A BALLET BLOG

NOT AT ALL. One year without multiple prodigies doesn't mean she's loosing her touch. And…despite all the attention on Daria Pankova (Kasenkova), Arina Tsplayeva (Kovaleva) is the one who caught my eye. Her mature artistry in Ballades really stood out. Rumor has it that she's headed for the Bolshoi, which makes me so sad because she would make a lovely Mariinsky soloist. Call me crazy, but I really like her partner, Sergey Benedichuk. He's got a wild look about him that I find intriguing. He's definitely not boring on stage. But Look at how lovely Tseplayeva is! Le Sigh….

In Ballades:

And in Classical Symphony:

I’m not surprised….it was gutsy to compete in her graduation year. I’ll give her that. It felt like a lot to squeeze into the last two weeks of June.

Her Gamzatti was powerful but lacked finesse, which is my overall critique of Daria Pankova. Same with her Paquita variation. The elegance was missing. Maybe she just needs a bit more time or rest. I’m disappointed for her, but not surprised. Anyway, she’s off to the Bolshoi and I wish her luck! They have a large incoming cohort from what I gather.

Hello Anon….I haven’t had time! I watched the first part of Round 1 Juniors and was a bit underwhelmed—and turned off by all the Swanilda variation. A lot of stiff but cloying performances, which is what I hate about competitions. I chalked it up to nerves. But the Moscow boys look so good overall! Why can’t Vaganova crank out top notch male dancers if Moscow (and Korea) can?

I hope to watch more of Round 2, but I’m on a family vacation, so I imagine that I may only get to highlight reels between the time zone differences and travel.

You have 💯 nailed the absurdity of this ballet. I’ve seen the same clips as you, and I wondered if this version (by Ratmansky, I think) is a bit of a loving, tongue-in-cheek satire of the original which was a bit of a Soviet “we’re all happy” on the collective, working-man-hero vibe.

The Bolshoi continues to post its casting as late as possible so there is no July playbill at this point. However, it is now official that Yaroslavna Kuprina is cast as Phrygia on the 16th of June - her second major Grigorovich role after Shirin. I'm also curious to see what the premier cast for Max Petrov's Anna Karenina ends up being.

Hello Anon! I'm so very excited for them, and especially Ustyuzhanina! Today, the theatre released casting for Yacobson's Brilliant Divertissement and that cast is also entirely comprised of the younger generation. However, as much as I love seeing these younger dancers get opportunities, I noticed a couple of omissions that I wanted to dicuss. But first, the exciting debuts.

Alicia Barinova getting Aurora on July 19th is so deserved. Her aristry and abilities have just blossomed on stage—from her sparkling Henriette to a very refined Pad d'Action in La Fille du Pharaon. Aurora is such a leap in endurance, but I think she's ready.

Daria Ustyuzhanina as the Sylphe in La Sylphide on the same day….Amazing! Yes!!!! I feel silly for not thinking of this one myself because it's so obvious. I'd love to see her as Aurora, too. She has the Larissa Lezhnina vibe.

Another debut is Ekaterina Morozova as the Queen of the Dryands in DQ on June 30th. This is a debut, right?

Maria Bulanova, Valeria Kuznetsova, Roma Gudaleev, and Alexei Orokhovsky getting the leads in Le Jeune Homme et la Mort was thrilling…Just getting rights this ballet at the Mariinsky is a huge coup given the political situation in Russia and the cultural iron wall that has come down after Putin started this awful war. This event merits casting the most celebrated dancers, and so I was absolutlely shocked that Skorik was not in the mix. The femme fatale figure of Death is a prima role, and that's reflected in Tereshkina's casting. Skorik has been grumbling about not getting opportunities to dance, and this feels like a big omission. I'm upset for her. She's also omitted from the upcoming run of Legend of Love. WHY??? She's one of the best Mehmene Banu's in the theatre. It feels criminal. There's one La Bayadere on July 24th that has not yet announced casting…Will Skorik be in it?

