Olga Shablinskaya, AiF: “Every morning the body falls apart” - these are the words of your colleague ...
Ekaterina Shipulina: This is true! If nothing hurts you, then you are already dead - that's how they joke in ballet. Chroma McGregor, "Hero of our time" Kirill Serebrennikov And Yuri Posokhov- ultra-modern ballets, after which the body does not belong to you. But in the morning you go to the theater, you start to warm up... Probably, we can be called careless: we do not see the line when we need to stop and go to the doctor.
My friend recently asked for a rehearsal of the play "The Legend of Love" Yuri Grigorovich where I dance the main part - Mekhmene Banu. Then she said: “I'm in shock! You repeat the same movement a hundred times. The viewer sees the final result and thinks: yes, everyone can jump like that, run, make spins! And this is a big compliment to the artist: if everything looks easy, it means that the hardest work in the hall was carried out successfully.
Soloist of the Bolshoi Ballet Ekaterina Shipulina Photo: RIA Novosti / Ilya Pitalev
- Katya, I know that due to a serious injury, you did not go on stage for more than a year ...
- There was a rehearsal of "Russian Seasons" Alexei Ratmansky. After the jump, I landed badly. Swelling of the knee, a huge hematoma... Doctors' verdict: "Tear of the meniscus." 4 months I was treated with injections. It only got worse. I went to another doctor, they took a second picture ... And it turned out that I was diagnosed incorrectly - in fact, the ligament was torn off.
Friends advised a doctor in Austria who literally "gathers" football players and skiers. The operation lasted about 4 hours.
And already 5 hours after the operation, a nurse came to me and said: “Now we will go for a walk.” I was extremely surprised! In my view, people after such an operation lie for a week and do not move. And I went for a walk on crutches. And so every day. With a physiotherapist, they began to slowly develop the knee. Despite the fact that I used to endure pain since childhood, at some point despair set in ... You make every effort, but your leg does not move. You cry, you understand that everything is gone, life is over ... Yes, I also recovered by 8 kg, my cheeks appeared, which I usually have sunken.
But I tried to find the positive even in this position. I visited all the museums in Vienna, went to the Vienna Opera for three performances. Upon returning to Moscow - two workouts a day in the gym, physiotherapy, swimming. She did everything she could to get back on track as soon as possible. In total, I did not go on stage for 13 months ...
- What role did you play first after the operation?
- It was the ballet "Spartacus" by Yuri Grigorovich. The party of the leader of the courtesans Aegina is considered one of the most difficult in our repertoire: a huge number of jumps. At that time, my teacher was still alive Tatyana Nikolaevna Golikova- a very strong, strong-willed woman. She was persuaded in the theater: “Why should Shipulina go out in a difficult performance? Let's give it a little variation first." But Golikova and I decided to dance in Spartak. Otherwise, you can fight through your whole life after an injury and consider that you are not yet ready for a difficult ballet ...
Ekaterina Shipulina. Photo: RIA Novosti / Valery Levitin
/stat.aif.ru/img/topic_tr_red.gif" target="_blank">http://stat.aif.ru/img/topic_tr_red.gif); background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background- clip: initial; background-color: initial; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; background-position: 0% 4px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat ; "> And ice cream!- And what does a ballet star do off stage to maintain perfect shape?
- Nothing special. I am an absolutely simple person, without any stellar quirks. But everyone is so accustomed to seeing me on the stage of the Bolshoi “royal” that they think: Shipulina is cold, arrogant ... I don’t know, maybe it’s because my facial features are so sharp? .. But when I’m closer they recognize, they say: “Lord, we thought that you were such a bitch, but it turns out that you are an affectionate person with an angelic character!”
All stardom disappears as soon as a person leaves the stage. You can relax after work. And to eat, including: we have such physical activity that everything burns out.
For example, I love Uzbek plov. I eat chocolate, ice cream in any quantities. And I love to cook myself. Recently I cooked lagman for the first time - however, under the dictation of a friend.
- In our last interview, you said that you do not want to delay motherhood ...
- Certainly. But here, as God wills. Am I afraid to fall out of the working rut due to pregnancy? No, absolutely not scary. Before my eyes, my mother is a ballerina who gave birth to two daughters and returned to the stage.
Biography
Personal life
Catherine has a sister. The ballerina's husband is pianist Denis Matsuev. On October 31, 2016, the couple had a daughter.
