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Mikhail Messerer's Formula for Making the Mikhailovsky Ballet Stand Out

Angelina Vorontsova in the company's revival of "Cinderella." Photo by Stas Levshin, Courtesy Mikhailovsky Ballet.

Ella Persson remembers the rehearsals for her debut as Giselle. "I was in my first year with the company, and I started preparing with Mikhail Messerer during late evenings," the Mikhailovsky Ballet's Swedish-born coryphée says. "I was definitely not ready, but he gave me a chance to push myself and made me so much stronger, mentally and physically."

Under Messerer, the Mikhailovsky Ballet has carved a niche on the Russian and international stage by investing in coaching and dancers' growth. Unlike the older Mariinsky, St. Petersburg's second ballet company was only founded after World War I. But with a classically focused repertoire and productions that rotate onstage every month, it offers plenty of opportunities for talent to thrive.


Ballet master in chief Mikhail Messerer. Photo Courtesy Mikhailovsky Ballet.

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#TBT: Maya Plisetskaya in "The Little Humpbacked Horse" (1964)

When Maya Plisetskaya first toured abroad with the Bolshoi Ballet, she stunned the world. Her dramatic and technical abilities were far beyond what anyone outside the Soviet Union had seen before. She quickly became an icon, symbolizing Russian ballet.

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#TBT: Maya Plisetskaya in "Walpurgis Night"

When I first saw this clip of Leonid Lavrovsky's Walpurgis Night, I didn't know what the ballet was about, nor did I care. I was completely transfixed by Maya Plisetskaya. From one-legged hops on pointe to a grand saut de chat, she springs off the ground effortlessly. But it's the Bolshoi ballerina's ecstatic abandon in the movement that I had to watch again and again (six times, in fact). From the way Plisetskaya eagerly devours space and throws her head back—her delight obvious even in the vintage footage—you know how complete her love of dancing is. The joy is infectious.

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#TBT: Bolshoi Ballet in "Spring Waters" Throughout the Years (1956 and 1986)

Spring may be 10 days away, but we're anxious for its arrival—so we're dedicating this #ThrowbackThursday to the Spring Waters pas de deux. Created by Russian choreographer and former Bolshoi Ballet principal dancer Asaf Messerer, this short concert piece sounds sweet and serene in name, but its surprising acrobatics capture spring's energy rather than its mildness.

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Remembering Maya Plisetskaya

This weekend the ballet world lost a legend. Maya Plisetskaya, a star of the Bolshoi Ballet who danced ambitiously into her 60s, died of a heart attack at age 89 on Saturday. Dancer, choreographer, teacher and director, Plisetskaya was known for her tumultuous history with the Soviets and beloved for her artistry, power and fluidity of movement.


Following a legacy of Bolshoi-affiliated family members, Plisetskaya began her Bolshoi training at age 8 and stayed loyal to the company for the duration of her career. Though she has many other credentials - such as her stint as the director of the Spanish National Ballet and her time dancing for Maurice Béjart  - she will largely be remembered as a longtime face of the Bolshoi.


Check out our #ThrowbackThursday post from a few years ago featuring Plisetskaya performing The Dying Swan in 1986 (at age 61!) and the below video of her performing in Don Quixote in 1959!

 

 

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