Olga Smirnova - Dutch National Ballet

[MadeleineR]

Graham Watts has said on Instagram that Olga Smirnova is joining the Dutch National Ballet. 
 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CbKr73UgzoN/

[Naomi M]

Victor Caixeta also seems to joined Dutch National Ballet as soloist. 

https://www.operaballet.nl/en/dansers/79+81+8+82+5+7+33
 

 

[Angela]

This seems to be the press release by Dutch National

https://www.danceforyou-magazine.com/2022/03/16/olga-smirnova-makes-the-move-to-dutch-national-ballet/

[Naomi M]

Prima ballerina Olga Smirnova and soloist Victor Caixeta make the move to Dutch National Ballet

 

On Wednesday 16 March, Russian prima ballerina Olga Smirnova and Brazilian soloist Victor Caixeta have decided to join Dutch National Ballet – where they will start immediately and be welcomed with open arms.

 

https://www.operaballet.nl/en/news/prima-ballerina-olga-smirnova-and-soloist-victor-caixeta-make-move-dutch-national-ballet

[Sim]

Wow!!!  What great news for both of them, DNB and Olga/Victor.  I just adore her, so Amsterdam here I come!!

 

What a brave lady she is.  

[Shade]

I wonder too if dancers are worried that they will be prevented from travel

[Jeannette]

5 hours ago, Naomi M said:

Prima ballerina Olga Smirnova and soloist Victor Caixeta make the move to Dutch National Ballet

 

On Wednesday 16 March, Russian prima ballerina Olga Smirnova and Brazilian soloist Victor Caixeta have decided to join Dutch National Ballet – where they will start immediately and be welcomed with open arms.

 

https://www.operaballet.nl/en/news/prima-ballerina-olga-smirnova-and-soloist-victor-caixeta-make-move-dutch-national-ballet

DNB so fortunate to have them. Great news!

[FionaM]

I’m told Olga’s husband works for a US investment management firm who have pulled out of Russia.  This could explain why she left, and why she could make such a strong anti-war statement. 
 

It’s good that DNB could move so quickly to hire her. 

[Tango Dancer]

17 hours ago, Sim said:

Wow!!!  What great news for both of them, DNB and Olga/Victor.  I just adore her, so Amsterdam here I come!!

 

What a brave lady she is.  

 

I've definitely had the Netherlands on my "places I must go back to post Covid" list.  Now she's there I'm definitely going at some point in the next 18 months. 

[MayKwok]

As reported on BBC News: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-60767490

[MayKwok]

(Only just saw that this is already being discussed in the Bolshoi thread, and it is old news that came out yesterday! Apologies. Admin please feel free to remove...)

[Jan McNulty]

38 minutes ago, MayKwok said:

(Only just saw that this is already being discussed in the Bolshoi thread, and it is old news that came out yesterday! Apologies. Admin please feel free to remove...)

 

May - I think this news deserves its own thread so I've moved the other posts to yours.

[Emeralds]

I thought this announcement deserved its own thread - thanks, Jan. I found out about Olga Smirnova and Victor Caixeta joining Dutch National Ballet when the company posted it on their social media and said “with immediate effect”. They also announced that Olga would dance Raymonda and that Victor would be in the production, although they have not specified which role yet. It looks like a win-win for both the dancers as well as Het Nationale Ballet. I wondered if Larissa Lezhnina being a veteran principal dancer and now ballet mistress at the company, having left the Mariinsky at the height of professional success like Olga at the Bolshoi, might have something to do with it. Also, according to Victor’s social media, he already has a good friend from the Mariinsky who is already a company member at DNB. I hope this works out to be a very happy development for the two of them as well as the existing company members. DNB also has lots of interesting repertoire that their former companies didn’t have. 

[Sabine0308]

1 hour ago, Emeralds said:

....Also, according to Victor’s social media, he already has a good friend from the Mariinsky who is already a company member at DNB. I hope this works out to be a very happy development for the two of them as well as the existing company members. DNB also has lots of interesting repertoire that their former companies didn’t have. 

That friend is Elisabeth Tonev, they performed recently a R&J PDD at the Berlin Ballet School Gala (60 years anniversary). Both were students at this school. They were so happy to be reunited for this PDD, who knew that a couple weeks later, it would be a reunification for real!

