One of the audience’s favorite Mariinsky ballerinas, Ekaterina Osmolkina is now in her 26th season with the company and not just performing but rehearsing other dancers as well. She offered VaganovaToday the rare chance to speak with her about her long career and her professional philosophy. Read on for more details and click here for the original Russian version of this interview.
How did you get started in the ballet world?
I don’t come from a ballet family. I was born in Moldova, in the former Soviet Union, in the city of Kishinev. I studied choreography and other things at an art school and attended endless children’s classes. I also studied music. The choreography teacher was a graduate of the Leningrad Choreographic School. He graduated from Boris Bregvadze’s class. He also recommended to my mother that we go to Leningrad to audition.
We came here in August, and I was accepted to the school in a supplemental audition, then my mother returned home on her own. I was only 10 years old, and they put me in the dormitories.
Was it difficult?
Of course, but I didn’t realize it at then. Now I understand that it was very difficult. After all I was very little. It was the start of the ‘90s, the putsch. It was difficult in monetary terms. They even dismissed me from the school at one point because I was technically a citizen of another state, and I had to register in Petersburg immediately. It was a difficult period.
Was your first year at the Academy difficult too?
It was horrible. We had classical ballet as our first class of the day and when it was over, I felt like the day was done. It was hard for me to do the ballet class because I wasn’t prepared enough. Everything shook, I couldn’t lift my limbs or hold the positions. We had a lot of people in our class and it was hard to compete. It wasn’t like it is now, when everyone arrives to the first year of study already prepared wearing pointe shoes. I believe it’s better to study gradually and correctly and not rush things.
You felt a sense of competition?
I didn’t feel competition per se. At first I received an excellent grade for my traits. The grade for performance, on the other hand, was lower than for my traits. But by the end of the year, at the exam, I already had a good grade for performance.
Aren’t a dancer’s traits essentially the same throughout their years of study though?
Well it seems to me it’s immediately visible if a dancer has the required traits or not. In principle, the flexibility in ligaments can be developed if you want to. Then your legs turn out better.
Who were your pedagogues?
During the first two years I had Dina Sergeeva Lebedeva, then the following three years we had Irina Alexandrovna Trofimova, and the last three Inna Borisovna Zubkovskaya. At first the class requirements were what is typically asked of children, and later on the classes reflected the shift from the school to the theatre. Zubkovskaya had that “ballerina” approach to teaching. We danced a lot of variations from various productions. Of course they were not such fully learnt movements as in the middle level classes, but we danced a great deal under Irina Trofimova. We always had a beautiful adagio. She asked us to dance and perform everything with great expressiveness.
Did you expect to work in the Mariinsky Theatre?
We all wanted to work at the Mariinsky, there was no other option. For us it was the main goal. And now everything has changed.
Both Makhar Khasanovich Vaziev and Nina Fedorovna Ukhova watched our exams and then assigned everyone to their positions [in the company].
What was the first year in the theatre like?
It was a difficult period. Suddenly you were in a completely different world from the school. And that is stressful! New people, a new schedule, new responsibility. But gradually I got used to it and now it’s fine. It’s like any change.
Now dancers don’t always spend time in the corps de ballet before becoming soloists. What’s your view on this?
I feel that it’s a huge oversight and that it’s noticeable. It isn’t correct when they don’t place a hopeful, promising graduate in the corps de ballet first. Naturally, without question, if the individual has capabilities and shows promise then you don’t have to keep them there. But work in the corps de ballet is a good experience in every sense. First, you develop some skills, strength in your arms and legs, the ability to interact with other dancers on stage. You also learn the production from the inside. That means later on when you go to prepare to dance “Swan Lake” (as Odette/Odile), then you have no problems in Act III knowing where you exit and who you have to run around. And you don’t have to call forth the entire company for a rehearsal to verify it.
You worked with Inna Zubkovskaya inside the theatre as well?
She was a rehearsal coach in the theatre and also taught at the Academy. When she died, Gabriela Trofimova Komleva became my pedagogue. I prepared many leading roles with her over the course of 5 years. It was interesting to work with her, she is a good pedagogue. You always take something with you from each pedagogue. Thereafter my fate became intertwined with Tatiana Gennadievna Terekhova. But that was my personal decision as an adult, it was a conscious decision. They didn’t assign me to her, I chose her.
What were you searching for at that point?
First of all, I liked how Terekhova demonstrated her upper body, especially her arms, her freedom of presentation in dancing. She made a strong impression on me. Further, her jumps and turns – I liked all of it. And it was very important that I liked her final result. So I wanted to work with her. Naturally when I first approached her, it was important to me that she wanted to rehearse with me. Because it’s very difficult when one of the people involved doesn’t want to be there. And she’s still tolerating me (laughs).
During your second season you danced Gamzatti alongside Farukh Ruzimatov and Diana Vishneva, can you tell us about that?
