Interview-biography of the famous Ulyana Lopatkina, prima ballerina of the Mariinsky Theater. Ulyana Lopatkina: height, weight and photo of the ballerina Personal life of Ulyana Lopatkina

Ulyana Lopatkina is a Russian prima ballerina who, back in 1995, became a bright star of the Mariinsky Theater, and since then has honorably held the title of one of the most promising and sought-after Russian ballerinas.

Ulyana Lopatkina has long received worldwide recognition: she often tours different countries, speaking on behalf of the entire Russian ballet. From an early age, the girl was considered very developed and talented - already at the age of 10 she left her home and lived in a boarding school, devoting all her free time to the main passion of her life - ballet.

Over the years, the Russian prima ballerina has fully revealed her talent, amazing charisma and ability to carry herself in public, and today she is considered the most original and extravagant Russian ballerina.

A childhood that defined the future

Ulyana Lopatkina was born in Ukraine, in the city of Kerch, in 1973. The future ballerina spent her childhood in dance schools and sports clubs, where young Ulyana was seriously involved in gymnastics.

Already during these years, the girl clearly realized that she wanted to connect her life with ballet art. Her early years at the barre, her first professional difficulties and not always smooth relationships with other ballerinas only strengthened her desire to become the best on the national ballet stage.

Lopatkina received her education at the Academy of Russian Ballet. AND I. Vaganova, which is located in St. Petersburg. Ulyana herself believes that she owes much of her talent and “ballet” skills to her teacher and idol – N.M. Dudinskaya, who performed at the Kirov Theater in the mid-twentieth century.

Career of a young ballerina

The first professional triumph in the biography of Ulyana Lopatkina was the victory at the prestigious Vaganova ballet competition, which the young ballerina won in 1990.

At the competition, Lopatkina presented several ballet variations, each of which received stunning success and was well remembered by the strict jury members. As soon as the ballerina completed her studies at the Academy of Ballet Art, she was immediately offered a job at the Mariinsky Theater.

Mariinskii Opera House

At the beginning of Lopatkina’s work in the theater, she was assigned “small” roles in the corps de ballet. Later, Ulyana’s talent was considered by the directors and she was transferred to more solid roles, in solo performance. Lopatkina always performed bright roles:

• a simple dancer in Don Quixote;
• Fairies in Sleeping Beauty;
• Zobeides in Scheherazade;
• Odette-Odile in Swan Lake.

Three years after working at the Mariinsky Theater, the ballerina received an honorary prize from Ballet magazine for her participation in the Rising Star category. A year later, in 1995, Lopatkin received an even more honorable award in the category “Best Debut on Stage.” This competition was held at the St. Petersburg level, and victory in it became a kind of turning point in the ballerina’s career.

Since 1995, Lopatkina became the first ballerina of her theater. Each new role evoked rave reviews from admirers and lively conversations among ballet critics. The ballerina was interested not only in classical roles, but also in modern choreographic performances.

After stunning success, Ulyana Lopatkina received a serious injury, after which she did not appear on stage for several years. However, in 2003 she was seen again at the Mariinsky Theater, and after that the ballerina not only began to regularly participate in the most extravagant and complex productions, but also began to travel to different countries, representing her country on the world ballet stage.

Personal life

The ballerina married the famous contemporary writer and businessman Vladimir Kornev in 2001. A year later, the couple had a girl, who was named Maria. After 9 years of personal life, the couple broke up. Now the ballerina oversees several charitable projects, and also heads the board of the Foundation for the Fight against Cancer.

In addition to the Mariinsky Theater, Ulyana Lopatkina dances on the stage of many other Russian and world venues. The ballerina has already conquered the stages of Milan, New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, and many other cities. Lopatkina’s additional hobbies include reading classical literature and creating interior designs.

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She is called the best “swan” since Maya Plisetskaya. And also “Divine” and “Wings of the Dove”. That's right, with a capital letter. Ulyana Lopatkina feels uneasy from these words...

Titles rained down on Lopatkina in her early twenties. They began to “go to it,” as they say in the theater, and even ride. Balletomanes from Belokamennaya, having forgotten about the stars of the Bolshoi, first bought a ticket to the Red Arrow, and then to a performance with the participation of a young star, so that in the evening, on the eve of the Swan, they could animatedly discuss in the foyer of the Mariinsky Theater whether Lopatkina is really the spitting image of Plisetskaya and has "dove's wings" And is she as divine as the British press writes about her? In London, by the way, critics never doubted this. In Paris, Milan, Tokyo and New York, the name of Ulyana Lopatkina on the poster is a reason for real excitement. "She's flawless!" - balletomanes talk about her with a breath and don’t miss a single performance. Only friends allow themselves to make fun of Ulyana, referring to the unusually high height (175 cm) and graceful hands of the ballerina: “Of course, it’s not easy for Ulyana to do all sorts of rotations, she has a large windage, like the wings of a dove...”

Since Ulyana turned four, caring about her daughter’s future, her mother took her to a wide variety of children’s clubs and sections, trying to understand what the girl’s real abilities were for. She had no doubt that her daughter was talented. And she was right. One day Lopatkina found herself in a ballet studio, whose teachers, after observing the girl for some time, advised her to try her hand at the world of big ballet.

