#vaganova blog

[vaganova-blog]

Adagio - Vaganova Ballet Academy

My last video⬇️

#ballet #vaganova #ballerina #dance #dancer #vaganova ballet academy #vaganova blog #Youtube

[tolstoybitch]

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

[betterluck-nextt1me]

#vaganova #ballet #ballerina #girlblogging #this is what makes us girls #hell is a teenage girl #girlhood #girl blogger #girly blog #dollcore #tw disordered eating

[totallyghostdgirl]

if you get this, answer with three random facts about yourself and send it to the last seven blogs in your notifs! anon or not, doesn’t matter, let’s get to know the person behind the blog <3 (absolutely no pressure)

Here's some bombastic information guys (I'm not Interesting 🤩)

1- I've been dancing ballet since my whole life, practically and I have a degree in the Vaganova method so I can be a ballet teacher too

2- half of my family (my dads side) is of Spanish origin and the other half (my moms side) is of indigenous origin here in Brazil

3- I have six fucking degrees of myopia and two degrees of astigmatism in each eye 😁

[ballet-symphonie]

Mariinsky Asks

I was wondering if you've seen the pictures and videos of La Fille du Pharaon premiering at the Mariinsky. I've been waiting with trepidation. I have the video of this ballet staged by the Bolshoi and their make up was very problematic, to the say the least. Especially Aspiccia's maid in full on blackface. I don't think I've managed to watch the entire thing because it REALLY bothered me.

I was very pleasantly surprised with the costumes at the Mariinsky! Such stunning costumes! Probably their most beautiful. I didn't see the entire thing but, from what I've watched, no blackface to be seen and I breathed a sigh of relief. Hopefully this is a first step in the right direction. Maybe next thing they'll be changing around some other makeup in other ballets? (Especially in The Bayadere, I have to skip the entire part featuring children) Baby I steps? cannot speak for the cultural appropriation and aspects of Egyptian culture being used because it's not my place to but I'd be curious about it, too.

Sure its better because there’s no blackface but that’s the lowest bar ever.  I’m not sure this is a ballet I’d really want to see. It’s not dramatically captivating, and some of the variations just look downright uncomfortable to get through (unless you’re Kimin Kim). I personally didn’t like the costumes, for how much money they must have spent, they looked a little tacky and overly shiny to me. I have also read reviews saying this ballet REALLY dragged with excessive pantomime. Like its 3.5 hours long- absolutely obnoxious. Haven’t found many clips of the pantomime, obviously because no one is interested. It is an interesting concept of reconstruction, but it almost feels like something that belongs in a museum and not on stage. 

Hey, Ale, first of all big love to you for your great blog 🫶🏼 Concerning Anastasia Plotnikova, I feel like she’s kind of become the 2020 graduate with the most featured roles at MT. Others like Valeria Bespalova and Lizi Avsadjanishvili (before she left) seemed to stand out more at Vaganova. Still, Plotnikova seemed to get more soloist parts that seem to lead the path to promotions for new graduates (shades solo, odaliaques solo, variation in Paquita) while the others didn’t. I think the biggest part she’s gotten is the Queen of the Dryads. I don’t know if that’s considered a principal role? But I think at least a big soloist role? :D I just think it’s interesting how things for the 2020 class are working out. They are the first Vaganova class I followed as students already and to me, it seemed that they would take over the theatre like Khoreva and friends, only that their year had even more red diplomas. I was a bit surprised that it seemed that they were given opportunities so much slower than at least the 2018 year. I’m really interested in hearing your thoughts on the 2020 graduates, especially because I thought it was so fascinating that 5 girls danced Masha in the Nutcracker, when only two years later no girl in the graduate year was deemed good enough.

Plotnikova has definitely adjusted to professional life better than expected and is certainly making the most of herself and separating herself from the rather mediocre classes from 2020-2022. Queen of the Dryads is a good step forward. I theoretically would worry about her getting pushed aside for the 2023…but since the ‘big 3’ are all going to BT, I think we will be seeing more of her. 

A red diploma doesn’t guarantee anything. There are girls who are soloists without one, and there are girls who are sitting in the corps for life with red diplomas. It’s important to remember that the diplomas take their dancing and their academics into account. For example, Elya Sevenard doesn’t have a red diploma. You need one to work in the theater of course, but that’s it. 

