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When a child, you decided to become a ballerina. Why?
- I was born in a ballet dancers’ family.
My mother - Ludmila Shipulina - worked as a leading soloist
with the Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre, and my father - Valentin
Ìàrkov - was a theatre principal, too. I can’t say that in
our childhood either my twin-sister Anya or me were thinking
of ballet as our future profession, we were definitely not
going to become ballerinas. But in our early childhood, at
our earliest age, we, certainly, were accustomed to wandering
around the theatre - both in the hall and behind the scene.
We could see not only all the performances, but all the things
that are described as " ballet kitchen "as well.
And when we got a bit older, mother sent us to the Perm Choreography
School to study. We studied in Perm five years: Anya and I,
we were in the same class, even sat at the same desk in class.
And then, in 1990, Dmitry Bryantsev, Stanislavsky and Nemirovitch-Danchenko
Musical Theatre Chief Balletmaster invited our mother and
her second husband Victor Dick during their guest performances
in Moscow to work with the theatre. At first they couldn’t
help thinking it was terrible for them to leave the city of
Perm, the very thought of leaving the theatre where they were
in great favour, of abandoning their various repertoire, their
private apartment, their village house, their well-established
life horrified them... But Moscow was a temptation, it attracted
with its stellar prospects of new interesting work and finally
they made up their mind... and left us in Perm alone. But
then after our 5-th year in the ballet school was over mum
brought us to Moscow and said she was going to show us in
the Moscow Academy of Choreography. But it so happened that
by then Ànya had already changed her mind and refused point
blanc to continue her ballet studies. She was admitted to
an ordinary school and two years later she finished her course
and then entered Producers Faculty at the Russian Àcademy
of Òheatrical Arts (the former GITIS). As for me, in the Academy
I at first was examined by the teacher of classical dance,
Ìarina Konstantinovna Leonova (now she is Rector of the Academy).
She advised going through the program of the 5-th year once
again, here in Moscow, instead of entering the 1-st year at
the Academy, because the educational program of the Perm school
lagged behind the Moscow program. As I had already passed
all the exams in the general education subjects in Perm and
I had a diploma, all I needed was to attend classical dancing
classes. That year I attended Irina Yurievna Syrova’s classes
and later, when a student, through all the three years at
the Academy - Ludmila Sergeevna Litavkina’s classes. So all
in all I stayed at the Moscow Academy for four years...
- Since your childhood
you have seen your mother dancing various performances. Which
of her roles did you like most of all?
- Yes, I have seen almost all her performances
in Perm. Very much I loved my mum’s doing " Sleeping
Beauty " and in the parts of Lilac Fairy and Aurora.
As to Moscow, I most of all loved her Giselle. Also it was
pleasure to see her in " Swan Lake ", " Romeo
and Juliet ", " the Illusive Ball "...
- Who did you prepare
your parts with when you joined the Bolshoi Ballet?
- When, after my graduation from the
Academy of Choreography, in 1998, I was admitted to the Bolshoi
Ballet, I at once started to rehearse with Marina Viktorovna
Kondratyeva. In my very first season Êîndratieva prepared
me for the International Ballet Dancers Competition in Luxembourg,
where I danced a solo program, with no partner, and I won
silver there. She also taught me the program for the Moscow
International Ballet Competition in 2001, which brought me
silver for my dancing in a duet with Ruslan Skvortsov, and
also the prize from the firm "Grishko".
More than that, apart from getting all
my parts prepared with Marina Victorovna I regularly attend
all her classes. (Very few new performances I prepare with
another tutor, and then again I am with Kondratieva). She
is a very easy-going person and a remarkable teacher – I feel
quite easy with Marina Victorovna! The six years of our joint
work gained us so much mutual trust that we speak the same
language and take each other’s thoughts instantly. Ìarina
Victorovna is not in a habit of sitting on a gym bench at
the mirror during rehearsals, as some teachers are; she always
shows all steps and pirouettes, she does everything "
in her full force ". Therefore if I fail to understand
something, Kondratievà is sure to show how it goes in a combination
with other pas and all this becomes clear at once. Marina
Victorovna is more than just a teacher to me: she is very
caring just like mum. She is very understanding, easy to talk
with not only about work, but also to complain to, to ask
her about something, to tell her something. It is very important,
that I have such a person and such a teacher to turn to!
- How was your
repertoire at the Bolshoi Theatre organised? Which were your
first parts?
- At first, as all Academy graduates,
I danced in corps de ballet – my parts were swans, shadows,
sylphides ,, dryads, nereids, slaves and alike. Soonafter
I started dancing all those parts of swans, dryads, villis,
freilins, sylphids but in groups of six, four, three. Then
came Mazur in "Chopiniana", Empress of the Ball
in " Fantasy on the theme of Cazanova ", second
variation in grand-pas in the premiere of " Don Quixote
", the Filly in "Little Hunchback-Horse ",
Fairy of Gold and Fairy of Sapphires in " Sleeping Beauty
". Then in my repertoire the role of “La Fille du Pharaon
", Polish bride in " Swan Lake " appeared.
