When an unknown name appeared on the Bolshoi’s principal casting in London last summer, ballet-goers took notice. At 22, despite being ill, the Bolshoi Ballet’s Margarita Shrainer made her debut as Kitri during the tour, the only corps dancer cast in a leading role. “It was a pleasantly shocking experience, completely unexpected,” she says.
With her combination of long lines, speed and buoyancy, Shrainer is a pure product of the Moscow school. She was billed as a potential star when she graduated from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in 2011, yet only minor roles came her way in her first seasons. When new Bolshoi director Makhar Vaziev arrived last March, however, he immediately spotted Shrainer. A dizzying string of debuts followed, with The Flames of Paris, La Sylphide, “Rubies” and Don Quixote in just three months.
A self-described workaholic, Shrainer rose to the challenge under the guidance of her coach Nadezhda Pavlova. Her joyful, expressive presence onstage bodes well for the future, and she is determined to seize the moment: “If I continue working like I do, if I listen, all my dreams can come true. Everything is in my hands—with Makhar Vaziev’s help!”
Laura Cappelle
Dance Magazine, January 2017
Art. Lebedev Studio