Who is Svetlana Evgenievna Zakharova's husband? Svetlana Zakharova: “Most ballerinas don’t know real life

Svetlana Zakharova - Russian ballet artist, prima ballerina of the Mariinsky Theater, Moscow Bolshoi Theater And Milan theater"La Scala". In 2008, Svetlana received the honorary title of People's Artist of Russia. At the same time, she began to engage in politics, joining the United Russia party.

The girl was born in Lutsk, in the family of a military man, Yuri Sergeevich, and a teacher, Galina Danilovna. Mom is a children's choreographer dance studio, instilled in the girl a love of art. Under the guidance of her mother, Sveta mastered the first steps and achieved initial stage results.

At the age of 10, the girl manages to enter the prestigious Kiev choreographic school, where Zakharova completed six classes with the famous teacher Valeria Sulegina. At the age of 16, together with many fellow students, Svetlana Zakharova participated in the “Vaganova-Prix” competition, which was organized in St. Petersburg by the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet. The artist managed to take second place, behind only a graduate of this Academy.

Of course, such a promising girl could not go unnoticed. Svetlana was immediately offered to move to St. Petersburg and study at the Ballet Academy, and the young ballerina, whose height was 168 cm and weight 48 kg, was immediately enrolled in her final year. By the way, this was the only case of such an “externship” in history educational institution.

Zakharova, who graduated a year later from the St. Petersburg Academy of Russian Ballet in the class of Elena Evteeva, after graduation was enrolled in the troupe of the Mariinsky Theater, where she began creative biography young dancer.

Ballet

At the Mariinsky Theater, Olga Moiseeva became the artistic director of Svetlana Zakharova, who during the season promoted the aspiring artist to become a soloist of the theater. The ballerina’s debut is considered to be the play “The Fountain of Bakhchisarai”, in which the girl danced the part of Maria. But critics call the ballet “Giselle”, where Svetlana played the main role, the main success at the beginning of Zakharova’s career. For the modern Russian stage it was a sensation - such young dancers had not performed this complex part for a long time, especially at such a level.

At the age of 18, Svetlana Zakharova is already a prima of the Mariinsky Theater, involved in the most important roles in classical ballets“Sleeping Beauty”, “Swan Lake”, “La Bayadère”, “Don Quixote”. Another career takeoff begins after working on the play “Then and Now,” where the girl collaborates with choreographer John Neumeier. This director managed to take a fresh look at the Russian ballerina and showed that Svetlana has access to classics and an ultra-modern vision of dance.

Then Svetlana begins to tour the world. In France, Zakharova becomes the first ballerina from former USSR, who dances on the stage of the Paris Opera after the collapse of the Union. The dancer also enjoys New York, London, Buenos Aires, Munich, and Naples.

In 2003, the ballerina decides to join the troupe of the Moscow Bolshoi Theater permanently. Work at the Bolshoi began with the premiere of the ballet “The Pharaoh’s Daughter” staged by the famous choreographer Pierre Lacotte. By the way, Zakharova’s name is associated with a scandal in 2013, when the girl, not wanting to dance in the second cast, refused to participate in the premiere of John Cranko’s ballet Onegin. This incident is considered the reason for the dismissal of theater director Anatoly Iksanov.

In 2008, the ballerina entered into a contract with the Milanese La Scala theater, where the dancer was given the status of etoile, that is, the highest status of ballet dancers. In the history of this stage, this happened for the first time - no Russian dancer had previously received such an honor. In the same year, the girl received the title of People's Artist of the Russian Federation. In 2010, Svetlana was awarded the Order of Arts and Letters in France.

IN last years The ballerina returned to the Moscow Bolshoi Theater again and appears in the largest performances “A Hero of Our Time”, “The Lady of the Camellias”, “The Legend of Love”, for which she received the “ballet Oscar” - the international Benois de la Danse award - several times. In 2015, the artist received this award for her participation in John Neumeier's ballet "The Lady of the Camellias", where the ballerina transformed into the heroine Margarita Gautier, as well as for performing the role of Mekhmene Banu in the ballet "The Legend of Love" directed by Yuri Grigorovich.

Social activity

Back in 2006, Svetlana Zakharova began helping the country's leadership by joining the Council for Culture and Art under the President of Russia. Starting next year, the artist becomes a State Duma deputy from the All-Russian political party"United Russia" sits in the State Duma until 2012.

As a public figure, Svetlana Zakharova established a special scholarship for several of the best students of the Saratov College of Arts, as she considers it very important to financially support gifted children. The main problem modern Russian art the star believes that there is a lack of original, competent choreographers, which is why there is a complete borrowing of ideas from the West.

As one of the most prominent representatives Russian culture in 2014, Zakharova was awarded the right to participate in the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. In the production of “The First Ball” Svetlana performed main party and was pleased with the experience, considering that such a chance comes once in a lifetime.

Personal life

At one of the New Year's concerts, Svetlana Zakharova met the talented violinist Vadim Repin, winner of the Queen Elizabeth Competition in Brussels (1989).