Fairy of Lilac in "Sleeping Beauty", Ìirta in "Giselle",
the Emperess of the dryads in "Don Quixote ", King
- Maiden in "Little Hunchback-Horse ", Ìàgnolia
in "Chipollino", Wife of the Heir in the first night
of Boris Eifmann’s production " the Russian Hamleth ",
Wife of the fisherman and the Congo river ". And then
there were attempts to dance leading parts – Îdette-Odill
in "Swan Lake", Esmeralda in " Notre-Dame de
Paris ", Classical Danceress in " The Bright Stream
", Gamzatti in "La Bayadere", Kitri in "
Don Quixote ", solo parts in the Balanchine ballets -
"Agon " and " The Symphony in C ", the
soloist at the first night of Yury Posokhov’s "Ìàgrittomania",
Eguina in "Spartacus"...
- Does your mum
come to see your performances?
- Yes, certainly. And she always looks
upon me both as mother and teacher. First of all she is, certainly,
my mum, who cares about her child. But she is also my teacher
assessing my performances from the professional point of view.
And later on she in detail tells me her remarks: judges me
strictly, without any discounts, and I always listen to her.
Sometimes we need such a professional estimate from outside,
because Marina Victorovna and I, we have already got so much
accustomed to each other that we may fail to see some hitches
at times, we may not pay attention to some points and here,
thanks to my mum, we start seeing it differently.
- At the recent
concert at the Bolshoi Theatre devoted to the 30th anniversary
of the film " My love Moscow ", you appeared in
a duet with your stepfather leading soloist of Musical Theatre
Victor Dick. You performed a duet from Dmitry Bryantsev’s
ballet " The Illusive Ball ", which earlier was
performed by Dick and your mother. Was it your first joint
performance?
- No, it wasn’t. What we’d already danced
together with him were " Sleeping Beauty " in America
and " Swan Lake " in Cheboksary. And now comes the
duet from " The Illusive Ball ", too. So, I think
that our duet is well-established...
- And have you
got a regular partner at the Bolshoi?
- Not at present, just now I haven’t
got a regular partner. Generally speaking, currently, at the
Bolshoi theatre there are no constant duets, no regular partnerships.
I change partners, too; I dance with different soloists, which
makes it still more interesting for me to dance with each
of them. I learn something new from each of them, everyone
helps with his advice, remark, everyone shares his experience.
It’s helpful, we are trying to be co-operative…
- Does anything
else beside the theatre interest you?
- I take classes in management. And my
friends are of great interest to me as well… You know, I didn’t
stop at the middle grade diploma of the Academy of choreography.
I immediately entered the higher grade, and continued training
at the Performing Department. The five years of studying gained
me a teacher – rehearser diploma which enables me to work
as a tutor at the theatre... And now in the Academy, I’m studying
to become a manager, and I’m a second year trainee. And though,
so far I haven’t been thinking seriously of a position of
manager, but in the course of training I receive a lot of
useful information and knowledge. I am glad to have a lot
of friends not only among the theatre people and drama actors
but also people who are far from the world of theatre. Unfortunately,
as we are so busy at work, we can’t afford meeting often,
but we go to see each other’s performances and then we communicate
and exchange opinions...
- Which of the
performances you’ve seen lately were most impressive?
- Two performances in the Moscow Academy
Art Theatre the new stage production " The White on the
Black " by Marina Brusnikina and " Number 13 "
on the main stage produced by Vladimir Mashkov. They are diametrically
opposite in terms of their plot and mood plays, with "
Number 13 " a cheerful comedy, while the other is a tragedy...
- What are your
reading preferences?
- I’m sorry to say it, but I don’t read
much, I don’t have enough time for reading. All my time is
practically eaten up by rehearsing, performing and studying.
Last year I had to be happy reading only textbooks for my
curriculum, books on management, no fiction at all. And the
fiction is still waiting for its time to come.. Sometimes,
you know, I get back home from the theatre completely exhausted.
I just go to bed and fall asleep at once. Once in a while
when I’m not a complete wreck, I read something by Chekhov,
be it a story, a play or whatever... I don’t choose, just
open the book at random and enjoy it, every line of it…
- Where and how
do you usually have a rest?
- I do my best to spend a few days on
the seashore, but due to summer tours it doesn’t often happen.
Sometimes I can afford a fortnight. There are always time
problems, which are inevitable in our profession. But still
I’m very fond of travelling! And though by virtue of our profession
we travel a lot, our itinerary is so crowded that leaves us
practically no chance to see the sites. Alas, no chance at
all! Though this year, in particular, was lucky: the ballet
troupe toured both Paris and London. But I’m looking forward
to seeing these cities just as a tourist so that I could take
my time and enjoy sightseeing without having to hurry to the
evening performance or rehearsal... I’m dreaming of the time
when I retire and travel at large..
- Which other roles
do you plan to dance?
- Like any other dancer I would like
to dance a role cut out for me personally. But so far my dream
hasn’t come true. I haven’t yet worked with a balletmaster
who would take into account my individuality in creating a
new ballet or a new character in it. When Boris Eifmann brought
his " Russian Hamlet " to the Bolshoi, I danced
the Wife of the Heir, the role that originally was designed
for a dancer of his troupe. It’s considered to be his standard
and style. He is used to composing roles to perfectly fit
a particular member of his troupe. And later the text of the
role may pass to a different performer. Same here – I received
my part ready. I am eager to dance all types of roles, both
lyrical and character ones... And in general I would like
to dance everything! All the repertoire! Both classics and
modern ballets!
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