Tsvirko Igor ballet year of birth. Igor Tsvirko: “Lately there has been a desire on stage for some crazy and tough projects.” Sergey Filin and Maria Prorvich

Maria Alexandrova and Vladislav Lantratov

Premier of the Bolshoi Theater Vladislav Lantratov and People's Artist of Russia Maria Alexandrova have known each other for a long time, but in the summer of 2014, while Petruchio tamed the obstinate Katarina on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater, the artists entered into an alliance that was not only creative.
Having previously experienced emotional and physical trauma, Maria, according to mutual friends, accepted Vladislav’s feelings as a reward. Joint walks along the alleys of Arbat, jewelry surprises and gatherings at Coffeemania on Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya noticeably softened the laughter and dance of this strong woman, who even rewarded her Odette with the severity of a suffering nature.

Before Alexandrova, Lantratov met with ballet dancer Anastasia Shilova.

To add some spice, it’s worth noting that Maria is 10 years older than Vladislav. In addition, she left her husband, artist Sergei Ustinov, whom she married in 2007.

In my opinion, purely outwardly, Vladislav is inferior to his artist husband,
but, as they say, don’t drink water from your face)

Ivan Vasiliev and Maria Vinogradova

Vasiliev is the premier of the Mikhailovsky Theater and already, at 26, an Honored Artist of Russia. Vinogradova is the leading soloist of the Bolshoi Theater.

Their romance began with their joint work in the production of “Spartacus” in 2013, in which Vasiliev danced Spartacus, and Vinogradov danced Phrygia.

For the first date, Ivan Vasiliev invited Maria Vinogradova... to the Bolshoi Theater, although to the opera. The couple's romance developed more rapidly than the second act of La Bayadère. The Mikhailovsky Theater director quickly decided that the Graff ring for 50 thousand dollars would be best suited to express his feelings for his beloved. On Day X, Vasiliev strewed the floor in the living room with rose petals, fell on his knee in front of Vinogradova and offered her his hand and heart. The girl couldn't resist.

« What kind of person is he? Best. My. Not in the sense that he is my property. He's my man. I feel comfortable with him“- said Maria Vinogradova in an interview with Tatler magazine, the cover of the February issue of which was graced by this bright couple. It’s impossible not to admire Ivan and Maria (one is tempted to switch to the folklore “Ivan and Marya”) - they are young, beautiful, happy, in love and are not going to hide it.

This summer, the lovers officially got married)

Marriage to Ivan is Maria’s second. Previously, she was married to the brother of the general director of the Silver Rain radio station, Dmitry Savitsky, Alexander, owner of the Trekhmer company.
After the divorce, the ballerina had a two-year relationship with the host of the show “Heads and Tails” Anton Lavrentiev.

It is worth mentioning that for a long time, almost from the moment he graduated from college, Vasiliev met with a prima ballerina Natalia Osipova. Everyone was already sure that they would get married and live together until their death, but unexpectedly two years ago the couple broke up.

Now, as you know, Natalya Osipova is dating Sergei Polunin, who has repeatedly declared his commitment to the ballet standard))

In addition to his affair with Osipova, he dated the Covent Garden ballerina Helen Crawford and the aspiring Bolshoi Theater ballerina Yulia.

Artem Ovcharenko and Anna Tikhomirova.

Artem and Anna met at the choreographic school at the Bolshoi Theater, entered the Bolshoi with a difference of two years, both went from corde ballet dancers to soloists, and Artem was awarded the title of premier 2 years ago.

The young people have been dating for 7 years. And they recently announced that they will get married soon).

From the interview:

WITHHow many years have you been together?

Anna: It will be seven years in October. We met much earlier, as teenagers. Once at a New Year's disco at the choreographic school, Artyom invited me to dance and said that he liked me. But career and teaching :) took all my strength, there was no time for a relationship. However, years later we ended up in the same theater - the Bolshoi. Then Artyom began to seriously look after me. And I did this until I finally realized that I really wanted to be close to this person.

Anastasia Stashkevich and Vyacheslav Lopatin

Prima ballerina and leading soloist of the Bolshoi Theater

got married in 2011)

Denis and Anastasia Matvienko

The premier of the Mariinsky Theater has been married to a soloist of the same theater for twelve years, and they are raising a two-year-old daughter, Lisa.

From the interview:

Nevertheless, you still chose a ballerina as your wife - Anastasia Matvienko. So, is there something special about them after all?

Ballet girls marry ballet girls only because they are too busy. If you train and rehearse all day, and in the evening you also dance in a play, then where will you go to get acquainted? So it turns out that most of the marriages are intra-ballet.

Nastya and I met at the Serge Lifar Ballet Competition, where I was not supposed to perform - I just came to watch. Standing behind the scenes, I saw a girl dancing on stage - beautiful, bright and very talented - this was immediately obvious. We met, I tried to look after Nastya, but at first I didn’t have much success. She didn’t even immediately respond to the marriage proposal I made by placing a diamond ring in her jacket pocket. But, fortunately, we have been together for eleven years, we have a wonderful daughter, Lisa, whom I consider the main victory in my life.

Did your wife decide to give birth without fear for her ballet career?

Today, ballerinas do not have to sacrifice either their career for the sake of their personal life, or their personal life for the sake of their career. At the same time as Nastya - give or take a couple of months - several more ballerinas of the Mariinsky Theater gave birth to children. My wife recovered very quickly and within four months after giving birth she began dancing again.

Leonid Sarafanov and Olesya Novikova

The prime minister of the Mikhailovsky Theater is married to the first soloist of the Mariinsky Theater. They met and got married when Leonid was the premier of the Mariinsky Theater.

The couple has three children. Five-year-old son Alexey, two-year-old Ksenia. And just two weeks ago, on December 16, son Alexander was born.