Regarding the VBA’s Nutcracker casting, I truly have no explanation. Principal roles in public shows should be kept for the strongest students of the graduating class. Not juniors with 2 more years left and certainly no poaching MT boys. 

What did you think of Bulanova’s recent black swan pas? I’m not sure she’s quite ready for a debut, although her turns were great as usual. Tbh I’d be more concerned about her odette in this case, but I’m hoping to see her in more classical leads. I really hope she debuts kitri soon, and i dream of seeing her as aurora although that probably won’t happen anytime soon lol

O/O is not a walk in the park and I don’t think she’s ready. Shakirova, who is also very much not the O/O type, found her technical shortcomings front and center in the White acts. I don’t think Bulanova would be any stronger honestly. I’d think about giving her a shot at Kitri, but I think she’s even worse suited for Aurora than O/O. 

It looks like as of 4 April Mariinsky finally promoted some of their men, Roman Belyakov and Evgeny Konovalov are now first soloists! Also a couple of Tsiskaridze´s boys are now coryphees too

Took them long enough, it’s what they deserve. 

Is it just me, or Lukina's dancing seems a bit "jerky" to me? Like I never feel comfortable when watching her, especially during more technical choreo like the Medora variation, etc. I feel much better watching Bulanova, but it seems that Lukina will be promoted first. Thoughts?

Lukina is generally not the strongest technical dancer and has had a string of injuries resulting in tendencies to be tentative with harder choreography. However, she is known to have powerful people pushing for her in the theater in addition to a comparatively better physique.  On the other hand, Bulanova is seemingly fearless and will dive head first into anything she’s given but is subjected to heavy typecasting and is also more limited in terms of her options for a partner. 

Did Alina Somova leave the Mariinsky?

This is very old news no? But yes, she’s at Ananiashvili's State Ballet of Georgia. Her husband is Georgian and has appeared in Ukrainian benefit galas in Zurich. 

#ballet #ballerina #russian ballet #ballet ask #mariinsky theatre #alina somova #maria bulanova #anastasia lukina #Anastasia Plotnikova #la fille du pharon

[patricedumonde]

this is kind of random but it is very sad to me how cruel people who watch ballet are to ballet dancers. i've been uploading ballet videos (mostly of the vaganova, mariinsky and bolshoi) and people are just so strangely mean to everyone, even if the girls are still teenagers. at one point i uploaded a video of koshkaryova and valiullina debuting in a role together and the comment section was just full of relentless comparisons. bashing on sofya's weight (imo she looks the same as she did when she graduated...she has always had this build and it's never seemed to hold her back), calling masha robotic or boring (imo unjustified considering the video itself)...it's just so unnecessary for people to take sides and yet there's like 50 comments just fighting over who's better. both sofya and masha have found my channel at different points and it grosses me out to think there's a chance that they've seen comments like that. I know it's only worse on telegram so I assume they've got thicker skin than that, but it still sucks and makes me wonder if i should be deleting comments, but it's rough when every other comment I get is negative. I can't keep track of that.

i am not joking when i say i can count on my fingers the number of "regulars" I have who are kind to everyone and i can rely on them to say nice things about the dancers. i remember their names. that's how sparse they are.

surprisingly the only recent video I've uploaded where there was zero hate was a random short which went viral to 1M views (ie youtube recommended it to a much wider audience, outside of the usual ballet channel subscribers) and the audience was mostly people who don't know about ballet. they were so impressed and so kind. and that makes me sadder because that means the general public has more compassion and love for dancers than those who claim to be ballet fans, balletomanes etc. you like ballet but you can't even refrain from insulting the dancers? :(

I am so sorry to hear this, this was one of my biggest apprehensions when I started this blog. I was scared that it would have a lot of negative criticisms towards dancers, and they are people who have access to this content. I can't imagine how it is in your place, with everything you're describing!

It is true that they did enter the industry knowing that they will be in the public eye. I don't think that is a valid reason to be mean towards them though. Yes, critics are involved in the profession, but there is a kind way to give corrections. We also have to acknowledge the experience level of these dancers, I don't think a lot of people realize just how young they are (Masha and Sofya, in this case).

All I ask is, for any readers of this blog, if you do visit this blog regularly, you know how engaging our conversations are. Spread it elsewhere. Whether these videos are on youtube or instagram, feel free to compliment the dancers, and avoid unnecessary negative comments.