She entered the Leningrad (now Vaganova, more precisely, the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet) ballet school after failure in Moscow (where Ulyana did not pass the third round) with a “conditional” rating on all points. This means “C”, Ulyana explained in an interview about ten years ago. Nowadays people no longer ask “Divine” Lopatkina about her unknown ballet youth. Who would believe that during the second round of entrance exams to Vaganovskoe, or rather, at the medical commission, the impeccable star of the Mariinsky Theater “found several flaws.” Nevertheless, the applicant tried very hard to make a good impression on the stern teachers. In the third round she had to dance a pole dance, “smiling a lot.” Fortunately, the girl was familiar with this dance. And ten-year-old Ulyana was accepted.

School has begun. Eight years of daily overcoming oneself, fighting fears, complexes, and self-doubt. And also childhood loneliness and weekends in the family of her best friend - Ulyana’s parents continued to live in Kerch. But young Lopatkina seemed to take what was happening for granted. Ballet is a cruel profession, and it just so happens that people start doing it very early, simply sacrificing their childhood. But they also finish. Which means you need to enjoy every moment, she told herself. Even if it is filled with pain, the most real, physical one.

Once, the already established prima of the Mariinsky Theater, Ulyana Lopatkina, was asked to tell about the most memorable incidents and absurdities that happened to her on stage. In response, the ballerina, without embarrassment, gave an example from her ballet youth: “The most trivial thing is how I fell at the graduation in choreography. I did a rotation and didn’t calculate the balance. She collapsed backwards towards the audience.” If you want to know what kind of self-control a future ballet star should have, put yourself in the place of that girl in the exam. What about the public? “In such cases, the audience screams out to the whole audience: “Ah!” and begins to applaud the artist vigorously for support,” Lopatkina explained with a smile.

St. Petersburg is a place of stunning beauty, style, and culture. But this city is a test for life

It seems that even her hairstyle, so uncharacteristic for a ballerina, speaks of strength of character. Today her hair is cut short, like a boy's. The collar of an elegant white shirt is buttoned up to the chin. There is a restrained half-smile on his face. Modesty and the closeness characteristic of Ulyana from her earliest youth are often mistaken for arrogance. But when she begins to speak, her gentle voice shows you sincere goodwill and willingness to communicate.

BETWEEN TOKYO, MOSCOW AND NEW YORK

• Ulyana, you had the opportunity to become independent very early, moving from your native Kerch to another city, and today it is another country. How did you get used to Northern Palmyra? And how has this city changed you?

I was really born in Kerch, but I lived there for only ten years. I spent the rest of my life in St. Petersburg. And “retrained”. (Laughs.) St. Petersburg is a city of stunning beauty, aesthetics, style, philosophy, culture, history. He greatly influenced me and my creativity. But this city is a test for life to this day. It's no secret what the ecology of the city is like, the history of its creation. The city was built on blood. On the many lives lost. The city stands on a swamp. And this explains a lot. Harsh climate, high humidity. The dancer feels the influence of these places very clearly. In this regard, there are absolutely humorous situations. When Bolshoi Theater artists come from Moscow, for the first three days they very briskly and energetically come to the morning class, and, looking at our artists, they are surprised: “You are all kind of sleepy here, you are moving at a kind of slow pace. Although, by the way, it’s already 11 o’clock in the morning!” And at the Bolshoi Theater, I note, the lesson, class (the classic hour-long or one-and-a-half-hour warm-up at the barre, with which every ballet dancer’s day begins. - Ed.) begins at 10 and 11 o’clock in the morning. But three days pass, and Muscovites suddenly take on a completely St. Petersburg appearance. And, coming to class in the morning, they casually ask: “Listen, are you okay, do you get up easily in the morning?” To which we usually answer: “Welcome to St. Petersburg!” That is, from the moment of condemnation to understanding, exactly three days pass, as a rule. Then everything falls into place.

A dancer has so many reasons to be unhappy, you can’t even imagine!

• Ulyana, where do you find it easiest to dance - on your own stage of the Mariinsky Theater or on tour?

On tour, oddly enough. For some reason the Mariinsky Stage is incredibly important for me. Every time going out there is accompanied by insane excitement and trepidation. And then, the audience on tour seems to love you, and you feel it. Bathing in this love. The home public is strict and very demanding. As for the physical aspect, I experienced the difference in sensations between working in St. Petersburg and in the conditions of the same capital myself when I was on tour in Moscow. In ten days I danced four performances. In St. Petersburg, we usually don’t work in this mode due to the fact that there are many of us. Nevertheless, there is no heaviness, no lethargy in the morning, so you can’t lift yourself... A completely different feeling in the muscles, a different fit, ease of work. But since this happens very rarely, it does not seriously confuse us. (Laughs.) We return to our city, theater, climate without problems.

• There are real legends about the dancers' lifestyle, cruel regime and daily routine. What do you think is the most difficult thing in the life of a ballet dancer?

The complexity of the life of ballerinas lies more in the absence of a regime than in its presence. (Smiles.) Due to the theater’s busy touring schedule and personal tour schedule, changes in time zones, and the associated need for late or even night rehearsals. When you have only three days between America and Japan, you have a hard time finding that hour or two or three in a day when you even understand where you are. It is very difficult to physically mobilize your instrument - in this case, your body and brain - in such conditions.

HEIRE OF MIAMI

This is how they started talking about Lopatkina when she danced in Swan Lake. This title became a heavy burden for the ballerina. When Lopatkina included “Carmen Suite” to the music of Wiese - Shchedrin into her repertoire, criticism did not spare her, comparing her with the great Plisetskaya (in the photo Maya Mikhailovna congratulates Ulyana on the premiere of the play at the X International Mariinsky Ballet Festival in April 2010). Plisetskaya personally added the finishing touches to the acting drawing of another role of Ulyana - Anna in the ballet “Anna Karenina”. At the dress rehearsal she said: “Your love for Vronsky is not enough for me, I did not have time to feel how strong your feelings are.” “I had to be extremely open in all episodes... Then Maya Mikhailovna hugged me and said: “Now everything is as it should be.” I felt that I had come to life..."

