Olga Marchenkova and Artemy Belyakov in the Hero of Our Time

Olga Marchenkova and Artemy Belyakov in the Hero of Our Time, music by Ilya Demutsky, choreography by Yuri Possokhov. Benois de la Danse 2016 Laureates Gala, shot on 17.5.2016 in Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow.

Check out all galleries from 2016 Benois de la Danse Laureates Gala

Check out all galleries from 2016 Benois de la Danse Laureates Gala

Olga Marchenkova (Rus. Ольга Марченкова) is currently with Bolshoi Theatre Ballet. She was born near Moscow and graduated in 2007 from Moscow State Academy of Choreography. Same year Olga was approved to Bolshoi Theatre Ballet troupe.

Artemy Belyakov (Rus. Артемий Беляков) is currently Leading Soloist with Bolshoi Ballet. He graguated in 2010 from Moscow State Academy of Choreography and was approved to Bolshoi Theatre ballet company.

A Hero of Our Time (Russian: Герой нашего времени, Geroy nashego vremeni) is a novel by Mikhail Lermontov, written in 1839, published in 1840. The preface explains the author’s idea of his character: “A Hero of Our Time, my dear readers, is indeed a portrait, but not of one man. It is a portrait built up of all our generation’s vices in full bloom. You will again tell me that a human being cannot be so wicked, and I will reply that if you can believe in the existence of all the villains of tragedy and romance, why wouldn’t believe that there was a Pechorin? If you could admire far more terrifying and repulsive types, why aren’t you more merciful to this character, even if it is fictitious? Isn’t it because there’s more truth in it than you might wish?”

Photos by Jack Devant Ballet Photography with kind permission of the Benois de la Danse and Bolshoi Theatre, special thanks to Nina Kudriavtseva-Loory and Regina Nikiforova.