First, Svetlana Zakharova approached him for an autograph, and only a year later they life paths crossed paths again. The young people began dating and soon got married. After some time, it turned out that Svetlana Zakharova was pregnant. The ballerina was happy about this fact, because she was already tired of working in the theater and wanted changes in her life. In 2011, their daughter Anna was born, whom her parents love madly and try to devote their free time to the child.

For Vadim, the union with Svetlana is already the second marriage. The violinist’s first wife was the daughter of the Georgian composer Nodar Gabunia, Nato. Repin's son Leo is growing up in his first family.

Already 3 months after giving birth, Svetlana returned to the stage, but now the ballerina’s thoughts were focused not only on ballet, but also on raising the baby, whom Zakharova often takes with her on tour. As the ballerina says, motherhood allowed her to perceive what was happening in performances in a new way and opened up new depths of understanding of art.

The artist has an official website at home page which boasts a quote from Yves Saint Laurent about Svetlana: “There was no such ballerina, no and never will be!" The ballerina posts photos and videos of her own performances on the pages of the website; Zakharova does not have her own account on Instagram. The ballerina organized a charitable foundation that helps young ballet dancers and popularizes classical dance art.

Svetlana Zakharova now

In March 2017, with the participation of Svetlana Zakharova, the TV channel “Culture” broadcast the program “ the main role"with TV presenter Yulian Makarov. The program talked about the ballerina’s new program “Amore”, which the dancer presented from the stage of the Bolshoi Theater. Svetlana Zakharova's solo program included three one-act ballets.

Now the artist has visited Japan with a performance that took place as part of the “Russian Seasons” at the Tokyo Orchad Hall concert hall.

Repertoire

• 1996 – “Don Quixote”
• 1996 – “Sleeping Beauty”
• 1996 – “Bakhchisarai Fountain”
• 1996 – “The Nutcracker”
• 1997 – “Corsair”
• 1997 – “Giselle”
• 1997 – “Chopiniana”
• 1997 – “Romeo and Juliet”
• 1997 – “Sleeping Beauty”
• 1998 – “Swan Lake”
• 1999 – “Sleeping Beauty”
• 2000 – “Jewels”
• 2000 – “Don Quixote”
• 2001 – “La Bayadère”
• 2002 – “Sleeping Beauty”
• 2004 – “Sleeping Beauty”

Childhood

At the age of 10, Svetlana managed to enter the Kiev Choreographic School, where she studied for 6 years in the class of Valeria Selugina. After graduation, the girl took part in a prestigious dance competition“Vaganova-Prix” in St. Petersburg and took second place, losing the lead to a more experienced ballerina.

The performance of the gifted girl did not pass the attention of the experts, and after the competition Svetlana received an offer to continue her studies at the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet in St. Petersburg, starting immediately from her final year. On next year, in 1996, young ballerina has already performed at the Mariinsky Theater, where Svetlana Moiseeva became her mentor.

Ballerina career

Despite the excellent work Svetlana did, experts are confident that the ballerina’s real success came from her role in the play “Giselle” (1997), where she performed the leading role. It is noteworthy that such roles go to only the most experienced professionals. Svetlana’s performance created a sensation, because on Mariinsky stage There have never been cases when such a young dancer coped with this most difficult part so easily.

Already at the age of 18, Zakharova became the prima of the Mariinsky Theater, which in itself is a unique case. The graceful and fragile girl received key roles in such classic productions as Swan Lake (1998), Sleeping Beauty (1999) and Don Quixote (2000). A new takeoff in the ballerina’s career occurred in 2001, after meeting a teacher from Germany, John Neumeier. Thanks to him, she received the main role in his ballet “Then and Now” (“Now and then”). After the performance, Zakharova had no doubt that she was capable of mastering not only classics, but also modern dances.

After a triumphant season in her homeland, Zakharova also shone during her foreign tours. Her dance could be enjoyed in New York, London, Munich, Naples. On the stage of the famous Paris Opera at the end of 2001, Svetlana danced three times in the ballet “La Bayadère”, staged by Rudolf Nureyev. At the end of 2002, Zakharova performed the pas de deux from Giselle in a duet with the main dancer of the Bolshoi Theater Nikolai Tsiskaridze.

In 2003, a successful young ballerina made an important decision for her career and moved to Moscow to perform in the Bolshoi Theater troupe. The debut work at the new place of work was the production of “Pharaoh’s Daughter”.

In 2008, Zakharova was offered to sign a contract famous theater Milana "La Scala" - she became the first Russian ballerina to receive such an honor. During these years, Svetlana also continued performing on the stage of her native Bolshoi Theater, where she performed in productions of “A Hero of Our Time,” “The Lady of the Camellias” and “The Legend of Love.”

In 2013, the famous ballerina was involved in an unpleasant scandal: she refused to dance in the play “Onegin” in the second cast. This conflict with the management was associated with the subsequent resignation of the director of the Bolshoi Theater, Anatoly Iksanov, from his post. In 2014, Svetlana was invited to perform at the opening of the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, she portrayed Natasha Rostova at the first ball.

