Andrey Sorokin - principal (Yacobson Ballet/ St. Petersburg): an Interview.

Remembering a film: To quote Norman Maine saying to Vicki Lester's audience in Oscar's Night: "Harsh times, call for harsh methods” - If you have no idea who Mr Maine and Miss Lester are, I'd recommend you to watch any version of "A star is born", although I personally think that you'll get a better understanding about these characters in the George Cukor's 1954 version with Garland and the fabulous James Mason as "Norman". But, as usual with me, one story mixes with another and I must get back to this interview! I can say that my methods are not really harsh, just a bit, let's say "unconventional". Not being able to meet personally, we have opted for using other possibilities to talk – here is the result.

First of all, it is necessary to mention that friends of mine, living in St. Petersburg, have been mentioning him to me for quite some time. It is a fact that Mr Sorokin has been gaining more and more of a following.

The reasons are many: a dancer with an incredibly well-founded technique/style, he combines incredibly "cleanness" and precision with the Russian school, his feeling for "Placement" and "Alignment", as mastered by the French and English, brings him very near to French Étoile Matthieu Ganio, the danseur who should be referred to as the "Placement Master of the moment"

(Note: one of my strongest points of criticism when taking view of the Russian School exactly because the lack of it is what "destroys" performances from the likes of Vladislav Lantratov, Igor Kolb and most notably, Ivan Vasilyev).

His handsome looks - and natural elegance - that possess classic beauty are more than predestined to classic roles like " Prince Desiré" but are at the same time also very "contemporary" and internationally appealing. A sort of combination of a "Rock Star", Enfant terrible and of an international model (with the kind of looks that could come from any country in the world).

Even though I do not like to compare dancers, one cannot overlook the fact that he can remind us strongly of a very young Sir Anthony Dowell. Not only because of his Danseur Noble attitude but also because of this same international appeal that Dowell also had.

Think of the present generation of dancers in Russia and Russian Dancers abroad.

There are the very Russian-looking ones (like the few mentioned above; Lantratov, Kolb and Vasilyev to whom I would also add the tattooed Sergey Polunin) that look very good in Ballets such as "Ivan, the Terrible", "Spartacus", in peasant parts or in more abstract choreographies.

But there are others that have been brought to Russia from abroad. Dancers with more international, refined looks who can take over any role: Xander Parish, Jacopo Tissi, for example.

Mr Sorokin also possesses this quality – the special quality that not only makes him believable as "Princes" but also in more intellectual roles. Just recently he appeared as Herrmann in "The Queen of Spades", which brought him the Golden Spotlight Award, perhaps the most prestigious theatre prize in St. Petersburg.

The distinguished theatre critic, Igor Stupnikov, wrote in his review: "Andrey Sorokin's Hermann is clearly very passionate about affirming himself and exceedingly stubborn, which largely defines what kind of world he lives in: the world of a lone wolf, driven solely by the desire to get rich. Andrey Sorokin plays his part flawlessly"

This reconfirmed a thought I once had: I would like to see him very much in another "Style" in the title role of John Cranko's "Onegin". Surely a "tailor-made" role for him. But this intuitive wish is nearer to the truth as I thought. As my wishes seem to be getting well "with the Gods", I will dare even to say more: Because of his obvious versatility, I'd settle to switching roles: one night as Eugene Onegin, the next as Gremin.

At last it was time to start.

"Andrey, thanks for taking your time... Your "home" presently is the Jacobson Theatre. Please tell us more about the theatre!"

"Yes, I work at the Leonid Yacobson Theatre. It bears the name of an outstanding choreographer of its time. And although he had his own theatre, which still exists, his talent was not properly appreciated. Leonid Yacobson was an innovator, had an incredibly large dance vocabulary and musicality, but the country was not ready for such innovative views. Our theatre strives to preserve its legacy since even today its choreography remains relevant and the viewer perceives it very easily and with great interest"

"It was created in 1969 and it is the first Russian independent company which gained prominence in the country, right?"

"Yes! The Leonid Jacobson State Academic Ballet Theatre is a unique theatre, one of the few in the world in which the ballet troupe is separated from the opera troupe... Even though we do not have our own stage, the management of the theatre copes with this very well and we give our performances in the best theatres of St. Petersburg: the Mariinsky Theater, the Bolshoi Drama Theater, the Alexandrinsky Theater. Every year our theatre hosts premières to which the theatre invites some of the best choreographers of our time: Johan Kobborg, Douglas Lee, Jean-Guiom Bar and many others, but we also release those performances that have been on the stage for a long time and have their recognition in the ballet world ... One of them is John Cranko's performance "Onegin". Due to the pandemic situation all over the world, the première was postponed for one year, but we continue working on it now"

"Who has been coaching you, Andrey? Reid Anderson?"

