Yulia Stepanova
I just signed onto Ballet Alert because I saw no topic on Yulia Stepanova. Being a ballet fan in my 70s, I was introduced to Ballet Alert by a friend, just as I was introduced by a friend to the marvelous Youtube videos which introduced me to an amazing young ballerina, Yulia Stepanova.
I had no ballet training, but before my 20th birthday in 1961, a friend invited me to my first ballet performance. It was the Kirov Ballet dancing Swan Lake in their first visit to the USA. I fell in love with
Yulia Stepanova had a great success today in her debut as Mekhmene Banu in A Legend of Love at the historic Bolshoi Theatre. Her Queen was elegant, showing beautiful lines in the many sculptural poses and lifts, but also strong and regal. Her hands and arms in all the oriental gestures were expressive, and accenting the music with dynamism where needed. This was a STRONG performance indeed, but also a Queen of subtle emotion, giving a real sense of tragedy at the loss of her beauty in exchang