In the 90`s, despite all the violences that were present on the streets, the devaluation of our currency, the independence of our country, on a black and white TV, was a little girl that watched as if she was under a spell, the BOLSHOI theatre.

In spite of that, my passion for ballet was growing and when I was 7 y.o, I started doing clasical ballet for 2 years. I was the best in the class, or so at least that is what I though, hehe 😀

After that, the class was canceled but growing up, I was glad that I didn’t went on that path. What we see on stage is THE DROP, top of the iceberg, the happiness.
The grace, the beauty all together, is hidden behind a lot of work, years of sacrifices and humiliations. All the starvation, all the pain, real physical pain, all the counted calories- it doesn’t give you a boost of confidence, that`s for sure.

As I see it now – this is a sacrifice, that only few people accept it and go along with it. For what, you might wonder?!

For that joy in people`s faces when they see a woman, moving like a feather on stage, a woman that without any wings- can literally fly and they make it seem so simple out there; for that dream of young girls, who want to become, not a doctor, not a teacher or even a supermodel, but a BALLERINA.

Well, in the end I didn`t fulfill my childhood dream to become a ballerina (captain obvious) but at least I felt like a ballerina in these photos, and being near the place that created stories on stage.

Below there are some recomandation, for those of you who are interested to see the other side of ballet.
TV mini-series:  Flash and Bone (2015)

And a documentary that I really loved, it’s in russian with english subtitles