#Maria Bulanova

[balletomaneblog]

OMG Maria Bulanova is debuting Kitri on May 5th!!! So excited!! This is such a perfect role for her.

[tikitania]

Which debuts do you wish to see at the Mariinsky? I'll go first:

Konovalov: Solor, Ferkhad

Khiteeva: Giselle, Aurora, O/O

Lukina: Shyrin, Raymonda

Bulanova: Mekhmeneh Bahnu, Kitri

Shakirova: Mekhmeneh Bahnu, Marguerite (from Marguerite and Armand)

I would add other names and performances to the list, but these are the ones I'm most interested in seeing, at the moment.

Oh! These are spot on. I would add Paquita & Scheheradze for Bulanova. She's so underutilized — I know I keep kvetching about this - but I just don't understand why she's on the sidelines. Also: Ramanbek Belashniev as Basil. I really hope his career progresses. I've long thought that Khiteeva would be a standout Giselle. She has the dramatic heft for these roles. I'd love to see her in that first, then Aurora, then O/O. Shakirova: I'd like to see her do a really standout Aurora & Giselle. Obviously, these are not debuts, but she's now a prima and very beloved. So she needs to dance some of these classical roles with commanding technique and style. I don't think she's a swan and we can put that to rest. But these would quiet the doubters. In a year or two, we'll see what Kulikova and the others are capable of and we can begin to put them on wishlists. Or maybe sooner!

Speaking of debuts. Svetlana Savalieva danced the Fairy of Tenderness role / Candide Fairy recently and she looks lovely. It's tough to essentially walk across stage on pointe shoes and make it look it dainty and graceful. Bravo! Also, check out Skorkik's Italian fouettés @ 2:20. These are the most joyful fouettés I have seen in a long time. Usually, the vibe I get from the dancer is "Is this almost over? Or just make it to the end!" Kondaureva struggled through hers recently and it's clear that she's not 100% after her injury. I hope she gets there.

[patricedumonde]

Masha Bulanova is rehearsing Aurora 👀 I wonder if I’m late to the news or

[miss-mollys-ballet-blog]

Look, I love Legend of Love with all my heart, I’m probably one of the few outside of Russia who do and close to the only one on tumblr that does. However, Mekhemene Banu’s monologue is PAINFUL when danced by someone with no passion and acting and emotion. I’m watching Maria Bulanova perform it and while physically she looks awesome in the choreography, she offers nothing in terms of artistry and I want to scream. This is such a powerful piece and the music builds perfectly, I don’t understand how anyone can’t put everything into it. She just has the doe in the headlights sad face and it makes me want to scream.

[ballet-symphonie]

Mariinsky Asks

I was wondering if you've seen the pictures and videos of La Fille du Pharaon premiering at the Mariinsky. I've been waiting with trepidation. I have the video of this ballet staged by the Bolshoi and their make up was very problematic, to the say the least. Especially Aspiccia's maid in full on blackface. I don't think I've managed to watch the entire thing because it REALLY bothered me.

I was very pleasantly surprised with the costumes at the Mariinsky! Such stunning costumes! Probably their most beautiful. I didn't see the entire thing but, from what I've watched, no blackface to be seen and I breathed a sigh of relief. Hopefully this is a first step in the right direction. Maybe next thing they'll be changing around some other makeup in other ballets? (Especially in The Bayadere, I have to skip the entire part featuring children) Baby I steps? cannot speak for the cultural appropriation and aspects of Egyptian culture being used because it's not my place to but I'd be curious about it, too.

Sure its better because there’s no blackface but that’s the lowest bar ever.  I’m not sure this is a ballet I’d really want to see. It’s not dramatically captivating, and some of the variations just look downright uncomfortable to get through (unless you’re Kimin Kim). I personally didn’t like the costumes, for how much money they must have spent, they looked a little tacky and overly shiny to me. I have also read reviews saying this ballet REALLY dragged with excessive pantomime. Like its 3.5 hours long- absolutely obnoxious. Haven’t found many clips of the pantomime, obviously because no one is interested. It is an interesting concept of reconstruction, but it almost feels like something that belongs in a museum and not on stage. 

Hey, Ale, first of all big love to you for your great blog 🫶🏼 Concerning Anastasia Plotnikova, I feel like she’s kind of become the 2020 graduate with the most featured roles at MT. Others like Valeria Bespalova and Lizi Avsadjanishvili (before she left) seemed to stand out more at Vaganova. Still, Plotnikova seemed to get more soloist parts that seem to lead the path to promotions for new graduates (shades solo, odaliaques solo, variation in Paquita) while the others didn’t. I think the biggest part she’s gotten is the Queen of the Dryads. I don’t know if that’s considered a principal role? But I think at least a big soloist role? :D I just think it’s interesting how things for the 2020 class are working out. They are the first Vaganova class I followed as students already and to me, it seemed that they would take over the theatre like Khoreva and friends, only that their year had even more red diplomas. I was a bit surprised that it seemed that they were given opportunities so much slower than at least the 2018 year. I’m really interested in hearing your thoughts on the 2020 graduates, especially because I thought it was so fascinating that 5 girls danced Masha in the Nutcracker, when only two years later no girl in the graduate year was deemed good enough.

