Backstage with The Bolshoi

Last weekend, we drove to Chapel Hill, N.C. to see an excellent production of Swan Lake by Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet, one of the world’s top ballet companies. The theater (Memorial Hall on the UNC campus) was beautiful, the stage set was sumptuous, and the costumes were dazzling. The dancers, of course, were exquisite with their impeccable technique and timing, and their superb acting—which is one of those extra dimensions of ballet that Russian-trained dancers seem to excel at.

Swan Lake

On this night, their professionalism also stood out. One reason was that the floor (a special dancing pad laid on top of the stage) was abnormally slippery, which presented a particular problem to the female dancers when they were en pointe (on tip toes). You rarely see big slips or mistakes by a company of this caliber, but on this occasion two different ladies took serious tumbles on account of the floor. But both ladies remained unflappable and got right back on their feet. Each time, the rest of the dancers on stage effortlessly swept the fallen dancer back into full pace, and the show went on. They all made it seem like a minor thing, and I doubt whether most in the audience knew how rare and dangerous falls like that can be (it’s bad enough spraining your ankle when the foot is flat and gets twisted; it’s another thing when you are standing tip toe, bearing your full weight).

Another thing the audience may not have realized was that the stage itself was considerably smaller than a traditional ballet stage. Consequently, the dancers had to limit the full range of motion, timing, and speed that they train so hard to master. On a smaller stage, they have to tighten up, turn sooner, and slow down earlier. But they disguised all this beautifully and still wowed the audience.

en pointe

A third fact was that the lead female role was danced, not by one of the usual principal dancers, but by one of the leading soloists, Ekaterina Shipulina. Leading soloists are understudies of the principals so they know the choreography, and in this instance she did a wonderful job. Her technique, timing, and style were excellent, and she was well supported by the male priniipal, Alexander Volchkov. Nonetheless, the ‘arc’ of her performance was not particularly compelling. Whereas each dance in each act was strong, she did not weave them into a continuous and full tapestry of the character (in this case two characters—the white swan and the black swan—which is even more demanding). Notwithstanding the slippery floor and smaller stage, I felt she could have given herself over more completely to the contrast and intensity of expression that this ballet calls for. At its best, Swan Lake leaves you passionately enchanted (the white swan) and alluringly mesmerized (the black swan).

ballerina backstage

As it happens, my wife knows a ballet aficionado in California who knows many of the Bolshoi dancers. When he learned that the Bolshoi was coming to North Carolina, he called and said he could arrange tickets for us. We leapt (not ballet-like) at the chance, and after the performance went backstage to thank the dancer, Denis Medvedev who had given us his complimentary tickets (he danced the Fool and stole the show).

My wife also knows his wife and she had met Denis before, so we had a nice chat with him, took some pictures together, and got to congratulate the ‘Prince’ and the ‘Swan’ who were still in costume back stage (our five-year-old daughter stood by wide-eyed and very quiet). In Ekaterina’s case, she was, five minutes after the performance, being coached intensely by an instructor on how certain movements could be improved.

We asked Denis about the floor because it had been noticeably squeaky. He explained that it had given the ladies particular problems, and he mentioned the small stage proportions. He also said that they were headed to Washington, D.C. for a final set of performances and that several of the dancers had caught bad colds earlier in the week. As a result he was going to have to dance some of their roles as well as his own in some of their upcoming performances. As he said, “to help them out,” which demonstrated the camaraderie as well as the business side of this glamorouse but stress-filled profession.

Ballet dancers work incredibly hard day in and day out to hone their skills and keep their bodies in shape. Touring is especially exhausting, and the conditions in each city and theater are always unexpected. Yet the Bolshoi dancers—despite their polished, poised appearance on stage—are very young and sweet. As an example, Alexander Volchkov (the Prince) heard us asking for Denis and volunteered to go look for him, which he did.

We later walked outside with Denis before he boarded the bus with everyone else to go to their hotel. The dancers were milling around in shorts, t-shirts, and flip-flops, talking on their cell phones, another performance behind them. Around the corner at the front of the hall, the audience was still filing out onto the street, their thoughts still swirling with rich images of live, world-class ballet—of the Bolshoi! ¶

Bolshoi Ballet