#Denis Rodkin

[dance-world]

Denis Rodkin

[miss-mollys-ballet-blog]

Denis Rodkin in Carmen.

[balletomaneblog]

Casting is Out For Premiere of Lavrosky's Romeo and Juliet at the Bolshoi!

April 4th (opening night):

Juliet: Elizaveta Kokoreva Romeo: Daniil Potaptsev Mercutio: Daniil Lopatin Tybalt: Mikhail Lobukhin

April 5th:

Juliet: Evgenia Obraztsova Romeo: Artem Ovcharenko Mercutio: Alexei Putintsev Tybalt: Alexander Vodopetov

April 6th (matinée):

Juliet: Eleonora Sevenard Romeo: Denis Rodkin Mercutio: Mark Chino Tybalt: Nikita Kapustin

April 6th (evening):

Juliet: Svetlana Zakharova Romeo: Artemy Belyakov Mercutio: Dmitry Smilevsky Tybalt: Denis Savin

April 7th:

Juliet: Ekaterina Krysanova Romeo: Vladislav Lantratov Mercutio: Denis Zakharov Tybalt: Igor Pugachev

Very excited about some of the line-ups! I'm especially excited about Sevenard performing Juliet as well as the Kokoreva-Potaptsev pairing, and Krysanova-Lantratov will be lovely. But I'm not as crazy about Zakharova performing Juliet. I just don't see her as the youthful and sweet fourteen-year-old Juliet anymore. I know her and Krysanova are relatively similar in age, but for me I see Krysanova far more as Juliet. Still, it's Svetlana Zakharova, so I'm sure she'll pull it off.

Anyway, I'm very excited for this premiere!

P.S. Would love to see Vinogradova and Maymula as Juliet in this ballet at some point as well!

[patricedumonde]

This is perhaps my favorite video to exist on youtube! I watch it way too often lol. These students were so lucky to share a stage with the dancers from Bolshoi.

It is so difficult to even choose favorite dancers in this performance. I would say Xenia Zhiganshina and Yulia Stepanova stood out for me though. Alyona Kovalyova danced my favorite variation, and I think she did a marvelous job here. I thought it was breath-taking. She's so tall though that in the end when she does the tour jete, it low key looked like she tripped lol. I know it's part of the choreography but my heart still skipped a beat. This performance is my Avengers Endgame haha.

Ooh, also. In the mazurka, look at how tiny the 2023 graduates are. Time flies. I still find it unacceptable that I'm now older than some prima ballerinas. Anyway, take a break for an hour and make sure to watch this the whole way through! I can also compile a playlist of the variations if anyone's interested. Oscar Frame 2017 graduate (variation from the ballet Le Conservatorie, music by H.S.Paulli) Eleonora Sevenard 2017 graduate (variation from the ballet Trilby, music by Y.Gerber) Alyona Kovalyova 2016 graduate (variation from the ballet Le Roi Candaule, music by C.Pugni) Xenia Zhiganshina 2014 graduate (variation from the ballet Gretna Green, music by E.Guiraud) Olga Smirnova 2011 graduate (variation from the ballet Paquita, music by L.Minkus) Mikhail Lobukhin 2002 graduate (variation from the ballet Don Quixote, music by L.Minkus) Yulia Stepanova 2009 graduate (variation from the ballet The Little Humpbacked Horse, music by C.Pugni) Evgenia Obraztsova 2002 graduate (variation from the ballet Le Pavillon d’Armide, music by N.Tcherepnin) Denis Rodkin (variation from the ballet La Source, music by R.Drigo) Svetlana Zakharova 1996 graduate (variation from the ballet La Sylphide, music by R.Drigo)

[hewalksinstarlight]

Silmarillion AU: The Ballet

When Túrin left Doriath, Beleg begged leave to follow after. He was captured by Túrin’s followers, who did not know Beleg and so tortured him, until Túrin returned and raised him up. Together they commanded the outlaws and guarded the land against Morgoth. But they were betrayed; Túrin’s men were killed, and Túrin himself captured. Beleg rescued him, but Túrin woke from his swoon in the dark of night and dealt his friend a mortal blow, for he did not recognize him.

Denis Rodkin as Túrin, Marcelino Sambé as Beleg

[ballet-symphonie]

is it only me or i just really dont like when elya and rodkin are partnered together?? yes they are a couple but i dont know how that translate to their work on stage. but look, like kimin and renata, i think they are exes?(correct me if im wrong in assuming their relationship lol) i really love when they dance together. i guess you just know when the partnering is done right.

It's honestly a disappointment because Sevenard + Rodkin should be the it couple right now for BT. Like on paper they should be everywhere and be blowing up all over the place. And they're just not??? Some people, like Kimin/Renata really do have that something special. And it doesn't even have to have any romantic feelings behind it at all, look at Nunes/Muntigirov! It's strange but some couples really don't work well together on stage and these two certainly aren't the first. Listen, I love Sevenard, but I'd much rather enjoy watching her when she's dancing with literally anyone else. I understand why they keep putting them together...but it wouldn't be my ideal pairing.

[princesssarisa]

Well, if you want one that particularly highlights Clara's romance with the Nutcracker Prince and her coming-of-age journey, the 1977 Mikhail Baryshnikov version is a classic, with Baryshnikov himself as the Prince and Gelsey Kirkland as Clara.

Another version I especially enjoy is the Bolshoi staging, choreographed by Yuri Grigorovich. It makes several creative choices, including: (a) making the nutcracker doll a child-sized, dancing mechanical toy, not just a regular nutcracker, (b) having the "international" dancers be dolls from under the Christmas tree, who don't just appear in Act II to perform, but are companions to Marie and the Nutcracker Prince throughout their adventures, (c) having the Mouse King only flee at the end of the big battle, then come back to attack again in Act II and only then be killed, and (d) having Marie and the Prince get married near the end.