Ekaterina Kondaurova and Islom Baimuradov

Prima ballerina and leading soloist of the Marinsky Theater Ekaterina Kondaurova and Islom Baimuradov could play the unearthly beauty of vampires from the Twilight saga: plastic movements, eyes that look into the very heart, insinuating, or rather, bewitching voices. But the artists still wouldn’t trade their favorite troupe for filming girl melodramas. It was their dedication to ballet that brought them together ten years ago.

Ekaterina came to enroll at Vaganovskoe from Moscow, Islom came from Austria. But because of the eight-year difference, they didn’t even know each other. Although the girl recalls: when Islom was already serving at the Mariinsky, and schoolgirl Katya came to rehearsals, running along the corridor she heard: “Oh, what girls we have here!” And, turning around, I saw a grinning handsome man.

Today he is not only the love of her life, but also a strict mentor - Islom is increasingly engaged in tutoring and does not even give Katya any concessions. At home, they love to cook together while listening to music, and any pleasant melody, from classics to System of a Down, serves as the background for roasting lamb with spices. But not Swan Lake, please!

From an interview with Ekaterina in 2009:

I danced a lot with my husband, Islom Baymuradov, he is also a soloist at the Mariinsky. We really enjoy performing together, it’s a completely different feeling. The audience notices this; in New York, people were surprised: “There’s just some kind of chemistry between you.” - “Yes, we are husband and wife!” Our family is over a year old.

- Was the wedding like Volochkova’s?

- There wasn’t any: we got up at 8 in the morning, signed out at 9, went to class at 11, and in the evening we had “Swan”. I was dressed in a trouser suit, with a tie... I think that a wedding is a private matter between two people. If there are very big celebrations, it’s probably for the public. And then often that’s why they live together - well, after all, they saw the wedding. And here is our desire, no one participated, even my mother didn’t know until after the recording we came with the rings, and before the lesson I called her in Moscow. She is an understanding person.

Islom always tries to help Catherine, rehearsing with her even at home. I liked how in one program he said: " I didn’t become a star; unfortunately, my body didn’t allow it. But if I have a wife at home who can become a star, why not help her" And " We try to be together 24 hours a day. Necessarily. That's why I got married. Well I guess that's the meaning of life".

Victoria Tereshkina and Artem Shpilevsky

The prima ballerina of the Mariinsky Theater and the soloist of the Bolshoi Theater got married in the summer of 2008.

From an interview with Victoria:

– On stage, partners change, but in life, which partner did you get?
– I knew about my future husband from the age of sixteen. We studied together at the Academy of Russian Ballet. For me, he seemed something unattainable - a man of dreams. But, as you know, dreams come true. After studying, we met while touring around the world, sometimes in Moscow at concerts. Later he admitted to me that all this time he liked me too. But for a long time we did not communicate with him in any way, except for studying each other with our eyes. And during the recent tours of the Mariinsky and the Bolshoi in Japan, we finally met, we began a correspondence...
- By email?
– SMS-kami! I have known for a long time that he is very good. For me, not only external qualities are important in a man - beauty and “height”, but also what he is like inside. Because living is not about beauty. In short, last summer I married the Bolshoi Theater ballet soloist Artem Shpilevsky.
– How do ballerinas decide on family life?
– At first I didn’t really want to get married. But in life, many things often happen as if by themselves. You suddenly meet a person and realize that you can live happily ever after with him.
–D do you think about procreation?

– There was a moment in my life when I couldn’t imagine myself as a mother; it seemed like everything was still very far away. But now I’m already getting ready for it. In the meantime, I got a cat - a Russian blue. Fate gave it to me. Someone locked it in our entrance with a shield. She meowed so pitifully that my husband and I couldn’t stand it and warmed it up. Right now I’m sitting with you, and I’m thinking about her - she sits at home hungry all day and waits for me. She always sees me off with such a reproachful look, knowing that I will return late.

In 2013, the couple had a daughter, Milada.

“Why did you choose such a rare name for your daughter?

It is ancient Slavic and means “sweetheart”, “okay” - what more could you want for a child? My husband and I decided to name our daughter that way while she was still in our belly.

How does a husband help with parenting?

His most important help is that thanks to him, my mother has the opportunity to attend my performances: while Artem is babysitting her daughter, she can sneak away to the theater. Because when I’m at rehearsals, it’s my mother who spends time with Milada, who recently specially moved to St. Petersburg from my native Krasnoyarsk - I couldn’t entrust my daughter to any other person.

Artem, who was a soloist of the Bolshoi Theater, probably could have danced calmly for another five years, but he left the stage. Why?

The profession stopped bringing him pleasure, and this is the worst thing. He even admitted that when he saw his name when assigning roles in new performances, he simply went to hard labor. This is despite the fact that at the beginning of his journey he really loved to dance - first he left Russia for Seoul, where he quickly went from a corde ballet dancer to a theater premiere, then accepted an offer to become a soloist of the Berlin Staatsoper, and then moved to Moscow. Of course, all his relatives lamented his departure from the theater, but he prepared for such a step in advance: he graduated from the Faculty of Law of MGIMO, and is now engaged in business. But thanks to this decision of his, we finally united. After all, for the first three years after marriage we lived in different cities.

And a little about ballet artistic directors

Sergey Filin and Maria Prorvich

The artistic director of the ballet troupe and the dancer of the Bolshoi Theater ballet have been together for about 15 years and are raising two sons.

True, Sergei Filin is not an example of a faithful husband. The whole country learned about this in 2013, during a hearing in the case of an attempt on his life. From the case report it turned out that Filin had intimate relationships with ballerinas Natalya Malandina, Olga Smirnova
and Maria Vinogradova. He also tried to persuade Angelina Vorontsova to such a relationship.

And all this with his wife Maria Prorvich alive.

Maria, like a true friend, comrade and brother, forgave her husband for all his sprees, and supported him in everything, throughout the treatment, investigation and trial. However, Filin in court categorically denied any relationship with other ballerinas. And he never tires of saying in interviews that Maria is his main love, his most faithful friend, and that family is the meaning of his life.

By the way, Prorvich is already Filin’s third wife. From his second marriage to prima Inna Petrova, Sergei has a son, Daniil.

