Interests
Dima Bilan was born on 24 December 1981. He spent his childhood in Karachaevo, Cherkezia. When he was one, his family moved to his grandmothers place in the city of Naberejnie Chelni in Tartarstan.
I was supposed to attend kindergarten there with my sister there. But unlike her, I seldom attended because I had the chance to stay at home. My grandmother, being crazy about me, used to watch get up to all sort of tricks.
Dimas extraordinary musical ability was noticed around that time when he arranged concerts for neighbours in the stairway. When he was six years old, his family moved to Kabardina, Balkaria where he went to school with his sister. He took part in morning performances, recited poems and sang songs.
I received my first round of applause in the second grade in the school canteen during lunch. During a long break, I stood up and began to sing Prekrasnoe Daleko (Wonderful future). The noise died down and even people I had just played tricks on were staring at me with open mouths. The song ended and after a seconds pause there was a storm of applause.
Musical school
After several months, a teacher from a local musical school came into the classroom to listen to the pupils. Delighted by Dimas song Vo pole bereza stoyala (Birch in the field), she announced that the boy must study music. But Dimas parents wanted their son to keep his feet on the ground and follow a respected profession. So his musical education did not begin straight away. While studying in the fifth form, he was admitted to the musical school at once - but only after the permission of his parents was granted. Dimas sister helped to settle the problem. She promised to stay with her brother and their parents had to give in. And so Dima began to study the accordion and became soloist in the childrens choir.
Dimas debut
Then there were childrens competitions, festivals and local concerts. When he was in the tenth form, Dima visited Moscow to take part in the Chunga-Changa festival, dedicated to childrens creativity and Urea Entinas and David Tuchmanovs thirty-year partnership.
Dima remembers his arrival with horror: everything was new and strange, and there was no one there to meet him. Plus, it was cold, rainy, and it took them all day to find the festival. But the ten-day program was full of excitement, meetings and joyful experiences. Dima received a diploma from Iosif Kabzon, before returning home. After a month, on the eve of 1999, he unexpectedly received an invitation from Alla, the girl he had met during the festival. She invited him to welcome the New Year in the capital. It was Dimas second trip to Moscow after leaving secondary and musical schools.
Dima lived at Allas place for two years. He had to earn his living working in the evenings in a clothes shop. And in the mornings he went to classes. It was a hard time.
Meeting with Yuri Aizenshpis (producer)
In his third year, Dima and his girlfriend Sasha Savelova met Yuri Aizenhshpis.
I understood it was a chance not to be missed and I just began singing. He noticed me. Knowing that there were thousands of hopefuls like me, Yuri Shmilevich Aizenshpis gave me his telephone number. Later we met in the studio.
After Dima had sung his song, everyone acknowledged his extraordinary talent. Next stage was the Jurmala festival.
The preparation for the contest, the selection rounds in Metelica and continuous work on his own material took several months, during which time he released his song Bum.
Having passed all the selection rounds successfully, Dima left for the festival. Jurmala became a real trial of strength: there was no time for entertainment there. Rehearsals on stage lasted all day and continued in the hotel room. The result of the stubborn struggle was fourth place.
In autumn, the video clips of his first songs appeared on TV. The video for Night hooligan took Dimas career to a new level. The song reflects Dimas state of mind at that time and, after it, Dima became very well-known.
Work became more interesting: by the time of his final exams in Gnesink, Dima had already released three singles: Bum, Night hooligan and You and only you.
For his last exam, the singer came directly from the studio where he had been recording his fourth track Ya oshibsya, ya popal (I was mistaken, I was lost). In 2003 Dima left Gnesinsk and in summer 2004 he received a diploma from Iosif Kobzon. Deciding to attain more qualifications, he entered GITIS (the State Institute of Theatrical Art).
Jurmala
In summer 2003, he was touring together with the group Dynamite. At the Jurmala festival as a special guest, Dima shot his new romantic video for the song Ya tak lyublyu tebya (I love you so much) with Igor Krutoys daughter Vika.