“You are partly right” and then he adds “Reid Anderson did come to our theatre and rehearsed with us. He showed all the scenes for the soloists. His arrival was very important, in addition to the fact that he began to make the transfer from such a magnificent ballet to our troupe. This visit was intended to decide whether to give us the opportunity to dance "Onegin" or not. And to our happiness his decision was positive.”

“He knows exactly what he wants. He knows exactly what is right to John Cranko's legacy. I know of a situation in which he did not allow a soloist from the Vienna State Ballet do dance the main role in “Onegin” on his farewell performance, in 2018, from the stage, because he was neither technically nor emotionally right for the role. It was very annoying for this particular dancer but he was completely right. It is a question of principles”, I say.

“Reid Anderson is a Professional with a capital P. During rehearsals, his experience became apparent for us. Also, the way he has carried it to the stages of various theatres. When he explained this or that movement, he already knew in advance what mistakes we could/would make, because he went through the same situation in other theatres, and immediately asked to pay special attention to “this or that part” of the choreography. This made it possible, in such a short time to teach all the solo parts.

Reid, so to speak, took us along “a short path”. Do you know, in games, when there is a secret path that allows you to get to the finish line in an easier way and faster? This secret is revealed only to those who have extensive experience and knowledge of this or that business... it was the same in our case. Reid Andersen certainly gave us his precious experience. This was the first part of getting to know “Onegin”. This time the theatre received permission to perform the ballet and could proceed further staging it and with the work on the Scenography and costumes. Half a year later, amazing Victor and Agneta Valka arrived in St. Petersburg. They worked in more details in the main roles and pairs of soloists. They also passed the rest of the choreography to the corps de ballet. Victor and Agneta are completely different from Reid, but they were surely not inferior to him in their professionalism. The way they showed us the characters and talked about them was incredible. They, very subtly, “felt” all the roles and, most importantly, they could convey these feelings and pass on their precious experience to us. Unfortunately, the situation with the coronavirus has made its certain modifications in our lives and the premiere of the ballet was postponed for a year. The work with Victor and Agneta was a very precious experience for us. Many thanks to the theatre (and to my destiny) that I was so lucky to get to know “Onegin” by John Cranko and to work with such professionals as Reid Anderson, Victor and Agneta Valku. I hope this is not our last job together!”

"You said this beautifully”, I nearly sigh “Tell our readers a bit more about yourself... "

" I was born in the city of Kharkov, Ukraine. Until the age of 14, I studied at the Kharkov Choreographic School. After graduating from the school, I entered the Perm Choreographic College in the class of the teacher Vladimir Nikolaevich Tolstukhin. After graduating from the Perm Choreographic College, together with my girlfriend, I went to work at the Opera and Ballet Theater in Novosibirsk to Igor Zelensky. After working there for a little over six months, we moved to Yekaterinburg where we worked for about 5 years. It was a very interesting, fruitful and rewarding period for me as a dancer. Under the leadership of the artistic director of the Theater of Glory Samodurov, with the passing of time, the level of ballet company developed more and more. I have participated in all classical and modern theatre productions. It was there that I became a principal dancer"

"As I see, you have had quite a dynamic way up to now. When I think that some careers are so "boring" (I laugh), I mean the ones that start in a school, go to one company and remain their whole life there... "

" Working my last year in Yekaterinburg, I starred in Valery Todorovsky's film Bolshoi, in one of the main male roles. After Yekaterinburg, we have all, spent half a year touring different parts of the globe. My girlfriend was now my beloved wife. We travelled from Costa Rica to New Zealand, China and Italy. After the tour, we came to St. Petersburg. To visit the city but as fate would have it (or our own will) we stayed to live and work here, a fact we are very happy about. We fell in love with this wonderful, beautiful city with pleasant energy."

“And how was it that you began dancing as a child?”

“Professional training for a ballet dancer begins at the age of 10 and lasts for 8 years, but many of the dancers began to practice ballet much earlier at 5-6 years old. The training includes the entire general educational program, as well as professional areas: acting, historical and everyday dance, character dance, duet dance and, of course, a classical dance lesson”

“Sorry, but this is the general thing... Tell me about you specifically... How old were you when you started?”

