Elizaveta Kruteleva – Landgraf on Dance

14. September 2026

Legendary

“Swan Lake”
Bolshoi Ballet
Bolshoi Theatre
Moscow, Russia
September 7 and 8, 2026 (Historic Stage)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2026 by Ilona Landgraf

The Bolshoi Ballet is legendary for its Swan Lake. The first performance took place in 1877, almost one hundred and fifty years ago. This September, the swans danced for the 1,868th time, which translates to roughly thirteen Swan Lakes per year. Since 2001, the company has performed Yuri Grigorovich’s version, which includes scenes by Marius Petipa, Lev Ivanov, and Alexander Gorsky.

Grigorovich’s Swan Lake is grand. Its concepts and ideals represent the highest achievements of humanity and culture—dignity, decorum, grace, love, and unmatched beauty—and it shows how easily human nature can be led awry. Compared to Vladimir Bourmeister’s Swan Lake at the Stanislavsky Theatre, a ballet that reveals the protagonists’ inner life like none I’ve seen so far, Grigorovich portrays them as emblematic figures in an allegory, the sad ending of which Tchaikovsky’s prologue forebodes.

For the first act, Simon Virsaladze designed a Gothic castle of majestic height. Its trombone players are positioned in mirror image and wear partly red livery that conveys the court’s harmonious order. The entrance of twelve couples, along the line of which Prince Siegfried jetés in, infuses the stage with dynamism. Soaring high, he combines prowess with elegance. The lakeside to which Rothbart (“The Evil Genius”) directs him like a puppeteer is lit by gray moonlight and streaked with wisps of cloud. From a rock at he rear, the Evil Genius oversees his spell. Like a yin-yang symbol, his emblem, a curtain in the shape of a coat of arms, shows white and black swans opposite one another. It has a vicious look and, when lowered, hides the Evil Genius’s machinations or serves as a screen for the Prince’s visions. For Act II’s ball, the retinue swapped their red garments for turquoise. The non-dancing court society wore medieval-ish robes, including pageboy wigs for the men (costumes also by Virsaladze). My favorite part of the outfit was the Russian delegation’s pearl hair accessories.

On September 7th, Darina Moseyeva’s Odette was a fragile swan woman who seemed to live on the air she breathed. A highly sensitive creature, Dmitry Vyskubenko’s Prince treated her with utmost care. Moseyeva immersed herself so deeply into the role that she really seemed to transform into a bird-human chimera. Unfortunately, for undisclosed reasons, she didn’t dance in the second act, and Yaroslava Kuprina replaced her after a prolonged break and an announcement. Kuprina’s Odile was a perfect masquerade of wickedness—sharp and calculating, yet alluring. Presumably having rehearsed all day for her actual Swan Lake on the evening after next, Kuprina ran out of steam during the fouetées but regained her energy in the final scene at the lakeside. She was met with intense applause at the curtain calls, and the Vietnamese delegation that attended the performance in the Imperial Box expressed its appreciation with an announcement and a flower basket for the company.
Vysubenko was an impeccable partner throughout. His entrechats were stunningly filigree, and in the vision scene, his port de bras turned the air velvety.

September 8th’s Odette (Arina Denisova) and her Prince (Makhar Mikhalkin) were mesmerizing in their adagio pas de deux. It touched the soul in a way that cannot be grasped intellectually. Denisova’s Odette was calmer than Moseyeva’s and most aflutter when the Prince swore his love. Her sparkling Odile’s arms undulated like a snake; her gaze was compelling and her smile sure of victory. Of Mikhalkin’s solos, I especially admired his picture-book manège of tours en l’air.
Egor Gerashchenko’s Evil Genius darted along the line of his black swans like Spartacus; on the following evening, Igor Tsvirko danced the role, spreading menacing vibes far into the auditorium.

Akib Anvar’s jester jumped and capered fabulously, his tours, split jumps, and daredevil combinations propelling the energy at the right moments like an engine. Of the Prince’s two friends, Kristina Petrova and Margarita Shrayner danced more polished than Antonina Chapkina and Elizaveta Kruteleva. However, the latter had to deal with the quick tempo that Alexey Bogorad set at the conductor’s podium (Pavel Sorokin’s tempo on the previous evening was more moderate). At times, he also hastened the swans.

