Vaganova Ballet Academy student Karina Soldatova loses her battle with leukaemia
Yesterday, Karina Soldatova, the Vaganova Ballet Academy student who was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2016, died after a courageous battle against the disease.
During the autumn of 2016 she returned to study at the Academy but earlier this year there was a recurrence, which we reported on here, in May of this year.
After various appeals to help her family financially, with charity concerts and private donations, €160,000 was raised to send her to Germany for treatment, but her condition did not improve.
Four days ago on Instagram her support group announced that she was very ill,
With an accompanying message which translated, reads,
Baby, you’re so strong! You have travelled such a long and difficult path in one of the toughest academies in the world! Ballet dancers have perseverance of spirit and endurance! You are one of them! You have to strive to overcome this step! I believe that the Lord will heal you! So many people want it so much! You need your loved ones! Come on, brave girl! Pull through!
Yesterday the group posted,
Today Karisha’s fight has ended. It is very difficult to express words meanwhile, please, embrace your love ones. Be afraid of nothing, our girl … fly …
On Nikolay Tsiskaridze‘s Instagram profile, he wrote,
Karina has gone. There are no words.
RIP.
Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Italian ballerina Carla Fracci.
Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.
He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.
I love dance and it’s so very, very sad to hear that a young, talented student has passed away and who will not fulfil her potential on earth. In my thoughts and prayers.