#Kristina Spiridonova

[grozdovas]

2023 Russian national team

Senior main:

Maria Agafonova

Anna Esipova

Elena Gerasimova

Alyona Glotova

Anastasia Ilyankova

Diana Kustova

Viktoria Listunova

Angelina Melnikova

Maria Minaeva

Ulyana Perebinosova

Arina Semukhina

Vladislava Urazova

Elizaveta Us

Yana Vorona

Senior reserve:

Ekaterina Andreeva*

Lilia Akhaimova

Amira Botashyova

Leila Vasileva

Sabina Kaygulova

Anna Kalmykova*

Kristina Shapovalova*

Alina Shklokova

juniors*

Junior main:

Anastasia Bedrina

Viktoria Belikova

Sofia Guz

Maria Kravchenko

Sofia Maznaya

Viktoria Novikova

Zlata Osokina

Diana Parshikova

Alina Pyatiletova

Ludmilla Roshchina

Veranika Semyonova

Anna Smirnova

Anastasia Tolstaya

Junior reserve:

Marina Bondareva

Ksenia Gorshkova

Ulyana Dubrovskaya

Milana Kayumova

Maria Prud

Yulia Svistunova

Sofia Khaylo

Vitalina Shevchuk

Youth:

Aleksandra Anufrieva

Elizaveta Basova

Diana Gaynulina

Polina Dmitrieva

Aleksandra Iskakova

Nadezhda Kusleeva

Milana Levedeva

Ekaterina Polyakova

Yana Spiridonova

Sevda Shukyurova

Daria Belousova, Yulia Biryulya, Irina Komnova, Lyubov Galyuzhina, Sofia Pudova (2007) & Maria Tretyakova were all removed. Surprised to not see Eleonora Afanasyeva and Ksenia Zelyaeva on the list.

[melmothblog]

Ask Responses - Vaganova

A compilation of responses to the Vaganova questions, which came through ask recently. Thank you for asking.

Hello! I saw the show Blue Bird where Anna Sharova and Angelina Karamysheva dance together. I find both of them are very promising dancers! After their performance they proceed to the couch where the lady who hosts the show seems to ask them something and their responses seem to make the judges laugh/amused throughout that conversation. I was wondering if you could kindly translate what they said in the conversation on the couch. Thank you so much in advance!

The hosts asks if it’s true that Tsiskaridze keeps tabs on what sorts of books the students are reading. The girls respond that it’s true, though Nikolai hasn’t actually checked up on either one of them yet. Tsiskaridze interjects to say that he only checks up on the students who are failing.

The hosts then asks what was it like to dance at the Mariinsky, and the girls respond that it’s a great responsibility and that they tried very hard to do their teachers and the academy justice. Both girls also say that they are never fully happy with their performances, though they always do their best.

They go on to talk about how well Anna and Angelina dance together, and the girls talk about their friendship and partnership on stage. Tsiskaridze adds that during the big performances, the girls compete with one another for “the centre”, the central spot in the foreground. And even though Nikolai tells them off for doing so, he thinks that it’s a mark of a future soloist.

Anna dreams of dancing the part of Giselle, while Angelina has her sights set on Kitri.

What did Tsiskaridze say to Kristina Spiridonova during last year's middle school graduation? The video can be found in Anna Shishanova's youtube channel, malipu.

He says she has to eat carrots. Lots and lots of carrots. He usually says this to the shorter students in the hopes that eating carrots will make them grow.

Is it just me or does Darya Ustyuzhanina (6th year student, incoming 7th) look like a younger Evgenia Obraztsova?

Not really.

If you were to cast this year's Nutcracker, which students will you pick for each lead role?

I hope Lana Khalimova returns to the academy and gets to dance Princess Masha. I would also like to see Maria Khoreva and Daria Ionova take on the role. I’d love to see more of Maria Bulanova and Maria Petukhova in the future (maybe the two leading snowflakes) and I’d like Sokolovsky and Zagidullin to dance the part of the Nutcracker Prince. 

How strict do you think Tsiskaridze is compared to older ballet teachers, like his, Petyr Pestov? Do you think Vaganova teachers are "softer" to students nowadays?

