#russian ballet

[vintage-russia]

Russian ballerina Tamara Karsavina,Saint Petersburg (1907)

Photography by Alfred Eberling (1872-1951)

#Россия #photography #Russia #vintage #Санкт-Петербург #Saint Petersburg #русская балерина #russian ballerina #ballerina #Тамара Карсавина #Tamara Karsavina #русский балет #russian ballet #ballet #beauty #русская культура #russian culture #culture #Europe #русский фотограф #russian photographer #photographer #Альфред Эберлинг #Alfred Eberling #history #russian #european #black and white #1907 #1900s

[tolstoybitch]

i don't care if it hurts, i wanna have control, i want a perfect body, i want a perfect soul ୨୧

#girlblog #girlblogger #girlblogging #coquette #dollette #dream girl #pink blog #balletcore #ballet #ballerina #ballet aesthetic #ballerina aesthetic #svetlana zakharova #swan lake #russian ballet

[souvlakic]

russian ballerina

#girlblogger #vaganova #saint petersburg #russia #eastern europe #russian ballet #ballet #ballet vaganova #ballerina #russian ballerina #girlhood #girl interrupted #manic pixie dream girl #girlcore #gaslight gatekeep girlblog #girlblogging #just girly thoughts #coquette #balletcore #ethereal #tchaikovsky #swan lake #the nutcracker #giselle #black swan #eastern european core #russia aesthetic

[havlasha]

Shakirova is FINALLY a Prima!!

#mariinsky ballet #russian ballet #Bringonthegoldenage #Peaceisrestored #prima ballerina #renata shakirova #Future legend

[my-russia]

Galina Ulanova and Ekaterina Maksimova at the rehearsal

#galina ulanova #ekaterina maksimova #ballet #ballerina #russian ballet

[patricedumonde]

Deep Dive: Maria Koshkaryova’s Debut as Gamzatti

21 October 2023 — Masha's debut as Gamzatti in La Bayadere was a shock to many, and for good reason. This role requires not just technical proficiency but also maturity, and heavy acting. To make things more interesting, she was side by side Ekaterina Krysanova who became principal in 2011 and Vladislav Lantratov who became principal in 2013. For a dancer who just graduated 4 months ago, this wasn't just a challenging task, it was also impossible.

That said, let's go through some scenes that could have easily been corrected prior to the debut.

On the left, Maria Koshkaryova and on the right, Eleonora Sevenard.

This might be a hot take, but despite male dancers not being the center of attention in a pas de deux, I actually fully expect them to lead (Like in ballroom dancing.) In the movement above, I expected Vladislav to at least initiate eye-contact with Masha; this way, Masha would feel more comfortable to look at him as well. You'll notice the difference with the partnering of Elya. Instead of the movements looking hurried, you can see that there is a slight pause when they look at each other.

Here, there is clearly a lack of blocking. Masha should have turned instead of shuffling back. This way she can 1. See where she should go and 2. Look confident in doing so. This was likely from a hasty preparation for the role. There's simply too many moving parts for her to learn.

On the bright side, I thought her Italian fouettés were good. Excruciatingly slow, just how I like them! The fouettés, she played it safe by going with all single turns and honestly, I thought that was a smart decision. Incoming explanation on why.

Falling off balance here wasn't an accident, it was a blunder. She went for the 2.5 turns instead of a clean 1.5 you see on the right side. The clip on the right is perfect. Good preparation, clear spot, and solid landing.

One of the things I love about Gamzatti is that you can add a lot of embelishment to every movement. Maybe it comes with time and experience, but instead of just switching profiles here, Masha could have really emphasized more with her hands. Literally, a swish and flick could have added a lot.

JUMPS. The height is there. The look to the audience on the second jump could have been held much longer. Most importantly, the arms should be more controlled. When Masha braces herself before each jump, it isn't clear if she's passing through first position or even at a bras bas. When there's too much change and lack of clarity with the arm movements, the jumps don't seem effortless.

Here's a clip of Elya in the same part of the variation and she chose to be more consistent. (This is the part where the author realizes that she is a big fan of cleanliness and clarity which extends to her preference of risk-averse dancers)

Let's move on to arguably the hardest part, which is why I won't dwell on it too long. I will stand by my earlier statement, I cannot believe they would let her go against Ekaterina Krysanova, who is 20 years her senior. Especially in a confrontation scene like this, the disparity is palpable. Masha needed more confidence here and instead, it looked a bit apprehensive.

