#maria koshkareva

[anjelalala]

Bolshoi Theatre New Rising Star: Maria Koshkaryova

Photos by: Alisa Aslanova for Ballet Magazine Russia

MARIA KOSHKARYOVA brightly announced herself at the XIV International Ballet Competition in Moscow last summer, for the three rounds of which she prepared six numbers in a month. Being at that time a final year student at the Academy of Russian Ballet and an intern at the Mariinsky Theatre, Maria did not set herself any overarching goals and went to the competition with a modest “ not to surprise anyone ” attitude , but went home with first prize in the solo category. 

At the same time, she first appeared on the Historical Stage of the Bolshoi Theater of Russia, which, according to her, she was immediately fascinated by.After graduating from the academy, Maria moved to Moscow, where she is about to begin her first full season as a soloist of the Bolshoi Theater ballet troupe. The young ballerina told our publication about combining study and internship in the theater, the difficult choice that determines one’s fate, and whether the opinions of others are important.

CLICK THE LINK FOR FULL INTERVIEW:

#maria koshkareva #maria koshkaryova #ballet #mariinsky #bolshoi #vaganova ballet academy #moscow #vaganova #theatre #pointe #soloist

[balletomaneblog]

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

[tikitania]

I also find Karamysheva underwhelming. She's beautiful but I think it's just an unfortunate side effect of the documentary/social media hype since she was a first-year, you sometimes end up expecting too much. Recently I liked her a lot at Moscow IBC, but ultimately agreed with her placement behind all her classmates plus the 1 junior, Sultangareeva. And when she started getting solo roles at the Mariinsky, I felt like I understood why she wasn't given any solo parts at the graduation performance. Maybe it was just nerves but I just couldn't see any soloist qualities in her, which I understand she isn't a soloist but you'd think she would need some level of that to receive a solo role. Some of her performances have seemed as premature as some of Koshkareva's, imo. She looks very sweet onstage but I cannot comprehend why she is receiving solo roles over dancers like Savelieva who are stuck in the corps. Even Ionova doesn't seem to be up to much nowadays.

I would love to be proven wrong by Karamysheva though, she does seem sweet with a very cheerful presence onstage, and I have nothing against her, I just always find it surprising the way people see her on this site.

I haven't closely watched her performances, but from what I've seen, they appeared technically clean, nor did the roles compare in difficulty to what Koshkaryeva danced. But if management thinks she's capable of dancing Prince's Friends of the Bridesmaid variation, I'm here for it. Also, what we see in tiny IG or YouTube videos is a weak facsimile to to what the audience experiences. Some dancers step on stage and their charisma is palpable, so I try to reserve judgement unless someone turns in a noticeably weak, underwhelming performance — and Koshkaryeva's straight out of the gate soloist roles were subpar by any measure — and I just haven't seen that with this young dancer. I'd give her time since she's still adjusting to theater life.

#ballet #mariinsky ballet #russian ballet #Karamysheva #maria koshkaryova #maria koshkareva #baby ballerina #anon

[patricedumonde]

It’s official! The top 3 graduates of Vaganova are going to Bolshoi. This is really interesting as both Maria and Yaroslavna were trainees at Mariinsky last summer. I wonder what Yuri Fateev thinks.

This also means I only got 1/3 right as I guessed Maria would go to Bolshoi and the other two would be Mariinsky. 🙈

On July 6th, they will all be performing variations for Paquita Grand Pas. Best of luck to the three of them and I can’t wait to see them debut roles at the Bolshoi. 🥹

I will post more updates about other graduates in the coming days. Keeping my fingers crossed for all of them. Yulia Kasenkova and Lyudmila Kovaleva both had amazing students and with the top three going to Bolshoi, this means spots are open in Mariinsky.

#russian ballet #vaganova #vaganova draft #maria koshkaryova #maria koshkareva #yaroslavna kuprina #sofia valiullina #bolshoi ballet #bolshoi theatre #mariinsky ballet #dancer updates

[ballet-symphonie]

