#bethea

do you know what Gisele Bethea is up to? i remember her being a huge deal a few years ago, but haven’t heard much recently.

I don’t know anything beyond what’s on her instagram.

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i Melmoth, this may seem like a weird question but is Ilya Kuznetsov from the Pro Ballet channel's wife from an East Asian country like Korea? I'm just curious because it seems like Russia is quite a homogenous society (with the exception of ppl from ex Soviet states)

Sol is from South Korea.

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In your answer about Bulanova you said Sevenard was also criticised for weight, what happened? To me Bulanova looks perfectly skinny, not Khoreva-like, but still very skinny. Sevenard looks more muscular, and I think this is why she has those gorgeous rotations, but I might be wrong. I would like to know for what was/is she criticised about when it comes both to her body and her dancing.

When people fixate on a dancer (in a negative way), the first thing they criticise is the dancer’s weight. To them, the dancer is either too fat or anorexic, there’s no in-between. The technique also gets pulled apart but, as you can imagine, none of this feedback is constructive. Basically, it’s just bashing.

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Why do you think Elya Sevenard was overexposed? She was amazingly talented and the other good girls in her year were injured so obviously her workload was major..

I mean she was overexposed in the media. Tsiskaridze kept shouting her name from rooftops, which put a target on her back. People were really nasty about her and to her for several years because of this.

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Why do you say that Lopatkina wasn’t expected to get so far? Was it because she’s not very flexible? I thought she epitomized everything about the old Vaganova school. She danced in the old fashion, the way that the dancers in the 70’s did. Was the ballet world’s preference already leaning toward the more flexible type of ballerina?

According to Ulyana’s teacher, she had a lot of issues with her technique. That being said, she was still a very talented student and one of the best in her class. I’m sure people thought she’d do well at the Mariinsky, but no one knew she was going to be, you know, LOPATKINA.

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Is it my impression or the incredible admiration Sevenard has for Rodkin has made him become more peacock-y? I’m sure having great beauty and lots of fans is already enough but the fact she considers him perfect( he said so) and dedicates her life to him basically, made his confidence boost. Maybe it’s just me anyway n I do really like him btw

I think she’s just made him very happy and you can see that in his attitude, behaviour, etc.

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Soobin Lee was just promoted to second soloist at Boston Ballet!

I’m happy for her but I’m still bitter she’s not at the Mariinsky. She belongs at the Mariinsky goddamnit!

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Hi Melmoth, this is quite a random question but is it just me or do the more famous Bolshoi dancers tend to act more like celebrities than dancers and those at the Mariinsky, even though they are famous, act as dancers rather than celebrities?

I think some dancers definitely act more like celebrities than artists. And you’re right, I think the Bolshoi dancers tend to do this more than the Mariinsky ones... Maybe it’s because the Bolshoi is considered Russia’s “main stage”. Or maybe it’s because St Petersburg is just more aristocratic and the dancers’ behaviour reflects that. It really annoys me, even though I understand that media presence and commercial partnerships are necessary in this day and age.