#borchenko

A compilation of responses to “opinion” requests. Thank you for asking.

Ekaterina Borchenko

Of all the leading ladies of the Mikhailovsky Theatre, Angelina Vorontsova is my absolute favourite, but Borchenko is a close second. To be honest, I think she should be at the Mariinsky and I’m not sure why she was never hired by the company. Borchenko graduated from VBA and was Lyudmila Kovaleva’s student. I think all of Kovaleva’s graduates share a certain slickness (for lack of a better word) and clarity of technique. When I watch Borchenko, the one word that comes to mind is “style”. I think she is a stylish ballerina. Not sure if that makes sense.

Kimin Kim

First off, I think Kimin and Renata Shakirova are perfect together. I think they might be my favourite duet at the Mariinsky right now. Otherwise, my previous response still stands.

Andrey Ermakov

He’s a good danseur. Solid first soloist. I loved him as Vronsky, opposite Ulyana Lopatkina’s Anna Karenina, but I like him less in purely classical ballets like “La Bayadere” or “Raymonda”. I know that many people are upset that he hasn’t been made principal yet, but I can actually see why he’s still a soloist. 

I’ve mentioned before that it’s hard for me to review younger danseurs because my opinions are heavily influenced by years of watching Tsiskaridze (and other danseurs of his generation). I expect eloquence, precision, lyricism, musicality, passion, wit... In other words, I expect too much and am often left disappointed. In Ermakov’s case, my biggest complaints are his oftentimes laboured jumps and somewhat lacklustre delivery. 

Yana Selina 

To be honest, I don’t know much about Selina. This ask mentioned “The Fountain of Bakhchisarai”, so I watched those videos, and I found Yana very gentle, charming and expressive as Maria. A real pleasure to watch!

Yekaterina Chebykina 

I’m not overly familiar with the Mariinsky’s second soloists (except Shakirova). I know that Chebykina is a Ukrainian expat and is a relatively (2013) recent addition to the company. I’ve only seen a couple of clips, and I can’t say that I’m a fan. Her technique seems kind of sloppy and she lacks the “character” some of her character roles demand. For example, here’s Chebykina as the street dancer in “Don Q”:

Anastasia Soboleva 

One of the many gifted Bolshoi runaways who ended up at the Mikhailovsky... A charming and lively ballerina.

Evelina Godunova

I've never heard of her until the Moscow competition. She did a spectacular job! 

Miko Fogarty

Please have a look at my previous response.

Camilla Mazzi

Haven’t seen enough of her to form an opinion, but she must be really darn good if the Mariinsky hired her as a trainee. Not only is she a foreigner, but she studied at BBA. The Mariinsky only take in BBA grads once in a blue moon.

May Nagahisa

As in the case of Camilla Mazzi, I am first and foremost impressed that the Mariinsky hired a foreign graduate. Again, I have seen too little of May to form an opinion, but I’m excited to see how she’ll do in the future.