Vaganova Ballet Academy Asks

So there is official information of Koshkareva signing a solo contract with Bolshoi and Nikolay Tsiskaridze's close friend (devilonpointshoes on Telegram) and ballet enthusiasts on ballet forums stating that Koshkareva, Valiullina, and Kuprina going to Bolshoi. How do you feel about all the star students going to Bolshoi instead of Mariinsky like many expected? It isn't unexpected that Valiullina is going to Bolshoi given that she suits that company but with Koshkareva and Kuprina being Mariinsky's trainees for a year, and their dance style suiting Mariinsky more, I really do not understand why they chose Bolshoi (perhaps they were given soloist role straight away)? Anyways I'm also confused if Koshkareva is going to Bolshoi like Kuprina, why is her name not taken down from the trainee name list on the Mariinsky website... Honestly idk how to feel about this and ngl Im pretty disappointed that Koshkareva and Kuprina are not going to Mariinsky :(

The Bolshoi is the fast track. These girls have been promoted as stars and BT has likely made them big promises to keep treating them that way. With how the Bolshoi gives out roles at the speed of light to young prominent grads, plus the benefits that generally come with dancing in Moscow (read: money), the offers are likely very tempting. The corps life is tough, no one wants to do it if they don't have to lmao.

I thought with this reinvented MT and more publicized MT trainee situation that MT management would have managed to keep at least one of Koshkareva and Kuprina but I guess not. I am actually more surprised Valiullina is tagging along as I thought her body type might hold her back. While I agree with many that her dancing fits the broad movement and expressive style of the Bolshoi, that’s unfortunately not exactly what goes on stage all the time nowadays at BT, maybe its about 50/50 now depending which principals are cast.

Hi Ale! Any news on Daria Kulikova? How is she doing at the Academy? I think the 2023 class is a powerful one, and my opinion isn't based on who is better. But there's something about Kulikova??? I don't know... but I like her dancing and I'm rooting for her, there's just something special, artistic I see in her.

The 2023 class has just been everywhere and she hasn’t been one of the most hyped ones for obvious reasons. I don’t think I’ve seen where she’s going but I also haven’t been crawling through the TG channels looking for information about her you know? 

With the ‘big 3’ of this class heading to BT, there’s likely some MT spots available, which is theoretically what she would want after changing schools so late in the games.  

Do you think there will ever be a Kovaleva graduate to top Vishneva off? I honestly don't and it's not because there weren't other talented girls to graduate, but it's just that none of the ones who came after, could even compare to Vishneva, let alone surpass her. Koshkareva for example, is really talented, but it's already being called the 'next Vishneva', so... I will say though, after Vishneva, only Smirnova and Khoreva came a little close and probably Koshkareva will too.

I don’t think she will ever top Vishneva, she’s a once in a 100 years type of a dancer. I also don’t know how much longer she will continue to work. Her talent as a pedagogue is immense, she’s proven that she can train exceptional dancers with different body types, backgrounds and ambitions. Her training and her graduates, quite literally is defining the past, present and future of Russian ballet.  

how do the “classes” at vaganova work?? like if it’s class of kovaleva, does that mean that she’s taught them all 8 years at vaganova orrr 

No, if a ballerina is listed as ‘class of Kovaleva’ that means that she taught their graduate year. Generally, the teachers will change every 1-3 years as some teachers are especially skilled at working with different age groups. 

#ballet #ballerina #vaganova #vaganova ballet academy #russian ballet #ludmilla kovaleva #daria Kulikova #Maria koshkareva #Yaroslavna Kuprina #Sofia Valiullina

[melmothblog]

I’m happy to share with you my English translation of a short documentary about Vaganova Ballet Academy, featuring past and current Academy students: Maria Koshkareva (class of Lyudmila Komolova), Alexandra Khiteeva (class of Irina Sitnikova) and Ruslan Stenyushkin (class of Nikolai Tsiskaridze).

Maria, Alexandra and Ruslan talk about their teachers, performance mishaps and life at the academy.

The English transcript is up at melmoth.co (that’s where I put my more substantial interviews and translations).

#Vaganova Ballet Academy #vaganova #vaganova students #ballet #vba1819 #tsiskaridze #Ruslan Stenyushkin #Stenyushkin #Irina Sitnikova #Sitnikova #Maria Koshkareva #Koshkareva #translate

[balletomaneblog]

Former Vaganova Students as Hebe from the Awakening of Flora!

Here's a collection of Vaganova grads dancing the Hebe variation from the Awakening of Flora. I really love when Vaganova girls perform this variation so I thought it'd be fun to see them all together! I particularly enjoyed Bulanova, Khiteyeva, and Koshkareva, but they're all lovely!

