Biography. Denis Matsuev boasted about the abilities of his little daughter Denis Matsuev's family

Name: Matsuev Denis

Age: 44 years old

Place of Birth: Irkutsk

Activity: Russian virtuoso pianist and public figure. National artist RF. Laureate State Prize RF

About the personal life of the famous Russian pianist Denis Matsuev in the press detailed information No. Just as there was no information about his wife and children until famous musician didn't tell in live about the birth of their daughter Anna in 2016.

Over the past ten years, the chosen one of the Honored Artist of the Russian Federation Denis Matsuev, ballerina Ekaterina Shipulina, has been under close surveillance yellow press. The couple did not advertise their relationship and were in no hurry to arrange a lavish wedding.

The musician never answered all the questions from journalists about the details of his personal life - Denis Matsuev always believed that his wife and children should be able to live in peace, without being the object of close attention of the paparazzi.

Denis Matsuev, photo

The young people met at the opening of a restaurant with mutual friends. A little later they had to work on the production joint performance based on the project of American director Sergei Danielyan “Reflections”.

According to the script, 5 ballerinas were supposed to perform on stage to the accompaniment of 5 different musicians.

Shipulina had to perform various steps to Tchaikovsky's work, while her beloved speeded up the tempo three times, focusing on the composer's intention, and not on the balletic elongation of the melody.

From Catherine’s stories it is clear that the couple have been together for a long time - they come to the New Year to the pianist’s homeland in Irkutsk to celebrate the holiday on the shores of Lake Baikal and plunge into the icy water of the legendary lake at Epiphany.

Therefore, when journalists noticed the ballerina’s rounded shape in 2016, they began to besiege the lovers with questions. Matsuev and Shipulina took a spectacular pause and delighted their fans with the news of an addition to the family only after the birth of their daughter.

Ekaterina Shipulina and Denis Matsuev

The musician does not comment on his paternity, he only says that he plays various classical works for the baby, trying to find out if his daughter has his love for music. According to Denis Leonidovich, Anya categorically does not accept Liszt’s melody.

Facts from the biography of the chosen one

Ekaterina Shipulina was born, this moment is common-law wife Denis Matsuev and the mother of his only daughter, in 1979 in Perm. In the girl’s biography, ballet was present virtually from the moment she was born - the artist’s parents were famous masters of this form classical dance in my small homeland.

Catherine and her twin sister early childhood prepared for life on pointe shoes, rehearsing all kinds of steps and classical dance exercises with the little ones.

Ekaterina Shipulina studied at the Moscow Choreographic Academy

The girls' mother devoted a lot of time not so much to her own children as to her students, paying attention to Katya and her sister only if they were successful in their studies. Oddly enough, Shipulina is proud of her parents, considering such rigor to be the engine of her progress in the profession.

In 1989, both sisters entered the Perm Choreographic School, deciding to follow in the footsteps of their parents. After graduation, the family moved to the capital in 1991 at the invitation of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theater.

Famous ballet artists became choreographers and teachers for younger generation artists of this illustrious institution. And in 1994, Ekaterina Shipulina became a student at the Moscow Choreographic Academy, having the opportunity to hone her skills under the guidance of the world-famous teacher Litavkina.

A year later, Katya confirmed her professionalism by performing main party in the production of "Corsair".

Career growth and world fame

After graduation, Shipulina received an invitation to work at the Bolshoi Theater, where she initially performed in crowd scenes and episodic roles.

Speech by Ekaterina Shipulina

This became the starting point for her creative biography– the artist’s arsenal now includes leading roles in productions of world significance:

1. "Fantasies on a Casanova Theme."
2. "Chopiniana".
3. "La Sylphide"
4. "Don Quixote".
5. "The Little Humpbacked Horse".
6. "Russian Hamlet".
7. "Pharaoh's Daughter"
8. « Swan Lake».
9. "La Bayadère"
10. "Sleeping Beauty".
11. "Chippolino".
12. "Giselle".
13. "Spartacus".

