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 Julia Guiheen | Apr 11, 2018 | Profiles, TBT
https://youtube.com/watch?v=LSdHmbsUl_c The third act variation from Raymonda is deceptively simple–legato and heavy on bourrées and épaulement, it has few pirouettes or showy extensions. Instead, the piece calls for artistry and aristocratic command in order to...
by Laura Cappelle | Jun 19, 2017 | Career, Inside PT, Profiles, Reverence
Last weekend, the Mariinsky Ballet announced on its website that one of its most revered prima ballerinas, Uliana Lopatkina, has retired from the stage. A principal dancer since 1995, Lopatkina’s interpretation of Odette/Odile and “The Dying Swan”,...
by Hannah Foster | Apr 13, 2016 | Company Life
Can you imagine completing your spring showcase performance and being handed a soloist contract by your dream company? That is precisely what happened to Rudolf Nureyev and Alla Sizova in 1958, and this clip is from that very performance. The opening section of Le...
by Pointe Team | Nov 28, 2001 | Company Life
One of the best moments of last April’s Youth America Grand Prix gala at New York’s City Center came in the evening’s second act. Kirov artists Ekaterina Kondaurova and Islom Baimuradov were dancing Alexei Ratmansky’s hypnotic Middle Duet....