#lada sartakova

[ballet-symphonie]

Hi, not sure if you keep up with her but if you do I’d love to hear your thoughts on Lada Sartakova and her career progression/time at vaganova. I know from comments on vba’s instagram page and forums that there is a lot of upset at her being sent to the primorsky stage spb mariinsky and a general feeling that vba really screwed her over due to her figure. She was always talented and based on her insane levels of debuts now I can’t understand why she was so pushed aside in those final years.

To add the the Lada Sartakova ask, I also know she took on a typical character student progression and that was definitely where the teachers were pointing her. But when a girl who not only comes in with talent, but manages to consistently be in the top 5 in class all way through school, you’d think vba would be more proud. The way I’ve heard it said is that the school proved that they were unable to see talent beyond the body aesthetics.

Russian balletomanes have generally concluded that her body type definitely had a negative impact on her career. She was dancing decent roles as an upperclassman, but that class was perceived to be relatively weak, especially in the wake of 2018-19.

It's worth remembering that Sartakova wasn't accepted to VBA as a child, she studied at the school of Vladislav Kuramshin, who has successfully coached two other 'last minute' Vaganova admits and now prominent soloists: Ksenia Zhiganshina and Maria Bulanova. The school prides itself on 'pyrotechnics,' Sartakova went viral several times as a very young child doing ridiculous feats on pointe, she was doing 32 fouettes on stage before many of the VBA girls had even started seriously training. One has to wonder about the sustainability of that technique and it's also worth noting that none of the dancers Kuramshin coaches are particularly renowned for their cleanliness which is generally championed by MT.

I think also graduating during 2021 helped absolutely no one, the school had a bit more restrictions than MT and she certainly had fewer opportunities to perform and showcase herself and I think she would have had to make a really good impression to get hired in such a tricky time, MT only took around 3 girls from that year.

For what it's worth, she's getting WAY better roles at Primorsky than she ever would at the main stage at MT.

#lada sartakova #ballet #mariinsky theater #vaganova ballet academy #ballet ask

[perfectlyjovialfun]

32 double fuettes in 10 years! Lada Sartakova, teachers: Petrova,, Kuram...

#youtube

[vaganova-blog]

#lada sartakova #mariinsky #ballet #vaganova #vaganova blog

[melmothblog]

Ask Comments

A compilation of comments, rather than questions, which came through Ask recently.

Someone asked about Lada Sartakova recently. I just checked her instagram, and she has a story that shows, presumably her friends, in VBA uniforms in the hallway, so it looks like she's still there.

@goodgolly-missmolly88​: I saw the question about Kondaurova’s height. I’m 5’8” (172cm) and when I met her she was about 3 inches taller than me so 5’11-ish (180).

Just wanted to say I love your blog and it’s always been fun reading on what your ‘opinions’ of dancers are. I don’t think you need to actually dance to be able to appreciate dance much like you don’t have to be a painter to appreciate great works of art. Haters gonna hate. Keep up the good work!!

Thank you! I’m not really bothered by such outbursts. In fact, they amuse me. And you’re right, of course. You don’t have to be a dancer to appreciate ballet. The very notion is ridiculous.

d i s c l a i m e r

#qa #qa comments #ekaterina kondaurova #kondaurova #Lada Sartakova #sartakova

[vaganovalife]

What are your thoughts on Eleonora Sevenard, Ksenia Sevenard, Polina Konogray, Lada Sartakova, and Angelina Karamysheva?

Hi! Thank you for your question!

As you can probably tell, Eleonora is on my favorites list. She has gorgeous turns, a beautiful back, and nice crisp footwork. She also has this smoothness to her dancing which I find to be a good asset about her. Having seen her performing Atonement alongside Manuel Garrido, I was mesmerized by her beauty and soul. Immediately, I had fallen in love with her. I would love to see her dance Nikiya in La Bayadere someday. I think she would be able to capture the nuances of the character quite well.

I’ve already written about Ksenia but I can’t figure out how to link to it so I’ll write it again. I actually like watching Ksenia in her class exams because she has this regal and sophisticated quality that I find especially intriguing. Aside from that, she has a nice flow to her dancing and gorgeous head movements. She dances with aplomb and poise, characteristics that I value very much in a dancer. I would love to see how she develops these next two years.

Apparently, Polina is injured at the moment which is really unfortunate because she’s a dancer of such great caliber! She seemed to have lots of character and spark in her and it saddens me to think she had to stop. Aside from that, she is extremely charming and she has this playfulness to her dancing. I hope to see her return to VBA soon!

I don’t like the idea that Lada was a ballet prodigy ever since she was a small child. It shows that the Kuramshin school really focused on getting the fame and glory of having young students doing impressive tricks rather than going through the basic principles of the Vaganova method first. I really haven’t seen much of Lada ever since she transferred to VBA (or maybe it’s because I don’t try to) but in the videos I have seen, I would have to say that I don’t really find anything special about her. Keep in mind, she is still young so she still has a lot of time to blossom. 

Angelina seems very sweet and charming. That’s all I would have to say since she is still a second year…? I think? I prefer not to comment much on the younger students since they still have a lot of time to flourish and you never know what direction they will go.

