Svetlana Zakharova, Johan Kobborg, Vyacheslav Lopatin in Les Lutins

Svetlana Zakharova (Rus. Светлана Захарова), Johan Kobborg, Vyacheslav Lopatin (Rus Вячеслав Лопатин) in Les Lutins (the Elves). Music by Antonio Bazzini, choreography by Johan Kobborg. Violin by Vadim Repin. Pas de deux for Toes and Fingers, shot on 21th and 22.12.2015 in Auditorium Conciliazione, Rome.

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Svetlana Zakharova (Rus Светлана Захарова) is currently principal with Bolshoi Theatre. Svetlana was born in Lutsk, in the Ukraine, on 10 June 1979. She joined the Kiev Choreographic School where she trained mainly with Valeria Sulegina. Svetlana was allowed to continue her training at the Vaganova Academy in St. Petersburg. Instead of the expected second course, she was admitted directly to the third, the graduating course (in the class of Yelena Yevteyeva, the distinguished Kirov ballerina of the previous generation). While still a student at the Vaganova Academy Svetlana performed the Shades Act of La Bayadиre, Masha in The Nutcracker, the Queen of the Dryads in Don Quixote, and Dying Swan on the stage of the Mariinsky Theatre. In June 1996 Svetlana graduated from the Vaganova Academy, she was just 17. A year later she was promoted to principal dancer. In the Mariinsky company Svetlana wa repetitored by Olga Moiseyeva. As of October 2003 Svetlana started dancing as a principal with the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow. At the Bolshoi she is rehearsing her roles with Ludmilla Semenyaka, the star ballerina from the previous generation.

Vyacheslav Lopatin (Rus Вячеслав Лопатин) is currently Leading Soloist with Bolshoi Theatre Ballet. He was born in Voronezh. He graduated from the Voronezh state college of choreography. After graduation he took a study course at the Moscow state Academy of choreography. Having finished the course he joined the Bolshoi Ballet in 2003. At the present time his master-repetiteur is Boris Akimov. He has position of Leading Soloist in Bolshoi Ballet at the present time.

Johan Kobborg He was born 1972 in Odense, Denmark. is a Danish ballet dancer, choreographer, director and visual artist. He is most noted as a ballet dancer, having been a principal dancer with both the Royal Danish Ballet and the Royal Ballet in Great Britain, as well as making guest appearances with other international ballet companies. In June 2013, he announced that he and Cojocaru would leave The Royal Ballet at the end of 2012/13 season. Their last performance in London was in Mayerling on 5 June, his 41st birthday. Since leaving the Royal Ballet in 2013, he has worked freelance as a dancer, choreographer and ballet teacher.

Due to the success of the ballet “La Sylphide”, a choreographic adaptation of August Bournonville’s composition, Johan Kobborg was commissioned in 2009 by the Royal Ballet in London to create an original work, “Les Lutins” (“The Elves”). The company then included this ballet in its repertoire and performed it on tour, in Havana – Cuba. The original cast, including Alina Cojocaru, Sergei Polunin and Steven McRae, took part in the Ballet Festival in Dortmund and in the Dance Festival in St. Petersburg. Recently, principal dancer Svetlana Zakharova of the Bolshoi included “Les Lutins” into a special gala dedicated to her entire career. “Les Lutins” has also been included in the repertoire of the Royal Danish Ballet, the San Francisco Ballet (since January 2014) and the Royal New Zealand Ballet (since July 2014).

Photos by Jack Devant ballet photography © with kind permission of Daniele Cipriani Entertainment and Auditorium Conciliazione, special thanks to Mrs. Simonetta Allder and Mr. Daniele Cipriani.