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Maria Kochetkova


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We on the West Coast are going to miss her, but at least we can still follow her on Instagram. I was looking through her instagram for a particular fashion photo and discovered there's a whole subgenre of Maria selfies where's she's in full performance regalia, tutu and all, but flaked out on the floor or couch. I love how down-to-earth these photos are. I saw her in Theme and Variations a few days after she posted this photo and had a greater appreciation for the enormous amount of energy required to dance that piece.

I finally found the photo I was looking for of her wearing impossibly huge unballerina shoes -- great street style!

And then, a recent fashion photo of her in Moscow:

 

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On 6/9/2018 at 2:15 PM, Quinten said:

We on the West Coast are going to miss her, but at least we can still follow her on Instagram. I was looking through her instagram for a particular fashion photo and discovered there's a whole subgenre of Maria selfies where's she's in full performance regalia, tutu and all, but flaked out on the floor or couch. I love how down-to-earth these photos are. I saw her in Theme and Variations a few days after she posted this photo and had a greater appreciation for the enormous amount of energy required to dance that piece.

The best 'diary of a ballet dancer' in existence. You're right that there are various sub-genres/themes that come up from time to time. The "slumped on couch or floor" images are very numerous.

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Here's the "floating in midair" theme:

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There's the neon green coat that appears in many photos. She also wears her Golden State Warriors basketball outfit (or just the shorts) in a number of photos.

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And of course, the crazy shoes and eye glasses:

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As far as people are concerned, there are many photos with Sebastien Kloborg, Paul Lightfoot, Daniil Simkin, Joaquin De Luz and Polina Semionova.

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There are a number of photos of Masha "with funny look on her face" while sitting beside someone else:

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A few of my all-time favorites -

'Masha Meets the Alps'
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Masha at Joshua Tree

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Winter - Skodsborg, Denmark

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Masha dressing as Yayoi Kusama with Henry the Lion


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The Academy New York

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Masha at Alcatraz Island for Ai Weiwei art exhibit

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Edited by pherank
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Press release from THE NORWEGIAN NATIONAL OPERA & BALLET

Maria Kochetkova to star with the The Norwegian National Ballet

 

One of the world’s leading ballerinas will be dancing with The Norwegian National Ballet from next season.

 

– There is no doubt that Maria Kochetkova is one of the world’s leading ballerinas and she is a unique artist with a distinctive style. It is really a feather in our cap that she has chosen to dance with our company, says Ballet Director Ingrid Lorentzen.

 

Maria Kochetkova was awarded with the Positano Prize as “Ballerina of the Year” in 2017. She will now become principal guest artist with The Norwegian National Ballet and will this autumn dance the leading roles in Manon and Swan Lake in Oslo.

I’m looking forward to be performing with The Norwegian National Ballet in some of their productions next season including Manon which has always been a dream of mine, says Kochetkova.

 

The Russian Maria Kochetkova has danced with some of the biggest and most renowned companies including: The Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and most recently she was a principal with San Francisco Ballet. She has also guested companies and stages around the world. She is known for taking on the big classical roles as well as working with choreographers on new pieces. She is a major profile known also for her sense of style and has been involved in both music- and design videos. Just last week she was awarded the Positano Benois-Massine Prize, her most recent of a long line of international awards.

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Masha finally posted a reference to her new arrangement:

Season 2018/19
"I’m looking forward to be performing with Norwegian National Ballet @operaen_ in some of their productions next season including Manon which has always been a dream of mine."
https://www.instagram.com/p/BkOlxbYh0wX/?taken-by=balletrusse

"Some of" makes it sound like this is a special arrangement - she may get to be choosy about what she participates in. I also wonder if in 2020 she'll spend the season with a different company…

 

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It's still mystifying to me why she left SFB. She was able to be a principal with ABT & SFB and amazingly enough do guesting, so it seems she was able to do lots of other things while at SFB. I guess I'll never know. I only saw her at ABT and liked her - didn't love her, but she is an exceptionally accomplished dancer. I hope she finds what she is looking for at this stage i her career.

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6 hours ago, vipa said:

It's still mystifying to me why she left SFB. She was able to be a principal with ABT & SFB and amazingly enough do guesting, so it seems she was able to do lots of other things while at SFB. I guess I'll never know. I only saw her at ABT and liked her - didn't love her, but she is an exceptionally accomplished dancer. I hope she finds what she is looking for at this stage i her career.

If you think about it, this is the perfect time to make a major change:

Physically she's at her peak, and she's developed an international reputation.
She's 34 years old.
Her favorite partners at SFB and ABT have retired or moved on.
Her marriage seems to have ended.
Her best friends and new favored dance partners seem to be located in Europe.
Her close family in Russia are not young, and I think she wants to be able to spend more time with them.

I don't think there were any hard feelings about leaving SFB - it was just something she needed to do. However, I'm pretty sure it wasn't her idea to leave ABT. The New York audience just didn't care enough, her good friend Daniil Simkin was leaving for Berlin, and the ABT senior staff has been under a lot of pressure to promote in-house dancers (for good reason). I think they wanted that principal position back. It's a hard business.

