balletomaneblog

[balletomaneblog]

Svetlana Savelieva just won first prize at the Arabesque Competition!!! She did beautifully and I’m so happy for her! Among the variations she performed were the Odile variation, King Candaules variation from Paquita, the Queen of the Dryads variation, and the Butterfly variation. She also won third prize in the contemporary category!

#ballet #svetlana savelieva #arabesque

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OMG Maria Bulanova is debuting Kitri on May 5th!!! So excited!! This is such a perfect role for her.

#ballet #Maria Bulanova #Mariinsky #don quixote #kitri #debut

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Sorry I’m a little confused with the politics within bolshoi and mariinsky. So is Gergiev the director for both bolshoi and mariinsky now?

Haha yeah I'm confused too. And yes, looks like it. Gergiev is very powerful in the arts in Russia. Some might think it would be a bad idea for the two biggest and most important theaters in Russia with different styles and histories to be managed by the same person. But . . . whatever.

#ballet #valery gergiev

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I’ve heard that Osipova is pregnant! If that’s really true, I just want to hear it directly from her. She literally did Kitri at 37, plus being pregnant too, what a true powerhouse. That means she’s doing Manon when she’s 3-4 months along.

If so, than congrats to her and husband (now father) Jason😊

I don't really follow Osipova much anymore so I haven't heard anything. Congrats to her if she is!

#ballet #natalia osipova

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Casting is Out For Premiere of Lavrosky's Romeo and Juliet at the Bolshoi!

April 4th (opening night):

Juliet: Elizaveta Kokoreva Romeo: Daniil Potaptsev Mercutio: Daniil Lopatin Tybalt: Mikhail Lobukhin

April 5th:

Juliet: Evgenia Obraztsova Romeo: Artem Ovcharenko Mercutio: Alexei Putintsev Tybalt: Alexander Vodopetov

April 6th (matinée):

Juliet: Eleonora Sevenard Romeo: Denis Rodkin Mercutio: Mark Chino Tybalt: Nikita Kapustin

April 6th (evening):

Juliet: Svetlana Zakharova Romeo: Artemy Belyakov Mercutio: Dmitry Smilevsky Tybalt: Denis Savin

April 7th:

Juliet: Ekaterina Krysanova Romeo: Vladislav Lantratov Mercutio: Denis Zakharov Tybalt: Igor Pugachev

Very excited about some of the line-ups! I'm especially excited about Sevenard performing Juliet as well as the Kokoreva-Putintsev pairing, and Krysanova-Lantratov will be lovely. But I'm not as crazy about Zakharova performing Juliet. I just don't see her as the youthful and sweet fourteen-year-old Juliet anymore. I know her and Krysanova are relatively similar in age, but for me I see Krysanova far more as Juliet. Still, it's Svetlana Zakharova, so I'm sure she'll pull it off.

Anyway, I'm very excited for this premiere!

P.S. Would love to see Vinogradova and Maymula as Juliet in this ballet at some point as well!

#ballet #romeo and juliet #bolshoi #elizaveta kokoreva #alexei putintsev #eleonora sevenard #denis rodkin #svetlana zakharova #artemy belyakov #ekaterina krysanova #vladislav lantratov

[balletomaneblog]

Any news on how Elena Svinko’s recent debuts went?

Elena Svinko has so far debuted the principal roles: the Sylph, Gulnare, Masha (Chemiakin), Masha (Vainonen), and Anyuta.

I didn't see much of either of her Masha debuts, but I know that her Masha in Chemiakin's Nutcracker got really good reviews.

I absolutely loved her Anyuta debut, it's the perfect role for her. It really showcases her strong emotional range and her feistiness and strong presence on stag.

Her Gulnare and Sylph debuts surprised me. Not her performance in them, but the fact that she was cast at all in those roles. I think she'd make an amazing Medora and Effie so I just didn't expect it. However, I was pleasantly surprised by her Sylph. To me, it's not a role that I think she's naturally suited for, but she did very well. And her Gulnare was very strong and a great showcase for her technique. Still, I'd love it if they gave her Medora instead.

I'd love to see her debut Kitri, I think this is the role that most obviously fits her, and her performance of the duet from the Stone Flower at IBC Moscow makes me eager to see her as Mistress of the Copper Mountain in the full-length ballet. The Mariinsky is putting on the Stone Flower in April, so fingers crossed!