You fly to, say, Japan, and the very next day you have a rehearsal and a performance. As a rule, there is no time for adaptation at all. This is in contrast to the world of sports, where the athlete is usually given time for some kind of acclimatization. When, after ten days, that same adaptation finally occurs, you are rebuilt, you begin to feel better, at least you don’t fall asleep during intermissions in “Swan Lake”, when you sit down on a chair and realize that you are passing out, and you have a “black swan” ahead of you... So at this moment it turns out that it’s time to return to Russia in order to immediately go to America. This is probably the most difficult thing. When you experience not loads, but overloads. And then you return from America and don’t understand anything at all... (Laughs.)

• How do you recover in such cases?

The recipe is simple. Sleep, proper nutrition, massage as an auxiliary measure. Sometimes it's just gymnastics. Plus a swimming pool and sauna. But the most important thing is not to quit classes. Continue to attend class every day, changing combinations in the ballet exercise itself in such a way as to help the body restore its previous shape. A properly structured class either heals, trains, or prepares the body for stress and physical work. One to one and a half hours in the morning at the machine is the most important time in the coming working day. You can leave the lesson absolutely devastated and exhausted, with the desire to immediately quit everything. Or you can be winged like a bird. Relaxing on the sofa is of no help to the ballerina here.

REASON FOR HAPPINESS

The physical costs of an artist are sometimes incomparable with the energy, mental...

The public makes up for them. But... sometimes you need silence, loneliness. Sometimes, on the contrary, there are fresh impressions and emotions. Music, painting, just a walk. Sometimes it’s enough to be in nature or focus on the child. And the temple also disciplines very well... In general, the most difficult thing in the life of a ballerina is to maintain the desire for creativity. Do not go astray during the time allotted to you in the profession. Still, the lifespan of ballet is short - only 15-20 years. Sometimes 30. Combine good form, performing arts and at the same time inspiration and the ability to create as often as necessary. Do not retreat into the formal performance of your duties when creativity evaporates, disappears like sand through your fingers. You keep yourself in shape, do what is necessary, you dance, but... you don’t dance. You are working. But that's all. This is difficult.

• Have you ever been unhappy on stage?

Certainly! And terribly unhappy. (Laughs.) I wondered when this would end. There she did something wrong, she tripped there. Here the partner pushed, the stage suddenly moved in the other direction, for some reason she tilts so much, and I fall so quickly... The dancer has so many reasons to be unhappy, you can’t even imagine! Internal self-criticism is developed so strongly and strikes so quickly. Just lightning fast... Like the gaze of the Gorgon Medusa. You become numb at the moment when you need to continue doing something. And your inner voice screams at you: “This is a terrible mistake! Just a disaster! And all this in parallel with movement and music. All artists suffer from this without exception. Especially at the beginning of a creative journey. Learning to put up with the critic living inside you is very difficult. In such cases, video recording of the performance comes to the rescue. You sit down, watch the film, see that everything was not as terrible as you thought, and you calm down. And you almost died on stage! I stumbled a little. The face turned sour, and the audience saw that everything was bad. Although no one understood what exactly was bad. But for some reason the ballerina became sad and stopped dancing. She simply “lives out” her variation on stage. So it’s easy to be unhappy on stage. You just have to feel sorry for yourself. (Smiles.) But happy too.

• Today, success in any type of activity is determined by material things. Ballet is no exception...

Yes, wealth and luxury are a certain defining criterion of our lives, dividing people into those to whom they are available and those who are not. For some, this is a reason to rejoice and feel like a superman, but for others, it is a reason to always be depressed, always dream and never achieve luxury. I have great respect for wealthy people who do not spend their wealth and the opportunities given to them to “please” only themselves. I respect those who adhere to asceticism in everyday life. There are examples of very wealthy people who know how to use their wealth for the benefit not only of themselves, but also of those around them. They understand that wealth is given to a person as a test.

• Do you need luxury yourself?

Time is a luxury for me. A distraction from the usual daily rehearsals and training. Lack of stress, when I allow myself to do nothing in terms of profession. Two, three or four days, no more. When it comes to ten days, it becomes too expensive. We have to pay.

• In 2002, you became a mother, risking leaving the stage for a while and interrupting your career as a ballerina. But the opinion that a dancer cannot have children without damaging the dance is still alive...

This is one way to read the idea of ​​the need for self-sacrifice for the sake of art. But I think this is a very stereotypical statement. Yes, ballet really takes a lot of time and effort. Regular training, rehearsals, learning your parts, rest - the profession absorbs you, it seems, without a trace. But I think completely subordinating your life to work is a mistake. Otherwise, a woman would not be gifted with the ability to bear children. And I always wanted children. And want. And the most fantastic time for me was when my daughter Masha was very little. Yes, it's very difficult. At first I completely lost my bearings: where is the night, where is the day? How to get enough sleep?! When will this all end?! But when your child looks at you and smiles at you, such moments are unforgettable.

• Have you ever thought about what you would do if you had not become a ballerina? After all, as a child you were seriously interested in drawing...