Plotnikova has definitely adjusted to professional life better than expected and is certainly making the most of herself and separating herself from the rather mediocre classes from 2020-2022. Queen of the Dryads is a good step forward. I theoretically would worry about her getting pushed aside for the 2023…but since the ‘big 3’ are all going to BT, I think we will be seeing more of her. 

A red diploma doesn’t guarantee anything. There are girls who are soloists without one, and there are girls who are sitting in the corps for life with red diplomas. It’s important to remember that the diplomas take their dancing and their academics into account. For example, Elya Sevenard doesn’t have a red diploma. You need one to work in the theater of course, but that’s it. 

Regarding the VBA’s Nutcracker casting, I truly have no explanation. Principal roles in public shows should be kept for the strongest students of the graduating class. Not juniors with 2 more years left and certainly no poaching MT boys. 

What did you think of Bulanova’s recent black swan pas? I’m not sure she’s quite ready for a debut, although her turns were great as usual. Tbh I’d be more concerned about her odette in this case, but I’m hoping to see her in more classical leads. I really hope she debuts kitri soon, and i dream of seeing her as aurora although that probably won’t happen anytime soon lol

O/O is not a walk in the park and I don’t think she’s ready. Shakirova, who is also very much not the O/O type, found her technical shortcomings front and center in the White acts. I don’t think Bulanova would be any stronger honestly. I’d think about giving her a shot at Kitri, but I think she’s even worse suited for Aurora than O/O. 

It looks like as of 4 April Mariinsky finally promoted some of their men, Roman Belyakov and Evgeny Konovalov are now first soloists! Also a couple of Tsiskaridze´s boys are now coryphees too

Took them long enough, it’s what they deserve. 

Is it just me, or Lukina's dancing seems a bit "jerky" to me? Like I never feel comfortable when watching her, especially during more technical choreo like the Medora variation, etc. I feel much better watching Bulanova, but it seems that Lukina will be promoted first. Thoughts?

Lukina is generally not the strongest technical dancer and has had a string of injuries resulting in tendencies to be tentative with harder choreography. However, she is known to have powerful people pushing for her in the theater in addition to a comparatively better physique.  On the other hand, Bulanova is seemingly fearless and will dive head first into anything she’s given but is subjected to heavy typecasting and is also more limited in terms of her options for a partner. 

Did Alina Somova leave the Mariinsky?

This is very old news no? But yes, she’s at Ananiashvili's State Ballet of Georgia. Her husband is Georgian and has appeared in Ukrainian benefit galas in Zurich. 

[mariaspir]

Did anyone see the castings for Coppelia? It's all very odd, there's Principals (with a capital P) doing Coppelia and Dr. Coppelius, and lower ranks doing Swanilda and Franz. Also there's people dancing both parts in different performances? My eyes caught Nagahisa and Shirinkina dancing twice, with Shirinkina doing both Swanilda and Coppelia, which seems like a waste in merely 5 shows. Wtf is this production going to be?

ETA: I think I worded it weird: I mean it's a waste to exhaust May and Maria when there's such a small number of shows, instead of giving the opportunity to other dancers. Off the top of my head Svinko and Bulanova could definitely do the part.

[c-g-t]

To add on, Yana wasn’t in a lot of Mariinsky productions in big child roles (like the two little girls who try to steal the pot of water from the Manu in Bayadere, or Little Masha in Nutcracker) Yana played a Bug in Midsummer, I think she was in the party scene in Nutcracker, and I think only did Fairy Doll one year at VBA. She also played a little Cupid, but it was in Viharev’s Sleeping Beauty reconstruction and don’t normally appear in SB. The Cupids appear at the very end for 30 secs during the apotheosis, in the back with the Lilac Fairy. But I wouldn’t consider her as talented as Koshkaryova. I think she failed her year 3 or 4 exam because of her lack of epaulement and artistry, and went to Dolgushin afterwards.

She, Lada Sartakova and Maria Bulanova went to the same school before VBA, which was kinda like the Russian equivalent of Master Ballet Academy. Forgot the name of the school, but they seem/have seemed focused more on tricks rather than artistry, and it really shows. Sartakova was literally doing fouettés en pointe at the age of 6, and it’s a miracle that she’s still dancing.

