lembergs, Juris Kapralis, and Valentina Ushakova.

From 1971 to 1975, the young dancer had been a soloist of the ballet company of the State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre of the Latvian SSR (SAOBT; today the Latvian National Opera and Ballet, LNOB).

Roles and ballet parts performed by A. Barinov on the stage of the SAOBT of the Latvian SSR:

one of the Apaches (The Hunchback of Notre Dame, music by Cesare Pugni, Riccardo Drigo, and Rihards Glazups, 1971);
the Slave (Antony and Cleopatra by Eduard Lazarev, 1972);
the Lama (The Gold of the Incas by Oleg Barskov, 1973);
Pierrot (Mirandolina by Sergei Vasilenko, 1974);
Vanechka, the dog Abba (children’s ballet Doctor Aibolit by Igor Morozov, 1974);
soloist in the Russian Dance (The Nutcracker by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, 1974);
soloist in the Neapolitan Dance (Swan Lake by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, 1974);
one of the Winds (children’s ballet Sprīdītis by Arvīds Žilinskis), and others.

From 1975 to 1979, Alexander Barinov had been studying at the Boris Shchukin Higher Theatre School in Moscow, in the class of Yevgeny Simonov; upon graduation, he received a diploma as an actor of theatre and cinema.

From 1979 to 1982, he had been an actor at the Lensovet Theatre (Leningrad, now Saint Petersburg). One of his most significant roles at the Lensovet Theatre was the title role in William Shakespeare’s comedy The Taming of the Shrew (directed by Igor Vladimirov).

From 1983 to 1987, Alexander Barinov performed on the stage of the Riga Russian Drama Theatre (now the Mikhail Chekhov Riga Russian Theatre).

In 1987–1989, Alexander Barinov had been a soloist, director, and choreographer at the Latvian State Philharmonic, where he staged the performance The Three Fat Men based on the fairy tale by Yuri Olesha and the musical The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. At the same time, he worked as a teacher of acting at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian State Conservatory.

In 1989–1990, Alexander Barinov had been serving as director and artistic director of concert programs for the “Baltic-Slavic Society for Cultural Development and Cooperation”; in 1990, he was an actor at the Theatre for Young Audiences (Latvia).

From 1990 to 1992, he had been working as a teacher at the Riga Choreographic School (RCS); from 1991 to 2003, he had been the director, artistic director, and teacher of Latvia’s first private ballet school-studio, Baleta pasaule (“World of Ballet”). He created choreographic compositions for the concert programs of the school-studio he headed.

As a choreographer and stage director, he staged dance performances for productions in various theatres and created choreographic compositions for concert programs of students of the Riga Choreographic School and the State Riga Operetta Theatre.

Choreography for dramatic theatre productions:

William Shakespeare’s comedy The Comedy of Errors (Riga Russian Drama Theatre, 1992);
Journey to the Christmas Star, based on a play by Sverre Brandt (directed by Jānis Kaijaks, Latvian National Theatre, 1992);
The Golden Chick, based on fairy tales by E. T. A. Hoffmann (Liepāja Theatre), and others.

Filmography:

Alyosha Kronov (leading role) — youth melodrama The Day of Sun and Rain (directed by Viktor Sokolov, screenplay by Edvard Radzinsky, Lenfilm Studio, USSR, 1967);
Pavlik/Paulito, the son of Maria and Pablo — two-part feature film Salute, Maria! (directed by Iosif Kheifits, Lenfilm Studio, USSR, 1970);
Hussar — musical film The Hussar’s Courtship (directed by Svetlana Druzhinina, Mosfilm Studio, USSR, 1979);
Antoine — children’s television film-play Fairy Tale after Fairy Tale/And the Pebbles Keep Jumping… (directed by Vladimir Latyshev, Leningrad Television, USSR, 1980);
Petya — two-part detective television film-play The Family Relic (directed by Vladimir Latyshev, Leningrad Television, USSR, 1981), and others.

Alexander Barinov passed away on 25 July 2022 in Riga. He was buried at Jaunciems Cemetery.

Family:

Spouse — Galina Bazhenova (born 12 September 1956, Sverdlovsk/Yekaterinburg, RSFSR), actress of theatre and cinema.

She graduated in 1979 from the Boris Shchukin Higher Theatre School in Moscow. From 1979 to 1982, she had been working at the Lensovet Theatre in Leningrad. Since 1983, she has been an actress of the Riga Russian Drama Theatre (now the Mikhail Chekhov Riga Russian Theatre).

Sons:

Grigory Barinov (born 25 June 1978, Moscow, RSFSR) — a ballet dancer.

In 1996, he graduated from the Riga Choreographic School (RCS), where he studied under the distinguished ballet teachers Valentin Blinov and Juris Kapralis. In 1993, he refined his skills at a ballet school in Buffalo (USA); in 1994, at a ballet school in Enschede (Netherlands).

From 1996 to 1999, Grigory Barinov had been a soloist of the ballet company of the Latvian National Opera (LNO). From 2000 to 2001, he had been a guest soloist and teacher with the ballet company of M. Uchigasaki Ecole de Ballet (Japan). Since 2001, he has been a soloist of the ballet company of the New National Theatre Tokyo (Japan).

Roles and ballet parts performed by G. Barinov on the stage of the LNO:

Tom Thumb (The Sleeping Beauty by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, 1997);
the Vagabond (Coppélia by Léo Delibes, 1997), and others.

Roles and ballet parts in other ballet companies:

the Golden Idol (La Bayadère by Ludwig Minkus);
pas de deux (Giselle by Adolphe Adam);
pas de trois (The Nutcracker by Pyotr Tchaikovsky);
pas de trois (Paquita by Édouard Deldevez and Ludwig Minkus);
the Jester, soloist in the Tarantella (Swan Lake by Pyotr Tchaikovsky);
soloist in the Dance with Mandolins (Romeo and Juliet by Sergei Prokofiev);
the Jester (Cinderella by Sergei Prokofiev);
soloist (Third Movement – Symphony in C).

He performed numerous classical pas de deux from the following ballets: Harlequinade by Riccardo Drigo, The Nutcracker and The Sleeping Beauty by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Le Corsaire by Adolphe Adam, and Don Quixote by Ludwig Minkus.

In 2000, he participated in the International Ballet Competition in Nagoya (Japan). As of 2018, he lives and works creatively in Japan.

Alexander Barinov (born 1982, Riga, Latvian SSR) — a lighting technician at the Daile Theatre in Riga.

Photo: Alexander Barinov as a hussar in the film The Hussar’s Courtship.