Igor Zelensky - Yana Serebryakova

Igor Zelensky’s path to family happiness was long and thorny. In addition to the gossip that he met with a bunch of his partners in all the theaters, we managed to find out from the Internet about his affair with a ballerina Zhanna Ayupova. From the memoirs of her friend: “Zhanna got married early and gave birth to a son, Fedya, and it seemed that her life would continue to proceed peacefully. But that was not the case! One of the theater’s premieres, passionately falling in love with Zhanna, spun such a whirlpool around her. .. I can’t think of another more accurate definition. And Zhanna left her husband... Although the romance proceeded stormily, it ended... I, however, watching the development of their relationship from the very beginning, believed that the romance contributed to Ayupova’s creative blossoming ". ​

Zelensky broke up with Zhanna when he met the figure skater Ekaterina Gordeeva.Igor met Katya through his friends, and the feelings that she stirred up in him made the dancer fall head over heels in love, disregarding all conventions. " Katya is the most beautiful woman, - Igor stated . - She was broken after Sergei’s death. As a close friend, I hope I can bring some joy and comfort into her life.". Throughout this novel, Katya and Igor secretly attended each other's performances and, when a rare opportunity arose, met backstage. They spent all their free hours together. Despite the serious conspiracy they undertook against their personal wishes, they still failed to hide the truth.

Zelensky did not get to the point of marrying Gordeeva. But with the young soloist of the Mariinsky Theater Yana Serebryakova- it’s reached.
In 2007, their eldest daughter was born, who was named with the unusual name Mariamiya.

Afterwards, Yana gave birth to Zelensky two more children - a son and a daughter.

She left her career as a soloist. Engaged in teaching activities.

Alexey and Tatiana Ratmansky

They met in the late 80s in Kyiv. Tatiana was a ballerina at the National Opera of Ukraine and Alexei's partner. In 1992, the two of them went to work in Canada. In 1995 they returned to Kyiv, but having encountered many obstacles of a creative and bureaucratic nature, in 1997 they left for Denmark. Their son Vasily was born in Denmark two years later.

In Denmark, Alexey developed his talent as a choreographer. Since 2003 he has been the artistic director of the Bolshoi Theater ballet troupe, and since 2009 he has been a permanent choreographer at the American Ballet Theater.

From an old interview:

- Do you like the life of a nomadic artist?

- The main inconvenience is that I can’t do enough
devote time to my son.

-Who does he look like?

- I think it’s like me, although Tatyana and I are very similar to each other
on a friend. By the way, my wife and I gave birth to Vaska together - in Denmark, fathers are present during childbirth. By the way, I was the first to hold my son in my arms.

Son Vasily is very similar to his father.

To this day, on Facebook, Alexey never tires of declaring his love to his wife Tatyana.

About the ballet “Nureyev”

The Nureyev ballet is very interesting: it combines elements of choreography, opera and drama. That's why it seems incredibly fresh to me. This is not a ballet in the pure sense of the word; rather, this is a full-fledged performance. Yuri Possokhov began preparations with a duet between Rudolf Nureyev and Eric Brun - the number turned out to be touching and fit perfectly into the entire biographical context of the plot, because Brun occupied a very important place in Nureyev’s life. Naturally, Kirill Serebrennikov himself took a huge part in all processes, because he wrote the libretto, developed the scenography for the ballet, and the concept of the production belongs to him. I had very pleasant feelings from the performance, and, frankly, we were all very worried about the negativity that at some point appeared around: every person associated with this ballet gave themselves completely to it.

About Kirill Serebrennikov

I came across Kirill Semenovich while working on Pechorin’s part. Serebrennikov is a theater director who clearly has a passion for ballet. When you go to performances at the Gogol Center, this is very noticeable: sometimes its artists go on stage in tutus, or an image of a swan flashes somewhere. If we compare the staging process of “A Hero of Our Time” and “Nureyev”, then in the first case Kirill Semenovich did not take much part in the creation of the dance, but he always demanded dramatic nuances from us and said, for example, “it’s better not to do that,” but “ in this scene it needs to be like this.” The same Yuri Posokhov, whom I feel well, was responsible for the choreography - we even sometimes came up with some combinations together. The performance turned out to be very unusual - I always advise everyone to watch it.

About the beginning of a career at the Bolshoi Theater

I dreamed of getting into the Bolshoi Theater and was very happy when I was enrolled in the corps de ballet. Of course, I watched recordings of great dancers, but I couldn’t imagine that I was capable of reaching such a level - I just worked hard and showed that I can, I’m ready, I can handle it. One day, literally 15 minutes before the start of the play “The Golden Age,” they told me that I had to appear in the solo part, and I had seen the divorce rehearsal only the day before, but I had to quickly concentrate. As a result, when I danced in the foreground, they whispered to me where to do, for example, lunges: to the right, or to the left (with available), but everything worked out. Then there was “Giselle,” although I never “aimed at Alberta” and did not play this role. The artist was injured, and I was sitting waiting for my wife - before I even had time to come to my senses, they dressed me in tights and sent me on stage. Of course, something came to mind, for example, the adagio, but a lot of things were simply suggested: how much breeze, what kind of cabrioles, in which direction to make the diagonal (with available). This is where my path to emergency solo roles began.

About the ballet “Marco Spada” by Pierre Lacotte

At the time when I was unexpectedly included in the list of performers in Lacotte’s ballet “Marco Spada,” I did not even exist as a soloist: I was simply familiar with his plasticity and worked in different variations in his production of “The Pharaoh’s Daughter.” And here is such a surprise: even the masters were registered as the third cast. During the rehearsal process, I simply worked, fulfilling all the choreographer’s requirements, and I was put in the third cast. The performance itself is heavy, with Lacotte’s traditional tricky choreographic vocabulary. It seemed to me that it was completely unsuitable for my feet: there is a very fine technique that needs to be done with the bottom of the foot. What I like most about this ballet is the third act: according to my gut, it’s gangster (with available), although I related to the second one, where you dance in white tights and a wig.