If the stories are true, Tsiskaridze is a softy compared to Pestov. Russian ballet teachers have always been very strict and downright harsh, I don’t think this will ever change. Russians have a borderline militaristic approach to ballet education, which is partly why Russian dancers are so damn good.

d i s c l a i m e r

[sbrsportspicks]

Winter Olympics odds to win Women's #AlpineSkiing Aerials #Gold Xu Mengtao #CHN +125 Hanna Huskova #BLR +400 Alexandra Orlova #OAR +650 Kristina Spiridonova #OAR +800 Danielle Scott #AUS +900 Laura Peel #AUS +1200 Kong Fanyu #CHN +1400 Kiley McKinnon #USA +2500 #PyeongChang2018

[sustainhealthmagazine]

World Athletics Approves the Application of Six Russians to Compete at The European Cross Country Championships As Neutral Athletes

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By SPORT EDITOR FOR SUSTAIN HEALTH 

PUBLISHED: 18:12, 18 November 2019 | UPDATED: 18:42, 18 November 2019

The World Athletics Doping Review Board has agreed that the applications of six Russian athletes have met the exceptional eligibility criteria to compete in the 2019 European Cross Country Championships on 8 December as neutral athletes under competition Rule 22.1A(b) while the Russian national federation (RusAF) remains suspended.

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The Doping Review Board, which is composed of Robert Hersh (chair), Sylvia Barlag and Antti Pihlakoski, has accepted the applications of the following athletes for the following competitions:

Ekaterina Domnina (U20 event only) Ksenia Kuznetsova (U20 event only) Lilya Mendaeva Ildar Nadyrov Artem Popov (U20 event only) Irina Shipitsyna (U20 event only)

The participation of all these athletes as neutral athletes in international competition is still subject to formalities for eligibility under World Athletics Rules being completed and subject to acceptance of their entries by European Athletics as the meeting organiser.

The application process for athletes seeking neutral status in international competitions in 2019 opened in December 2018. A total of 135 Russian athletes have so far been declared eligible to compete as authorised neutral athletes in 2019. 58 applications have so far been rejected and one neutral athlete status has been revoked.

As this is an ongoing process, World Athletics will only make announcements as and when decisions are made by the Doping Review Board concerning successful applications and those athletes have been informed.

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2019 Authorised neutral athletes

Date of announcement and athlete/event:

13 September 2019: Yekaterina Ivonina (distance)

10 September 2019: Kseniya Aksenova (400m); Mikhail Akimenko (High Jump); Irina Ivanova (Pole Vault); Vladislav Panasenkov (Javelin); Dmitriy Sorokin (Triple Jump); Sardana Trofimova (Marathon); Anna Tropina (3000m steeplechase); Iulia Turova (20km race walk); Natalia Aksenova (High Jump); Anatoly Rybakov (5000/10000m); Konstantin Shabanov (110mH)

5 July 2019: Ilya Dolbin (pole vault), Dmitriy Kachanov (pole vault); (European U20 Championships and European Youth Olympic Festival): Vladislav Aleksandrin (triple jump), Natalya Spiridonova (long jump); (European U20 Championships only): Nadezdha Andryukhina (high jump), Irina Boldyreva (100m hurdles), Valeria Chehovich (400m hurdles), Artem Chermoshanskii (long jump), Sergey Demidov (discus), Anastasiia Eremiants (800m), Evgeniy Ermakov (high jump), Violetta Ignateva (discus), Evgeniy Karavaev (long jump), Stepan Kekin (combined events), Ruslan Kislykh (sprints), Vladena Komarova (combined events), Anna Korobova (hammer), Daria Kushnir (long jump), Nikita Mateev (400m), Dmitrii Nikitin (long jump), Viktor Pintusov (pole vault), Artem Popov (1500m), Maria Privalova (triple jump), Andrey Rodikov (combined events), Savelli Savlukov (800m), Irinia Shipitsyna (3000m steeplechase), Yulia Sokhatskaya (combined events), Ksenia Trubinova (combined events), Dmitriy Zyuzin (long distance), Sergey Zverev (hammer); (European Youth Olympic Festival only): Semen Borodaev (discus), Viktoria Cherviakova (javelin), Fedor Ivanov (400m hurdles), Stepan Rukhov (discus), Daria Shinkevich (shot put), Maria Tarabanskaya (400m hurdles), Olga Topolskova (400m hurdles)

