In classical ballet there are certain rules. I can't be an ordinary contemporary woman, I can only be a princess.

Hello, Melmoth. I just wanted to mention an issue that one of your readers brought up earlier, regarding Osipova and Vasiliev leaving the Bolshoi. Alexei Ratmansky said in an interview that he was brought in to update the company's repertoire, but not all dancers were satisfied with his changes. This was partly why he featured so many young dancers, like Osipova and Vasiliev, Krysanova, Kobakhidze and others; they were comparatively open-minded and more willing to accept his corrections. 

(However), some of the coaches didn't like Ratmansky, and would discourage their dancers from taking his recommendations. I believe that Osipova's coach told her that dancing Twyla Tharp would ruin her body. She went against her coach and won an award for her performance, but as you can imagine, it was very difficult to be caught in the Bolshoi's growing pains. This was why Ratmansky left, and Osipova and Vasiliev followed shortly after.

I received a lot (like, a lot) of questions after my comment about Eleonora Sevenard and the damage VBA’s overzealous PR campaign may have caused her. I also received a message from @aces8441 (who has previously given an insightful comments on “the Vaganova back”), which summarises my own feelings and thoughts very succinctly and with a lot more technical details:

“... she's exceptional. Specifics: foot placement, clarity of shape, distancing/pacing, and range. Elya's turns are world-class. She can do a complete six in slippers and a complete 7 in pointes. That's decisive. Her feet and natural hyper-extension automatically place her in the genetically perfect class, although one notch down from both Sveta and Khoreva who are borderline freakish. 

Finally, she has a component that is rarest of all: composure. Developing dancers at that age of that composure is what lead me to research changes at Vaganova about a year ago whereby I found your blog and re-discovered Nikolai. Nikolai has produced a different caliber student than his predecessor not just in terms of technique and execution, but in terms of mental fortitude. 

Further, I actually think introducing dancer/students to the Russian audience pre-company is Nikolai's strategic way of ensuring they are advocated for at the populace level and aren't sidelined due to Bolshoi internal melodrama. Elya will have a target on her back, but she will fill seats because of the exposure, which will ultimately secure her position, regardless of sniping competitors. 

Overhyped? Hardly. I will also say her BBA counterpart, Tatyana Osipova, who was cheekily cast as the white swan to Elya's Odile in the BBA graduation performance is exquisite. Less energetic, but stunningly lyrical. Will be a testament to the dramatic/tragic roles. She has a Maria Callas vibe to her that's very different from Sevenard's mature sweetness. Both I think will be overshadowed slightly by Khoreva, who barring injury, I believe will be the next true great. Though I don't want to jinx her and am terribly biased.” 

I agree wholeheartedly with the above comment. Also, I’m so happy that people are actually noticing how great Tatyana Osipova is. Postnova (ruby.tear) is the most famous BBA student, but Osipova is the one we should really be watching, in my opinion.