Kondrateva Marina Viktorovna, prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Theater: biography, creativity

Kondratieva Marina Viktorovna is the prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Theater, People's Artist of the RSFSR, and then the USSR, a well-known choreographer, as well as a laureate of the 1st degree at the World Festival of Youth and Students in Warsaw.

A family

Reliable information about who was and what the mother of the ballerina lived, is still not there, but her father's name is still known to this day. Viktor Nikolaevich Kondratiev was an outstanding Soviet physicist-chemist who made a great contribution to the development of the sections of the two integrating sciences. This man, who devoted all his life to science, a professor and a doctor of science, managed to raise an inner core in his daughter, without which neither in life, nor even in ballet, could he have been able to hold out.

Childhood

Marina V. Kondratieva was born on February 1, 1934 in the city of Leningrad, now called St. Petersburg. From an early age, Marina showed remarkable abilities in dancing: the girl was mobile, her movements were full of beauty and grace. Many friends of her father-academician were advised to give the daughter to a ballet school, and only one Nikolai Semyonov, also an academician and a close Kondratyev, practically took the girl to her future place of study. But at the moment when they crossed the threshold of the school, fate played a cruel joke: a set of girls was closed. But how then did the amazing ballerina appear, and not just another scientist? A woman working in the school administrator, seeing the broken state of Marina, decided to help: she gave Semenov the address and phone number of a Leningrad choreographer. And Agrippina Vaganova (the same choreographer), from a professional point of view, pronounced something that forever changed the fate of a little girl: "You must dance."

Start date

The girl's father did not strongly resist the decision, and now, young Marina Kondratieva, on Vaganova's recommendation, goes to the Moscow Choreography School. The first time of studying is not easy, but the passion and thirst for the dance has always come to the fore before any difficulties. Very soon the girl gets used to, gets used not only with complicated graphics and merciless trainings - she gets used to the idea that she can become nothing worse than the most famous and unique dancers of not only Bolshoi but also many other world theaters. The efforts of the future ballerina are not in vain: in 1952, Marina brilliantly graduated from the school under the leadership of Galina Petrova, and after that she joined the troupe of the Bolshoi Theater dancers.

First successes

The Bolshoi Theater is becoming a real home for Kondratieva not only at the time of her education, but also for the whole future career. In those years in the performances and on the stage the legendary Plisetskaya, Struchkova, Lepeshinskaya - the women, whose name had already entered the history of Russian ballet, shone . They were now right in front of the eyes of a budding ballerina. She could see their skill, adopt it, listen to advice and, of course, improve.

In the Bolshoi Theater her mentor was Marina Semenova - a well-known ballet dancer, who has already won world recognition by performing in all major theaters of the country. Semyonova not only gave the young Marina a start to develop her own technique, but it was she who prepared Kondratieff for her future profession - the teacher-tutor.

The debut of the beginning ballerina was the role of Cinderella from the ballet performance of R. Zakharov, and again, as soon as she began, the roles fell on graceful shoulders like snow. After Cinderella, Masha from the Nutcracker was played, another princess named Aurora from Sleeping Beauty and even the role of Shakespeare's Juliet, which was transmitted with all the senses that can only be stated in the dance.

Duets

For her dance career, Marina V. Kondratieva danced with a lot, like her, who entered the history of the partners. They were Mikhail Lavrovsky, Yury Vladimirov, and Vladimir Tikhonov, but the most memorable duet came from the ballerina with Maris Liepa - the Lithuanian and Soviet ballet dancer, whose performances have always been memorable and atmospheric, thanks to his unique, "fiery" and impetuous dance technique .

With him, Kondratieva danced one of the most stunning of her roles - Giselle in A. Adan's ballet of the same name, edited by LM Lavrovsky.

Pedagogical activity

Already in 1980, Marina Kondratyeva graduated from the State Institute of Theatrical Arts. AV Lunacharsky (now GITIS).

Teaching was given Kondratieva surprisingly easy: the woman easily found a common language with the beginning ballerinas, which she was in her time. With the help of V.Yu. Vasiliev and N.D. Kasatkina, her first teaching experience took place in an ensemble called "Moscow Classical Ballet", and then with confident grace, Marina easily managed and with the dancers of her native Moscow Choreographic School. From 1990 to 2000 she became a professor at the school, and after a while the woman finally became a teacher-tutor at the Bolshoi Theater.

For her teaching activity, the choreographer taught Margarita Perkun-Bebezichi, Elena Knyazkin, Vera Timashova, worked with ballet dancers and ballet dancers of Grigorovich's studio, one of the most famous choreographers and choreographers of the country, as well as with many other girls who, thanks to the sensitive guidance of their mentor, now A worthy replacement for the Golden generation of the Russian ballet of the 60s.

In our years Kondratieva is the leader of the famous Nadezhda Grachyova and Natalya Osipova, each of whom is the prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Theater.
Since 1988, Marina Viktorovna Kondratieva begins her career in a new field for herself - a choreographer-producer, which again she brilliantly succeeds.

Self-expression on stage and in their best roles

The world of high ballet Kondratieff was remembered due to her unique technique. She did not introduce new styles or movements, as Plisetskaya did, but her manner of performance was so light that she seemed to dance not on the stage, but in the air. Her amazing impetuosity made it possible to perfectly beat many characters, where the peak of her skill fell on "Giselle" - a ballet in which the main character should flutter like a disembodied vision, barely touching the floor with her feet. The ballerina's movements had to be elegant, but fast, she had to swiftly express her feelings, but at the same time the sound of her steps should be absorbed in silence. All this incredibly accurately managed to convey Kondratieva.

Over and over again, now she performed the Giselle Party - the ballet went out better and better each time, and the skill of the gorgeous ballerina looked more and more refined. Blinaya in this image, Marina Kondratieva achieved the title of one of the best Giselle of the XX century.

Marina Kondratieva is a ballerina who has become a living embodiment of the romantic ballet in its best traditions. Swift, graceful, weightless - it was a ghostly way that fascinated not only the audience, but also saw a lot of choreographers and the whole troupe as a whole.

In the ballet "Paganini" the girl once again performed the role that came out best of all for her - the role of the Muse, who emerges from nowhere and gives inspiration and hope.

Current activities

Do not be surprised to learn that at the moment Kondratieff is still teaching. Anyone who has at least once linked his soul to the ballet will always return to him. A gorgeous ballerina, already a choreographer and choreographer of the Bolshoi Theater, is 82 now, but this does not prevent her from preparing more and more talents for the stage. Among her students are Anna Okuneva, Olga Smirnova, Nina Biryukova and many other girls who will never regret choosing a mentor.

3 years ago Kondratieva became a member of the Art Council of the Bolshoi Ballet Company, so now she as a ballet teacher has not only time, but also a direct opportunity to prepare young dancers so that their radiance on the stage was no less than that of the same Plisetskaya or Most Kondratieva.