And for the asker, DM me your channel, I wanna be one of the regulars!! Or if you're comfortable, I can post it here too, I'm sure I have readers who would want to do the same thing :)

#russian ballet #patrice answers #sofia valiullina #maria koshkaryova

[tikitania]

Coming up for Air…and answering some Asks while I can!

I finally have some time to catch up on some Asks. There aren't that many, but I do try to respond quickly because I enjoy the discussion! And a special shout out to the one who likes my blog. THANK YOU! Saving Mariinsky-China Tour topics for another post. Questions edited for brevity: Thoughts on Sofya Maimula? I believe she's a fairly recent grad from BBA, no? I haven't really followed her, but I recall seeing class footage with her and thinking that she looked exactly like Vaziev's ballet ideal — long thin limbs, beautiful feet. I hope to see her more though. In general, I feel like following the Bolshoi is like drinking from a firehose. So many dancers, so many performances. It's hard to keep up!

Yaroslavna Kuprina is no longer scheduled for Paquita & Gamzatti… I have no idea why, but I'm assuming it's injury related, which is such a shame. I don't think they pulled her for being unprepared. Hopefully, more news will come out soon and wish her a speedy recovery if that is indeed the issue. However, I also fall into the camp that it is just WAY too soon for these recent grads to be given such huge roles. I mean….Koshkareva / Koshkaryova (sp?) will be dancing the lead role in the Diamonds section of Jewels in November. I don't care how good she is….THAT. IS. CRAZY. Is it hard on Vaganova students to have such old teachers, whose deaths would devastate their young pupils. Total speculation here, but I think it's quite the opposite given how much reverence dancers have for beloved teachers and coaches. Teachers are respected and admired for their wisdom and guidance — the time and attention they give to young dancers is precious. I think it's a cultural norm and their ballet schools and companies have benefitted from having that depth of knowledge and experience. Here's one for The Olds! Thoughts on fast-tracking Arina Denisova and Eva Seergenkova? Ooof. Watching the clips of Denisova was rooouuuuugh. She's not ready and may never be, honestly. Blame falls squarely on the artistic staff for this call. They put an inexperienced and unprepared ballerina on the stage of the Bolshoi to dance, arguably, one of the hardest ballets in the repertoire. WTH. Are they trying to break her? Her Nikiya was also very rough. I just don't understand. I believe that Seegenkova has way more potential, and her performances seem more technically sound. Although she's had a very meteoric rise that felt way too rushed (now the norm at The Big) I think she'll grow into her aristry with more experience and confidence. As a comparison, I watched a video that someone put together of Renata Shakirova's first DQ — and a very recent one. The growth in technique, artistry, stagecraft was evident. It's amazing that we have videos at our fingertips to observe it. Mariinsky performing Walpugisnact on Oct. 4th It's different than the Balanchine version. You can see snippets online…I've seen both Iliushkina and Osmolkina perform this piece, which I understand to be a ballet interstitial from the opera Faust. BTW, Osmolkina is pretty f-ing good. Just watch some clips of her….you won't be sorry! Shock that Koshkreva & Kuprina have been given some corps-level roles such as Prince's Friends in Swan Lake & Peasant PDD in Giselle, while also dancing Gamzatti and the Paquite Grand Pas….doesn't seem a fair or balanced workload. So the norm for recent grads would be dancing the featured Prince's Friends pas de trois in Swan Lake, or the Peasant PDD in Giselle, so I don't find this odd. A lot of soloists also dance these two roles at the Bolshoi & Mariinsky. They are featured parts just not THE LEADING role. But in the bigger picture, casting at the Bolshoi will always remain a mystery to me. See above about Denisova.

I'm sorry if this is a silly question but would you have any clue about how the logistics of a ballet tour work? Thinking about the Mariinsky's upcoming tour in China. Not silly at all. And….I have NO idea! But that is such a good question and one for the likes of a stage manager professional! I do have a friend who worked in post-production/studio work for the Olympics at NBC, and they would charter a cargo plane (I think several) and ship all of their production gear to wherever the Olympics was taking place. So I'm assuming it's a similar task: Box it up, load it onto a plane, and set it up at the destination. The donkey in DQ probably stays back in St. Petersburg, though.