17 June 2019 (European U23 Championships and/or World University Games only): Victor Bakharev (1500m), Aleksei Fadeev (high jump), Aleksei Kislitsa (discus), Kristina Klescheva (100m hurdles), Illia Krasnov (400m), Valeria Kuchina (javelin), Andrei Kukharenko (200/400m), Ivan Loginov (400m hurdles), Vladimir Lysenko (400m hurdles), Marina Maksimova (100/200m), Nikolay Orlov (javelin), Tamara Slastnikova (100/200m), Ekaterina Tiurina (400m hurdles), Nikolay Verbitckii (800m)

14 June 2019: Ekaterina Starygina (javelin)

28 March 2019: Elizaveta Kamenets (combined events), Alexander Komarov (combined events), Rail Kutuev (long jump), Liliia Mendaeva (1500/3000m) – European U20 Championships only, Aleksey Shevchuk (race walk)

21 February 2019: Nikita Andriyanov (high jump), Alena Beliakova (discus), Anastasiya Borodulina (hammer), Kirill Chernkhin (sprints), Yana Glotova (400m), Irina Gumeniuk (triple jump), Adelina Khalikova (high jump), Valeriya Khramova/Andreeva (400m), Aleksey Khudyakov (discus), Yevgeniy Korotovskii (hammer), Evgeniy Kunts (1500m), Dmitriy Lopin (sprints), Artem Makarenko (combined events), Mariia Pavlova (combined events), Sergey Polianski (long jump), Natalya Pospelova (hammer), Aleksey Sokirskii (hammer), Elena Sokolova (long jump), Polina Sokolova (discus), Irina Takuntcheva (400m)

21 January 2019: Diana Adasko (triple jump), Maxim Afonin (shot put), Dzhennifer Akiniimika (sprints), Mariia Aglitckaia (100m hurdles), Rinas Akhmadeev (long distance), Elizaveta Bondarenko (pole vault), Oleg Braiko (jumps), Viktor Butenko (discus), Timofey Chalyy (400m hurdles), Danila Danilov (hammer), Alexey Fedorov (triple jump), Aksana Gatauillina (pole vault), Georgiy Gorokhov (pole vault), Illia Ivaniuk (high jump), Maria Kochanova (high jump), Viacheslav Kolesnichenko (sprints), Alexander Komarov (combined events) – European U20 Championships only, Vilena Komarova (combined events), Elena Kulichenko (high jump), Anna Krylova (triple jump), Maria Lasitskene (high jump), Aleksandr Lesnoi (shot put), Denis Lukyanov (hammer), Alena Lutkovskaia (pole vault), Alena Mamina (sprints), Polina Miller (sprints), Vasiliy Mizinov (race walks), Timur Morgunov (pole vault), Ilia Mudrov (pole vault), Olga Mullina (pole vault), Egor Nikolaev (1500m), Sofia Palkina (hammer), Viktoriia Prokopenko (triple jump), Vera Rudakova (400m hurdles), Fedor Shutov (long distance), Illia Skkurenev (combined events), Anastasiia Shkurutova (hammer), Sergey Shubenkov (110m hurdles), Anzhelika Sidorova (pole vault), Olesia Soldatova (400m), Yana Smerdova (race walks), Elizaveta Tsareva (hammer)

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[jculture-en]

Ufa native Kristina Spiridonova won silver of Winter Universiade

#WinterOlympic #WinterOlympicGames [bashinform.ru]Kristina Spiridonova already has competing experience in large-scale sports competitions. In 2018, the freestyler was included in the Russian team to participate in the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

[winterolympic-en]

Ufa native Kristina Spiridonova won silver of Winter Universiade

#WinterOlympic #WinterOlympicGames [bashinform.ru]Kristina Spiridonova already has competing experience in large-scale sports competitions. In 2018, the freestyler was included in the Russian team to participate in the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

[melmothblog]

Opinions of Dancers - Part II

First off, apologies for the big delay in answering these questions. I’m honoured and touched that so many people are interested in my opinion, but I’m now at a point where I can’t keep up with the questions anymore. I’m doing my best and will try to do better, but sometimes there will be significant delays. Sorry :(

Kristina Spiridonova (VBA student)

I haven’t heard or seen anything of Kristina since 2016, so I’d struggle to make an assessment. I vaguely remember that I found her very perky, but felt that she got a little lost during group performances with her stronger classmates.

