28.04.2020

A British Russian: Xander Parish receives Russian citizenship

Xander Parish, a principal dancer of the Mariinsky ballet, has been living and working in Russia for ten years. Over the years, he made his way from the corps de ballet dancer of the Royal Ballet in London to the principal of the Mariinsky, toured all over the world and was awarded the Order of the British Empire for serving the dance and developing Russian-British relations. Recently, he has become a Russian citizen.

 – So, you became a Russian, congratulations! Pozdravlyaem! How long did it take to get a Russian passport?
 – Thank you! I’ve spent 10 years in Russia but was never looking for a passport. A friend of mine had this idea and I said I’d love to, it’s a big honor. She very kindly pursued the idea and helped me with the paperwork. Now, a year later, I have a dual citizenship. I’ve been here a decade of my life. I could never imagine it would be so long.

 – I’m going to have to start with the most banal of all questions. How did you come to join the Mariinsky?
 – When I was about 21, I was working in Royal Ballet as a corp de ballet dancer. Yuri Valerievich Fateev came to London for 2 weeks as a guest teacher. I didn’t even know who he was, but he was young, energetic, exciting, he had vision and he was the best teacher I’d ever experienced. He gave amazing classes and in class he gave me a lot of attention which at that time I wasn’t used to. He cared, and it was very special to me. On the last day, before he left, I asked him to have a look at my double tours. He said, sure, and for about half an hour we had this class one on one, with me performing, him correcting, me trying again.

Next summer he became the Acting director of the Mariinsky Ballet, and he sent me a message through my colleague Alina Cojocaru. He asked her how I was doing, if I was still dancing, if I wanted to work in Russia. I thought he had mistaken me for someone else – because I was a nobody. So I didn’t reply.

A year later, Mariinsky came on tour to London. Yuri invited me to come to the class and the shows. I thought, okay, that was harmless. After another 2 weeks Yuri asked again, so, how is the class, how is the company, do you like our productions? And he said to me just three words: ‘Come to Russia’.

I laughed, because I thought he was joking. I said, I can’t, I’m British!

He said he invited me not because I was the best dancer in class, but because I was a hard worker. I was terrified and said no. I didn’t know anything about Russia, and besides, on stage I didn’t do anything classically, I was in mimance, a guy who holds spears.

Next season I came to my boss and said, Just so you know, I got offered a job in Mariinsky. I thought, maybe I should go, for a year, like an exchange program? She said, oh no, don’t go, you’re good boy, we like you here. There’s no room for you to grow right now, there’re many dancers, but just be patient and eventually you will become a soloist. So I called Yuri and told him, I’m coming. That very season, January 2010, I boarded a plane and went to Russia.

 – If you could describe yourself in that moment in just one word other than “terrified” and “excited”, what would it be?
 – Emotional! It was enthralling, like being an adventurer and going to the jungle.

 – What did your parents say?
 – Oh, my dad's a businessman, and he told me to think about financial security. He said, you have a good job in London, a private health insurance, a pension plan. I told him, I don’t care, I want to dance! I want to get on stage and perform. My mum was more relaxed. She told me to go and have some fun.

 – How did you settle in?
 – God, it was all arranged for me. You know, I got on the plane without even knowing where I was going to sleep that night. My interpreter Dmitry Yermakov, who is a lovely man and who became a sort of an adopted uncle here for me, met me at the arrivals gate, with a big smile on his face, and said, Xander, welcome to Russia! Congratulations, you are now a slave of the Mariinsky theatre!

It was – 15, snow everywhere. In London, when it’s -10, it’s катастрофа уже (already a disaster). I went to the общежитие (dormitory), left my suitcase and went straight to the theater where I met Yuri. They were dancing the Nutcracker that night. It’s amazing how I remember it all clearly; it’s like a movie in my head.

 – What was the hardest thing the first time?
 – Learning to read Cyrillic, trying to find my name on the schedule, trying to understand what they said at the rehearsals. I didn’t understand anything. I was completely lost. I was tired because I had to learn so much, and lonely, and many times did I think about giving up and going back. But after the first 3 months, it became spring, and it became easier.

 – How did you learn Russian?
 – I learned by being in the theater. I took a course on YouTube, learned words from my friends, put some words on post-it notes, watched movies. Nothing professional. Now I speak fluently, I can chat and talk, I understand what’s going on, but languages have never been my forte. Brits aren’t usually good at languages because we’re lucky that everyone speaks English – well, apart from here in Russia.

 – Speaking of that, there are certain stereotypes about Russians. Did you have any? Did they change over time?
 – My preconception was that Russians were very cold people and closed. The first three months I didn’t have any friends, people weren’t friendly. What I didn’t realize is that Russians are friendly to those they know. Once you earn their trust, they are the most loyal, kind, and friendly people that you can imagine. So I had to prove myself, and once I gained their trust, I found some friends that I will have forever now.

 – For you, what does it mean to be British?
 – For me, being British is loving the Queen and the country. I’m a royalist, I love my Royal family and British traditions. I come from Yorkshire, and people from the north are much more friendly than in London. By the way, being open and friendly helped me here in Russia a lot.

 – Which three British things do you miss here in Russia?
 – There’re some particular brands of food. For example, in Covent Garden there used to be a big Marks and Spencer right next to the theater where I used to get my food for lunch. Also, a Kellog’s cereal type for breakfast. I always buy some when I go home. Lauren Cuthbertson brought me a box of these when she came to dance here last month. The third thing is, of course, my family.

 – What three Russian things you came to appreciate?
 – Pelmeni. Гречка (buckwheat). And blinis (pancakes). Any kind of блины, with sour-cream or варенье (jam).

 – When you hear the word “home”, what do you have in mind?
 – That is such a good question. I think of three places. I think of my home, where I grew up in Yorksire; I think of London, where I spent 12 years; and home now is here, of course. I’m definitely a person of three homes right now.

 – Where do you go when you have a vacation?
 – I try and dance as much as I can, do gigs and dance projects in different countries. I go and dance in Switzerland, Denmark, England, and now, with my Russian passport, I could go to Cuba without a visa! :)

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