Speculation that they are preparing Kulikova for a big role soon…given that she hasn't appeared on stage at the yet this season. I actually think she has been dancing in the corps. I think I saw her IG as a swan, in particular. But maybe I'm mixing her up with someone else? My money's on Kuznetsova, though. I'd keep an eye on her.

Thanks for all the interesting questions, speculations, and tidbits.

#ballet #mariinsky ballet #bolshoi ballet #anon ask #russian ballet #anonymous #ballet asks

[judgementkazukun]

🌸 If you get this, answer with 3 random facts about yourself and send it to the last 7 blogs in your notifications, anonymously or not! Let's get to know the person behind the blog. 🌸

i was a dancer for 15ish years! i did jazz, tap, and modern competitively for a bit but also trained in ballet (specifically the vaganova method)

i worked a lot with chloroform in my undergrad research lab and it ruined movies/tv for me bc chloroform will not knock you out that fast lmfao

one of my top canine teeth is now flat bc i chipped the very tip of it off while ✨ grinding my teeth ✨ in my sleep 🥹

#ooc

[balletomaneblog]

A little off the topic, sorry!! But in my eyes Elizaveta Kokoreva of the bolshoi theatre really has cemented herself as one of the best (the best in my opinion, but I dont know much about technique and stuff so I m a little biased :)) young ballerinas in both the bolshoi an the mariinsky. I think that she s not as popular as other of her contemporaries but she really deserves all the credits. I mean, she has debuted 7, if I'm not mistaken principal roles and nailed them all!! I can't wait to see what she will do in the future!! I feel like she's the perfect representative of the bolshoi style while maria khoreva is the same for the mariinsky.

P.S. Your blog is amazing keep going!!!

I apologise for any grammar mistakes, English is not my first language

Elizaveta Kokoreva is always on topic! Kokoreva is amazing and can do so much, she's of my favorite young dancers! I believe she has even more than seven roles by now and I can't think of one I don't like!

I do agree that for awhile she was a bit more under the radar than Sevenard and Kovalyova, as they had been the company for two and three years longer than her, and were pushed very quickly by management. However, I think over the past couple of years she's been growing in popularity, as she should lol.

I often find that taller dancers have an easier time commanding the stage than shorter dancers. But Kokoreva absolutely commands the entire stage whenever she performs. She has so much energy and charisma that there's almost no role I can think of that she wouldn't be fantastic in.

Personally, I would now love to see her as Juliet (both the Grigorivich and Ratmansky versions). And hopefully they bring back Sleeping Beauty and she can debut Aurora!

I also love your comparison between her and Khoreva. Yes, a lot of the young stars of the Bolshoi have been Vaganova graduates, so it's great for the theatre to have a Moscow ballerina who really embodies the personality of the theatre, as Khoreva does for the Mariinsky.

P.S. Thank you so so much for your kinds words about my blog! And your English is amazing!

#ballet #elizaveta kokoreva #bolshoi

[balletroyale]

Asked and Answered: An assortment of long overdue answers

dance-like-matty asked: that mayerling livestream😬……..

To be honest I haven’t watched it yet. It’s not a favourite ballet, and to sit through it in-person with my favourite cast was hard enough...

do you know anything about how nikisha fogo is doing in sf?

She was out for almost a year with an injury. SFO aren’t as public with their recordings and castings so it’s hard to know how well she’s doing. 

have you seen skylar brandts rose adagio? her balance is insane

link for it

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CLyIah8HPMK/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

what are your thoughts on her? i personally saw her kitri and i had no complaints. great technique and character, her principal title is well deserved IMO, heard her giselle was out of this world too. i don’t understand why people say she isn’t deserving of her principal title just because her parents have money and are donors to ABT. The talent is definitely there and she made her way through the ranks for over 10 years.

Yes I think she’s a great dancer and I think she should be at a better company. 

Nepotism can lead to very underserving people getting promoted ahead of themselves, which is why so many are quick to dismiss anyone who benefits in that way. Luckily in Brandt’s case, she does have the talent to back it up. 

why is diana vishneva still listed as a principal if she doesn’t dance with the company anymore (as far as i can tell) ? 

She does still occasionally. 

