After being introduced to Julian Mackay, and his whole dancing family, three years ago by his sister Maria Sascha Khan – now First Soloist with the Ekaterinburg State Ballet – I have been following the activities of the four siblings with interest. Nadia Khan was recently with the Compañía Nacional de Danza de España but now with the Rome […]
Mikhailovsky
Young American at the Bolshoi: Julian MacKay wins Sochi and Istanbul medals
The (other) American at the Bolshoi, 16-year-old Julian MacKay, has been winning medals at the international ballet competitions at Sochi and Istanbul. Of course there are lots of ballet competitions and lots of medals, even if these particular competitions are important ones, but what is incredible is that he was representing the Bolshoi Academy at […]
You choose it out of Love! Dancing with the Khan-MacKay family
Dancing, like acting and singing, often runs in the family. There are countless dancers whose parents danced: Zenaida Yanowsky (Royal Ballet), Yury Yanowsky (Boston Ballet) and Nadia Yanowsky (Het Nationale Ballet) are the children of Russian ballet dancer Anatol Yanowsky and Spanish ballet dancer Carmen Robles. Ballet’s in their blood. What makes the Khan-MacKay family special is that […]
Boss of St Petersburg’s Mikhailovsky Theatre is banned from foreign travel
Bailiffs in St Petersburg have banned the director of the Mikhailovsky Theatre, Vladimir Kekhman, from leaving Russia, said Lenta. Businessman Kekhman has debts exceeding 285 million rubles (7 million euros). The current restriction lasts until 12 August. The Kekhman Group JFC imports fruits, but according to various estimates, the company’s debts range from 15.8 to 38.5 […]
The Mikhailovsky Theatre opens its new season tonight with Semionova and Gomes in Giselle
Tonight the Mikhailovsky Theatre opens its 2012-2013 season with Polina Semionova dancing the eponymous heroine in Giselle. Semionova left to join the Berlin Staatsoper immediately after graduating from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy. Coincidentally, earlier this week Daniel Barenboim, the Music Director of the Berlin Staatsoper, gave a press conference at the Mikhailovsky where he announced that on 5–6 September 2013, he will perform there […]
Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev’s presence scuppers the Mikhailovsky’s New York plans
The Mikhailovsky Theater scored a coup last fall by luring Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev from the Bolshoi, and it was to have brought them to the United States this summer for a run of shows at Lincoln Center, said Arts Beat. Now those plans have been scrapped because American Ballet Theater has exercised a no-compete clause involving […]
“Who’s pulling the strings in Russia’s ballet revolution?” asks The Observer’s Luke Jennings
The ballet world was surprised when Nacho Duato (ex-director of Spain’s Compañía Nacional de Danza) was headhunted by St Petersburg’s Mikhailovsky Theatre, maybe enticed by the fat wallet of general director Vladimir Kekhman. He has now been at the company’s helm for a year. When Mariinsky star Leonid Sarafanov jumped on board a couple of months later fans were […]
After Osipova and Vasiliev, Russian tycoon Vladimir Kekhman sets his eyes on David Hallberg
“Russian tycoon Vladimir Kekhman made a fortune selling bananas. Now he has a new mission in life: ballet,” says Reuters. The ballet world was rocked a couple of weeks ago when Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev left the Bolshoi to join Kekhman’s Mikhailovsky Theatre in St Petersburg. He has already lured Spanish choreographer Nacho Duato from […]
Mikhailovsky Theatre says Vasiliev and Osipova won’t be allowed to perform at the Bolshoi if it makes accusations against their theatre
The Bolshoi Theatre told reporters today that Ivan Vasiliev and Natalia Osipova’s decision to leave the company and join the Mikhailovsky Theatre in St Petersburg was not helping their last minute preparations for Sunday’s broadcast of The Sleeping Beauty. The ballet will be transmitted in high-definition to cinemas around the world from the newly inaugurated theatre. […]
Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev leave Bolshoi to team up with Sarafanov and Duato at the Mikhailovsky Theatre
Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev have decided to leave their home theatre and move to the Mikhailovsky Theatre in St Petersburg. Mariinsky star Leonid Sarafanov made the move in January 2011. Defections have increased since Nacho Duato took over at the company’s artistic helm. Natalia Osipova For me, a native Muscovite, the decision to move […]
