Backstage with the Bolshoi

Backstage with the Bolshoi Martin von den Driesch

Backstage with the Bolshoi Martin von den Driesch

Backstage with the Bolshoi Martin von den Driesch

Imprint: Photography and concept: Martin von den Driesch Project manager: Yulia Kim Editor: Robin Munro Book design & typesetting: Bernd Neubauer Color corrections: Jan Scheffler Text: Raymond Stults Proofreading: Helen Wing & Richard Spencer Printing: Rasch Druckerei und Verlag, Bramsche

Š 2010 by Martin von den Driesch All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the written permission of the publishers.

ISBN 978-3-89946-153-4

Printed in Germany

A Rare Treat A glimpse of the backstage world of the Bolshoi Ballet is a rare treat for outsiders. Martin von den Driesch has splendidly captured that world – the dancers’ strenuous and exacting preparation, their moments offstage, both at ease and nervously waiting to perform, and the dancing itself, not from out front as seen by the audience, but from between the curtains that separate the stage from its wings. Also caught by his lens are a few of the technical personnel and dressing-room staff, the backstage heroes of the Bolshoi who ensure that a performance takes place.

Probably the most famous ballet company in the entire world, the Bolshoi is also the largest, currently with some 225 dancers on its roster. Close to 70 of them are soloists, classified according to a traditional hierarchy as principal soloists (the women ballerinas, the men premiers), leading soloists, first soloists and just plain soloists.

The Bolshoi Ballet traces its origins back to March 28, 1776, the date on which the Empress Catherine the Great signed a decree authorizing Prince Pyotr Urusov to create Moscow’s first privately owned theater. Four years later, the modest company assembled by Urusov – which included not only dancers, a balletmaster and a band of musicians, but also actors and actresses – moved into the first of three successive buildings, all built on the very same site, that have housed the Bolshoi ever since.

Each of the two ballets featured in the photographs, Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” and Adolphe Adam’s “Giselle,” has played at the Bolshoi over

more than half of its 234 years. “Swan Lake” had its premiere at the theater in 1877 and “Giselle” was first seen there just two years after its 1841 Paris premiere. Both remain today, at home and on tour, among the most popular works in the theater’s repertoire.

“Swan Lake” and “Giselle” have, of course, undergone many changes over the years under the auspices of a succession of different choreographers.

The former proved mostly a failure when first performed at the Bolshoi, and only some 18 years later, with imaginative new choreography by the legendary French-born balletmaster Marius Petipa and his assistant, Lev Ivanov, at St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theater, did it take the basic form in which it is known and so universally admired today. Petipa also made substantial revisions to the original choreography of “Giselle,” some of which are still to be seen in the Bolshoi’s current version.

Though incorporating much of what Petipa and Ivanov created, the Bolshoi’s “Swan Lake” of today, as danced in Abu Dhabi, fundamentally bears the stamp of Yury Grigorovich, the Bolshoi’s chief balletmaster from 1964 to 1995.

Over much of the past decade, the now 83-year-old Grigorovich has again been on hand at the Bolshoi to supervise and, in some cases, restage 11 of the full-length ballets he choreographed there and which form the core of the theater’s ballet repertoire.

Grigorovich’s “Swan Lake” first appeared at the Bolshoi in 1969. With its

must have found it just as astonishing as other audiences in Moscow and

story rewritten by Grigorovich, it contained many novel features, among

on Bolshoi tours have over the decade in which the role has been a center-

them a much expanded part for Prince Siegfried, the hero of the piece,

piece of her repertoire.

and a tragic conclusion in place of the ballet’s traditional happy ending.

“One of the main tasks I set for myself,” the choreographer later wrote, “was to move the ballet from the genre of fairytale to the genre, I would say, of the romantic novella.”

Lunkina’s suave elegance is clearly apparent in the photographs and was no doubt much on display when she danced Odette/Odile in one of the performances of “Swan Lake.” Like Alexandrova, she is an extraordinarily versatile dancer, moving with ease from principal roles in the classics of ballet to

Soviet cultural authorities objected to the new finale and the happy end-

the cutting-edge contemporary choreography that has entered the Bolshoi

ing was immediately restored, remaining in the production for some 238

repertoire in recent years.

performances at the Bolshoi over the next 27 years. At the ballet’s revival in 2001, however, with brand new sets and costumes faithful to the original 1969 designs, Grigorovich returned to his concept of the concluding scene and that, together with other revisions, is how the Bolshoi has danced “Swan Lake” ever since.