There’s a lot of politics behind stuff like that in Russia. It isn’t a title she’s just going to give up, and the clout of having her listed is good for them as well. The Mariinsky also frequently leaves people listed as principals for years after they stop dancing. 

hey so what do you think of manon as a ballet? are you. fan? not a fan? choreography, structure? i saw it for the first time recently and idk how i’m feeling about it just yet. just curious! your blog is awesome :)

Manon for me has the best PDD of any ballet I’ve seen. They match the story and emotions perfectly. Many people adore Macmillan’s PDD but find the rest of his ballet’s boring. I understand this criticism. I feel that way about Mayerling. But for me, I can overlook it in Manon. I find the corps scenes well put together, and find Lescaut to provide enough entertainment in other scenes as well. 

what does it mean when something says a vaganova graduate graduated in the 'class of _____'? for instance 'renata shakirova graduated in 2015, class of tatiana udalenkova'.

.... it’s what it says on the tin, I don’t really know how else to explain it? That’s the year she graduated from the Academy. 

What is your favorite cast of Manon? Thinking about buying a DVD of it, but cannot decide between the DuPont/Bolle version or Sarah/Vandream version.

Lamb/Muntagirov all the way. I don’t really rate Bolle. 

#ask

[truefanz]

Korean Barbie Is Now On TrueFanz!

We love shining a light on our TrueFanz creators and telling the world all about them. Today is no different as we’re putting the one and only Korean Barbie front and center!

As with all of our TrueFanz creators, there’s a lot to learn about Korean Barbie and how she came to achieve her successes. She is a multidimensional gal, and here you have the chance to learn all about her (and subscribe to her TrueFanz channel).

Want to learn more about our newest TrueFanz creator? Let us introduce you properly.

‍

Introducing: The Korean Barbie On TrueFanz

‍

The Korean Barbie is still fairly new to the TrueFanz platform, but she’s all over social media - even Amazon - and it’s only a matter of time before she racks up a hefty following.

But who exactly is Korean Barbie and what is she all about?

Her birth name is Kara Flemming, and you may recognize her on Instagram as @Korean.barbie, on Twitter as @Karaohkey, or on TikTok as @korean.barbie1. Of course, you may also recognize her as one of Finesse Modeling’s Bare knuckle Ring Girls or, of course, as an award-winning contestant in the Miss Utah USA and Miss Utah Teen USA beauty pageant in 2020.

Kara is a self-proclaimed “girly girl” who loves all things glamorous and elegant. She’ll be the first to admit that she has a love for evening gowns and makeup — she even gives the rundown of her daily makeup routine on her blog. However, her makeup routine only takes about 15 minutes, and her favorite products aren’t hard to come by, which tells us that despite being all about the glitz and glam, she’s a woman that appreciates simplicity and efficiency.

Of course, Kara is more than just a pretty face (with or without makeup). We’ll start from the beginning!

Kara was keenly nicknamed Korean Barbie as she is half-Korean and half-British/Irish. Of course, her adoptive parents purposely named her Kara because it means “pure” in Greek, which is fitting for her nature.

From a very young age, Kara was a lover of dance and even focused on the Russian method of ballet, also known as Vaganova Ballet from the ages of six to fourteen. She also got into competitive Irish Step Dancing, which is how she discovered her love for competition. After experiencing a serious ankle injury, Kara turned to Ballroom dancing as she had difficulty regaining the foot strength needed to perform in pointe shoes, which she fell in love with to the point of winning a national title for it in 2016.

Another unique thing about Kara is that she graduated high school with a degree! (An Associate’s Degree in Science, to be exact). She went on to study at Utah Valley University, where she admittedly and exhaustingly switched majors a bunch of times but still left with four technology certifications and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Information Systems.

We told you she was multidimensional!

From there, Kara won a full scholarship to attend grad school at the International American University in California, which she achieved through the Miss Asia USA pageant. That’s right, she’s a pageant girl, and it’s all thanks to her love for the competitive life.

Being that she had to put her dancing on hold while studying at college, she became restless. Once she saw that her university had a pageant, she immediately registered. By 2020, she had placed as a semi-finalist for Miss Utah USA and was subsequently offered a modeling contract with MMG-NY.

Modeling was cool, but winning a pageant would be way cooler — especially a pageant geared toward the Asian community. That’s why Kara jumped on the opportunity to join in on the Miss Asia USA pageant, which eventually landed her a Hills Beauty Club sponsorship AND a crown!