Repertoire
1998
- Grand pas, La Bayadère by L. Minkus, choreography by M. Petipa, revised version by Y. Grigorovich
- Waltz - Apotheosis, The Nutcracker, choreography by Y. Grigorovich
1999
- Giselle's friend, Giselle by A. Adam, choreography by J. Coralli, J.-J. Perrot, M. Petipa, edited by V. Vasiliev
- Mare, The Little Humpbacked Horse by R. Shchedrin, staged by N. Androsov
- Mazurka, "Chopiniana" to music by F. Chopin, choreography by M. Fokine
- Belle of the ball, “Fantasy on a Theme of Casanova” to music by W. A. Mozart, staged by M. Lavrovsky
- Dryad Lady, Don Quixote by L. Minkus, choreography by M. Petipa, A. Gorsky, revised version by A. Fadeechev
- Tsar Maiden, The Little Humpbacked Horse by R. Shchedrin, staged by N. Androsov
2000
- Two pairs, III movement "Symphony in C", music by J. Bizet, choreography by J. Balanchine
- Wife of the Heir, "Russian Hamlet" to the music of L. van Beethoven and G. Mahler, staged by B. Eifman
- Fairy Gold, The Sleeping Beauty by P. Tchaikovsky, choreography by M. Petipa, revised version by Y. Grigorovich
- Congo river And Fisherman's wife, Pharaoh's Daughter by Ts. Pugni directed by P. Lacotte
- Lilac Fairy, The Sleeping Beauty by P. Tchaikovsky, choreography by M. Petipa, revised version by Y. Grigorovich
- 2nd variation in the film "Raymonda's Dreams", "Raymonda" by A. Glazunov, choreography by M. Petipa, revised by Y. Grigorovich
- 2nd variation in the film "Shadows", "La Bayadere" by L. Minkus, choreography by M. Petipa, revised by Y. Grigorovich
2001
- Mirta, "Giselle" - ballets in the editions of Y. Grigorovich and V. Vasiliev
- Polish bride, Three swans, "Swan Lake
- Gamzatti, "La Bayadère
2002
- Odette and Odile, "Swan Lake" by P. Tchaikovsky in the 2nd edition of Yu. Grigorovich
2003
- classical dancer, "Bright Stream" by D. Shostakovich, directed by A. Ratmansky
- Henrietta, Raymonda, choreography by M. Petipa, revised version by Y. Grigorovich
- Esmeralda, Notre Dame Cathedral by M. Jarre, staged by R. Petit
- Seventh Waltz and Prelude, Chopiniana to music by F. Chopin, choreography by M. Fokine
2004
- Kitri, "Don Quixote "
- pas de deux, "Agon" by I. Stravinsky, choreography by J. Balanchine
- Soloist of the IV part, "Symphony in C", music by J. Bizet, choreography by J. Balanchine
- Leading soloist, Magrittomania
- aegina, Spartacus by A. Khachaturian, choreography by Y. Grigorovich
2005
- Hermia, A Midsummer Night's Dream to music by F. Madelson-Bartholdi and D. Ligeti, directed by J. Neumeier
- Action**, Omens to music by P. Tchaikovsky, choreography by L. Myasin
- Soloist***, "Playing cards" by I. Stravinsky, directed by A. Ratmansky
2006
- Cinderella, Cinderella by S. Prokofiev, choreography by Y. Posokhov, dir. Y. Borisov
2007
- Soloist***, In the Upstairs Room by F. Glass, choreography by T. Tharp
- Mekhmene Banu, The Legend of Love by A. Melikov, choreography by Y. Grigorovich
- Gulnara*, Le Corsaire by A. Adam, choreography by M. Petipa, production and new choreography by A. Ratmansky and Y. Burlaka
- Soloist, “Class Concert” to music by A. Glazunov, A. Lyadov, A. Rubinstein, D. Shostakovich, choreography by A. Messerer
2008
- Soloist, Misericordes to music by A. Pärt, staged by C. Wheeldon
- Soloist of the I part, "Symphony in C major")
- Jeanne And Mireille de Poitiers, The Flames of Paris by B. Asafiev directed by A. Ratmansky with choreography by V. Vainonen
- Variation***, Grand pas from the ballet Paquita, choreography by M. Petipa, production and new choreographic version by Y. Burlaka
2009
- Medora, Le Corsaire by A. Adam, choreography by M. Petipa, production and new choreography by A. Ratmansky and Y. Burlaka (debuted on the theater tour in the USA)
2010
- Soloist***, "Rubies" to music by I. Stravinsky, II part of the ballet "Jewels", choreography by J. Balanchine
- Soloist, "Serenade" to music by P. Tchaikovsky, choreography by J. Balanchine
2011
- fleur de lis, Esmeralda by C. Pugni, choreography by M. Petipa, production and new choreography by Y. Burlaka, V. Medvedev
- Florina, "Lost Illusions" by L. Desyatnikov, staged by A. Ratmansky
- Soloist**, Chroma J. Talbot and J. White, choreography by W. MacGregor
2012
- Soloist, "Emeralds" to music by G. Faure, I part of the ballet "Jewels", choreography by J. Balanchine
- Soloist*, dream of dream to music by S. Rachmaninov, staged by J. Elo
2013
- Giselle, "Giselle" by A. Adam, edited by Y. Grigorovich
- Marquise Sampietri Marco Spada to music by D. Aubert, choreography by P. Lacotte, script by J. Mazilier
2014
- Manon Lesko, "The Lady of the Camellias" to music by F. Chopin, choreography by J. Neumeier
Awards
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Notes
Links
- // Trud No. 99, December 25, 2015
- // "Arguments and Facts" No. 2, January 13, 2016.
