Hello fellow Ballet Lovers! The Mariinsky ballet website has a new dancer listed as a first soloist. https://www.mariinsky.ru/en/company/ballet/soloists/
Elena Svinko has joined and previously danced with the Mikhailovsky Ballet as a soloist and the Krasnoyarsk Ballet. https://www.mariinsky.ru/en/company/ballet/soloists/first_soloists/dancers1/svinko_elena1/ After watching a few Youtube videos of Elena, I see that she is a very talented dancer who has won numerous awards. While I do not want to detract from her excellent abilities, I wonder why management chose to hire her rather than promote from within. I have no doubt she will make an excellent addition, but there are several second soloists deserving of a promotion. Perhaps more promotions will be made soon.