#qa #Eleonora Sevenard #Ksenia Sevenard #Lada Sartakova #Angelina Karamysheva

[miss-mollys-ballet-blog]

what do you think of Lada Sartakova(VBA) ? She still has to graduate but there are many videos of her dancing especially when she was 9 to 11 when she was attending Kuramshin school, the same school Zhiganshina and Bulanova where at before joining Vaganova. She was a child prodigy like Ksenia but now I haven’t seen much of her since she joined VBA, it could be because she is still 16 though

I’ve never paid attention to her.  I’ve heard her name many times, but honestly haven’t watched her.  What I do know is that school is absolutely fucking atrocious and should be considered child abuse for putting them in pointe shoes at such a young age that 8 year olds are doing fouettes and dancing the black swan pas de deux.

#ballet ask #Anonymous

[blowmiakisscolin]

This might sound like a weird question but I have just discovered OUAI and I wanted to know the name of the little girl who you posted the dancing videos of??? It was a really old video posted but I love the way she dances

Welcome to our crazy little world!! Lada Sartakova is the little girl in the dancing videos. She’s a well-known Russian ballet dancer, partly for the controversial fact that she started pointe at five years old.

#ouai #Mia answers asks #once upon an instagram

[balletomaneblog]

Please, share some news and your thoughts on Vaganova last graduation performance! I'm really curious to know where are the girls going! I know that from Kasenkova's class, she always show much support to Kulikova, Karamysheva, Sharova, Rissanen and Kuprina (though she's going to the BT). So my guess is, if the MT is taking four girls this year, it will be them. But it's just a guess anyway... but I hope it happens. They are good, but aren't much in the spotlight compared to the ones going to BT

I enjoyed the graduation performances, the students all performed wonderfully. Their cleanliness on stage made me feel like it was close to watching a professional company's performance. I especially enjoyed Koshkareva and Kodama-Pomfret's grand pas de deux, Risannen's variation, and Valiulina and Kulikova's variations. Kuprina also performed beautifully, though I thought she especially didn't get enough time on stage.

I enjoyed them bringing back the Laurencia Wedding scene which hasn't been put on in full by Vaganova since 2015. And having the Lively Garden from Le Corsaire was entirely new to the Vaganova.

However, I was hoping for a three-act performance like they've had in many past years. Even though they did Paquita three years in a row (2017-2019), now that it's been four years I would have liked for them to perform it since it gives so many dancers an opportunity for featured roles. It would have also been wonderful for them to do the Kingdom of the Shades which I believe hasn't been put on since 2011 with Shapran and Smirnova as Nikiya. There isn't often that Vaganova has a dancer mature and talented enough to perform the role, and I think there were quite a few graduates this year who could have done it, especially Kuprina or Koshkareva.

Really, my reasoning for wanting more pieces in the graduation shows are that the 8th year and 7th year classes are so so strong and there were so many girls that could have been featured more heavily. Even Kuprina and Koshkareva had only one relatively short appearance each compared to star graduates in the past who either had many different roles or one large leading role. However Kuprina, Koshkareva, and Barinova all shared the spotlight in Le Corsaire and then that was it for them.

I was also disappointed with how little Karamysheva was used. Her only featured role was as one of the Four Girls in Laurencia. Karamysheva would have made a beautiful Gulnare, 1st Odalisque, or Pasquala.

I'm still not positive where Karamysheva, Sharova, and Rissanen are going, but I know for sure now that Kulikova is going to the Mariinsky! Thank goodness with Kuprina, Koshkareva, and Valiullina all going to the Bolshoi. Hopefully Karamysheva, Sharova, and Rissanen were invited too. We'll see!

But even if some of them weren't accepted, it's definitely not the end of the world! Dancers who haven't been the absolute best in their graduating class who have gone to smaller theaters have often done very well. There's Lada Sartakova ('21) as a first soloist at the Primorsky, Mara Tudose ('21) as a leading soloist at the Eifman, Polina Chekhoviskikh ('20) as a soloist at Samara, and Maria Arseneva ('19) as a soloist at Novosibirsk to name just a few of the most recent ones!

#ballet #vaganova #mariinsky ballet #daria kulikova #sofia valiullina #maria koshkareva #yaroslavna kuprina #angelina karamysheva #pinja rissanen #anna sharova

[kittysha]

Lada Sartakova 2015

Watch the whole channel. It has videos of her and other dancers. 

#lada sartakova #Russian Ballet #ballet #mariinsky #vaganova #vaganova academy #Russia

[melmothblog]

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

#qa #qa vaganova #Lada Sartakova #Maria Khoreva #Lada Ivanova #yana cherepanova #Minori Nakashima #Anastasia Dzhioeva #Sartakova #Khoreva #Cherepanova #Ivanova #Nakashima #Szhioeva

[vaganovaballetandmore]

The amazing Lada Sartakova

#whoever is saying she is emoitionless hasn't seen this obviously #lada sartakova #vladislav kuramshin #tatiana petrova #kitri

[petite-cerise]

i think i'm going to get a cat.

#Lada Sartakova #ballet #ballerina #en pointe #pointe shoes #pointe dancing #vintage #royale #child

[kittysha]

This is fantastic! Lada Sartakova got accepted at the Vaganova school of ballet. People in the comment section say she is on the first class. 

#lada sartakova #Russian Ballet #ballet #vaganova #mariinsky

[melmothblog]

What grade is Lada Sartakova in? Who else is in that same grade?

I believe she’s in 4th grade now. Sorry, I don’t know that year level very well, so I’m not sure who her classmates are.

d i s c l a i m e r 

#qa #Lada Sartakova

[vaganovaballetandmore]

Lada Sartakova in the nutcracker

#lada sartakova #vaganova #nutcracker

[littledancergifs]

#lada sartakova #dancer #dance #little dancer #solo #bellet #pointe #en pointe