#Renata Shakirova

[miss-mollys-ballet-blog]

Renata Shakirova in her debut as Odette/Odile.

[balletomaneblog]

The Top Female Vaganova Graduates of the Past Ten Years: Then and Now (Part I)

2015 - Renata Shakirova (Mariinsky Principal)

This was actually a tough one since 2015 was such an amazing year for graduates, especially considering that both the ninth year and eighth years graduated together. But in the end, Shakirova just seemed to me the most professional and technically strong in 2015! A star then and now!

Role I'd love to see her début: The Sylph

Special Mentions: Anastasia Lukina, Nika Tsvikhtaria, Elena Solomyanko

2015 (Laurencia at Graduation):

2024 (Dulcinea Variation in Don Quixote) :

2016 - Alyona Kovalyova (Bolshoi Principal)

This one was a no-brainer. While Maria Ilyushkina is a rising star now, her technique and strength in her Vaganova days were still developing while Kovalyova was the clear featured star graduate. After being rejected from Mariinsky for being too tall, she was offered a contract with the Bolshoi and quickly rose through the ranks, including spending only one year in the corps de ballet!

Role I'd love to see her début: Anna Karenina

Special Mentions: Maria Ilyushkina, Laura Fernandez-Gromova

2016 (Raymonda in Grand Pas shortly after graduating):

2024 (Nikiya in La Bayadère):

2017 - Eleonora Sevenard (Bolshoi Principal):

Another obvious choice, Sevenard was the clear stand-out. She was accepted into both the Mariinsky and the Bolshoi, before choosing the Bolshoi! She spent two years in the corps but was given soloist and principal opportunities right off the bat, including debuting as Masha in the Nutcracker in her first season. She was promoted to principal in 2023!

Role I'd love to see her début: Aurora

Special Mentions: Vlada Borodulina

2017 (Fairy Doll during graduate year):

2024 (Kitri in Don Quixote):

2018 - Maria Khoreva (Mariinsky First Soloist)

2018 was another year like 2015 with tons of amazing graduates. However, the graduate who garnered the most attention before and after graduation and who finished at the top of the class is Maria Khoreva. At only eighteen her technique was shockingly close to flawless and only two months into her first season she was promoted to first soloist! Khoreva has not be dancing for most of the past two seasons due to injury, but she is finally returning to the Mariinsky stage at the start of this season!

Role I'd love to see her début: Parasha (Bronze Horseman)

Special mentions: Maria Bulanova, Anastasia Nuikina, Daria Ionova, Anastasia Petushkova, Biborka Lendvai, Anita Voroshilova

2018 (Paquita shortly after her graduation):

2023 (Odile in Swan Lake last year):

2019 - Alexandra Khiteyeva (Mariinsky First Soloist)

Alexandra Khiteyeva was by far the strongest graduate of 2019. She had been featured in Vaganova graduation performances since her sixth year. After joining the Mariinsky, her initial progress was slowed due to COVID, but after four years in the Corps she was promoted, first to Second Soloist and just recently to First Soloist!

Role I'd love to see her début: Juliet

Special mentions: Svetlana Savelieva, Yulia Spiridonova

2019 (Paquita at graduation):

2023 (Cristina in Paquita):

[balletroyale]

A better video of Renata's promotion

I love how celebratory and dramatic it is!

And I love that it was after Shurale, which I think is her signature role!

[tikitania]

Reading the Mariinsky Playbill Tea Leaves...

Now that the 242nd season of the Mariinsky has started under a new Artistic Director, Andrian Fadeev, I've been trying to glean clues as to what changes we can expect moving forward. Here are a few thoughts: The Good: The playbill with casting is released much earlier than before. (Yay!) The Interesting: Perhaps I'm reading in-between the lines, but I sense that the first month's casting signals a return to standards of emploi, and giving the primas instead of the first soloists prime evenings, which did not happen last season. For instance, Tereshkina gets the first Swan Lake, Skorik the second, and Iliushkina the third in a matinee. Those three are certainly the theater's current, most swan-like dancers whose lines exude lyricism. While Iliushkina is not a prima (yet) her casting in a matinee suggests that 1st soloists are relegated to matinees. Shakirova and Bateova are conspicuously not cast in either one...at least for now. This casting tracks with the very Russian balletomane critique that neither dancer is a swan, it's beyond their emploi. I'd place money that Shakirova is not given Odette-Odile for a long time. The Intriguing: Lopatkina's back after a notable absence since her retirement, allegedly lured by the new AD. As is Leonid Sarafanov. Having these two stars as coaches could be a real game-changer.

The Worrisome: I'm worried about their lack of repertoire and the creative void left behind after losing so many licenses. Creating home-grown masterpieces doesn't happen overnight. The Mariinsky sometimes feels like endless cycle of Swan Lake - Don Quixote and 40 Nutcrackers thrown in for good measure. If an audience is bored with this, think how the dancers must feel night after night.

The Drama: For a few months, I nervously wondered if Khoreva would ever appear on the playbill. I had imagined a Diva scenario where she refused to dance if she felt "downgraded" for being cast in the Prince's Friend's PDT and it lead to a battle with management. That concern took up a lot of free rent in my brain, so I'm pleasantly surprised to see her in Giselle on 10/17 paired with Konovalov. I cannot recall if they've danced together before. We'll see if there' any chemistry, which is noticeably absent from Khoreva's partnerships. I'm still one of the "yes, her technique is fire, but her dancing leaves me cold" factions of the balletomane world. In videos, she seems like a determined technician, but the poetry is not there…yet?