Maria Bulanova at Vaganova Graduation (8th year, 2018)

Alexandra Khiteyeva at a class concert (6th year, 2017)

Maria Koshkareva competing at IBC Moscow (7th year, 2022)

Yaroslavna Kuprina competing at IBC Moscow (7th year, 2022)

Eleonora Sevenard in a gala concert (7th year, 2016)

Renata Shakirova at Vaganova Graduation (8th year, 2014)

#ballet #hebe #awakening of flora #maria bulanova #alexandra khiteyeva #maria koshkareva #yaroslavna kuprina #renata shakirova #kanon suzuki #Youtube #vaganova

[balletomaneblog]

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

[ballet-symphonie]

About Koshkareva, a few months ago I saw a story from a local St Petersburg TV station about their graduation (it was posted on the Vaganova telegram channel) and it said that she’d already signed a soloist contract. So apparently she didn’t even get hired as a corps member. What do you think of her and Kuprina debuting Gamzatti so soon?

Yes, my point was more so that she's a soloist, and Kuprina is doing the EXACT same roles for less. Absolute garabage.

Regarding their casting, it's on par with what the Bolshoi has been doing with all their 'young stars.' Doesn't mean I like it, but I'm not surprised anymore

#maria koshkareva #yaroslavna kuprina #bolshoi theatre #ballet #ballet ask #ballerina

[tikitania]

Wow koshkareva is freaking going on tour with the troupe to china in October or something and she’s performing Pas de deux from the ballet The Flames of Paris and also the Grand Pas Classique… Happy for her but also sad that the other grads had not been selected to go

Koshkareva is already a star in Russia just based on her Vaganova performances, gold medal at the MIBC, and general hype, so I can see why they are bringing her on tour to showcase her talent. Grand Pas Classique is no joke, so the are clearly have a lot of confidence in her. Part of me pines for when these baby ballerinas/phenoms had to cut their teeth in the corp for a year or so before getting leading parts, but it seems those days are over. Kuprina & Koshkareva will debut Paquita in October. Valiulina will perform a variation in the Grand Pas. Wishing them lots of health and time to prepare!

#ballet #prima ballerina #baby ballerinas #baby primas #bolshoi ballet #swan lake #paquita #maria koshkareva #yaroslavna kuprina #russian ballet #Sofia Valiullina

[balletomaneblog]

What do u think about valiullina debuting as myrtha, and koshkareva and kuprina debuting as gamzatti?

What’s your opinion for each dancer?

Ok so I am not even going to go into how they're too young because obviously that's true.

Sadly, Kuprina has been removed from all up-coming debuts, likely due to an injury. However, I think she's perfect for Gamzatti so I'm fairly sure they'll give her another shot at it once she gets better. I think Koshkareva will do fine with this role, but I will say that they've given her a lot of jumping girl roles like the First Bridesmaid in Don Quixote, Paquita, etc, and I honestly like her a lot better in adagio. So I hope that she gets more of those kind of roles in the future.

As for Valiullina, I really love her and it's great that she's been given Myrtha, similar to Kovalyova in her first season. However, I see her far more as Giselle and Kuprina more as Myrtha but I'm sure she'll do a great job. It just better not stop her from getting her Giselle debut one day!

As for my general opinion of each dancer, I do enjoy that they each are fairly different from one another. I honestly don't have a favorite, though I do have a soft spot for Valiullina ever since her Raymonda last year. But they're so so young so I'm very excited to see their debuts in the next month and get a better picture of them in the beginning of their professional career!

#ballet #bolshoi #maria koshkareva #sofia valiullina #yaroslavna kuprina #debut #gamzatti #myrtha

[ballet-symphonie]

Have you seen the clips of Koshkareva's, Kuprina's, and Valiullina's Paquita debuts with the Bolshoi? What are your opinions?

Personally, I think Kuprina's variation is the most difficult. The opening jump diagonal is tricky, doing that fouette out of the entrelace and back into another one requires very precise weight transfers. It's not easy to make it look good, and Kuprina handled the challenges elegantly with double a la seconde pirouettes to boot.

Valiullina looked strong and made a good impression with powerful grand battements and extended jetes and temps levé. Sometimes the second part of this variation gets convoluted but Valiullina's 5th position were precise and her transitions were crisp.

I was unfortunately the least impressed by Koshkareva. The diagonal of opening jumps was stunning but a sloppy, turned-in diagonal of tour piqué muddled the whole thing.

