Celebrating Life in the Fast-Lane

Ураaaaa (Hurrah); there is so much to be celebrated!
So sorry to all of you for the lack of writing I have done for over a month now! These past weeks have been some of the busiest, most hectic weeks of year, but the good news is that it gives me a lot to catch you up on!

Like I said in my last blog, April was exam season here in Vaganova! The whole academy was stressed and super busy preparing for the number of examinations we needed to take and be graded on. My first exam, as I wrote before, was Modern. After that, we continued to work and focus on our classical ballet exam. We took this exam on April 24, and the night before, I could hardly sleep from all of the nerves. It wasnt my first exam; I had taken a ballet exam in Kirov in Washington DC last year, and I had already done modern here at VBA, but this was SO different! We were being graded by the world's TOUGHEST and most prestigious panel. Not only was the principal of the academy, Dorofeeva, and the artistic director (and perhaps the most famous, beautiful, and renowned ballerina) Altynai Asylmuratova, judging, but along with these two was every great and respected Vaganova teacher in the school, and directors of companies all over the world (Fateyev, director of Mariinsky Ballet, comes to the academy exams every year!)!!! The grades you get on exams can determine what stream of the school you are in (I am in the A stream, 1st course), whether or not you can return next year, and the number also ranks you against your classmates to show where you stand in you class, as well as to see how you progress throughout the years. Needless to say, I was kind of freaking out, but when it came to the actual time of the exam, I went into it with a confident, optimistic, and loving attitude, ready to do what I love and dance from my heart!
The exam went well for all of my class! All of our hard work paid off, and we were all overjoyed once it was done! I felt really great about how I did, and I am happy to say that my report/grade that I received reflected that! After that, we were ready to celebrate....until the next day when we had to prepare for our duet exam!

The panel; toughest judges you'll ever meet

My duet teacher this year was Adolf Hamzin. Obviously, we take the duet class with the boys; our whole class, together. There are 5 boys in my class, and having 9 girls, this presented a problem for the exam. Throughout the year, Hamzin assigned partners, creating different pairs almost every class, but we mostly worked with the same 2 or 3 boys because of aesthetics. When he started to put us in pairs for the exam, I got very lucky! Hamzin was really happy with me, and he decided to bring in a boy from the 7th class A stream, to be my partner in the exam (if anyone is a huge VBA fan, he is the partner of Ksenia Zhiganchina). Because Sergio was in a different class, I would have to work with him on my own time because our schedules. Hamzin, luckily worked with us privately twice, but after that, our schedules got too complicated. When classical exams started approaching, it was too difficult for Sergio to make it to ANY duet classes, and Hamzin started to worry; I was starting to, also! This is when my luck wore out! We had only 4 classes until the exam, and I now had no partner! One of those classes, I ended up working with 3 different boys, and they rotated every combination!!! I had no idea how I was going to do that in the exam! Luckily, we sorted out my 'partner problem' just 3 classes before the exam, and everything went well on examination day! I have always loved partnering! :)

(R to L; Me, Olya, and Renata in our "испанский" dance)

Next was our character exam on May 4, which I really enjoyed. First of all, I really love character! A lot of ballerinas you talk to say they hate it, but need it because it is in every ballet, but HERE almost everyone loves it, including me, and that is mostly because they really know how to do it! It is unbelievable how they can make character dances so perfect!!!  I am very lucky, because I got a really great character teacher; Anastasia Vasilieva (I have really great luck with the teachers I get!)! I love her class; the dances we learn and the technique, and even just watching her demonstrate...perfectly! She is gorgeous, and I am seriously in awe just watching her show the combination! Anyways, this exam was a ton of fun because we did so much in it! First was barre, followed by more than 6 FULL pieces from different ballets, Spanish dance, Flamenco, and an oriental dance. So much fun, because we really got to "perform" and dance in this exam! This exam was also special because it was the same exam she did while she was studying in the academy! We got to watch the video of her and her class in their exam! It was so cool to watch; her class was a pretty big graduating class that had many of the academy teachers in it including Nikita Scheglov, and Uliana Lopatkina was also in this class!

First generation (above)- my teacher, Vasilieva, and her class

Second generation- my class, 2012, with our teacher, Vasilieva, after our character exam

Taking a "break" from exam season, on May 11 was the first of 3 shows the school does at the Hermitage Theatre! I had been having rehearsals with my repetiteur, Veronika Ivanova (prima of Mariinsky), almost every day (and sometimes Nikita Scheglov), even during the exam season (link to video at end of the blog). On May 7, just four days before the show, we had our просмотр. This is when all of the directors and teachers from the academy watch each of our pieces in the studio, and decide which are good enough to perform, and then they eliminate the rest. I had been rehearsing Flames of Paris with one of the Russian graduating boys of the 9th class, and there was another couple, both from the graduating class, also auditioning the pas. SUPER nerve-racking, as you can imagine, but I went into it was the same positive attitude I always keep, and it paid off, because we made the list! I was so happy!

