Niyaz Gadzhiev
God (whose name is Allah in my part of the world) struggled for the longest time as he thought what gift he might give my parents. Finally, it came to him: He would give them ME.
By this time my parents already had seven children and it probably seemed like that was enough. But, as they say, you don't look a gift horse in the mouth — a gift is a gift, after all. So they gave me the name of Niyaz, which in Arabic means GIFT.
On Life's Difficult Path:
As a child, the little Niyaz dreamed about the stage and he often fell into despair when he was told he had no musical ear. As it turned out, he did have a musical ear, although by the time Niyaz found that out he was already 17 and a student in the first year of classes at the Agriculture Academy where he was majoring in animal husbandry.
Oh, Woe is Me:
Three years later he found himself a student in the acting department of a theatre institute and he realized he could not only sing, he could dance and, basically, he was incredibly talented. “Hurrah! I'm talented!”
On Moscow and GITIS:
Having quickly completed his studies and having worked for a year in a theatre where everyone spoke and performed in the Tabasaran language (one of the second or third hardest languages to learn in the world), our GIFT set out for Moscow to enter GITIS. “Moscow is a monster!” Niyaz thought at first because it seemed to him that the city was not hospitable to him at all. Soon, however, he learned this was a false and superficial impression and he came to love the “heart of Russia” with all his heart.
At GITIS a large number of very serious people stared at Niyaz severely. Teachers and the master teacher sat at a table. Before them stood a dark-haired, brown-eyed hillbilly of insignificant height (5'5"). He looked about 23 but he said he was 25.
On the Future:
Four years have passed. Today Niyaz performs in student productions, dreams of having his own theatre, and in his free time he sings with his own group, Aladdin's Hands.
Good luck, Niyaz Gadzhiev.
By this time my parents already had seven children and it probably seemed like that was enough. But, as they say, you don't look a gift horse in the mouth — a gift is a gift, after all. So they gave me the name of Niyaz, which in Arabic means GIFT.
On Life's Difficult Path:
As a child, the little Niyaz dreamed about the stage and he often fell into despair when he was told he had no musical ear. As it turned out, he did have a musical ear, although by the time Niyaz found that out he was already 17 and a student in the first year of classes at the Agriculture Academy where he was majoring in animal husbandry.
Oh, Woe is Me:
Three years later he found himself a student in the acting department of a theatre institute and he realized he could not only sing, he could dance and, basically, he was incredibly talented. “Hurrah! I'm talented!”
On Moscow and GITIS:
Having quickly completed his studies and having worked for a year in a theatre where everyone spoke and performed in the Tabasaran language (one of the second or third hardest languages to learn in the world), our GIFT set out for Moscow to enter GITIS. “Moscow is a monster!” Niyaz thought at first because it seemed to him that the city was not hospitable to him at all. Soon, however, he learned this was a false and superficial impression and he came to love the “heart of Russia” with all his heart.
At GITIS a large number of very serious people stared at Niyaz severely. Teachers and the master teacher sat at a table. Before them stood a dark-haired, brown-eyed hillbilly of insignificant height (5'5"). He looked about 23 but he said he was 25.
On the Future:
Four years have passed. Today Niyaz performs in student productions, dreams of having his own theatre, and in his free time he sings with his own group, Aladdin's Hands.
Good luck, Niyaz Gadzhiev.
