"When I was a little girl, my grandmother took me to see the ballet “Swan Lake” and I fell so in love with this ballet and the beautiful ballerina that was performing Odette/Odile that after the performance I said to my grandmother that I want to become a ballerina.."
Photo by Antonio Gervasi
A: Please, tell us a bit more about yourself. What brought you to ballet?
E: This might be a typical ballerina story.
But once when I was a little girl, my grandmother took me to see the ballet “Swan Lake” and I fell so in love with this ballet and the beautiful ballerina that was performing Odette/Odile that after the performance I said to my grandmother that I want to become a ballerina.
This is how my ballet journey started. I am very happy that I chose my ballet path when I was quite young because I am working with something that I truly love.
A: Where do you find the inspiration?
E: I believe that we can find, feel, and see the inspiration from everything that surrounds us, at any place and at any time.
But I would like to point out that what especially inspires me personally the most are my family, friends, ballet idols, books, exhibitions, and galleries. Whether it is in the moment or wherever I go or travel.
And it’s amazing how one day when you less expect it, the inspiration that you felt or experienced can be put into your life or also into your artistic work, dancing, and performances. Those moments are precious.
A: Do you have any specific rituals while preparing for the spectacle/show?
E: I wouldn’t say I have a special way of preparing for a performance, but I can show how my routine is while I am preparing for my ballet performances.
I like to come early to the theatre, listen to some positive music that puts the mood on, and make sure my hair and make-up fit nicely to the role I will perform that evening.
In my dressing room, I always go through the steps with the help of ballet videos (from the ballet I am performing that evening).
30 minutes before the show I am going to the stage and going through my steps, both alone and with my ballet partner, with who I will perform in the performance that evening and for the few last seconds that are left before the curtain goes up, I am wishing my ballet partner, who I am dancing with that performance and my other colleagues good luck. Support and good and positive energy are very important.
And with happy and positive thoughts, the performance starts.
A: What would you recommend to someone new to the ballet, what to begin with?
E: Whether you do ballet professionally or not, I would suggest as a first step to reading and learning about the history and background of ballet and to really understand what it truly means.
Also, you can watch some interviews and some extracts from different ballets with some of the biggest stars in ballet, both female and male to understand how they started their journey, get some tips from them, and how the life and days of a professional ballet dancer can look.
Also, every time you come to ballet classes I would give an advice to set a little goal for yourself. It can be for example to either improve your ballet technique or to get a little more flexible.
Things are more fun with some small challenges that can help to improve yourself and gain something nice from the hard work you put in during ballet classes.
Ballet is a very hard profession, but a very beautiful one. It’s important to remember to keep being patient because, like everything in life, things will take time, and also one day you can feel better than the other.
But in the end, when you see your small or big results, it is always very fulfilling.
A: Your top 3 favorite adjectives related to the dance/ballet?
E: Strong
Impressive
Inspiring
Photo by 1 - Serghei Gherciu, 2 - Anna Gorkovets, 3- Antonio Gervasi
A: The best angle to look at the ballet is from ...?
E: The best angle to look at the ballet is from the public.
That is what gives you a perfect picture of the settings, and characters and gives you the best way of enjoying the story of the ballet and even pulls you into the journey and gives you a perfect atmosphere of the ballet that is performed in front of you at that moment.
And a lot of times, you even forget that it is a performance and start to believe that what is happening is real.
A: Must-read books/spectacles to watch in order to talk about the art of dance
(do we even need them)?
E: If I were to speak exactly about ballet, as it’s my profession, I would say that for example if you want to understand ballet better, it’s always good to do some research about it, because that can help to enjoy the performance more easily.
Some ballets are related to famous books or movies, that we very well know from a young age, like for example Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Alice in Wonderland. And others, when we are more grown up, like for example Onegin or Anna Karenina.
To better and deeper go into the story, it’s helpful to read those books or watch those movies and once you see ballets on stage, it’s easier to follow what is going on even if you don’t really understand the ballet deeply or have never seen the ballet before.
Otherwise, I had some conversations with people who didn’t really have a big idea of what ballet means or what it takes to become a professional ballet dancer or everything around it. However, those people asked me a lot of questions about my ballet career and presented their thoughts and ideas about ballet. I find it always nice to have conversations and to discuss something I have as a profession with a person or people who are new to the profession, which makes it also interesting because I get some nice thoughts and questions from them, which makes me even think deeper into my profession.
A: If you could change one thing in the world of ballet - what would it be?
E: As I mentioned before, the ballet profession is very demanding both physically and mentally. And I think that taking care of your mental health is very important.
So one of the things that I would for sure add is to have for example a sports psychologist or a mental health coach at least a few times per week for dancers in the companies.
If someone is feeling a struggle and needs to reach out for help or advice or wants to share what they are going through, etc. I think it could be very necessary and helpful for one's mental health.
Just a reminder. To ask for help or to reach out for help, is not a weakness. It’s already a step to help yourself and to have a better and healthier future for yourself.
A: Please, share your favorite quote (not necessarily related to dance)
E: One of the motivational and inspirational quotes that I have remembered since I was little is:
“If you can dream it, you can do it”.
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