[Emeralds]

14 hours ago, Sabine0308 said:

That friend is Elisabeth Tonev, they performed recently a R&J PDD at the Berlin Ballet School Gala (60 years anniversary). Both were students at this school. They were so happy to be reunited for this PDD, who knew that a couple weeks later, it would be a reunification for real!

Thanks for the correction, Sabine- I just assumed they were former colleagues rather than school friends! (I can’t edit my post after one day, unfortunately.) It’s great to have a friend in any new workplace and indeed, any new country, although Amsterdam might not be as big a leap for Victor after being accustomed to Berlin, while it might feel very different to Moscow and St Petersburg for Olga.

 

Speaking of Het Nationale, I remember former DNB principal Sasha Mukhamedov’s parents Irek and Masha leaving Russia to relocate to London (under peacetime conditions, thankfully). One funny observation Irek made then about the differences between the 2 countries:  “People are more polite here. Even in the supermarket. The way they move their supermarket trolleys gracefully to let you pass - it’s like a ballet!” For a few years after that, that remark used to come back to me every so often when I was in the supermarket, and it made me smile that he could see the beautiful side of something as ordinary (to us) as buying groceries. 😊

Edited March 18, 2022 by Emeralds

[Sabine0308]

Haha thanks for sharing the Supermarkt story 😀 I agree about the politeness in the UK when it comes to a queue e.g. waiting for a bus. Different from Germany😀🙄.

[Stevie]

Olga Smirnova will perform her first Ballet with Dutch National Ballet as Raymond on 3rd April.

For those not fortunate to have tickets and as a special tribute to her values and her brave protest, a previous performance by her, of Raymonda, can be viewed on line, provided you have a Google account.

Donations in support of the Ukraine can be made separately by other means

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-f14IwwskXL12VY3t8uz0i4_GFjDGptu/view?usp=sharing

 

[FionaM]

I believe this new one is different to the Bolshoi one (no spoilers) but how much won’t be known until the premiere I guess. 
 

Also Victor Caixeta is shown in rehearsal as her partner  ..  don’t know which of the 2 lead male roles.  

[annamk]

Casting is up 

 

https://www.operaballet.nl/solistencast-raymonda

 

[MadeleineR]

The Dutch National Ballet's Junior Company is taking in 3 Ukrainian dancers, effective April 1st: Polina Loshchylina and Kate Myklukha (both from the National Opera of Ukraine), and Victoria Glazunova (from the Bolshoi). 

Edited March 23, 2022 by MaddieRose
Spelling

[Stevie]

On 23/03/2022 at 00:04, FionaE said:

I believe this new one is different to the Bolshoi one (no spoilers) but how much won’t be known until the premiere I guess. 
 

Also Victor Caixeta is shown in rehearsal as her partner  ..  don’t know which of the 2 lead male roles.  

The commonality is that the two productions star Olga Smirnova in the title role.

[FionaM]

1 hour ago, Stevie said:

The commonality is that the two productions star Olga Smirnova in the title role.

The star of this production is Maia Makhateli.  She has the premiere and 4 shows in total.  
 

Olga will have to learn this new role in much shorter time than she is used to, and has 2 shows.  Maybe that will change next time around.  
 

DNB have a very strong set of principal ballerinas who have super technique and dramatic abilities, including Maia, Anna Tsygankova, Jessica Xuan, Anna Ol (on way back from maternity leave, so not in Raymonda cast this time), plus 2 others I’m not so familiar with.  

[Stevie]

On 29/03/2022 at 17:26, FionaE said:

The star of this production is Maia Makhateli.  She has the premiere and 4 shows in total.  
 

Olga will have to learn this new role in much shorter time than she is used to, and has 2 shows.  Maybe that will change next time around.  
 

DNB have a very strong set of principal ballerinas who have super technique and dramatic abilities, including Maia, Anna Tsygankova, Jessica Xuan, Anna Ol (on way back from maternity leave, so not in Raymonda cast this time), plus 2 others I’m not so familiar with.  