“Giselle” is also a Grigorovich production, dating from 1987, but a much less drastic break with tradition than we find in his “Swan Lake.” Indeed, the choreography is described as being by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot (the pair who created it) and by Marius Petipa, “as edited by Yury Grigorovich.”

Also seen to fine effect in the photographs are two superb first soloists of the company, Anastasia Goryacheva and Yekaterina Shipulina, the first giving the camera a look characteristically both shy and coquettish and the second in poses that provide a glimpse of her extraordinary beauty.

In its so-called “Golden Years” of the 1960s to 1980s, the Bolshoi was particularly noted for its abundance of powerful, athletic male soloists.

While those qualities are less in evidence today, four dancers who go farther than most to emulate their distinguished predecessors were present with the company in Abu Dhabi and very effectively captured by the camera: Ruslan Skvortsov, Artyom Shpilevsky and Alexander Volchkov, plus

Prominently featured in the photographs are Maria Alexandrova and

the then 19-year-old Ivan Vasilyev, whose gravity-defying leaps and aerial

Svetlana Lunkina, both at the height of their respective careers and both

turns have already made him something of a legend at the Bolshoi.

bearing the coveted title of ballerina.

The Bolshoi’s visits to Abu Dhabi no doubt represented a welcome break for

Maria looks pensive and rather fragile, as she normally does offstage. But

the dancers, not just from the snow and ice of Moscow, but also from the

there is no fragility at all in the long, powerful leaps she takes as Mytha,

less than ideal circumstances under which they have been found them-

Queen of the Wilis, in the second act of “Giselle.” The audience in Abu Dhabi

selves dancing there during the past five years.

The Bolshoi’s historic main premises were closed in the summer of 2005 for a desperately needed complete restoration. For the dancers this has meant spending a large part of their relatively brief careers deprived of the opportunity to appear at the “real” Bolshoi. Their home in the interim – a good half decade – has been the Bolshoi’s much smaller New Stage, a creation of the 1990s that altogether lacks the magical aura of it prestigious “parent” next door.

From the Photographer

Still, without hiding their disappointment, the dancers have managed to cope surprisingly well with such hardships as having many fewer chances to perform than with both theaters in operation, greatly reduced rehearsal space and a narrower stage. Despite those hardships, the company has continued to move forward, successfully expanding its repertoire with new and unfamiliar choreography and dancing these days to a higher standard than ever before in post-Soviet times.

of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

Raymond Stults, a Moscow-based American, has been classical music and dance correspondent of Moscow’s leading English-language newspaper, The Moscow Times, since 1994.

The Bolshoi Ballet performed at the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Festival in 2008 & 2009. The two-week festival is held under the patronage of His Highness General Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince The Gulf’s foremost cultural event, it attracts top international performers in a programme of ballet, opera, classical and Arabic music.

The Moscow-based dancers travelled from one of the coldest places on Earth to one of the hottest. Their performances took place at the magnificent Emirates Palace hotel, which has its own auditorium. The Bolshoi danced “Swan Lake” in 2008 and “Giselle” in 2009. The shows were sold out and took place in front of an enthusiastic audience of expatriates and Arabs.

It was exciting for me to get close to the artists. I had my first encounter with stage photography and with the world’s most famous ballet company.

I want to thank Katya Novikova, head of the Bolshoi’s public relations, who helped me set up my shots, and my wife, Yulia, who met with contacts and helped me get backstage in the first place.