Now, Kara is a pageant winner and a model. While she has her sights set on acting next, she still hopes to dance, get signed with her dream modeling agency, and complete her MBA. It goes without saying she’s an ambitious young woman, and she’ll likely go on to continue advancing her pageant and modeling career as well as achieve all of her other goals.

After all, she’s already achieved so much by the age of 20, which is what makes her such an incredible inspiration for women everywhere and of all ages. She’s even taking that inspiration and converting it into a consulting practice for other girls that are thinking about modeling and need a mentor — and who wouldn’t want the mentorship of a pageant-winning beauty queen with her brains?

Know more...

#truefanz #What is truefanz #earning platform for creators #content creator platform #korean barbie

[vaganova-blog]

#ballet #vaganova #ワガノワ #バレエ #vaganova blog

[tutu-fangirl]

Vaganova Ballet Academy snowflakes, The Nutcracker

© Mark Olich

#the nutcracker #vaganova #corps de ballet #original #ballet #art #dance #ballerina #dancers #ballet blog #my faves #aesthetic

[taeminfucks]

did not fit in askbox :(

you wrote that creative development as an idol is weird and out of order. Would you elaborate on that? You don't have to of course/  Because while it is not typical for modern pop acts I think (they are presented as more "these are my original ideas" from the start), but I finished music school for more classical music (even though I also performed contemporary music, it just wasn't pop) and "idol path" makes so much sense - first you learn the classics and do it to perfection, no choosing the pieces, just the execution, this is similar to how idols (usually) are  given tracks to perfrom, next is choosing from pre-selected pieces to perform, and lastly - your own projects with original ideas, but only the first one is considered necessary for a musician. Overall I think k-pop has a lot of communalities with traditional art schools, especially the ones I'm familiar with, like SM is basically Vaganova for pop music. You focus on visual more (I think??? it seems that way from your blog), so maybe that's not how you see it, just interested to hear you thoughts more on this.

Sorry to submit instead of an ask, but it got too long and English is not my first language so if any mistakes were made or it seems to agressive or negative I'm sorry. 

As a consolation prize, heard you like women (its Lee Hyori singing english song braught to you by jpop.ru) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF0wHuxvKDE

😲😲😲

I actually didn't know that about the parallels between classical music and idoldom!! I'm not a music person and I've never been to any kind of artschool, but when I think of developing creativity I think of making a LOT of stuff, and most of it being pretty shit. You draw and paint a lot a lot and eventually you start making stuff that's actually good and that you won't hate after a month. Even as an experienced artist, you should come up with at least 3 different versions of an idea before you develop it further, even if you think your first idea is perfect. It requires a lotttt of churned out bullshit, that is essentially how you develop your taste and figure out what is good and what you actually like.

Idoldom seems out of order to me because they basically don't have that private time to churn out garbage and start picking out the gems. They start flexing creative skills *after* becoming famous. Irt to Mark, he's been writing his own lyrics for a long time but idk how much songwriting he's done, and I don't know if he's recorded a single throwaway bullshit track that is entirely his own, before being given the budget for CHILD. For me, I think of creativity as being deeply personal and self motivated. Making your own art is very different from fulfilling a role given to you (one is not better than the other, they're just different). Mark is good at fulfilling the role of idol and performing, but I don't know how much practice he has at being the generating force behind art.

Another element is that when idols start solo stuff and showing creativity, they already have a base of fans who will lap up everything they do and tell them they're amazing and perfect and Mozart born again. This is creative poison. As an artist you NEED criticism. Admittedly criticism from the public (whether they love it or hate it) probably isn't helpful but you deffo need criticism from other artists and people who's opinion you respect.

All in all I don't actually know much about the idol industry, and I definitely don't know anything about making music, so take this with several spoonfuls of salt lol. I think my perspective is that of an amateur artist, which you can be for any medium, either musical or visual. I'm realizing there's such a huge difference between amateur artists and like professional art systems and schools, wow

#tysm for this!!! i never even thought of that #ask

[balletperspective]

Let’s talk about Alina Somova (and why flexibility has poisoned ballet)

*All points made in this post come from my own opinions and observations. They are meant to be taken with a grain of salt.*

As promised, this blog is going to be my follow-up to the previous one I made entitled, “Turnout: What is It?”, and will primarily be focusing on why flexibility has harmed dancing quality (with examples). Please understand that this post is in no way intended to demean Alina Somova as a professional, demean her character, or shame those who enjoy her as a dancer. This is just to use her training as an example.

