Natalia Osipova personal life. Tchaikovsky will bring to Perm

Image copyright Nikolai Gulakov Image caption Natalia Osipova showed a modern ballet performance at the Sadler's Wells Theater in London

On the stage of the London theater Sadler's Wells, the world premiere of a performance of three one-act ballets was held, in which the famous Russian ballerina Natalya Osipova performed in the genre of modern dance.

Between classic and modern

Classical ballet dancers enter the path of modern dance, as a rule, when their path in the academic theater comes to an end. For all the temptation of solo entreprises with your name in large letters on posters, such a step is still considered some kind of retreat, which the star takes only if it is impossible for one reason or another to successfully continue his classical career.

When applied to Natalya Osipova, all these considerations seem completely out of place. She has just turned 30 - the age in ballet is not young, but in no way implies the end of an academic career. She constantly appears in leading roles at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, the Mikhailovsky Theater in St. Petersburg, the Grand Opera in Paris, the American Ballet Theater in New York.

In 2012, she became a guest soloist with the London Royal Ballet (Covent Garden), and in 2013 she was accepted into the company as a prima ballerina. She danced Swan Lake, her beloved Giselle, Tatiana in Onegin, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, and many other parts.

However, as Natalya Osipova admitted in a recent interview with the Sunday Times, her injuries, including an extremely painful hip dislocation, led to the cancellation of many performances and a long break.

The turn to modern dance was a way to get out - albeit temporarily - from the tough, at times merciless rehearsal routine of classical ballet.

This turn, however, is by no means sudden or unexpected. Even at the Bolshoi, she danced in the play "In the Upstairs Room" by contemporary American choreographer Twyla Tharp; in Covent Garden, leading British choreographers Christopher Wheeldon, Wayne McGregor and Alistair Marriott specially created parts for her.

Two years ago, three modern choreographers - the Belgian Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, the Israeli Ohad Naharin and the Portuguese Artur Pita created for her and her then partner both on stage and in the life of Ivan Vasilyev a performance of three one-act ballets "Solo for Two", which premiered on stage at London's Coliseum Theater in August 2014.

Alliance with Polunin

The current performance, which Sadler's Wells Modern Dance Theater ordered three choreographers especially for the Russian ballerina, in no small sense follows the path beaten two years ago by Solo for Two. And not only because two of the three directors - Sherkaui and Pita - again working with Osipova.In two of the three productions, she is again on stage only with her partner - both on stage and in life.This partner, however, is now different - Sergei Polunin.

Polunin, the British press, not without reason, calls enfant terrible classical ballet. In 2003, a 13-year-old teenager, a native of Ukrainian Kherson, thanks to a scholarship from the Rudolf Nureyev Foundation, moved from the Kyiv Choreographic School to the Royal Ballet School. In June 2010, he became the youngest principal in the history of the London Royal Ballet.

However, already in 2012 he left the famous theater. He left with a scandal, accompanied by rumors of cocaine abuse, lamenting that the ballet did not allow him to fully enjoy the freedom of his youth and stating that in academic ballet "the artist inside me dies."

The first thing he did after leaving was to establish a tattoo parlor in London. Then, already as a freelancer, he disappeared a few days before the scheduled premiere of the performance "Midnight Express", thus disrupting the premiere.

Since then, he has been migrating between Russian academic theaters - Stanislavsky and Nemerovich-Danchenko in Moscow and the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theater and prestigious and commercially profitable engagements in the West - from La Scala to video clips shot by an American photographer and clip director in the style of "surrealistic glamour" by David LaChapelle.

“When we teamed up, many thought I was crazy,” Osipova admits. - I immediately began to give a variety of advice. But I have always done what I want. And if my heart tells me that this is what I should do, then I will do it."

Polunin reciprocates: "Dancing with Natalia is just great. I immerse myself in work with my head, for me this is a new full-fledged reality, and I would like to dance with her always."

Performance at Sadler's Wells

However, in the first of three productions of the new performance, Osipova is on stage not with Polunin, but with two other dancers. The performance is called Qutb: translated from Arabic, this word means "axis, rod." But it is also a spiritual symbol, which in Sufism denotes a perfect, universal person.

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui was born in Antwerp. His mother is Belgian, but his father is an immigrant from Morocco. He studied at a madrasah and the culture of the East is as dear to him as the culture of the West.