With Altynai Asylmuratov

We only had two more rehearsals after that before the show that Friday (one day we had a rest day because it was Russia's 'Victory Day', which I spent at a lantern festival and relaxing at my friend's loft in the city!). On May 10, we had a dress run-through in front of all of the teachers and Altynai, again. After that, she once again cut more people from the gala.
The next day was the performance in the Hermitage! We had never danced on the stage before, so I knew it would need to really get a feel for it in the run through just 3 hours before the performance! After we ran through the whole performance, cuts in the show were once AGAIN made, and luckily we made it through the final cut and were ready to perform!!!

Im pretty OCD when it comes to performances. I have all of my rituals that I MUST do in order to ensure a 'perfect' performance, and this one was a pretty huge one for me! First of all, it was my first soloist role at Vaganova. Second of all, it was a HUGE huge honor for me to be chosen to perform it! I was shocked when Veronika asked me to perform it with a graduating boy, seeing as 1. I am an international student 2. I am of the 6th class, and 3. I am a first year student! It was a lot of pressure on me, but I had a lot of support and faith from so many different people! Before the performance, I worked on stage privately with Altynai (a huge honor), Veronika, and Tatiana Udalenkova, my classical teacher, each of whom told me not to worry and wished me luck, along with my character teacher and all of my friends in my class!

With my teacher, Tatiana Alexandrovna

The performance went fantastic!!! I had a BLAST on stage, and if I could, I would do it again in a second!!! There's no way to describe the feeling you get on stage, but it is something so spectacular! I love to do what I LOVE! Such a fun performance (oh, and my class and I also performed a Flamenco piece in this performance!) Thanks to all the teachers who worked with me and to Iskander Murasov, my partner!

Directly after the performance, I had to rush back to the academy to get to the last part of my acting class. Our exam for актерское мастерство was the next day, May 12. Since the 6th class is the first level in the academy that you do acting, we did a lot of different things in this class throughout the year. My acting teacher, Sergeyev (the father of Alexander Sergeyev, principal dancer at Mariinsky who I wrote about in one of my past posts), really made us go out of our comfort zones! We did a lot of activities that were really challenging (and embarassing...and hilarious!). The class was both acting like something, and abstract acting. We would do exercises where we had to show sadness, for example, not ACTING like you were sad, but showing the emotion through your body and movements! It was really difficult, and to make it even more challenging we would do everything ALONE! We took turns on stage while the rest of the class watched (being pretty shy, this was really out of my comfort zone, especially in the beginning of the year)! The exam turned out to be great! It was about an hour long and made up of some ballet acting such as the Giselle scene from Act 1, La Sylphide, and Carabosse, but also so many funny and creative pieces! We all had lots of fun doing it and making the pieces up, and the audience thought it was hilarious! поздравляю, всех; мы сделали это!!!! Last exam of the year; DONE!!!!! That whole period of over a month with exams and performances non-stop was one of the most stressful and tiresome times of my life, and definitely of the whole year!

Adding to the excitement of being done with our FINAL exam, I was super excited because on May 14 my momma came to St. Petersburg!!! YAYYY! I was so excited that I got to see her, and that she was going to see where I had been living this year and see the academy! While she was here, she was able to watch ballet class, talk to some of the teachers (with translation, of course), and meet my friends in the academy. We had tons of fun, as we always do, together! The weather cooperated while she was in Petersburg, so we were able to walk a lot and show her around the city! We even went to see "Swan Lake/Лебединое озеро", in Mariinsky theatre, one night! She was pretty impressed with my life here, and proud of everything I was doing (as well as my Russian speaking ;P hehe)! <3 If you havent had the pleasure of meeting my mommy, let me just tell you that she is the sweetest, most caring, CUTEST mother you will ever meet! I am so blessed, and so happy that my best friend in the world was able to come see me!

I was so sad that she had to leave after only 4 days because of work, but I am so grateful she was able to come at all! I wish she could have been here for the Hermitage performance to see me dance, as we had originally planned! I was even planning to come back home with her on May 19, but those plans got changed so last minute that we did not even have the time to change her trip to the end of June when I would be able to leave WITH her!