Social activity

During her work in government, the ballerina established a special scholarship for the best students of the Saratov College of Arts. She believes that it is important to financially support young talents who strive to amaze the world with their grace and beauty. In addition, Zakharova is a co-founder of the budget fund “Talent and Success” in support of young talents in the field of art.

The ballerina returned to the stage when the child was not yet three months old, and admitted that at first it was very difficult for her to recover. Svetlana devotes all her free time to her family and caring for her daughter. In order not to leave Anya for a long time, she often takes her on tour with her and, as her mother once did, initiates her daughter into the mystery of ballet.

Svetlana Zakharova now

Svetlana Zakharova in the solo program “Amore”

Svetlana Zakharova is a ballerina who has gained popularity on the St. Petersburg stage. She was born on June 10, 1979 in Lutsk, in the family of a military man and a teacher of a children's creative studio.

short biography

Today Svetlana lives and works in Moscow, being a prima ballerina at the Bolshoi Theater. Zakharova Svetlana shows political activity, being a deputy of the State Duma and a member of the United Russia faction. She takes an active part in the State Duma Committee on Culture. In the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Sochi, Svetlana played the role of Natasha Rostova.

Career

From the age of six, the future celebrity studied folk dances, and already at ten she entered the Kiev Choreographic School and connected her life with ballet. In many ways, the choice of this path was suggested to the girl by her mother, who wanted to see her daughter as a ballerina and was able to persuade her to enter the school in time. Already as a student at Zakharova, Svetlana successfully built a career as a ballerina, dancing Masha in “The Nutcracker,” the Dying Swan, and the Queen of the Triads in “Don Quixote.” And not only on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater... The troupe of this theater accepted Svetlana into its ranks at the age of 17, immediately after graduating from the academy, and literally a year later she already received the status of a ballerina. Actively helped Svetlana in creative development experienced mentor Olga Moiseeva, thanks to which the young ballerina quickly began to receive many leading roles in the theater. In 2003, Svetlana moved to Moscow and went to work at the Bolshoi Theater, where she received the status of prima ballerina. Her debut on the new stage as a soloist took place in October 2003 in the ballet Giselle, although she had already danced this role three times at the Bolshoi Theater before the transition. Rapid development Svetlana's career was accompanied by Svetlana's participation in world-class ballet companies as a guest celebrity. Svetlana Zakharova is a ballerina with unusually high merits: her repertoire includes dozens of brilliant roles, which she performs on the leading stages of the world.

Repertoire

Her best performances are often called the role of Medora from The Corsair, Juliet in Shakespeare's tragedy, Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty and Kitri in Don Quixote. This is the most famous Russian ballerina in the world. Svetlana danced with Vladimir Malakhov, Nikolai Tsiskaridze, Jose Manuel Careño and many other famous ballet dancers.

Awards and titles

The first serious confirmation of Svetlana's talent can be considered the receipt of second place in the International competition among young dancers in 1995 in St. Petersburg. Successful participation in this competition helped the ballerina immediately enter the third year of the Vaganova Academy in St. Petersburg and study in the class of Elena Evteeva. In 1999, Svetlana won the Golden Mask award for the best female role in ballet. Svetlana Zakharova received her current status as prima ballerina in 2003 at the Bolshoi Theater, where her teacher is the famous graduate of the Vaganova Academy and former ballerina of the Mariinsky Theater. In 2005, Svetlana received the title of Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, and literally three years later - People's Artist. In 2005, the ballerina was awarded an award by the International Union of Choreographers for her performance of the role in the ballet “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” - “Benois de la Danse”. In 2008, Svetlana was recognized as the star of the La Scala theater in Milan.

Personal life of a ballerina

Svetlana Zakharova is married to a violinist with whom he once set her up New Year's concert. The ballerina says that she was simply amazed by Vadim’s talented performance and after the performance she approached him for an autograph. Future husband The next time I met Svetlana Zakharova was only a year later. Officially, the couple does not talk about the wedding date, but it is reliably known that Svetlana and Vadim are married.

In 2011, a daughter, Anna, appeared in the star family. After giving birth, the ballerina returned to the stage just three months later, but she never ceases to pay the necessary attention to the child, and sometimes even takes her daughter with her on tour. Svetlana often admits that the birth of a child significantly changed her views on the world, transformed her judgment and thoughts. Motherhood gave me the opportunity to perceive and feel even movement in ballet in a new way. Svetlana Zakharova is a ballerina of the highest level, but there is no doubt that dizzying career does not in any way prevent her from being a wonderful wife and caring mother.