Let’s get into it:

Back before I had learned to observe ballet more critically, I read a comment stating that; “Alina Somova is the perfect example of why too much flexibility ruins dancing.” Naturally, I could not understand what this person had meant, because all I could see was perfection; and it wasn’t until about a year ago where I could finally see what this person was saying. For those of you who do not know, Alina Somova is currently a principal dancer with the Mariinsky Ballet Theatre, as well as a previous graduate of the Vaganova Academy. She is most distinguishable by her incredible levels of flexibility, and is most acclaimed for this same reason. As an 80’s baby, Alina is the product of one of the first generations of dancers to fall into the, “pretty extensions” philosophy that we see prevailing in 21st century ballet. This result is most likely due to Russia’s exposure to western exercise fads, and western dance philosophy, relatively shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union, which in turn created an echo chamber of ideas as to what ballet really was in the world. I think Russians during this time felt a great need to continue to prove themselves as the ‘top dog’ of ballet, and felt pressure to be more than they already were. It is my theory that during the 1990’s, Russian ballet began to take the more “insane” route that we see today, where girls could hold their leg 180 degrees above their head for minutes at a time, and over-split in leaps, and do all sorts of contortionist things with their movement, that they simply didn’t do as much in previous decades. I also believe that this is when true ballet technique began to slip, as teachers and dancers were far more focused on looks, rather than quality (I’m not saying that ballet became bad though, just not as fine-tuned).

Alina Somova with examples:

When I observe Alina Somova’s dancing, I notice three main things:

Her lack of core strength/connection

Her lack of turnout

Her lack of momentum

Okay so the first point; lack of core engagement. Alina has this way of shifting her stomach area around when she dances. I mainly notice anterior pelvic tilt (when you stick your booty out), but there’s other times where I catch her moving her hips and rib cage laterally, which is a huge indication to me that she lacks turnout, and rather relies on flexibility. The rib cage and hips are meant to remain stacked on top of each other, like a skyscraper. But unfortunately I notice that her ribs and hips often lie diagonal to each other, or more commonly, with the hips behind the ribs.

We see this clearly in the clip above, as she almost wobbles en pointe, stumbles through an entrechat, and fails to close in fifth position properly. We can also observe the way her upper body is leaning in front of her lower half upon landing.

Second point: lack of turnout.

So basically, all of the points listed above fit into “lack of turnout”, but I want to expand this by pointing out how little Alina retains an outward rotation at the hip, especially when doing pirouettes.

In the first picture, she is exiting from a chaines turn, and entering into a pirouette en dehors. Her lower half reveals that she was in a “turned out” position based on her right leg, where the ankle is facing outward. Unfortunately she is parallel at the knee, which is causing the right foot to sickle slightly. In other words: knee abuse!! As for the left leg (her standing leg), she is completely parallel and is not working from a fully straightened leg, which causes instability issues (VERY common with Alina). In the second picture, we see this carry over in her standing leg, as it is only slightly turned out, but mostly parallel.

Third point: Alina’s momentum issue

This is probably the one that I notice most with Alina Somova. She has no core connection, and no turnout, which means she has no momentum, and thus, no power. Ballet is very focused on the idea of energy management and exertion. The last thing a dancer wants when performing a two hour long ballet, is to waste energy that they don’t need to waste. The thing with Alina, is that she is constantly stealing energy from herself by using other body parts to give her momentum, that shouldn’t have to. The best example I can think of, is her ~dang~ grand jete’s! It’s the trick she’s most famous for, because she severely over-splits in them, which sidenote: for some reason people love over-splitting in grand jete, but it makes me so uncomfortable, like it kinda grosses me out (it’s also terrible for quality leaps), but I digress... anyway, as I was saying, Alina’s grand jetes are easily the thing people admire in her dancing the most, but are also easily her worst technical movement. Here’s why:

Shortly before entering into a grand jete, Alina swings her upper body into the leap, because her core is not giving her the power to execute it properly. I don’t exactly know how to word it, but she kinda throws herself into the jump, rib cage-first (if that makes any sense). In a true grand jete, the dancer is able to almost float into it, because their alignment has changed their center of gravity to be a little higher on the spine. The dancer’s upper body, and especially the rib cage, remain virtually unmoved as a result. Tatiana Terekhova is a great example of this, and I suggest watching some clips of her. Another thing Alina does, that I unfortunately do not have a picture of, is the way she ‘swings’ her legs into a high extension, rather controlling the movement. To me, this is another poor use of energy, as she is focusing more on the aesthetic aspect of her dancing.