The day my mom left, it was my 18th birthday (and what better birthday present than a visit from mom!)!!! My 17th year was pretty amazing, and as much I hate getting older, I am looking forward to a great 18th year! On my actual birthday, I celebrated by enjoying a beautiful day outside, and going to a small dinner with a few people. I was touched at how many of my friends here tried to make my day special! I wanted to do something really fun with ALL of them, so the next week we decided to celebrate together! We went out to a nice dinner to celebrate not only my birthday, but also finishing exams and Hermitage concerts! We had so much fun; как обычна! Мы всегда смеется и улыбается <3! After dinner, we went out to get some ice cream, and then walked to Mikhailovsky castle (Михайловский замок) to celebrate further!

Tsiskaridze at the castle!

It actually worked out perfectly, because that day was also the birthday of St. Petersburg! How perfect that to celebrate the anniversary of the city, there was going to be an outdoor Dance Open ballet performance on the castle steps?! The streets were completely filled for the performance, which is another reason I love this city; it is so cultural and appreciative of the arts! The performance was really cool because even though it was a free concert and outside, so many stars were in it, including Yonah Acosta, Osmolkina, Nikolai Tsiskaridze, Igor Kolb, and Maria Kochetkova! It was so much fun to watch, especially with my girls! The fact that it was outdoors made it even better; so much fun "doing" the variations with the dancers on stage and singing the variations on the sidewalk watching, haha! ;) Also, White Nights are here, so the sunlight was beautiful on the stage and the dancers! I had a great birthday with my Russian family; thank you and я люблю вас! С Днем Рождения меня ;) & C днём рождения, любимый город! ♥

Things like this make me love the city more and more! The fact that you can walk down the street, ask a random person who their favorite ballerina is, and they can tell you not only names, but also why they like them; what an incredible culture! They really do love the arts here! Also, White Nights are something that if you wanted to visit Russia, you should definitely try to be here for it! The sun is down less than 3 hours a night, and it does not even set until after midnight! So cool (minus the lack of  sleep we are all getting now!)
                                                                                                я люблю СПБ!


As you can already tell, my life has been nonstop, CRAZY busy, recently! To add even more to my crazy schedule, last Monday I was asked by Nona Grigorievna, Altynai's assitant, to come to Corsaire rehearsal for the graduation performance! She told me that Altynai, Udalenkova, and the other teachers wanted me to perform in the graduation galas at Mariinsky in June; a HUGE honor! I was thrilled that I was asked; I am the only international student in the galas (besides those who are graduating)! Anyways, I went to rehearsal just last week, and was immediately put into the main cast. The girls had already been rehearsing Corsaire Jardin Anime for awhile, so I was surprised to be put in right away. That first rehearsal I went to was a run-through, so I really just had to watch all the other girls and follow the formations (Спасибо, Гузалка, за помощь!) Within those 45 minutes, I managed to learn the whole garden scene, and was super happy that my teacher and the director of repertoire were pleased and proud of how fast I caught on! So pleased, that now I am dancing in all of the graduation performances at Mariinsky, and I couldnt ask for a better end to my first year!!!
Only a week after that first rehearsal, we already had our first run-through of Corsaire on Mariinsky stage! SO crazy, and I will say again and again; ONLY at Vaganova! After only a very short time, the performance is already so polished and beautiful! Я люблю свою жизнь....))
Im soaking up every last bit of this year, and I still cant believe how fast time goes! Having my birthday, and getting that strong, summery feeling that the year is about to end made me realize how precious our time is and how much we need to LIVE and live up every single day, whether good or bad! This year has definitely had its difficult moments, and adapting to Russian life, especially in such a strict academy, and having to give up everything that I am used to living with was a challenge, for sure. I must say that this lifestyle is DEFINITELY not for everyone, but I KNOW that it is for ME!
I want to have one big ПОЗДРАВЛЯЮ for everything in the past month; it was crazy, but I am so happy to have had these wonderful people by my side, always helping me and each other along, and celebrating all of our accomplishments together!!!
Only three more weeks until the end of the year; BRING IT ON! Wish me luck!
Thank you all, again, for reading and following me! I have the best support! I really appreciate it!!! Xoxo
Until next time,
Tate;
one year older & one year wiser

молодых душой - старый ум

P.s.- Here is a link to a video of one of my rehearsals of Flames of Paris with Veronika Ivanova! If you want to see more pictures, please go to the "Gallery" tab on this site!
Flames Of Paris (Tatum Shoptaugh-Vaganova Ballet)

Spring has Sprung, and Exams have Begun!

