Correspondent at the Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theater of Belarus Naviny . by I learned first-hand what ballet dancers wear under tights and why it is believed that many of them are gay.Read about the pregnancy of ballerinas and one day off a week in our 10 facts.
To figure out which rumors about the Belarusian ballet are true and which are pure fiction, let the correspondent Naviny. by theater artist helped Gennady Kulinkovich with ballerina assistants.
1. Are ballet dancers fragile and fluffy?
Hearing: During one performance, a ballet dancer lifts and carries about 2 tons of weight.
Is it true: Physical exercise really big. On stage - it depends on the production, of course - a ballet dancer, a man lifts the ballerina many times. In modern productions all you do is lift and set, lift and set, lift, circle, set. If you count the number of lifts, then yes, two tons is a real number.
In addition, ballet dancers rehearse and train a lot. This is also a burden. We have rehearsals every day, except for the day off, which is once a week. Plus performances.
2. Ballet dancers get sick more often
Hearing: Due to heavy workloads and constant diets, ballet dancers get sick more often than others.
Is it true: The ballet rehearsal halls of the Bolshoi Theater of Belarus are equipped with bactericidal lamps, like in a hospital. In winter, when the flu begins and other viruses appear, then individual employee turns on these lamps for half an hour to disinfect the room. This is very important so that diseases do not spread: we all work in close contact, train and rehearse for many hours. If someone brought a disease, then it is neutralized.
3. Occupational diseases in ballet
Hearing: Feet are the most painful place on a dancer’s body.
Is it true: This is partly true. Occupational diseases of dancers are diseases of the joints. Ballet dancers have protruding bones at their big toes, their joints become inflamed and naturally hurt. Women also have this disease, but it is caused by uncomfortable, tight shoes that deform the foot. For ballet masters, there is constant stress on the toes and forefoot: many movements in ballet are performed on the toes.
The second common class of health problems is prolapse of internal organs from constant jumping. Everything is individual, but often the kidneys, heart, and other internal organs, which subsequently put pressure on the bladder.
4. Young pensioners
Hearing: Some people think that ballerinas retire too early.
Is it true. By law, ballet dancers retire after 23 years of work experience. Maternity leave time is not counted towards length of service. As a result, ballet dancers become young pensioners. However, many of them do not actually retire: depending on their state of health, retired dancers work as tutors, teachers, stage managers, stage workers, costume designers, etc.
To the interlocutor Naviny. by Gennady Kulinkovich has two years left until retirement. In the future, the dancer also plans to engage in teaching.
5. Abnormal operation
Hearing: Ballet theater artists have two days off a week, just like ordinary citizens
Is it true. Ballet dancers work 6 days a week. There is only one day off - Monday. During the summer, due to the fact that spectators migrate to dachas and to the sea, the day off at the Bolshoi Theater is moved to Saturday. The female part of the troupe is happy about this: finally there is an opportunity to spend time with their family. Men grumble: when Monday is a day off, you can at least relax and not do household chores.
The working day of ballet masters is also abnormal in understanding ordinary person: from 10:00 to 15:00, then a three-hour break, after the break, work resumes at 18:00 due to evening performances. The official working day for ballet workers ends at 21:00.
A long break is necessary so that after morning workouts and rehearsals, the body had time to rest and recover before evening work.
This is convenient for young dancers: they can study during the break. Gennady Kullinkovich, for example, received a higher choreographic education this way. But now he sees few advantages in this schedule.
“With such a schedule it is very difficult to arrange a personal life. Look at me: 38 years old, and no family, no children. My whole life is in the theatre,”- says Gennady.
6. Are ballet and children incompatible?
Hearing: Due to requirements for appearance, ballerinas have to give up motherhood.
Is it true: Having a family and children at the height of their career is really more difficult for ballet dancers than for representatives of other professions: both the work schedule and the fact that postpartum restoration of shape requires time and effort. So girls use two strategies: either start a family and children immediately after college/university, or postpone it until they retire.
Despite the unfavorable circumstances, there are ballerinas in the Bolshoi Theater of Belarus who have two, and some even three, children.
“We, just like doctors and teachers, combine work and pregnancy. We plan, go on maternity leave, recover and continue working. This is a matter for each individual artist, but during pregnancy, the sooner you leave dancing, the better for you and your unborn child. This is associated with risks: here you need to bend, jump, you can fall and get hurt,”- told website ballerinas of the Bolshoi.
