#kolpakova

Aurora entrance through the ages

Are you too sensitive? Here’s a little wisdom from the great Irina Kolpakova!

That’s a great question. This photo has been the source of some frustration for me because (at least, according to my sources) few of these young women have been identified, and I have been trying to put faces to names for a long time myself.

We know for a fact that the young lady front and centre is Irina Gensler, while the last girl of the right is Irina Kolpakova. It’s also been suggested that the girl on Kolpakova’s left is Tatiana Legat, but I’m not sure if that’s the case. The rest is guesswork.

The photo was taken around 1950/1951, so I assume that most of these ladies belong to class of 1951 - the last group of students to graduate under Vaganova.

This photo of Vaganova’s class, taken in 1951, has the list of the students’ names on the back (left to right): Vika Novichenko, Ira Odintsova, Tamara Neugasova, Alla Osipenko (?), Lyuda Komissarova, Ira Kolpakova.

Based on the comparison of these two photos, I think the girl immediately behind Gensler bears some resemblance to Irina Odintsova and the girl to her left looks like Lyudmila Komissarova. I can’t place the last girl on the left at all.

If anyone can identify the young women in the first photograph, please let me know.

The incomparable Irina Kolpakova (who turns 85 in May - let that sink in for a second), one of Russia’s greatest ballerinas and one of Agrippina Vaganova’s last students, in rehearsal at ABT. 

It’s a tough question. The Soviet era spanned several decades and saw the emergence of several generations of extraordinary dancers, among them - some genuine trailblazers. I’d struggle to pick a favourite, since there are so many dancers I’m in completely in awe of, but I suppose that Ekaterina Maximova has always held a special place in my heart. Irina Kolpakova is a close second. Also, Ninel Kurgapkina is another ballerina I admire. I think she was ahead of her time in many respects.

Marina Semyonova is someone I’m completely fascinated with. I mean, we owe the existence of ballet in Russia (and, by extension, the rest of the world) to her. She’s had an incredible life and career and I would give a lot to get my hands on the book (“The Great Marina”) VBA published about her last year… Seriously. If anyone reading this is based in St Petersburg and can procure that book for me, you can have my firstborn.