Happy Spring!
We are all as busy as the bees over here in St. Petersburg! In the last few weeks, things at Vaganova have been getting even more hectic and crazy than before! Now, we enter the most stressful time here; EXAM period!
Let me explain. For those of you who do not know what ballet exams are, every year (and twice a year for the lower level Vaganova classes), we take a ballet exams in which the school's most respected teachers and director, Altynai Asylmuratova, grade us on our technique, artistry, and performance in classes. For us in the senior courses, exams are spread out through a month's time. We take numerous exams; one for each class, which means one for classika (ballet technique/class), duet, modern, character, and acting. This is very stressful, especially for the seniors, seeing as the school makes cuts from the students who do not do well in their exam. The highest you can get in an exam is a 5+; the highest score was given to Diana Vishneva when she studied her under Madame Kovaleva (who still teaches here). Exams are watched by some of the most distinguished and important people in ballet, including directors of schools, companies; Fatayev, the director of Mariinsky, is there every year!

My class, 6/Ia, after finishing our first exam

Last Tuesday, I had my "premiere", as my Modern teacher announced. My modern exam went really well, and it feels so good to get it out of the way. We did it in the school theatre here, and luckily not THAT many people were watching besides the 14 teachers and directors grading it and my parallel class waiting to take theirs. Unlucky for my class, our exam schedule is very spread out. After April 17, many of the classes will be done with all of their exams, while my schedule has not really even begun! Classical exam for me is on April 25, duet on April 27, Character on May 4, and finishing with acting on May 12th. Wish me luck with the rest of my exams!

A few weeks ago, the Mariinsky held it's XII International Ballet Festival. Knowing about this, I got tickets IMMEDIATELY for March 25 when my idol, Alina Cojocaru, and Johan Kobborg would be performing Sylphide! If I have not told you before, Alina and Johan are my idols; my favorite pair! I cry everytime I watch them, no matter what it is, because they are so believable and so moving! Needless to say, March 25 was a date to look forward to for me! Unfortunately, they were unable to come to perform here in St. Petersburg, and there was a last minute cast change. Luckily, there are a surplus of amazing dancers in St. Petersburg, and my friend, Renata, and I were able to watch Novikova perform "Сильфида", which was still beautiful!

A week later, the festival was coming to a close, but first, the theatre was honoring one of our pedagogs at Vaganova, Mr. Gennady Selutsky. This year marked the 55th anniversary of his work with the Mariinsky and Vaganova Ballet Academy. This was one of the most amazing nights of ballet anyone could ever wish to see or to be a part of. SO many stars danced that night; Lopatkina, Korsuntsev, Shklyarov, Somova, Tereshkina, Kondaurova, Kolb, and SO so many more (also, I ran into Leonid Sarafanov (pictured to the right) who was also watching the performance from the wings!)! It is hard to believe I actually witnessed it, let alone from the wings of Mariinsky, where I was able to actually talk to and watch WITH these beautiful professionals, as well as my teachers! Being a part of this memorable night was something I will never forget! I am seriously living every ballerina's dream; dancing with Vaganova, performing at Mariinsky, meeting my idols, living in Russia... I am extremely lucky and blessed. With all of this talk and honor of the long, continuing career of a great teacher, I want to explain why this gala had a special meaning to me, and my connection to Mr. Selutsky.

Recently, I have been getting a lot of questions about my training and how I got to be where I am now. To answer that; a lot of hard work. When I started, I was already 12 years old; a very late start in ballet! I started in Colorado Springs with German and Valentina Zamuel (both trained and graduated from Vaganova). Starting so late, I did not have the advantages many dancers that started young have, in fact, I was at a huge disadvantage. I had no flexibility, no turn-out, and I knew hardly anything about ballet. What I did have; passion, willingness to work hard, and determination (my teacher, Valentina, likes to tell me that I came with absolutely nothing but brains)! I found what I loved, and I was determined to make it! I worked hard everyday. Now, I feel and know that all of those years of hard-work have paid off. I am at the Vaganova Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia, all the way around the world from home.

Last year, will at Kirov Academy of Ballet, I was a finalist in something called the Kennedy Center Master Class Series. Every time there was a company that came to perform at the Kennedy Center, I got to take a class with that company. This included the Mariinsky. When I took the master class with one of the Mariinsky pedagogs, Selutsky watched. After the class, I was approached by both Gennady Selutsky and another pedagog. They liked my dancing and me very much, and asked me if I was interested in training at Vaganova Ballet Academy in Russia. I was in shock that it was really happening, but obviously I did not pass up this AMAZING opportunity. This school was somewhere EVERY aspiring ballerina wants to train. The school where ballet was found; the heart of ballet. The process of being invited to study here is long and complicated, and ultimately up to the director, Altynai Asylmuratova, and the senior teachers of the school, and luckily, like Selutsky and the other Mariinsky pedagog who "found" me, the academy loved me and I was invited to train here at the best ballet school in the world, and in the class of one of the greatest teachers (here is a picture of us in Tatiana Alexandrovna's class, taken in March)!

