A Quarter of a Century! Ivan Vasiliev turns 25

Ivan Vasiliev celebrates his twenty-fifth birthday on 9 January. We send our warmest wishes to Milan, where the principal dancer is rehearsing for our ballet company’s performance of Le spectre de la rose at La Scala. The ‘dancer who defies the laws of gravity’, as Vasiliev is often known in the West, has a very intensive work ethic — the word ‘fatigue’ never passes his lips. His greatest desire is to dance as much as possible.

“I have much more strength than achievements!” was Ivan’s reaction when asked how he felt on the eve of his twenty-fifth birthday. “It’s always nice to have a birthday, but the date itself is of no particular significance to me”, he went on. “This is usually considered the age of maturity, but I have felt mature for seven or eight years now, if maturity can be judged by deeds.” When dashing around the world from one prestigious ballet theatre to the next, Ivan Vasiliev pays no attention to the changing time zones, and does not complain about the weather or even notice the long flights. “You can cope with all that”, jokes the artist. “All you have to do is to imagine you are an old circus horse, and nothing will bother you.” Ivan does not expect any special presents on his birthday. “I don’t like receiving presents, I like giving them”, he says.

Ivan Vasiliev’s fans in St. Petersburg, meanwhile, are already looking forward to a treat from their idol: on 19 February, our theatre is staging an evening with Ivan Vasiliev. The dancer has compiled the programme himself and stresses that he has chosen excerpts from the ballets that he performs in at the Mikhailovsky Theatre. “I always take immense pleasure in working here; I value very much the warm atmosphere within the company”, says Ivan. “It will be such a pleasure for me to have almost everyone here taking part in the evening.”