Thank goodness, AA. I was beginning to wonder what on earth was happening, after all of the hype (not to mention that lovely YouTube clip of the Gayane solo in 2010). Glad that she got something meaty to dance just before leaving Boston.

As reported on other fora, it appears that Oksana Skorik has been promoted to First Soloist, just in time for the U.S. tour. (To be honest, I thought that this had happened months ago but am assured that it is indeed news.) She has some of the loveliest arms and hands in the business and seems to be improving her technique and, more importantly, confidence. Her struggles with anorexia while a student at the Perm Academy of Ballet have been documented in the film A Beautiful Tragedy, making this announcement all the more poignant. Congratulations to Oksana.

Buddy, do I hear a poem?

The promotions continue with 3 ladies named as Choryphees: Stepanova, Ivannikova and Krasnokutskaya. One man also promoted to Choryphee - Romanchikov. Also, the Corps de Ballet list has been updated to show many, many new names, mostly from the most recent Vaganova graduation class, e.g., Latipov, Lopatyn, Varentseva, Yatchenko, etc. Shevtsova to Moscow's Stanislavsky and Macguire-Mayes to the Mikhailovsky (although not yet shown on roster).

Still no Keenan Kampa showing up on the roster, even though she has confirmed in Dance Europe interview that she is Choryphee.

Congrats to all!

Kampa is confirmed for the US tours, will be dancing one of the 4 Large Swans and a Princess (per Fateyev).
And yes she was hired as a coryphee.

Natalia, thanks for posting the latest, by the time I get off of email and work, there's another onslaught, so I havent been able to keep up w/posts the past few days.

I echo your congratulations to all the promotees!!

(p.s. what's new, their web site is almost never up to date...)

Oxana Skorik

grace indisputable
depth irrefutable
words may not be suitable
for this praise non dilutable

Bravissimo!

The full Mariinsky Ballet roster was updated yesterday, including the various promotions cited above. I've had a chance to check the new list against one that I printed out a few months ago and note these other changes:

Departures:

In addition to the well-documented 'moves out' at the top ranks -- D. Matvienko to Kyev (as A.D. and star) + Obraztsova to Bolshoi (as Principal) -- I see that the gorgeous blonde choryphee, Evgenia Dolmatova, is now gone (to ???). Six corps members have also left the Mariinsky, either retired or moved on to other companies: Ladies - Vanda Lubkovskaya, Xenia Molkova & Mariana Yakovleva (not to be comfused with Maria Yakovleva, who moved to Vienna a few years ago); Men gone - Alexander Kulikov, Vladislav Makarov & Yegor Safin (twin brother of choryphee Kirill Safin).

Arrivals to Corps (16!):
* = from Vaganova Academy Class of 2012

Ladies -
Xenia Ananieva*
Anastasia Asaben*
Nadezhda Dvureschenskaya
Anastasia Sogrina
Natalia Shmonova
Arina Varentseva*
Yana Yaschenko*

Men -
Anton Cheida*
Gadzhimurat Daayev
Yevgeni Konovalov
Ernest Latypov*
Daniil Lopatin*
Nikita Lyaschenko*
Yaroslav Pushkov*
Yaroslav Pyzhov*
Vladislav Shumakov

If anybody knows the academies attended by the others, please post! I am guessing that the non-Vaganova ladies might be from Perm, due to recent preferences.

Dolmatova went to Bavarian State Opera Ballet. She married in August and then left the MT.

Thanks, Catherine. That's very happy news about Dolmatova!

Vladislav Shumakov is from Perm: [url]http://www.mariinsky.ru/company/ballet_mt_men/shumakov/
[/url]
And here is his bio from the Chuvash Opera and Ballet theatre site. http://opera21.ru/page.php?id=704

He joined the Perm troupe in 2006; in 2010 the St. Petersburg Conservatory's Theatre (which is now under Vinogradov) and that same year won 3rd place in Grigorovich's Ballet Competition. So he's been across the street from the MT for a few years now

Nadya Dvurechenskaya also is a Perm graduate from 2005. (pic/bio here: http://opera21.ru/page.php?id=1062)

She also then went to the St. Petersburg Conservatory, but in 2009. And in 2011 was a soloist at the Chuvash Opera and Ballet Theatre.

Apparently all the site links are not working though because nothing links to that initial Mariinsky bio page for Vladislav, but it does exist on its own.

Sogrina danced the Petipa "Привал кавалерии" pas de deux with Ernest this year; she is also a Vag grad.

I am very upset to hear that Skorik has been promoted, another nail in the coffin of artistic integrity at the Kirov.

Thanks for solving some of the 'mysteries' of the provenance of new corps members, Catherine. I'll update my own dBase...yes, some of us 'Mariinsky Nuts' try to keep track of such things. If Dvureschenskaya graduated from Perm in 2005, then she would have been a classmate (or near-classmate) of Oksana Skorik, who graduated in 2007, according to the film. Small world.

Cassandra, I believe you're not alone in your thoughts about the Skorik promo, alas. I've seen hot-and-cold from her...nothing in between! Hopefully she'll be 'hot' in L.A.

Keenan Kampa now appears on the roster of dancers...as Corps de Ballet. A wise decision by the Mariinsky. She will have many opportunities this season (Myrtha and Dryad, for starters) to eventually earn her way to Choryphee. It's equally correct that certain ladies (& one guy) were recently promoted to Choryphee after so many years of hard work and sheer skills (Stepanova, Ivvanikova, Nikitina, etc.). Mariinsky management got it right.

So today is a very, very positive day.

The positive day continues! Nadezhda Batoeva was just added to the Choryphees...so there are, all in all, SO FAR -- 4 new Choryphee females (Batoeva, Stephanova, Krasnokutskaya and Ivannikova) and 1 man (Romanchikov).

Hats Off to Mariinsky management for righting some wrongs in a very short time. Yes, I know that for many this doesn't balance-off Skorik's promo to First Soloist but at least there have been some positive moves on which most can agree.

Nora FitzGerald profiles Keenan Kampa for Russia Beyond the Headlines.

Russia Beyond the Headlines