An excerpt characterizing Shipulina, Ekaterina Valentinovna
For the first time, Prince Andrei understood where he was and what had happened to him, and remembered that he had been wounded and that at the moment when the carriage stopped in Mytishchi, he asked to go to the hut. Confused again from pain, he came to his senses another time in the hut, when he was drinking tea, and here again, repeating in his recollection everything that had happened to him, he most vividly imagined that moment at the dressing station when, at the sight of the suffering of a man he did not love , these new thoughts that promised him happiness came to him. And these thoughts, although vague and indefinite, now again took possession of his soul. He remembered that he now had a new happiness and that this happiness had something in common with the Gospel. That's why he asked for the gospel. But the bad position that had been given to his wound, the new turning over again confused his thoughts, and for the third time he woke up to life already in the perfect stillness of the night. Everyone was sleeping around him. The cricket was shouting across the entryway, someone was shouting and singing in the street, cockroaches rustled on the table and icons, in autumn a thick fly beat on his headboard and near a tallow candle that was burning with a large mushroom and stood beside him.His soul was not in a normal state. A healthy person usually thinks, feels and remembers at the same time about an innumerable number of objects, but has the power and strength, having chosen one series of thoughts or phenomena, to stop all his attention on this series of phenomena. A healthy person, in a moment of deepest reflection, breaks away to say a courteous word to the person who has entered, and again returns to his thoughts. The soul of Prince Andrei was not in a normal state in this respect. All the forces of his soul were more active, clearer than ever, but they acted outside of his will. The most diverse thoughts and ideas simultaneously owned him. Sometimes his thought suddenly began to work, and with such force, clarity and depth, with which it had never been able to act in a healthy state; but suddenly, in the middle of her work, she broke off, was replaced by some unexpected performance, and there was no strength to return to her.
“Yes, a new happiness has opened up to me, inalienable from a person,” he thought, lying in a half-dark, quiet hut and looking ahead with feverishly open, stopped eyes. Happiness that is outside of material forces, outside of material external influences on a person, the happiness of one soul, the happiness of love! Any person can understand it, but only God alone can recognize and prescribe its motif. But how did God ordain this law? Why a son? .. And suddenly the train of these thoughts was interrupted, and Prince Andrei heard (not knowing whether he was delirious or really hears this), heard some kind of quiet, whispering voice, incessantly repeating to the beat: “And drink, drink, drink,” then “and ti ti” again “and drink ti ti” again “and ti ti”. At the same time, to the sound of this whispering music, Prince Andrei felt that some strange airy building of thin needles or splinters was being erected above his face, above the very middle. He felt (although it was hard for him) that he had to diligently keep his balance so that the building that was being erected would not collapse; but all the same it collapsed and again slowly rose to the sounds of evenly whispering music. "It's pulling! stretches! stretches and everything stretches, ”Prince Andrei said to himself. Together with listening to the whisper and with the feeling of this stretching and rising building of needles, Prince Andrei saw in fits and starts the red light of a candle surrounded by a circle and heard the rustling of cockroaches and the rustling of a fly beating on the pillow and on his face. And every time a fly touched his face, it produced a burning sensation; but at the same time he was surprised that, striking in the very region of the building erected on the face of his face, the fly did not destroy it. But besides that, there was one more important thing. It was white at the door, it was a statue of a sphinx that crushed him too.
“But maybe this is my shirt on the table,” thought Prince Andrei, “and these are my legs, and this is the door; but why is everything stretching and moving forward and drink, drink, drink, and drink - and drink, drink, drink ... - Enough, stop it, please leave it, - Prince Andrei heavily asked someone. And suddenly the thought and feeling came up again with unusual clarity and force.