On a brighter note...I'm very interestd in this young man: Yaroslav Borovitsky. He's debuting Leningrad Symphony with Ekaterina Kondaurova on June 22. What an immense responsiblity because this ballet is so significant to St. Petersburg audiences. He's also paired with Kuznetsova in the upcoming Brilliant Divertissement performances. This is his first year in the theartre after graduating from the Eifman school. I find his trajectory quite interesting, and he's one to watch for sure! Egor Rachin is another Eifman graduate now dancing in the Mariinsky since 2022 and slowing getting soloist roles.

I also noticed that Eusenia Anushenkova was originally cast in the Giselle Act 2 PPD for the Ballet Gala on June 23, but is now replaced by Christina Shapran. Anushenkova is no longer listed in the upcoming Chopiniana, so I'm guessing that she's injured. Although I do want to see more Shapran, I wish it were under different circumstances.

In the same gala, Camilla Mazzi will dance the Sleeping Beauty Act 3 PPD, which is interesting since she debuted Aurora a few years ago to disappointing reviews. Interesting.

Yana Peneva and Alexei Orokhovsky will dance the Diana & Acteon PDD as part of that gala. It's been a banner year for these new dancers….Peneva is another one who has looked great on stage, in total command of her technique and can draw in the audience. And at the end of the season, Orokhovsky & Gudalev will debut Solor. WOW!

Missing in action: Mei Nagahisa who I presume is injured. Chernavskaya, too. While Andrey Ermakov has been making a gradual return to the stage, has anyone heard anything about the status of Philip Stepin? It's been crickets about his status and I'm worried for him. Is he just going to quietly retire? Le Jeune Homme et la Mort from the opening sequence of the movie, White Nights with Baryshnikov.

Hello Anon! I also thought Bulanova had a strong debut, but it wasn't easy to find footage from the entire performance. Clips of Bulanova's Odile were plentiful while Odette not so much. I did eventually find some — and pored over them. For Kuznetsova'a debut the opposite was true! Obviously, people were sharing the best impressions of each. Anyway, what I liked is Bulanova's characterizations—she didn't play Odette as this fragile, tremulous victim, but she entered the stage as a Swan Queen who never surrendered her regality even under Rothbart's spell. Her Odile was beguiling without the wholly unnecessary vampiness that some dancers embrace. (Khoreva is the worst culprit of this…I really do not like her Odile.) Bulanova's epaulement was very sophisticated and she was technically assured throughout. Were the turns a ala seconde necssary, no? But they were exciting and well-executed. BUT…a critique that I had throughout was that Bulanova sometimes lacked the plasticity in her back that gives Odette/Odile such lush, swan-like movements. And there were quite a few moments when her hands lacked the right texture. They looked flat like she was doing Leonid Yacobson's "Dying Swan" (see photo below of Daria Kulikova.) But there were times when she had beautiful hands, so It's not a consisistent critique. Someone with Bulanova's level of training should have a gorgeously pliant back and fluttering fingertips that make Swan Lake such a revelation. However, between her fan base and her current form, I'm sure that she'll get more chances at this role and I look forward to seeing improvements.

Classical Symphony: Irina Sukhanova as lead for Suite 2. No pictures of the other suites yet.

Children's Pas de Deux: I don't know who it is, but she's in a lilac leotard, so she's in the middle grades, 3-5.

Ballades: I could be wrong, but I think it's Irina Sukhanova again, along with Daria Prudnikova having solo roles.

Don Quixote: Daria Pankova is Kitri. Ilona Rikhter is Cupid. I cannot recognise Queen of Dryads to save my life, she's too far from the camera. Based on the pictures, the suite comprises at least the Dream Scene as well as the Act 3 PDD.

There are also character dances which I cannot place - it doesn't look like anything from any act of DQ, but I guess we'll find out? I think the character lead looks like Veronika Zhupakova. One of the character demi-soloists looks like Kamilla Knysheva.

There are two girls in long character skirts who could be the Flower Girls, if this DQ suite includes them. They look vaguely like Yasmina Aziz and Natasha Furman, but it's difficult to tell because their faces are tilted up in the only picture. I don't see those two anywhere else.