Of the brides-to-be, Ana Turazashvili’s was a self-assured, top-notch Hungarian bride who paid remarkable attention to every detail of her variation. Elizaveta Gaponenko, by comparison, made me think of Raymonda. Both Russian brides (Antonina Chapkina and Maria Konkova) were warm and giving, their arms as soft as the most gentle breeze. The Spanish brides (Anastasia Smirnova and Kristina Petrova) glided across the stage with space consuming steps, which showed off their full, flowing skirts. The Neapolitan dance led by Valeria Bespalova was vivacious, whereas on the following evening, Sofia Maimula and her Neapolitan companions hurried to keep up with Bogorad’s brisk pace. Taisia Konovalova’s Polish bride’s male entourage faced the same challenge. On the previous evening, Olga Marchenkova and her men were unremarkable.

Nelli Kobakhidze and Anastasia Meskova portrayed the Princess-Mother; Alexey Loparevich and Alexander Fadeyechev played the Prince’s tutor; Nikita Elikarov was the Master of Ceremonies at both performances.
The swan corps moved with impeccable precision and grace. Watching its beautiful patterns felt like a gift.

Link:		Website of the Bolshoi Theatre
Photos:	1.	Ensemble, “Swan Lake” by Yuri Grigorovich, Bolshoi Ballet 2026 © Bolshoi Theatre/Natalia Voronova
	2.	Darina Moseyeva (Odette), “Swan Lake” by Yuri Grigorovich, Bolshoi Ballet 2026 © Bolshoi Theatre/Damir Yusupov
	3.	Arina Denisova (Odile), “Swan Lake” by Yuri Grigorovich, Bolshoi Ballet 2026 © Bolshoi Theatre/Mikhail Logvinov
	4.	Dmitry Vyskubenko (Prince Siegfried) and ensemble, “Swan Lake” by Yuri Grigorovich, Bolshoi Ballet 2026 © Bolshoi Theatre/Elena Fetisova
	5.	Makhar Mikhalkin (Prince Siegfried), “Swan Lake” by Yuri Grigorovich, Bolshoi Ballet 2026 © Bolshoi Theatre/Pavel Rychkov
	6.	Ensemble, “Swan Lake” by Yuri Grigorovich, Bolshoi Ballet 2026 © Bolshoi Theatre/Mikhail Logvinov
	7.	Ensemble, “Swan Lake” by Yuri Grigorovich, Bolshoi Ballet 2026 © Bolshoi Theatre/Natalia Voronova
Editing:		Kayla Kauffman

4. March 202625. March 2026

The Benchmark

“Coppélia”
Bolshoi Ballet
Bolshoi Theatre (New Stage)
Moscow, Russia
February 21, 2026 (evening performance)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2026 by Ilona Landgraf

My hopes on a new video release were raised when I noticed the cameraman at the Bolshoi Ballet’s performance of Coppélia, until he explained that the recording was for internal use only. It’ll set the bar high for future generations of dancers.

Sergei Vikharev’s production, which he said is the most complete and exact rendition of what Nicholas Sergeyev noted from his St. Petersburg memories (his manuscripts are stored at Harvard University), has been in the Bolshoi’s repertory since 2009. It preserves all the details that fell victim to artistic, financial, and producing conditions in many Western stagings. Continue reading “The Benchmark”

7. May 202411. May 2024

Intense

“Romeo and Juliet”
Bolshoi Ballet
Bolshoi Theatre (Historic Stage)
Moscow, Russia
April 04, 2024 (video)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2024 by Ilona Landgraf

In early April, the Bolshoi Ballet revived Leonid Lavrovsky’s Romeo and Juliet, which senior balletomanes may remember from the company’s famous tours of London and the Met in the 1950s and ‘60s. Galina Ulanova, Raisa Strutchkova, Vladimir Vasiliev, Maris Liepa, and many others wrote ballet history dancing the leading roles. I couldn’t attend the premiere in Moscow but was finally able to watch a video of the opening night. It made me wonder why the production had been dropped from the schedule. Continue reading “Intense”

17. February 20242. March 2024

Reassuring

“Chopiniana”/“Grand Pas from the Ballet Paquita”
Bolshoi Ballet
Bolshoi Theatre (Historic Stage)
Moscow, Russia
February 14, 2024

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2024 by Ilona Landgraf

The musicians of the Bolshoi Orchestra are on their toes. After acknowledging the welcoming applause, conductor, Pavel Klinichev, raised his baton in the same instant that he turned around to face them. The vigorous bars that he prompted belonged to a Polonaise by Chopin. It opened Mikhail Fokine’s romantic Chopiniana (1908), which the Bolshoi Ballet revived in November 2022. It’s the first part of a double bill the second piece of which – the Grand Pas from Petipa’s Paquita – has been a landmark of classical dance since its creation in 1881.