“We are the best mothers, wives, and we also know how to dance and tiptoe around the kitchen,”- ballerinas joke in response to a question about the specifics of family life.
7. If he dances in ballet, that means he’s gay.
Hearing: There are many gays among ballet dancers.
Is it true: This is a common stereotype, says ballet dancer Gennady Kullinkovich. We no longer react to it. This is what they say about all men who dance. It is born out of a misunderstanding on the part of the viewer: how can men remain indifferent and calm surrounded by so much beauty and nudity. Spectators often find themselves behind the scenes, and men are shocked: here everyone changes clothes, intimate parts of their bodies are at arm's length... But we are already accustomed to this and react as if it were something normal. So the viewer thinks that the men in the ballet are gay.
8. What does a dancer wear under his tights?
Hearing: Dancers don’t wear panties.
Photo pixabay.com
Is it true: There is more talk about the underwear of male artists than about the underwear of ballerinas: the viewer under a snow-white tights, to his surprise, does not see the expected outlines of the panties.
Gennady Kulinkovich said that dancers have their own secrets. Manufacturers of dancewear meet the expectations of artists and produce seamless models of special underwear that is invisible under the costume - bandages. A store located near the Bolshoi sells special clothes for dancers.
9. Meat in pointe shoes
Hearing: Ballerinas put meat in their pointe shoes to reduce injury to their feet.
Is it true: No meat is included. There are more modern methods leg protection. Ballet companies produce special half shoes that cover only the toes. They are silicone. Some people don’t add anything - it’s already convenient for them. Silicone inserts for pointe shoes are not produced in Belarus; they are made in the USA, China, and Russia.
Photo pixabay.com
Over the course of a year, a ballerina wears out 5-10 pairs of pointe shoes, depending on the load. Some artists have their own lasts - three-dimensional copies of feet made by masters, from which pointe shoes are made to order.
10. Dancing pays well.
Hearing: Artists earn a lot.
Is it true: Everything is relative. The earnings of ballet dancers depend on their position in the troupe: leading stage master, soloist or corps de ballet dancer. The number of scenes worked in productions also affects. For each performance, points are awarded, which are kept by a special theater employee. The amount of points for each dance is different, standard for all artists, it depends on the complexity and duration of the performance. The amount of points received affects the bonus. Thus, the salary of a corps de ballet dancer is around 120 rubles, and the bonus awarded for performances can exceed it several times.
Photo by Sergei Balay
The dance style of this ballerina cannot be confused with anyone else. A clear, carefully honed gesture, measured movement around the stage, the utmost laconicism of costumes and movements - these are the features that immediately distinguish M. Plisetskaya.
After graduating from the Moscow Choreographic School, where Plisetskaya studied with teachers E. P. Gerdt and M. M. Leontyeva, from 1943 she worked at the Bolshoi Theater. From the very beginning creative path Plisetskaya’s special artistic individuality emerged. Her work is distinguished by a rare combination of purity of line with imperious expression and rebellious dynamics of dance. And her excellent external characteristics - a long step, a high, light jump, rapid rotations, unusually flexible, expressive hands and the finest musicality - once again confirm that Plisetskaya not only became a ballerina, but was born one.
Anna Pavlovna Pavlova(February 12, 1881 – January 23, 1931), Russian ballerina.
Pavlova's art is a unique phenomenon in the history of world ballet. For the first time she turned academic dance into mass appearance art, close and understandable even to the most unprepared public.
Legends envelop her entire life from birth to death. According to the documents, her father was a soldier of the Life Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment. However, even during the ballerina’s lifetime, newspapers wrote about her aristocratic origins.
Galina Sergeevna
Ulanova(January 8, 1910 – March 21, 1998), Russian ballerina.
Ulanova’s work constituted an entire era in the history of world ballet. She not only admired the filigree art of dance, but conveyed with every movement state of mind of your heroine, her mood and character.
The future ballerina was born into a family where dance was a profession. Her father was famous dancer and a choreographer, and his mother was a ballerina and teacher. Therefore, Ulanova’s admission to the Leningrad Choreographic School was completely natural. At first she studied with her mother, and then the famous ballerina A. Ya. Vaganova became her teacher.
