Ìària Allash’s road to the main role in "Swan Lake" was rather long, with her successful appearing in this ballet first as the Ptince’s mate, then as Spanish and Hungarian brides. Her performing the title role in “Raymonda”, in the premiere performances of this renewed Petipa-Grigorovich version, has become a milestone on her way to a better comprehension of the Îdette-Îdile double role.

When Ìaria Allash’s forthcoming double debut in "Swan Lake" became common knowledge, balletfans were in two minds as to her success in both parts: they were sure that as Odile she would be brilliant and strongly doubted whether her Odette would be a match. After the first night the opinions on Ìària Allash’s first performance in the famous ballet divided: people either did not apprehend it at all or appreciated it as something interesting and promising.

Neither her glamorous appearance (she looked absolutely gorgeous in a white classical pack and fluffy swan costume, framing her beautiful swarthy face with big dark eyes) nor her noble manners on stage, none of these made the spectators hold their breath while watching her Îdette’s every pas.

It was her amazing privacy, the captivating haze of mystery around her that made her performance breathtaking.

The way she looked in this role, was slightly reminiscent of the young Natalia Bessmertnova in the same role. But Ìaria’s Odette amazed with serenity and reticence of her feelings, by their “silence” (this word, though, may sound strange in relation to a ballet). Her Adagio with the Prince (Vladimir Neporozhny) looked more a display of her Îdette’s estrangement, inevitable loneliness, predestination, than a sort of addressing to Siegfried. One couldn’t help feeling it, that the Queen of swans had no free will, there was no choice for her, she was doomed to follow the Evil Genius’s will. Her state is emphasized by noble serenity of movements deprived of any trepidation and lyricism.

In spite of the nine season long experience including the main parts in "La Bayadere", "Spartacus", " The Legend about Love " a certain excitement and nervousness, no doubt, affected the ballerina’s performance. But for it she would have done a world class performance. Regretfully, some flaws and imperfections did not add to the generally positive impression either.

As for her Îdile, she couldn’t have been more different from her Îdette.

Odile’s radiant and triumphant dancing was to convince of her firm intention to win the proposal from Siegfried. Allash displayed it through a slightly simulated mechanistic manner of her dancimg.

The dazzling shine in her eyes and her radiant smile as well as her triumphant gestures of a woman, sure of her beauty and anticipating her victory, conveyed the nuances of the character of a cold experienced seducer. But this character seemingly wasn’t polished to perfection; in the stylish Îdile one could easily guess some familiar features of the dancer’s other heroine - the Street Danceress from "Don Quixote". Besides, in the "black" Pas-de-deux in the Ball scene her technique, unfortunately, wasn’t at all faultless.

Nevertheless, Maria Allash’s debut in " Swan Lake " witnesses not only to the professional growth of the ballerina, who is diligently mastering the theatre classical repertoire solo parts but also to her own potential. And no doubt, in due course her Îdette and Îdile both (done by Maria Allash together with the constant teacher – rehearser Tatyana Golikova) will change together with the ballerina herself. The excitement of debut moments will gradually change into confidence, technical vulnerability will disappear into precision of movement, and the role of the White and Black Swans will shine with new fresh tints, retaining its initial intriguing mystery...