Style and character

This woman's natural abilities are perfect for ballet. The standard figure for a ballerina can easily be called the one that Svetlana Zakharova has. Svetlana's height is 168 cm, weight - 48 kg. She does not like repetitions and patterns in clothing and always carefully selects a costume that will be as different as possible from those who performed the role before her. Svetlana's zodiac sign is Gemini, so she is characterized by some mood swings and particular energy. The star does not believe in omens and does not support superstitions, always believing in her luck. The prima ballerina loves to relax mainly in the mountains, preferring them to hot sunny beaches.

Social and political activities

As mentioned above, Zakharova is a deputy of the State Duma of the fifth convocation and a member of the culture committee. The ballerina takes this circumstance quite responsibly and cannot stand aside where support is needed - in 2011 she became the founder and president charitable foundation, which aims to achieve the following main objectives:

• preservation and development of the best traditions of choreography and culture;
• providing the opportunity to practice ballet to a wide range of people;
• support and promotion of the Russian ballet school;
• creating a favorable environment for the existence of a sufficient number of ballet studios and special schools for children in this area;
• maintaining professionalism in ballet;
• assistance to young dancers;
• and the necessary rehabilitation of ballet veterans.

Svetlana Zakharova helped establish a special scholarship for several of the best students of the Saratov College of Arts, finding it extremely necessary, and now she is going to not stop there. In the near future, the woman plans to organize Russia’s first creative children's party- ballet festival. The star openly admits that combining the activities of a deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation with ballet is often very difficult, because to achieve success in one thing you need extreme concentration on the subject and the application of many efforts. Svetlana considers the almost complete lack of competent modern choreographers to be a big problem with current choreography, which is hindering its development, which forces Russia to borrow too much in ballet from the West.

Celebrity personal website

The official website of Svetlana Zakharova is located at: svetlana-zakharova.com. A visit to the resource helps to obtain the most systematic and up-to-date information about the ballerina. The star’s website is valuable for fans, because on it you can always find the most reliable information about what Svetlana Zakharova is doing. A biography, a photo gallery, a list of roles in the repertoire - this is only part of the useful data on the site.

MOSCOW, March 9. /Corr. TASS Olga Svistunova/. Prima ballerina of the State Academic Bolshoi Theater of Russia (SABT), People's Artist Russian Federation Svetlana Zakharova will make a world tour with her solo program “Amore” and will prepare a new project of modern choreography.

A press conference at TASS is dedicated to the plans of the famous dancer, in which her colleague from the Bolshoi Theater, a soloist of the ballet troupe and at the same time, participates along with the ballerina herself. general producer MuzArts company Yuri Baranov.

“Before going on a world tour with her solo project “Amore,” Svetlana Zakharova will show this program on March 14 and 15 at the Historical Stage of the Bolshoi Theater,” Baranov said in an interview with TASS. He recalled that the program had already been shown at the Bolshoi Theater on May 24 and 25 last year and was sold out.

“Many spectators were not able to get to the performances, so we decided, almost a year later, to repeat “Amore”, in theatrical language, “for an encore”. By the way, all tickets are now completely sold out,” the producer informed. According to him, the audience excitement is completely justified. “The public has never seen Zakharova as she appeared in the “Amore” program,” stated Baranov.

"Unknown Zakharova"

Zakharova confirmed that the program included three one-act ballets, which she had never performed before. “I don’t like to dance the same thing for a long time,” said the ballerina. “But classical performances don’t belong to this: you want to dance them as long as possible,” she said.

“Modern ballets are a completely different story,” says the prima. “Taking risks, trying oneself in a completely different style—an artist needs this. I’m not afraid to experiment, I like to be different, unpredictable.” She admitted that she had long dreamed of doing a solo project. According to the artist, she chose the choreographers herself.

"We were rehearsing whole year, and it was an amazing time because we worked with a lot of love. It’s not for nothing that our project is called “Amore”, which means “love” in Italian. And all our three ballets talk about love - happy and tragic, seriously and with humor,” the ballerina noted.

Program

The project opens with the ballet “Francesca da Rimini” staged by Yuri Possokhov. A former premier of the Bolshoi Ballet, he became a successful choreographer, who has produced dozens of ballets, including Francesca da Rimini. The love story immortalized in Dante's Divine Comedy comes to life in a ballet set to music by Tchaikovsky, in which Zakharova performs the title role. Her lover on stage was the Bolshoi Theater soloist Denis Rodkin, in the role jealous husband- another prime minister of the Bolshoi Theater, Mikhail Lobukhin.

The next ballet in the program is called "Before It Rains." Its author is the German-Nigerian dancer and choreographer Patrick de Bana. Premier of the troupes of Maurice Bejart and Nacho Duato, he is also a renowned director. Especially for Zakharova, he staged a short story about the dream of all-consuming love, where the prima appeared in the form of a heroine. De Bana himself acts as her partner; the Bolshoi Theater soloist Denis Savin is also involved in the ballet.

The project ends with the ballet “Strokes through Tails,” which was composed by Irish choreographer Marguerite Donlon to the music of Mozart. In this ballet farce, Zakharova appeared in a comic role that was unexpected for her. To date, the "Amore" project has been shown not only in Moscow, but also in other cities around the world.

