The life of the great dancer Makhmud Esambaev is as unusual as his work. Despite everything - poverty, his father’s prohibitions, war, Stalin’s repressions - a native of a Chechen village was able to realize his childhood dream and become a world-famous artist, a “dance wizard.” In his unique program “Dances of the Peoples of the World,” Esambaev managed to understand and express in the language of choreography the deep essence of the culture of different peoples. For many years, audiences on all continents applauded his art, world ballet stars admired him, and articles and books were written about him. At the same time, Esambaev was not only a dancer, but also a devoted friend, a wise adviser, a faithful son of his proud, long-lived people. The book of the writer and lawyer Alaudi Musaev tells about all these aspects of the artist’s amazing fate, combining the narrative of Esambaev’s life with the memories of Mahmud himself, his relatives and friends.