In 2002, for her work in the production of The Nutcracker, with which the company traveled halfway around the world with the participation of Ekaterina, Shipulina was awarded the Triumph Prize. The ballerina becomes the prima of her native theater, she is included in the top ten best dancers of our time.

Talent and hard work, supported by external data, played their role - the dancer becomes a popular performer of classical dance not only in her homeland, but also abroad.

Usual life

According to Catherine, for a long time She was so eager to meet the requirements of her parents, teachers, and stage directors that she behaved in her work like a “pioneer” - even with a high temperature or severe injury, she went on stage.

Modern ballet art is merciless to the bodies of performers - many compositions require the ballerina to fall hard to her knees.

Ekaterina Shipulina and Denis Matsuev on a walk

The habit of enduring pain, drowning it out with pills and various ointments, played its unseemly role - the woman’s limbs have practically no reflexes.

A little later, Ekaterina began to be more careful about her own health, having the opportunity to dictate her own terms to the directors involved in the development of this or that project.

However, in everyday life the girl loves extreme sports; she always has skates, roller boots and a bathing suit in the trunk of her car. She enjoys going down the steep slopes at the ski resort and loves to play tennis and football.

She loves to treat herself to tasty treats and will not refuse a rare steak, despite the strict requirements of the choreographers. Good active image life and the natural constitution of the body allow you to stay in excellent shape without exhausting diets and hours of effort in the gym.

Ekaterina Shipulina considers the appearance of baby Anna in her life to be a great happiness and has no intention of stopping her concert activities.

For a young mother, her own parent remains a model - Lyudmila Ivanovna appeared on stage after the birth of two babies and successfully continued dancing for several decades.

Fatherly Responsibilities

The press has long known the world-famous musician’s attitude towards the stamp in his passport.

Denis Matsuev, whose personal life and attention to the presence of his wife and children was exaggerated in open sources information constantly, stubbornly does not want to reveal the secrets of his own relationship to his family.

Denis Matsuev is in no hurry to tell all the details from family life

According to the artist, he has been married so many times that he does not want to comment on such statements. At this point in time, there is no exact information about the official status of Denis Matsuev and Ekaterina Shipulina.

Evil tongues claim that the ballerina got her first roles at the Bolshoi Theater only thanks to her famous lover.

It is difficult to say otherwise, but recognizing a child as his daughter was a kind of feat for the musician - Matsuev was an ardent supporter of open marriages for many years.

His assertion that only music could be his wife, and jazz could be his mistress, for a long time created an aura of pompousness for the musician.

Ballerina Date of birth November 14 (Scorpio) 1979 (39) Place of birth Perm Instagram @primabalerina

Ekaterina Shipulina - famous ballerina, leading soloist Bolshoi Theater. The girl, despite such an “airy” profession, is a real extreme sportswoman. She loves water skiing and ice skating. Among other sports, he distinguishes tennis - he is on the court quite often - and football. Regularly visits fitness rooms, although with her daily loads about overweight one can only dream.

Biography of Ekaterina Shipulina

Ekaterina Valentinovna was born in one of the Perm maternity hospitals in the cold November of 1979. The baby’s mother, Lyudmila Shipulina, performed on the stage of the Perm Opera and Ballet Theater, so the girl’s future was predetermined from the moment she was born.

Little Katya hardly saw any affection from her mother. And this is not surprising, since the woman devoted almost all her time and energy to her students and performances. She was more than critical of her daughter and never allowed her to relax.

For ballerinas, incessant pain is a habitual state in which they constantly find themselves. And for Katya, she also became a part of life. The girl was very hardworking by nature and showed promise even when she was very young.

Ekaterina has a twin sister. In 1898, they took the entrance examination together to the Perm Ballet School and entered. Later, her sister quit ballet, unable to withstand the extreme emotional and physical stress, but Catherine herself continued to work on herself and her body, moving towards her goal.

In 1994, she entered the Moscow Choreographic Academy and 4 years later she graduated with honors. The graduation number was a part from the ballet “Corsair”.

