The ballets of Valentin Elizariev have formed a new type of ballet drama based on end-to-end action, polyphony of musical and choreographic images, metaphoricity and variety of plasticity, juxtaposition, contrast and harmony of individual scenes, on the unity of all components of the performance. The outstanding choreographer talks about his creative method, about how the play is born – from the idea to the premiere. The author of the book talked to the stars of world art who studied and worked with Valentin Elizariev. Mikhail Baryshnikov, Boris Eifman, Rodion Shchedrin, Henrikh Mayorov, Nina Ananiashvili, Andris Liepa and many others tell about how his ballets were born, about the essence of ballet art and the nature of creativity in the book.