You know, in childhood, every child has some kind of enlightenment. (Laughs.) He suddenly understands what he wants to become. I dreamed of becoming a junior kindergarten teacher. But my childhood is connected with the end of the Soviet era, when life was very different from today. And the range of professions from which you could choose, too. But if I were a child today, I would most likely be fascinated by design or foreign languages. But in any case, the profession would be creative. I also had a funny dream. More precisely, two! Be a painter and hairdresser. I cut and combed all the dolls I had. And even some of my aunts (and I have a lot of them on both my father’s and mother’s side) risked putting themselves into my hands. And to this day, when they do my hair before a performance, I try to intervene in the process. They tell me: “Take your hands away!” - and I: “I’ll just fix it here!” (Laughs.) Well, painting - the very process of how the paint lays on the surface, what mark the brush leaves - all this fascinated me, and I could spend hours, as if spellbound, watching the painting of dishes, say. But life is not over yet. Who knows what I'll do in the future. (Smiles.)

• By the way, you definitely have a chance to become a teacher...

I even had teaching experience at the Vaganova School - I was asked to substitute for classes. And with teenagers and small children. And I'm interested in them. This is what I was afraid of when my daughter was born - that it would be difficult for me to find a common language with the child, the interests of adults and children were too different. How many times have I watched adults endlessly telling their children, “Don’t disturb the adults.” Do something of your own! And I asked myself: will I really do this to my child?.. This has always hurt me very much. But my daughter took me with her to childhood. And when it’s hard for me to concentrate, I just try to imagine how, through what eyes she looks at this world, to tune into this look. And it immediately becomes interesting!..

• You don't like to make plans out loud. Share what plans and dreams have already come true?

Daughter. I didn’t expect that her birth would be such a revelation for me. I was left completely bewildered by how this was possible! While I was carrying a child within me, I had the feeling that no one understood what was happening inside me. The idea that a new person was being created inside was, in principle, not processed by the brain. I walked around shocked all nine months: how could this be?! Here is the head, and here is the arm, and there is the leg - this is something incredible! Miracles happen to us and around us every day. You just need to see.

FACTS ABOUT ULYANA LOPATKINA

When at a performance I perform movements of terrible complexity, for which I have to prepare since childhood and wipe off a hundred sweats, these are exactly the conditions where I can find inner freedom. Music provokes me to discover things

• Born in Kerch (Ukraine) on October 23;
• Graduated from the Academy of Russian Ballet. A. Ya. Vaganova (class of Prof. Dudinskaya);
• In 1991 she was accepted into the troupe of the Mariinsky Theater. She started in the corps de ballet. In August 1994 she made her debut in the ballet Swan Lake in the role of Odette-Odile. A year later she was appointed prima ballerina;
• In 2001, due to injury and pregnancy, she left the stage. In February 2003, she decided to undergo surgery and returned to the theater;
• She got married in 2001. Husband - businessman, architect, writer Vladimir Kornev. The couple are raising a daughter, Masha (9 years old).

A great dancer of our time, who has become the personified symbol of the concept of “Russian ballet”.
"Kommersant"

Prima of the Mariinsky Theater, People's Artist of Russia, laureate of prestigious awards. Ulyana Lopatkina's dance is distinguished by the highest precision of movements, impeccable poses, amazing dignity and musicality. She attracts with her inner concentration and immersion in her world. Always, as if slightly moving away from the viewer, she seems even more mysterious, even deeper.

Ulyana Vyacheslavovna Lopatkina was born on October 23, 1973 in Kerch (Ukraine). Ulyana became interested in the art of ballet as a child, when she first saw photographs of great ballerinas and read biographies of choreographers. From an early age, Ulyana began studying in dance clubs, and then was accepted into the Academy of Russian Ballet. A. Ya. Vaganova in Leningrad, where she studied the art of dance in junior classes with Galina Petrovna Novitskaya, in senior classes with Professor Natalia Mikhailovna Dudinskaya.

At the entrance exams to the academy, the commission recognized the future ballerina’s data as very average, however, while still a student, Ulyana became a laureate of the International Vaganova-Prix Award (St. Petersburg, 1991), performing the variation of the Queen of the Waters from the ballet “The Little Humpbacked Horse”, a variation of the La Sylphide and pas de deux from the second act of “Giselle”.

After graduating from the Academy in 1991, Ulyana Lopatkina was accepted into the troupe of the Mariinsky Theater, where the young ballerina was immediately entrusted with performing solo parts in “Don Quixote” (Street Dancer), “Giselle” (Myrtha), and “Sleeping Beauty” (Lilac Fairy). In 1994, she successfully debuted as Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, receiving the prestigious Golden Sofit award for the best debut on the St. Petersburg stage for this role. Ulyana Lopatkina worked on the part with Andris Liepa, and he largely helped her find her solution to the role. Lopatkina in “Swan Lake” surprised me with her emotional maturity and refined technique. The image of the sad, withdrawn, but at the same time stately and graceful Odette was especially successful.