Ekaterina Shipulina's place of work as a ballerina was the stage of the Bolshoi Theater. A year after the start dance career she goes to the international ballet competition held in Luxembourg and takes 2nd place there. This is the first honorary “silver” among her many awards.

The girl does not dwell on the achieved result and continues to work on herself. With each new performance she rises one step higher in her career ladder. And now she is already the Queen in the ball “Fantasy on a Casanova Theme”. Further, her track record is supplemented by La Sylphide and The Little Humpbacked Horse, where the ballerina shines in the role of the Tsar Maiden. Shipulina so skillfully conveys all the feelings and emotions of her hero that it is almost impossible not to believe in the recreated image and plot.

Personal life of Ekaterina Shipulina

In Ekaterina Valentinovna’s personal life, there has been only one man for 10 years now. This is a talented pianist whose concert schedule is more than busy - Denis Matsuev. Young people are considered the most stable couple in the theater community.

This year they became young parents. Not long ago, Catherine gave birth to a daughter.

Outstanding pianist Denis Matsuev spoke about his daughter Anna, whom ballerina Ekaterina Shipulina gave birth to in October 2016.

Dmitry Matsuev rarely advertises personal life. A little more than a year ago the pianist became a father for the first time. The musician’s wife, prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Theater and Honored Artist of Russia Ekaterina Shipulina, gave birth to his daughter Anna. Denis said that his heiress, at the age of one and a half years, already adores classical piece and conducts with ease.

« Having your own child is a miracle. I regret that I have so much work to do and I can’t spend more time with her. I have never canceled a single concert in my life, however, I communicate with Anna Denisovna via modern devices. Every meeting with her is a volcano of emotions", Denis said.

According to the musician, his daughter fell in love with him from birth classical music. « She was only a month old when she was transfixed by Stravinsky. She is now one and five years old. Watching a child develop is very interesting", Denis said.

Matsuev noted that their parents help him and Ekaterina in raising their daughter. " We have wonderful grandparents. It is impossible to explain in words how much they love Anna Denisovna. From my own example, I can say for sure that being parents is one feeling. But when grandchildren appear, there is another love. Grandparents buy all the children's things; when we arrive in another country, the first thing they do is run to the store“Matsuev emphasized.

Denis admitted that he became a father at the age of forty. The birth of his long-awaited daughter completely changed his life and worldview. According to the musician, he does not feel his age at all. The only thing the pianist regrets is that he did not know the joy of fatherhood earlier.

« I’m playing the piano, and she’s already starting to conduct to the beat! And what? It's fashionable now to be a female conductor", Denis shared.

Matsuev noted that the emotions of the birth of his first child at the age of forty are difficult to convey in words. However, he has no intention of leaving the stage. For a pianist, performing in front of an audience is an integral part of his life.

« I have a flight every day and a concert every day! The stage for me is the most magical place on earth. I give myself to people and in return I receive a fantastic flow. He heals me, a real charge of electricity that"- said Matsuev.

Ekaterina Shipulina was born in 1979 in Perm, into a ballet family. Her mother, Honored Artist of the RSFSR Lyudmila Shipulina, worked at the Perm Opera and Ballet Theater from 1973 to 1990, and since 1991 she and her husband danced in Moscow, in Musical theater them. Stanistavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko.

Since 1989, Ekaterina Shipulina (together with her twin sister Anna, who later abandoned ballet) studied at the Perm State choreographic school, in 1994 she continued her studies at the Moscow State Academy of Choreography, from which she graduated with honors in 1998 in the class of teacher L. Litavkina. At the graduation concert, she danced a pas de deux from the ballet “Corsair” together with Ruslan Skvortsov. After graduating from college, Shipulina was accepted into the Bolshoi Theater. Shipulina’s teacher-tutor at the theater is M.V. Kondratieva.

In the spring of 1999, Ekaterina Shipulina won a silver medal at the International Ballet Competition in Luxembourg.