The bodies of the three dancers are woven into a single ball in which you can’t understand where the men are, where the woman is, where whose arm, leg or head is. However, there is nothing erotic in this plexus of bodies - according to the choreographer's plan, Natalya Osipova personifies Venus, James O "Hara - the Earth, and Jason Kittelberger - Mars. They revolve together and around each other, accompanied by Sufi music, personifying - with some, however, pretentiousness - neither more nor less than the process of the universe.

The second performance - "Silent Echo" staged by British choreographer Russell Malifant - is the most abstract, the most avant-garde, and, paradoxically, the most traditional. Osipova and Polunin emerge from complete darkness, one at a time, snatched by the spotlight beams in the most unexpected places on the stage, now moving away, now approaching each other. For most of the play, they don't touch. This detachment, enhanced by the prickly, cold electronic music of the British musician Robin Rimbaud, known under the artistic name of Scanner, has something otherworldly, as far as possible from classical ballet.

Mechanistic movements to mechanistic music evoked in me associations with the restrained expression of the classic of the choreographic avant-garde Merce Cunningham, when suddenly, in its final part, after two solo numbers, the dance acquired an unexpected classicism.

The choreographer himself admits this: "I wanted to create a form close to the classical pas de deux - a duet, two solos, and again a duet."

After the emotional stinginess and restrained philosophical detachment of the first two parts of the performance, in the third, this same emotionality overflows. Even the name itself - "Run, Mary, run!" - implies a story, a plot, which is rarely found in modern dance. The characters even have names: Osipova - Mary, Polunin - Jimmy. Bright, colorful, even deliberately vulgar costumes; twist, rock and roll, sex and drugs; the nature of the dance and movement brought to mind the classic "West Side Story" by Leonard Bernstein and Jerome Robbins.

Even music refers to the same era - the beginning of the 60s. The girl group The Shangri-Las is almost forgotten today, but their emotional songs, often played out like theatrical skits, inspired Amy Winehouse, and, according to the idea of ​​choreographer Arthur Pita, Osipova in her appearance and movements was called upon to repeat the unbridled despair of the untimely departed singer. And the harsh instrumental sound of The Shangri-Las, invented by the author of the "wall of sound" concept Phil Spector, gives the whole show a characteristic echo of the "discs of death" - that's what the band's music was called.

Harsh verdict from the press

Such a motley, colorful and devoid of a single stylistic core, the performance caused very unflattering assessments from British critics.

"A Russian ballerina lost in space" is the title of a Guardian reviewer. Giving credit to Natalia Osipova's determination to move towards modern dance, the newspaper writes that this is a long and difficult path, and Osipova has not yet achieved the freedom and looseness that, unlike the rigidly regulated academic ballet, this art requires.

The Financial Times, however, lays the blame for the failure not so much on the dancers themselves, but on the theater and choreographers: "The artists were trapped in the terrible inadequacy and monstrous pretentiousness of Sadler's Wells. The performance distorts and does not allow their gift and their true face to manifest.

No less harsh is the Daily Telegraph's verdict in the title of the review: "Star couple Osipova and Polunin misfire in a non-erotic triptych."

“Where is the fire, where is the passion?” the critic asks rhetorically. “The bar is set high, but in general the performance leaves the impression of wasted talent.” However, the reviewer does not believe that the dancers have no chance in this area: "Let's hope that Osipova and Polunin "harness for a long time", and the best is still ahead of them."

The performance has room for improvement: after a short premiere, it will go to the Edinburgh Theater Festival in August, then it will return to Sadler's Wells in September, and it will be shown at the New York City Center in November. There are no plans to tour in Russia yet.

First, a few different pictures of my beloved Polunin

Little is known about Sergei's personal life. Sergey dedicated the tattoo "I'm sorry, tiger cub" to one of his beloved, because she left him, and he hoped to return her in this way;)

For two years he dated a British ballerina Helen Crawford(who is 9 years older than him), she was his first serious passion, but after Helen expressed her desire to have children, Sergey decided that it would be easier and more honest if they parted.

A year ago, some time, Polunin appeared in society with an aspiring ballerina Julia Stolyarchuk.

And this summer, Seryoga made another tattoo: "NATASHA" on the back of his hand.

The tattoo is dedicated to the new girl Polunin - Natalia Osipova.

I don’t know when they met, but they got together in early 2015 when they were rehearsing Giselle at La Scala.