In 1928, Ulanova brilliantly graduated from college and was accepted into the troupe of the Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theater. Soon she becomes the leading performer of the roles of the classical repertoire - in the ballets of P. Tchaikovsky “ Swan Lake" and "The Nutcracker", A. Adam "Giselle" and others. In 1944 she became a soloist at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow.
Marius Ivanovich Petipa(March 11, 1818 - July 14, 1910), Russian artist, choreographer.
The name of Marius Petipa is known to everyone who is even slightly familiar with the history of ballet. Wherever today there are ballet theaters and schools, where films and television programs dedicated to ballet are shown, books about it are published amazing art, know and honor this person. Although he was born in France, he worked all his life in Russia and is one of the founders of modern ballet.
Petipa once admitted that from birth his whole life was connected with the stage. Indeed, his father and mother were famous artists ballet and lived in the large port city of Marseille. But Marius’s childhood was spent not in the south of France, but in Brussels, where the family moved immediately after his birth in connection with his father’s new appointment.
Marius's musical abilities were noticed very early, and he was immediately sent to the Great College and Conservatory to study violin. But his first teacher was his father, who taught a ballet class at the theater. In Brussels, Petipa appeared on stage for the first time as a dancer.
He was only twelve years old at that time. And already at sixteen he became a dancer and choreographer in Nantes. True, he worked there for only a year and then, together with his father, went on his first foreign tour to New York. But, despite the purely commercial success that accompanied them, they quickly left America, realizing that there was no one there to appreciate their art.
Returning to France, Petipa realized that he needed to get a deeper education, and became a student of the famous choreographer Vestris. The classes quickly yielded results: in just two months he became a dancer, and later a choreographer at the ballet theater in Bordeaux.
Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev(March 31, 1872 - August 19, 1929), Russian theater figure, impresario, publisher.
Diaghilev did not know his mother; she died during childbirth. He was raised by his stepmother, who treated him the same as her own children. Therefore, for Diaghilev, the death of his half-brother in Soviet time became a real tragedy. Perhaps that is why he stopped striving to return to his homeland.
Diaghilev's father was a hereditary nobleman, a cavalry guard. But due to debts, he was forced to leave the army and settle in Perm, which was considered at that time Russian outback. His house almost immediately becomes the center cultural life cities. Parents often played music and sang at the evenings held in their house. Their son also took music lessons. Sergei received such a diverse education that when he ended up in St. Petersburg after graduating from high school, he was in no way inferior in knowledge to his St. Petersburg peers and sometimes even surpassed them in terms of erudition and knowledge of history and Russian culture.
Diaghilev's appearance turned out to be deceptive: the big provincial man, who seemed like a bumpkin, was quite well read and spoke several languages fluently. He easily entered the university environment and began to be listed as a student at the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University.
At the same time, he plunged into theatrical and musical life capital Cities. The young man takes private piano lessons from the Italian A. Cotogna, attends a class at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, tries to compose music, and studies history artistic styles. During the holidays, Diaghilev made his first trip to Europe. He seems to be looking for his calling, turning to various areas art. Among his friends are L. Bakst, E. Lanseray, K. Somov - the future core of the World of Art association.
Vaslav Fomich Nijinsky(March 12, 1890 – April 8, 1950), Russian dancer and choreographer.
In the 1880s, a troupe of Polish dancers performed successfully in Russia. It was staffed by husband and wife – Tomasz and Eleanor Nijinsky. They became the parents of the future great dancer. Theater and dance entered Vaclav’s life from the first months of his life. As he himself later wrote, “the desire to dance was as natural to me as breathing.”
In 1898 he entered the St. Petersburg Ballet School, graduated in 1907 and was accepted into the Mariinsky Theater. The outstanding talent of a dancer and actor immediately brought Nijinsky to the position of prime minister. He performed many parts of the academic repertoire and was a partner of such brilliant ballerinas as O. I. Preobrazhenskaya, A. P. Pavlova,.
Already at the age of 18, Nijinsky danced the main roles in almost all new ballets staged on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater. In 1907 he danced the White Slave in the Armida Pavilion, in 1908 the Slave in Egyptian Nights and the Young Man in Chopiniana staged by M. M. Fokin, and a year later he performed the role of the Hurricane in the ballet Talisman by Drigo directed by N. G. Legat.
