Oxana Skorik and Leonid Sarafanov in Grand Pas Classique

Oxana Skorik and Leonid Sarafanov in Grand Pas Classique, music by Daniel Auber, choreography by Victor Gsovsky. Shot on 17.4.2018 in the Alexandrinsky Theatre, St Petersburg in frames of Dance Open 2018 Gala.

See all galleries from Dance Open 2018 Gala concert

See all galleries from Dance Open 2018 Gala concert

Oksana Skorik (Rus. Оксана Скорик) is currently Prima Ballerina with Mariinsky Theatre, St Petersburg. She was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine on April 20, 1989. It was decided by her mother that she was going to be a ballet dancer ever since she was born, and when Oksana became 5 years old, her mother took her to Kharkiv choreographic school. At age of 12 Perm School of Dance talent seekers found her and invited to Perm. Oksana graduated from Perm School of Dance six years later in 2007 at the age of 18 and joined the Mariinsky Ballet as a coryphée the same year. She was promoted to first soloist in 2012, in Sept 2015 Skorik was promoted to principal ballerina of Mariinsky.

Leonid Sarafanov (Rus. Леонид Сарафанов) is a Principal with Mikhailovsky Ballet. He was born in Kiev, Ukraine. In 2000 Sarafanov graduated from the Kiev State School of Choreography and in 2002 joined the Mariinsky Ballet Company. He’s a guest principal with the Teatro alla Scala (Milan), Tokyo Ballet, The Vienna State Opera. He performs principal roles in classical and contemporary repertory. In 2006 he was awarded the International Benois de la Danse Prize. In January 2011 he joined the Mikhailovsky Ballet Company.

In a grand pas classique, classical ballet technique prevails and no character dances are included.

Daniel François Esprit Auber (1782 – 1871) was a French composer.

Victor Gsovsky (Russian: Виктор Иванович Гзовский; 1902, Saint Petersburg – 1974, Hamburg) was a Russian ballet dancer, teacher, balletmaster and choreographer.  He studied with Mariinsky Theatre prima ballerina Evgenia Sokolova and started his teaching career while still very young. In 1925 Victor Gsovsky left Soviet Russian with his wife Tatjana Gsovsky. Their first engagement was in Berlin, Germany, where he worked as dancer and choreographer at the Berlin State Opera 1925-28 before opening a private school in 1928. From 1930 to 1933 he worked as a choreographer for the German UFA Film Company. From 1937 he was ballet master of the Markova-Dolin company; in 1938 he began teaching in Paris and in 1945 was appointed ballet master of the Paris Opera Ballet. In 1946-7 he was ballet master with the Ballets des Champs-Elysées and again in 1948 and 1953; with the Metropolitan Ballet in London in 1947. From 1950 to 1952 he was ballet director of the Munich State Opera. From 1950 to 1952 he was ballet director of the Munich State Opera. After leaving Munich he worked as a choreographer and ballet master in several European locations. He was ballet master in Düsseldorf (1964-7) and at the Hamburg State Opera (1967–70). He staged the first post-war production of La Sylphide for the Ballets des Champs-Elysées in 1946. His best-known work by far is the Grand Pas Classique (mus. Auber, 1949), which is still performed around the world.

Photos by Jack Devant Ballet Photography with kind permission of the Dance Open ballet festival and Ekaterina Galanova, special thanks to Kristina Proku.