Anonymous asked: With such long workshop hours, I got curious about your profession. Is it related to health, like a nurse or doctor?
No, I’m not. God no, I could never be one.
Queen Ekaterina Krysanova as Queen Mekhmene Banu in Bolshoi’s The Legend of Love
Photos by Alisa Aslanova
Hello all!
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve posted similar stuff already, yet here I go again.
I’ve been completely silent lately because:
1) my computer died and I can’t really write or edit anything, go through the news carefully enough, make gifs, etc.
2) I work 6 days per week. Tree times a week I work 6:55am-8:10pm, and the other three days I work 6:55-8:10am + 7:10-8:10pm (and I simply sleep in-between the shifts). I’m tired.
3) because of no.2 I have no time to read and I feel intellectually drained. My conversations with my best friend (who also happens to be my coworker) are limited to discussing basic physiological needs and cheap drama, I swear.
But anyway, I’m hoping to save up some money and get a new computer as soon as I can (I really hope that’s gonna be before Christmas).
Thank you for your messages and your concerns whether I’m fine! I actually miss you too (I’m surprised I’m saying this, ‘cause I barely ever miss my family that lives ~technically~ on a different continent, let alone people I’ve never met in real life). I mean it, I really do miss you.
Anonymous asked: If their salaries are so low, how do many of the Bolshoi artists get to have such exotic vacations. I’m not talking about the likes of Kretova who has/had a rich husband but some who are vacationing in Cannes or Sardinia.
Part 1 of my answer, “The Long Bla Bla”: That’s why I used the term “set emolument” (I’m not even sure that’s a thing..?) in my translation; I’ve never once heard of the English analogue of Russian term she used, so I stuck to that.
In Russia, salaries are comprised of two things: this “set emolument” and premium pay (don’t be confused by its name though). Legally, I wouldn’t be able to explain either term. Basically, this set emolument thing that she talked about, is usually, as far as I know, super low. Most of the salary is made up of the premium pay, whiiiich is not the same thing as overseas. It’s not “pay used by employers to recognize and reward employee contributions”, but… yeah, just another fixed part of the whole salary. For example, when I had a job in Russia, my salary was like 600 USD, out of which, say, 90 was “set emolument” and the rest was “bonus pay” which I always got regardless of my performance.
I’m kinda sure the situation at the Bolshoi is either similar or the same. Also, I could venture a guess, that in extreme cases, the theatre might support employees financially.
Additionally, dancers get extra for each performance. Now imagine how many performances a corps de ballet dancer has: “dem all”. Aaalso, think of Kretova’s answer: her “set emolument” is 230 USD. She also gets 473 USD for each performance. Even if this “bonus pay” isn’t a thing at the Bolshoi, let’s calculate how much she earned during the month she talked about (which I’m not exactly eager to do, but that would illustrate what I’m talking about): 230 + 473*8 = 4014 USD. Doesn’t sound so scary anymore, right?
Part 2 of my answer: many ballet dancers have extra jobs, and all of those jobs - obviously - generate extra income. They work as: private ballet coaches, entertainers, models, plus, like Kretova said, they perform at galas, do guest appearances and so on. Many are well-married, etc.
Another thing I wanted to mention, is that prices in Russia are significantly lower than, say, the States or UK. 500 USD in Russia is not the same thing as 500 USD in America.
EDIT: after I posted this, I realized another thing: rich fans might sometimes offer dancers their apartments / houses for vacations (to address your note about Cannes and Sardinia). For instance, The Rothschilds are Svetlana Zakharova’s big fans, and she said that they’ve given her very expensive gifts throughout the years. Of course, she didn’t say anything about vacationing at their estates, but why not in general? I know for a fact it’s common in “artistic circles” overall.
10 Stupid Questions to a Ballerina
So I translated an intervew from the “10 Stupid Questions to…” series. In the video below, Kristina Kretova answers 10 stupid (or, I’d rather say, silly) questions people frequently have for ballerinas.
Personally I was surprised at a couple of factual mistakes that she made, but that’s just my side note. The “(sic)” notes mean that that’s exactly the way she worded this or that thing in Russian.
Long story short, hit “Keep reading” if you’re curious as to what those questions are.
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Anonymous asked: Sorry for ranting here but I was digging through your archives and wanted to thank you so much for your post regarding Soboleva/Lebedev. Do not get me wrong, I think they are very talented, but I barely see any artistry; I only see technical powerhouses, sometimes no musicality and over time hardly any improvement. As much as I disliked their responses to Bolshoi Ballet judges, I realize that might not entirely be their fault, maybe they have no time to when they perform literally every 2-3 days
Hello, and thank you!That’s an interesting guess, but I don’t think that’s the case. Every dancer that has solo roles has rehearsals every day: a morning class, and then individual time with repetiteurs. Individual rehearsals are meant for dancers not only to “learn the steps”, but also work on the role itself: the many role-specific details, the character, pantomime, etc. There’s absolutely no way that Soboleva and Lebedev, being a first soloist and a principal respectively, don’t have enough time to go through all those. Plus, they made it clear that they simply didn’t care for the judges’ advice. Which is very sad, in my opinion.
Anonymous asked: New Bolshoi promotions are making me cry. Like, what the hell Vaziev. What do you think about all of the this that is happening in Bolshoi right now? Because Tissi is now in the same position as Belyakov and I think it's unacceptable.
I’m pretty sure you know what I think about the issues that are taking place at the Bolshoi at the moment. I’m not particularly willing to spew hatred now, so I’m just gonna post this as it is.