Kirov Ballet

Alla Osipenko as Odile in ‘Swan Lake’ - 1960’s. Osipenko was one of the last dancers to graduate under the great teacher (and Petipa-ballerina) Agrippina Vaganova herself. Her extension and gorgeously shaped legs gave her dancing a contemporary feel (though her purity of line continues to artistically challenge many over-extensions in present-day ballet). Osipenko possessed a huge jump, but an injury early in her career prevented her to use it. She danced all the classical ballerina roles that required true grandeur, but she seemed to feel more at ease in the creations of the period (such as The Mistress of the Copper Mountain in ‘The Stone Flower,’ Mekhmeneh-Banu in ‘Legend of Love’). Her decision to seek challenges and therefore leave the Kirov (at 40) always sat well with the Western press, who were undoubtedly inspired by observations of the famous defecting dancers, who deemed the Kirov artistically unfulfilling. Nevertheless, the important legacy of the beautiful Osipenko is preserved in snippets of Swan Lake, her grand interpretation of the Petipa/Lupokhov Lilac Fairy (Sleeping Beauty) and shorter works of Leonid Jacobson.

(Source: Flickr / faun070)