It's been filmed multiple times with different casts. For the version with the best picture quality, I'll share the 2014 video.

Christmas is coming, and I need some good recommendations of recordings of the Nutcracker ballet.

The Nutcracker is one my favorite ballets of all time and I love it during the Christmas season. But there's two problems.

I'm very picky with my staging of the Nutcracker

I TRULY HATE, LOATHE, THE STANDARD AMERICAN STAGING

I understand the American stagings are more to train younger dancers so that's why they are mostly observers during the second act, but I love so much the stagings that depict the ballet as a true coming of age romance between Clara/Marie and the Nutcracker.

So, do you all know where I can find some beautiful recordings of the Nutcracker?

@ariel-seagull-wings @princesssarisa @angelixgutz @amalthea9 @thealmightyemprex @natache

[danzadance]

Svetlana #Zakharova and Denis #Rodkin in “Francesca da Rimini”, #choreography by Yuri #Possokhov. Ballerina #bailarina #bailarin #ballet #ballett #balletdancer #balletlife #danza #danzadanceorg https://www.instagram.com/p/CnEHegbuymG/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[1is0]

my goal is to teach with patience

the reason I want to be someone who puts in the extra work with students who want to improve is because I always think of all the stars we’d miss out on if they were never given that push by someone who saw their potential when nobody else did

if we didn’t have teachers who can spot talent and help talent flourish, we wouldn’t have dancers like Xander Parish or Denis Rodkin

[newmic]

Anzhelina Vorontsova & Denis Rodkin in ’Swan Lake’ – “Pas de deux" (2015)

bonne soirée chéri,

A demain

Doux baisers

[dance-world]

Denis Rodkin - photo by Damir Zhukenov

[miss-mollys-ballet-blog]

Ekaterina Shipulina and Denis Rodkin in the white swan act.

[lovelyballetandmore]

Denis Rodkin | Bolshoi Theatre

[balletomaneblog]

Just watched Eleonora Sevenard’s full Odette/Odile debut in Kazan on Youtube! Her Odile is so so amazing!! I was literally almost routing for Odile 😆.

[falleninautumn]

Denis Rodkin today on the stage of NOVAT in Novosibirsk

❤️❤️

[ballet-symphonie]

In defence of tsiskaridze… he came to the school in 2015, which means he’s been rector for the whole time Koshkarova, Valiullina, Kuprina, Karamysheva, Gritsina, Barinova, Zakota, Solomina, Kishnova, Efimova and others were in the first grade. And they are beautiful dancers, like I think we are overestimating the changes happening. In addition to this, the class that Tsiskaridze took over was a “weak class” (I swear these are his own words from an video with Ilya), and they look good in the exam, even though it’s not pure vaganova. However we don’t know they’re day to day classes. We don’t know if during class they do plain vaganova pure exercises, and then tried something new and a bit bonkers just for the exam. I wouldn’t be surprised, and it would explain why the exam isn’t super clean, maybe they don’t do these crazy exercises every day, just they put on a show for their exam, which is objectively more fun to watch, and maybe it’s more fun for them to execute, like the little variation breaks? Bonkers, but fun! We can’t forget how passionate the Russians are about the art of ballet, they are so passionate and they are risk takers!

I'm not inclined to give Tsiskaridze undeserved credit. Of the four you named who are now relevant rising soloists, they all graduated under the guidance of Ludmila Kovaleva, the same woman who is responsible for Olga Smirnova, Kristina Shapran, Diana Vishneva, Maria Khoreva and Ekaterina Borchenko among other prominent dancers. Kovaleva has been producing world-class ballerinas for over 40 years, her teaching prowess and clear ability to transform students into ballerinas was well-known before Tsiskaridze ever stepped into his role at VBA.

I think Tsiskaridze's main abilities lie in coaching and administration. The way he developed Angelina Vorotsova as well as Denis Rodkin is proof of this. Furthermore, the way he's been able to raise the production quality of the VBA performances in terms of the staging, costuming and venue is remarkable, I'm not sure where he suddenly found the funds but he made it happen. In my opinion, based on the quality of his students, I don't think he's nearly as good a teacher- many great dancers aren't.

As someone who graduated from a prominent ballet academy and is now working professionally in a major theater, I can tell you that they absolutely spend significant amounts of their time in class practicing what they did during the exam. You can't suddenly do a full ballet class nonstop if it hasn't been practiced and rehearsed extensively. If they just suddenly decided to do a whole class of crazy combination sporadically or just for the exam, it would be a complete mess.

Furthermore, exams are not for fun, their purpose is not to entertain an audience. If you want to be entertained, go buy a ticket for a performance. The purpose of exams is to demonstrate the student's progress and assess their mastery of technique. It’s about highlighting consistent and structured training that builds discipline, strength, precision, and artistry over time. If the whole class is dancing better in 'normal classes' than in an exam, what does that say about their preparation for high-pressure moments when working for a ballet company. It suggests their foundation might not be as solid as it should be.

Especially in Russia, passing the state exam determines your grades, your diploma, and your ability to work in a state theater. I personally think it's harder to accurately assess the skill of each individual dancer when the exams are overly choreographed with complex formations that showcase some students and hide others. When exams are so critical to a dancer's future cannot simply be viewed as a showcase for "fun" or "flashiness"—they are fundamentally about the demonstration of technical mastery and readiness to join the professional world.