"Amore" World Tour

“In fact, the world tour “Amore” began with the premiere, which took place in May last year in the Italian city of Modena,” said Baranov. “Then the program was shown in another Italian city - Parma. And after that, Svetlana decided to present her project at the Bolshoi theater".

According to the producer, Zakharova is very sensitive to the stage of the Bolshoi Theater, believing that only well-prepared work can be brought to this stage. “So at first we slightly tested her project in Italy, where Zakharova is very popular, and only then we presented it at the Bolshoi Theater,” Baranov said. He recalled that after Moscow, “Amore” again went to Italy and visited Ravenna and Genoa. The project was also shown in Monte Carlo, Baranov added.

Talking about future plans, he said that foreign impresarios are interested in Zakharova’s solo project. “The problem lies in the workload of the ballerina herself, who finds it difficult to find time for touring in her busy schedule,” noted the producer.

At the same time, he informed that it is already known that “Amore” will be shown in Cyprus on August 4 and 5, its tour is planned for Tokyo on September 24 and 25, and on November 20, Zakharova’s solo project will be presented on the stage of the London Coliseum. “Negotiations are also underway about tours in Turkey, Spain, Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary and Finland,” Baranov listed, emphasizing that the “Amore” world tour will last until 2018.

New project ahead

“Zakharova’s project is very successful and in demand,” the producer stated, adding that the ballerina does not intend to stop there. On the contrary, she is thinking about a new program. “We are planning to make a new program, which will be staged entirely for Sveta,” Baranov said. He assured that negotiations are already underway on this matter with famous choreographers peace.

"We don't stop there, but move on. We select different choreographers, not similar friends to a friend, original in handwriting and style. We want to make an even more interesting three-act project that will not leave anyone indifferent. We hope that we will be able to show the world premiere of Svetlana Zakharova’s new program in March 2019,” concluded Baranov.

Charity festival

Zakharova announced that she will hold the Charity Festival for the third time children's dance"Svetlana", the founder and artistic director of which she is. The viewing will take place on March 28 at the Rossiya concert hall in Luzhniki. “The first festival took place in 2015,” Zakharova recalled. “We were very worried then how everything would turn out,” said the artist. “But it seems that our “Svetlana” has caught on, and now we are holding the festival for the third time.”

According to Zakharova, “Svetlana” is held primarily to show how versatile and talented Russian children are. At the same time, the artist noted that the selection for the festival is tough. The groups that ultimately receive the right to appear on the Moscow stage are laureates of various competitions, including international ones. “In many ways, the strict process of selecting young dancers is dictated by the fact that the festival is charitable. Moreover, charity involves absolutely everything, from the arrival of children, their stay in Moscow and ending with the distribution of tickets,” the ballerina explained.

She informed that this year about 600 young dancers in 17 creative groups from all over the country will take part in the festival, including from Magnitogorsk, Orenburg, Kerch, Ulyanovsk, Kaluga, Volgograd, Kazan, Kursk, Izhevsk, Penza and St. Petersburg. Prima noted that this moment"Svetlana" is a Russian festival, but its plans are to reach the world level.

Zakharova's attention to young dancers family roots: her mother Galina Zakharova is a former teacher, choreographer of a children's studio. Svetlana Zakharova would also like to see her daughter, six-year-old Anna, become a dancer in the future. “I would really like her to dance,” says the artist. “This is a wonderful art, and children who take up dance stand out from their peers,” says the Bolshoi Theater prima.

Ballerina for all roles

Svetlana Zakharova was born in Lutsk (Ukraine). In 1989 she entered the Kiev Choreographic School, but completed her graduation course at the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet in St. Petersburg.

From 1996 to 2003 she was a soloist at the Mariinsky Theater. Since 2003, she has been a prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Theater, and is also an etoile of Milan's La Scala Theater (since 2008). She is involved in performances of classical and modern repertoire. "Svetlana Zakharova can control everything dance styles, from classic to modern. She is a ballerina for all roles,” says the head of the Bolshoi Theater ballet troupe Mahar Vaziev.

“I have known Sveta since her studies at the Vaganova School,” said Vaziev. “Then she came to Mariinskii Opera House, and I assigned her the first performance - it was “Giselle”. (Vaziev then headed the Mariinsky Ballet - TASS note). Then we met at La Scala - I directed the ballet there, and Svetlana Zakharova performed as an etiquette."

"Now we are working together at the Bolshoi Theater. I must note that in all our creative path Zakharova remains a true star, one of best ballerinas peace," he emphasized.

