#voroshilova

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Vaganova Ballet Academy graduates Alexandra Khiteeva, Anita Voroshilova, Daria Ustyuzhanina and Yulia Spiridonova at the Mariinsky. September 2019.

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Vaganova Ballet Academy students Ervin Zagidullin and Anita Voroshilova photographed by Sergei Zhuravlev.

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Ask Response: Vaganova

On universaldance_'s instagram, there is a video that appears to be from VBA uploaded around 06/12. One of the dancer's ribbons came off her shoes. Do you know if they are VBA students, and which student this was? Thanks!

A post shared by Universal Dance (@universaldance_) on Dec 7, 2017 at 12:08pm PST

That is incredibly badass. And, yes, that’s Vaganova, though I can’t identify them.

Who is playing the role of Princess Masha this year?

At this point, only two casts have been confirmed: Khoreva/Juusela and Khiteeva/Stenyushkin. We have to wait to see who the other casts are. I seriously doubt they only have two.

If you were to rank Maria Khoreva, Maria Petukhova, and Maria Bulanova, how would you place them in order?

I wouldn’t. I try to avoid comparing dancers in general but I especially don’t find it healthy when it comes to students. Even when I have a clear favourite (in this case - Khoreva). We all know and love Khoreva because she’s been around and very visible for ages, while Petukhova and Bulanova recently came out (simingly) out of nowhere and blew everyone away. All three girls are very hardworking and talented in their own way. All three have strong individualities. 

I think you mentioned something about the students at Vaganova having to tie their pointe shoes differently when Tsiskaridze was appointed. Do you know how they tie them?

I’ve been trying to find the answer to that question for a very long time but, so far, haven’t had much success. I remember that this was discussed in a news segment which was filmed about six months after Tsiskaridze took over at VBA. They had a girl give a demonstration and everything. I don’t think I’ll be able to find it again...

What year is Anita Voroshilova?

I think she’s in her final year.

Is Vlad Bellikov (the Giselle VBA student with the hilarious videos) in his last year/Tsiskaridze's class?

I’m pretty sure he’s in Andrey Ermolenkov’s class (second-to-last year). 

Thank you for answering so quickly!! Would you mind telling me the height of egor Gerashchenko and oscar frame? Thank you!

Not a clue. Both are a bit taller than Tsiskaridze.

@kittykatspears: Firstly I want to say that your blog is gorgerous!! You know everything about Vaganova👏 Recently I watched on youtube some videos about Yana Cherepanova performance in Rome in June. She surprised me because she looked so awkward and insure while dancing.. Also tecnically... She can do at least one pirouette!! I know that you usually don't speak about younger students but I want to know your opinion... She looks beautiful on her instagram but I was shocked when I saw her dancing... Thanks 😊😊

Well, like you said, I don’t comment on younger dancers. Moreover, I’ve never seen Yana dance and, in any case, I try to avoid forming an opinion based on one or two clips. As I always say in such cases: flexibility, balance, hyperextension, etc. don’t make a dancer, but it’s way too early to judge how good Yana is anyway. 

When you say the second to last years are rehearsing/dancing big Masha, do you mean at the Mariinsky theatre? Do they allow students to dance such big roles when they have principle dancers already?

Vaganova Ballet Academy perform “The Nutcracker” at the Mariinsky on par with the main company. This has been a tradition for many decades.

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