by Dana Nichols For Dance Magazine | Dec 11, 2019 | Career
On Instagram this week, Misty Copeland reposted a picture of two Russian ballerinas covered head to toe in black, exposing the Bolshoi’s practice of using black face in the classical ballet La Bayadère. The post has already received over 60,000 likes and...
by Julia Guiheen | Sep 29, 2019 | News, Onstage
Wonder what’s going on in ballet this week? We’ve rounded up some highlights. Premieres and Cross-Genre Collabs at Fall for Dance Festival The annual Fall for Dance Festival at New York City Center kicks off on October 1. Now in its 16th year, the two-week...
by Julia Guiheen | Sep 18, 2019 | Profiles, TBT
What do Diana Vishneva, Olga Smirnova, Kristina Shapran and Maria Khoreva all have in common? These women, among the most impressive talents to graduate from the Vaganova Ballet Academy in recent years, all studied under legendary professor Lyudmila Kovaleva....
by Julia Guiheen | May 15, 2019 | Profiles, TBT
The Soviet Union redefined standards in classical ballet in the 1960s, producing opulent story ballets and dancers with refined, yet daring technique. Dancers like Natalia Makarova and Valery Panov, who were among the leading performers with the Kirov Ballet (now the...
by Claudia Bauer | Apr 11, 2019 | Career, Profiles
Before Maria Khoreva danced her first performance as a member of the Mariinsky Ballet, she was already a superstar, with devoted Instagram fans following her life as a pupil in the Vaganova Academy (follow her @marachok). Her talent was already obvious—as were...
by Laura Cappelle | Dec 21, 2018 | Profiles
The luminous Olesya Novikova has become one of St. Petersburg’s best-kept secrets. Pushed into leading roles early, the 34-year-old has been out of the limelight in recent years, partly because she has given birth to three children with husband Leonid Sarafanov....
by Laura Cappelle | Nov 6, 2018 | Profiles, Reverence
What do you enjoy more: performing or being in the studio? Performing. My coaches understand that I’m not a studio dancer—sometimes, in the studio, it can go quite horrendously. They’ll say: It’s okay, we know onstage you can do it. In reaching the...
by Julia Guiheen | Jul 11, 2018 | Profiles, TBT
Last summer, Mariinsky Ballet prima ballerina Uliana Lopatkina retired after more than 20 years as a principal. Adored in Russia and by audiences around the world, Lopatkina’s virtuosity, elegance and humble presence have been sorely missed. Although best known...