In 1995, Ulyana became a prima ballerina of the Mariinsky Theater. At the Mariinsky Theater, Lopatkina’s teachers were Olga Nikolaevna Moiseeva and Ninel Aleksandrovna Kurgapkina. The ballerina is currently working with Irina Alexandrovna Chistyakova. Ulyana Lopatkina’s repertoire includes leading roles in such performances as “Giselle” (Giselle, Myrta), “Corsair” (Medora), “La Bayadère” (Nikia), Grand Pas from the ballet “Paquita”, “Sleeping Beauty” (Lilac Fairy ), “Raymonda” (Raymonda, Clemence) by Marius Petipa, “Swan” and “Scheherazade” (Zobeide) by Mikhail Fokin, “The Bakhchisarai Fountain” (Zarema) by Rostislav Zakharov, “The Legend of Love” (Mekhmene Banu) by Yuri Grigorovich, “Leningradskaya” Symphony” (Girl) by Igor Belsky, Pas de quatre (Maria Taglioni), “In the Night” by Jerome Robbins, “The Nutcracker” (episode “Teacher and Pupil”) and “Pavlova and Cecchetti” by John Neumeier, “Young Man and Death” by Roland Petit , “Goya Divertimento” by José Antonio, “The Fairy’s Kiss” (Fairy), “Poem of Ecstasy” and “Anna Karenina” (Anna Karenina) by Alexei Ratmansky, “Where the Golden Cherries Hang” by William Forsythe, ballets by George Balanchine “Serenade” , “Piano Concerto No. 2” (Imperial Ballet), “Symphony in C Major” (“Ball at the Crystal Palace”, 2nd part), “Waltz”, “Jewels” (“Diamonds”), etc.

Lopatkina’s partners over the years were Igor Zelensky, Farukh Ruzimatov, Andrey Uvarov, Alexander Kurkov, Andrian Fadeev, Danila Korsuntsev and others.

During her career, Ulyana danced on the most famous stages in the world. Among them: the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, the Royal Opera House in London, the Grand Opera in Paris, La Scala in Milan, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the National Opera and Ballet Theater in Helsinki, and the NHK Hall in Tokyo.

Ulyana Lopatkina's work has received many awards. In 1994 – the “Soul of Dance” prize from the magazine “Ballet”, in 1997 – the “Golden Mask” and the prize “Benois de la dance” (“Benois de la Danse”), in 1998 – the London critics’ award “Evening Standard”, in 1999 – State Prize of Russia. Among Ulyana’s achievements one can also note the titles of Honored Artist of Russia (2000), People’s Artist of Russia (2006). In 2010, Ulyana Lopatkina performed at the closing of the Olympic Games in Vancouver (Canada). In the same year, at the personal invitation of the Grand Opera (Paris), Ulyana successfully danced in “Swan Lake” together with M. Legris. In 2011, the ballerina took part in a gala concert dedicated to the memory of G. Ulanova (London).

Ulyana Lopatkina's career was not cloudless. Ulyana missed the 2001–2002 seasons due to a leg injury, and serious doubts arose about her return to the stage. But in 2003, after the operation, Lopatkina returned to the troupe.

Ulyana considers the birth of her daughter Masha in 2002 to be one of the most important events in her life. The ballerina's hobbies include drawing, literature, classical music, interior design, and cinema.

"Every inch of her incredibly flexible body creates an impeccable form. More than anyone else, she has absolute precision - the result of training, as well as instinctive dignity and musicality" (The Telegraph).

At first glance, Ulyana Lopatkina is not created for ballet: academicism values ​​moderation of proportions. In Lopatkina, everything is too much. Too high. Too thin, excluding even a hint of feminine roundness or strained muscle definition. Arms and legs are too long. Narrow feet and hands are too large. But this is also its advantage. “I love it when a ballerina has large feet,” Balanchine admitted, meaning, of course, not only feet. “Any movement - for example, getting up and down from pointe shoes - is presented larger by such a ballerina, and therefore more expressive.” And the “inconvenient” length of the arms and legs, putting up barriers to technique (it’s not for nothing that famous ballet virtuosos are usually stocky and strong-legged), can make the lines endless.

In order to shade out the shortcomings and keep nature in obedience, Lopatkina has to work hard. She stands out for her efficiency even among the working Mariinsky ballerinas. She is almost the only one who voluntarily schedules evening rehearsals for herself after a working day. At her performances, technical breakdowns and even roughness are extremely rare. They say that rehearsing Lopatkina’s favorite words are: “It’s smarter this way.” This is what she teases: a ballerina, for whom a lyrical role is recognized, often sobers with the rationality of her stage existence....

Ballet "Corsair", 2006.

Ulyana Vyacheslavovna Lopatkina was born in Kerch on October 23, 1973. From the age of four, caring about her daughter’s future, her mother took her to a wide variety of children’s clubs and sections, trying to understand what the girl had real abilities for. She had no doubt that her daughter was talented. And she was right. One day Lopatkina found herself in a ballet studio, whose teachers, after observing the girl for some time, advised her to try her hand at the world of big ballet.

She entered the famous Leningrad Ballet School (now the A.Ya. Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet) with a “conditional” rating on all points. This means “a C,” Ulyana explained in an interview about ten years ago. Nowadays people no longer ask “Divine” Lopatkina about her unknown ballet youth. Who would believe that during the second round of entrance exams to Vaganovskoe, or rather, at the medical commission, the impeccable star of the Mariinsky Theater “found several flaws.” Nevertheless, the applicant tried very hard to make a good impression on the stern teachers. In the third round she had to dance a pole dance, “smiling a lot.” Fortunately, the girl was familiar with this dance. And ten-year-old Ulyana was accepted. In elementary school, she studied the art of dance with G.P. Novitskaya, in senior years - with Professor N.M. Dudinskaya.

School has begun. Eight years of daily overcoming oneself, fighting fears, complexes, and self-doubt. And also childhood loneliness and weekends in the family of her best friend - Ulyana’s parents continued to live in Kerch. But young Lopatkina seemed to take what was happening for granted. Ballet is a cruel profession, and it just so happens that people start doing it very early, simply sacrificing their childhood. But they also finish. Which means you need to enjoy every moment, she told herself. Even if it is filled with pain, the most real, physical one.

