by Laura Cappelle | Nov 23, 2014 | Profiles
This story originally appeared in the December 2014/January 2015 issue of Pointe. You started out in gymnastics—did it have an effect on your dancing? It helps immensely. My father was a gymnastics coach, and I think that if my daughter wanted to become a...
by Jennifer Heimlich | Nov 28, 2001 | Company Life
The Mariinsky Ballet’s exquisite Ekaterina Kondaurova is coming to your local movie theater in 3D next month—courtesy of Avatar director James Cameron. The acclaimed filmmaker has teamed up with Mariinsky director Valery Gergiev to broadcast the first-ever live...
by Pointe Team | Nov 28, 2001 | Company Life
From the audience’s perspective, dancers can appear to be six feet tall. It’s a beautiful illusion, but most often not the case. Being a tall dancer can be difficult; while long limbs are a blessing, they are often hard to manage. But as this video proves, the...
by Pointe Team | Nov 28, 2001 | Company Life
At the Vaganova Ballet Academy, being chosen to dance a leading role in the final graduation performance is no small honor. One of the top ballet programs in the world, the Academy was founded in 1738 and has since trained countless stars, including Anna Pavlova,...
by Pointe Team | Nov 28, 2001 | Company Life
Don Quixote overflows with humor, flirtation and romance. And what better character to gather romance and energy than Cupid—performed in this video by the Bolshoi Ballet’s Evgenia Obraztsova. Obraztsova is one of the elite few holding the dream title of prima...
by Pointe Team | Nov 28, 2001 | Company Life
The Vaganova Academy has been a powerhouse for supreme technicians and artists for centuries. Iconic names—Balanchine, Nureyev, and Zakharova, to name a few—have sprung from the St. Petersburg school. Vaganova training transforms students to master the...
by Margaret Fuhrer | Nov 28, 2001 | Company Life
Sochi’s glittery closing ceremony last night celebrated Russian culture, and no such celebration would be complete without ballet, of course. But leave it to the Olympics to bring Russia’s two great—and very competitive—ballet houses together. How...
by Margaret Fuhrer | Nov 28, 2001 | Company Life
In a controversial move, former Bolshoi Ballet star Nikolai Tsiskaridze has been appointed rector of the renowned Vaganova Academy, associate school of the Mariinsky Ballet. Tsiskaridze is, to put it mildly, a polarizing figure. He has many admirers, but was fired...