In fact, what I will tell you now is quite an interesting story. I went to ballet when I was 9 years old. When my parents offered me to go to the ballet, my reaction was not very positive. At that time, I didn't know much about ballet, but one of the things I knew was that men in ballet wear leotards and I didn't really like this. Then my parents offered me, if I may say so, a “fee” for trying to enter the ballet school. This fee was the amount of "5 hryvnias". At that time, it was an excellent amount of money for me, as I could buy a lot of cakes or tasty sweets with it. Of course, I agreed, but at the entrance examination) I was so ashamed to wear tights that I came in wearing shorts. Fortunately, this did not affect the situation and I entered the Kharkov ballet school. Later, when I studied in Perm, and as a Ukrainian, I was forced to pay tuition fees and friends of the family made fun of my parents because of the 5 hryvnias, they were still paying me. It was meant as a joke – and we still laugh at it! Now I am more than glad that my parents insisted upon my entering the school and that I became a ballet dancer. Well, this is a part of my history"

" Which were or which are your favourite roles up to now, Andrey?"

"Many roles are my favourites for a variety of reasons. I like one part because of the choreography, another because of its drama, story, and so on. Of course, I like the whole classical repertoire, but my favourite parts are Basilio from "Don Quixote", James in "La Sylphide", Solor (La Bayadère), "Romeo and Juliet" and Adam in "The Creation of the World"."

"I think I saw Baryshnikov as Adam... but this ballet is not very known in the West. By the way, which Romeo are you referring to? Cranko's, MacMillan's or Lavrovsky's?”, I ask quickly.

“Ricardo, I don’t know how you do it, but the question is very good, as it is also very interesting because I danced Romeo in three different productions. I like Romeo as a role, no matter whose choreography. I danced Lavrovsky's, Macmillan's and Vasilev-Kasatkina's. My biggest connection with this role and work on it was in the piece by Kasatkina and Vasilev. Oh, and you are absolutely right. Mikhail Baryshnikov really danced Adam in this ballet. “The Creation of the World” is a very interesting ballet, with good choreography, music and a large number of main characters (you don't often find 5 leading roles in a ballet). I really liked dancing Adam, as the hero, he has a huge development from birth and further through love, fear, trials and so on. Adam at the beginning of the ballet and Adam at the end are two completely different Adams.” he concludes.

"Let's go a bit deeper in your favourite roles... Tell me more – you are sich a sensible performer... and I am curious!"

"Well, as I have said, one of my favourite and perhaps one of the most important roles for me is the role of James in "La Sylphide". This is an amazing ballet, with excellent choreography and music, an interesting plot, scenery and costumes, but for me, it is not only important because of that. When I was at the beginning of my career I preferred parts with less dramatic aspects, roles in which the technical and plastic "baggage" of the dancer was more important and would come more in consideration. But after my first performance of "La Sylphide," everything changed. In the second act of the ballet, there is a moment when the Sylphide, just before her death, returns the ring to James. Amazingly gentle and sad music is played. You, as a dancer, are already exhausted, after the pas de deux and many more dances You sit in front of her on your knees with hands outstretched and at that moment I nearly began to cry. My hands were shaking, rather from fatigue, but the brain perceived this as if the body indicated tears as a reaction. I surrendered myself to the stage completely. I believed in everything that was happening so much that I almost cried. I liked it and since then I like to perform parts saturated with drama and history."

"What a beautiful moment, Andrey. The way you tell it – such richness in every detail... Simply beautiful – Now you nearly made me cry too... Thinking of James: How is your creative process while rehearsing, working on a new role?"

" Oh, Ricardo, it all depends on the part, on the role. If a play tells a story based on literary sources, practically unchanged, then I read this work and try to find certain traits of the hero's character, his views of the world, his goals, his features. If there are any performances of this particular work either as operas or ballets or musicals and films, I watch them and try to understand how and why they have decided to construct the character and the plot.

This was precisely the role of Herman in the ballet "The Queen of Spades by Argentine choreographer Iñaki Urlesaga."

"For which you won a very important prize... I know... ", I say.

"Herman is not an easy role and it took me a long time to build it from beginning to end. I am very glad that my work and the work of the theatre were so appreciated by the audience and the expert jury. For this role, I received a special prize, the highest theatre award in St. Petersburg, the "Golden Spotlight".

"An unexpected question: Which roles do you dislike?"

“I find it difficult to answer this question. The only thing I can say is that there are details that are very difficult technically and physically, which require a lot of stamina, but which, despite their complexity, do not always resonate with the audience. It's hard because we are sharing our energy with the audience, and when they don't respond to our dance, it's much more difficult." he says.