About modern projects

From the first year of working in the theater, I participated in all modern projects - I was immediately included in the productions of both McGregor and Forsyth. As a result, I became and continue to be a person who can work in different directions. For the Bolshoi Ballet show, we performed the number “Thin Skin” by Marco Geke - then it was a completely new style for me. I was so delighted, as if it was the coolest number I had ever performed: such a European style, bordering on madness. And lately I’ve been wanting some crazy projects on stage, more severe ones: for example, smearing myself with something, only when it’s justified, of course, and filled with subtext, otherwise everything loses its meaning.

About the teacher

Even in the first years of working at the Bolshoi, I realized that I needed to develop. I was lucky: at that moment my teacher Alexander Nikolaevich Vetrov returned to us. He told me that the work ahead would be difficult if I wanted to achieve more, and if it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be where I am now. In addition to physical exertion, you experience enormous psychological pressure: you are constantly overcome by doubts - will you succeed in a pirouette, which, it would seem, is not important to anyone, but in fact for some reason is important. My teacher helped me cope with physics and such moments. Of course, my wife also had a huge influence on me - she always gives me confidence and courage.

Text: Olga Ugarova

Photo Alisa Aslanova

The Bolshoi Theater has reassured everyone who was unable to attend the premiere performances of Kirill Serebrennikov’s notorious ballet “Nureyev” in December: the performance is more alive than dead, and will be shown again in early summer. In behind-the-scenes conversations with the performers of the main role, Bolshoi Theater premier Artem Ovcharenko and leading soloist Igor Tsvirko, ELLE reveals the secret to the success of the main cultural event of recent years.

Artem Ovcharenko

Premier of the Bolshoi Theater

ELLE Your first acquaintance with the image of Nureyev took place three years ago during the filming of the BBC film “Rudolf Nureyev: Dance to Freedom”, where you played the main role. What new things did you discover while working on the ballet?

First of all, I realized that Nureyev cannot be labeled “good” and “bad.” He was a brilliant person. Of course, with its own characteristics. He had a terribly difficult childhood. He lived in poverty, wore his sisters' clothes and went to classes barefoot - hence the compensatory craving for luxury: all those carpets, antiques and islands that he bought at the end of his life. Everyone knows that Nureyev was shocking and very unrestrained, he could insult a person out of nowhere, be rude - this is what he was used to, because he himself was rude, spread rot, called a half-educated person. He was controversial. This is how I tried to show it.

It must have been hard to try on his image?

Very. I am the absolute opposite of Rudolph. I am a peaceful and friendly person, very attached to my family. But on stage I needed to develop Nureyev’s qualities in myself, to feel them. I succeeded - but only for the duration of the performance.

Were you tempted to adopt something from him?

In no case. Nureyev himself did not look up to anyone, and there is a reason for this - when you adopt the behavior of another person, you become his copy, you cease to be yourself. And for an artist it is very important to belong only to himself. When you try to prove something to someone - a teacher, a parent, an official in the hall - you lose your congruence and integrity. Such a dancer is always visible from afar - as if with all his appearance he is trying to say: “Look how I spin, how I jump.” There is no soul in his dance. It was internal integrity that helped Nureyev survive. The KGB put pressure on him, he was under extreme stress due to leaving the Soviet Union, and the audience booed him. But Rudolph believed that he was a legend. The world just didn’t know about it yet.

Critics consider Nureyev's duet with his lover, the Danish dancer Erik Brun, to be one of the strongest scenes in the ballet. Because of it, last summer the creators were accused of promoting homosexuality. But at the premiere she looked more than decent and correct...

We all know what orientation Nureyev was. You can focus on this, or you can just not hide it - do you feel the difference? In the first case, there is a high probability of slipping into vulgarity. We staged a duet of two partners, and sometimes even rivals, leaving the audience a chance to understand everything themselves. As for the accusations, of course, it’s much easier not to create anything at all and say in advance: “This is bad,” “No one will like this,” and spread these speculations in the media and social networks. And it is much more difficult to make sure that people who come to the theater see the performance and are able to judge based on their own impressions. It’s good that Nureyev finally took place and we managed to convey to the viewer what the authors intended. After the premiere, people who knew Nureyev personally came up to me and said that the performance was a revelation for them.

“Nureyev” is a breakthrough for all of us and, of course, for the Bolshoi Theater

What's your favorite scene?

The final. When Nureyev descends into the orchestra pit to conduct the orchestra in La Bayadère. It's a powerful dramatic moment - I even took a few lessons from the conductor to make it look convincing. In my opinion, the main merit of Kirill Serebrennikov is that he showed: today's ballet dancer does not just dance - he must be multifunctional, combining dance, acrobatics and drama in his work. And this performance is a professional breakthrough for all of us and, of course, for the Bolshoi Theater.

Igor Tsvirko

Leading soloist of the Bolshoi Theater

ELLE You found yourself in a “third wheel” situation - the premiere performances were given to your colleagues: Artem Ovcharenko and Vladislav Lantratov. How did you feel?

After the premiere was postponed, instead of four performances there were two left, although it was clear to everyone that we had three casts. I was offered to perform at the dress rehearsal, and I took it as a long-awaited chance to dance a part that left a strong emotional imprint on me. At that time, it was completely unclear what would happen to the ballet next.

Even after the changes that were made to the play for the premiere?

You will be surprised - there were no changes. The lineup of performers and planned scenes remained in place. The only thing that has changed: after the arrest of Kirill Semenovich, the entire organizational part fell on the shoulders of choreographer Yuri Posokhov. And this is a colossal job, because only Serebrennikov understood how to unite almost 300 people responsible for ballet, opera and drama.

There are those who study all the time. Serebrennikov is one of those people, he doesn’t give up

But what about the demand to remove naked dancers from the stage who were called “obscene” - was it fulfilled?