#maria koshkareva #ballet #ballerina #bolshoi theatre #ballet ask #yaroslavna kuprina #sofya Valiullina

[balletomaneblog]

Vaganova graduates Maria Koshkareva, Sofia Valiullina, and Yaroslavna Kuprina and BBA graduates Taisiya Konovalova and Polina Netsvetaeva-Dolgaleva are performing for the first time as a member of the Bolshoi Theatre on July 6th! They are all performing variations in the Paquita Grand Pas.

On this July 6th performance of the Paquita Grand Pas, Eva Sergeenkova is debuting Paquita!

#bolshoi #bolshoi ballet #maria koshkareva #yaroslavna kuprina #sofia valiullina #taisiya konovalova #polina netsvetaeva-dolgaleva #eva sergeenkova

[balletomaneblog]

Maria Koshkareva and Taisiya Konovalova (BBA '23 grad) are both debuting the role of Diamonds Leading Couple in Jewels in November!!

#ballet #maria koshkareva #taisiya konovalova #bolshoi #jewels #diamonds #debut

[ballet-symphonie]

I feel like Koshkaryova would have benefitted from an additional year of training, or a coach who is willing to tell her to cut out the tricks. I've seen some clips from her graduation exam, and she's so incredibly talented and then throws in some unnecessary sloppy triple attitude turns or extra something that she can't quite execute cleanly.

She doesn't need an additional year of training, she's more than competent. I think that the standard and expectation of exams under Tsiskaridze's administration have changed, it's clear that he wants the academy exams to show how their students are capable of pushing the limits of technique further, which I think he'd argue is necessary for the general progress of the art form. So I have fewer issues with the excessive showboating in exams, especially in solo sections.

But that's exams, and I do hope that she's coached more sensibly in BT and turns down some of the fanfare. Sevenard has fallen prey to the same demons sometimes and it doesn't leave the best impressions.

#maria koshkareva #nikoali tsiskaridze #ballet #ballet ask #bolshoi theatre #ballerina #russian ballet #vaganova ballet academy

[balletomaneblog]

About your recent ask, I saw that Koshkareva was offered a soloist position at the Bolshoi, so I guess that was it? I honestly was more bummed with Kuprina going to the BT because she has such good technique/lines/lyricism suited for the MT. But I'm happy for the other girls as well, such as Khiteeva, who are now getting opportunities. If the Mariinsky really didn't offer a high position to Koshkareva and Kuprina, I kinda agree. The BT/MT are trying so hard to find their new Vishneva/Zakharova, that they are taking girls fresh out of school to big soloists positions and how time has proven, it didn't go well. They can't repeat what Diana and Svetlana were, and they shouldn't try. There's nothing wrong with growing at the theater, like Lopatkina, Tereshkina, Novikova, Krysanova, Obraztsova, and many others who are now big names and climbed the ranks. I'm also hopeful that the MT may take Kulikova, Karamysheva, and Rissanen now.

Yes, a soloist position would be very hard to turn down, especially since right now Vaziev is pushing dancers even faster than Fateyev is at the Mariinsky.

And I too wanted Kuprina to go to the Mariinsky, definitely bummed about that.

Personally, I also prefer when dancers start in the Corps de Ballet, even if it's just for a year. I think it's nice for everyone to start out on a level playing field, though of course the theatre will give bigger roles to the "star" graduates right away. Starting in the Corps gives dancers the ability to build strength and experience without the added pressure of a higher rank.

I do agree that Vaziev is trying to replicate what he did with Zakharova and Vishneva at the Mariinsky now at the Bolshoi, so far with Sergeenkova and Ar. Denisova. I like these dancers a lot but think they could have benefited from a slightly slower trajectory. Now we'll see how quickly Kuprina, Koshkareva, and Valiullina move up in the ranks. I also think BBA graduates Netsvetaeva-Dolgaleva and Konovalova show great promise and might get some big parts right off the bat as well.

To your last comment, we know now that Kulikova and Karamysheva were taken by the Mariinsky! They're both wonderful young dancers and I'm so happy for them! As for Rissanen, as I said in an earlier post, often the Mariinsky takes longer to add international graduates to their website, so I'm not sure where she's going yet.

Thanks for such a detailed ask and I appreciate your insights and opinions!

#ballet #bolshoi #mariinsky #vaganova #maria koshkareva #yaroslavna kuprina #sofia valiullina #polina netsvetaeva-dolgaleva #taisiya konovalova #daria kulikova #angelina karamysheva #pinja rissanen