From an interview with Natalia:

culture: Your duet with Polunin is from the category of sensations. The favorites of the Moscow public united. How did you meet?
Osipova: At La Scala, when they danced Giselle. The performance was planned with David Hallberg - one of my favorite partners. But he has a serious injury, he is being treated for the second season and could not perform. I had to urgently look for a partner. Of course, I saw Serezha many times on stage, I always admired him, and it was interesting to try to dance with him. Our duo has not yet formed, we are just starting to work together.

culture: You refuse to answer questions about your personal life, but Serezha has a new tattoo with your name ...
Osipova: He made it after we met. At first it shocked me. I didn't expect that. But of course it's nice to know that you're important to the one you love.

culture: Relationships in life help on stage?
Osipova: They help me - I absolutely trust Serezha, I give him the palm. He is a man, he leads ... We have been together for about six months, and it is a great pleasure for us to be around.

culture: With your temperament, it's hard to imagine you being led...
Osipova: For me, this is also a big and pleasant surprise. But in the current situation, nothing bothers my ego, on the contrary, I submit to Serezha with great pleasure - both at rehearsals and on stage. In work, we always consult, talk a lot and decide everything together.

culture: Sergei Polunin told our readers that he dreams of combining ballet and cinema. Now Project Polunin is starting. Are you taking part in it?
Osipova: No, the project is not related to me. I have my own work, Serezha has his own. But there is a desire to work together as often as possible. Serezha has a lot of great ideas, and I hope everything will work out. If he needs my help, I'm always there.

For the first time, fans spotted them in June, when after the play "Giselle", where Sergei danced in tandem with Svetlana Zakharova, Natalya Osipova was waiting for him.

Since then, they began to appear together at social events and give joint interviews.

In November, the couple at a press conference announced their relationship:

The Royal Ballet prima ballerina and ballet bad boy put an end to relationship rumors when they announced their participation in the modern dance program at Sanders Wells next year.
Two ballet superstars Natalia Osipova and Sergei Polunin will be dancing together in a contemporary dance program in London, sparking additional excitement after they admit they are also a couple in real life.

The couple's relationship has been the subject of numerous rumors in the ballet world. On Thursday, they put an end to those rumors: yes, they are a couple and passionate about dancing together as often as possible.

Polunin said: At the moment it is quite difficult, for some reason the big theaters are trying to divide us. They do their best to keep us from dancing together. We are fighting against it. It is very important for artists to experience real feelings for each other on stage.", - he said and added that when he dances with another partner, he always imagines Osipova. " At the moment it is very difficult, but I hope that in the future we will dance together much more often.».

Earlier this year, Osipova and Polunin already danced Giselle together at La Scala, in Milan, but since they became a couple, they have not danced it again, and this is obviously very upsetting for Polunin.
« It's not just us, it's always a problem and I don't understand why when people want to dance together the directors go out of their way to separate them. I think it's just easier to control people that way..»

And as you know, Sergey is a fighter with any restrictions, and no one will be able to control him)))

Here are some pictures from social media:

Sergey's birthdaySummer vacation on the Hudson With fans:

With Sergey's mom:

And a photo with Vadim Vernik, who filmed this program:

In the upcoming 2016, Osipova and Polunin are planning to dance the main roles in London in a new ballet based on T. Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire.

Natalya Osipova is the most famous Russian ballerina in the world in her generation. Already the first performance of a graduate of the Moscow Academy of Choreography became a sensation. Osipova was called to the Bolshoi, but they overexposed "in the young", not allowing her to expand the repertoire.

Probably, she would have remained the eternal Kitri from Don Quixote, but together with her partner Ivan Vasiliev, the ballerina slammed the door and left for the troupe of the St. Petersburg Mikhailovsky Theater, and then to Covent Garden. Already in London, the prima ballerina of the Royal Ballet, Natalia Osipova, became a world ballet star. "RG" found out how she got to Perm to act as Masha in "The Nutcracker", a new theater production.

Natalya, how did you get carried from London to Perm?

Natalya Osipova: It was my initiative! I sat one evening and thought: something for a long time I did not dance "Romeo and Juliet" by Kenneth Macmillan - he is one of those performances from which I get great pleasure. Spontaneously called David Holberg, it's a shame that with such a wonderful partnership, we only danced "Romeo and Juliet" three times. They began to think: the performance did not go in London, it did not go in America, neither at La Scala, nor in Munich. And then she broke through the network - Macmillan goes to Perm! And Lesha wrote (ex-soloist of the Mariinsky Theater, artistic director of the Perm Ballet Alexei Miroshnichenko).