And yet, in 1911, Nijinsky was fired from the Mariinsky Theater because, while performing in the ballet “Giselle,” he voluntarily put on a new costume made according to a sketch by A. N. Benois. By appearing on stage half-naked, the actor irritated the members of the royal family sitting in the boxes. Even the fact that by this time he was one of the most famous dancers of Russian ballet could not protect him from dismissal.
Ekaterina Sergeevna Maksimova(February 1, 1939 - April 28, 2009), Russian Soviet and Russian ballerina, choreographer, choreographer, teacher, People's Artist of the USSR.
This unique ballerina has not left the stage for thirty-five years. However, Maksimova is still connected with ballet today, since she is a teacher and tutor at the Kremlin Ballet Theater.
Ekaterina Maksimova received special education at the Moscow Choreographic School, where her teacher was the famous E. P. Gerdt. While still a student, Maksimova received first prize at the All-Union Ballet Competition in Moscow in 1957.
She began her service to art in 1958. After graduating from college, the young ballerina came to Grand Theatre and worked there until 1988. Small in stature, perfectly proportioned and surprisingly flexible, it seemed that nature itself was destined for classical roles. But it soon became obvious that her capabilities were truly limitless: she performed both classical and modern roles with equal brilliance.
The secret of Maximova’s success is that she continued to study all her life. The famous ballerina G. Ulanova passed on her rich experience to her. It was from her that the young ballet actress adopted the art of dramatic dance. It is no coincidence that, unlike many ballet actors, she played whole line roles in ballet television performances. Maximova’s unusually expressive face with big eyes reflected the most subtle nuances when performing comedic, lyrical and dramatic roles. In addition, she brilliantly performed not only female, but also male roles, as, for example, in the ballet performance “Chapliniana”.
Sergey Mikhailovich Lifar(April 2 (15), 1905 - December 15, 1986), Russian and French dancer, choreographer, teacher, collector and artist.
Sergei Lifar was born in Kyiv into the family of a prominent official; his mother came from the family of the famous grain merchant Marchenko. He received his primary education in hometown, having entered the Kiev Imperial Lyceum in 1914, where he underwent the training necessary for a future officer.
At the same time, from 1913 to 1919, Lifar attended piano classes at the Taras Shevchenko Conservatory. Having decided to devote his life to ballet, he entered the public school arts (dance class) at the Kyiv Opera and received the basics of choreographic education in the studio of B. Nijinska.
In 1923, on the recommendation of the teacher, together with four of his other students, Lifar was invited to audition for the Russian Ballet troupe of S.P. Diaghilev. Sergei managed to pass the competition and get into the famous team. From that time on, the difficult process of transforming a novice amateur into a professional dancer began. Lifar was given lessons by the famous teacher E. Cecchetti.
At the same time, he learned a lot from professionals: after all, the best dancers in Russia traditionally came to Diaghilev’s troupe. Moreover, without having own ideas, Diaghilev carefully collected the best that was in Russian choreography, supported the search for George Balanchine and Mikhail Fokine. Scenography and theatrical scenery were engaged famous artists Russia. Therefore, gradually the Russian Ballet turned into one of the best teams in the world.
A few years after the death of Maris Liepa, it was decided to immortalize five of his drawings in the form of medallions. They were carried out under the guidance Italian master D. Montebello in Russia and are sold at Liepa memorial evenings in Moscow and Paris. True, the first circulation was only one hundred to one hundred and fifty medallions.
After graduating from the Riga Choreographic School with V. Blinov, Maris Liepa came to Moscow to also study at the Moscow Choreographic School with N. Tarasov. After graduating in 1955, he never returned to his historical homeland and worked in Moscow almost his entire life. Here he received recognition from fans and his fame as an outstanding ballet dancer.
Immediately after graduating from college, Maris Liepa joined the troupe of the K. Stanislavsky Theater, where he danced the role of Lionel in the ballet “Joan of Arc,” Phoebus, and Conrad. Already in these games they showed main features his talent is a combination of excellent technique with vivid expressiveness of each movement. Job young artist attracted the attention of leading ballet specialists, and since 1960 Liepa became a member of the Bolshoi Theater team.