In conclusion:

To finish off my post, I just want to reiterate that this isn’t an attack against anyone who loves Alina Somova as a dancer. The beauty of ballet is that you are able to take whatever you want from it, and if one of you reading this is a fan of hers, don’t let my entry hurt you. I don’t dislike Alina by any means, I just feel bad that she’s been corrupted by the mindset of needing to be ‘pretty and extreme’ at the expense of her dancing quality, which likely has resulted in a lot of physical damage to her. Overall I feel that Alina is quite a weak dancer, both technically, and performance-wise, and I wanted to show exactly why she enforces the value of true turnout. But hey, it’s not like I can do any better 😳. Anyways, thank you all so much for waiting on this (I seriously took forever), and reading through it <3

#Alina somova #ballet #dance #turnout #flexibility #Mariinsky #vaganova academy

[ballet-symphonie]

I love your blog and your insights- thank you so much!! I was wondering if you look at the recent Vaganova and BBA most prominent graduates (Smirnova, Khoreva, Sevenard, Iliushkina, Kovaleva, Kokoreva) which is your favourite role for them so far and why? What would you love to see them dance next?

Thanks for the support and ooh love this ask! I love pretending to be Fayteev/ Vaziev/God😅 Dancers are in no particular order, but I did do everyone at MT first and then BT.

Smirnova:

Fave Role: Laurencia by far, she was so enrapturing with her emotions, she emotes so fully with her whole body and her jump is massive

Up next: Have her reprise Gamzatti in the MT version, then Paquita, as a trial run for DQ

Khoreva:

Fave Role: Aurora, it has everything that she does well, clean classical poses, intricate transitions, excellent epaulment and coordinations

Up Next: How about we chill on the big classic debuts for a bit? I want to see her stretch her range and get more comfortable being strong and powerful with her movement and really work on her jumps. I’d like to give her a challenge: Symphony in C Movement III. Or even push her outside of her comfort zone further and give her some Forsythe for a gala. With the proper coaching, I think she would be great in “In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated”.

Iliushkina:

Fave Role: Nikiya, no questions at all. For the first time, she really stepped on stage looking like a professional, polished, elegant and sophisticated. And it’s the perfect role for her, this girl was made to tear your heart out with her stunning expression and arms.

Up Next: More dramatics please! I’m somehow thinking The Legend of Love (Mekhmeneh Bahnu) would be a good next step after the successful Bayadere. She also doesn’t have Diamonds in her rep yet? She and Korneev should work on that together. Also please just give her Dying Swan for a gala or two?

Sevenard:

Fave Role: This is hard, I like her in so much and she is so versatile. She is the most naturally suited for bravada roles though, Kitri and the Etudes ballerina show her off so well.

Up Next: An official Nikiya debut on Bolshoi stage, and then give her lighter loads for a couple months and let her take the time to prep O/O. She’s ready.

Kovaleva:

Fave Role: Probably Myrtha? Her long lines fit the role well, she does well in both versions of Giselle that the BT does.

Up Next: I feel like she’s done most of the big classics that are suited for her height, I can’t picture her dancing Giselle or Aurora, or god forbid Kitri. I think it would be interesting to see her as Margarite in Lady of the Camelias or Tatiana in Onegin. However, I’d be a little hesitant about Tissi’s partnering skills in Neumeier/Cranko choreography.

Kokoreva:

Fave Role: Swanilda for sure, she’s light, breezy and comfortably charming. Well timed debut, she was well rehearsed and exceeded expectations. 

Up next: I would have said Masha in the Nutcracker but she’s scheduled to debut it on the 31st!! Excited to see her in this role!

#Elizaveta kokoreva #eleonora sevenard #alena kovaleva #maria khoreva #maria iliushkina #anastasia smirnova #ballerina #ballet #bolshoi #mariinsky #mariinsky theater #russian ballet