#irina zavialova

[tikitania]

Coppelia at the Mariinsky

I'm hearing rumors that the Mariinsky will debut a new production of Coppelia staged by Alexander Sergeev…and it made me wonder when was the last time they performed Coppelia? It seems to have been a very long time ago. There are hundreds of clips of the Vikharev production at the Bolshoi. How/why did the Mariinsky let this ballet end up in a dust heap? So odd… Anyway, I'm glad it's coming back. (If rumors are true!) And I'm so curious about casting. The most recent clip that I could quickly find was from the Kirov in 1993, fearing Irina Shapchit dancing the Swanilda variation from Act 3.

I know nothing about Ms. Shapchit and discovered that she now goes by her married name, Irina Zavialova. She and her husband left Russia in 1995 for the West where they worked at several smaller ballet companies. It seems like she was one of the talents that "got away" in the turmoil of the 90s. She's now teaching in Norway from what I gather. Here's an interview with her from the 90s

It's almost a foregone conclusion that Shakirova will be first cast in this. BTW, I still haven't seen Ratmansky's production at La Scala, but I've heard that it's really good. It's on the list. The full production can be streamed on Medici TV:

[alcollins]

Happy Birthday Richard Avedon ✨🌹✨🌹✨🌹✨

Irina Pantaeva, Kristina Semenovskaya & Tatiana Zavialova

1996 12 Photo Fr

Ph. Richard Avedon

#irina pantaeva #kristina semenovskaya #tatiana zavialova #richard avedon #photo magazine #topmodel #supermodel

[tikitania]

I just found you and wanted to comment about your Irina Zavialova post back in January! I had the absolute privilege and pleasure of being taught by her and her husband 10 years ago at my ballet school's summer intensive. I was only 12 and had been dancing just two years, I was absolutely awful lol but she was so sweet! Never made me feel stupid, even when I didn't know how to sew on my pointe ribbons properly and they kept falling off XD

When I looked her up a couple years later out of curiosity and learned she'd been a principal at mariinsky?? oh god the shock I felt lol! I wish I'd known at the time so I could have asked her about her time there, but I still treasure those memories. She taught us Talisman variation and the Oceans and Pearls duet and I was horrid at both but loved every second :D

@thecheeseburgercat - What a fun memory! Thank you so much for sharing it with me. You got to take a class from a Mariinsky Prima! Wow! I love the daintiness and weightlessness in the Talisman variation. Did you see Maria Iliushkina's performance in the recent Grand Ballet episode? She performed it perfectly. Here's a link to that prior post of Zavialova dancing Swanhilda in the 1990's. And now, rumor has it that revival of Coppelia will premiere this June during the White Nights festival. I'm currently at the "I'll believe it when I see it" stage. In the meantime, here's a clip of Zavialova dancing the role of Gulnare with Michale Zavialov, who I speculate is/was her husband based on surname alone.

And also as Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Princess Florine in Sleeping Beauty — there are quite a few more under that account.