#mazzi

Moral Orel OC shenanigans

text-less under the cut.

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Hi, I really like your blog, it‘s my fav on tumblr! Do you probably know who is/are the top student/s from this year‘s Bolshoi graduates? And my 2. question: Has the Mariinsky ever taken a dancer from Bolshoi Academy?

Thank you! Sorry, I’m not across BBA and their students. I concentrate my attention on Vaganova. Yes, though it doesn’t happen very often, Mariinsky does occasionally hire BBA graduates. Polina Semionova was offered a spot at the company when she graduated (though she opted to leave Russia altogether) and Camilla Mazzi was hired as a trainee last year (she has since joined the company as a corps dancer). I’m sure there are other examples, but these are the two I can think of off the top of my head.

In Mariinsky, May Nagahisa is listed as a trainee. At first, she has three fellow trainees, and each of them disappeared one by one from the post. One of them, Camilla Mazzi, now as a corps de ballet, is provided main roles. What is the difference between the trainee and the corps de ballet who get a chance to dance the solo roles? Why is May Nagahisa still a trainee?

I suppose a corps dancer holds a more secure position with the company, whereas a trainee is there temporarily and isn’t necessarily guaranteed a permanent spot. The way I see it, a traineeship is a way for a dancer to get a foot in the door. Camilla was obviously impressive enough for the Mariinsky management to “promote” her to the corps. It remains to be see if May Nagahisa will be as successful. I don’t know when or if it will happen.

You said that if a dancer can't perform the steps of a choreography/ballet, shouldn't be given that role. Then, what do you think of Kristina Shapran not performing the one-footed hops on pointe in Giselle variation at the Mariinsky? (You can find some videos of her changing the choreography at that point)

To be completely honest, I was thinking specifically of Misty Copeland when I responded to that question because it was asked around the time of her “fouette fiasco”. Moreover, Misty is a repeat offender and actually writes in her book that she doesn’t think it is an issue and a dancer should be able to simplify steps if they think it’s necessary. I understand that sometimes a change like this is made out of absolute necessity (a dancer may be injured), but overall I stand by my original statement. Especially when it comes to the Mariinsky and the Bolshoi because these two companies are world leaders and must maintain a very high standard. I don’t want to comment on Shapran because I don’t know what the rest of her performance was like or what the reason was behind her choice not to go en point during that particular variation.