Soon after the competition, Shipulina danced the role of the Queen of the Ball in Fantasia on a Theme of Casanova and the Mazurka in Chopinian.

In May 1999, Shipulina danced in the grand pas in the ballet La Sylphide.

In July 1999, the Bolshoi Theater premiered the ballet “Don Quixote” in Alexey Fadeechev’s version, in which Shipulina danced a variation.

In September 1999, Shipulina danced the role of the Tsar Maiden for the first time in the ballet The Little Humpbacked Horse.

In February 2000, the premiere of Boris Eifman's ballet "Russian Hamlet" took place at the Bolshoi Theater. In the first cast, the part of the Empress was performed by Anastasia Volochkova, the Heir by Konstantin Ivanov, and the Heir's Wives by Ekaterina Shipulina.

Best of the day

On March 12, 2000, Shipulina first performed the role of the Lady of the Dryads in the ballet Don Quixote.

In April 2000, the Bolshoi Theater hosted festive concert, dedicated to the anniversary Vladimir Vasiliev. In this concert, Ekaterina Shipulina, Konstantin Ivanov and Dmitry Belogolovtsev performed an excerpt from “Swan Lake” in the version of the hero of the day.

In May 2000, the Bolshoi Theater presented the premiere of the ballet "The Pharaoh's Daughter", staged by the French choreographer Pierre Lacotte based on the play of the same name by Marius Petipa especially for the Bolshoi Theater troupe. At the premiere on May 5, Ekaterina Shipulina danced the role of the Congo River, and at the second performance on May 7, she danced the role of the Fisherman’s Wife.

On May 25, 2000, Ekaterina Shipulina made her debut as the Lilac Fairy in the ballet The Sleeping Beauty.

November 18, 2000 Bolshoi Theater and Regional Public charitable foundation to support low-income citizens "Help" with the participation of the Moscow Government held a charity event "Children of Independent Russia". The ballet “The Little Humpbacked Horse” was shown, the main roles in which were performed by Ekaterina Shipulina (Tsar Maiden) and Renat Arifulin (Ivan).

On December 8, 2000, Shipulina danced the second variation for the first time in the painting “Shadows” in the ballet “La Bayadère”.

On December 12, 2000, the Russian Cultural Foundation, together with the Bolshoi Theater, held a gala concert of the 1st International Ballet Festival “In Honor of Galina Ulanova.” The first part of the concert consisted of concert numbers performed by famous dancers from different countries, and in the second part the painting “Shadows” from “La Bayadere” was shown, where the main roles were performed by Galina Stepanenko and Nikolai Tsiskaridze, and Ekaterina Shipulina danced the 2nd shadow.

At the beginning of April 2001, ceremonial presentations of the future ballet schools of the Bolshoi Theater took place in the Australian cities of Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, in which Ekaterina Shipulina and Ruslan Skvortsov took part.

In May 2001, the XV International festival classical ballet them. Rudolf Nureyev. At the festival, Ekaterina Shipulina danced the Queen of the Dryads in the play "Don Quixote".

In June 2001, the IX International Competition of Ballet Dancers and Choreographers took place on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater. Ekaterina Shipulina took part in the competition as a senior age group(duets). Shipulina and her partner, Bolshoi Theater soloist Ruslan Skvortsov, danced the pas de deux from “The Corsair”, the pas de deux from “Esmeralda” and the modern number “Awakening” choreographed by S. Bobrov. As a result, Shipulina shared second prize with Barbosa Roberta Marques from Brazil.

In December 2001, the Bolshoi Theater troupe toured Italy. Shipulina took part in the tour and danced the Lilac Fairy in the ballet "Sleeping Beauty".

On March 29, 2002, Ekaterina Shipulina danced Odette-Odile for the first time in the ballet Swan Lake. Her partner was Vladimir Neporozhny.

