Dmitry Sobolev has taken part in the 26th Rudolf Nureyev Festival of Ballet Art. Counting among the most prestigious forums dedicated to ballet, this event traditionally takes place in the city of Ufa. This year’s Festival culminated on 21 March with a gala, where Dmitry played the part of Vestris in Leonid Yacobson’s famous ballet miniature, originally created for Mikhail Baryshnikov, and performed Pas de Deux from La Fille Mal Gardée alongside Liliya Zainigabdinova.
 

“I am profoundly grateful to our art director Andrian Fadeev for inviting me to represent our troupe at this ballet festival, which means so much to the entire ballet world,” shares Dmitry Sobolev.
 

“Ufa is Rudolf Nureyev’s birthplace. Ballet wouldn’t be ballet without Nureyev, especially for Vaganova Academy students. I am ecstatic to finally have gotten to dance at the Bashkir State Opera and Ballet Theatre. And it especially delights me to know that the festival at large had such a light-hearted, friendly vibe! My deepest thanks to everyone involved for top-notch event arrangement and kind hospitality.
 

“It was Andrian Fadeev’s idea to have me play Vestris. It is a legendary miniature, after all! I am quite fond of it because it’s so complex, particularly from an acting standpoint. Not every ballet part is this tightly packed with imagery and personality. Each time I step onto the stage as Vestris, I only have one thing on my mind: please make it work!
 

“When we played Pas de Deux from La Fille Mal Gardée, the public responded warmly straight away, already being familiar with the production. My Vestris, however, was met with silence. I think this kind of bombastic choreography came as a bit of a shock. I could feel that people in the audience were not merely interested or curious about the miniature: they were literally holding their breath. And at the very end, the place erupted into applause!”