• Photo: Igor Pavlov
• Style: Irina Dubina
• Interview: Alexandra Mendelskaya
• Hairstyle: Evgeniy Zubov @Authentica club @Oribe
• Makeup: Lyubov Naydenova @2211colorbar

“Is this Chapurin? All his things seem to be sewn for me,” notes Svetlana Zakharova, examining the dress, delicate and weightless, like herself. The dress was really made just for her, according to a special order from the website: in the morning before the meeting with the prima ballerina of the main theater of the country, we picked it up “in the heat of the day” from Igor Chapurin’s atelier on Savvinskaya embankment. The participation of the designer and “freelance costume designer” of the Russian ballet played an important role in the fact that the prima agreed to give us an interview: as you know, it is very difficult for Svetlana Zakharova to find time to communicate with journalists, especially now that she new program"Amore", having received an incredible ovation in Moscow, goes on a journey across world stages.

We chose no less than the Moscow Planetarium as the setting for the shooting: “placing” a world-class star next to other celestial bodies seemed an ambitious, but quite logical idea. There is some kind of metaphorical poetics in this, isn’t there? However, Svetlana Zakharova does not show the excessive “stardom” expected from the prima of the Bolshoi and La Scala (on the Milan stage the ballerina is called only “etoile”) and behaves with rare professionalism: she obediently follows the busy shooting schedule, steadfastly endures the unexpected cold in premises of the museum and, despite her busy schedule (Svetlana has to fly to Tokyo for a performance every other day), patiently and with a smile answers all questions. Perhaps the whole point is that long years ballet life taught this fragile girl to overcome any difficulties without a single hint of effort. During the 6 hours of our collaboration, Odette of the 21st century (she danced more than ten editions of Swan Lake) drinks only two cups of Nespresso cappuccino, which makes us want to ask her about strict regime nutrition. But stylist Evgeny Zubov, the only one to whom the ballerina trusts her hair, shows touching concern for his ward and asks us to avoid platitudes in the interview. Therefore, in a conversation with the artist, we raise completely different topics: how to combine personal life and career, the behind-the-scenes life of ballet in Russia and abroad, and why she refused to film in Big Babylon.

Dress, Chapurin

You are a prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Theater and etoile of the La Scala Theatre, you have danced on all the world's main stages. How do you feel differently when you go on stage in Milan and in Moscow?

Any appearance on stage is special; it requires a lot of preparation and attitude. I will not hide that wherever I performed, the stage of the Bolshoi Theater was always the most “emotional”: here there is the highest concentration and the strongest excitement. They say that my native walls help: on the one hand, yes, but on the other, such a storm of emotions occurs inside me like nowhere else.

Maybe the Russian public is more picky?

No, you can’t fool any viewer. It doesn’t matter where you perform: either the audience likes it or they remain indifferent. I think that here, on the stage of the Bolshoi, I am influenced by its special historical spirit.

When performing in Milan, Paris, New York, do you feel that you are responsible for the image of the country? Do you feel like a Russian ballerina?

Of course, there is a feeling of a certain responsibility. I am proud that I am a Russian ballerina, and that I was raised in best traditions Russian ballet school - without exaggeration, the best in the world.

Is it true that in Europe and the USA, ballerinas and theater workers in general are treated more strictly in terms of discipline: they are seriously fined for missing rehearsals and other violations?

For dancers, theater is first and foremost work. Therefore, as in other areas, management has the right to fine you for violating labor discipline. At the Bolshoi, as throughout the world, this is strictly monitored, but there are exceptions for leading performers. We work on quality, and not on the number of hours spent in the rehearsal hall, so soloists in any Russian theater They have the right to determine their own regime. In foreign theaters, the rehearsal schedule is drawn up a week in advance: it doesn’t matter whether you are tired or not, you must be in the hall if your name is indicated. But this applies to the permanent theater troupe - not to the guest performers. So even there I stick to a schedule that suits me.

You combine in an amazing way successful career ballerinas with intense personal life. How do you do this?

It seems to me that since Soviet times there has been a stereotype that a ballerina should give herself completely to the stage: not have children, think about roles all the time, rehearse. My generation is more free in this regard: dancers go into maternity leave, some succeed twice in their career. I will even say more: it benefits everyone. Other feelings are born, new forces and emotions appear... Life changes, the speed and rhythm are completely different, and one way or another there must be enough time for everything, the main thing is desire. We live in an age of new technologies and speeds: everything passes so quickly that we want to do a lot and experience a lot in life.

Dress, Chapurin

Your schedule is booked several years in advance, and your husband probably has an equally busy schedule. How do you maintain strong family relationships and pay enough attention to the child?

When Vadim and I met, the life of each of us was already like this: tours, performances, rehearsals, meetings... Neither I nor he know any other rhythm, and we have nothing to complain about: initially it was our conscious choice. Whenever possible, we come to each other's performances. It is very important for me to discuss the performance after, to hear the opinion of my loved one. Our daughter is already 5 years old. She's well-mannered creative child: goes to plays and concerts and knows that if I have a performance, she must be quiet and not make noise while I am resting. Of course, at first I had to explain this to her, but now she understands everything without words. Anya got used to our constant departures. At 2.5 years old she was already watching the ballet “Giselle” in Prague and, in general, from an early age she flew with me on tour. Now Anya is engaged in dancing, gymnastics, and English, so she is more attached to Moscow. My mother is always there - they are great friends: my daughter calls her by name, since no one in the family dares to call my mother grandmother. Mom is the closest and dearest person, who else can you trust if not her?

