Ivan Vasiliev

Dancing Behind the Curtain

Russian Ballet Superstar Ivan Vasiliev Plays Peekaboo With America

The eyebrow-raising dance between Russia and America’s political heads of state—and the “global rich” style of our respective elites— may make it seem like our two countries finally have a certain culture of entertainment in common. But Aleim Magazine’s encounter with Russia’s hottest new male ballet dancer Ivan Vasiliev brings all that suddenly down to earth.

Vasiliev, formerly of the Bolshoi, is the principal ballet dancer at the Mikhalovsky ballet in Saint Petersburg. After he agreed to be featured in the magazine and sat for a photo shoot that inspired much curiosity, our attempt to complete the full interview hit a wall— or maybe we should say a curtain—and a reminder that Russia and America still two different and worlds.

First off, aside from the pioneering efforts of Pussy Riot, it seems that Russian stars aren’t too worried about getting our attention. Did you even know they have this “Brad Pitt of Ballet” over there? An athletic Adonis whose jumps reach Olympic heights. A tabloid darling with legions of fans. A prince charming who commands the stage with golden curls and chiseled cheekbones…a romantic heartthrob, who fell in love with his equally graceful longtime dance partner, Natalia Osipova—such a beautiful couple!—until he suddenly, impulsively announced his engagement to another ballerina, the sultry Maria Vinogradova! Ivan and Natalia transcended any hint of lingering romantic discord and they still dance together as partners. Maybe the pleasure of being a pair of dance gods in a virtuoso creative partnership is just that good.

It really makes you wonder why this exploding talent who could become the Baryshnikov of his day is still completely unknown in the mainstream over here! We were aware of Sergei Polunin, a more established crossover dance star, and fascinated by who his rival might be we find out about Ivan. He is a hot name in the small, exclusive world of international ballet, but aside from a review in the New York Times and a good article in The Guardian—about how he pushes his creative boundaries by embracing modern dance—he really hasn’t been much covered in America.

The photo shoot: Aleim and Dana Lixenberg fly to St. Petersburg upon Ivan and his team’s invitation to come over and do the piece. They are given full access to the Mikhailovsky Theater during his rehearsals. Then they watch a performance. Ivan glides around the stage like a gold-metal ice-skater. While not particularly tall or leggy, he’s known for his jumps. And there he is, flinging his body into the air with the abandon of a gymnast (or a drunken villager?) and the muscular athleticism of an NBA-All Star. This is the pinnacle of male ballet dance in Russia in our time, and he’s not doing it to be pretty. It’s an expression of power, freedom, and abandon, with the face of the Statue of David.

Dana doesn’t want to do the traditional contrived ballet dancer shots that everyone’s been doing since the invention of cameras, so Ivan meets the camera backstage at his practice studio and in his dressing room. He doesn’t say much— he’s swathed in a hoodie and a little impatient, alternating between an untrusting glower and goofy faces that break the ice but still bespeak a surprising self-consciousness. In sweats on a brown couch, he comes across a little like a fit frat guy taking a break after a game of flag football. Definitely not the sophisticated and statuesque flame he embodies onstage. In person, he’s a little bit of a dork.

Dana’s approach is the opposite. Very focused and precise, using a cumbersome 4×5 camera with lights, she’s careful with her tools and her subject, meticulous about what she commits to film. It’s an interesting juxtaposition in the room.

As THE young male ballerina in Putin’s Russia (and by the way, you-know-who is also, a fan), there are many questions Ivan seems uniquely positioned to answer. How does he feel about dance as a discipline— is it the last vestige of Russia’s aristocracy? Does it have a future in the world? What does he have to say to men who see ballet as a feminine discipline? Looking at his social media, we find him posed with Vladimir Putin in his Instagram feed, along with a video of himself voting, and the caption “I fulfilled my civic duty, did you find time to vote for the future of our country?” Does he have political opinions beyond this type of public service message? And what does he see on the horizon for his career? He’s already been branching out into experimental dance and choreography. What’s the inspiration? With his movie-star looks, could he imagine crossing over as a performer in film or TV as Baryshnikov did?

We are told that since Ivan does not speak very good English we should send any substantive interview questions to him in writing. His responses will be translated and then we can follow up with a call to chat. We send questions. Follow up. Weeks go by. After a few indications that his response is “coming soon,” nothing materializes. Finally, he and his people go dark. No begging off, no excuses, just full ghosting. In your face, America!

We know from experience that your average iconic international sex-symbol is sometimes just busy, disorganized, and diva-esque. And it’s clear that Ivan’s not playing the game of trying to be a celebrity in America— he’s serious about dance, which is turning out to be a rewarding use of time. But it’s impossible not to wonder about the cultural communication gap, and what happened there…Any way you slice it, it seems that even post-cold-war, post-glasnost, post-modern, post-everything there’s still curtain between our two worlds that have not been penetrated. Maybe it never will…but then again, Ivan, if you’re reading this, we’re ready when you are.