In my opinion, all the accusations of obscenity are made up of nothing. They were distributed by people who had never even seen the performance. Complete profanation. Maximum exposure occurs in the scene of Nureyev being photographed by photographer Richard Avedon - the hero is in a bandage, and no “questioning” parts of the body are visible. Yes, the play has unusual directorial ideas - for example, a moment with transvestites, designed to show the world of freedom into which the hero finds himself after leaving the Union. But our dancers masterfully walk in heels. No vulgarity.

In your opinion, why is Rudolf Nureyev as a character relevant today?

He performed 300 days a year, all the time overcoming himself, one might even say, torturing his body in order to improve the canons of dance. Nureyev was the first who began to perform spins on high half-toes and later, already in France, began transforming dance costumes. No one dared to take on this, but he turned out to be a reformer - and justifiably considered himself better than others, all those who sat in warm places and did not want to develop. Look at the videos of him in good form - very few of the current prime ministers can repeat it. Nureyev, Baryshnikov - they are unique. And both left Russia. They felt cramped here. They wanted, first of all, development, which the country could not provide for them at that time. I am sure that they also had fears: abroad, everything could have turned out far from rosy. But Nureyev was a man with enormous willpower. His father did not believe in him; at his first performances, the audience threw tomatoes at him, but he did not give up.

The Bolshoi Theater hosted the first ballet premiere of the season - "Marco Spada" (performance by Pierre Lacotte). When building a repertoire policy, the artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet, Sergei Filin, always takes into account the individuality of the troupe’s dancers. The performances included in the repertoire seem to be created for certain dancers, brightly and unexpectedly revealing their capabilities. "Marco Spada" was no exception. Pierre Lacotte's ballet, like a Stradivarius violin, “sounds” only at the feet of exceptional virtuosos, but for the Bolshoi Theater this is not a problem. Today the troupe is in such good professional shape that not one, but several ensembles of performers - the young leaders of the Bolshoi Ballet - took to the stage on the premiere days. The performers were selected by the director of the play, Pierre Lacotte, and the artistic director of the troupe, Sergei Filin. There was no need to argue about tastes. Decisions were made unanimously.

David Hallberg stars as bandit Marco Spada. There was no doubt that David would do an excellent job with the Lacotta bead technique. The exceptional capabilities of David's body and the dexterity of his gracefully sculpted feet are known to everyone. But the manner of dancing! Could anyone imagine that a student of another dance school, who was taken into the troupe two years ago and who considers the formal expression of feelings on stage as the norm, would be able to liberate so internally, be so imbued with the spirit of the Bolshoi Ballet, become so courageous, bold, passionate, and artistically free? However - yes! This happened. Sergei Filin foresaw the success of the creative union of David Hallberg with theater teacher Alexander Vetrov - a former versatile dancer of the Bolshoi Ballet, who performed both the roles of classical princes and the roles of fatal villains, who knows firsthand the strength and glory of the men of the Bolshoi Ballet. The aggressive, sharp thrust of David Hallberg's Marco Spada dancing is impressive. His aristocratic appearance in a pirate bandana also looks different - his features become sharper, they seem tougher - this is beauty with a shine of deceit.
The death scene is conducted by David with the authenticity of a film artist. His eyes are his voice, and they speak more eloquently than any words of despair and plea. In his hands, usually so light, a completely different essence is suddenly revealed - losing their classic shape, they become gigantic, heavy - and this is another transformation of David Hallberg that delights with surprise. The artist is filled with feeling, he has no idea what he is going through, he really passionately experiences this sentimental ballet tragedy, takes the audience’s heart with his heavy dying hand and takes it with him into suffering.

Expressively, David plays the role of a caring, gentle father. With Evgenia Obraztsova (Angela) they formed a lovely “family duet”. Their difference in height is very touching, and the exceptional “blondness” of both leaves no doubt about their blood relationship.
In his second premiere role - Prince Federici - the ideal handsome David Hallberg is in his natural element. The enchanting purity of the dance, the aristocratic lightness of the poses, the hands that sound divinely tender, the delight and trembling of the body and soul during dialogues with the lady of the heart, the eyes in which the sky drowned - all this is about his Marquis, with whom it is impossible not to fall in love at least for one evening .
Evgenia Obraztsova (the part of Angela) feels very comfortable within the choreography of Pierre Lacotte. The artist and choreographer have a long-standing creative relationship and absolute mutual understanding. In the performance of the part, one can note the operetta lightness of the inner state and the special softness and delicacy in handling the text. Lacotte's eloquence, entrusted to Eugenia's feet, is devoid of fuss. The dancer approaches the choreography simply, sincerely and trustingly, as if caressing the movements - the fastest steps seem smooth.

Angela Evgenia Obraztsova is a pretty pink child who grew up in love, moderately spoiled. Her body and face breathe freshness and health. The soul did not know suffering. The robber's hat and dress for the little charmer are, of course, nothing more than a carnival costume, and her desire to merge with the bandit pack is nothing more than the enthusiastic and selfless impulse of a child devoted to his parent. The girl is clearly not capable of being a bandit in all seriousness, only with a light that warms the soul of wild men. She has the charm of innocence and youth, a soft sensuality that does not cause frenzied passion, but makes you lose your head with emotion.

Semyon Chudin (part of Prince Federici) is magnificent. The ballet "Marco Spada" is worth going to see only to see its energetic explosive jeté entournans. He draws a perfect circle with his jumps, the distance between jumps is even, the height does not change - it’s like the flight of a perfect mechanism, inhuman beauty! And his whole dance is like that. Mathematically precise, calculated down to the millimeter. There is an elastic force in his body. The dancer has control over his movements and brings a sense of hyper-confidence with him to the stage. His entrechat is incredible. Feet with perfectly elongated insteps move at the speed of light, clearly and gracefully singing a virtuoso trill at an unattainable height. Not everyone is capable of this. This is truly a premier level of dance technique.
The growing Prince Bolshoi Artemy Belyakov played the same role. The audience has already seen him in the role of James (ballet La Sylphide) and in the role of the Young Man (ballet Chopiniana). The Prince's Party is a wonderful continuation of the romantic path. Artyom played a charming young man, whose touching, slightly shy caresses will make the heart of the proudest beauty tremble. The artist attracts with his cultural, calm and restrained manner of dancing. He has a beautiful texture, a strong high jump, and his feet work neatly. Even next to such strong competitors as Semyon Chudin and David Hallberg, the young soloist looked decent, which does him credit.