Just like that, without an agent, spontaneously?

Natalya Osipova: At first they didn’t believe me, they called and asked if I was Natasha. And when they believed it, they connected Teodor Currentzis and MusicAeterna, since the performance will be in Perm. At the last moment, Holberg had an injury, but it was too late for me to retreat. In addition, I rarely visit Russia, and my parents were delighted that I would drop by to visit them in Moscow on my way to Perm. As a result, she danced two performances, having received great pleasure from the choreography and from working with open, kind people. So they began to discuss what else to do.

Then there was The Firebird at the Diaghilev Festival?

Natalya Osipova: I managed to learn it on my weekends: rehearsals in Covent Garden are scheduled for a long time in advance, and you can’t break the rules. Giselle also danced in Perm.

Russian ballerina, prima ballerina of the Royal Ballet Natalia Osipova has become a world ballet star. Photo: RIA News

Is Masha in The Nutcracker a childhood dream or a ballerina's must-have?

Natalya Osipova: No, I didn’t dream about Masha, and when they didn’t let me dance at the Bolshoi, I didn’t even get upset. Then she danced at the Paris Opera in Nureyev's edition, rehearsed with an excellent teacher Laurent Hilaire, now the head of the MAMT. When you look, and then sneaks, and even when you dance, even more so. I respond to Tchaikovsky.

Perm's "Nutcracker" staged by Alexei Miroshnichenko is new, it appeared only a month ago. What is special about it?

Natalya Osipova: Peter Wright's version is playing in Covent Garden, albeit with a reference to the original choreography by Lev Ivanov from the end of the century before last. And Lesha Miroshnichenko spoke so contagiously about the drama in Tchaikovsky's music, which should be revealed. I got on fire. In Permskaya Masha, in fact, the meaning is sharper, more dramatic, the ending is open and gives options. Miroshnichenko's heroine is not a little girl playing with dolls, but a girl, she already feels a lot and is ready to understand what actions should not be done. She guesses that wrong steps can ruin a life. And that love is fragile, it costs nothing to break it. This idea is very close to me. I even recalled my first love, when any harsh word could be a disaster. So in the play - Masha just wondered if she needed a prince, and immediately loses him. This fits very well with the music of the final adagio.

But after all, everyone saw a happy ending to this music, didn't they?

Natalya Osipova: Yes, it's unusual and against the standards, but I'm always for things that touch more. Let there be more feelings, and the audience will decide what is best for them.

After the established relationship with the Perm ballet, did you have any plans to dance with other Russian theaters?

Natalya Osipova: Three weeks later I have "The Legend of Love" at the Mariinsky Theater, I dance the strong queen Mekhmene Banu. It seems that I missed the power of Russian performances.

So, soon after all to wait for you in the Bolshoi?

Natalya Osipova: There was an invitation from Vladimir Urin, but the performance did not take place due to my fault. Maybe the situation will change, everyone treats me wonderfully, they officially invited me to participate at the end of May in a concert in honor of the anniversary of Marius Petipa.

I didn’t dream about Masha, and when they didn’t let me dance at the Bolshoi, I didn’t even get upset

And the performance? Do you have long-term contacts with the head of the ballet troupe Makhar Vaziev?

Natalya Osipova: It is not working out yet, although we have a really warm relationship. You see, it’s nice for me to choose what to dance. In the Mariinsky I chose "Legend...", in Munich "The Taming of the Shrew". Ahead in Covent Garden "Manon Lescaut" with David Holberg and "Giselle", which we have not performed together for five years, and the premiere of "Swan Lake" by Liam Scarlett.

Waiting for solo programs?

Natalya Osipova: Yes, I love the choreography that is being done right now. We agreed with producer Sergei Danilyan to make Cinderella with choreographer Vladimir Varnava, we will present it in America in August and then we will bring it to Russia. I have planned my evening of contemporary choreographers, five authors, and I will finally be choreographed by Alexei Ratmansky, a 15-minute duet, for September. At the end I will dance "The Dying Swan".

Natalya Osipova: I would not call it sarcasm, maybe everything will be quite serious. A tribute to what I love about dance is the ability to express myself.

Russian ballerina Natalia Osipova, is known as the prima ballerina of the Mikhailovsky Theatre, the London Royal Ballet and the American Ballet Theatre.