Continuing to add to the list of outstanding, to die for performances I have seen recently, this week I went to Mikhailovky Theatre's "Don Quixote" with Vasiliev and Osipova! If you follow ballet news, I am sure you have heard about their recent switch from Bolshoi to Mikhailovsky. Although this may be considered a "scandal", I am definitely enjoying having them here in St. Petersburg! I first saw them perform about three or four years ago at the YAGP Finals Gala in NYC when I was competing. They performed Flames of Paris, and I fell in love with the pair and their insane tricks! This week, I was happy I was going to get to see them perform withOUT hundreds of competing dancers screaming and hollering over the music! The performance was SO good, and their dancing and tricks are still as phenomenal as ever! I saw things that you cannot even imagine are possible; Vasiliev's cabrioles are like two separate cabrioles, and he flies through the air! The orchestra could not even keep up with the speed of Osipova's double fouettes, and Ivan press lifted Natalia in arabesque with ONE hand, while he was in arabesque himself! It was unbelievable! These two have so much power and strength that you feel energized just watching them perform; they really keep your attention (that night, we saw Vasiliev fully grope Osipova's chest on stage. Very funny, and, of course, it was part of the ballet!)! Here is a picture of them doing the one handed press. I did not take it, just found it online, but what you cant see is that he is on one leg while in arabesque! PURE STRENGTH!

My rehearsal in Rep. Zal with V. Ivanova & N. Scheglov

With little free time, I am trying to get out of the academy as much as I can. The weather in St. Petersburg is getting warmer (slowly but surely), and I love spending time outside in this beautiful city! St. Petersburg's famous White Nights are coming up, and the sun stays out later and later every day! The end of the school year is just around the corner, and I am realizing how limited my time is here until it becomes summer! I am taking and soaking up every moment; every class, every correction, every laugh with my friends, and everything else! Exams might be stressful, but I am truly enjoying this time! The countdown until my classical exam begins now; 10 days, and then after that, my schedule becomes one long slur of events until the end of the year! The Hermitage performances begin May 11th with the international gala (which Russians perform in, also), I will finish my last exam the day after, and then May 16th and 18th we have two more performances in the Hermitage! From this time and on, I will most likely be having praktika and repititsya every night of the week. I am rehearsing a few parts right now, but no one knows who will be officially dancing in the shows until after exams. Altynai will be making decisions after we each show her what we have rehearsed, as well as based on who she likes  exams! Please, wish me luck, and I hope to return in my next blog with good news!
Until next time,
Xoxo
Tatum  




Thank you for your 55 years, Mr. Gennady Selutsky!

More photos from the gala, as well as from everyday life at the academy, are available on the "Gallery" page of this blog! Please take a look to see some behind the scenes pictures at Mariinsky! Also, please check out and subscribe to my YouTube account, shoper05, as I will be posting Vaganova videos and a video from this gala shortly! Thank you for your support and for following me!

Bright lights, Big Cities, Beautiful people, and Back from Break

If the rest of this year continues the way the first two months of 2012 have, then I am in for a treat.

The last time I blogged, I was just about to begin the first performances of Nutcracker at the Mariinsky. Vaganova was full of stressed dancers, teachers, and dorm "babushkas" that were ready for the holiday and winter "kanikuly" (vacation) to begin, but before that could happen, we had two Christmases to get through, a New Year to start, and all of the performances to finish.

My Christmas has never really been "average". Last year, we spent Christmas day looking for my dad's lost glasses in Pueblo, CO- not something that you would think would be enjoyable, but something SO "typical" of my family (and it actually turned out to be a great day of fly fishing, taking photos, and playing with the dog in the snow). No matter what my family does,though, it is always SO much better than "average" Christmas, but we always find a way to enjoy our snow, fireplace, family, and great family traditions like Christmas brunch or our traditional family Christmas Eve gifts.

мои девочки (my girls in my class)

Like I said in my last blog, this year I spent my Christmas Eve and Christmas day in Mariinsky Theatre rehearsing. The company had their own performance that day, so we rehearsed on Mariinsky's rehearsal stage, and it was the first time we had the live orchestra there! After a tiring day, I rushed back to the school and began to cook- for over 20 hungry dancers. Out of that, I have developed an appreciative attitude and admiration for every single mother whose home I have been to for dinner parties or get togethers at as I grew up; it is NOT easy to cook and entertain for that many, yet my mom has always made it look so easy...
The party was great. I was so happy to have all of my Russian friends there to celebrate "Western" Christmas (December 25) with me, and we had such a great night of eating, dancing, and laughing.