“Yes, love,” he thought again with perfect clarity), but not the love that loves for something, for something or for some reason, but the love that I experienced for the first time when, dying, I saw my enemy and still loved him. I experienced that feeling of love, which is the very essence of the soul and for which no object is needed. I still have that blissful feeling. Love your neighbors, love your enemies. To love everything is to love God in all manifestations. You can love a dear person with human love; but only the enemy can be loved with divine love. And from this I experienced such joy when I felt that I love that person. What about him? Is he alive... Loving with human love, one can move from love to hatred; but divine love cannot change. Nothing, not death, nothing can destroy it. She is the essence of the soul. And how many people I hated in my life. And of all people, I did not love or hate anyone else like her. And he vividly imagined Natasha, not in the way he had imagined her before, with only her charm, joyful for himself; but for the first time imagined her soul. And he understood her feeling, her suffering, shame, repentance. He now for the first time understood the cruelty of his refusal, saw the cruelty of his break with her. “If only it were possible for me to see her one more time. Once, looking into those eyes, say ... "
And drink, drink, drink, and drink, and drink, drink - boom, a fly hit ... And his attention was suddenly transferred to another world of reality and delirium, in which something special was happening. Everything in this world was still being erected, without collapsing, the building, something was still stretching, the same candle was burning with a red circle, the same Sphinx shirt was lying at the door; but besides all this, something creaked, smelled of fresh wind, and a new white sphinx, standing, appeared before the door. And in the head of this sphinx there was a pale face and shining eyes of that same Natasha, of whom he was now thinking.
“Oh, how heavy is this incessant nonsense!” thought Prince Andrei, trying to drive this face out of his imagination. But this face stood before him with the force of reality, and this face drew nearer. Prince Andrei wanted to return to the former world of pure thought, but he could not, and delirium drew him into his own realm. A quiet whispering voice continued its measured babble, something pressed, stretched, and a strange face stood before him. Prince Andrei gathered all his strength to come to his senses; he stirred, and suddenly there was a ringing in his ears, his eyes became dim, and he, like a man who has plunged into water, lost consciousness. When he woke up, Natasha, that very living Natasha, whom, of all the people in the world, he most of all wanted to love with that new, pure divine love that was now revealed to him, was kneeling before him. He realized that it was a living, real Natasha, and was not surprised, but quietly delighted. Natasha, on her knees, frightened, but chained (she could not move), looked at him, holding back her sobs. Her face was pale and motionless. Only in the lower part of it fluttered something.
Prince Andrei breathed a sigh of relief, smiled and held out his hand.
- You? - he said. - How happy!
Natasha with a quick but careful movement moved towards him on her knees and, carefully taking his hand, bent over her face and began to kiss her, slightly touching her lips.
- Sorry! she said in a whisper, raising her head and looking at him. - Excuse me!
“I love you,” said Prince Andrei.
- Sorry…
- Forgive what? asked Prince Andrew.
“Forgive me for what I did,” Natasha said in a barely audible, interrupted whisper and began to kiss her hand more often, slightly touching her lips.
“I love you more, better than before,” said Prince Andrei, raising her face with his hand so that he could look into her eyes.
Those eyes, filled with happy tears, looked at him timidly, compassionately and joyfully with love. Natasha's thin and pale face with swollen lips was more than ugly, it was terrible. But Prince Andrei did not see this face, he saw shining eyes that were beautiful. Behind them, a voice was heard.
Pyotr the valet, now completely awake from sleep, woke the doctor. Timokhin, who could not sleep all the time because of the pain in his leg, had long seen everything that was being done, and, diligently covering his undressed body with a sheet, huddled on the bench.
- What is it? said the doctor, rising from his bed. “Let me go, sir.”
At the same time, a girl knocked on the door, sent by the countess, missing her daughter.
Like a somnambulist who was awakened in the middle of her sleep, Natasha left the room and, returning to her hut, fell on her bed sobbing.
From that day on, during the entire further journey of the Rostovs, at all rests and overnight stays, Natasha did not leave the wounded Bolkonsky, and the doctor had to admit that he did not expect from the girl either such firmness or such skill in walking after the wounded.
No matter how terrible the idea seemed to the countess that Prince Andrei could (very likely, according to the doctor) die during the journey in the arms of her daughter, she could not resist Natasha. Although, as a result of the now established rapprochement between the wounded Prince Andrei and Natasha, it occurred to me that in the event of recovery, the former relations between the bride and groom would be resumed, no one, still less Natasha and Prince Andrei, spoke about this: the unresolved, hanging question of life or death was not only over Bolkonsky, but over Russia obscured all other assumptions.