Ask Responses - Vaganova

Hello, is Yana one of the top students in her class? She has so many Insta followers, I thought maybe because she was one of the better ballet dancers??

The number of followers on social media doesn’t automatically equate to talent. It’s important to remember that. Yana Cherepanova has some very impressive skills, however, her engagement in major VBA productions has been minimal. I don’t like talking about the younger students and in Yana’s case I certainly think that it will take years before we really know what to make of her. I’ll only say this: the effort it takes to develop such incredible extensions at such a young age, to say nothing of going en pointe before the age of ten, can lead to serious damage and can actually prevent a child from developing into a dancer as they grow. Balance, flexibility and extensions are great. But it’s not what makes a dancer. We have to wait and see.

Any guesses about who will play Princess Masha in Nutcracker at VBA? Other then the obvious Maria Khoreva.

All we can do is guess. Khoreva is the obvious choice, but we should also watch out for Ionova, Bulanova and Petukhova.

Hello! I understand Minori Nakashima (apologies if I spelt her name wrong) is with the Finnish National Ballet now. Such wonderful news! I was just wondering if she had actually already graduated from VBA? I had thought she was in her 6th year this year? Love your blog btw! - Caroline

Minori was a foreign trainee in Xenia Sevenard’s class. If she’s completed the foreign traineeship program, she’s eligible to work.

Would you happen to know who is Anastasia Dzhioeva? Is she a dancer? I’ve seen her quite a few times with some VBA students and she seems really close to them. She seems like a really nice, happy person. I was just wondering if she’s a dancer too?

She works at the Mariinsky, but I’m not sure what she does. I doubt she’s a dancer but it’s possible that she’s a former student.

Was Lada Ivanovna hired by a company, or does she have another year at the academy? I know she’s not top of the class, but I love her character interpretations and find her control and sweetness moving. I was just wondering…

Lada Ivanova is a student. She graduates next year.

I seem to think that while Marachok (I forgot the girl’s name), has a way better body than Eleonora, there seem to be something missing in Marachok when compared to Eleonora, same thing with Saveileva. I think I really do agree with that Eleonora is brilliant, however, I do know you really like Marachok and Svetlana Saveileva, would you care to explain why? Im just curious. Keep up your blog, its really wonderful!

Thank you. Her name is Maria Khoreva. Eleonora has had a lot of stage practice. Arguably more than anyone else at the academy. This is why she appears more professional than other students. The fault people tend to point out with Saveileva is that, as brilliant as she is in class, she seems unable to bring all the elements together during a performance. It could be a matter of nerves and lack of practice, and the issue may resolve itself in time. Khoreva is more confident and I believe that she will only grow stronger and more impressive with practice. I like Savelieva because (in class) she gives me strong Lopatkina vibes. It’s a shame that a lot of her major performances so far have not been great (for reasons mentioned above), but I keep my fingers crossed for her. 

Hello! I know you mentioned previously it was too soon to give an opinion on Lada, has that changed? Just wondering what you think of her :)

Do you mean Lada Sartakova? My previous comment stands. I haven’t formed an opinion beyond that.

d i s c l a i m e r

[balletroyale]

Maria Bulanova in The Sleeping Beauty (Mariinsky Ballet) 

[galina-ulanova]

Maria Bulanova and Victor Caixeta in Push Comes to Shove (Mariinsky Ballet)

[lovelyballetandmore]

Victor Caixeta | Maria Bulanova | Mariinsky Theatre | Photo by Natasha Razina

[gorbigorbi]

Maria Bulanova as Medora and Roman Belyakov as Conrad, “Le Corsaire”, choreography by Jules Perrot, Marius Petipa and Pyotr Gusev, libretto by Jules Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Joseph Mazilier, edited by Yuri Slonimsky and Pyotr Gusev, music by Adolphe Adam, Cesare Pugni, Léo Delibes, Riccardo Drigo and Pyotr Oldenburg, Mariinsky Ballet, Russia

Photographer Marianna Sorokina

[balletomaneblog]

Ok Maria Bulanova shattering my expectations for how great her Kitri debut would be, even though I already thought it would be amazing!

[tikitania]

Finally!

[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)

[c-g-t]

Mine: Stanislava Postnova, Maria Khoreva, Maria Bulanova, Eva Sergeenkova, Arina Denisova

Most overrated ballerinas! Name however many you want.

Misty Copeland, Yulia Stepanova, Alina Somova, Olesya Novikova, Natalia Osipova, Isabella Boylston, Joy Womack, Nadezhda Batoeva.

[ballet-symphonie]

VBA Asks

Hi Ale! I hope you can understand my question(s). Talking about the VBA 2018 class, how would you rank in your personal perception of "talent" Ionova, Bulanova, Khoreva, Petukhova and Nuikina based *only* on their graduation exams (not their lives in the theater etc)? And would you add other students to the list of most known/special students in that year? And how would rank them as well? I'm asking this because (first, I recognize Khoreva's talent), but in comparison, I don't understand how....

