Alina Somova is no longer listed on Mariinsky Website.

[KathyKat]

I just looked at the Mariinsky website and Alina Somova is missing. Did she retire? Was she injured? Can anyone who knows what has happened please reply. She is one of my favorite dancers of all time. Thank you. 

[Mashinka]

Most likely a web site error.

[KathyKat]

I sincerely hope you are right. 🤞

[Fosca]

Is it possible that she moved to Ananiashvili's Georgia State Ballet, like choreographer Ilya Jivoy and ex-Stanislavsky dancer Laura Fernandez-Gromova?

[naomikage]

At least Somova has not been on the Mariinsky Stage for a long time and has been guesting at State Ballet of Georgia joining in Jivoy’s creation Carmina Burana and even joining their tour overseas to Italy in December. 
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CkYd-6WDxVL/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

You can see on her instagram that she has a Georgian name. (Her husband is from Georgia)

also she was supposed to appear in a benefit gala in Zurich to support Ukrainian people with the dancers that left Russia. 
https://www.ballettohnegrenzen.ch/#Cast-2

 

 

[Drew]

5 hours ago, naomikage said:

At least Somova has not been on the Mariinsky Stage for a long time and has been guesting at State Ballet of Georgia joining in Jivoy’s creation Carmina Burana and even joining their tour overseas to Italy in December. 
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CkYd-6WDxVL/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

You can see on her instagram that she has a Georgian name. (Her husband is from Georgia)

also she was supposed to appear in a benefit gala in Zurich to support Ukrainian people with the dancers that left Russia. 
https://www.ballettohnegrenzen.ch/#Cast-2

 

 

Thank you--I had no idea of any of this. Huge Brava from me! (Oh and the one time I saw her dance live -- in Little Humpbacked Horse--I thought she was delightful!)

 

[Buddy]

She is indeed a wonderful ballerina, one of my favorites over the years, who had a wonderful career at the Mariinsky. Everyone has to follow their convictions in their own way. I wish her well.

[volcanohunter]

It is a little surprising given that Somova had not previously given indications of political dissent. I remember an election-day TV report a few years ago in which she extolled the benefits of stability. But when political forces, which engage in repression and tight control in the name of stability, unleash global instability, the honest thing to do is to reevaluate and change one's position.

(Regardless, I still detest her dancing and find her utterly unwatchable. )

[MadameP]

11 hours ago, Buddy said:

She is indeed a wonderful ballerina, one of my favorites over the years, who had a wonderful career at the Mariinsky. Everyone has to follow their convictions in their own way. I wish her well.

I, too, wish her well.  I saw her dance many times over the years and loved her dancing.

 

[Buddy]

6 hours ago, MadameP said:

I, too, wish her well.  I saw her dance many times over the years and loved her dancing.

 

Hi, MadameP.

Her loveliness captured me right from the beginning. Her extensions were always a topic of discussion. They didn’t really over affect me one way or the other and I think that as time went on she placed less emphasis on them. What did affect me was her remarkable gracefulness. She glided through the air like a gazelle. She can change her focus from performance to performance, but when she concentrates on pure gracefulness she can be as fine as any ballerina today.

Not only that, but she can combine this with outstanding characterisation. I saw her dance Fokine’s Swan, which requires both, and it was Exceptional. Another example is her dancing of Alexei Ratmansky’s Cinderella. For me, this is a piece that requires an excellent Cinderella to make it work. Diana Vishneva was the first. Being very hard shoes to fill, Alina Somova was the next.

As a person, I once read that she was exiting on a very rainy evening from a performance. Some children were gathered asking for autographs. All the other dancers rushed by to get on the bus. She stayed out in the pouring rain to sign their programs.

 

[cubanmiamiboy]

19 hours ago, volcanohunter said:

Regardless, I still detest her dancing and find her utterly unwatchable. 

Ditto