\n<\/p>\n
Smirnova now often looks to pare movement back, she said, praising \u201cthe power of stillness\u201d onstage. James Bonas, a British stage director who adapted \u201cMacbeth\u201d with Pickett, compared Smirnova\u2019s \u201cclarity and simplicity\u201d to that of great theater performers. \u201cIn ballet, acting can have a painted-on quality, but she understands the idea of inhabiting a character from the inside. You see intention in her body so clearly.\u201d<\/p>\n
And Smirnova will push for her vision of a character. In rehearsal, she asked the artistic team to cut an entrance for Lady Macbeth, because she felt it was unnecessary. \u201cShe is one of the truest people,\u201d Pickett said. \u201cShe will let you know if things are not working.\u201d With a laugh, she remembered the moment she told Smirnova, last year, that she was working on an adaptation of Dostoyevsky\u2019s \u201cCrime and Punishment\u201d for American Ballet Theater.<\/a> \u201cShe was very quiet, and she went: \u2018Oh, I don\u2019t think so.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Ted Brandsen, the director of Dutch National Ballet, said Smirnova \u201cwouldn\u2019t say so much at the beginning, but she has really opened up.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe had to get used to being in an environment that was not necessarily so competitive and hard,\u201d he added, \u201cwhere people could be more vulnerable.\u201d Smirnova agreed that she has felt \u201cless pressure\u201d than in Russia, for cultural reasons.<\/p>\n \u201cIt might sound weird, but people try to be open and nice here,\u201d she said, cracking a smile.<\/p>\n In Russia, the reaction to her departure has been severe. In 2023, the Bolshoi Ballet erased her name from its website, leaving blank spaces in cast lists for past performances. \u201cI come across Russian ballet dancers at galas,\u201d she said, \u201cbut we stay professional. I prefer not to go into a discussion.\u201d<\/p>\n One relationship has endured: Once a month, she calls Ludmila Kovaleva, the renowned teacher who oversaw her final years of training at the Vaganova Academy in St. Petersburg, the alma mater of a long list of ballet luminaries including Mikhail Baryshnikov and Rudolf Nureyev. \u201cShe wants only the best for me,\u201d Smirnova said of Kovaleva. \u201cWhen I decided to come here, she said: \u2018Olga, that might be a good way for you to reveal your artistry in a different way.\u2019\u201d In their discussions, they talk about Smirnova\u2019s latest roles and review performance videos.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n