 "Snowflakes/ Snejhinki" with Atynai & Udalenkova

New Years was nothing special (for me at least), and I was just more disappointed I was not in Boulder with my family for our traditional start to the New Year. What came the rest of that week was what is REALLY exceptional. Our first Nutcracker performance was on the second day of the New Year, and that was a day I will never forget, yet hardly remember. It was so surreal, being on Mariinsky stage. It is something that you only DREAM about as a ballerina, and especially a student!  It felt so unreal that first performance, and it was not until the second or third performance that I actually began to realize where I was and what I was doing; living the dream! Unfortunately, the 10 days of performances went bye WAY too quickly for me. Before I knew it, it was already over.
Performing on Mariinsky stage is something I will never forget, and hope that I have the opportunity to do again! I get butterflies in my stomach just thinking about what it felt like being in the wings. There is no way to describe that feeling, other than saying that it is overwhelming; overwhelming joyful, nerve-racking, and a real adrenaline rush, but once on stage, I know and feel that I really belong there. I would stay on stage forever.

Through Vaganova and Mariinsky, the stars of ballet are born. I am so honored and thrilled to have shared a stage and experience with them, and hope to join them someday. (And to share a dressing room with them... speaking of which, backstage Mariinsky is every dancer's dream! I talked and met so many people; Fateyev, Vishneva, Tereshkina, Kondaurova, Obratsova, Korsuntsev,...) The picture to the sides, I am with two of the world's most beloved, famous ballerinas; Altynai Asylmuratova, to the right, is Vaganova Ballet's artistic director (my "principal"), and to the left, Diana Vishneva, current principal dancer with Mariinsky (and guest with companies worldwide).

So happy to see my baby brother!

After the performances, it was time to go home. I was so excited that I barely slept at all the night before or the 18 hours it took to get there. When I touched down in Colorado, I was the only one clapping, and had the BIGGEST smile on my face the whole time. Even the "cowboy" directing the customs line was confused why someone could be so happy and energetic after that long of a flight.

When I first got home, I finally had my family Christmas celebration I had been waiting so long for, and I think that we now have that reputation of being the crazy family that leaves out their Christmas tree and decorations for WAY too long after it is all over...SO worth it.

Amsterdam- Such a great time with my Momma

I spent about three or four weeks at "home", and they flew bye! Even though I was on vacation, I was traveling like crazy those weeks, flying to New York just days after getting home, returning home, and then to Amsterdam, and a week later , I flew to DC. I enjoyed every part of break, and especially all of the fun memories I made on these short trips to different places with my family.

 While actually in Colorado, I was so lucky to be able to "relive" the old days. I was able to attend EVERY one of my brother's and friend's basketball games, hang out with my friends after school, take dance class at my old studio; be a "normal" high school teenager. I was even invited and able to go to my school's Sadies dance/ Casino night with all of my friends, which was so much fun!

 I have traveled more than a lot of kids my age, and I cannot be more grateful and aware of how rare and wonderful that is. I have met so many people, had so many new and exciting experiences, and seen what there is in this world. I have never taken anything for granted, and especially my loved ones, but now I realize just how wonderful my friends truly are! They are really some of the most genuine, intelligent, funny, kind, TRUEST friends anyone could ever have. It is true that distance makes the heart grow fonder, but I know I have the truest friends when even at this distance, I feel so close to them. There is not one day that goes bye that I do not think about and miss them, but I am so happy to have grown with them and know they are always there for me to support me on this amazing journey!
I cannot say enough how blessed and grateful I am to have such a wonderful, loving, and supportive family and friends.

It was SO sad to have to say goodbye to my loved ones until summer, but I know this last part of the year is going to go SO quickly. I have already been back in Russia at Vaganova for 2 weeks, and it seems like I just got here. I immediately jumped back into classes and rehearsals, and it is all starting to feel like routine again. I am lucky because I was asked to rehearse with the Russians, along with the international rehearsals we have; that means I am rehearsing 5 out of 6 days in our work week (Yes, Saturdays are working days here, including academics).

I was so happy to see all of my Russian friends and my class again, and especially happy to realize how much I was missed, hehe! In arriving, I also got to meet two of my new suite-mates; Izzy, who is from England and lives next door to my room in our suite, and Cleo, my new roommate from Norway. They are both so sweet and kind- I think the rest of the year is going to be pretty great with them around :)

(L to R) Udalenkova, Desnitsky, and Asylmuratova

Here, I feel so blessed to be surrounded by such passionate people; people that know how I feel about my art, appreciate the importance, the hard work, and I especially feel blessed to be apart of a class that this appreciation and respect for one another overrides the competitiveness that generally accompanies ballet.