Once more I am lost in my thoughts, thinking: This is what I personally call "ungrateful parts" - unfortunately, many choreographers still believe in "difficulties" to show off... but sometimes the public does not understand enough of Ballet to give it the right value... On the other hand, sometimes very simple things can be so very effective, isn't it? I keep thinking of what I have just thought and many parts passed through my mind as if in a film... so much stuff choreographed by Nureyev. Such difficult parts and so completely effectless.

But Andrey interrupts my “day-dreaming” as he says: “The choreographer has the right to show hard work, technically difficult and so on, it is just sometimes very difficult, and the viewer does not like it as much as you would like. Sometimes, bare hard work - even without some beautiful choreography or idea - has a very good response from the viewer and causes an impact. Sometimes there is something primitive, instinctive and very human in this”

"Which roles would you like to dance in the future?", I venture.

"I really like "Études" by the Danish choreographer Harald Lander. I would like very much to take part in it. Firstly, I treasure the music of Karl Cerny, and secondly, the amazing choreography with very strong energy. I am sure that despite the incredible complexity of this production, the artists participating in it get great pleasure. I also always wanted to try the works of Ivan Perez, William Forsythe and Wayne McGregor. To be honest, there are so many talented choreographers in various styles. I am always open to new things and ready for new, interesting productions."

"Dear Andrey, one more question for today and one that preoccupies me a lot. You see, there is this "madness" nowadays about technique – yes, Technique vs. Artistry. "Odiles" worry more about their double fouettés than about the reason why the Black Swan is doing those 32 turns (it is a question of dramaturgy after all but most people do not this anymore). I see more and more children behaving like gymnasts than dancers and Art-apprentices. What is the message of a sensible man, like you, to them?"

“Ricardo, you are absolutely right, now many dancers are paying more attention to the technical component, rather than working on the roles, but I want to comfort you a little” he starts, “I noticed, that in ballet, there are periods during which the audience and the performers, teachers and critics pay more attention and have a preference to just one thing: either technique, or Academism, or the work on a role or the execution of it. These periods replace each other ... In my opinion, this is not so bad. There was a period when it was considered very high technically to turn 5 pirouettes on stage and everyone began to strive to repeat these 5 pirouettes, moving the semantics of the role to the background, but after a short time when everyone had learned to do these 5 pirouettes, this was no longer considered high technique and new requirements were presented to the artists: “You won’t surprise anyone with 5 pirouettes, the viewer needs a story”, but these 5 pirouettes are not to be “not done”, since this has already become a kind of norm. Now the dancer must do the 5 pirouettes and create an honest, convincing portrait of the role. Then in the future, the artist will be told that it is not enough just to create a character and do 5 pirouettes, now a character and 6 pirouettes are needed. And the dancer will, once more, turn his attention to the technique, moving a little away from the image he creates through his characterization and everything will be repeated again, and it goes on and on, in a vicious circle. True Artists know how to combine two (or more) directions: technique and characterization and much more than this. Their names shine in the sky of the ballet world and we all know them perfectly or at least who they are. So, I see this is as a kind of necessity, in order not to let the ballet stand still and make it move forward. When I wrote this to you, a strange but appropriate analogy came to mind. Striving for excellence in ballet is like striving to conquer the peak of a mountain. You have two hands: "technique" and "image, expressiveness" and in order to climb up you need to rearrange your hands in turn, as I already told you, but there are people who can do this at the same time and, apparently, they are the “Supermen” who can fly. They ascend above all other artists and become Stars in the world ballet. Each one them represent entire epochs of ballet art: Rudolf Nureyev, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Vladimir Vasiliev, Maya Plisetskaya and many others, whose names we know very well “

Good, pleasant, serious thoughts because they reveal so much – most of all the way they have been occupying this Artist's own thoughts. Few things can please me more than “reflection”. I like that.

“And now to give something light to our readers at the end of this Interview, I would like to know how you feel about a quote that I have heard recently. To be more precise, a friend of mine said: “He is like a mixture of James Dean and Alain Delon of the ballet world”. What do you say to that?”

When you are compared with two talented and beautiful people, then, of course, it is nice. I understand that many people when comparing them with someone, are not always happy about this and say that they are individuals, but when they tell you that you run like Hussein Bolt, it is clear that you run very fast. Therefore, I will take the liberty and decide that they are comparing something good and therefore I am very pleased.)

"My dear, Andrey, thank you so much for your time and letting me enter "your soul" and your world. I could go on forever chatting with you! It was not only interesting (and a very “rich moment”, beautifully filled with precious, personal details), it was fun! I really had a good time with you! I hope to talk to you soon again!"