While still a student, Ulyana became a laureate of the International Prize “Vaganova-Prix” (St. Petersburg, 1991), performing the variation of the Queen of the Waters from the ballet “The Little Humpbacked Horse”, the variation of La Sylphide and the pas de deux from the second act of “Giselle”.

After graduating from the Academy in 1991, Ulyana Lopatkina was accepted into the troupe of the Mariinsky Theater, where the young ballerina was immediately entrusted with performing solo parts in “Don Quixote” (Street Dancer), “Giselle” (Myrtha), and “Sleeping Beauty” (Lilac Fairy). In 1994, she successfully debuted as Odette/Odile in “Swan Lake”, receiving for this role the prestigious Golden Sofit award in the category “Best Debut on the St. Petersburg Stage”. The maturity of thought and technical development were surprising. She was especially successful with Odette - withdrawn, immersed in sadness. She did not at all strive to leave her enchanted world, as if she was afraid to re-enter real life, so dangerous and deceptive. Ulyana Lopatkina worked on the part with Andris Liepa, and he largely helped her find her solution to the role.

In 1995, Ulyana became a prima ballerina of the Mariinsky Theater. Her partners over the years were Igor Zelensky, Farukh Ruzimatov, Andrey Uvarov, Alexander Kurkov, Andrian Fadeev, Danila Korsuntsev and others. During her career, Ulyana danced on the most famous stages in the world. Among them are the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, the Royal Opera House in London, the Grand Opera in Paris, La Scala in Milan, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the National Opera and Ballet Theater in Helsinki, and the NHK Hall in Tokyo.

Ulyana Lopatkina's dance is distinguished by the highest precision of movements, impeccable poses, amazing dignity and musicality. She attracts with her inner concentration and immersion in her world. Always, as if slightly moving away from the viewer, she seems even more mysterious, even deeper.

The choreographic miniature "The Dying Swan" to the music of C. Saint-Saens from "Carnival of the Animals", staged by M. Fokine, has long become the hallmark of Russian ballet. Ulyana Lopatkina, of course, dances it in her own way. Her swan is perhaps closest to Saint-Saëns' swan, as the only noble creature among the other twelve animals - personifications of human vices and weaknesses. The last moment of Lopatkina's swan's life is its last breath. And, in the words of Ulyana herself, “the main thing that this work of genius gives is the diverse experience of the transition from life to death. And here there can be as many meanings as this eternal question from the beginning of the existence of mankind includes. And here, as they say, , not a word to say, not a pen to describe..."

Meeting with the choreography of Yu.N. Grigorovich in "The Legend of Love", where Ulyana performed the role of Queen Mekhmene Banu, required completely different colors - the ability to restrain passion. The scale of hidden feelings, driven inside and only occasionally spilling out, gave the intense drama a special poignancy. This role has become one of my favorites.

When Lopatkina included “Carmen Suite” to the music of Bizet - Shchedrin into her repertoire, criticism did not spare her, comparing her with the great Plisetskaya. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine ballerinas more opposite in character, temperament and movement. But comparisons here, in my opinion, are meaningless and inappropriate. These are completely different Carmen, and if in Plisetskaya’s performance I see the famous heroine of Prosper Merimee’s novel, then Lopatkina created a completely different image, more modern and not so straightforward, and therefore no less interesting.

By the way, it was Maya Mikhailovna who personally added the finishing touches to the acting drawing of another role of Ulyana - Anna in the ballet “Anna Karenina”. At the dress rehearsal she said: “Your love for Vronsky is not enough for me, I did not have time to feel how strong your feelings are.” “I had to be extremely open in all episodes...” Ulyana said in an interview. “Then Maya Mikhailovna hugged me and said: “Now everything is as it should be.” I felt that I had come to life..."

In 1972, the Frenchman Roland Petit, director and choreographer of the world-famous Marseille Ballet, staged in Moscow for the brilliant Maya Plisetskaya a one-act ballet “The Death of the Rose” to the music of “Adagietto” by Gustav Mahler, the plot of which was taken from the poem “The Sick Rose” by the English poet William Blake ":

Oh rose, you are sick!
In the darkness of a stormy night
The worm discovered a hiding place
Your purple love.

And he got in there
Invisible, insatiable,
And ruined your life
With your secretive love.

This ballet miniature has entered the repertoire of many outstanding dancers, but personally, I have never seen anything more beautiful than the duet of Ulyana Lopatkina and Ivan Kozlov:

Another famous work of the ballerina is “Three Gnosians” to the music of E. Satie, staged by Hans van Manen. “Inside each of my ballets there is tension, a relationship between a man and a woman,” says the Dutch choreographer. Ulyana complements him: “In Hans van Manen’s ballets, the intellectual and analytical aspect of the relationship between partners is developed - a conversation through laconic, restrained-mysterious, extravagant movements. This is a conversation between smart people who understand each other perfectly, giving each other food for thought. There is an attraction , there is a distance..."

Ulyana Lopatkina's career was not cloudless. Ulyana missed the 2001–2002 seasons due to a leg injury, and serious doubts arose about her return to the stage. But in 2003, after the operation, Lopatkina returned to the troupe. Ulyana considers the birth of her daughter Masha in 2002 to be one of the most important events in her life. Her hobbies include: drawing, literature, classical music, interior design, cinema.

