A Musical Dynasty

The name of the great ballet dancer and choreographer Vakhtang Chabukiani is known throughout the world. Yet almost no one knows that his blood relative — his great-nephew — lives in Ottawa. It is time to meet a successor to this distinguished musical dynasty.

Shalva Chabukiani was born and raised in Tbilisi and was surrounded by music from early childhood. He knew his legendary relative not merely from stories. A “diamond of ballet,” “king of the air,” and “magician of dance” — as the Georgian-born artist was called in the ballet world — Vakhtang Chabukiani was always simple and unassuming with his relatives.

Vakhtang Chabukiani was the first Soviet ballet artist to be awarded the title of People’s Artist of the USSR. After ending his dancing career, he spent 23 years as director of the Tbilisi Choreographic School, which today bears his name.

Shalva remembers that the entire family was always proud of such an illustrious relative and spoke of him with great warmth. Unlike many prominent artists of his time, Vakhtang Chabukiani had a government dacha and a black Volga with a driver, in which he would arrive at family gatherings.

Their last meeting took place when Shalva was 15. Vakhtang Mikhailovich presented the son of his niece with his own book, The Magic of Dance, written in Georgian and complete with a personal inscription in Georgian.

Shalva’s grandmother played violin in the orchestra of the Georgian National Opera Theatre. Her grandson, however, chose another instrument and became a professional violist. The viola looks like a larger violin but has a deeper, warmer, more velvety sound.

Shalva earned his bachelor’s degree at the Tbilisi State Conservatory and later moved to Israel. At a summer camp organized by Tel Aviv University, he met his future wife, Natalia, daughter of the renowned Soviet composer Valentin Bibik, an international competition laureate and member of the Union of Soviet Composers.

Natalia Bibik began her musical education at the age of five in the preparatory program of the famous ten-year music school in Kharkiv. After graduating, she entered the chamber music department of the St. Petersburg Conservatory, where she studied for five years. Like her future husband, she later moved to Israel and continued her musical education at Tel Aviv University, earning a master’s degree in performance.

Natalia and Shalva married. All three of their children were born in Tel Aviv, where Natalia taught at a music school and performed in concerts. Shalva spent most of his professional life playing in orchestras. Historically, the viola has most often been used as an orchestral and ensemble instrument, where one of its main roles is to create a rich and solid musical foundation.

In 2018, the Bibik-Chabukiani family moved to Ottawa. What brought them to Canada was a desire for something new.

Once in Canada, the ever-energetic Natalia — a mother of three and an outstanding pianist — decided to continue her musical education at the Royal Conservatory in Toronto.

Over the past eight years, Natalia has given more than one hundred concerts in Ottawa, many of which featured the music of her father. His compositions continue to be performed at international music festivals around the world, something Natalia takes great pride in.

Alongside her concert activity, preparation for which requires an enormous amount of time, Natalia is also a highly sought-after piano teacher.

Experiencing the world through music is a special state of mind. Musicians seem to possess a unique ability to communicate harmoniously with the world around them, because they understand so much about harmony itself.

Ottawa is fortunate that musicians of such distinguished heritage and calibre chose to make this city their home. And we, the residents of Ottawa, have the privilege of experiencing and sharing in their art.

Marina Kochetova