On the left, she should have been more "in your face" and she should have invaded Ekaterina Krysanova's space a lot more. After the first arabesque, that must have been 2-3 feet, she should have approached much closer than that.

Throughout this scene, I felt that Masha's facial expression remained unchanged. At the beginning, Gamzatti should be more accusatory and by the end, she should be full on, taunting. In all fairness, I can somewhat see it in the movement.

I saved this for last as it really stood out to me. The fall did not make sense. However, it would have made a lot more sense if she already came from a kneeling position! I would have preferred if she decided to beg on her knees, AND THEN fall in the manner that she did. It just seemed physically weird because of the way Ekaterina pushed her.

Honestly, this is all I am willing to go over. The first person to blame here would be whoever casted this. The second, maybe, would be her coach who agreed with that decision.

I see that the consensus here is that this debut is premature, and it is. Masha is a talented dancer. If you have seen her other debuts and felt that she was unprepared, surely it makes sense now, right? Imagine learning all those new roles on top of learning the entirety of Gamzatti's in La Bayadere.

C'est impossible.

#russian ballet #bolshoi ballet #maria koshkaryova #deep dive #ballet #ballet review #dancer updates #la bayadere #gamzatti

[tonechkag]

Tamara Platonovna Karsavina | Тамара Платоновна Карсавина

Born March 10th 1885 & Died May 26th 1978, Tamara was a prima ballerina not only of the Imperial Russian Ballet but also Ballets Russes.

#Tamara Platonovna Karsavina #Тамара Платоновна Карсавина #russian empire #ballet #prima ballerina #russian history #russian culture #balletcore #russian ballet #russian art #holy queue #ballerina #Imperial Russian Ballet #Ballets Russes #dance history

[tikitania]

Perfection! Tereshkina’s recent Aurora! She looks incredible and danced this impeccably, but one has to wonder how many more opportunities will there be to see her dance this role.

Telegram: Devil on Pointe

#ballet #russian ballet #prima ballerina #mariinsky ballet #Vika the Queen #Victoria Tereshkina #aurora #sleeping beauty

[emeraldexplorer2]

Anna Pavlova 1929

#vintage #beauty #ballerina #russian ballerina #russian ballet #1929 #anna pavlova

[the-cricket-chirps]

August Macke

Russian Ballet 1

1912

#august macke #german expressionism #der blaue reiter #german artist #german art #german painting #german painter #expressionism #expressionist painter #expressionist painting #expressionist #expressionist art #ballet #russian ballet #ballet dancer #modern art #art history #aesthetictumblr #tumblraesthetic #tumblrpic #tumblrpictures #tumblr art #aesthetic #beauty

[sallyhardety]

#natalia osipova #ballet #giselle #ballerina #ballet core #coquette #marianela nunez #black swan #natalie portman #nina sayers #aesthetic #core #swan lake #don quixote #evgenia obraztsova #bolshoi #royal ballet #russian ballet

[vintage-russia]

Russian ballerina Vera Fokina in costume from the ballet "Thunder bird", Hollywood (1929)

#USA #Hollywood #vintage #photography #русская балерина #russian ballerina #ballerina #Вера Фокина #Vera Fokina #русская культура #russian culture #culture #history #русский балет #russian ballet #ballet #Громовая птица #Thunder bird #русское искусство #russian art #art #United States #russian #black and white #vintage photography #1920s #1929 #20s #20th century

[tolstoybitch]

#girlblog #girlblogger #girlblogging #vaganova #russian ballet #ballet #coquette #dollette #dream girl #pink blog #balletcore #ballerina aesthetic #ballet aesthetic #ballerina

[evenster]

Theatre sketches by Alexandra Shchekatikhina-Pototskaya, created in the 1910-1930s.

#Russia #russian #russian art #Russian style #russian traditions #historical clothing #russian history #Russian Illustration #art #Russian Ballet #russian beauty

[ballet-symphonie]

Do you think Osipova is against the war?