Ekaterina Shipulina is one of the brightest and most consistently shining stars of modern Russian ballet. Without her Giselle, Odette-Odile, Kitri, Aegina and many other roles, it is impossible to imagine the poster of the Bolshoi Theater.
And her daring, dangerous and irresistibly alluring Ondine in Lermontov's play "A Hero of Our Time" became one of the main creative discoveries of 2015, for which Ekaterina, along with her colleagues in the production, was nominated for the Golden Mask Award. And Katya is a nice, smiling, sympathetic person. So much so that in the hot New Year's Eve I found time to go to the editorial office of Trud and talk with its correspondent.
- Why were you in such a hurry?
I beg your pardon, in fact, ballet people are one of the most disciplined people in the world. If they are late, then it’s completely force majeure. And then they suddenly appointed a fitting for costumes for Don Quixote, which is being transferred from the New Stage to the Historical.
- Are you the main character - Kitri?
Yes, for 10 years now. And before that, she went all the way in this performance: she sat in courtiers, and stood in flower girls, and was the mistress of dryads, and danced variations ...
- As they say, from private to general.
Absolutely. At the Bolshoi Theater, this was an iron rule: only the best children from the graduation were selected, but they were never immediately put into soloists - only into the corps de ballet. And you stood there, sat, danced. With trepidation and excitement, I watched folk artists dance - Nina Ananiashvili, Nadezhda Gracheva, Anna Antonicheva, Galina Stepanenko, Alla Mikhalchenko, Nina Semizorova ...
She herself prepared solo parts at the same time, they watched you and after that they gave one of them. Or they didn't. That is, everyone had the opportunity for creative growth, but it depended on you how to use it. For someone to be given a leading role on a silver platter - this appeared only in the most recent time. Of course, when you look back on your path, sometimes it’s a pity - after all, even then I could have danced so many roles! On the other hand, it was a wonderful school of endurance.
- Probably, for you the main event of 2015 was the part of Ondine in A Hero of Our Time?
You know, every, even an ordinary performance, is an event that can become outstanding if everyone - both your partners and the corps de ballet - unite in a single impulse. That's such a stunningly emotional performance was two weeks ago, "The Legend of Love." She has not been on for a long time, everyone misses her, the hall is overbooked, the author himself, Yuri Nikolayevich Grigorovich, is present. I danced Mekhmene Banu, and Anastasia Stashkevich performed the role of Shirin in our line-up for the first time. Maybe in connection with this there were more rehearsals than usual, we all tried to support Nastya so that she was comfortable, not scared, not excited.
But of course, the world premiere is something special. Preparing a work that is specially conceived for the Bolshoi Theater, no one has danced it before you, is always an interesting, although sometimes unbearably difficult process. It is important that the artist fulfills the task of the choreographer by 200 percent, and does not complain: oh, it hurts here, it’s uncomfortable, I don’t like it ...
Choreographer-producer Yuri Posokhov was engaged in the selection of artists. I already had the good fortune to work with him, to make completely new productions from scratch - “Magrittomania”, “Cinderella” ... Therefore, I accepted his choice of role unconditionally. Although, when the compositions were hung up - Bela, Ondine, Princess Mary, Vera - some soloists were upset: why not me - Princess Mary? Yura answered: Yes, this princess was given to you, your parties will be much more interesting, believe me. Moreover, Pechorin never loved her ... Of course, it was a risk and courage - it seems to me that no one had tried to interpret Lermontov in ballet language before. I think it turned out very well.
- Many were surprised that in addition to the choreographer, the director Kirill Serebrennikov was also listed as the director.
Kirill did not interfere in the technical part of the ballet. I just aspired to have more continuous action, and not just a series of concert numbers. He suggested some things of an emotional nature to me - where to make it sharper, where it is more romantic ...
- In my opinion, you, an energetic and active person, are closer to the first.
Many people think so. That is why, for example, I danced Giselle later than Swan Lake or Don Quixote. Although it is usually the other way around, this performance is considered less difficult. There really is no super technique, crazy spins, as in other performances. But its complexity is of a different kind - emotional. At the age of 18, you won’t understand this, you won’t feel it. My teacher Tatyana Nikolaevna Golikova and I dreamed that I would perform in Giselle, but the dream came true after Tatyana Nikolaevna died ...
Many admirers, not doubting my technique, but knowing my temperament, feared: well, how will not a modest peasant girl, but the mistress of the Willys Mirtha herself, come out of Giselle's house. And they were delighted - I managed to break the stereotype, to prove that I can be a romantic ballerina. By the way, my mother, Lyudmila Valentinovna Shipulina, received the Moscow Prize in Literature and Art in 1993 for her performance of the part of Giselle.
