Nutcracker – in a fairy-tale mood

For the first time, we have videos that show a little more of Ivan Vasiliev’s performance in The Nutcracker.  We are very grateful for these.

We would not be surprised with good, even great dancing, but there is more to his Prince than one could have thought. Somehow, Ivan makes you believe in the unbelievable: a true enchanted Prince. He is not a real man, but is made of the half-forgotten memories we all have.  He is a Prince as our great-grandmothers or their mothers, imagined him – a fantasy they passed on to their children when putting them to sleep, who then passed it on to their own children, and so the Prince lives on in our imaginations.

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What makes this Prince so unmistakably magical?

A very princely posture is necessary and we have a most accomplished one! That would not be enough, though. There is also a dreamy, very quiet elegance in every gesture – and hand movements are exceptionally ethereal.

Perhaps it is in the quality of the Prince’s gallantry, for such care and deep courtesy are not found in real life. It’s also in the lifts – Maria seems to float,  nestled in a cloud.

Jumps look also unreal. They come out of nowhere, seem to happen in slow motion and end in landings you hardly notice. There must be heavy muscle work going on, but no effort is visible.

Nice to feel out of this world sometimes…

9 Jan 2016 – Happy Birthday, Ivan Vasiliev!

Ivan’s year was eventful.

Luckily he recovered from a dangerous injury he suffered in December 2014 (thank you Muse! ).

He rocked in his debuts in Swan Lake, Ivan The Terrible, Sheherazade, Messerer’s Corsaire, Mozart and Salieri, besides bringing us all the bravura roles we love so much, as well as the gentle ones that some love even more.

in Spartacus with Maria Vinogradova – Gala La Scala October 2015

with Nicoletta Manni – © Jack Devant

with Alexandr Omar

with Maria Vinogradova

in Don Quixote with Nicoletta Manni – Gala La Scala October 2015

in Swan Lake with Alina Cojocaru – ENB January 2015 – © Arnaud Stephenson

in Laurencia with Natalia Osipova – Mikhailovsky Theater – 2010 – © Mikhailovsky Theater

in Flames of Paris with Elisabetha Cheprasova – Dance Open April 2015 – © Jack Devant

in Facada with Natalia Osipova – © Douglas Gifford

in La Fille Mal Gardée – with Anna Kuligina – Mikhailovsky Theater 2015 – © Emma Kauldhar

in Lost Illusions – with Natalia Osipova – Feb 2012 – @ Alexei Filippov

in La Bayadére – with Irina Perren and Ekaterina Borchenko – May 2015 Mikhailovsky Theater – © Jack Devant

in The Nutcracker with Kristina Kretova – Dec 2015

in Sheherazade with Maria Vinogradova – Kremlin Gala 2015 – © Pankov

in La Sylphide with Maria Vinogradova – © Ekaterina Vladimirova

in Kamarinskaya – Choreography: Ivan Vasiliev – first performed in Vienna, 22 Oct 2015 – © Enrico della Valle

Bright Stream 24 12 2015

And then, there was also the amazing feat of staging Ballet No.1
almost single-handed.

Ballet No.1 Rehearsal

Ballet No.1 Team: Иван Васильев – Мария Виноградова – Денис Савин – Анна Окунева – Александр Смольянинов – Ангелина Карпова – Антон Савичев – Ана Туразашвили – Александра Pакитина – Кристина Кретова

He received this year’s  QG award for “Discovery of the Year” for that, which was well deserved!

He is also a nominee for the “Golden Mask” award
for his Mozart in Mozart and Salieri , well deserved too!!

He launched his own (WOW)site, a new Instagram Page
and a YouTube channel.

AND he got married to beautiful ballerina Maria Vinogradova!!

Happy Birthday to Ivan Vasiliev!
May the future bring fulfillment
of his many dreams –
all of them, one by one!