From May 30 to June 4, 2002, the Bolshoi Theater troupe performed at the ballet festival in the Finnish city of Savonlinna, showing two Swan Lakes and three Don Quixotes. Ekaterina Shipulina danced Odette-Odile in the first Swan Lake paired with Sergei Filin, as well as the Queen of the Dryads in Don Quixote.

From July 24 to July 26, 2002, the Bolshoi Theater troupe gave three performances of Giselle in Cyprus. Ekaterina Shipulina performed as Myrta.

From September 21 to October 10, 2002, the Bolshoi Theater ballet and orchestra toured Japan. The ballets Sleeping Beauty and Spartacus were shown in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Nagoya and other cities. Ekaterina Shipulina took part in the tour.

On October 18, 2002, a gala concert dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the Ministry was held at the Bolshoi Theater economic development and trade. The concert ended with a grand pas from the ballet "Don Quixote", in which the main roles were danced by Anastasia Volochkova and Evgeny Ivanchenko, and the variations were danced by Maria Alexandrova and Ekaterina Shipulina.

From late October to mid-December 2002 ballet troupe The Bolshoi Theater toured the cities of the USA - Seattle, Detroit, Washington and others with the ballets "La Bayadère", "Swan Lake" and, at the end of the tour, "The Nutcracker". Ekaterina Shipulina took part in the tour, danced the Shadow variation in La Bayadère and the Polish Bride in Swan Lake.

Ekaterina Shipulina won the Triumph youth incentive award for 2002.

In March 2003, a ballet festival took place on the stage of the Kennedy Center in Washington. In the first part of the festival (March 4-9), a program from short works performed by artists of the Royal Danish Ballet, Bolshoi Theater and American Ballet Theater. A pas de deux from Don Quixote was shown with Anastasia Volochkova, Evgeny Ivanchenko (main roles), Ekaterina Shipulina and Irina Fedotova (variations).

On March 30, 2003, a ballet evening dedicated to the 50th anniversary was held at the Bolshoi Theater creative activity Marina Kondratieva. At the evening, Kondratieva's student Ekaterina Shipulina and Konstantin Ivanov danced the black swan pas de deux from the ballet Swan Lake.

In April 2003 at New scene The Bolshoi Theater hosted the premiere of the ballet “Bright Stream,” staged by Alexei Ratmansky especially for the Bolshoi Theater troupe. At the third performance on April 22, the roles of the Classical Dancer and the Classical Dancer were performed by Ekaterina Shipulina and Ruslan Skvortsov.

In May 2003, the premiere of the updated choreographic and stage version of the ballet "Raymonda" staged by Yu. Grigorovich took place at the Bolshoi Theater. At the premiere on May 10, Shipulina danced the role of Henrietta, Raymonda’s friend.

On May 21, 2003, Ekaterina Shipulina danced the role of Esmeralda for the first time in the ballet "Cathedral" Notre Dame of Paris"Her partners were Dmitry Belogolovtsev (Quasimodo), Ruslan Skvortsov (Frollo), Alexander Volchkov (Phoebus).

On May 26, 2003, a ballet evening was held at the Bolshoi Theater dedicated to the 70th anniversary of Nikolai Fadeyechev’s birth and the 50th anniversary of his creative activity. At the evening, Ekaterina Shipulina danced the 2nd variation in the painting “Shadows” from the ballet “La Bayadère” and the 2nd variation in the 3rd act from the ballet “Don Quixote”.

At the end of May 2003, a festival named after. R. Nurieva. At the festival, Ekaterina Shipulina danced the Queen of the Dryads in the ballet Don Quixote.

In June 2003, a tour of the English Royal Ballet took place on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater. The tour ended on June 29 with a gala concert with the participation of stars of the English Royal Ballet and the Bolshoi Theater Ballet. In the concert, Shipulina danced the 2nd variation in grand pas from the ballet “Don Quixote” (the main roles were performed by Andrei Uvarov and Marianela Nunez).

On October 16, 2003, Ekaterina Shipulina danced the main role (Seventh Waltz and Prelude) in Chopinian for the first time.

