Unlikely Lopatkina

[Drew]

The link below takes one to a Russian Talk show. From 14:47 to the very end, Lopatkina is the guest. I don't know Russian, but watched anyway--it seemed very much in a Lettermanish spirit except perhaps a tad more respectful of Lopatkina as Prima Ballerina of the Mariinsky (that much I could translate).

She was wearing a stunning (I thought) gown and at about 23:20 she goes out onto the floor for mostly comical kibbitzing with the host, as she shows him port de bras, though also, a bit later, she dances a very brief port-de-bras centric solo in which she dances like...well...like Lopatkina, thought it was just arms and a bit of a back bend. At the end, the host escorts her onto the street (it's raining too, so he holds an umbrella over her head) and into a bakery where they get some pastry. I thought that touch was very Letterman.

Here is the link...

http://mlik.ru//vecherniy-urgant/ulyana-lopatkina

If anyone is interested and watches who DOES know Russian, it would be great to learn a little about what they actually said. Of course, Lopatkina is no giddy comedian (!), but she does seem relaxed, laughs, and even gets some laughs as well.

[Mathilde K]

Lopatkina was very cautious and kept herself at a distance throughout, I didn't get an impression she enjoys or even watches similar shows herself. Ivan Urgant tried to be as courteous and mild spoken as he could. He began by presenting a photograph showing Lopatkina as a small child, simultaneously asking the audience how it was possible to guess in that photograph a future great ballerina. At this point she related an incident from her early childhood. Once, when her mother was not at home, Ulyana put her mother's dress on, got an LP with music by Bach, and while she was turning on the floor to Bach's music her mother arrived, startled by what she saw. That, Lopatkina said, was probably when her mother got an idea to commit her daughter to musical and ballet instruction.

What followed was less interesting and quite predictable. Urgant asked Lopatkina whether and how did she distinguish ballet dancers on the street. Her answer was obvious. Then, he asked how did she prepare a new pair of pointes. She explained the essentially standard process with some details like holding the pointes over a boiling kettle before putting them on for the first time. Next, he asked her to show him the pose of a Black Swan. Afterwards, he pretended to take her by surprise and asked her to improvise anything she liked. She said she would dance Piazzola's Oblivion. He finished by taking Lopatkina to a nearby place selling donuts and ordered 8 donuts for her and for himself.

[Drew]

Lopatkina was very cautious and kept herself at a distance throughout, I didn't get an impression she enjoys or even watches similar shows herself. Ivan Urgant tried to be as courteous and mild spoken as he could. He began by presenting a photograph showing Lopatkina as a small child, simultaneously asking the audience how it was possible to guess in that photograph a future great ballerina. At this point she related an incident from her early childhood. Once, when her mother was not at home, Ulyana put her mother's dress on, got an LP with music by Bach, and while she was turning on the floor to Bach's music her mother arrived, startled by what she saw. That, Lopatkina said, was probably when her mother got an idea to commit her daughter to musical and ballet instruction.

What followed was less interesting and quite predictable. Urgant asked Lopatkina whether and how did she distinguish ballet dancers on the street. Her answer was obvious. Then, he asked how did she prepare a new pair of pointes. She explained the essentially standard process with some details like holding the pointes over a boiling kettle before putting them on for the first time. Next, he asked her to show him the pose of a Black Swan. Afterwards, he pretended to take her by surprise and asked her to improvise anything she liked. She said she would dance Piazzola's Oblivion. He finished by taking Lopatkina to a nearby place selling donuts and ordered 8 donuts for her and for himself.

Thank you very much Mathilde K. I adore Lopatkina - though I have only seen her live a handful of times - and I sort of enjoyed watching her in an unusual setting. But I appreciate that this is not really her 'scene' so to speak (nor should it be).

[Mathilde K]

For me, Ulyana Lopatkina exemplifies how to remain a Great Artist in the age when banality and vulgarity are invading every sphere of public space and discourse. In the latter I see, perhaps, the greatest danger for a classically trained dancer today: daily exposure and contact with banality and vulgarity that surround the modern man on every side. Many, by a combination of very hard work, an internal drive, and a steely will, are still able to acquire levels of technical and athletic skill that are comparable or exceed those of the best dancers of the past. They rigorously cultivate their body often unaware that they have also serious obligations towards their "soul". If they aspire to be great artists, of course. They should care about their "soul" as they care about their body, cultivate it daily, develop, and protect it from harmful influences. Lopatkina has been consciously doing this since her school years, and we can see it when she is on stage.

[Stage Right]

For me, Ulyana Lopatkina exemplifies how to remain a Great Artist in the age when banality and vulgarity are invading every sphere of public space and discourse. In the latter I see, perhaps, the greatest danger for a classically trained dancer today: daily exposure and contact with banality and vulgarity that surround the modern man on every side. Many, by a combination of very hard work, an internal drive, and a steely will, are still able to acquire levels of technical and athletic skill that are comparable to those of the best dancers of the past. They rigorously cultivate their body often unaware that they have also serious obligations towards their "soul". If they aspire to be great artists, of course. They should care about their "soul" as they care about their body, cultivate it daily, develop, and protect it from harmful influences. Lopatkina has been consciously doing this since her school years, and we can see it when she is on stage.

Beautifully stated! And I am glad there are some great ballerinas who DO "cultivate their soul". Not so easy to do in today's world.