Viktor Lebedev (Mkhailovsky, Principal)

In 2010, after graduating from VBA, Lebedev received an invitation to join the Mariinsky Theatre. If my memory serves me right, he worked there for a grand total of two days before jumping ship. Mikhailovsky Theatre lured him with promises of roles and accelerated career progression. The theatre has a history of quick promotions (recently, Julian MacKay became first soloist after a year with the company), which I think is a mistake. Even if a dancer is very promising, promoting them to principal or first soloist so quickly doesn’t give then time to mature (emotionally and technically).  I think that Lebedev is very talented and very promising. I don’t blame him for taking advantage of a great opportunity, but I have a feeling that, had he stayed with the Mariinsky, he would have had a better chance of developing into a serious artist.

Sofiane Sylve (San Francisco Ballet, Principal) 

With some rare exceptions, I’m not a fan of American dancers performing classical repertoire. While I think that Sylve is a versatile and technically strong ballerina, I prefer her in more contemporary productions. Though I do like her very much as Aurora.

Mayara Magri (The Royal Ballet, Soloist)

I’m not at all familiar with her. Sorry. Don’t have an opinion.

Do you have any favourites among the non-principals of the Royal Ballet?

No, I don’t have any favourites, but I was very impressed by Thomas Whitehead (First Soloist) in Liam Scarlett's “Frankenstein”. He had a tiny role of the creepy university professor but he still somehow stood out and was one of the most memorable characters for me. He also danced the part of Swan / Stranger in Matthew Bourne’s “Swan Lake”, which automatically makes him cool in my books.

Checked to see if she's been mentioned but surprisingly she hasn't. Thoughts on Kochetkova? Now that she's been dancing with ABT for a couple of years she is performing classical roles more often in comparison to her usual contemporary stuff at SFB. However it seems like she's just known for being a short ballerina or for her whacky hipster style & Instagram fame. To me she's a glorified gala dancer or at best a company soloist. I don't hate her but her dancing seems to be lacking in substance.

I think it’s interesting that you’d bring up Maria’s status as something of an instagram celebrity in a negative light, because it demonstrates that sometimes social media fame can actually work agains a dancer. It’s a timely remark, as I’ve been talking about the problems of social media a lot recently. I don’t think Masha is a hipster or is disingenuous in any other way. She’s actually very quirky, and her instagram simply reflects what her real life and personality are like.

I’m not a fan of Kochetkova, but I have to disagree with your dismissal of her as a glorified gala dancer. Masha is one of the best graduates to come out of BBA in recent memory. I have to wonder if she would’ve developed into a stronger classical ballerina had she remained in Russia, but I think the path she’s taken works well for her. I think she is a wonderful contemporary dancer and does justice to her school whenever she tackles classical roles. I’m glad she’s joined ABT, and I look forward to seeing what she does next.

d i s c l a i m e r

[melmothblog]

Who’s Going Where: Class of 2019 Updates

EDIT: Thank you to those who send in the tips. I will update this list as I get more info.

-

Class of Nikolai Tsiskaridze

Mikhail Barkidjija

Evgeny Bolotskih - Mariinsky

Ruslan Vodzinsky

Dmitry Sobolev

Marko Juusela

Kirill Sokolovsky - Bolshoi

Aaron Osawa-Horowits

Class of Irina Sitnikova

Ksenia Andreenko

Viktoria Kolesnikova

Kristina Legasheva

Polina Sugidzaki

Yulia Spiridonova - Mariinsky

Alexandra Khiteeva - Mariinsky

Valentina Yakubova

Liza Rozelli

Ayaka Nakagome

Class of Marina Vasilieva

Anastasia Bogdashkina

Daria Voinova

Polina Kolyada

Ekaterina Kuzmicheva

Svetlana Savelieva - Mariinsky

Ksenia Sevenard - recovering from an injury; no work contract yet

Kristina Spiridonova

Daria Ustyuzhanina - Mariinsky 

Zoya Frolova

Kagawa Tomoe

Class of Irina Zhelonkina

Mariam Gogodze

Tatiana Gorbunova

Valentina Ivanova - Eifman Ballet

Marina Pak - Mariinsky

Valeria Sklotskaya - Bayerisches Staatsballett

Anastasia Uzhanskaya

Class of Andrei Ermolenkova

Ivan Poddubnyak - Bolshoi

Aganak Badyirgyi

Marat Bukhmuhametov

Abdrashid Vagapov

Lev Petrov

Isaiah Maness 

Johan Shroder

Timothy Chaplin

d i s c l a i m e r 

[melmothblog]

Who’s Going Where: Class of 2019 Updates

Thank you to everyone who provided tip-offs!