On October 27, 29 and 31, 2003, the Bolshoi Theater hosted performances of the ballet "The Pharaoh's Daughter", which were filmed by the French company Bel Air for the subsequent release of a DVD version of the ballet. Ekaterina Shipulina danced the role of the Congo River.

On November 22, 2003, the Bolshoi Theater hosted a performance of “Don Quixote” dedicated to the centenary of the birth of Asaf Messerer. Shipulina danced the Queen of the Dryads.

In January 2004, the Bolshoi Theater toured Paris. From January 7 to 24, the ballets “Swan Lake”, “Pharaoh’s Daughter” and “Bright Stream” were shown on the stage of the Palais Garnier. Shipulina danced the Polish Bride in Swan Lake, the Fisherman's Wife and the Congo River in Pharaoh's Daughter, and the Classical Dancer in Bright Stream.

Awards:

1999 - silver medal at the International Ballet Competition in Luxembourg.

2001 - second prize at the IX International Competition of Ballet Dancers and Choreographers in Moscow.

2002 - youth incentive award "Triumph".

Repertoire:

One of Giselle's friends, "Giselle" (J. Perrot, J. Coralli, production by V. Vasiliev).

Fairy of Sapphires, "The Sleeping Beauty" (M. Petipa, production by Yu. Grigorovich).

Mazurka, "Chopiniana" (M. Fokine), 1999.

Queen of the Ball, "Fantasy on a Casanova Theme" (M. Lavrovsky), 1999.

Grand pas, "La Sylphide" (A. Bournonville, E.-M. von Rosen), 1999.

Variation in grand pas, "Don Quixote" (M.I. Petipa, A.A. Gorsky, production by A. Fadeechev), 1999.

Tsar-Maiden, "The Little Humpbacked Horse", 1999.

Queen of the Dryads, "Don Quixote" (M.I. Petipa, A.A. Gorsky, production by A. Fadeechev), 2000.

Lilac Fairy, "The Sleeping Beauty" (M. Petipa, production by Yu. Grigorovich), 2000.

Second variation in the painting “Shadows”, “La Bayadère” (M. Petipa, staged by Yu. Grigorovich), 2000.

The Heir's Wife, "Russian Hamlet" (B. Eifman), 2000.

Magnolia, "Cipollino" (G. Mayorov), 2000.

Congo River, "Pharaoh's Daughter" (M. Petipa, P. Lacotte), 2000.

The Fisherman's Wife, "Pharaoh's Daughter" (M. Petipa, P. Lacotte), 2000.

Mirtha, “Giselle” (J. Perrot, J. Coralli, production by V. Vasiliev), 2001.

Gamzatti, La Bayadère (M. Petipa, V. Chabukiani, production by Yu. Grigorovich).

Odette-Odile, "Swan Lake" (M. Petipa, L. Ivanov, production by Yu. Grigorovich), 2002.

Polish Bride, "Swan Lake" (M. Petipa, L. Ivanov, production by Yu. Grigorovich).

Classical dancer, "Bright Stream" (A. Ratmansky), 2003.

Henrietta, Raymonda's friend, "Raymonda" (M. Petipa, production by Yu. Grigorovich), 2003.

Esmeralda, “Notre Dame Cathedral” (R. Petit), 2003.

Seventh Waltz and Prelude, "Chopiniana" (M. Fokine), 2003.

Sources:

1. Booklet released for IX International competition ballet dancers and choreographers in 2001 in Moscow.

2. Bolshoi Theater programs.

3. V. Gaevsky. War of the Scarlet and White Roses. "Line", July-August 2000.

4. I. Udyanskaya. An aristocrat from a ballet fairy tale. "Line", October 2001.

5. A. Vitash-Vitkovskaya. Ekaterina Shipulina: “I love the Bolshoi, and he loves me back.” "Line" #5/2002.

6. A. Galayda. Ekaterina Shipulina. "Bolshoi Theater" No. 6 2000/2001.

Olga Shablinskaya, AiF: “Every morning the body falls apart” - these are the words of your colleague...