Matilda Feliksovna Kshesinskaya(Maria-Matilda Adamovna-Feliksovna-Valerievna Krzesinska) (August 19 (31), 1872 - December 6, 1971), Russian ballerina.
Matilda Kshesinskaya was petite, only 1 meter 53 centimeters tall, and the future ballerina could boast of her curves, unlike her thin friends. But, despite her height and somewhat overweight for ballet, the name of Kshesinskaya for many decades did not leave the pages of gossip columns, where she was presented among the heroines of scandals and “femme fatales.” This ballerina was the mistress of the last Russian Tsar Nicholas II (when he was still heir to the throne), as well as the wife of Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich. They talked about her as a fantastic beauty, and yet she was only unusually different. beautiful figure. At one time Kshesinskaya was famous ballerina. And although the level of talent was much inferior to, say, such a contemporary as Anna Pavlova, she still took her place in Russian ballet art.
Kshesinskaya was born into a hereditary artistic environment, which for several generations was associated with ballet. Matilda's father was a famous dancer and a leading artist in the imperial theaters.
The father became the first teacher of his youngest daughter. Following her older sister and brother, Matilda was accepted into the choreographic school, after which her long service in the imperial theaters began.
They are airy, slender, light. Their dance is unique. Who are these outstanding ballerinas of our century?
Agrippina Vaganova (1879-1951)
One of the most important years in the history of Russian ballet is 1738. Thanks to the proposal of the French dance master Jean-Baptiste Lande and the approval of Peter I, the first school of ballet dance in Russia was opened in St. Petersburg, which exists to this day and is called the Academy of Russian Ballet. AND I. Vaganova. It was Agrippina Vaganova who systematized the traditions of classical imperial ballet in Soviet times. In 1957, her name was given to the Leningrad Choreographic School.
Maya Plisetskaya (1925)
An outstanding dancer of the second half of the 20th century, who went down in the history of ballet with her phenomenal creative longevity, Maya Mikhailovna Plisetskaya was born on November 20, 1925 in Moscow.
In June 1934, Maya entered the Moscow Choreographic School, where she consistently studied with teachers E. I. Dolinskaya, E. P. Gerdt, M. M. Leontyeva, but she considers Agrippina Yakovlevna Vaganova, whom she met already at the Bolshoi Theater, to be her best teacher , where she was accepted on April 1, 1943.
Maya Plisetskaya is a symbol of Russian ballet. She performed one of her main roles as Odette-Odile from Swan Lake on April 27, 1947. It was this Tchaikovsky ballet that became the core of her biography.
Matilda Kshesinskaya (1872-1971)
Born into the family of dancer F.I. Kshesinsky, a Pole by nationality. In 1890 she graduated from the ballet department of the St. Petersburg Theater School. In 1890-1917 she danced at the Mariinsky Theater. She became famous in the roles of Aurora (The Sleeping Beauty, 1893), Esmeralda (1899), Teresa (Rest of the Cavalry), etc. Her dance was distinguished by its bright artistry and cheerfulness. In the early 1900s she was a participant in M. M. Fokine’s ballets: “Eunika”, “Chopiniana”, “Eros”, and in 1911-1912 she performed in the Diaghilev Russian Ballet troupe.
Anna Pavlova (1881-1931)
Born in St. Petersburg. After graduating from the St. Petersburg Theater School, in 1899 she was accepted into the troupe of the Mariinsky Theater. Danced the part in classical ballets“The Nutcracker”, “The Little Humpbacked Horse”, “Raymonda”, “La Bayadère”, “Giselle”. Natural abilities and constant improvement of performing skills helped Pavlova to become the leading dancer of the troupe in 1906.
Pavlova had a huge influence on identifying new opportunities in Pavlova’s performing style. collaboration with innovative choreographers A. Gorsky and, especially, M. Fokin. Pavlova performed the main roles in Fokine's ballets Chopiniana, Armida's Pavilion, Egyptian Nights, etc. In 1907, at a charity evening at the Mariinsky Theater, Pavlova first performed the choreographic miniature The Swan (later The Dying Swan) choreographed for her by Fokine "), which later became a poetic symbol of Russian ballet of the 20th century.
Svetlana Zakharova (1979)
Svetlana Zakharova was born in Lutsk, Ukraine, on June 10, 1979. At the age of six, her mother took her to a choreographic club, where Svetlana studied folk dances. At the age of ten she entered the Kiev Choreographic School.