Previously, it happened that Odette and Odile in Swan Lake were danced by different ballerinas, these are so dissimilar roles.
Well, it's been gone for a long time. Although people who are not too close to ballet still sometimes ask: what kind of swan are you dancing, white or black? And they are very surprised when they hear: both. In fact, the ballerina in "Swan" is checked precisely according to the "white" act. Of course, it is also important to purely "roll" the fouette in the part of Odile, but the main difficulties - the detachment of the image, the "melodiousness" of the hands - this is all Odette. Have you ever seen swans in your life? This is a big, bold, even aggressive bird. And after all, she, Odette, proved her strength, saved Siegfried. In fact, she couldn't save herself.
Does a lot depend on the prima in the theater? For example, can you approach the general director and ask yourself this or that performance?
The theater is a very large and complex mechanism. We have 10 prims, if everyone comes up and puts forward their demands, no repertoire will be enough. Of course, the artistic director of the ballet tries to make everyone happy. But if, for example, "Swan" this month and next, then it is not possible for one ballerina to dance both performances: others also have the right to this role. But you are provided with a variety: after the "Swan" there will be "Spartak", then "Giselle" ...
- Could you dance more outside the Bolshoi Theatre?
No matter how pathetic it sounds, I am a patriot of the Bolshoi. So we were taught from childhood: native theater is an absolute priority in life. But, of course, I go out, dance in different parts of the world, one of my recent serious, big works is Anna Karenina with the troupe of Boris Eifman.
- Have you ever danced at the Mariinsky Theatre?
At visiting performances of the Bolshoi. And in their own productions, they do not invite us very much. More of their artists come to us. Almost half of St. Petersburg primaries work for us.
- They say that St. Petersburg is stronger with technology, and Moscow with emotional spontaneity.
In my opinion, this is a myth. Moscow artists possess both the highest level of technique and emotional expressiveness. God forbid the Petersburgers have one. Maybe something is changing with the arrival of Nikolai Maksimovich Tsiskaridze at the Vaganova Academy? I studied in his class and I know how demanding he is. I wish him to add Moscow excitement to the measured St. Petersburg ballet life.
The world of ballet is beautiful with its artistic results, but sometimes such passions boil inside - they can splash acid in the face.
The ballet age is short. If dramatic artists have the opportunity to extend it with age roles, then we have it tough: 20 years old, and you are retiring. I want to dance as much as possible during this time, work with different choreographers, travel around the world. From such stress - psychological breakdowns, trauma. You may not realize how tired your body is and needs rest. It hurts - anointed, made an injection, bandaged and went to dance.
Have you been injured too?
Once in the first act of "Spartacus" I am lying on the floor after my solo, my partner has to run up to pick me up - but he runs up so unsuccessfully that he jumps right into my arm. On a moral and strong-willed effort, she danced the performance - after all, an arm is not a leg, and again the author, Yuri Nikolayevich Grigorovich, is in the hall. And after I found out: a fracture. Then the whole vacation (it was the last performance of the season) I went with plaster. And another time at a rehearsal, I landed badly after a jump, and an injured knee put me out of action for 13 months.
And what about classic theatrical meanness, like glass marbles under your feet, like in the movie Showgirls?
It's more of a legend. In my lifetime, if something like this happened, then, of course, not by someone's malicious intent, but by accident. A real case: a ballerina's beads broke on stage, and then I go out. Luckily, the stage is tilted and it all quickly rolled down to the orchestra pit. I don’t believe that some artist can deliberately cut your ribbon on pointe shoes or spill a puddle on stage. Before going out to the audience, all thoughts are only about one thing - how to perform worthily yourself.
Nikolai Tsiskaridze (perhaps jokingly?) explained his injury by the intrigues of the Queen of Spades, who de revenged for the invasion of her fate in the performance of Roland Petit.
I don't believe in magic either. For example, I danced "Notre Dame Cathedral" by the same Petit, where they hang me on the gallows. In Giselle, each of us dies so many times... So what?
The fact that ballet is beautiful, but cruel, can be seen in the ballerinas themselves. From afar, everything is unthinkably beautiful, but close up you see emaciated faces and legs with twisted, broken fingers. But not you! How did you manage to save the beauty?
Thanks to nature, parents. But of course, you also need to do something yourself. By the way, take care of your face last. While you do all the rehabilitation procedures - you go to a massage therapist, or to an osteopath, if something has flown out and moved out somewhere, or you swim in the pool, warm up in the sauna or just sit in the bath at home - there is simply not enough time for the rest and forces. The best medicine is just sleep, but it is sorely lacking.
