Russian stars of world ballet at the Mariinsky Theatre

Natalia Osipova has long been famed for her dazzling performances as Kitri in Don Quixote. She has been referred to as a “wonder” and the ballerina’s renown for her phenomenal and effortless leaps has spread quickly throughout the whole ballet world. Osipova made her debut in this role at the Mariinsky Theatre in 2007. Now – as a prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Theatre, the Mikhailovsky Theatre, American Ballet Theatre and the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden – Natalia Osipova will be appearing at the Mariinsky Theatre in another Spanish role – that of Carmen. The role does not involve demonstrations of amazing ballet technique, although it is ideal for displaying another facet of Osipova’s talent – the incredible emotionality of her dance and her fiery temperament.

Olga Esina is well-known to Petersburg audiences. The beauty and harmony of her lines could not but have been noticed when, early in her career, she performed at the Mariinsky Theatre. Now, too, as a First Soloist at the Wiener Staatsoper, Esina is a frequent visitor to her home theatre and now a Guest Ballerina of the Mariinsky Theatre. Whatever role she is performing – be it Odette-Odile in the classical Swan Lake, Leda in Roland Petit’s songful duet Leda and the Swan or the effervescent Bella in Die Fledermaus – Esina’s dance, in addition to its technical perfection, never fails to impress with its density of inner movement. The ballerina’s current repertoire includes works by many contemporary choreographers such as Jorma Elo, William Forsythe, Patrick de Bana and John Neumeier. With the Mariinsky Ballet in St Petersburg Esina will be performing as Medora in the classical ballet Le Corsaire.

From the very outset of his career, Ivan Vasiliev’s physical abilities have determined the range of his potential roles – roles that demand virtuoso skills have become the dancer’s calling card. The dancer has truly made a name for himself in the world of ballet, performing vertiginous “tricks” with ease and demonstrating the power and passion of dance. His repertoire currently includes both heroic and classical princely roles. At the Mariinsky Theatre Vasiliev will be appearing in roles that undoubtedly suit his physical as well as his acting abilities; his interpretations of characters in Balanchine’s Prodigal Son and Roland Petit’s Le Jeune Homme et la mort are impulsive and temperamental. The lead roles in these ballets demand that perfect control of the body enhance the performer’s acting skills and present the dancer in the full glory of his technical abilities and emotional range.