News
27.07.2016
A season of firsts. Ivan Zaytsev
In a dance career where ‘outdoing yourself’ is a daily requirement, what matters most is inner strength, believes Ivan Zaytsev. This past season has been full of firsts for Ivan, but it definitely hasn’t all been smooth sailing. Among his new roles are Conrad in Le Corsaire, the Prince in The Nutcracker, and solo parts in Ivan Vasiliev’s one-act ballets. Ivan was unable to play Evgeny — a part seemingly tailor-made for him — in the premières of a ballet based on Pushkin’s Bronze Horseman. His debut in that role came only a month later."Le Corsaire, which premiered at the beginning of last season, was not my first production of this ballet. I had previously danced in a version choreographed by Farukh Ruzimatov. Physically, that production was easier: most of Conrad’s dancing happens in the first act, so there’s not much to do in the second act, just the episode when the pirates, disguised as pilgrims, infiltrate Pasha’s palace. And that’s it — there’s a battle scene and then the ballet ends. The pas de deux is split between three dancers and the coda is not particularly busy. But in Mikhail Messerer’s version, the entrance in the first act is a five-part variation, the second act has a pas de deux and a variation, and the third act contains an adagio. So every act is quite busy. This version of Le Corsaire is more technically complex and physically challenging; it requires stamina. That’s exactly what I like about it: when you get to dance more, it’s much more interesting.
"When I first arrived at the Mikhailovsky Theatre, Mikhail Messerer had me dance in Laurencia. Messerer’s form of instruction is very gentle. It’s never “Now I’m going to tell you what to do.” Sometimes the suggestions he makes during rehearsal only make sense later on. All of a sudden it hits you: “Oh, that’s what he meant!” The work unfolds very naturally — it’s not like he shows up, makes a comment, and everything immediately falls into place. No. During all our rehearsals together he would note something, see if a particular movement worked for a dancer or not, and offer advice on how it could be improved. He never says “You absolutely have to do it this way.” It’s always a suggestion: “Try it this way, this works well.” And you think, well, why does it work so well? And you start comparing and working with the mirror and consulting your teacher. I work with People’s Artist of Russia Evgeny Popov, who introduced me to the entire classical repertoire.
"If we’re talking about the essence of movement, I definitely identify with Conrad. But actually, I don’t feel like a pirate or a seafarer slicing through the waves, attacking and boarding a ship. We never played pirates when I was a child. We would fight sometimes, but we were inspired by other images. I was never a huge fan of Pirates of the Caribbean. I identify most with Basilio from Don Quixote and Frondoso from Laurencia. And really, I only became interested in Frondoso when I started rehearsing the part. He’s passionate, he has a goal, and he’s striving towards it. It’s obvious right away that he’s head over heels in love with Laurencia. And that’s the personality I identify with more, I think. Basilio loves life and has a sense of humour about it. I also try to have a positive attitude towards everything in life.
"The character of the Prince from The Nutcracker wasn’t totally new to me either, especially because Duato’s Nutcracker is pretty classical. This isn’t White Darkness or Duende or Prelude. Those all have variations, codas, adagios. I had the chance to work with Duato himself. I arrived at the Mikhailovsky Theatre when they were staging The Sleeping Beauty. First I played Elf, then Wolf, then Bluebird. It was very easy to work with Duato. He’s very democratic with the dancers, he never gives you the feeling that he’s in charge. He would use a great psychological trick: he’d say everything is great, he’d praise you. And then he’d add, “But I’d like it to be done a little differently.” So you try to do it differently, and he again tells you that it’s great, followed by: “But here you could correct it just a little bit.” And in this way he builds up the dancer, shaping him or her into what he wants. Of course I was very happy when they told me I’d be playing the Prince in The Nutcracker, but I also understood that I’d have to be very attentive to my body. I’d have to turn out all the parts that don’t turn out. Every time, it’s a tough battle with your own body.
"Of course, every new role offers a chance to develop and improve, get closer to the impossible dream. After all, you have to reach for the impossible. And then make it happen. Then, you have to set an even higher goal that also seems unrealistic. And in this sense, the most unrealistic of all dreams is to outdo yourself. Because the farther you go, the harder it becomes to achieve: it’s not doors you have to open any more, but walls you have to bust through. You have to power through, force yourself to keep going through the pain and fatigue.
"In May, I threw out my back in rehearsals with Lar Lubovitch. I wasn’t taking care of myself, I should have been more careful. I took on more physical stress than I could handle. It ended badly. I was unable to dance in any of the May premières and only returned to the stage in that same role on 18 June, although just ten days after my injury I was already rehearsing the part of Romeo. Probably only thanks to Irina Perren, who was debuting the role of Juliet. She would say, “Just come and simply describe what you’re doing and when.” And that’s how we danced, and I didn’t go on medical leave, even though I really wanted to.
"The story of The Bronze Idol is very dear to me because I really love St. Petersburg. I reread The Bronze Horseman and remembered that we studied it at school. Anything can happen in life, but you can’t let it get to you. Evgeny succumbed to circumstances: wherever fate cast him, that’s where he would go.
This season I also made my debut in Ivan Vasiliev’s one-act ballets. I danced in all three: Morphine, Blind Affair, and Bolero. Working with Ivan was amazing. He and I are the same age, we’re on the same path, and we understand today’s problems. Ivan’s ideas are contagious. He believes in what he’s doing and you start to believe along with him. You get onstage for Bolero and just get lost in it. Every character in that ballet has his or her own story; I played an unemployed alcoholic just dragging himself through life — until he realizes that he might be able to break free from his routine, to be in his own world and enjoy his new life.
"Another first was at a festival in Budapest, where we performed Nacho Duato’s productions. I danced in Without Words; we didn’t have much time to rehearse. It’s a contemporary ballet with little in the way of plot. At some point I forgot my steps for eight whole measures. I was experienced enough to know not to stop — you have to keep moving so the audience doesn’t notice."