Pas de Deux from Swan Lake by Kristina Kretova and Danila Korsuntsev

Pas de Deux from Swan Lake by Kristina Kretova and Danila Korsuntsev, music by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, choreography by Marius Petipa, Dance Open Vilnius 2013.

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Kristina Kretova is at present time leading soloist in Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. She was born in Orel. In 2002 she graduated from the Moscow State Choreographic Academy (classes of Lyudmila Kolenchenko, Marina Leonova, Elena Bobrova) and joined the Kremlin Ballet Theater, where she danced the leading roles. In 2010 she took the position of a principal dancer at the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theatre. In the season of 2011/2012 she joined the Bolshoi Ballet Company. Her teacher-repetiteur is Nina Semizorova.

Danila Korsuntsev is leading danseur in Mariinsky Ballet, St. Petersburg. He was born in Tashkent (Uzbekistan). Danila graduated from the Uzbek School of Dance in 1992 (class of Kurkmas Sagatov). From 1992 – 1998 he was a soloist with the Moscow State Academic “Classical Ballet” Theatre directed by Natalia Kasatkina and Vladimir Vasiliev. Danila joined the Mariinsky Ballet Company in 1998.

Black Swan Pas de Deux. Petipa choreographed Sobeshchanskaya’s pas de deux to music composed by Ludwig Minkus, who held the post of Ballet composer to the St Petersburg Imperial Theatres. The piece was a standard pas de deux classique that consisted of a short entrée, the grand adage, a variation for the dancer, a variation for the ballerina, and a coda. Word of this change soon found its way to Tchaikovsky, who became very angry, stating that, whether the ballet is good or bad, he alone shall be held responsible for its music. He then agreed to compose a new pas de deux for the ballerina, but soon a problem arose: Sobeshchanskaya had no reservations about performing a pas to Tchaikovsky’s new music, but she wanted to retain Petipa’s choreography, and she had no wish to travel to St. Petersburg again to have the Ballet Master arrange a new pas for her. In light of this, Tchaikovsky agreed to compose a pas that would correspond to Minkus’ music to such a degree that the ballerina would not even be required to rehearse. Sobeshchanskaya was so pleased with Tchaikovsky’s new version of the Minkus music that she requested he compose for her an additional variation, which he did. /Wikipedia/

Photos by Jack Devant Ballet Photography © with kind permission of the Dance Open, Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre, special thanks to Ekaterina Galanova, Karina Matvejeva and Adelia Mukhamedzhanova.