#svetlana zakharova

[hckat]

“La Sylphide” by Alexander Yakovlev, Anna Osadcenko 

Patricio Melo, Svetlana Zakharova and Artem Shpilevsky in the Bolshoi Class Pas de Deux in 2007 

[dozydawn]

[thatbitchsimone]

[miss-mollys-ballet-blog]

Svetlana Zakharova and Jacopo Tissi in Diamonds.

[ballet-symphonie]

There's plenty of criticism for the young generations, the likes of Denisova, Sergeenkova (from BT), Khoreva, Ilyushkina (from MT), etc, and saying how they don't compare to the old(er) generations, Zakharova, Obratsova, Krystanova, Kaptsova,Novikova, Kondaurova... etc etc. So I'm wondering, how did the old generations do when they were new graduates around 20 years old? Were they having the same issues back then as these new dancers are having now (technical sloppiness? lack of artistry? lack of preparation for big roles?...) How do these young gen dancers compare to them when they were young?

The obvious comparison is Zakharova, this is the woman who was admitted directly into the graduating class at VBA and never spent a second in the corps. She has still set the record for speed and made principal at 18. Absolutely ridiculous. But then again, she came out of school looking like this. While she certainly didn't have the emotional depth and soulful lyricism that she developed later, she had beautifully sustained lines and nearly impeccable turnout.

Many of today's graduates have similar body types to her, but nowhere NEAR her precision or control of those extraordinarily long legs. The level of emotional depth perhaps wasn't quite there, but the technical proficiency is simply insane. But even then, that's her Nikiya at age 20...we've seen far worse in recent years.

Kondaurova is a totally different case. It's difficult to find old performance videos of her...likely because she wasn't doing anything that people deemed worthy of filming. She was not considered a prodigy at graduation, at 26 years old she was still a second soloist and it took her 12 years to get to prima- with some serious lobbying by her coaches and outside choreographers. Today's 'star' grads aren't fighting like Kondaurova. No one wanted to give her classical roles, she and her coach, then Chenikova had to battle for her to be given chances. It's maddening because we have 20-year-old first soloists and 22-year-old primas and no one bats an eye. Ratmansky was quite impressed with her, "She is more spontaneous on stage than most of her colleagues. And everything that often looks like improvisation is actually well rehearsed." That's a key difference between her and a lot of today's grads, she put in the work to appear so spontaneous and carefree- not to look technically perfect.

While there are minimal videos, I can definitely see how much she improved in the early years of her career. The clarity of pointework, stability of turnout, and general presence are much improved in the later video.

Krysanova is someone who I think had a well-paced career, but by today's pace, it looks like she was sleepwalking. She graduated BBA with a handful of prizes, and she had attention from the start. She did 3 solid years in the corps and then took another 5 years to get to prima under the detailed preparation of one of the Bolshoi's best coaches: Svetlana Adyrkhaeva. Again, Ratmansky pushed and praised her along with Osipova and she was a principal at 26- the youngest at the time. She was and continues to be, the go-to ballerina at BT for new choreographers, featured in premiere after premiere because everyone wants to harness her versatility, but that took time to develop. The older videos of her are quite good, but not mind-blowingly so in my opinion.

Obratzsova did indeed graduate to a big fuss and her star only continued to rise. She is similar to the current age of graduates, as she got loads of big roles early. By reading old reviews, there's pretty much an overwhelmingly positive consensus. She was a sensation to audiences with her Juliet, the youngest ever to dance it at MT, expertly guided by Ninel Kurgapkina. Her confidence and lightness was just irresistible, you couldn't not fall in love with her. From day one, she had the charm, the poise, and the style. Her presence was what got her roles, despite being a bit undersized. If she graduated today, I'm not sure she'd have the same opportunities. Similarly to Iliushkina, she won the gold medal at Moscow, and while reports suggest she went against administration in doing so, she proved that she could handle herself in a huge variety of repertoire. Only three years after graduating, people like Carla Fracci and Pierre Lacotte were creating work specifically for her, inside and outside of Mariinsky. This current young generation is definitely less sought after, with the exception of Khoreva, for freelancing/media/creations- although a lot of that can be blamed on COVID and then the war.

Marina Vasilyeva really struck gold in 2002 with both Novikova and Obratsova in the same class. Novikova arrived at the theatre with splendid port de bras and an organized presentation, in addition to snatching the top prize at the Vaganova International Ballet Competition in her graduating year. Additionally remarkable is her phrasing, looking blissfully effortless in addition to the intricacies of her upper body even from a young age. Every step was always clear, although not quite as luminous as she later became. I think today's graduates should be watching more videos of her and taking note of her fluidity. It took her far too long to get to principal, but she was a first soloist in 6 years, a well paced timeline in my opinion.

Nina Kaptsova really had a strong start to her career. She was dancing solo roles from her first season at the Bolshoi. In 1999, only 3 years after graduating, she was nominated for the prestigious Benois de la Danse prize. A year later, she won it. Even so, she wasn't named principal until 2011. These dancers are simply part of a different timeline, it seems like it's becoming more and more common to see dancers graduate and become principals in 5 years or less, particularly at the Bolshoi.

[souvlakic]

i just wanna be a prima ballerina

[balletomaneblog]

Some of My Favorite Odiles!!

Here are some of my absolute favorite Odiles! I really had to stop myself from adding waayyy too many dancers to this list. Feel free to let me know other dancers that you guys love in this role!!

Ulyana Lopatkina

Viktoria Tereshkina

Svetlana Zakharova

Oxana Skorik

Gillian Murphy

Polina Semionova

[moistcell]

[recherchestetique]

The monochromatic ambitious one-act ballet of Coco Chanel’s life is uber-stylish, filled with divine costumes, interactive staging, striking lighting and video projections of the designer’s words and images from her life. Svetlana Zakharova in 'Gabrielle Chanel'

[septembergold]

[themaybug]

For All Mankind S04E04, 'House Divided'

[tolstoybitch]

[dozydawn]

[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)

[miss-mollys-ballet-blog]

Svetlana Zakharova and David Hallberg in Sleeping Beauty.

[ballet-symphonie]

Your blog is so interesting! I wanted to ask you, and I know sometimes it’s a bit unfair to compare but between Zakharova and Nuñez who do you prefer and how can you compare their techniques?

Also I’ve always heard the great prima ballerinas of this century are Zakharova, Osipova and Nuñez, but are there more?

Thank you!

I'm glad you enjoy my blog!

I have talked about the relative strengths of Zakhraova here, as well as some more about Zakharova, Nunez, and Osipova here. I am a great admirer of both, but I think I prefer Nunez most of all. Zakharova and the amazing moments she can achieve with her physicality are absolutely spellbinding, she's probably as close as it gets to dancing 'by the book'. She appears so ethereal and that level of academician just seems like an impossible, but glorious dream.

Nunez doesn't have Zakharova's plasticity, turnout or endless lyrical extensions but she has figured out how to master the art form on her own body with incredibly precise weight transfers leading to moments of jaw-dropping suspension. Her placement gives her such freedom to explore her musicality and also dance from a place of genuine vulnerability.

Zakharova (or perhaps Sylvie Guillem) is the closest we've seen to a textbook ballerina but there is something so special and genuine about seeing Nunez mold the rules of ballet to achieve incredible feats technically and emotionally

To answer your second question, if we're talking about the best ballerinas of the 21st century, I think there are a handful of other names that can't be left out: Diana Vishneva, Alina Cojocaru, Ulyana Lopatkina and Julie Kent. It's a lot of names, but this century has truly produced some impeccable artists.