The Hopes: I'm hoping to see more men who have been stagnating in the corps given a chance to prove themselves. I've already noticed a few names that I hadn't seen before. I want to see Savalieva promoted after dancing more solo parts. I want more exciting debuts from Bulanova, Khiteeva, Bespalova, Chernavskaya, Kuznetsova, and Anushenkova. Here's to hoping…and wondering what other surprises might jump out this season.

[havlasha]

Shakirova is FINALLY a Prima!!

[elaine-of-shalott-blog]

So happy for Renata. I'm looking foward to this debut!

[patricedumonde]

Wow congratulations Renata and Aleksei!

(P.S. I had no idea! How did I not know? 🙈)

[thestreetdancer2023]

🇷🇺Поздравлаю Ренату! Сейчас прима-балерина Мариинского театра! 🇪🇸¡Enhorabuena, Renata! Ahora es una bailarina principal en el Teatro Mariinski 🇬🇧Congratulations, Renata! Now she is prima ballerina in Mariinsky Theater!

[ballet-symphonie]

Ale, in the MT, which ballerinas do you think are 'one of a kind'? Like, there are some really good dancers in the theater, but the two names that instantly came to my mind were Skorik and Novikova (if not counting Vishneva). I'm asking bc of your recent ask, and how dancers find much more inspirational the ballerinas of the past in Russia, so I was wondering if there's still some inspirational ones in the current season.

Thinking of the phrase "one of a kind", I agree that Skorik and Novikova have both established themselves as truly exceptional, idiosyncratic artists on stage. I think you can add Kondaurova and Tereshkina there as well. They're simply inimitable, these are the women who have defined the Mariinsky for the last 15 years.

It's quite remarkable that all those talents have coincided, and I'm quite confident that the same quality of the roster isn't going to be matched any time soon. People can certainly argue that the current principals can't stand up to the golden generation of MT ballerinas from the late 90s-early 2000s but that's a separate topic.

The next generation, so to speak, houses a lot of beautiful girls with gorgeous physiques who dance quite well. In many aspects, their technique, dedication, and stamina are quite inspirational. However, far fewer women can truly make an emotionally charged impression with their dancing. Of those I've seen live, I'm not dreaming about their performances, I'm not rewatching their videos to enjoy and learn. If I want to practice a variation from Raymonda, I'll watch recordings of Novikova or Lopatkina, not Iliushkina or Khoreva.

Of those who've graduated in the last 5-7 years, the only one who I personally feel has delivered truly spectacular, memorable, and moving performances is Shakirova.

[miss-mollys-ballet-blog]

Renata Shakirova and Yevgeny Konovalov in Swan Lake.

[balletroyale]

Shakirova is doing Odette/Odile tonight!? I think it might be her first time. Maybe all hope is not lost for her career?

Yep! I’m so excited for the videos. I think the real indicator will be if she gets to perform it again

[tikitania]

Renata was just named PRIMA!

[balletroyale]

And after her greatest role!

Shakirova is FINALLY a Prima!!

[gorbigorbi]

Renata Shakirova became the prima ballerina of the Mariinsky Theatre

Among her roles are the main parts of the classical ballet repertoire: Odette-Odile, Princess Aurora, Nikiya, Giselle. Recently, Renata made her debut with great success in new productions of the Mariinsky Theater — "Anyuta", "Wonderful Mandarin", "12" and "Fairy Kiss".

Photo: Ballet "Shurale" (Syuimbike), choreography by Leonid Yakobson

[thestreetdancer2023]

🤔

🇷🇺 Очень интересно, эта суббота-это 3 раз Мария Хорева и Рената Шакирова будут танцевать Одетта-Одиллия в этот же день, же с партрнёром

🇪🇸Muy interesante, este sábado será la 3º vez que María Khoreva y Renata Shakirova interpretarán el rol de Odette-Odile en el mismo día, con los mismos bailarinos

🇬🇧Interesting, this Saturday will be the third time Maria Khoreva and Renata Shakirova will dance the role of Odette-Odile on the same day, with the same partners

[ballet-symphonie]

So glad u r back! I'd love to hear ur opinion on Shakirova and Khoreva SL debuts.

I thought neither gave particularly strong performances.

I found myself more disappointed with Shakirova because I had higher expectations for her, especially after seeing her take on the role of Nikiya. In her desire to be emotional and expressive, lots of poses and moments were not academically correct, turned in, or aesthetically displeasing. I generally consider her an extravagant, bold, and daring performer, but sometimes she lost control of her body as a result. Additionally, these strengths were muted by technical shortcomings and the watering down of the classical text. Now I understand she doesn't have the classical 'swan' plasticity but there's a stark difference between that and simply desperately to emote with distorted lines while ignoring the music. In some cases, famous passages of choreography were changed, such as the port de bras opening of Odette's solo- technique is not an afterthought or an option- not with the classics.

Maria Khoreva danced as I expected her to dance? The majority of the big moments were clean and solid, and some of her messy transitions aside, it was a technically competent performance. But that's not enough, especially for someone who's supposed to be the next star of the company. Perhaps it's different in person, but I feel absolutely no connection between her and her partner, the brilliant Stepin, when she's dancing the adagios. I feel like all she's worrying about is keeping her legs by her ears. The two facial expressions she alternates between aren't captivating and I rarely feel much of anything when watching her. Just oh, she finished the variation.