Balletomanewithoutacause

These are Vaganova students at their 2014 graduation performance, including Ksenia Zingashina, a potential star!

The question is, why would a man in Fateyev's position condemn Vaganova and its graduates so publicly, given the long and productive relationship between the school and the Mariinsky? If indeed the school was not producing talented graduates (which many would dispute), shouldn't Fateyev give the new rector a chance to demonstrate improvement before Fateyev condemns current students? And how does a statement denigrating Vaganova graduates, who make up the majority of the great Mariinsky corps, help the Mariinsky company? Does he really want them all to quit and search for more opportunity elsewhere? None of this makes any logical sense, so something else must be going on. I'm no expert on Russian politics, but I would guess that Fateyev (who is only the acting artistic director) is under pressure by the political establishment and/or wealthy donors to demonstrate his loyalty to their (warped) opinions about ballet. Perhaps there are centers of power in Perm (where Fateyev's favored dancers come from) or other provincial areas that must be appeased (for political reasons) by featuring their dancers in St. Petersburg. Perhaps certain wealthy businessmen are only willing to underwrite dancers who fit a particular physical ideal that not all Vaganova graduates exhibit. Fateyev's statement in Dancing Times may have been crafted solely for the purpose of demonstrating his political correctness to powerful people within Russia. It will be interesting to see whether/how the Vaganova rector reacts to this interview.

Wait, wait! This isn't Le Corsaire, it's the Gamzatti variation from La Bayadere!

Where did you find that list? Is it online?

First post here! Let's see if this works Yulia Stepanova as Clemence, in Raymonda.