*marks updates.

-

Class of Nikolai Tsiskaridze

Mikhail Barkidjija - Mariinsky 

Evgeny Bolotskih - Mariinsky

Ruslan Vodzinsky - Mariinsky

Dmitry Sobolev - Yacobson Ballet

Marko Juusela - Mariinsky

Kirill Sokolovsky - Bolshoi

Aaron Osawa-Horowits - Mariinsky

Class of Irina Sitnikova

Ksenia Andreenko - auditioned in Paris (unsuccessful)*

Viktoria Kolesnikova

Kristina Legasheva

Polina Sugidzaki - Stanislavsky Music Theatre

Yulia Spiridonova - Mariinsky

Alexandra Khiteeva - Mariinsky

Valentina Yakubova

Lisa Roselli - Mikhailovsky

Ayaka Nakagome

Class of Marina Vasilieva

Anastasia Bogdashkina - Mikhailovsky

Daria Voinova

Polina Kolyada - Bolshoi

Ekaterina Kuzmicheva - Mikhailovsky

Svetlana Savelieva - Mariinsky

Ksenia Sevenard - recovering from an injury; no work contract yet

Kristina Spiridonova - Tchaikovsky Ballet Teatre

Daria Ustyuzhanina - Mariinsky

Zoya Frolova

Kagawa Tomoe

Class of Irina Zhelonkina

Mariam Gogodze

Tatiana Gorbunova - Tchaikovsky Ballet Teatre (unconfirmed)

Valentina Ivanova - Eifman Ballet

Marina Pak - Mariinsky

Valeria Sklotskaya - Bayerisches Staatsballett

Anastasia Uzhanskaya - Bayerische Staatsballett

Class of Andrei Ermolenkova

Ivan Poddubnyak - Bolshoi

Aganak Badyirgyi - Tchaikovsky Ballet Teatre (unconfirmed)

Marat Bukhmuhametov

Abdrashid Vagapov

Lev Petrov

Isaiah Maness

Johan Shroder

Timothy Chaplin

d i s c l a i m e r

[melmothblog]

Who’s Going Where: Class of 2019 Updates

EDIT: Thank you to those who send in the tips. I will update this list as I get more info. *marks updates.

-

Class of Nikolai Tsiskaridze

Mikhail Barkidjija - rumoured to be going to the Bolshoi*

Evgeny Bolotskih - Mariinsky

Ruslan Vodzinsky - Mariinsky*

Dmitry Sobolev - Yacobson Ballet*

Marko Juusela

Kirill Sokolovsky - Bolshoi

Aaron Osawa-Horowits

Class of Irina Sitnikova

Ksenia Andreenko - auditioned in Paris. Possibly for PoB*

Viktoria Kolesnikova

Kristina Legasheva

Polina Sugidzaki

Yulia Spiridonova - Mariinsky

Alexandra Khiteeva - Mariinsky

Valentina Yakubova

Liza Rozelli

Ayaka Nakagome

Class of Marina Vasilieva

Anastasia Bogdashkina - Mikhailovsky*

Daria Voinova

Polina Kolyada

Ekaterina Kuzmicheva - Mikhailovsky*

Svetlana Savelieva - Mariinsky

Ksenia Sevenard - recovering from an injury; no work contract yet

Kristina Spiridonova - auditioned in Paris. Possibly for PoB*

Daria Ustyuzhanina - Mariinsky

Zoya Frolova

Kagawa Tomoe

Class of Irina Zhelonkina

Mariam Gogodze

Tatiana Gorbunova

Valentina Ivanova - Eifman Ballet

Marina Pak - Mariinsky

Valeria Sklotskaya - Bayerisches Staatsballett

Anastasia Uzhanskaya -Bayerische Staatsballett*

Class of Andrei Ermolenkova

Ivan Poddubnyak - Bolshoi

Aganak Badyirgyi

Marat Bukhmuhametov

Abdrashid Vagapov

Lev Petrov

Isaiah Maness

Johan Shroder

Timothy Chaplin

d i s c l a i m e r

[melmothblog]

Aaron OH is going to Mikhailovsky Theater as well as Lisa Roselli and Anastasia Bogdashkina. Polina Kolyada is going to Bolshoi, although she rolled her ankle during the general rehearsal of the grad performance and is not able to dance until September. Anastasia Uzhanskaya is joining Mariinsky. (Just thought you deserved a few tip offs ;) i go to VBA )

Sorry, I completely missed this message in my inbox :( Thank you so much for the tip-off!