You have admitted more than once that you would be happy to send your daughter to ballet. Based on your experience, what is the most important advice you would give her?

She is very mobile! I hope that dance classes will direct all her energy in the right direction. It is difficult to give advice, but I know for sure that in addition to discipline, ballet gives a life of beauty, a dream and a goal. A child begins to strive for something from an early age and grows up faster. If my daughter chooses my path, I will gladly support her.

Nowadays ballet is actively presented to the masses - it is shown on TV, artists participate in various media projects. Also, several years ago, Bolshoi performances began to be broadcast in cinemas. How do you feel about such popularization of art?

This is positive, because it makes ballet more accessible. Not everyone has the opportunity to go to the Bolshoi Theater various reasons. And so, ballet fans from all over the world can attend a performance with the participation of their favorite artists without leaving their city. Thanks to such broadcasts, my fans are becoming more and more. These performances are filmed by a professional team from France, they are familiar with the theater and know how to film ballets - they say it looks great big screen amazing! I often hear this from people from different countries. Another thing is that for me as a performer this is an additional burden. During the broadcast, you dance not only for the audience in the hall: cameras are placed on different sides, and you don’t know at what moment and from what angle they are filming you, showing your movements in the background or showing your face in close-up. And there is no opportunity to change anything after the show. When dancing, I have to control myself more than usual. The broadcast is actually on live: hundreds of thousands of viewers watch it. After such loads, it takes me much longer to recover and come to my senses.

Don't you think that the very magic of going to the Bolshoi Theater is lost when the play is shown in cinema?

The public, as far as I know, gathers for such broadcasts not as in a movie, but as in academic theater: People dress appropriately and applaud during and after the performance. Judging by the attendance at such events, people need this. Still, many people watch recordings of my performances on Youtube—hundreds of thousands of views! So it’s better for the audience to see the whole performance in high-quality filming on the big screen, rather than excerpts in poor quality, filmed secretly, sometimes from the top tier, on a smartphone.

Bodysuit, Maison Margiela; skirt and cape, Dries Van Noten (all – Leform)

It’s better for the audience to see the whole performance in high-quality footage on a big screen, rather than poor-quality excerpts filmed on a smartphone.

A ballerina, especially one who dances in several troupes, constantly changes partners on stage. Having worked with a large number of artists of different types and temperaments, how do you establish contact with each of them?

All my first partners were the older generation of amazing artists: with them I studied and gained experience as an aspiring ballerina. Everyone treated me very kindly and introduced me to performances. I took a lot from them in terms of knowledge. And now, having stage experience, I myself try to help my new partners delve into this or that material. If a dancer starts working on a role from scratch, I share my knowledge and emotions with him to make it easier for him. At these moments I review my games and dive deeper into them. I am interested in having not just a good partner nearby, but above all interesting person. The success of the performance depends on the work of both main performers.

Do you need some kind of real emotional connection with your partner to show genuine emotion on stage?

A personal connection is not necessary, but there must be sympathy between the people dancing in pairs. A special chemistry that makes people who are strangers to each other a stunning duet on stage. And then the audience believes everything that happens between the performers and is imbued with the atmosphere of the theater. It happens, of course, that this does not happen, and in this case acting skills and professional experience are included.

I can’t help but ask you about working together with Roberto Bolle, the star of Italian ballet. What was the most memorable thing about working with him?

We often dance together on the stage of La Scala. In Italy, even those who do not attend performances know his name. In Italian I call him bella persona: he is not only a unique dancer and partner, but also good man- modest and very private. And, despite his popularity, he is an incredible workaholic: he is ready to work all day in the ballet hall, endlessly repeat lifts and movements. He is very easy to dance with, he is stable and reacts instantly if something goes wrong. One of my friends said: “Your rehearsals with Bolle can sell tickets.” This is because we give them 100 percent. In October we have Giselle scheduled at La Scala, so we will delight the audience with our duet again.

At the end of May, the Russian premiere of your solo program “Amore” took place at the Bolshoi Theater. What did you want to say with this production?

First of all, this is my first big solo project. I often perform with solo concerts, but usually these are excerpts from classical plays and individual numbers. I wanted to do something new, large-scale, emotional, to surprise and inspire my viewers. Together with a huge team, we worked on this project for a year. The performance consists of three one-act ballets, staged by different choreographers, in completely different styles. “Francesca da Rimini” to the music of Tchaikovsky, staged by Yuri Posokhov: I fell in love with this performance at first sight! The second - “Before the Rain Passes” - was staged especially for me by the Austrian choreographer Patrick de Bana: in this performance there is no plot as such, and the viewer comes up with his own meaning to what is happening; there is a share of emotional impromptu on stage. And the third is a kind of joke ballet “Strokes through Tails”, staged by Margarita Donlon for Mozart’s 40th symphony. It has a subtle humor that is not always easy to convey on stage. I wanted the drama and philosophy to be balanced and for the audience to leave the show smiling.