The ballerina's fame has long crossed the borders of St. Petersburg. Even those who have never been to ballet have heard about Lopatkina. Lopatkina converts those hitherto indifferent to it to classical dance. Lopatkina is a fashion icon of the modern Mariinsky Theater. On the ballerina's advertising poster, a black bandana sits next to chaste academic pointe shoes. This is what the Mariinsky Theater is like today: it managed to get along with show business without losing the honor of “sacred art.” This is how Lopatkina is today: having taken off her evening shoes, she twirls a fouette near the restaurant tables in Nikita Mikhalkov’s “Russian Project” and poses for Vogue magazine. It’s time to exclaim: is it really the same Ulyana?! The same one. She is the architect of her success, her public image. And he understands that one forever chosen image - even the most intriguing one - will someday become boring. But the contrast is always interesting: the priestess is on stage, the modern femme fatale is in life (hence, presumably, her craving for flowing black toilets, long scarves, and even patent-leather wigs). In a word, a real woman!)

Photo by E. Rozhdestvenskaya.

Titles, awards:
People's Artist of Russia (2005)
Laureate of the State Prize of Russia (1999)
Laureate of the International Competition Vaganova-Prix (1991)
Prize winner: “Golden Spotlight” (1995), “Divine” with the title “Best Ballerina” (1996), “Golden Mask” (1997), Benois de la danse (1997), “Baltika” (1997, 2001: Grand Prix - prize for promoting the world fame of the Mariinsky Theater), Evening Standard (1998), Monaco world dance awards (2001), “Triumph” (2004)
In 1998 he was awarded the honorary title “Artist of Her Majesty the Imperial Stage of Sovereign Russia” with the medal “Man-Creator”

Repertoire on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater:
“Giselle” (Myrtha, Giselle) – choreography by Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot, Marius Petipa;
“Corsair” (Medora) – production by Pyotr Gusev based on the composition and choreography of Marius Petipa;
“La Bayadère” (Nikia) – choreography by Marius Petipa, revised by Vladimir Ponomarev and Vakhtang Chabukiani;
Grand pas from the ballet Paquita (soloist) – choreography by Marius Petipa;
“The Sleeping Beauty” (Lilac Fairy); choreography by Marius Petipa, revised by Konstantin Sergeev;
“Swan Lake” (Odette-Odile); choreography by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, revised by Konstantin Sergeev;
“Raymonda” (Raymonda, Clémence); choreography by Marius Petipa, revised by Konstantin Sergeev;
ballets by Mikhail Fokine: The Swan, The Firebird (Firebird), Scheherazade (Zobeide);
“The Bakhchisarai Fountain” (Zarema) – choreography by Rostislav Zakharov;
“The Legend of Love” (Mekhmene Banu) – choreography by Yuri Grigorovich;
“Leningrad Symphony” (Girl) – script and choreography by Igor Belsky;
Pas de quatre (Maria Taglioni) – choreography by Anton Dolin;
“Carmen Suite” (Carmen); choreography by Alberto Alonso;
ballets by George Balanchine: “Serenade”, “Symphony in C Major” (II. Adagio), “Jewelry” (“Diamonds”), “Piano Concerto No. 2” (Ballet Imperial), “Theme and Variations”, “Waltz”, “ Scottish Symphony”, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (Titania);
“In the Night” (Part III) – choreography by Jerome Robbins;
ballets by Roland Petit: “Young Man and Death” and “The Death of a Rose”;
“Goya Divertimento” (Death); choreography by Jose Antonio;
“The Nutcracker” (fragment from “Pavlova and Cecchetti”) – choreography by John Neumeier;
ballets by Alexei Ratmansky: “Anna Karenina” (Anna Karenina), “The Little Humpbacked Horse” (The Tsar Maiden), “The Fairy’s Kiss” (Fairy), “Poem of Ecstasy”;
“Where the Golden Cherries Hang” – choreography by William Forsyth;
ballets by Hans van Manen: Trois Gnossienes, Variations for Two Couples, Five Tangos;
Grand pas de deux – choreography by Christian Spuck;
“Margarita and Armand” (Margarita); choreography by Frederick Ashton.

The first performer of one of two solo roles in John Neumeier's ballet The Sound of Blank Pages (2001).

She toured with the Mariinsky Theater company in Europe, America and Asia.

And finally, in order to get to know Ulyana herself better, I suggest you watch the “Personal Belongings” program with her participation (2009):

For those interested - more detailed

Born on October 23, 1973 in Kerch (Ukraine). The impressionable girl’s interest in ballet flared up unexpectedly. I was drawn to photographs in which the legendary masters G. Ulanova and M. Plisetskaya froze in dance. The sculptural poses were mesmerizing. In some there was a sense of stopped movement. I wanted to discover the secrets of dance that transformed the heroines into extraordinary beings.

Books helped me learn more about magical art. Ulyana read with enthusiasm about the choreographers Didelot and Glushkovsky. I decided it was worth taking a risk and trying to get into a choreographic school.

And here is a girl in Leningrad. The exam ended successfully for her, although the applicant did not arouse much interest from the commission. The verdict was short: very average data. The feeling of fear that they would not be allowed into the magical world of dance persisted for many years. This made me withdraw, withdraw into myself, and live my own life.

Ulyana was lucky with her teachers - they were all bright, talented individuals. For the last two years she studied with N. M. Dudinskaya. Complete mutual understanding was not always achieved. The student was quite restive and often disagreed with general standards. I lived in a boarding school and had difficulty getting used to the fact that there were no loved ones nearby. How lacking was their experience and advice!

Ulyana loved to draw. Ballet requires a sniper's eye, and this hobby clearly helped. She continued to draw later, when the school course ended.