Exams for our classes are approaching very quickly, and the pressure is already building. Right after exams we will be taking part in multiple performances at the Hermitage Theatre here in SPB, which I am SUPER excited about! Hopefully we will find out more about that in the upcoming weeks... and I promise to be more on top of updating everyone on everything! (To the right is a picture of my teachers that was taken at the performance a previous year. My classical ballet teacher is on the left, Desnitsky, a coach, in the center, and the director, Asylmuratova is on the right. I cannot wait for it; I love performing!)

From Russia with Love, xoxo
Tatum <3

It Takes a Strong Heart, Healthy Body, and Passionate Soul

здравствуйте,
I hope that everyone is having happy holidays and getting into the spirit! This time of the year is all about being thankful, and I sure am!

Like I said in my last post, one of the perks of being in the academy is the free tickets that we get to the theatres here. On November 17, I was lucky enough to get tickets to see probably one of the most anticipated performances of the Mariinsky and ballet world, and that was Balanchine's "Jewels". This was a huge performance at the Mariinsky because of the cast. The stars, which included Uliana Lopatkina, Alina Somova, Nikolai Tsiskaridze, Vladimir Shklyarov, and Ekaterina Kondaurova, all performed together in this single performance. It was amazing to get to see all of these primas on one stage, in one night and one performance.

They say it is a small world, and that is definitely the truth. That week, it just so happened that my mentor and dear friend Nikoloz Makhateli's son, David Makhateli, Principal dancer of the Royal Ballet, came to watch my class. It was nice to finally meet him in person! If you have not heard of, or do not know the Makhatelis, then you are missing out. They are a genuinely beautiful family, inside and out!
Events like these make me realize more and more every day just how common it is to have ballet stars or legends just come visit the school, or to watch a class. It takes some getting used to, seeing people like Asylmuratova, Duato, or David Makhateli walking around on a normal day!

Thanksgiving in Russia is, obviously, non-existent. Ever since I was a baby, I have had Thanksgiving outside of the US. Every year, my family takes a trip with my "aunts" and "uncles" and their families to places like the British Virgin Islands, Bahamas, or Mexico, so having Thanksgiving outside of America was nothing new for me. My roommate and I celebrated together, even though she is Canadian, and made ourselves an adorable Thanksgiving dinner. It was a lot of fun, and actually ended up being the most "American" Thanksgiving I have had; usually the meal is lobster or crab!

With Sasha

The day after Thanksgiving was probably one of the most memorable days! The week before, I was approached by the staff here and told that I was going to be representing the school in a BBC special. I would need to do an interview and be filmed dancing for it in the following week. I was really excited, but nervous too, because being a dancer, I am used to expressing myself THROUGH dance, not words. Also, the BBC correspondent emailed me saying that since the academy is under construction, they legally could not film me here for the dancing clip they needed, and so the Mariinsky had given them permission to film me rehearsing IN the theatre! I was so excited! I was asked to meet the BBC crew backstage on the 26th, so I left Vaganova right after my morning dance class, and we started to film. It was so cool to get to go backstage for the first time. The producer explained to me that the segment was about the theatre; it's past, its present (the principal dancers there now), and the future (I was honored that I was representing the FUTURE of the Mariinsky!) My favorite part of filming was getting to talk to Daria Pavlenko in her dressing room. Before and during the interview, she said some things and gave me some advice about dancing and the strength of your heart as a dancer, that I will never forget! I also got to talk with her husband, Alexander "Sasha" Sergeev in his dressing room, and walked across the Mariinsky stage for the first time! It was so cool to walk on stage with all of the set for "Giselle" set up!

Daria and Sasha performing in "Giselle"

After we watched the first act, the crew filmed me around the theatre; walking and looking at the program and the stage, etc. After that, we did my interview. I was not prepared at all for this, because they had told me we would be doing it the NEXT day, but I calmed down and just spoke from the heart. They asked me about what it was like to be in the "world's most prestigious ballet school", why I love ballet, what are my dreams for the future, etc. By the time we finished, it was already really late, but we still needed to film my rehearsal on stage. We started heading back there, but the coordinator of the theatre told us that we could not film anymore because the theatre would be closing and they needed to clear the stage. I was really disappointed, and Inga, the producer informed me that not having that clip would mean having to change the whole segment, cutting me out and making it purely about the "present" of the company. I was really disappointed, of course, but I am still grateful for the whole experience, and honored that they choose me to represent the Vaganova!