She did say that she is Russian and how it’s hard for her to speak up about it, because her family is still there. She also raised money for Ukraine at a show I attended in NYC back in January, and hired a young Ukrainian dancer and a Ukrainian pianist for it. When the war began, she did things for Ukraine at Royals. She also has said that “I don’t want to go back to Russia until it’s safe,” she follows foreign agents on Instagram who’ve been punished by Russia by speaking out against it, and she hasn’t spoken to her ex, Polunin, who’s a prominent Putin supporter, in years. (Vasiliev too, he signed the “Crimea is Russia” declaration in 2014 along with Zakharova)

The one thing that really stood out to me was that she said something like “There are people in Ukraine who are without food and water, and we have to do something” that was so poignant, but brave for her to speak up. If she was in Russia, saying that would cost her career. I’m glad she’s safe in London and I think she can say things like that now because she married an American (he’s very liberal-he follows Biden and Harris!)

I personally think that she’s against the war, but I think she’s afraid to admit that she’s a Russian who’s against the war.

Wouldn’t be surprised if she and Smirnova became foreign agents by the Duma.

I think she's adamantly against it. I think people have to have reasonable expectations for public figures denouncing the war. She's not about to condemn Putin, there are too many unforeseen consequences even for someone who is outside Russia, but she's come pretty darn close by acknowledging that what's happening in Ukraine is terrible. I look at her actions, such as dancing in Ukrainian relief galas, dedicating proceeds from the Force of Nature performance at NYCC to the Ukrainian Relief Effort, and featuring a Ukrainian ballet student/pianist. All of those are choices, she certainly doesn't have to be doing them and she's doing quite a bit more than some other Russian expats. This Times article makes her position plenty clear. I obviously don't know her status with her exes, but she has been publically distant if nothing else.

She's also in a position where she can do these things. She has an American husband and is working in a liberal country. If someone working in a Russian theater did or said similar things, they'd be ruining their career AT BEST- it's worth repeating that all major Russian theatres are directly funded by the Ministry of Culture.

Now people also ask why aren't there more people like Olga Smirnova. Allow me to make another comparison. Some members of MT corps de ballet have left, thinking of MT's Oleg Ignatev, Murat Ushanov, Vsevolod Mayevskyi. The latter is Ukrainian but the first two aren't. None have attracted major attention for leaving simply because they're not huge stars. Mayevskyi talks about leaving Russia with only a few hundred dollars and no credit cards - a terrifying transition. Yet he's the only one of the three still dancing in a company, largely because he is Ukrainian and YAGP made a massive effort to network for them.

I'm certainly not trying to make false equivalencies here, but a Russian dancer speaking out would cost them their job at a minimum, and not all of them have the connections or Smirnova-equivalent star power to convince another company to take a chance on them. Not all of them have the money to just drop everything and leave if their safety was threatened- something that Smirnova certainly didn't have to worry about given who she's married to. They also likely don't have the money to get their family out safely if things turn sour - corps members are making a pittance. It's much easier and safer to just leave without making a public statement if you are willing to take that risk or even just keep your mouth shut and stay- especially when you have colleagues and bosses who do support the war. Of course, the regime and government are horrible, but I find it hard to condemn individuals who are simply trying to protect themselves and their families. It's not as simple as just pressuring people to speak up.

I don't know how many fellow tennis fans follow me, but I'm finding parallels between criticism directed at Osipova and at Daniil Medvedev, the current world #3. He hasn't been quite as direct as some of his contemporaries, Andrey Rublev and Daria Kasatkina, but has repeatedly said that he is for peace, wishes the war would stop and his wife has been pictured during matches in his box wearing a blouse with a blue and yellow collar.

There are higher consequences for public figures speaking out, Duma agents have visited Kasatkina's house (she was not home) and is apparently going to be classified as a 'foreign agent' for her actions. She likely will never return to her home country, she's incredibly brave and this is getting renowned praise as it should. That being said, it's a tremendous sacrifice to make and one that you can't expect everyone to replicate. This NYT article is about Ukrainian and Russian tennis in this turbulent time, but a great read for the intersection of sports and politics, much of which would apply to arts as well.

#ballet #russian ballet #tennis #ballet ask #ukraine #russian invasion #natalia osipova

[newyorkthegoldenage]

On April 16, 1959, the Bolshoi Ballet made its first appearance at the Metropolitan Opera House. It was the first Russian state ballet company ever to appear in America. Its star was Galina Ulanova, seen here accepting bouquets after the performance. Her partner, Yuri Zhdanov, is next to her.

Photo: Associated Press via the NY Daily News

#vintage New York #1950s #Galina Ulanova #Bolshoi Ballet #ballet #Russian ballet #April 16 #16 April #Yuri Zhdanov #Metropolitan Opera House #orchestra pit #standing ovation