After studying for four months, Zakharova left the school as her family moved to East Germany in accordance with the new assignment of her military father. Returning to Ukraine six months later, Zakharova again passed the exams at the Kiev Choreographic School and was immediately accepted into the second grade. At the Kiev School she studied mainly with Valeria Sulegina.
Svetlana performs in many cities around the world. In April 2008, she was recognized as the star of the famous Milan theater La Scala.
Galina Ulanova (1909-1998)
Galina Sergeevna Ulanova was born in St. Petersburg on January 8, 1910 (according to the old style, December 26, 1909), in a family of ballet masters.
In 1928, Ulanova graduated from the Leningrad Choreographic School. Pretty soon she joined the troupe of the Leningrad State academic theater opera and ballet (now Mariinsky).
Ulanova had to leave her beloved Mariinsky Theater during the siege of Leningrad. During the Great Patriotic War, Ulanova danced in theaters in Perm, Alma-Ata, Sverdlovsk, performing in hospitals in front of the wounded. In 1944 Galina Sergeevna moves to the Bolshoi Theater, where she has performed periodically since 1934.
Galina's real achievement was the image of Juliet in Prokofiev's ballet Romeo and Juliet. Her the best dances are also the role of Masha from “The Nutcracker” by Tchaikovsky, Maria from “The Fountain of Bakhchisarai” and Gisele Adana.
Tamara Karsavina (1885-1978)
Born in St. Petersburg in the family of Mariinsky Theater dancer Platon Karsavin, great-niece Alexei Khomyakov, a prominent philosopher and writer of the 1st half of the 19th century century, sister of the philosopher Lev Karsavin.
She studied with A. Gorsky at the Peturburg Theater School, which she graduated in 1902. While still a student, she performed the solo part of Cupid at the premiere of the ballet Don Quixote staged by Gorsky.
She began her ballet career during a period of academic crisis and the search for a way out of it. Fans of academic ballet found many flaws in Karsavina’s performance. The ballerina improved her performing skills with the best Russian and Italian teachers
Karsavina’s remarkable gift was manifested in her work on M. Fokin’s productions. Karsavina was the founder of fundamentally new trends in the art of ballet at the beginning of the 20th century, later called “intellectual art.”
The talented Karsavina quickly achieved the status of a prima ballerina. She performed leading roles in the ballets Carnival, Giselle, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker and many others.
Ulyana Lopatkina (1973)
Ulyana Vyacheslavna Lopatkina was born in Kerch (Ukraine) on October 23, 1973. As a child, she studied in dance clubs and in the section artistic gymnastics. On the initiative of her mother, she entered the Academy of Russian Ballet. AND I. Vaganova in Leningrad.
In 1990, as a student, Lopatkina participated in the Second All-Russian competition them. AND I. Vaganova for students of choreographic schools and received first prize..
In 1995, Ulyana became a prima ballerina. On her track record best roles in classical and modern productions.
Ekaterina Maksimova (1931-2009)
Born in Moscow on February 1, 1939. Since childhood, little Katya dreamed of dancing and at the age of ten she entered the Moscow Choreographic School. In the seventh grade, she danced her first role - Masha in The Nutcracker. After college, she joined the Bolshoi Theater and immediately, practically bypassing the corps de ballet, began dancing solo parts.
Of particular importance in Maximova’s work was her participation in television ballets, which revealed a new quality of her talent - comedic talent.
Since 1990, Maksimova has been a teacher and tutor at the Kremlin Ballet Theater. Since 1998 - choreographer-tutor of the Bolshoi Theater.
Natalya Dudinskaya (1912-2003)
Born on August 8, 1912 in Kharkov.
In 1923-1931 she studied at the Leningrad Choreographic School (student of A.Ya. Vaganova).
In 1931-1962 - leading dancer of the Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theater. CM. Kirov. She performed the main roles in the ballets “Swan Lake” and “The Sleeping Beauty” by Tchaikovsky, “Cinderella” by Prokofiev, “Raymonda” by Glazunov, “Giselle” by Adam and others.
We admire the skill of these brilliant ballerinas. They made a huge contribution to the development of Russian ballet!
Ballet is called an integral part of the art of our country. Russian ballet is considered the most authoritative in the world, the standard. This review contains the success stories of five great Russian ballerinas who are still looked up to today.
