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elegantballetalk · 18 days ago

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I know this might be a year too late and everyone is getting tired of it, but what do you think about Bolshoi's 2023 girls (Maria Koshkareva, Sofya Valiullina, Yaroslavna Kuprina, Taisia Konovalova, Polina Netsvetaeva-Dolgalyova), especially after 1.5 year? My personal favourite is Sofya, I always find her dancing enjoyable to watch. Sometimes I'm sad that it seems like she's the only one who's being left behind among those five, like the four others are debuting major (and even leading) roles one after another, but Sofya gets much less and it's mostly minor soloist roles. On the other hand, I'm relieved that it's actually better for her growth artistically, but still... I wonder if she will ever get major/leading roles someday :")

It’s not too late—never is. Actually, I think following a dancer for many years makes it more and more exciting.

Maria Koshkareva, Sofya Valiullina, and Yaroslavna Kuprina are all really good dancers, and one must consider the difficulties of moving to a new city and getting used to company life, which must be especially tough in a place like the Bolshoi.

Maria and Sofya are really good friends; they have been in class together since their first year at Vaganova, and they continue to be friends now, so at least they have that. Last season, they danced the Swan Lake Pas de Trois many times together, and I always found it very nice. But look how visible their style differences are! They both danced the Orange Fairy in Sleeping Beauty, but they looked so different—not in a bad way, just stylistically. They are completely different types of dancers, even though they’ve been trained together since they were about 10ish.

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Yaroslavna Kuprina suffered a serious injury almost at the beginning of last year’s season, but this year she started with a bang, debuting as Aurora. I wish we were in managements head to see why they were like: ah yes, let's have this young girl debut aurora randomly at the start of what basically is her first season. I would love to know hwat goes on behind the scenes. But here is a video on YouTube from last year of her and Sofya dancing the Three Swans from Swan Lake, which you might find interesting.

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So my opinions:

Maria Koshkareva: She is the "favored" one. Now we can only guess why—maybe it's her attitude, personality, luck, or her association with Kovaleva/Tsiskaridze. Who knows? Perhaps they see something in her, perceive in her a spark of something rare, something worth cultivating. Or maybe, since she won that competition and has gained a bit of a following, they think that if they push her, she could become a future star. For a theater, having these "famous" dancers offers prestige and helps sell tickets, especially on tour. And one can only become a famous dancer if the theater actively markets you that way—by giving you major roles, high-profile performances, and constant visibility. This is likely why they keep casting her in significant roles, even if it might be better to wait a few years before giving her such pressure. The theater seems to be fast-tracking her career, not necessarily because she’s ready, but because they believe they can shape her into a star if they position her as one early on.

Regarding her dancing: I don't really know how to explain this, but she's so Russian and so Bolshoi. Her dancing is so Russian; it almost gives you a feel of how dancers used to dance in the past—bold and free, compromising technique to make you feel something (while simultaneously, obviously, having so much technique that they can afford to command the stage as they wish). I think she has that freedom to give her star quality. But sometimes I don’t love her facial expressions on stage, but that’s just my personal opinion.

What I do admire, without question, is the way she doth grace her movements with the cambre—that deep, arching of the back. Oh, Maria, thou art a master of the cambre! It doth add such elegance and beauty to her already magnificent dancing. More cambres, please!

In general watching her is not relaxing for me, like she doesn't give the lyricism that I so often crave when watching ballet. BUT:

I really, really, really liked her as Angela in Marco Spada. I think she was full of energy, and especially considering it was a debut, I think it was really good.

Same thing with Kitri: I really enjoyed it. There was a youthful exuberance in her portrayal, and the spirit of the character was conveyed with great veracity.

I also really liked her dancing as Juliette's friend at the Mariinsky. I thought her lines looked beautiful.

She did one of the fairies a few times in Sleeping Beauty as well. I liked it—nothing stood out in a good or bad way.

Gamzatti: I think her Italian fouettés are really cool, but her regular fouettés... less so? They don’t look easy on her... they seemed somewhat laboured.

Princess Masha: Her elegance and grace suited the role well, and I was pleased with what I saw.

She obviously did more roles, like Swanilda, but no opinions on her in these or other roles come to mind. She also did diamonds, but I can't remember if i saw anyhting.

I also hope she improves her pas de deux, but I don’t think it’s her fault. I do not fault her; nor her partner, its just that this is a skill that comes with time and experience. For example, at minute 1:46:04, you can see Maria and her partner getting coached, but Maria's very young coach can barely get a word in. P.S. At the start of this video, you can see Maria and Sofya in class together, and gravitating toward each other when it’s time to do center. There is something most endearing about this quiet camaraderie.

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Sofya Valiullina is also amongst my favourites, I must confess. She has a soft soft in my heart, or because also I feel this fear for her not being valued enough, I fear shadows might cloud her, but she's bright! I love her so, perhaps it is because she appears so happy and assured in her dancing, always carrying herself with an air of capability. There is not a trace of frailty in her; indeed, she exudes classical grace in every movement! I find her work thoroughly enjoyable, and her musicality particularly striking. Oddly enough—and I must admit, it does seem strange—I would pay a considerable sum for her hair colour. Ordinarily, I would say that brunette or black locks suit ballerinas best, yet she is the exception to this rule.

