About the book: 2022 / Nikolai Tsiskaridze is a bright, charismatic personality, whose erudition, independence and sharp judgment turn every statement into an event. The autobiography "My Theater" was created on based on the diary 1985–2003 This is a lively story, full of subtle irony, humor, and sometimes sadness, about yourself, about time and ballet. Memories: childhood, family, Tbilisi and Moscow, studying at a choreographic school, the collapse of the USSR, the separation of Georgia; an invitation to the Bolshoi Theater, a difficult start to a career, tours around the world; recognition in the profession, but at the same time constantly overcoming oneself, circumstances and numerous obstacles; the joy of creativity, despite the intrigues of ill-wishers. The story of a life unfolds on book pages like a detective story. Against the backdrop of this whirlpool of events, the image of the departing Great Theater of the late twentieth century appears. Accurate, largely unexpected, portraits of famous people emerge that the author was lucky or unlucky enough to meet. Among the heroes and anti-heroes of the book: Pestov, Grigorovich and Petit, Semyonova and Ulanova, Maksimova and Vasiliev, Princess Diana and Shevardnadze, Givenchy and Westwood, Baryshnikov and Volochkova, Shvydkoy, Filin and many others. And it is the reader’s privilege to judge who is who. The book is intended for the widest audience. A significant part of the photographs are published for the first time. This publication uses materials from the archives of: – Leonid Zhdanov (Charity Foundation “New Birth of Art”) – Academy of Russian Ballet. A. Ya. Vaganova – Nikolai Tsiskaridze and Irina Deshkova