Why did you collaborate with these particular choreographers?

When Yuri Baranov, the producer of “Amore,” invited me to do a solo project, I already had ideas to dance “Francesca da Rimini” and make a new performance with Patrick de Bana. All that remained was to find the third ballet. Yuri soon showed me “Strokes through Tails”, discovering Margarita Donlon for me. She has never worked in Russia before, and I am very glad that everything turned out this way: all three choreographers are very talented people and are not at all similar to each other.

Will you repeat this program?

Yes, we will show the next performances of the “Amore” project on June 30, July 3 in Italy and July 6 in Monaco.

Which contemporary director do you dream of working with?

There are many of them: both those who have already worked with me and those with whom I have not yet collaborated. Jean Christophe Maillet, Paul Lightwood - I dream of meeting them at work. And, of course, I would really like to collaborate with John Neumeier again: I consider him the greatest choreographer of our time. I was lucky enough to perform a part in his play “The Lady of the Camellias”. I really love Boris Yakovlevich Eifman: at his anniversary I danced an excerpt from his play “Red Giselle”. This is a choreographer who has his own style, you can’t confuse him with anyone. No wonder his performances are adored by audiences all over the world, and his troupe works with great enthusiasm and dedication.

It’s no secret that the Russian public is still wary of modern ballet and usually takes it rather coolly. various kinds experiments. Are you thinking about how to properly submit new formats?

When I do something new, I think not only about what would be interesting for me to dance, but also about whether it will be interesting to the viewer. Would I like to see the play again? The main thing for me is that the audience leaves the theater inspired and spiritualized.

Costumes for the project “Amore” were made by Igor Chapurin. Are you with him Good friends, he often dresses you on stage and in life and even created a dress especially for our shoot. How did your partnership begin?

Igor Chapurin has a long history with ballet, as you know (In 2005, Igor Chapurin was the first Russian designer to receive the right to create stage designs and costumes for Bolshoi Theater ballets. - Editor's note). And we became friends just when we were preparing the production of “Amore”, he “dressed” the ballets “Francesca da Rimini” and “Strokes through the Tails”. Yuri Baranov brought me to his boutique so that we could get to know each other better, and since then we have been working closely together. He is a true master of his craft, one of the brightest Russian designers, and what he does causes me sincere delight. While working on Amore, I completely trusted his vision and taste. He always shares his ideas with such enthusiasm that I agree to everything!

Besides Chapurin, which Russian designers do you wear?

I am friends with Nikolai Krasnikov: I love what he does for his brand. I have a lot of respect for Vyacheslav Zaitsev - he is our legend and trendsetter of Russian fashion, a conductor of Russian culture.

Not long ago, the film “Big Babylon” was released, revealing the holy of holies - the backstage of the Bolshoi Theater. The film was shot in the footsteps of the famous tragic story. What do you think was the purpose of it being filmed and why did you not take part in it?

I have a negative attitude towards this film. It seems that the director was planning to show another scandal, apparently deciding to become famous in this way. He failed to film the real Bolshoi Theater, its rich behind-the-scenes process. Some snippets from the lives of some theater workers, nothing more. I am not interested in such projects.

For the second year under your patronage, the charity dance festival of children's dance “Svetlana” has been held in Moscow. What plans do you have for this project?

The goal of this unique event is to show how diverse dance is: from classical and folk to modern - everything can be seen at the festival. Professional groups, ensembles from different cities Russia, which ranks first in international competitions. They dance in such a way that it takes your breath away! And these are our talented children who love what they do. I cannot express how grateful I am to the teachers and choreographers who educate young talents.

Slip dress, Organic by John Patrick (KM20)

The ballet world is closed: you live like in a fairy tale and hardly know real life.

What is the charitable part of the project?

We fully provide travel, accommodation and meals for all participants. Come to Moscow and perform at one of the best venues in Moscow (in Concert hall"Russia" in Luzhniki) is a reward for them. I didn’t have a goal to make a competition - it’s a festival, a dance forum, if you like. This year 500 children took part in it. Built especially for the festival big stage, very beautiful decorations were made. Of course, the competitive moment occurs at the stage of selecting participants. But the main thing is that children do not feel competition during the festival - on the contrary, they all look at each other’s work with great interest, learn from experience, and get to know each other. There are no losers or winners here.

For some time you worked on the Duma Committee on Culture. What did this experience give you and are you planning to return to the Duma?

Yes, I worked in the fifth convocation, and for me this period was definitely interesting and useful in terms of some discoveries. You see, the ballet world is closed: you live like in a fairy tale and, despite all the “adventures,” you hardly know real life. And when I came to the Duma, I saw the world from the other side: I managed to help someone, but I couldn’t do something. Now my schedule is planned for several years in advance, and all plans are related only to art. I'm used to giving myself completely to what I do. But I don’t rule out that I will be able to return someday: there may be changes in life.