Again, I'm quite bad with faces so please someone look at the pictures VBA posted on Telegram and fact check me :)

Thanks, Anon!! Putting this out there for the hive mind to help.

She coached so many of the theater’s stars and upcoming talents. The impact at the Mariinsky will be felt for a long time: Tereshkina, Illiushkina, Evseeva, Kuznetsova, Savalieva…I’m sure there are more. 🕊️

I have recently learned about the Spartacus ballet after listening to my teacher’s stories about his time at the Mariinsky. I’ve been looking for versions to watch of it online but have only seen recordings of the Bolshoi. Do you have any favorite performances you’d recommend? Or any dancers in the lead roles that are a must see? The music is phenomenal I’m sad it’s not a ballet you see performed much outside of Russia.

Hello Anon! This is such a great question, and really one for an expert in Soviet ballet, which I am not. What I do know is that Spartacus is very much a ballet associated with the Bolshoi, although other theaters in Russia (and former Soviet Republics) do perform this every so often…it's a Bolshoi ballet in every sense. I'm not aware of the Mariinsky ever performing this work, though they do perform the version by Leonid Yacobsen. Just last summer, the Bolshoi thrilled St. Petersburg audiences when they brought this production to the Mariinsky in one of their exchanges. It wasn't until 2016 that a European company even attempted to tackle this work when it was staged in Munich. In my mind, Grigorovich's Spartacus is the ultimate expression of Soviet ballet, where the common man is the hero against evil powerful forces —and the emphasis is on dramatic storytelling, muscular choreography, and male bravado. Historically, I believe this role was originally created for Vladimir Vasiliev, who many assert was the very best Spartacus. He recently passed away not long after Grigorovich, and the two greats of Soviet ballet dying within months of each other was significant in the minds of Russian ballet fans. Truly the end of an era. I've included a gift 1975 NY Times review of Vasilev's performance here, and here's a screen grab which might be too small to read. I also wanted to share this amazing article by Clive Barnes, the preeminent NY Times ballet critic, who describes Grigorovich's impact on Russian ballet.

And lastly, I would start with this movie version of the ballet with Vladimir Vasiliev and Ludmila Semenyaka. Start with the OG's and then you can find more recent recordings on YouTube of which there are quite a few. Phyrgia's adagio starting around 01:02:00 and the subsequent pas de deux gets me every time. Enjoy!

I agree..but I think it could be a very poignant as an opener danced by 4th or 5th year students as a reminder of how far they've come. But yeah…it's an odd choice. Or maybe they have a "standout" younger student that they want to feature?? Whatever the reasons, we'll find out who's dancing this PDD soon.

So happy for her!!!!!!

Hello, Anon!!!! Thank you for the update — and also to the many other Anons who write in to let me know. I AM THRILLED! Valiullina is a natural for the role of Jeanne and I CANNOT WAIT to see clips!

I think it was universally agreed that she was more of a Mariinksy style dancer—and I remember watching a Ballet with Isabella video where she also remarked on Valiullina's presentation during the Vaganova exams. Maybe Valiullina will eventually make it back to her "home" theater, but I really want to celebrate her current successe at the Mikh, which is no small feat. Now about Flames of Paris…it's one ballet that I have not seen fron start to finish, and I cannot really tell the the difference between the Bolshoi's version ostensibly by Ratmanksy, and the one at the Mikhailovsky that is credited to Messerer. I know they both heavily rely on the original Vaionen choreography…but are there any real material differences? But given how familiar the main variations are, one would think that The Flames of Paris would be more frequently performed in the West, but it's not…anyone know why? Is it a licensing issue?

In the meantime, I'm hoping that I can find some Mikhilovsky fans on TG who liberally share their footage. But until the debut, enjoy this little clip with Oksana Bondareva and Ivan Vasilieyev from the Mikhailovsky.