Sergei Filin is not afraid to go against established stereotypes. If he sees talent in a person, he allows him to develop to the fullest. Thus, he is not afraid to entrust the charming toy Anastasia Stashkevich, an artist who does not quite correspond to modern standards of appearance of the first dancer, with roles that require ballerina skill, and her childish charm does not in the least prevent her from coping with them brilliantly. “When Anastasia goes on stage, she brings so much light with her!” - the artistic director of the ballet troupe speaks about her. Such positive charisma is not given to everyone.” This is true. Angela Anastasia Stashkevich has a special mischievous spark, a perky energy that bursts out. The artist embellishes Lacotte’s choreography with her extremely graceful physical essence. The dancer’s body feels so natural, as if it were speaking its first, most native language. The scene of the “lesson of social manners” performed by Anastasia Stashkevich is expressive. When Angela Anastasia Stashkevich repeats the movements of the Marquise, she fills them with a completely different character, gives them the sound of her free heart, and we understand that before us is a girl who will never be pacified by the quiet lights of the ballroom - brave, passionate, charmingly obstinate. At the ball, Anastasia Stashkevich's Angela is as unexpected and dangerous as Odile in the ball scene from Swan Lake, and if you just imagine for a moment that Anastasia Stashkevich would not have met the robber Angela on her creative path... it will become very sad. This meeting had to take place.

Olga Smirnova is a truly beautiful Marquise. She brings elements of ballroom culture and the flavor of the Rococo era to classical choreography. First of all, she is attracted by the stylish work of her hands. Her dance is refined, but devoid of pretentiousness, unpleasant mannerisms, strict and calm, despite the ornateness. The image created by Olga is also interesting. She had never appeared before an audience like this before. The first lady of a big masquerade, hiding a slight mockery of the passions of the people around her. Secular falsity will never become something familiar and familiar to her. The necessary manners are just a suit, which she does not forget to put on when leaving the house. This girl is ironic and smart. An emotionless, dazzling smile, a bold, clear, wide-open gaze that shatters petty servility, not a single extra wrinkle - a face that never forgets that it should be beautiful, always ready for flashes of curious appraising glances. She's not two-faced. She behaves as she should, without experiencing much pleasure from it. It is felt that under the secular mask there is a living soul hiding, not devoid of youthful enthusiasm. But we will never fully know who the Marquise is. She prefers the role of an observer in life and does not invite anyone on a journey through the world of her soul - she even avoids the man who is in love with her, and only condescends to his passion, but does not reciprocate it and utmost frankness.

The same dance text, the same role performed by Kristina Kretova looks different, and this contrast between the artists is interesting. There is no pure nobility in the Marquise Kristina Kretova, but there is a capricious arrogance. She casually enjoys being entitled to a fictional royal weariness. A fair amount of narcissism manifests itself quietly but persistently. Secular falsity makes her absolutely invulnerable; talented imitation of feelings saves her in any difficult situation. However, her body is much more sincere, open and harmonious than her heart and soul - alive and warm, as if it is waiting for gentle touches, movement for it is relaxation, a desired way of self-expression. And of course, looking at such a Marquise, you forget about the possible pathos of virtuosity.

Maria Vinogradova - with her porcelain figurine figure and French sensuality of her face - can easily be imagined playing the leading roles in romantic films about court life. Cinema could have found a second Michelle Mercier in her, but this Marquise of Angels reigns today on the Bolshoi stage. And the audience is given aesthetic pleasure not only by her appearance, but also by her dance. The artist knows how to feel the special beauty of classical movements, to capture their inner music and meaning. Her dance is very logical and very interesting (this, of course, is a considerable merit of Maria’s teacher, Nina Lvovna Semizorova). It is through plastic means that the character of the heroine is created.
Marquise Maria Vinogradova is an unattainable person. There is no arrogance in her. Not at all. But there is a mysterious chill of the first beauty. In order to save herself from annoying attention and not get burned by admiring glances, she creates a comfortable distance between herself and those around her. Its main weapon is the enchanting lightness of plasticity. Her fragile, melting body is scary to touch. I just want to watch in awe from afar.

It is next to such a ball queen that the captain of Denis Medvedev’s dragoons is especially hilarious. Denis creates a vitally truthful image of a self-confident man who, with an obsessiveness that knows no shame or conscience, still achieves the unapproachable woman desired by many, forcing others to swallow saliva and throw up their hands in bewilderment. Slavish intoxication with a woman, by the way, does not interfere with his favorite game of being a servant and a faithful son of the fatherland. Looking at the character of Denis Medvedev, you involuntarily recall the comedy about the gendarmes with Louis de Funes in the title role.

