#semionova

[gothicsynthetic]

Polina Semionova in the Mikhailovsky’s production of Giselle.

Photo credit to the Mikhailovsky Theatre, apparently. Should anyone know precisely to whom credit is owed, I will be most grateful for the correction.

[melmothblog]

Ask Responses - MISC

A compilation of questions submitted through Ask. Thank you for asking!

I know you said you never watch modern movies or TV shows about ballet but I'm wondering if you've ever seen Robert Altman's film The Company? It's kind of like a documentary and is perhaps the most realistic depiction of a ballet company in terms of fiction. I think it's really underrated because people have criticized it for being boring and having no real narrative. It's not a masterpiece but I think it's worth at least one watch if you haven't seen it.

I’ve never heard of it, but it sounds really interesting. I’ll look it up! 

Opinion on Polina Semionova?

Please read my previous response.

In the video Nutcracker Pas de Trois 2nd act Mariinsky Theatre on YouTube, do you know who the students are and if they have graduated? Thanks!

Is this the one you mean? I’m not sure who the boy is, but the girls are Eleonora Sevenard and Yulia Zolotykh. Both are currently at VBA, though Yulia is injured and ins’t graduating this year.

Do you have a favorite Swan Lake ending -- happy, tragic, ambiguous?

Definitely tragic! The music demands it (Tchaikovsky wrote it specifically with a tragic ending in mind)! 

I hate that the Russian version of “Swan Lake” has a happy ending because the ending was rewritten at the request of the Soviet Government which felt that a tragic finale didn’t fit the communist rhetoric. There are few things I hate more than government interference in art.

Hi Melmoth! After watching several videos of Eleonora Sevenard including the graduation performances, I'm honestly blown away! There's something so impressive in the way she dances! I suppose due to my lack of experience/knowledge about ballet and dance in general, I cannot quite put my finger on what exactly it is in her technique or presence that makes her stand out. I was wondering what you personally think it is that makes Sevenard stand out from the rest of the Vaganova graduates?

I think what attracts people in Elya, aside from a great technical base, are her musicality, beauty, charisma and stage presence.

Do you think it's a waste for Kirill (of ballet talent and education) if he becomes a model?

Just to be clear, Kirill hasn’t said anything about quitting ballet. He suffered a fracture at some point late last year / early this year, and has been out of it for most of the school year. In the meantime, he’s had more time to focus on his modelling career, which seems to be really taking off. 

While it’s unclear what his plans are for the future, and while I believe that it would be a shame to waste his talent, I wouldn’t blame Kirill if he wanted to quit VBA. Ballet requires absolute, fanatical dedication, and any student would be doing a disservice to themselves and the art form by forcing themselves to pursue it when their heart is elsewhere.

Just out of curiosity because you've mentioned struggling to keep up with all the questions, how many asks do you generally get a day/week? How many do you still have left to answer?

I finally cleared out my inbox last night #winning. Yours was the first in the new cycle of questions. I’ve never tried counting, but I get a lot of questions. The last five or six Ask Response Compilations contain probably a week’s worth of questions. Right now is a peak period though (graduation performances), so there are more questions than usual. I’ve received 8 Ask questions (not counting direct messages) in the last 24 hours.

Don’t get me wrong, I love it and I’m very touched that people are interested in my opinion! The problem is that: a) I have a demanding full-time job which often leaves me too exhausted at the end of the day to do much work on the blog; b) I try to give good and in-depth responses, which sometimes require research, and this takes extra time and effort. So I end up falling behind more and more, and people have to wait longer for my response.

d i s c l a i m e r

[my-barcelona-art-gallery]

#Semionova by Jaume Martínez í Casas #Oilpainting on #Canvas #Barcelona #Art (en BCN Painting Route) https://www.instagram.com/p/Br8C7ciBwFw/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=r62yivxnow4f

[tabathamodaedesign]

Polina Semionova.

[pliesandpirouettes]

Photo credit: Polina Semionova for Bloch

Beginning this blogging journey to document my progress in ballet, and to share some tips with all other fellow dancers :)

[gothicsynthetic]

Igor Zelensky and Polina Semionova in the pas de deux from Le corsaire.

[risingclaudette]

Polina Semionova’s legs in Giselle, by Stas Levshin.

[gothicsynthetic]

Polina Semionova in Act II of Giselle.

Photos by Sandra Hastenteufel