When you ask a child what they want to be when they grow up, the highly entertaining answers generally range from astronaut to princess. When I was asked that question, my answer was always "ballerina" (a typical girl answer). At the age of 5, my parents enrolled me in dance classes so that I might pursue this dream, just like most little girls. At the age of 9, they began taking me to the Broadway season series performed at the St. Louis Fox Theater. I was lucky to have parents who saw my passions and helped to feed them. By the age of 18, I was still dancing (unlike most girls); it was at this time that I chose the brains instead of the arts route, attending a private university and studying biology. I was never able to give up dance completely; even to this day, I still torture my body with a class here and there. Because of this love for the arts and even possibly for my own regrets of not becoming that ballerina (some would support that I have grown up), I still push myself to attend performances and enjoy the other world. When I heard St. Petersburg was on our itinerary, I immediately purchased tickets to the ballet.
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| My first tutu. |
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| Tap was never my favorite but who could hate the fringe, sequins, and excessively large bows? |
Ballet originated in the Italian Renaissance courts in the 15th century. In the 17th century, France created the first theatrical ballet company coupled with opera, also generating its vocabulary. In the 18th century, Russia took ballet to a completely new level, establishing one of the first independent companies, and becoming very influential in the art form. This company, the Imperial Russian Ballet, was founded in the 1740's following Russia's first ballet school in 1738. Although the Imperial Russian Ballet has changed names, now known as the Kirov Ballet or Mariinsky Ballet, it still thrives and is recognized as one of the world's greatest ballets. You have probably guessed it by now, PDub and I attended one of their performances (Cinderella) at the new Mariinsky Theater (II).
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| A scene from the performance. |
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| The little cinder girl (Diana Vishneva, who performs with the Mariinsky Ballet and the ABT....currently, one of the best ballerinas in the world). |
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| The curtain call at the performance we attended. |
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| The Mariinsky Theater (dating back to 1783) where individuals such as Anna Pavlova, George Balanchine, and Mikhail Baryshnikov danced. We did not get to visit this theater, but it is at the top of our list for next time. |
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| The Mariinsky Theater II sits right next door to the old one and is considered one of the largest theater venues in the world. The $700 million stage opened merely a month before we visited. |
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| In the auditorium of the Mariinsky Theater II awaiting the 49th performance of Ratmansky's Cinderella. |
I sat in the audience with tears in my eyes but a smile on my face. I may not have grown up to be a ballerina, but my dreams came true that night. I got to see one of my favorite stories performed by the best and oldest ballet companies on one of the newest stages with the most historical one right next door. I realized that I am apart of that world even if I can only call myself a spectator, feeling the emotions and cheering on those who did become ballerinas.
I hope you don't get so emotional over what you wanted to be when you grew up.....a ninja, Indiana Jones, a monkey, etc.