#ballet #elena svinko #mariinsky

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People might roll their eyes for me saying this - but I truly am impressed by Khoreva’s improvements since her return to the stage. Like, can we take a second to appreciate just how much she has grown? Especially after touring in China and her most recent Don Quixote. I notice that she’s much more interactive with her partners, as well as more expressive in general. She seems much more confident on stage. I think she’s maturing into a wonderful artist who - while not quite there yet - will absolutely be deserving of principal status someday.

I recognize that not everyone has the same taste in dancers, and she is understandably not everyone’s favorite ballerina, but I do wish her detractors would give credit where it is due. While it is true that she has a lot of privilege, it is also true that she works very hard - and it shows. I wish people weren’t so quick to discredit her.

This also might be a controversial opinion, but I really don’t see what’s wrong with her social media presence. She seems like a young person who loves ballet and is sharing that with the world. She’s also contributed to the rising interest in ballet over recent years (almost as an ambassador for her art of sorts), and I see more people loving ballet as a good thing. Social media isn’t going anywhere, so we might as well get over ourselves and embrace it. Maybe my bias is showing, but I find her a lot more tolerable than some of the other influencer-type ballerinas.

Anyway, thanks for listening to my thoughts! I know my opinion is a popular one with her international fans, so maybe I’m beating a dead horse. Still felt compelled to share though. I appreciate that you always seem to take a kind and balanced approach, even when offering critiques.

So so sorry for the late reply! Thanks for sharing, I love chatting on here about this kind of thing.

I've spoken a bit about Khoreva before and I'm definitely not hiding that I'm a Khoreva fan so I'm totally in agreement with you.

I don't always love the "instagram ballerina" thing because there are some dancers on social media who seem to focus more on number of turns, hyperextensions, etc rather than artistry. However, Khoreva is definitely not one of them. I find a lot of her posts to be really interesting and insightful and I love her adagio combination videos. I especially like her youtube account because I'm grateful for any opportunity to watch more videos of Mariinsky performances.

I've also spoken some already about how much I've enjoyed seeing the growth of Khoreva's acting skills in the past couple of years and the new maturity in her after she returned from her injury. You're right, It's totally valid for Khoreva to just not be someone's favorite dancer (everyone has different taste), but I really feel like the excess criticism she gets is a David and Goliath kind of thing. She's just been given so many opportunities and advanced so fast that it's easier for some people to root for dancers like Khiteyeva (whom I also love) who spent years in the Corps de Ballet waiting for their shot.

I was so upset to hear that Khoreva is out on another injury so soon and I'm hoping that she recovers fully soon!

Thanks again for sharing!

P.S. Why on earth has Khoreva not performed Grand Pas Classique yet? This needs to happen!

#ballet #maria khoreva #mariinsky

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I honestly do not understand the double standard they have with Valiullina and Koshkareva.

In terms of performance quality, charisma, and stage presence, valiullina is better than koshkareva imo. However, people ignores that just because of her body shape and weight and most are just giving her criticism for her performance, and that she shouldn’t be given performance where she can’t cope when clearly she proved that she can.

Whereas for koshkareva, her debuts in paquita and gamzatti are not the best. Especially in gamzatti, she even fell on her pirouette in the variation. But all I could see are comments praising her and defending her saying how such debuts are necessary for her to gain experience. Why such different treatments ?? I’m so mad seriously…

Yeah I agree, they are treated by balletomanes very differently. It's actually pretty similar to some treatment that Sevenard and Bulanova got at the start of their careers. If you're not incredibly incredibly skinny as a dancer (especially in Russia), you're gonna get some criticism. And you're right that it's blatantly unfair. Also, it's important not to forget that Valiullina is an eighteen or nineteen year old girl. It's sooo inappropriate and likely emotionally damaging for strangers to be posting negative comments about her weight online.

I personally view Valiullina and Koshkareva as equally talented, though they have very different styles. Luckily, it does feel like Vaziev really likes Valiullina and has given her lots of opportunities thus far. Hopefully, this continues.

P.S. Koshkareva recently had her second performance as Gamzatti and it was so much of an improvement. I think she must have been really nervous and/or over-scheduled in the fall when she debuted it.

#ballet #bolshoi #sofia valiullina #maria koshkareva

[balletomaneblog]

Renata Shakirova Promoted to Prima!!!!

HUGE NEWS!! Renata Shakirova has just been promoted to prima ballerina after her performance of Syuimbike in Shurale !!! I can't think of another promotion I've wanted more than this one since Novikova's! So so happy for her!! She is so deserving of being a prima!