And returning to emaciated faces is not only from the hardships of the profession. More important is the character, which with age more and more affects the appearance.
- Judging by your fresh smiling face, you have an excellent character.
Not complaining!
- Is your twin sister also in ballet?
No, although we are from a ballet family. Anya is only 15 minutes older, but we are completely different characters. If I am active, then she is much calmer. But when your parents are dancers, there is practically no choice. In any case, Anya and I were not particularly asked who we want to be when we were taken to the Perm Choreographic School. As a child, I had neither skates nor a bicycle - my mother believed that the wrong muscles were growing from them.
She categorically refused to give me to figure skating - only ballet. It can be said that ballet children have no childhood at all ... Then their parents were invited to Moscow, to the theater named after Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko. Naturally, they took us with them, together we passed the selection to the Moscow Choreographic Academy, but then my sister said that she had had enough of ballet. She studied at GITIS as a producer, now she is raising her daughter.
- The New Year is coming, why are you not on the poster of the most fabulous performance in the world - The Nutcracker?
I participated in it when I first came to the corps de ballet. Then a couple of years was in the six soloists. Then the Nutcrackers did not start on December 18, as they do now, but right from the 1st. Two performances a day! That is, there could be up to 30 pieces, despite the fact that you had to work in other performances. I danced this waltz for the rest of my life.
But Masha, unfortunately, did not have a chance to cook. My height is seventy-five meters, but for some reason it is generally accepted that Masha should be just an inch ... But when for the rest of the artists from mid-December to mid-January comes a hellish suffering with these "Nutcrackers"-twins, then I have a period of calm . Now, for example, before the New Year, I have only one “Light Stream” left to dance, and the next performance, “Swan Lake”, is already in January. I can enjoy the preparation for the holiday, meetings with friends, trips to drama theaters, cinema, exhibitions. Yes, just read on the couch.
- But you are dancing Sleeping Beauty. This is also a fairy tale, why is it not put on the poster for the New Year?
Don't know. It's a great show though. And Cinderella was an amazing production, but it's not on now. "Cipollino" has been removed from the repertoire... In general, there are a number of performances, one might say, mandatory for the theater of the Bolshoi level, but "La Bayadere" has not been shown for two seasons. "Corsair" is not season three. And when was the last time "Raymond" was on, I can't even remember. But perhaps my prayers have been heard? It seems that since February La Bayadère, Le Corsaire and Raymonda have been in our repertoire again.
- It's no secret - your friendship with pianist Denis Matsuev. Did you meet at a creative project?
No, just at the opening of a restaurant with mutual friends.
- But did you have a joint performance?
Yes, in the project of the American producer Sergei Danilyan "Reflections". There are 5 ballerinas, each one has a number assigned by one of the 5 choreographers. My number was put by Canadian Azur Barton. The pianist on the stage plays Tchaikovsky's "Dumka", he is the same participant in the composition as the ballerina.
After the American premiere, we showed a performance in Moscow, and then Sergey said: it would be great if Denis played ... I promised to ask - and unexpectedly Denis answered that on Saturday he would “get to run”. Of course, there was no time left for the rehearsal, we were only able to try a little bit before going on stage. The pace at which we danced, Denis called "mournful" and categorically stated: "I will play as it is written by Tchaikovsky." I had to mobilize my body. But what a surprise for the public!
Imagine, the lights are completely turned off in front of the number, and now the spotlight highlights the pianist, then the ballerina comes out. Denis was not on the poster, but of course he was immediately recognized, there was a buzz, applause broke out. Already a success! Moreover, I danced three times faster than it was set.
- And they didn’t argue, didn’t say that you were uncomfortable?
Why download rights? I remember the answer of Gennady Nikolayevich Rozhdestvensky, who conducted The Nutcrackers with us, to one ballerina who asked: maestro, could you play my variation more slowly, I don’t have time. He told her: if you can't dance, goodbye, Tchaikovsky will manage without you.
- Where will you celebrate the New Year?
We have been meeting him together for many years in Irkutsk, Denis's homeland, at his traditional New Year's festival. And this time there will be music, dance, obligatory diving in Baikal.
- In the hole?!
And what? A wonderful tradition. Especially for me, who was born in the Urals, where the winter is stronger than in Moscow. You get such a boost of energy that you have enough for the whole year. I can’t imagine a New Year’s holiday under palm trees. Thanks to Denis, a huge number of musicians and ballet people have already passed this Siberian baptism.