I've followed her career long enough to know a couple of things about Masha: she's not one to keep banging her head against the wall if something isn't working - she just moves on to something that does work. And, she never forgets the people who helped her along the way - she's very loyal to them. Masha won't forget how Tomasson helped to develop her career. But it's been 11 years and now is the best time to make a move as she's not getting any younger. I wish her good fortune.

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16 hours ago, pherank said:

If you think about it, this is the perfect time to make a major change:

Physically she's at her peak, and she's developed an international reputation.
She's 34 years old.
Her favorite partners at SFB and ABT have retired or moved on.
Her marriage seems to have ended.
Her best friends and new favored dance partners seem to be located in Europe.
Her close family in Russia are not young, and I think she wants to be able to spend more time with them.

I don't think there were any hard feelings about leaving SFB - it was just something she needed to do. However, I'm pretty sure it wasn't her idea to leave ABT. The New York audience just didn't care enough, her good friend Daniil Simkin was leaving for Berlin, and the ABT senior staff has been under a lot of pressure to promote in-house dancers (for good reason). I think they wanted that principal position back. It's a hard business.

I've followed her career long enough to know a couple of things about Masha: she's not one to keep banging her head against the wall if something isn't working - she just moves on to something that does work. And, she never forgets the people who helped her along the way - she's very loyal to them. Masha won't forget how Tomasson helped to develop her career. But it's been 11 years and now is the best time to make a move as she's not getting any younger. I wish her good fortune.

That all make sense, and she certainly has an international reputation to draw upon. I am one of those New Yorkers who never really warmed to her, but I admired her dancing and am sure she will be very successful.

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On 6/24/2018 at 2:31 AM, pherank said:

I don't think there were any hard feelings about leaving SFB - it was just something she needed to do. However, I'm pretty sure it wasn't her idea to leave ABT. The New York audience just didn't care enough, her good friend Daniil Simkin was leaving for Berlin, and the ABT senior staff has been under a lot of pressure to promote in-house dancers (for good reason). I think they wanted that principal position back. It's a hard business.

 

Yeah she came to ABT at the wrong time. Audiences were growing extremely frustrated by the revolving door of Russian guest artist imports at that point, especially because so many of them had cancelled performances (ie Semionova). Then Kochetkova missed two big performances at the Met: Giselle and Swan Lake (both of which Sarah Lane subbed in last minute and excelled). So ABT realized they didn't need her. Rightly so. 

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7 hours ago, Fleurfairy said:

Yeah she came to ABT at the wrong time. Audiences were growing extremely frustrated by the revolving door of Russian guest artist imports at that point, especially because so many of them had cancelled performances (ie Semionova). Then Kochetkova missed two big performances at the Met: Giselle and Swan Lake (both of which Sarah Lane subbed in last minute and excelled). So ABT realized they didn't need her. Rightly so. 

ABT's lack of faith in their home-grown performers is the stuff of legends. I was never interested in the 'star system', myself. I'm more drawn to companies that have developed their own sort of community.

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The Royal Ballet in London is a superb and excellent example of how to! I was in London for a while during the last months of their 2017-18Season. Impressive how the Director Mr Kevin O'Hare develops/has developed his home-grown talent! So many of their fabulous dancers have come straight out of the Company School, and the audience go crazy about them.  Now there is a fabulous Company which flourishes through great career development of their home-grown/RBSchool trained talent. Barely any Guest dancer is coming in (unless totally necessary). I have the greatest admiration for UK's top ballet company.

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52 minutes ago, Katia Kapustin said:

The Royal Ballet in London is a superb and excellent example of how to! I was in London for a while during the last months of their 2017-18Season. Impressive how the Director Mr Kevin O'Hare develops/has developed his home-grown talent! So many of their fabulous dancers have come straight out of the Company School, and the audience go crazy about them.  Now there is a fabulous Company which flourishes through great career development of their home-grown/RBSchool trained talent. Barely any Guest dancer is coming in (unless totally necessary). I have the greatest admiration for UK's top ballet company.

Except Kochetkova was ignored in the company when she was there, though that may  have been before O'Hare arrived.

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40 minutes ago, Katia Kapustin said:

WHEN was Kochetkova at the RB? Did she train at the Company School? Was she a home-grown talent? (as that is what I am talking about here above) 

 Certainly not since Mr Kevin O'Hare is Director.

A long time ago...she was at both Royal Ballet and ENB. I remember some comments she made about the time she wasted in the ENB corps:

http://mariakochetkova.com/biography/

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25 minutes ago, Helene said:

This also means they'll be dancing in Mexico this weekend in Isaac Hernandez' show.

Life after Tokyo - means life in Mexico:

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My guess regarding Kochetkova's RB and ENB experiences - they didn't feel she was a good fit as a Corps dancer, and it may well have been her "look" and size. The big ballet companies expect a certain uniformity and style from their Corps dancers, and I can believe Ms. K did not have a Royal Ballet look. But if she hadn't gone to RB, she would never have met Christopher Wheeldon, (and others) who helped shape her career...

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