This is because the original postponed casting was prior to the newcomers arrival at HET. We are told by Branson that  the changed story line is secondary to the original dancing and music and that the choreographic splendor of the original Petipa will be retained, whilst the story will have an exciting new twist. He says that his production is not about the drama, but the beauty of the original choreography. I suspect the Olga Smirnova will be well versed in the Petipa choreography of Raymonda, having performed it many times. The star of the production, if there is one, will only be found after having performed the role.

[Estreiiita]

I would like to add that it's possible to buy a ticket to watch a streaming performance (it says May 6-8, 12,50 euro), Maia Makhateli should dance the leading part.

[FionaM]

2 hours ago, Estreiiita said:

I would like to add that it's possible to buy a ticket to watch a streaming performance (it says May 6-8, 12,50 euro), Maia Makhateli should dance the leading part.

ooh this is good news … thank you.  
 

 

[alison]

Can someone put it in the calendar, please?  I'm away.

[FionaM]

The livestream is now in the calendar.  
 

6-8 May 2022

Tickets €12.50
 

booking link here https://www.operaballet.nl/en/dutch-national-ballet/2021-2022/raymonda-stream

 

CAST:

Raymonda  Maia Makhateli
Abd al-Rahman  Young Gyu Choi
Jean de Brienne  Semyon Velichko

[ElenaF]

Looks like Olga is settling very well in the Netherlands and with Van Manen's choreography. This is a clip from a Dutch talk show covering the ongoing Van Manen Festival at the Het dedicated to his 90-year anniversary. The show features an interview with Van Manen himself, also with Rachel Beaujean, for whom he created a lot of his most important pieces, and his biographer.

Olga is performing an excerpt from Trois Gnossienes. The clip does not feature the full interview, but a friend of mine who lives in the Netherlands and saw the complete program, has told me that Van Manen was heaping praises on Olga, calling her interpretation of his choreography "fantastic" and "absolutely wonderful" on this talk show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxxEIwqefpg

[FionaM]

Olga is guesting in many places  …

 

Monte Carlo .. R&J in January, Sleeping Beauty in April

https://www.balletsdemontecarlo.com/fr/actualites/olga-smirnova-invitee-ballets-monte-carlo-2023

 

Rome Opera … in new Bayadere production partnered by Jacopo Tissi … 25 & 28 February 2023

https://www.operaroma.it/spettacoli/la-bayadere/

 

Hamburg … in Neumeier’s Nijinsky … 27 & 28 June 2023

https://www.hamburgballett.de/en/schedule/

 

As well as performing with Dutch National Ballet … casting not yet announced for Swan Lake in March/April 2023

 

And galas of course:

- Prix de Lausanne gala … 5 February 2023 

https://www.prixdelausanne.org/artists-of-the-gala-stars/

 

and no doubt others!

 

Please add below

[San Perregrino]

JUST IN: BOLSHOI FIRES PRIMA BALLERINA OVER WAR VIEWS

BALLET

Norman Lebrecht

March 06, 2023

Statement from Moscow: ‘The prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Theater Olga Smirnova has been officially dismissed.’

Smirnova took a year’s leave last April after expressing views that dissented from Russia’s war on Ukraine. She was scheduled to return to work next week, but the theatre has now dismissed her retroactively: “Ballerina Olga Smirnova was fired on April 1, 2022, after she wrote a statement of her own free will.’

She is understood to be living in the Netherlands.

[AnticaFiamma]

13 minutes ago, PeterS said:

JUST IN: BOLSHOI FIRES PRIMA BALLERINA OVER WAR VIEWS

BALLET

Norman Lebrecht

March 06, 2023

Statement from Moscow: ‘The prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Theater Olga Smirnova has been officially dismissed.’

Smirnova took a year’s leave last April after expressing views that dissented from Russia’s war on Ukraine. She was scheduled to return to work next week, but the theatre has now dismissed her retroactively: “Ballerina Olga Smirnova was fired on April 1, 2022, after she wrote a statement of her own free will.’

She is understood to be living in the Netherlands.

She danced in La Bayadère in Rome a couple of weeks ago with Jacopo Tissi, her former colleague at Bolshoi. She's doing very well even without them!

[Sim]

No surprise there then.  I am full of admiration for her.  I just hope that her family back home is left alone. 

[Guest oncnp]

Did she ever plan to go back?