Debuts in The Nutcracker

Scene from the ballet The Nutcracker

New generations of St Petersburg’s ballet dancers have traditionally grown up with Vasily Vainonen’s version of The Nutcracker – this production has been in the repertoire of the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet for many years. It is ideal for ballet school as it has roles for dancers of all different ages and everyone – from the youngest pupils to graduation class students – gains stage experience and professional skills through it and learns about working in the theatre.
The repertoire of the Mariinsky Theatre contains the same production, and many dancers who appear in the theatre’s Nutcracker remember performing in it while studying at the academy. Sofia Ivanova-Skoblikova, Roman Belyakov, Yelizaveta Antonova and Artyom Ibryanov, who graduated from the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet this year, appeared in this production last January as students, while from childhood Vasily Tkachenko and and Yekaterina Bondarenko have also danced in The Nutcracker. Of all those making their debuts it is only Alexei Tyutyunnik for whom this is a new production, he having graduated from the Kiev School of Dance.
Xenia Zhiganshina who will be performing one of the lead roles is still a student at the academy and last season danced as Masha in the academy’s production of The Nutcracker. 1 November will mark her debut in the theatre’s production. Students of the academy rarely perform lead roles in the theatre’s productions, though Xenia Zhiganshina, a recipient of the Mikhailovsky Theatre’s Grand Prix who will complete her studies next year, has already made her debut as Amour in Don Quixote at the Mariinsky Theatre.