*marks updates.

-

Class of Nikolai Tsiskaridze

Mikhail Barkidjija - rumoured to be going to the Bolshoi*

Evgeny Bolotskih - Mariinsky

Ruslan Vodzinsky - Mariinsky

Dmitry Sobolev - Yacobson Ballet

Marko Juusela

Kirill Sokolovsky - Bolshoi

Aaron Osawa-Horowits - Mikhailovsky*

Class of Irina Sitnikova

Ksenia Andreenko - auditioned in Paris (unsuccessful)*

Viktoria Kolesnikova

Kristina Legasheva

Polina Sugidzaki

Yulia Spiridonova - Mariinsky

Alexandra Khiteeva - Mariinsky

Valentina Yakubova

Liza Roselli - Mikhailovsky*

Ayaka Nakagome

Class of Marina Vasilieva

Anastasia Bogdashkina - Mikhailovsky

Daria Voinova

Polina Kolyada - Bolshoi*

Ekaterina Kuzmicheva - Mikhailovsky

Svetlana Savelieva - Mariinsky

Ksenia Sevenard - recovering from an injury; no work contract yet

Kristina Spiridonova - auditioned in Paris (unsuccessful)*

Daria Ustyuzhanina - Mariinsky

Zoya Frolova

Kagawa Tomoe

Class of Irina Zhelonkina

Mariam Gogodze

Tatiana Gorbunova

Valentina Ivanova - Eifman Ballet

Marina Pak - Mariinsky

Valeria Sklotskaya - Bayerisches Staatsballett

Anastasia Uzhanskaya - Bayerische Staatsballett

Class of Andrei Ermolenkova

Ivan Poddubnyak - Bolshoi

Aganak Badyirgyi

Marat Bukhmuhametov

Abdrashid Vagapov

Lev Petrov

Isaiah Maness

Johan Shroder

Timothy Chaplin

d i s c l a i m e r

[melmothblog]

Ask Responses: Vaganova

The exact reason why RBV posted that mean video (which has since been removed) of Savelieva was that he was bitter that his favorite, Kristina Spiridonova, was not being cast in lead roles. That could be why you got so many asks about her . The truth is, a student's barre placement in exams and castings depend largely on their class ranking from exams. If Kristina is not frequently promoted, it is likely that teachers and examiners find her lacking in something intangible, e.g. stage presence.

You could be right, but I find that people like RVB always find a reason to be toxic. And they never have to look very hard.

Do you think we’re going to see VBA take a similar (yet lesser) approach of over-exposure next year with Alexandra Khiteeva that we saw with Sevenard? She’s already following down a Sevenard-Esque path, with having performed Masha as a Year 7, and her doing the Pas de Quatre which VBA has taken multiple places and performed many times.

It’s hard to predict something like this. I don’t think (and I hope) no student will experience the same level of expose again any time soon, because of how damaging it can be. Elya’s situation was especially difficult because her final year and graduation coincided with the whole Mathilde business and her father’s (very) public claim that the family were actually descended from the Romanovs. 

This is something I should’ve mentioned the last time I wrote about Elya. VBA certainly didn’t do her any favours but they aren’t the only ones to blame for the negative (and wholly underserved) attitude Elya was greeted with upon her graduation. There were a lot of elements at play at that time. I think her situation is too unique to be replicated. 

That being said, Alexandra is talented and is getting a lot of great opportunities... Unfortunately, that’s more than enough for some people to hate her. 

Is there any video with 7th grade classical exam on-line?

Not that I’m aware of.

So I know that not every student gets to perform in The Nutcracker or The Fairy Doll. But do all students in the graduating year get a part in the grad performances?

Yes, provided they’re not sick or injured, I believe they do. Although not everyone gets to dance prominent or solo roles. Some grads only get to do corps parts.

Is ‘Suite En Blanc’ no longer a part of the VBA Graduation performances?