In truth, I do not believe she lags behind the others in any sense. While she may not have been entrusted with roles as grand as Aurora or Kitri, she is frequently on stage, constantly honing her craft, and always looks splendid in whatever part she performs. This is not to say she has been without her own share of significant roles—far from it, especially this season. She has danced numerous solos for opera performances, and I must say, the videos she has posted are filled with such energy; I have watched them on several occasions.

Her recent debut as the Spanish Bride in Swan Lake was remarkably strong, and her portrayal of Naina’s Magical Garden was most enchanting. Her jumps are magnificent, her ballon sublime, though I do wish her arms were occasionally a touch more fluid.

I noticed she is slated to perform as Countess Cherry in Cipollino on December 6—how delightful! I shall be most curious to see how that unfolds.

And let us not forget: when we wonder why certain artists are not appearing as frequently, it does not always imply they have fallen out of favour. Perhaps they are engaged in rigorous rehearsals for something new, recovering from a minor injury, or simply not posting updates. Often, we are left in the dark.

I know it sounds rather peculiar, but I do follow Sofya’s and Maria’s physiotherapist on Instagram (@gasoarovalex). From time to time, he shares performances of Sofya’s that she herself does not. Were I not following him, I would never have been the wiser! In fact, I also follow her mother on the platform—though I admit, that may be slightly odd. But what else is a person to do when they are far from Russia, unable to speak the language, and unable to witness the performances in person? Insider information is a precious commodity.

Was it not last year that Sofya made her debut as Myrtha, as well as in Chopiniana? I do not remember the details with perfect clarity, but the recollection is a pleasant one. I believe she also danced two parts in The Nutcracker, the Waltz and Spanish Doll, though I have yet to see any footage of those performances, and so I cannot offer an opinion.

But don't you worry. Sofia's career is already more active than many other corp members. She's not "buried" in the corps. Truth is that careers in the theatre are slow, it's the fast tracking careers that are the anomaly. Sofia is already doing much more in her second season than others in their fifth or season! Take Svetlana Savelieva as an example. She's been at the mariinsky since 2019, and only yesterday promoted to Coryphee, even though Savelieva has an enormous, romantic like, talent. But things go like this, sometimes they are unfair, or management thinks that mentally or physically the dancer is not "ready" yet. And except for Kuprina's random Aurora (which she only performed once) its not like Kuprina has had much different roles than Valiullina.

As for Yaroslavna Kuprina—oh, how she was criticised and trashed she was for her debut as Aurora! But I, for one, found it perfectly acceptable, mediocre, I would say... fine. Not a performance to be remembered for its brilliance, certainly, but neither was it a disaster. It was simply... fine. I did find it very random that she went from having an injury to literally having Aurora be her comeback moment, but good for her. Personally, I'm less familiar with her—she seems to be more private. I wish I could see her Vaganova exam to get more of feeling of her technical capabilities in the studio. (If anyone should have a link, do send it my way!) If one were to peruse the playbill, one would often see her name listed for soloist roles or smaller parts, though she posts very little, and thus I am left with no footage unless a fellow theatre-goer kindly shares a recording. I think she debuted Gamzatti? Never saw it.

I must say, however, I did quite enjoy her portrayal of Juliet’s friend. She has such beautiful lines. Her arabesque and attitude are simply exquisite, and her port de bras—those graceful arms, wrists, and fingers—are nothing short of sublime. Yet, I do feel her expression sometimes betrays her; there are moments when she looks as though she is in some discomfort, she looks like she's in pain.

Now, I must admit to being unfamiliar with Taisia Konovalova and Polina Netsvetaeva-Dolgalyova, as I do not pay much heed to the students of the Bolshoi. My apologies! However, I do follow one particular 2024 graduate from the Bolshoi, Darina Moseeva, who has extraordinary jumps and legs. She was due to debut as Gamzatti, but unfortunately, for reasons of health, she didn't. A curious tidbit: Darina Moseeva was once a student at the Eifman Academy, same class of Yesenia Anushenkova, the 2023 trainee with Mariinsky who has since graduated from Eifman in 2024 and is now a coryphée at Mariinsky alongside Alisa Barinova.

One can’t help but be intrigued by the journey of Kamila Sultangareeva, a graduate of the BBA. Her departure from Vaganova in 2023 stirred quite a bit of drama, and so I am most curious to see what she makes of her career. So far, however, it seems she has been largely inactive, though she is listed in the Bolshoi corps.

I’m also interested in following Elisabetta Nallin (italian) and Maria Mia Zakota’s journeys at the Bolshoi. They are Vaganova 2024 grads, and the two girls are also really good friends in real life. So far, they’ve had a lot of roles and have shared the stage numerous times. Cute.

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