There’s no need to discuss how Fokine’s choreography was performed. The Bolshoi is a guarantor of sublime performances. Indeed, the unity of the corps was nothing less than staggering; every step was measured yet effortless like an outpouring of natural decency. Perfect proportions soothed the eye. As the leading sylphs, Anastasia Stashkevich, Elizaveta Kruteleva, and Anastasia Denisova paid great attention to detail, adding the right tinge of buoyancy, melancholy, or playfulness to their solos. Vyacheslav Lopatin’s poet combined sensitivity and decisiveness. His clean and – at times mighty – jumps earned applause. Alyona Pikalova’s set design – an arch of gnarled treetops opening onto a sunny water meadow – invited the mind to dream.
I’ve watched several companies dance Chopiniana, but no performance was as complete as the Bolshoi’s. Perhaps due to experiencing messy times in my home country of Germany (and in the West in general), the refined order and serenity of Chopiniana felt especially comforting. It seemed like the epitome of civilization. Continue reading “Reassuring”

3. October 201721. April 2020

A Patchy Beginning

“The Taming of the Shrew”
Bavarian State Ballet
National Theater
Munich, Germany
September 30, 2017

This August John Cranko would have celebrated his 90th birthday. Stuttgart Ballet honors its founder with several programs, beginning with the triple bill “Cranko Pur” that premiers on October 3rd. The Bavarian State Ballet, which Cranko directed in addition to his Stuttgart company from 1968 – 1972, revives his three big narratives. “The Taming of the Shrew” opened the season. “Onegin” and “Romeo and Juliet” are scheduled for February and April 2018. During the Ballet Festival Weeks next April all three ballets will be danced on three consecutive evenings.
I saw the second performance of “Shrew” led by Natalia Osipova and Sergei Polunin, both guest dancers of the Munich company.

Cranko’s characterization of the figures follows Shakespeare’s comedy closely. We are in Padua in the 17th century. Poor Baptista is kept in suspense by his two daughters. No less than three suitors buzz around the pretty Bianca like bees around the honey pot, but her older sister, the strident Katherina, fights getting married tooth and nail. Bianca is not allowed to marry until Katherina is wed, declares Baptista unceremoniously. But how to marry her off? By accident, Bianca’s suitors – Lucentio, Hortensio and Gremio – run into the young Petruchio and recruit him to court Katherina. Continue reading “A Patchy Beginning”

21. January 201722. April 2020

A Gala without Glamor

“Gala With Stars of the Bavarian State Ballet”
Bavarian State Ballet
Prinzregententheater / Prince Regent Theatre
Munich, Germany
January 15, 2017

Half a year after Igor Zelensky assembled his new company in Munich, a gala seemed like the ideal opportunity to showcase his dancers’ individual talents. The gala was scheduled for three evenings in the city’s Prince Regent Theatre; the third evening, the one I saw, was even streamed live on the internet. Sadly, the Bavarian State Ballet didn’t take advantage of this opportunity. That wasn’t due to the dancers but mainly because of organizational failures. From the outside, it appeared the gala was a necessary ingredient to promote the repertory for this season, but when the time came, resources were inadequate to make the event special. Continue reading “A Gala without Glamor”

12. September 201622. April 2020

Behind the Scenes at the Bavarian State Ballet

“Ballet Extra: A Day of Rehearsals”
Bavarian State Ballet
Ballet Rehearsal Premises, Platzl 7
Munich, Germany
September 10, 2016

Igor Zelensky’s directorship at the Bavarian State Ballet kicked off for the public last Saturday with a “Ballet Extra”. The doors of the rehearsal studios in Munich’s City Center were open from 9:45 AM well into the afternoon. The company – or more precisely its principals, soloists and demi-soloists – rehearsed “Giselle”, the season’s first production, and “Spartacus”. Corps dancers weren’t involved.

People queued up in front of the entrance that morning and it seemed a sizeable crowd although, according to new press spokesperson Annette Baumann, it was slightly smaller than last year’s. Given that it was a lovely late summer day, people may have preferred to spend their free time outdoors rather than in stuffy studios full of hard working dancers. Continue reading “Behind the Scenes at the Bavarian State Ballet”