It is. If you’re referring to my instagram post from yesterday, I accidentally left it out of the English part of the text :/ My bad.

One thing also to remember about positions/places on the centre barre (which sounds very obvious but i think should be remembered) is that a girl who loses her place has not necessarily become worse/lost form. It can simply be the case that other students in the class have recently improved/were late bloomers and as such have leapfrogged up the class rankings.

Yes, this is true. I guess that’s what I meant by student being “unable to handle the competition” in my previous response, although you out it a lot nicer.

I was watching some of the character exams posted of the 7b and 7v classes and I noticed that their repertoire is very different. The 7b class has the boys and seem to dance more group/corps and partnering variations while the 7v class is only girls and has a lot more solo/smaller group parts. I was wondering why this discrepancy exists and how they decide which class does which?

All grade are broken down into several steams (A, B, V - that’s Russian A, B, C) and those streams are, in turn, broken into boys and girls classes. For example, here’s the breakdown of the current Grade 7 / Level II:

7A (class of Sitnikova - girls); 7A (class of Tsiskaridze - boys); 7B (class of Vasilieva - girls); 7B (class of Ermolenkov - boys); 7V (class of Zhilonkina - girls). In Grade 7 / Level II, character dance is taught by Sirotin and  Smironova. I assume you’re referring to the videos from Sirotin’s character dance exam and those are the only ones available online. 

As I’m not a Vaganova insider, I can’t tell you exactly how Sirotin decides on the repertoire. I think that, like most teachers, he selects the pieces that will show off the students strengths while making the overall program diverse and interesting. Some pieces, like the Gypsy dance from “Don Q”, are fairly “standard” and are used in many exams.

I was amused to see Lezginka in this year’s exam. Lezginka is a traditional Georgian dance and I’d like to think that Sirotin threw it in there to humour Tsiskaridze, but it was probably added to the repertoire because it’s such an amazing, fiery character dance.

d i s c l a i m e r

[melmothblog]

Ask Responses: Vaganova

Hi melmoth! Happy new year in advance :D anyway, regarding recent Vaganova graduates /students ie Ksenia Zhiganshina, Eleonara Sevenard, Alena kovaleva and Maria Khoreva, who do you think will be the primas of the future generation?

It’s really hard to tell... Unfortunately, talent and hard work are not always enough for a dancer to succeed and rise through the ranks. A lot depends on luck and the priorities of the artistic director of whichever company the graduates end up at. Tsiskaridze recently said that he has already seen very talented graduates (of his time: 2013 - 2017) underestimated, misused or altogether crushed.

In the case of Kovaleva, Vaziev seems to be taking the same approach he had with Somova years ago at the Mariinsky. I think he’s grooming her to become a prima. Sevenard also has a lot of support, so we’ll have to wait and see. I think Khoreva has what it takes to get to the top. Plus, she’s Professor Kovaleva’s student and, from what I’ve heard, Kovaleva looks after her own and helps them outside of the academy. I hope to see Maria as a Mariinsky prima one day. But only time will tell.

Hi. I love reading your blog! I know you've commented on Kristina Spiridonova before, but I just want to express again that I think she is one of the more under-rated students at the school. I've been a balletomane for decades and trained as well....I can see that she is an excellent performer and a character dancer par excellence. Even her exercises are dancing rather than just technique. Have you heard anything recent about her? I hope her talent is seen and recognized even more in the future.

I’m afraid I haven’t heard anything about her in a long time. She’s still at VBA and I think she participates in major performances as a corps dancer but that’s about it. 

Hi melmoth! Do you know if the "Maria Khoreva" mentioned in some YouTube rhythmic gymnastics' videos such as "Хорева Мария 2000 г.р. Без предмета 2006 г." or "Алые паруса 2010 (Маша Хорева бп.)" etc. is the same vba Masha Khoreva? If so,now I understand where her amazing extensions and feet come from! Moreover,I just wanted to say that I'm so happy for Masha's latest spotlight, she's a rising star and I hope she will become a Bolshoi or Mariinsky prima ballerina because that's what she deserves!

It’s impossible to tell from the videos if it is her, but Maria did take rhythmic gymnastics before she got into VBA.

Do you know if Yana Cherepanova and Olya Morgulets are in the same class?

I think Olga is a year below Yana.

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