Natalia was born in Moscow in 1986. Masterfully controlling her body, she became interested in gymnastics from the age of five, but two years later she had to leave this type of self-development - seven-year-old Natasha received a serious injury, excluding further classes. On the advice of the coach, the parents took the girl to a ballet school, where Natalya found herself and her business for many years. She later received professional training at the Moscow State Academy of Choreography.

The creative path of Natalya Osipova / Natalya Osipova

Ten years after the first exercise at the barre, Osipova has already been accepted into the ballet troupe of the Bolshoi Theater. Four years later, she plays leading roles, and in 2010 she becomes a prima ballerina. However, wanting to develop further, in 2011 Natalia moved to St. Petersburg and there she became the prima ballerina of the Mikhailovsky Theatre.

At the same time, the ballerina takes part in foreign productions: she is increasingly invited to perform at the Grand Opera, La Scala, the London Royal Opera, the American Ballet Theater, and the London Royal Ballet.

However, despite the great demand in classical ballet, Natalia is increasingly looking towards modern dance. According to the artist, her injuries and the routine of ballet rehearsals led to this decision.

Yesterday's ballerina enters the world of modern dance shows not alone, but with her partner, the scandalous Sergei Polunin. Together they perform in a production of three one-act ballets at London's Sadler's Wells Theatre.

Natalya Osipova: “When we teamed up, many thought that I had gone crazy. I immediately began to give a variety of advice. But I have always done what I want. And if my heart tells me that this is what I should do, then I will do it.”

Osipova's new style of criticism is still being assessed as controversial and in need of improvement, but at the same time they do not lose faith that Natalya will still win the favor of the public in modern dance.

There are too many "Emeralds" on "Gossip".) I wanted to make a post about a real ballerina.

I discovered this ballerina three years ago, at a concert for the opening of the renovated Bolshoi Theatre. It was just gorgeous she danced there, with such drive and such incredible technique! Then she participated in the project of the First Channel "Balero" with Roman Kostomarov, and took second place there. I think she has a great future. And her husband, by the way, Ivan Vasiliev, is also a chic dancer.

Biography, photo and video.

Natalya Petrovna Osipova - genus. May 18, 1986, Moscow. From the age of five she was engaged in artistic gymnastics, but in 1993 she was injured, and sports had to be stopped. The coaches recommended that parents send their daughter to ballet. She studied at the Moscow State Academy of Choreography (class of Rector Marina Leonova). After graduating in 2004, she joined the Bolshoi Ballet Company, making her debut on September 24, 2004. Since October 18, 2008 - the leading soloist, since May 1, 2010 - the prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Theater. She rehearsed under the guidance of People's Artist of the USSR Marina Kondratyeva.

In 2007, on tour of the Bolshoi Theater in London on the stage of the Covent Garden Theater, the ballerina was warmly received by the British public and received the British National Dance Award, awarded by the Critics' Society ( Critics Circle National Dance Awards) for 2007 - as the best ballerina in the "classical ballet" section.

In 2009, on the recommendation of Nina Ananiashvili, she became a guest ballerina of the American Ballet Theater (New York), performing on the stage of the New York Metropolitan Opera in the title parts of the ballets Giselle and La Sylphide; in 2010, she again took part in ABT performances at the Metropolitan Opera as Kitri in Don Quixote, Juliet in Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet (choreography by C. MacMillan), Aurora in Tchaikovsky's The Sleeping Beauty (staged by K McKenzie; partner David Hallberg).

In 2010, she made debuts at the Grand Opera (Clara in The Nutcracker, Ballerina in Petrushka) and La Scala (Kitri in Don Quixote), performance at the Royal Opera House in London (Medora in Le Corsaire).

In 2011 she performed the part of Katarina in The Taming of the Shrew to music by D. Scarlatti (choreography by G. Cranko) with the ballet of the Bavarian State Opera. Twice she took part in the Mariinsky International Ballet Festival, performing the roles of Kitri in the ballet Don Quixote and Giselle in the ballet of the same name.

Since December 2012 she has been a guest soloist with the London Royal Ballet, having danced three Swan Lakes with Carlos Acosta in this capacity. In the same October, she - the only guest ballerina among the regular artists of the Royal Company - participated in the gala concert in honor of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.

She is currently the prima ballerina of the American ballet theater together.

In April 2013, Natalia Osipova signed a permanent contract with London's Royal Ballet.

With her husband, Ivan Vasiliev.