Ekaterina Krysanova (Angela) sincerely enjoys the ballet “Marco Spada”. Lacotte's verbosity is not a burden to her. She loves living life at high speed. With mocking ease she rattles off choreographic tongue twisters (the third act in her performance is something enchanting), and creates a piquant image of a chameleon girl who is bored by her only role in life, because she loves life in all its diversity. Due to Ekaterina’s special artistic individuality, it is very easy to take a step from absolute simplicity to absolute sophistication; under one mask, the second always sparkles a little and beckons with mystery. She is a naive simpleton learning the rules of behavior in secular society (a sort of Galatea), and an elegant, sensual lady who can outshine the Marquise with her nobility of manners, and a fiery robber who knows no fear. Her nature is ambiguous, just like her father - a robber and a secular dandy rolled into one. In Ekaterina’s dance one can feel in equal measure the ardent youthful passion and confidence of an experienced ballerina. Definitely a successful job.
The role of the rejected lover is brilliantly played by Andrei Merkuriev (captain of the Dragoons Pepinelli). He is both too persistent and too compliant in his great love. Principled and serious. Passionate and timid. As contradictory and as vulnerable as only a true lover can be contradictory and vulnerable. Either reciprocated love - or lifelong despair with the thought of death. Fortunately, the audience witnesses a successful ending to the love drama: Pepinelli’s heart, hanging on the brink of death, is not broken by the careless beauty. Pepinelli's dance, as befits a dragoon captain, attracts with its academic discipline. The artist is in good shape. Rapid spins and dynamic jumps perfectly express his passionate feelings.
Denis Savin in the role of the captain of the dragoons Pepinelli was soulful in the way that only Denis Savin can be soulful on stage. His hero is that rare person who is not given the opportunity to learn to put on a bossy pomp, to make elaborate social bows in all seriousness, or to exchange worthless pleasantries with the ladies. No! - he is a man of impulse, a slightly absent-minded funny eccentric, kind, sweet, sensitive to the extreme. And it’s impossible not to respond in the end to the smile of his love. The coldest heart becomes ashamed of its indifference. The beautiful Marquise involuntarily surrenders to the captivity of a mad poet in uniform. Well, you need to see the captain’s reciprocal joy. Words cannot describe...

Igor Tsvirko has developed more than friendly relations with the ballet “Marco Spada”. The exotic, wildly bright appearance of the artist requires unusual roles, and it was in this ballet that he found them. He created two images that, once seen, are impossible to forget: the main character Marco Spada and the captain of the dragoons Pepinelli.
Marco Spada played by Igor Tsvirko is a mysterious shadowy bandit. Eyes looking from the depths draw you into the fatal abyss. The energy of the movements is comparable to the deadly energy of a tsunami (just remember the scene of the robbery of the monastery treasurer).
The young artist's ability to create the image of an older character - without much makeup - deserves respect. Looking at him, you feel the severity of a man seasoned by life - an old “wolf”. Precisely because Marco himself is no longer a saint, his feeling for his little naive daughter is more than sacred. It seems that he wants to protect her from all the evil and ugliness of the world - at the cost of his criminal life, to preserve her sinlessness, to give her life carefree. And this main noble mission of his ignoble life is ultimately fulfilled. At the end of the play, dying, Marco saves his daughter from his dark shadow, from his dark past, blessing her to find happiness in the light of her first love for a worthy young man.
In the death scene, Igor skillfully maintains a balance between theatrical affectation and everyday life, that is, the scene is naturalistic, but does not go beyond the boundaries of art. There is an eerie, desperate, crazy beauty to her. The eyes roll back, taking on a lifeless expression, the whites stand out terribly on the dark skin, heavy steps repeat the sounds of a stopping heart, hand movements become convulsive... It is difficult to watch these instant transformations without emotion. A melodramatic ballet with an intricate plot turns into a real drama.
Technically, this game became a test of strength for the artist. Due to certain physical characteristics, Igor is good at games where a lot of grace is not required, but speed, strength and breadth of movement are required. Here it was impossible to avoid encountering small technique, it was necessary to think about the manner of dancing, and come to terms with the fact that acting passions do not cancel out the scrupulous, sometimes exhausting attention to each step, that Lacotte’s choreography is very subtle and requires an ultra-delicate approach. The price for negligence is severe - absolute ugliness. Whether a fussy, exhausted run across the stage or an energetic, equally powerful and graceful dance, all the performers of the main roles in the ballet “Marco Spada” were faced with this uncompromising reality. For Igor, the moment of overcoming turned out to be especially necessary and desired. The size of the part, its complexity, and, of course, the first position in the performance were a dream come true for the dancer. Therefore, he did not complain, but worked with inspiration in the rehearsal rooms. And I was able... to jump above my capabilities, to give my body a second wind. Even now it’s not easy for him, but with the right dose of work and rest before the performance, he achieves success, and it’s this kind of work that keeps his body in good shape.

When Igor Tsvirko acts as captain of the Pepinelli dragoons, this role, secondary in importance, comes to the fore in the ballet, not inferior in significance to the role of Marco Spada, despite a much smaller amount of choreographic text and episodes of presence on stage. The richly colorful image of a frantic, jealously in love Italian gives the ballet a special poignancy and enhances the mood of a dangerous adventure. By a happy coincidence, the part perfectly matches the physical characteristics of the dancer, allowing him to demonstrate all his advantages and not allow him to discover a single flaw. Here we can talk about something that does not happen very often, more than one hundred percent hitting the target when choosing a performer - the artist clearly provokes an acceleration of the pulse of a particular ballet story.
Anna Tikhomirova distinguished herself in the episodic role of the Bride, demonstrating a fascinatingly light and sharp pointe technique. Using the strength of her feet and the strength of her abs, the dancer created the illusion of barely noticeable contact with the ground; it was truly a dance living in the air. It would be wonderful if the dancer remembered this physical state, and in the dance of her Masha in the second act of the ballet “The Nutcracker”, the audience saw the same thing (the performance is expected in December).
Stylishly, with peasant coquettishness, Daria Khokhlova performed the same solo (Bride). As always, the couple Anastasia Stashkevich and Vyacheslav Lopatin gave the audience faith in the bright happiness of loving hearts. Husband and wife in life, on stage, this Groom and Bride are unusually reverent and tender, they understand each other with a half-sigh. And of course, the text of the parts for these young but already experienced artists does not pose any problem.
It is impossible not to note the expressive performance of a small part (Marquise's Friend) by Olga Marchenkova. Her charming lively coquetry matches the playful music, decorates the dance and makes the small humorous scene of the captain’s seduction unforgettable.