Anna Pavlova
Outstanding ballerina Anna Pavlova was born into a family far from art. She developed the desire to dance at the age of 8 after the girl saw ballet performance"Sleeping Beauty". At the age of 10, Anna Pavlova was accepted into the Imperial Theater School, and after graduation, she was accepted into the troupe of the Mariinsky Theater.
What is curious is that the aspiring ballerina was not placed in the corps de ballet, but immediately began to give her responsible roles in productions. Anna Pavlova danced under the direction of several choreographers, but the most successful and fruitful tandem, which had a fundamental influence on her performance style, was with Mikhail Fokin.
Anna Pavlova supported the choreographer’s bold ideas and readily agreed to experiments. Miniature "The Dying Swan", which later became business card Russian ballet, was almost impromptu. In this production, Fokine gave the ballerina more freedom, allowing her to independently feel the mood of “The Swan” and improvise. In one of the first reviews, the critic admired what he saw: “If a ballerina on stage can imitate the movements of the noblest of birds, then this has been achieved:.”
Galina Ulanova
Galina Ulanova's fate was predetermined from the very beginning. The girl’s mother worked as a ballet teacher, so Galina, even if she really wanted to, was unable to bypass the ballet barre. Years of grueling training led to Galina Ulanova becoming the most titled artist of the Soviet Union.
After graduating from the choreographic technical school in 1928, Ulanova was accepted into ballet troupe Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theater. From the very first performances, the young ballerina attracted the attention of spectators and critics. A year later, Ulanova was entrusted with performing the leading role of Odette-Odile in Swan Lake. Giselle is considered one of the ballerina’s triumphant roles. Performing the scene of the heroine's madness, Galina Ulanova did it so soulfully and selflessly that even the men in the audience could not hold back their tears.
Galina Ulanova reached . They imitated her, teachers of the leading ballet schools in the world demanded that their students do steps “like Ulanova.” The famous ballerina is the only one in the world to whom monuments were erected during her lifetime.
Galina Ulanova danced on stage until she was 50 years old. She was always strict and demanding of herself. Even in old age, the ballerina began every morning with classes and weighed 49 kg.
Olga Lepeshinskaya
For passionate temperament, sparkling technique and precision of movements Olga Lepeshinskaya nicknamed "Dragonfly Jumper". The ballerina was born into a family of engineers. WITH early childhood the girl literally raved about dancing, so her parents had no choice but to send her to the ballet school at the Bolshoi Theater.
Olga Lepeshinskaya easily coped with both classic ballet (“Swan Lake”, “Sleeping Beauty”) and modern productions (“Red Poppy”, “Flames of Paris”.) During the Great Patriotic War, Lepeshinskaya fearlessly performed at the front, raising the fighting soldier spirit.
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Olga Lepeshinskaya -
ballerina with a passionate temperament. | Photo: www.etoretro.ru.
Despite the fact that the ballerina was Stalin’s favorite and had many awards, she was very demanding of herself. Already at an advanced age, Olga Lepeshinskaya said that her choreography could not be called outstanding, but her “natural technique and fiery temperament” made her inimitable.
Maya Plisetskaya
Maya Plisetskaya- another outstanding ballerina, whose name is inscribed in golden letters in the history of Russian ballet. When the future artist was 12 years old, she was adopted by Aunt Shulamith Messerer. Plisetskaya’s father was shot, and her mother and little brother were sent to Kazakhstan to a camp for the wives of traitors to the Motherland.
Aunt Plisetskaya was a ballerina at the Bolshoi Theater, so Maya also began attending choreography classes. The girl achieved great success in this field and after graduating from college she was accepted into the Bolshoi Theater troupe.
Plisetskaya's innate artistry, expressive plasticity, and phenomenal jumps made her a prima ballerina. Maya Plisetskaya performed leading roles in all classical productions. She was especially successful tragic images. Also, the ballerina was not afraid of experiments in modern choreography.
After the ballerina was fired from the Bolshoi Theater in 1990, she did not despair and continued to give solo performances. The overflowing energy allowed Plisetskaya to make her debut in the production of “Ave Maya” on her 70th birthday.
