A New Carmen

Critics have stated that Anastasia Kolegova, “one of the theatre’s most gracious and ‘light’ ballerinas resembles a delicate flower” while her “sense of flight reflects the essence of her soul.” In both people and art, the dancer values, first and foremost, “that incredibly deep beauty that does not always come to the surface instantly” but which, “once discovered, captivates you for a long time to come.” She lets herself be guided by this principle when she comes onstage, and in any role she endeavours to “touch the audience’s hearts.”

Each new role in any production “has justified her right to perform not just onstage” at the Mariinsky Theatre, “but to share the glory of that great theatre with other performers.” Last month the dancer made her debut as the Tsar Maiden in Alexei Ratmansky’s ballet The Little Humpbacked Horse to music by Rodion Shchedrin. Carmen-Suite, with choreography by Alberto Alonso, is the second ballet in which Kolegova will embody a stage role first performed by the legendary Maya Plisetskaya.