(Did I lose the second half of this ask?? I'm so sorry if I did, but this is all I have) This is a bit tricky because 'talent' is such a subjective thing. I'll keep the list to the 5 you mentioned, as those really were the clear standouts. In terms of natural disposition to ballet, I think I'd rank them as follows:

Khoreva- checks all the boxes, height, mobility, hyperextension, etc

Nuikina - a jump like that is from nature only

Bulanova - her not having a full education at VBA has left some holes in her technique, the feats she can pull of despite this are nothing short of remarkable.

Ionova - clearly a late bloomer, a bit short but with good natural coordination

Petukhova - a beautiful dancer, but ballet was clearly much much more of a battle for her than her classmates.

just random thought... i think yuri fateev favors maria koshkareva so much, even maria is just a student yuri is striving to get her to Mariinsky. when she compete for the moscow competition, fateev actually got an american choreographer to make the modern variation "maestro" for maria. and now maria getting all the lead roles in school, i mean she deserve it, she's very talented. i think some girls need to work on their confidence, dont let their nerves get them to fall apart.

Koshkareva is really good, but its more than that. She's the first graduate since Khoreva to look like she's ready at such a young age. The girl isn't messing around, some of her classmates could do with even a smidge of her confidence.

not to sound like vba wizard but, I think a paquita comeback is possible with underwater kingdom. but the lead role will be the top performing girl in kovaleva's class, you know who, they are gonna make her the star, with the other girl 2nd prize MBC, after all they are already mariinsky employed, the director promotes them. sofya V, might be princess masha for nutcracker, but she needs to work hard if she wanna shine. still early to tell things.

I would be all in for this programming, those underwater kingdom tutus are far too pretty (and likely expensive lol) to only be used once. I think the long-legged Kuprina would dance the Queen of the Waters Variation so well. I certainly expect Koshkareva to get the leading roles split with either Kuprina or Valuillina, depending on who looks stronger.

Hey! This is a really weird question but recently I've been watching recordings of older Vaganova ballet exams and of course the strongest students are in the center. I watched both Vishneva's and Zakharova's. It's so cool how two of the most famous ballerinas of their generation graduated just one year apart from each other.

So I was wondering your opinion, if Vishneva and Zakharova had actually been in the same class together, which do you think would have had the center position in the class, or been the favorite?

Ooh what a question! I often forget that they graduated only a year apart despite Vishneva being 3 years older. Zakharova was invited to VBA at 15 after winning 2nd prize at the Vaganova Prix and was allowed to skip not one but two grades into the graduating class.

I think the answer to your question depends on who's teaching the class. If its L.V. Kovaleva, there's no way Vishenva is taken out of the middle. Diana is her golden child and still is today. If the teacher is E.V. Evteeva, I think it could go either way. However, as incredibly gifted as Zakharova is, I don't really associate her as VBA's product, she only studied there for a year. Numerous talents such as Tsiskaridze, Grigorovich, and even Semionova, have described Zakharova's talent and style as utterly distinct from any real school. I personally feel that more credit should be given to Zakharova's teacher in Kiev, Valeria Sulegina. I think it would be hard to take the position away from Vishenva, who spent her whole life battling at the academy.

Hi Ale! I recently stumbled upon your blog and now I can't stay away! :D Maybe this is just my opinion, but it seems to me that in recent years the Vaganova boys have gotten... weaker? They don't seem to be as strong as the graduates of past years. How do you think this will affect their chances of making it into a companies like Mariinsky and Bolshoi?

Ahhh oof, the state of the VBA boys is not great IMO. They are graduating fewer competent boys each year. I think there are a variety of causes, including an outdated and ineffective training curriculum, a lot of the historically successful pedagogues no longer working, greater competition from other schools, and a smaller talent pool.

Prior to the war, I would have said yes, this will negatively affect their chances. Both BT and MT have repeatedly shown their willingness to hire and promote both foreign and foreign-trained talent, think of names like Victor Caxieta, Nikita Korneyev, Jacopo Tissi, David Motta Soares, etc. However, I can't imagine any graduate from a major ballet school is itching to go to Russia any time soon, the talent pool for Russian companies to pull from has unquestionably shrank.

However, we can still see the effect of the decline in a variety of other ways. For example, of the 8 boys taken into MT this fall, half were from the school of Boris Eifman, not VBA. VBA's insistence on poaching boys from the theatre to dance leading roles in their academy shows also doesn't help the problem. The decline isn't super obvious now, but wait 5 or so years when the current premiers start to retire...