The past few weeks have been really hectic, but what else is new. Since I last wrote, we have been having more and more rehearsals for our upcoming performances of Щелкунчик. Like I said in my last blog post, I was cast in the performance, and am in "снежинки," or "Snowflakes." While almost everyone back home is already finishing, or done with their performances, our rehearsals are only beginning. We started rehearsing with only 2 lines at a time, which was difficult because first of all, everyone knew the choreography from watching year after year, and second because I was the only international student. Luckily, I can understand Russian pretty well, and I caught on and learned the dance quickly.
The dance consists of 32 girls in four lines. We are expected to know literally EVERY space, so if someone is not there, we can step in. I have rehearsed every row. It is a difficult dance, but really beautiful when we finally put it together. I swear, there is something about the teachers, students, and the training at the academy that is just remarkable. The first time we put all four lines together in Snow, it looked ready to go on stage (but not by the Vaganova standards YET, of course).


Last week, I got to dance on the Mariinsky stage for my first time. It was an incredible and unforgettable moment. There is a perception that being on this stage, in one of the most beautiful, legendary theatres, is like a dream. Let me tell you, it is that and MORE. When I am on stage, no matter where, I love it. I love the feeling it gives me. It reminds me why I do what I do. It makes everything worthwhile; the hard work in class everyday, the hours you spend trying to improve that one step, the aches and pains... it is ALL worth it to be on stage and dancing. To me, rehearsal is time to work, and my first rehearsal on the Mariinsky was work, of course, but during my hard-work, I felt this passion and this love at the same time. Even with Altynai correcting us on the loud speaker, or Desnitsky yelling out corrections, I felt... overwhelmed by the theatre. I am not sure that is the right word to describe my feelings (or the pit in my stomach), but I am not sure there is even a word TO describe it. It was an incredible first experience! I am SO excited to rehearse there a lot more, and perform there in less than 2 weeks!

At the "гран-при"

Most of the my past month and a half has been work with little free time. I have not been able to go to nearly enough ballets as I would like, or really relax at all. My days have been purely dance; starting early in the day and ending late at night, and then school work in attempts to complete my courses before I go home for break in January. It has been both physically and mentally tiring, so when I was able to see some of my good friends from Bolshoi a few weeks ago, I was both thrilled and relieved for the distraction! It was ECSTATIC to see them! I had missed them so much, and although we didnt get to spend much time together while they were in St. Petersburg, (they were competing in the Mikhailovsky Grand Prix for a few days here) it definitely revived me, my energy and my attitude! I love them, and I cant wait to see them again soon! ( я надеюсь)!

Artur, Kostya and me <3 Ya uzhe ochen skuchayu!!!

                                                            Even though it has been over two months, I often I find myself still surprised at the level of training and dancing of the students here! Their talent, their flexibility, their stage presence, their technique... it is hardly believable. There are things that happen here that I SWEAR just would not happen anywhere else. I do not think any other students are this dedicated or hard-working. Last week, our teacher had to watch and grade ballet exams, along with the other teachers, while we were supposed to be having class. You know that you are in an exceptional school when the students STILL take a full ballet class by themselves, even though there is no teacher, and no one to catch you if you decide just to skip. I am not talking about doing combinations at barre, changing exercises to fit your needs, wearing warm ups...it was a class exactly like any other day. Where else but Vaganova do the girls repeat the lesson from the day before, with a pianist, and in full exam ballet uniform, trying our hardest, even without a teacher. Where else but Vaganova can you pull-off running a performance for the first time as a whole on the Mariinsky stage, and somehow it still looks nearly flawless. (And where else but Vaganova do even the construction workers know how to dance ;D If you havent already, check out my video on Facebook, and get a preview into one of the school's studios!)

After a long day. Photo by Lera Chaykina

 Rehearsals are getting longer and harder as the performance dates approach. Our bodies are beginning to give in to the amount of physical and mental stress we have, but still, everyone is continuing and pushing ourselves and each other everyday. With rehearsals, schoolwork, and little sleep, I can hardly believe that Christmas is almost here! I will not be home for Christmas, and I can hardly talk about it without getting sad and upset, but I also know that my Christmas will be waiting for me when I get home to my family in January, and that makes me so excited! I am also really glad that I will have rehearsals and performances to keep me distracted from the fact that it will be my first Christmas away from my family (as well as Skype ;P). I am sending all of my love and happiest holiday wishes to all of you back home, or wherever you may be for Christmas this year! I hope you all have a fantastic day and holiday season with your loved ones! As for me, I will be spending the day doing what I love...rehearsal at Mariinsky all day (at least Nutcracker music will help get me in the mood. So magical!)
The events and opportunities I have been presented with the last month, along with the encouragement and love of family and friends (old and new) have kept my body, mind, passion, and heart strong through this demanding time.
Stay strong and carry on! ;)


 С Рождеством и с Новым годом!!!!!


Xoxo,
Tatum <3