#kuzmicheva

[melmothblog]

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I have some terrible news. Vaganova Ballet Academy graduate, Ekaterina Kuzmicheva, has lost her mom. It’s unclear what happened but it is a terrible tragedy and Ekaterina is heartbroken. If you wish to express your condolences, you can do so here.

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[melmothblog]

Vaganova Ballet Academy students, Anna Shishanova, Ivan Poddubnyak and Ekaterina Kuzmicheva. Photos by Katerina Zimina.

[melmothblog]

Vaganova Ballet Academy student, Ekaterina Kuzmicheva. Photographed by Irina Yakovleva.

[melmothblog]

Ask Responses - Vaganova

A compilation of questions relating to the Vaganova Ballet Academy graduation performances and general Vaganova questions.

You mean Elya has performed as Masha 10 times. Do you mean at the Mariinsky theatre? Does this mean as a student you get solo roles over the professional dancers hired by the company?

Elya danced the part of Princess Masha ten times with VBA. She’s been performing the role for two years at the Mariinsky, and she also took part in VBA’s 2016 tour in Japan.  

Is it just me or does ekaterina kuzmicheva look weirdly like a baby angelina vorontsova?

I guess they look sort of similar. I’ve never noticed that before.

Some of the graduation performance videos say they are exams. Is this the final exam for the 7th graders before graduation?

I saw that too and I’m not sure why they call them exams. VBA students do get extra credits for professional practice / professional performances, but I don’t think they are graded on their performance in the grad shows. 

No offense, but I can't understand why Yulia Spiridonova is so featured in recent graduation performance though she is still 6th grade. She danced soloist variation in Paquita and she was one of leading in Classical Symphony. To be honest, her movement of arms and upper body is very awkward and her toe is dirty (especially arabesque) and she isn't elegant. What do you think? Thank you.

I actually rather enjoyed her performance, despite the somewhat wooden arms and upper body. Her liveliness actually had me smiling. Sure, Yulia is rough around the edges, especially compared to the older girls featured in the grad shows, but this is to be expected of her age group. I’m glad that Tsiskaridze and the powers that be are giving the younger students the opportunity to dance little solos, even though it’s a pretty big gamble.

Hi Melmoth! What do you think of Alexandra Khiteeva and Julia Spiridonova? I saw them dancing solos or duets in both this grad performances and in Fairy Doll, and it seems like they aren't so popular like other girls from Svetlana Savelieva's class (obviously their exams were recorded) or Maria Khoreva, Daria Ionova etc. Do you know more about them?

I like both Alexandra and Yulia. I first noticed them in “The Fairy Doll” and I’m glad that they are getting more opportunities to perform. Khoreva’s, Ionova’s and Savelieva’s popularity is due to both their visibility (on social media, etc) and their individual gifts. I don’t think I need to justify Masha’s status as something of an insta celebrity... Her work speaks for itself. Dasha is quickly gaining popularity as more videos of her dancing in major VBA productions are starting to surface, and most people fell in love with Sveta after seeing her in the BalletFlowers videos. Yulia and Alexandra are not as visible and, as beautiful and talented as they are, not yet quite on the same level as some of these older girls. Give them time, though. In a year or so they should come into their own.

[melmothblog]

Opinions on Dancers

In the response to the question that came through Ask.

Anastasiya Uzanskaya and Ekaterina Kuzmicheva

Unfortunately, I’ve seen very little of Nastya and Katya since 2015, as less and less footage of VBA classes and performances get released. Both girls appear to be doing well, and both have successfully moved on from Grade 5 to Grade 6 / Level II (High School). Both girls have issues, but both still have almost three years to go till graduations.

In answer to the other half of the Uzanskaya anon question: Since I’m an outsider, I can’t tell you exactly how the teachers judge the students. I think they consider any individual student in terms of the class (How well are they doing compared to others? Are they keeping up?) as well as said student’s individual development and improvement. I guess that if the teachers decide that the student is falling behind or isn’t improving quickly enough, they can recommend to dismiss the student from the academy.

Ivan Putrov

I’m not too sure how I feel about him. I don’t know much about Putrov, and I’ve only seen a few recordings of him dancing. I think I needed to see him live to really form an opinion. He appears light and very expressive but a little bit sloppy. Again, I don’t have much to go on here... I’m interested in hearing what others think of him.

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