Angelina Vlashinets is also good in the same scene - a self-confident bully who cannot be won over by anything - she will still leave with her opinion, without losing her self-esteem and leaving her failed gentleman as a gift of guilt.
Mikhail Kochan attracted attention in the role of the Groom. He showed his love for the purity of dance, good coordination, rotation, nobility of manners and the ability to be a pleasant gentleman for a lady.
Alexey Loparevich (Brother Borromeo, treasurer of the monastery) as always pleased the audience with a non-trivial approach to his character. And to the delight of all the Bolshoi artists, he created a magnificent video about the life of the heroes of “Marco Spada” on stage and behind the scenes (it can be seen on the Internet).
Artyom Ovcharenkov chose not to break his “princely nature” as Marco Spada, and when this mocking, dexterous, unpretentious bandit begins to dance, we nevertheless see the shadow of the Nutcracker Prince and Desiree. Particularly impressive in the dancer’s performance is the finale of the first act (signature pirouette “from Artyom Ovcharenko”) and the final explosive dynamic variation of the third act, which the artist performs very musically. The dancer treats Lacotte's verbosity with a serenity that is not far from even some licentiousness, but this is precisely what Artyom, fortunately, does not allow himself. The actor looks extremely impressive in the role of a robber: predatory cheekbones, a tenacious, appraising gaze that unravels people in no time, a mouth ready to take a quick kiss and laugh, bold carelessness of manners - the young man is quite akin to a Hollywood sex symbol.
After the premiere, Artyom noted that preparing the ballet had raised him to a higher level of professional skill; what seemed difficult a couple of months ago now seems easy. “I’m happy that the ballet “Marco Spada” has appeared in the repertoire,” he says, “this is the ballet that will allow us, the dancers, to keep ourselves not just in shape, but in super shape! I not only enjoy what I create there is an interesting, ambiguous image of a pirate on stage, I not only enjoy wearing picturesque costumes, but every time I respect myself when I manage to adequately cope with the tricky choreographic text proposed by Pierre Lacotte, when I feel like the absolute master of my body and understand that I can make him work miracles. There were moments during rehearsals when my temples were pounding from overexertion. But we did not give up - we moved forward. And we learned to turn difficult things into pleasure. And today we give pleasure to the audience, not remembering fatigue."

The premiere result met the expectations of the artistic director of the Bolshoi Theater ballet troupe Sergei Filin. He expressed his gratitude to the dancers: “I am pleased with the work of each of the artists. They surprised and delighted me. Only dancers of the 21st century can do this, those universal dancers whose bodies are mobile, resilient, those artists who have a unique energy reserve, a unique dance experience and extraordinary inner freedom. Today they are not afraid of anything. They believe in themselves. They live in dance - strong, young, daring."
I really want to hope that the Bolshoi Theater will not ignore the wonderful works of its artists, and will eventually show them to the world in cinemas and, perhaps, release a DVD with a recording of the ballet.

BETWEEN DESPAIR AND POWERLESS

The current "Legend of Love" at the Bolshoi Theater could be called "The Legend of Mekhmene Banu". In different casts, with different ratios of experience and strength of the performers involved in the ballet, the center of the performance becomes not the fate of the artist who sacrificed personal happiness in the name of his calling, not the love drama of the princess separated from him, but the tragedy of the queen who gave up her beauty. That's what happened and May 19.

Maria Vinogradova And Igor Tsvirko More authentically than others I have seen, Shirin and Ferkhadov danced a duet-meeting. Such scherzo episodes are well suited for short artists. Igor, in addition, stood out with his powerful jumps in pursuit, and Maria with her fluid “water” pas de bourrée. And yet their heroes were only participants in the story of Mekhmene Banu.

Ekaterina Krysanova emphasized the stylized nature of this party. Each of her poses was outlined with a mysterious hieroglyph. The plasticity of the hands was reminiscent of the movements of Kathakali performers and the exquisite play of the hands of Peking Opera actors. Krysanova's dance stretched through the scorched, dried-out atmosphere of the "Legend..." in the same way as a fresco stretches along the wall of a palace abandoned by the inhabitants: the stones are cracked and weathered, but the remaining colors still tell the ancient story in the language of conventional symbols, honed over centuries.

The heroine's feelings were unconditional. She either flared up with despair, ready to shout about her suffering to the earth and sky, then she drooped from the consciousness of the impossibility of changing anything. And then, from this powerlessness, the most heartfelt moments in the performance, moistened with the transparent moisture of tears, were born. The queen walked slowly and trustingly towards the Stranger, maintaining the hope to the end that he would change his mind about taking her beauty. She responded with her whole body to Ferkhad’s caresses in the vision scene, and at the same time understood the unreality of these caresses. She fluttered like a black moth in the last trio, saying goodbye to her love forever.

Two and a half years ago, at the premiere of the renewed "Legends..." Svetlana Zakharova showed the suffering that teaches: through pain and self-denial, her heroine walked towards higher wisdom. Later Maria Alexandrova played the suffering that burned passion to the ground - so that in the ensuing insensibility Mehmene found the desired peace. Ekaterina Krysanova told the story of how the queen carries her soul unclouded through all the trials and temptations of fate.

Perhaps that is why she was given a kind of consolation in the person of the Vizier.

Like other modern performers of this role, Denis Savin did not play love for Mekhmene. But, unlike the other viziers, his hero looked like a truly worthy ally of his mistress. Not only the adagio before the chase, but also all other episodes in which the queen and the vizier act simultaneously, Krysanova and Savin performed as duets. When Mekhmene turned away from the courtiers, she knew for sure: the Vizier behind her back would do exactly what needed to be done. When in the penultimate scene she leaned her hand on the Vizier’s shoulder, it became clear that this was not a random gesture and not part of a court ceremony. The heroine really approached someone who could understand her. Even if not in her personal life, but in state affairs, the queen had someone to look to for support.

The second act of the play was enhanced by the performance Georgy Gusev in the role of the jester. Usually, when highlighting one of the artists, they note the peculiarities of the performing interpretation. I can’t say anything like that about Georgiy - his jester seemed to be ordinary. But the dance itself was extremely correct and musical. He entered another, bright red, hieroglyph into the ancient book “Legends...”.

A. S. Galkin.
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