#smirnova

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did you hear of Anastasia Smirnova’s debut as Laurencia alongside Ivan Vasiliev? She only graduated from Vaganova this summer! That’s incredible!

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I know! How exciting is that?! I know some people are worried about her going to Mikhailovsky and not Mariinsky, and I hope this makes everyone feel a little better :)

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Anastasia Smirnova debuted as Swanilda!! I was actually sad that she didn’t choose Mariinsky but who knows in all of these Covid situations, it might be best company to start her career

I’m very happy for her! I’m sure we’ll see more leading roles coming her way soon. You can watch the videos here.

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ASK Responses: Anastasia Smirnova

Did you know that Anastasia Smirnova is listed as coryphée in Mikhailovsky's website? Is she going to start this season already being a coryphée and not a corps de ballet member?

It appears so, yes. This doesn’t happen very often (a dancer entering a company as a coryphée) but it does happen. It’s a good sign and definitely shows that the company is invested in the dancer. I think Renata Shakirova was also hired as a coryphée by the Mariinsky in 2015. It would make sense because she had already danced with the company while still a student. Nijinsky was another example (I’m sure there are cases between Nijinksy and Shakirova, I just can’t think of any atm). The Mariinsky was also prepared to hire Sevenard as something other than a corps member, but she chose the Bolshoi.

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Any news on Anastasia Smirnova? I'm sad about Mikhailovsky, I would understand if it was someone good but not as good as her, but I honestly think she would be plucked out of the corps and promoted in no time even at Mariinsky. I could see her as a Mariinsky prima just as clearly as I can see Khoreva as a prima. I think she made the wrong choice, she's good enough that she didn't have to play it safe.

Don’t underestimate the Mikhailovsky. I know it’s smaller and not as glamorous as the Mariinsky, but it’s still a decent company with a varied repertoire. I completely understand why you’re disappointed. I know Smirnova has Mariinsky written all over her, but I honestly think that she will get plenty of opportunities at the Mikhailovsky and *fingers crossed* will progress through the ranks quicker than she would have at the Mariinsky. 

Mikhailovsky Theatre is also home to Borchenko (another Kovaleva graduate) and Vorontsova – two primas who are kept very busy and do exciting work. I can see Smirnova eventually becoming one of them.

I know it’s a surprising choice, but I choose to be positive about it :)

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Ask Responses: Vaganova

I’m wondering how Natasha Furman is studying in the Academy? I saw the posts on Instagram that she danced little Maria in the Nutcracker and it seems that teachers like her very much.

Have you seen clips of Natalie furman in the last nutcracker? Heard that she’s a promising young student, but she was prominent in the US/competitive ballet circuit so I wonder how she fairs at VBA

Natasha is, obviously, very young, and it’s too early to make any assessments or predictions. For now, she’s at VBA and she appears to be doing very well and enjoying herself. You can also follow her on YouTube for some extra videos from the Academy.

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More on the weight topic. I saw in a video that one girl in Sharova's 4th class was dismissed because of weight. Yet, there are a lot of girls in the upper classes, especially year 7 and 8, that don't exactly have the slimmest bodies. However, Vaganova allows them to stay. Why is this?

Some of the older girls experience weight gain due to puberty, which tends to hit around the time of their final year. As this is a natural process, and not something the girls can control, the Academy tends to be more lenient, especially since the weight gained due to the onset of puberty tends to go away with time.

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Thanks for posting the Bunkamura VBA video! I'm really excited about Anastasia Smirnova. Physically, she reminds me so much of Zakharova, with some Lopatkina tones as well. Of course, she will have her own dancing style. But she has a regal, mature quality to her that brings a lot of refinement to her dancing. She has a lot of potential and I'm excited to see it develop, I hope at Mariinsky as she's perfect for that theater!

A lot of people think that she looks like Zakharova, and that’s a huge compliment. I’ve been watching Anastasia since she won the Diana Vishneva award at Vaganova Prix a few years back, and I hope she goes on to have an amazing career. She studies under Professor Kovaleva (who graduated Diana Vishneva and Olga Smirnova, among others), which is also very exciting.

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Are the Vaganova teachers friendly toward one another, or are they competitive. For example, do you think that in 2015, Kovaleva was unhappy that Udalenkova's student Shakirova was portrayed as the star of the class rather than her Nika or Anastasia Lukina? Is there a hierarchy of teachers, like the older ones get to make demands of the younger teachers like Kasenkova or Sitnikova?