- What do you expect from next year?
As they say, if you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans ... In our crazy world, everything changes so quickly that planning is unrealistic. The most important thing is health. If a year has passed for a ballet person without illnesses and injuries, consider it already successful.
The outstanding pianist Denis Matsuev spoke about his daughter Anna, who was born to him in October 2016 by the ballerina Ekaterina Shipulina.
Dmitry Matsuev rarely advertises his personal life. A little over a year ago, the pianist became a father for the first time. The wife of the musician, prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Theater and Honored Artist of Russia, Ekaterina Shipulina, gave birth to his daughter Anna. Denis said that his successor, at the age of one and a half years, already loves classical works and conducts with ease.
« Your child is a miracle. I regret that I have so much work to do and I can't spend more time with her. I have never canceled a single concert in my life, however, I communicate with Anna Denisovna through modern devices. Every meeting with her is a volcano of emotions.", - said Denis.
According to the musician, the daughter fell in love with classical music from birth. " She was only a month old when she froze from Stravinsky. She is now five years old. Watching a child develop is very interesting.", - said Denis.
Matsuev noted that their parents help him and Ekaterina in raising their daughter. " We have wonderful grandparents. It is impossible to explain in words how much they love Anna Denisovna. By my example, I can say for sure that being parents is one feeling. But when grandchildren appear, there is already another love. Grandparents buy all the children's things, when we come to another country, the first thing they run to the store", - said Matsuev.
Denis admitted that he became a father at the age of forty. The birth of a long-awaited daughter completely changed his life and worldview. According to the musician, he does not feel his age at all. The only thing the pianist regrets is that he did not know the joy of fatherhood earlier.
« I play the piano, and she is already starting to conduct to the beat! And what? Now it's fashionable to be a female conductor”, Denis shared.
Matsuev noted that the emotions from the birth of the first child at the age of forty are difficult to convey in words. However, he does not intend to leave the stage. For a pianist, performing in front of an audience is an integral part of his life.
« I have a flight every day and a concert every day! The stage is the most magical place on earth for me. I give myself to people, and in return I get a fantastic flow. He heals me, a real charge of electricity that you", - said Matsuev.
Ballerina Date of birth November 14 (Scorpio) 1979 (39) Place of birth Perm Instagram @primabalerina
Ekaterina Shipulina is a famous ballerina, the leading soloist of the Bolshoi Theatre. The girl, despite such an “airy” profession, is a real extreme. She loves water skiing and ice skating. Among other sports, tennis stands out - it happens quite often on the court - and football. She regularly visits fitness rooms, although with her daily loads one can only dream of being overweight.
Biography of Ekaterina Shipulina
Ekaterina Valentinovna was born in one of the Perm maternity hospitals on a cold November 1979. The baby's mother, Lyudmila Shipulina, performed on the stage of the Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre, so the girl's future was a foregone conclusion from the moment she was born.
Little Katya almost did not see caresses from her mother. And this is not surprising, since the woman devoted almost all her energy and time to her students and performances. She was more than critical of her daughter and never let her relax.
Incessant pain for ballerinas is a familiar state in which they are constantly. And for Katya, she also became a part of life. The girl was by nature very hardworking and even being very young showed promise.
Catherine has a twin sister. In 1898, they passed the entrance examinations to the Perm Ballet School together and entered. Later, her sister quit ballet, unable to withstand the strongest emotional and physical stress, but Catherine herself continued to work on herself and her body, moving towards her goal.
In 1994, she entered the Moscow Choreographic Academy and after 4 years graduated with honors. The graduation number was the party from the ballet "Le Corsaire".
The stage of the Bolshoi Theater became the place of work of Ekaterina Shipulina as a ballerina. A year after the start of her dancing career, she goes to the international ballet competition, held in Luxembourg, and takes 2nd place there. This is the first honorary "silver" among her many awards.
The girl does not linger on the achieved result and continues to work on herself. With each new performance, she rises one step higher on her career ladder. And now she is already the Queen in the ball "Fantasy on the theme of Casanova." Further, her track record is replenished with "Sylphide", "Humpbacked Horse", where the ballerina shines in the part of the Tsar Maiden. Shipulina so skillfully conveys all the feelings and emotions of her hero that it is almost impossible not to believe in the recreated image and plot.
Personal life of Ekaterina Shipulina
In the personal life of Ekaterina Valentinovna, for the past 10 years there has been only one man. This is a talented pianist, whose concert schedule is more than saturated - Denis Matsuev. Young people are considered the most stable couple in the theatrical scene.
This year they became young parents. Not so long ago, Catherine had a daughter.
