I watched videos of Lada Sartakova when she was very young, and was somewhat horrified when she was dancing en pointe so early. I was happy and relieved when she was accepted at Vaganova. At that time, one of the mothers had permission to videotape classes, exams and in-house recitals, so it was interesting to follow the progression of many of the young dancers each year. Eventually Tsiskaridze put an end to that, but in the years that followed I avidly watched the graduation performances at the Mariinsky to see how they had progressed, who was chosen by the Mariinsky, and how their careers developed. Today, as I scan the list of Mariinsky corps members , I see many names of dancers that had leading roles at Vaganova performances and have languished in the corps ever since. I am sure Lada was devastated when she was not accepted at the Mariinsky last year, however at the Primorsky over the last year, she has danced many roles – Masha in The Nutcracker, Gulnara in Corsaire, Princess Florine in Sleeping Beauty and others. On September 9th, she is debuting as Princess Aurora in Sleeping Beauty. Since dancers put up with years of grueling training because they want to dance – I would say she came out the winner!!!