Martin von den Driesch is a freelance photographer based in Dubai and Moscow. He has been working for international corporate and media clients since 1994. Von den Driesch’s photographs are available through the VISUM photography agency in Hamburg. His portfolio can be viewed on www.martinvondendriesch.com

8/9 Taking instructions Swan Lake, 2008

10/11 Creating the mood (left) Master demonstration (right) Marina Kondratyeva, coach Swan Lake, 2008

12/13 Pause for reflection Yelena Kazakova, corps de ballet Swan Lake, 2008

14/15 Leading the dance Ruslan Skvortsov, principal dancer Swan Lake, 2008

16/17 Uplifting (left) Dramatic tension (middle) Speaking with his hands (right) Artyom Shpilevsky, leading soloist Swan Lake, 2008

18/19 Suspended (left) Leap (right) Svetlana Lunkina, principal dancer Swan Lake, 2008

20/21 Control (left) Concentration (right) Morihiro Iwata, first soloist Swan Lake, 2008

22/23 Out of the spotlight Yevgeny Golovin, corps de ballet Swan Lake, 2008

24/25 Confidence (left) Velocity (middle) Attentive (right) Alexander Volchkov, principal dancer Swan Lake, 2008

26/27 In the script (left) Yellow (right) Anastasia Goryacheva, leading soloist Swan Lake, 2008

28/29 Waiting in the wings Swan Lake, 2008

30/31 Evil genius Artyom Shpilevsky, leading soloist Swan Lake, 2008

32/33 Suited up (left) In the zone (right) Gennady Yanin, first soloist and assistant ballet artistic director Swan Lake, 2008

34/35 The conductor Pavel Sorokin Swan Lake, 2008

36/37 All under control I All under control II Vladimir Shcherbakov, stage manager Swan Lake, 2008

38/39 Family on her mind Svetlana Lunkina, principal dancer Swan Lake, 2008

40/41 Dancers in the dark I Corps de ballet Swan Lake, 2008

42/43 Dancers in the dark II Corps de ballet Swan Lake, 2008

44/45 Devil in the shadows Artyom Shpilevsky, leading soloist Swan Lake, 2008

46/47 Winding down Denis Medvedev, first soloist Swan Lake, 2008

48/49 Stitching (left) Street wear (right) Ivan Vasilyev, first soloist Swan Lake, 2008 (left) / Giselle, 2009 (right)

50/51 Tying a slipper Sonya Lyubimova, corps de ballet Giselle, 2009

52/53 Grace Sonya Lyubimova, corps de ballet Giselle, 2009

54/55 A quiet moment before taking the stage Yekaterina Shipulina, leading soloist Giselle, 2009

56/57 Keeping in touch (left) Statuesque (right) Maria Alexandrova, principal dancer Giselle, 2009

58/59 Getting the right fit (left) Pose (middle) Ready to soar (right) Yekaterina Shipulina, leading soloist Giselle, 2009

60/61 Watching I Yulia Grebenshchikova, corps de ballet Giselle, 2009

62/63 Watching II (left) Close-up (right) Ivan Vasilyev, first soloist Giselle, 2009

64/65 Stretch Victoria Osipova, soloist Giselle, 2009

66/67 In character (left) Ruslan Skvortsov, principal dancer Limbering up (right) Corps de ballet Giselle, 2009

68/69 Amusement Victoria Osipova, soloist Giselle, 2009

70/71 Reaching out Corps de ballet Giselle, 2009

72/73 Contemplation (left) Victoria Osipova, soloist Waiting (right) Giselle, 2009

74/75 White roses (left) Appreciation (right) Alexander Volchkov, principal dancer Giselle, 2009

76/77 The end Giselle, 2009

A warm thanks to: Munther Ayache, Kurt Blum, Sabine Collmann, Marcel Estermann, Ekaterina Finogenova, Raul Gabat, Eddy Gerber, Christian Gmür, Victoria Grozier, Chris Helmbrecht, Jill Hoyle, Dr. Andreas Knaul, Tatyana Kuznetsova, Fraser Lawson, Lateefa bint Maktoum, Nicole Malmedé, Martin Massüger, Dölf Michel, Friederike Möschel, Kevin O’Flynn, Georges Ossorguine, Sergey Riabokobylko, Maya Röder, Brigitte Sachs, Markus Schmid, Hans-Jürgen Schneider, André Scholz, Susanne Sporrer, Jörg Steckhan, Olga Sviblova, Hans Tepe, Maria Tkalich, Dr. Stefan von den Driesch, Dr. Werner Vorhoff, Karl Westlund, Gennady Yanin and Dr. Christian Ziegler