Do you know who will dance at this year graduation performances at VBA and BBA? VBA is doing 4 performances: Ballades, Children pas de deux?, Classical Symphony and Suite from Don Quixote (is that the first act or the third act?). They have good 7th graders and 8th year graduates so the solist roles will be interesting.

And do you know if there will be promotions at the Mariinsky theathre? I have a feeling they lack of young women and men solists.

P.S This summer is Moscow ballet competition and it will be interesting to see who will go there from VBA and BBA. Some 7th year girls from VBA follow it at instagram. And I think that Maria Koshkareva will participate in a senior group.

Hello Anon, answers in order below: 1) Vaganova & BBA casting... I have no idea! I'm assuming that the names bandied about as the top girls and boys will be cast in the leads, but I have not paid a lot of attention. I am, however, very excited that Classical Symphony is one of the chosen ballets. I love the Prokoviev score, and it's great for showcasing Vaganova students. Love this choice.

I'm also very curious about the Ballades piece as I follow this choerographer couple on TG, Sofia Gaidukova & Konstatin Matulevsky (NEVERDANCEFORCER.) From the few rehearsal clips that I saw, it looks very much like a big ensemble piece that will feature a few couples. As for Don Q, I'm assuming that it will be Act 2 because it has some good character dance sections as well as the Dream Scene that showcases corp formation work and highlights standout students in the three main variations: Cupid, Queen of the Dryads, and Dulcinea. Act 1 feels too much like scene setting and doesn't really pay off in a divertisment program. Act 3 would be asking a LOT of students, and I just dont' see it happening. Act 2 starts around 01:12:00

2) Mariinsky Promotions. I love to speculate on this topic, but given that they've recently promoted Kuznetsova, Enikeev, Baibourdin, Peneva, Gudalev, and Orohovsky to 2nd soloist. Khiteeva, Bulanova, and Borodulina to 1st soloist, I don't really see that much movement. BUT here's what I think should happen just based on each dancer's debuts and workload this past season: Corps —> Coryphée Anastasia Yaromenko Daria Ustyuzhanina Maya Paliolinis Polina Parfenova Veselina Ilieva

Kahlid Mardini Akim Bakaev Anton Osterov Mikhail Barkadidja - He got injured in his Ali debut, but hoping it's not serious Danil Zinoviev

Coryphée / Corps —> 2nd Soloist Maria Chernavskaya - assuming she'll be 100% after her rehab Evgeny Deryabin Ramanbek Beishenaliyev Aaron Osawa-Horowitz 2nd Soloist —> 1st Soloist Anastasia Lukina Maxim Izmestyev - He is way too talented to be 2nd soloist Alexei Timofeev 1st soloist —> Principal Roman Belyakov

Nikita Korneev Christina Shapran ** ** I've been hoping that they give her classic roles again (Giselle, Odette/Odile, Nikiya.) I'd love to see her dancing at the level again next season. If they do, they should make her a principal. I've read that she's prone to injury, but she is so lovely on stage. I'm truly puzzled why she is so underutilized. Lilac Fairy every blue moon doesn't seem fair. Just look at her!

3) MIBC - From the Mariinksy, I think Peneva, Orhovsky, and Gudaleva will be there — the latter two definitely since their coach, Leonid Sarafanov, confirmed it in an interview. All three have something to prove…that their hiring as soloists wasn't a mistake. I'm a huge fan of Gudalev. He's very special. From Vaganova, I have no idea! Your guess is proably better than mine. I'm thinking that any student who wants a contract with the Mariinsky or Bolshoi who already hasn't been offered a contract will enter. But I can almost guarantee that Koshkaryova will not be there. She's already a leading soloist at the Bolshoi and rising star in the ballet world. She has no need. Dancers who enter this competition are trying to get noticed: Either they want to leave their regional companies and work in the major cities. Elena Svinko was a leading ballerina in Krasnoyarsk, and got an offer from the Mikhailovsky after the 2022 competition, followed by a Mariisnky contract; or talented students who are trying to get noticed outside of their school; or corps members looking to advance their careers within their own companies, which Maxim Izmestyev did in 2022. Fateev couldn't ignore him after that!