That was a huge responsibility. I was a weak link, it was a nightmare. Seriously, I understand that all now. It was difficult for me, because I could not reach up to the level that was needed because I was still a child. Gamzatti is a serious role. It’s not just dancing, it’s a role. You have to play that role, live through it, understand and then dance accordingly. They helped me of course, but I worried immensely during the process.
How does a partner affect the result of a duet?
Of course they affect the result. There are different types of partners, it’s difficult with some people and it’s more pleasant with others. I had lots of favorite partners, I danced with Misha Lobukhin, with Andrian Fadeyev , he led me in my debut in “Romeo and Juliet” for which I’m extremely grateful, I could not have dreamt of dancing alongside such a Romeo! With Igor Kolb too.
At times it’s not always easy during the rehearsal process, but then later you understand that the result is worth waiting for. All of the guys who are dancing now – Sasha Sergeev, Kostya Zverev, Philippe Stepin, Volodya Shklyarov, Kimin Kim – I dancing a lot of performances together with them. I’m afraid to leave someone out, I don’t want to offend anyone because the list is long.
And of course, my husband, with him it’s better than with anyone. Nobody relates to you more gently and with more understanding than the closest person in your life. At first, when we had just begun, when we were young, Maksim (Zuizin) was always joking around, and I was very hypercritical, I wanted fewer jokes and more work. Then everything fundamentally shifted, and he was always asking me to run through it one more time to check, and I’d say “why do we have to, everything is fine.” “No let’s do it once more,” he’d say. So he grew up, and everything changed.
Does emploi exist?
They don’t adhere to that now, but it does exist and for me it’s a very important point. I believe that when this point is adhered to, then a 100% result is achieved. And for the theatre, that’s naturally a good thing. Nowadays there are so many performances and everyone is dancing everything. I don’t know how good that is. But apparently it’s inevitable. I will say one thing, when a dancer has a large degree of mastery and experience, they have the right to work on a role that isn’t completely in their emploi. It’s permissible to do when they have enough to truly make a role theirs that is not characteristic for them. I am hypercritical. I don’t believe that you should take on everything at once, especially at the start. It’s better to dance your own repertoire thoughtfully first, and later, when you have specific experience and skills, take on more.
Shown above: Osmolkina with Maksim Zuizin in “Swan Lake”, photo by Natasha Razina (c) 2019 Mariinsky Theatre.
Can you refuse a role?
Well there was a time when they tried to put me into “Swan Lake” for example, and I refused for a very long time. I danced it quite late in my career. But now I understand that that was probably a good thing, that I danced it later rather than earlier. The role turned out to be more my own than I had expected.
Do promotions in the theatre depend only on the amount of work performed?
No, here the taste and preferences of the administration are at play. And it’s not always due to hard work, talent, and what is deserved, unfortunately.
You have begun to rehearse other dancers in the Jakobson Ballet troupe. Recently you also began rehearsing dancers within the Mariinsky. What is it you are passing on to your charges?
So far I’m rehearsing only the trio in “Corsaire” and the Shades trio from “Bayadere” at the Mariinsky. I enjoy it, but it’s a completely different workload and responsibility. You invest yourself, but the final result judged by the viewer is carried forth by someone else, and the student needs to be coached up to their entrance on stage, so that you aren’t embarrassed and don’t sit there watching and turning red. In the first place you need to help them cope with their nervousness. At first glance it seems it’s very simple but it’s not. Here, having your own children helps. Because it’s more or less the same thing: you talk to them, analyze, figure out what the situation is. You set yourself up positively in the right frame of mind and at the right time, so that the dancer is calm and goes out on stage confident. As I say, it’s like being with children.
Speaking of children, you have two sons. Do they dance?
Not yet, but my younger son attends the preparatory course at the Academy. We decided to try it, and maybe he’ll attend next year. The older one is studying in an academic school in the chemistry/biology department, he has a good brain.
Can you correct training if the dancer joins the theatre unprepared?
Of course, everything is possible but it’s a question of time. You can’t do it in 20 minutes. At minimum you need an hour a day, the desire of the pedagogue, and mainly of the dancer themselves to change something. If that desire is missing, then it’s pointless to bash your head against the wall.
Are dancers really recalcitrant to correct things?
Dancers are often defiant because they’re tired, don’t understand why, or don’t understand what is asked of them. Each dancer has a different personality and approach to rehearsing. It depends on lots of factors and on their personality too of course. There are dancers to whom you pass on information, they absorb it and the process goes on, growth occurs. And there are those to whom you pass on the information, they seem to have done it, and then a day later it’s as if nothing every happened. And you start over. That’s very tiring because any pedagogue wants progress. Not steps backwards, not stagnation in place, but movement forwards. But that depends on the dancer’s understanding of what is being asked of them. You have to see the difference “this is bad” and then understand what to do in order to correct it. This is direct work for the dancer’s brain – to work through it at home and to physically feel it. You can only give them the information and direct them. Further they have to want it and understand what is asked of them. If the dancer doesn’t see the problem, and he likes how he’s dancing, and thinks everything is great, then in that case he won’t reach great success.