Naturally, there’s a hierarchy of teachers at VBA. It’s impossible to say, as an outsider, but I imagine that there would be some healthy competition among the teachers. That being said, I don’t think senior professors like Udalenkova and Kovaleva would fight over their students. I also don’t think that Shakirova was necessarily presented as her year’s star. I remember the attention being pretty evenly spread between her and Lukina. 

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What is behind the two doors at the back of the main Vaganova studio? One big room? Or two separate rooms? Or two connected rooms so that students can come out of one door and go in through the other? Or something else?

You can see the space in this video:

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Why does Tsiskaridze not like Khoreva as much as Elya? Elya's just as good, but doesn't he see that Khoreva is a once in a generation talent? He only allowed her to debut as Masha in Nutcracker after Elya graduated, whereas he allowed Lizi and Anastasia to debut as Masha while Alexandra Khiteeva was still dancing it at Vaganova. And, in her graduating year, it was the 280th anniversary of the school, but he could've still let Maria dance Paquita instead of calling Elya back. She'd had her shot.

I don’t think it’s fair to say that Tsiskaridze disliked Khoreva. Masha was Professor Kovaleva’s student, and Kovaleva is particular about how her students are represented publicly. Tsiskaridze was very vocal about how great Elya was (which she really was) and it did her no favours; he overexposed her.

A student’s debut in a particular role is not determined by the rector alone. The student’s teacher has a lot of say in this. Plus, the student in question must typically audition to get the part.

Elya was called back for a special performance, which brought together past VBA graduates, including Zakharova, Obraztsova and Smirnova; it wan’t a normal graduation performance.

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What is happening with the Vladivostok school?

The short answer is: no one knows. No one on the outside, that is. The Vladivostok campus was handed over to BBA a few years ago and, curiously, Leonova’s interviews at the time suggested that the campus had always belonged to the Moscow academy. It’s been suggested that Tsiskaridze was forced to take on the Vladivostok campus, and had never really wanted it because it was a drain on VBA’s resources. Regardless of this, he had set the campus up and ran it successfully for over a year. It’s all rather bizarre. 

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An interesting video of a masterclass with Tsiskaridze has just been uploaded to YouTube by Anya V. Do you have any more info about this class?

Tsiskaridze taught a master class for the 4th grade girls at VBA a few days ago. I believe that the class was part of the many conferences / educational events the Academy runs, and was open to the public (by “public” I mean ballet insiders, teachers and dancers). Thank you for the link, by the way. I have this recording in bits but not as a whole.

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#WorldBalletDay Maria Allash's class at the Bolshoi, featuring Olga Smirnova, Maria Vinogradova and Alena Kovaleva.

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Vaganova Ballet Academy students Anastasia Smirnova and Mikhail Barkidjija in the VBA production of “The Nutcracker”. Japan tour. January 2019.

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Ask Responses - Vaganova

We all suppose that the rising stars of the current graduation year are Khoreva, Ionova and Bulanova, and about the lower year I think we can mention Savelieva or Sevenard, but who are the most promising students of the lower classes (grade 5/6)? Can you already spot some of them? Is already some of them getting into the spotlight? Thank you.

It’s hard to make predictions and I wouldn’t want to jinx any of the students either... Personally, I’m very interested in Anastasia Smirnova, who won the Diana Vishneva award at Vaganova Prix last year. I’m not sure what grade she’s in, but I think she’s a year below Savelieva and Sevenard.

A post shared by Anastasiia Smirnova (@anastasiia_smirnova_) on Mar 18, 2017 at 11:26am PDT

A post shared by Anastasiia Smirnova (@anastasiia_smirnova_) on Mar 17, 2017 at 10:04am PDT

At Vaganova, do international students have separate dormitories from the regular students? Or is it that none of the regular students actually stay at the academy dorms and only the international students do?

Local and international students live in separate areas of one big(-ish) dorm complex.

Hi! I love your blog :) I was just wondering what your view on Orine Anzai was? Thanks

Thank you. Please read this.

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I'm not sure if you've seen the Dance Magazine interview with Olga Smirnova on her performance of Diamonds at NYB. The performance was unearthly, and I agree with your assessment: Semyon Chudin creates an ideal partner. Olga has really grown on me the last year and seems to truly embody an "intellectual" ballerina. Anyway, I thought you might want to read her thoughtful responses. Based on your shared adoration of Ulyana Lopatkina, I actually think you might come to regard her highly.

Good interview. Sharing the link for the masses.

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