anink

Please,enough already. A lot of dancers smoke. The late Ekaterina Maximova smoked all her life and to me one smoking Maximova is worth a hundred non-smoking dancers. It's a bad habit but it's a personal choice.Do I need to mention all the great dancers(living & dead) who smoke or smoked like Eric Brun,Baryshnikov,Ruzimatov etc. Don't put performers on piedestal because they are great artists.Admire them for their art and leave them alone otherwise.

What happened? Where is she now?

Thank you for explaining about this special performance.

Regardless of the interaction between two prima balerinas I am puzzled why Makarova was coaching Lopatkina at all.Uliana has a coach at the theatre( Irina Chistiakova)and it certainly wasn't her debut in this part.She's been dancing Swan Lake for years by now and is considered one of the great interpeters of the role.I am not saying that there's no room for improvement or that she can't incorporate some of Makarova's corrections into her performances, but they are two totally different dancers and as Makarova was one of the greatest O/O of her generation, so is Lopatkina of hers.They both graduated from Dudinskaya's class more than 30 years apart and times do change. Artistry and dedication are constant,but approach and interpretations have a right to be different. By the way nowhere in Makarova's autobiography there are unflattering words about Dudinskaya, who was one of the greatest Russian dancers of all times,Vaganova's favorite student and one of the best teachers at Vaganova school and a great coach at the theatre.Dudinskaya was very strict to Makarova but never stifle her individuality.There were lots of things that Dudunskaya can be accused of,but she was good to Makarova( see pages 50,51,52).

Tatiana Terehova-Berezhnaya who coaches Alina Somova now,though a magnifisent Myrta,in fact one of Mariinsky's greatest,second only to Alla Shelest,did dance Giselle towards the end of her career and was a lovely one.In early nineties she appeared as Giselle during Mariinsky tour at the Kennedy Center.

Tatiana Terehova-Berezhnaya who now coaches Alina Somova was one of Mariinsky's greatest Myrtas,second only to Alla Shelest, but closer to the end of her career she did in fact dance Giselle and was quite a lovely one,though in all probability inferior to her own Myrta.As Giselle she appeared at the Kennedy Center in 1991 or 1992( don't remember tge exact year ).

Tatiana Terehova-Berezhnaya who now coaches Alina Somova was one of the greatest Myrtas of the Mariinsky,only second to Alla Shelest. But closer to end of her tenure with the Mariinsky she did dance Giselle and appeared in this part at the Kennedy Center in the early nineties(c.1991 or1992) and was quite a lovely Giselle,though most likely inferior to her own Myrta.