Famous Bolshoi ballerina Maximova dies at 70


Ekaterina Maximova handing me first prize at the International Ballet Competition in Rome

She was always my idol. When l was at the Bolshoi Ballet school people told me that I looked like her and that would make me the happiest person in the world. I remember coming back after long day at school and watching videos with her as Kitri, Anuta, Aurore... it was so inspiring.

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Jewels, Fusion and Russian Seasons

I'll be doing Emeralds for the first time with Nicolas Blanc on Sunday April 26th at 2pm and also opening night of Program 8 Yuri Possokhov's 'Fusion' and San Francisco premiere of Ratmansky's 'Russian Seasons' on Tuesday April 28th at 8pm.
"On Sunday Maria Kochetkova and Frances Chung (partnered by Nicolas Blanc and Isaac Hernandez) were more closely bound to the music, not just in timing but also on a more mysterious level. With them, you could feel the radiance of choreography in three-dimensional space acquire a moment-by-moment drama that seemed akin to the music’s." New York Times
"At the Sunday matinee, Maria Kochetkova and Frances Chung realized the graceful solos of “Emeralds” with elegance and unpretentious dignity." San Francisco Examiner

Within the Golden Hour


I'll be doing Chris Wheeldon's 'Within the Golden Hour' on the opening Friday April 3rd, Saturday matinee April 4th and Tuesday night on April 7th
"Weightless Maria Kochetkova and Joan Boada had the melting pas de deux to an interloping bit of Vivaldi, which integrates surprisingly well with the Bosso while lending a climactic gravitas." San Francisco Chronicle

'Ballerina' Mariinsky Ballet Documentary


If you live in San Francisco there is a great documentary about five Russian ballerinas (Alina Somova, Uliana Lopatkina, Evgenia Obraztsova, Diana Vishneva and Svetlana Zakharova) from the Mariinsky Theatre (formerly known as the Kirov) opening March 27th at Landmark's Opera Plaza Cinema in San Francisco, and Landmark’s Shattuck Cinemas in Berkeley.

I'll be answering questions with Ivan Popov after the 7:20pm screening at Landmark's Opera Plaza Cinema on Sunday 29th March.

Bertrand Normand's 'Ballerina'
Time Out review