It’s hard, I say, honestly. I’m a perfectionist, and if I don’t like something, I can work on a single preparation (preparatory step) for an hour. And if the dancer is willing to go on that path with me, then there will most likely be a great result.
How does the workload differ now from that which existed when you were hired? After all now there are three stages and not just one.
Certainly the workload now is much greater. Before, there were more opportunities to rehearse and honestly that was fantastic. Because we could completely learn a part to its core and from the very start thoroughly and in great detail establish the foundation. Now everyone is racing around. And it depends on the dancer, some people can manage to do it while they race around, but most cannot and so sometimes the result is messy. But this is an issue of time.
When I became a coach/pedagogue, I understood that in order to prepare a role you need time: a time set aside. You can’t change anything in twenty minutes if you’re setting an overall goal.
Do you have any special memories from your career?
There have been so many, it’s hard to list them all! For example I was shocked when Makhar Vaziev did not call me by my name at all during my first year in the theatre. He had that habit. Then during my second season, he saw me in the hallway and said, “Katya, I need you.” I practically slid down the wall at that moment! It was the first “Mariinsky” ballet festival and Carlos Acosta was supposed to come dance “Diana and Acteon” with Elvira Tarasova, but she was injured. And since I’d danced “Diana and Acteon” at my graduation, Vaziev knew that and decided to give me chance. They said that it wasn’t bad. For me at first it was a shock. But despite that, I approached the role with youthful enthusiasm. I wanted to prove to myself and to others that I could do it. Plus, it was a big event, the first festival, a lot of responsibility, an honor. There were many such moments, in both directions. There were also refusals, such as when I asked “Can I try to perform” something and in response I was told “Well, I don’t know.” I asked to perform Jerome Robbins’ “In the Night”. I was told that it was a huge problem, that they’d have to call in specialists, although I’d already worked with them. And the dancers who performed it in the end were the ones who had not even rehearsed it. So when they want to prohibit you from doing something, they can find a million reasons. Knowing that our time in this profession is so short, you want to do more. There’s not a lot of time.
Are you superstitious?
I try to avoid that, I feel that it’s nonsense. But my mom for example doesn’t like to throw out the trash on the day of our performance. For her it’s a thing, and now I’ve become infected with it and if I’m dancing I also don’t throw out the trash. Although when I did throw it out, everything was fine. My mom wants it this way so we all play along, but I think it’s silly.
Do you believe in fate, in a predestination for ballet?
It’s hard to say. Here in order for everything to come together for you, a lot of things have to coincide. In first place, hard work, zeal, desire, and so forth. I don’t know, maybe that is fate! If you have the desire, the aspiration, and some sort of dream, then in any case everything will happen for you, if not here [where you are now] then in some other place.
Advice for young people who want to dance?
I advise them to love their profession. If you start to dance thanks to money, then you will unlikely reach a good result. They should respect the theatre, the audience, and have a great love and desire to dance – when these things drive a person, then I feel they’re on the right path.
Without a doubt later when you start a family you can’t but consider finances, you have to live and survive somehow. And you shouldn’t be embarrassed about wanting to earn money, I’m not saying that. But from the start, there has to be love for your profession and for the audience.
What are your feelings about social media?
I’m very skeptical. I like it when there’s a minimalistic format and it’s done appropriately. When people want to share with joy. Probably it works well as an advertisement. But as a rule it’s not inspiring.
Has the quality of dancing changed over the last 30 years? Are today’s dancers better?
I can say what I already said: today everything is taking place in a rushed, hurried state. Roles are prepared much faster. I see that some things fall by the wayside. “The Sleeping Beauty” is one such production, where it’s immediately visible that the arms have not been learnt well, the musicality is lacking and the legs are all like mush. People dance the way that is comfortable for them to do so, but it should not be that way. Productions have specific tasks or challenges in them. You need time to prepare for the performance. This has changed, in the past time was devoted to it.
Can that be corrected during the rehearsal process?
Well, again, the dancer needs to see the difference and aspire to a certain level. In principle it can be worked on, but it is a question of vision. If the dancer likes the way it is, if it suits them just as it is, then it’s not likely that anything will change. In a perfect world, the dancer should never be satisfied with their work. They should always want to perfect themselves and grow further. As soon as dancers start to like themselves, it’s sad.
Do you have a dream for the future?
My dream is that a day could become longer! I just want more time. A tiny bit left over for myself and for my family. I don’t have enough time. But so far this dream isn’t achievable.
All photos by Natasha Razina (c) Mariinsky Theatre. From top: “Giselle” 2005, “Sleeping Beauty” with Danila Korsuntsev 2019, “Fountain of Bakchisarei” from 2020, “Swan Lake” (see caption above) and last image above in “Don Quixote” 2019.