Lyudmila Semenyaka
Beautiful ballerina Lyudmila Semenyaka performed on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater when she was only 12 years old. The talented talent could not go unnoticed, so after some time Lyudmila Semenyaka was invited to the Bolshoi Theater. Significant influence Galina Ulanova, who became her mentor, influenced the ballerina’s work.
Semenyaka coped with any part so naturally and effortlessly that from the outside it seemed as if she was not making any effort, but was simply enjoying the dance. In 1976, Lyudmila Ivanovna was awarded the Anna Pavlova Prize from the Paris Academy of Dance.
At the end of the 1990s, Lyudmila Semenyaka announced her retirement from her ballerina career, but continued her activities as a teacher. Since 2002, Lyudmila Ivanovna has been a teacher-tutor at the Bolshoi Theater.
But he mastered the art of ballet in Russia, and spent most of his life performing in the USA.
IN pre-revolutionary Russia the ballet was very popular. Despite the fact that after the revolution many dancers of the imperial theater left the country and began performing on the stages of foreign theaters, there were many artists left in Russia who were able to revive the art of ballet in the country and found the Soviet ballet. And the first one helped them with this people's commissar by education Anatoly Lunacharsky, who made a lot of efforts to preserve and develop this type of art in a dilapidated state. In the 30s of the 20th century, the first stars of Soviet ballet began to appear. Many of them received the title People's Artist RSFSR and USSR:
- Ekaterina Geltser;
- Agrippina Vaganova;
- Galina Ulanovna;
- Olga Lepeshinskaya;
- Vasily Tikhomirov;
- Mikhail Gabovich;
- Alexey Ermolaev;
- Rostislav Zakharov;
- Asaf Messerer;
- Konstantin Sergeev and others.
40s - 50s
During these years, the Imperial Theater of St. Petersburg was renamed the Ballet. Kirov (now the Mariinsky Theatre), and artistic director This theater became the honored ballerina Agrippina Vaganova, a student of Petipa and Cecchetti. She was forced to transform storylines, subordinating them to Soviet ideological principles. For example, the ending of the ballet “Swan Lake” was changed from tragic to sublime. A Imperial Ballet School became the Leningrad State Choreographic Institute. Future stars of Soviet ballet studied here. After the death of the outstanding ballerina in 1957, this educational institution was renamed the Agrippina Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet. That's what it's called to this day. Most Popular ballet theaters countries became the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow and the Theater named after. Kirov (Mariinsky Theatre) in Leningrad. The theaters' repertoire included works by both foreign and Russian Soviet composers. Particularly popular were the ballets “Cinderella” and “Romeo and Juliet” and others. The ballet did not stop performing over the years Patriotic War. However, it reached its peak in the middle of the century. Hungry for cultural events during the war years soviet people flooded theater halls, and each new performance was sold out. Ballet dancers were very popular. During these years, new stars of Soviet ballet appeared: Tatyana Zimina, Maya Plisetskaya, Yuri Grigorovich, Maris Liepa, Raisa Struchkova, Boris Bregvadze, Vera Dubrovina, Inna Zubkovskaya, Askold Makarov, Tamara Seifert, Nadezhda Nadezhdina, Vera Orlova, Violetta Bovt and others.
60s - 70s
In subsequent years, Soviet ballet became the hallmark of the USSR. The troupes of the Bolshoi and Kirov Theaters successfully toured all over the world, even traveling behind the Iron Curtain. Some stars of the Soviet ballet, finding themselves “over the hill” and weighing all the pros and cons, decided to stay there and asked political asylum. They were considered traitors in their homeland, and the media wrote about famous “defectors.” Alexander Godunov, Natalya Markova, Valery Panov, Rudolf Nuriev - they all had great success and were in demand at ballet scenes the most prestigious theaters in the world. However, the Soviet ballet dancer the Great Rudolf Nureyev gained the greatest popularity in the world. He became a legend in the history of world culture. Since 1961, he has not returned from the Parisian tour and became the premier at Covent Garden, and from the 1980s he became the head of the Grand Opera in Paris.
Conclusion
Today, Russian ballet does not lose its popularity, and young artists raised by Soviet choreographers are in demand all over the world. Russian ballet artists in the 21st century are free in their actions. They can freely enter into contracts and perform on the stages of foreign theaters and, with their brilliant performances, prove to everyone that Russian ballet is the best in the whole world.