In 1990, as a pre-graduation student, Lopatkina took part in the A. Ya. Vaganova competition (Vaganova-Prix). She performed the variation of the Queen of the Waters from the ballet “The Little Humpbacked Horse,” the variation “La Sylphide” and the pas de deux from the second act of the ballet “Giselle” (with Alexander Mishchenko). Lopatkina received first prize. Her school repertoire also included Ophelia’s monologue from the ballet “Hamlet” by K. Sergeev. It was obvious that an extraordinary talent was being born. At the graduation performance in 1991, Ulyana was entrusted with the role of “Shadows” from “La Bayadère”. This is aerobatics, a very difficult game. The slender, fragile pupil attracted everyone with the meaningfulness of the dance and the hiddenness that seemed to be in her performance.

In the troupe of the Mariinsky Theater, where Lopatkina was accepted after graduating from college, she was immediately assigned solo roles: Street Dancer in Don Quixote, Lilac Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty, Myrta in Giselle. Her tall stature gave either piquancy or majestic significance to the heroines. And next to it are the central ballerina parts.

Lopatkina started with Giselle. The work was exciting; There were difficulties, but they did not deter me. The ballerina prepared her first role thoroughly, carefully working out the details with O. N. Moiseeva. In 1994, Lopatkina made her debut in the role of Odette - Odile in the ballet Swan Lake. A. Liepa helped her a lot in working on the play. And not only in complex duets, where his partner’s experience turned out to be invaluable. What was important was his sense of the peculiarities of plasticity. This helped me find my solution, especially expressive nuances.

Lopatkina's debut in this performance became a notable event. The maturity of thought and technical development were surprising. She was especially successful with the sad Odette - withdrawn, immersed in sad thoughts. She did not at all strive to leave her enchanted world. As if she was afraid to enter real life again, so dangerous and deceptive.

In 1994, Lopatkina received the “Soul of Dance” prize from the “Ballet” magazine in the “Rising Star” category. She was promised success in the romantic repertoire. In academics too. Indeed, each new role of Lopatkina attracted the attention of both viewers and critics. They wrote a lot about her and enthusiastically. In such roles as Nikiya (La Bayadère), Aurora (The Sleeping Beauty), Medora (Corsair), loyalty to tradition and at the same time the desire to find new intonations in the familiar were noted.

Modern choreography attracted Ulyana and made riddles. How to soften the inherent harsh angularity of a dancer, how to approach the rounded fluidity of plasticity, which is so necessary for oriental heroines - Zarema (“The Fountain of Bakhchisarai”), Zobeida (“Scheherazade”)?

The meeting with the choreography of Yu. N. Grigorovich in “The Legend of Love”, where Ulyana performed the role of Queen Mekhmene Banu, required completely different colors - the ability to restrain passion. The scale of hidden feelings, driven inside and only occasionally spilling out, gave the intense drama a special poignancy. This role has become one of my favorites. Although Lopatkina has no least favorite roles. The dance revealed itself to the young ballerina in the richness of its contrasting possibilities and play of shades. The meeting with the choreography of J. Balanchine brought a lot of new things. In his “Symphony in C Major,” “Diamonds,” and “Serenade,” it was interesting to unravel how the brilliant choreographer hears music and transforms it into dance. And every time he does it in a highly inventive way. Ulyana eagerly mastered this new plasticity for her, admiring the variety of rhythmic colors and deep musicality, and this required special sensitivity of the performer.

Internal concentration and self-absorption are especially attractive in the dance of a ballerina. She seems to slightly distance herself from the viewer, not letting him into her inner world, and this makes her even more mysterious and deeper. Lopatkina’s images of mysterious, infernal heroines are extremely successful. Such success was, for example, the role of Death in R. Petit’s one-act ballet “Young Man and Death”, the heroine of M. Ravel’s “Waltz” staged by J. Balanchine. Mystical intonations, the magnetism of one’s own or someone else’s will concentrate the attention of the audience, subordinating them to the logic of mysterious transformations. The real becomes symbolic without losing its effective force.

In addition to the ballerinas mentioned above, the ballerina’s repertoire includes main and solo roles in the ballets “Raymonda” (M. Petipa), “Paquita” (M. Petipa), “The Fairy’s Kiss” (A. Ratmansky), “Poem of Ecstasy” (A. Ratmansky) , “In the Night” (J. Robbins), “Sounds of Empty Pages” (J. Neumayer), etc., miniature “The Dying Swan”. Among her partners are Igor Zelensky, Farukh Ruzimatov, Andrey Uvarov, Alexander Kurkov, Andrian Fadeev, Danila Korsuntsev.

Lopatkina is passionate about her profession and loves to work hard. Unfortunately, in the profession of a dancer, injury is almost inevitable. A serious injury knocked the ballerina out of her usual activities for a long time. Now, fortunately, the hardest part is over. Lessons, rehearsals, and performances have resumed.

Ulyana Lopatkina takes an active part in touring projects of the Mariinsky Theater in Russia, Europe, the USA, and Japan. She participated in exchange tours of the Bolshoi and Mariinsky theaters, performed with the Bavarian State Ballet (Munich), danced at the Lincoln Center in New York, at the London Coliseum, Covent Garden, Sadler's Wells and Albert Hall theaters, Royal Theater in Copenhagen, as well as in Salzburg, Graz, Milan, Thessaloniki, Amsterdam, Baden-Baden.

In 2000, Ulyana Lopatkina was awarded the title of Honored Artist of Russia, and in 2006 - People's Artist of Russia. She is a laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation (1999), the National Theater Award "Golden Mask" (1997), the Highest Theater Award of St. Petersburg "Golden Sofit" (1995), the prize "Benois de la Danse" (1997), the Prize "Triumph" (2004), International Prize “Divine” (1997).