Ekaterina Shipulina: This is true! If nothing hurts, it means you've already died - that's the joke in ballet. "Chroma" McGregor, "Hero of our time" Kirill Serebrennikov And Yuri Posokhov- ultra-modern ballets, after which the body does not belong to you. But in the morning you go to the theater, you start to warm up... We can probably be called careless: we don’t see the line when we need to stop and go to the doctor.

My friend recently asked to attend a rehearsal of the play “The Legend of Love” Yuri Grigorovich where I dance the main part - Mehmene Banu. Then she said: “I’m shocked! You repeat the same movement a hundred times.” The viewer sees the end result and thinks: everyone can jump, run, and do spins like that! And this is a big compliment to the artist: if everything looks easy, it means that the hardest work in the hall was carried out successfully.

Bolshoi Theater ballet soloist Ekaterina Shipulina Photo: RIA Novosti / Ilya Pitalev

— Katya, I know that due to a serious injury you have not appeared on stage for more than a year...

— There was a rehearsal for “Russian Seasons” Alexey Ratmansky. After the jump, I landed unsuccessfully. Swelling of the knee, a huge hematoma... The doctors' verdict: "Tear of the meniscus." I was treated with injections for 4 months. It only got worse. I went to another doctor, they took a second picture... And it turned out that I was diagnosed incorrectly - in fact, the ligament was torn off.

Friends recommended a doctor in Austria who literally “gathers” football players and skiers. The operation lasted about 4 hours.

And already 5 hours after the operation, a nurse came to me and said: “Now we’ll go for a walk.” I was extremely surprised! In my opinion, after such an operation, people lie for a week and do not move. And I went for a “walk” on crutches. And so every day. With the physiotherapist we began to slowly work out the knee. Despite the fact that I was used to enduring pain since childhood, at some point despair set in... You make every effort, but your leg doesn’t move. You cry, you understand that everything is gone, your life is over... Yes, I also gained 8 kg, my cheeks appeared, which are usually sunken.

But I tried to find positivity even in this situation. I visited all the museums in Vienna, went to Vienna Opera for three performances. Upon returning to Moscow - two workouts a day in the gym, physiotherapy, swimming. I did everything possible to get back into action as quickly as possible. In total, I didn’t go on stage for 13 months...

— What was the first role you performed after the operation?

— It was the ballet “Spartacus” by Yuri Grigorovich. The part of the leader of the courtesans, Aegina, is considered one of the most difficult in our repertoire: a huge number of jumps. At that time my teacher was still alive Tatyana Nikolaevna Golikova- a very strong, strong-willed woman. They tried to persuade her at the theater: “Why should Shipulina appear in a complex performance? Let's give it some slight variations first." But Golikova and I decided to dance in Spartak. Otherwise, you can spend your whole life struggling after an injury and consider that you are not yet ready for complex ballet...

Ekaterina Shipulina. Photo: RIA Novosti / Valery Levitin

— What does a ballet star do off stage to maintain ideal shape?

- Nothing special. I am an absolutely simple person, without any stellar quirks. But everyone is so used to seeing me on the Bolshoi stage as a “royal queen” that they think: Shipulina is cold, arrogant... I don’t know, maybe it’s because my facial features are so sharp?.. But when she’s closer to me They find out and say: “Lord, we thought you were such a bitch, but it turns out you’re an affectionate person with an angelic character!”

All stardom disappears as soon as a person leaves the stage. After work you can relax. And to eat, too: we have these physical exercise that everything is burning.

For example, I adore Uzbek pilaf. I eat chocolate and ice cream in any quantity. And I love to cook myself. I recently prepared lagman for the first time, albeit under the dictation of a friend.

— In our last interview, you said that you don’t want to delay motherhood...

- Certainly. But here as God willing. Am I afraid of falling out of work due to pregnancy? No, absolutely not scary. Before my eyes is my mother, a ballerina, who gave birth to two daughters and returned to the stage.