#ballet #promotion #renata shakirova #prima

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Maria Ilyushkina is debuting Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty on March 5th! She's performed the role with the Primorsky, I believe about a year ago, but this is her first time with the Mariinsky!

#ballet #maria iliushkina #aurora #sleeping beauty #debut

[balletomaneblog]

Do you think ballet is destined to become a sport first and an art later? I follow a lot of young ballerina's blogs and vlogs, and all they post is workout for "higher this" vitamins for that etc. There isn't much magic in that.

That's a tough question, there are definitely dancers right now who value extensions, flexibility, number of pirouettes they can do, etc over individuality and artistry, and that frustrates me too. It's why I (and probably a lot of others) really admire dancers like Maria Ilyushkina. She has a very minor social media presence and doesn't place such high emphasis on "higher this" as you put it. But there are also dancers like Maria Khoreva. She has a really strong social media presence but also has seriously improved her artistry over the past few years while maintaining a high level of technique. So it's really a case-by-case basis.

I think it's really about age and maturity. When you're watching the career growth of a dancer, the artistry and uniqueness of a dancer often comes with time. Younger dancers need time to mature themselves, and then they'll mature on stage, and that's when the magic should come.

#ballet

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Friendly reminder to anyone else who's obsessed with the Prix de Lausanne, the livestreams started today!! Additionally, there's going to be a Rising Stars Gala at the end of the week after the finals which will also be live streamed. It's going to include former prix winners Madison Young and Julian MacKay!

#ballet #prix de lausanne #madison young #julian mackay

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My favorite example of girl math is when David Hilbert and Albert Einstein couldn't solve how energy conservation worked in general relativity, so Hilbert asked Emmy Noether about it and she solved it for them.

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I LOVED Sofya Valiullina in Chopiniana, did you see it? Opinions?

I've posted about it a bit already in an earlier ask so I'll just say I thought it was great!! I'd love for her to be cast in it again so that we can get some more footage.

Side Node: Sofia's debuting the Congo River in La Fille du Pharaon coming up in February!

#ballet #sofia valiullina #debut #chopiniana

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Opinions on Maria Koshkaryova debut as Paquita at the Bolshoi? Personally i'm fifty fifty. On one side i love it because she looks as if she's absolutely loving the dance, the art. On the other side it's not as clean, it reminds me of really old old ballet videos, which is why i find her beautiful, but also somehow different?

I feel fairly similar. Oddly, the more I watch the clips of her Paquita the more I like it even though, like you said, there are some technical problems. My thinking is more that she's just been given so so many roles so quickly and if she had more time it would have been cleaner. Additionally, I think there's a possibility that she was really nervous. After all, she's an eighteen year old performing a lead role on the Bolshoi stage.

Recently, she debuted Masha in the Nutcracker and I thought that debut went really well, likely because if you look at her schedule, she had way more time to work on it than her other big debuts so far. Her Masha made me so relieved for Koshkareva because she seemed a lot more stable and sure of herself.

And you're right, there's definitely a joy for ballet in her performances which I believe is part of why people enjoy watching her so much.

#ballet #bolshoi #maria koshkareva #debut #paquita #nutcracker

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Im so sick and tired of all the Russian netizens talking about how valiullina is too big and how she is still growing bigger. There are other prima ballerina who also are not the typical skinny to the bone type of dancers, so why are they insulting her saying that she couldn’t dance properly because of her huge bones?!! I feel so bad for her honestly and am really scared the theatre won’t be giving her many roles due to her body :(

Yes, I completely agree that they are being very cruel to Valiullina. It's very upsetting when a bunch of adults online are harsh and insulting to a teenage girl. However, so far it doesn't seem to have affected the roles she's been getting at the theatre. Recently she's debuted Waltz and Apotheosis and Spanish Dolls in the Nutcracker and she has an upcoming debut as the First Sylph soloist in La Sylphide. I very much hope she continues to be given opportunities, she so so so talented!

#ballet #sofia valiullina #bolshoi

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What is your opinion of Eleonora Sevenard as a dancer and principal? I enjoy your blog very much!

I really really love Eleonora Sevenard. I've been watching her progression since her Paquita during her graduation in 2017. I've found that she's really come into her own in the past few years and I was so happy when she was promoted to principal last year. She's the type of dancer that's very adaptable in different types of roles. I especially enjoy her Kitri and Masha and very impressed with her recent Giselle debut.

Next up, I'd like to see her debut Juliet and hopefully they bring back Sleeping Beauty so she can debut Aurora.

#ballet #eleonora sevenard #prima #bolshoi