How to Make a Premier Danseur
Even in ballet, such an art of the young, one finds few soloists aged 19 with kudos including victories at three international contests. The name of Leonid Sarafanov, who only recently diligently practiced pas as a student of Kyiv’s dance school, currently with the National Opera of Ukraine, is known in a number of countries. The young man is generously bestowed by nature with everything required in ballet: plasticity, muscle tone, elegant feet, the right kind of bearing. The rest depended on him and people round him.
The Day: Leonid, you are a third generation dancer. Your parents and grandparents danced with the Pavlo Virsky company. What made you take up ballet?
L. S.: I also wanted to be a folk dancer, they started took me to rehearsals and concerts of the famous company at an early age. They say the artistic director, Myroslav Vantukh, even carried me in his arms. I don’t remember. My parents talked me into entering the dancing school, they thought I had every hallmark of a ballet dancer. I got enrolled at ten and then I wanted to quit, for I wanted to play soccer outdoors instead of practicing in the gym. I wanted more freedom.
The Day: Your teachers wouldn’t let you play soccer much, because you could get hurt.
L. S.: Well, we played anyway. I also liked cycling and roller skating. In fact, I wouldn’t mind playing soccer even now, but I can hold my desires in check better than before.
The Day: Winning an athletic contest is believed to take luck in addition to skill. What about ballet contests?
L. S.: I was lucky to have the teachers I did at the dance school: Valery Parsiehov and Volodymyr Denysenko, and later Alla Lahoda of the National Opera: she coached my rehearsals. I was just starting, yet he told me I’d be a premier danseur. She was right. I never danced in the chorus at the national company.
The Day: Did she train you for the contests?
L. S.: Honestly, but for her, I’d have probably never got to Paris or Moscow. After the Budapest contest (I won the silver in the junior category) I knew all about the tremendous strain of training and nervousness during the contest. Besides, there’s always the possibility of returning home empty-handed. Alla Lahoda not only believed in my abilities, but also managed to orient me toward winning, preparing me physically and mentally. When training for contest, you have to concentrate on winning, that and nothing else.
The Day: Which of the contests was the most important to win?
L. S.: The one in Moscow, of course. I won the silver in Budapest. I won gold at the ninth international dance contest in Paris, but I did solo in the junior standing. This year it was a duet in the senior division. Natalia Domracheva, my partner, got the silver in the junior standing. Also, as the winning duet, we received the Romeo and Juliet Prize, a beautiful figurine.
The Day: Which of the contests was best organized?
L. S.: The one in Paris. There were too many missteps in Moscow. The rehearsals were constantly rescheduled, sometimes the rehearsal hall would be made available very late, almost at midnight. And the auxiliary personnel did not always measure up; something would be wrong with the lighting, someone would forget to unlock the door, and so on.
The Day: How did your Moscow colleagues receive the Ukrainian victory?
L. S.: There were different reactions, but they generally recognized the Ukrainian ballet school’s success. We won three medals and two diplomas. One of them went to the youngest female contestant, Milena Sydorova, also from our school. After the gala concert Andris Liepa praised our repertoire. You see, the pas de deux from Pachita is seldom performed. He also liked George Balanchine’s Tarantella. I did an original number, Farewell to the Jungle, choreographed by Olha Vorobiova of Kyiv.
The Day: Did they offer you a job in Moscow?
L. S.: Yes, and I was approached by Gediminas Taranda. It turned out that he and my father had worked for Igor Moiseyev’s dance company. So I have a formal invitation to work for the Russian Imperial Ballet.
The Day: Aren’t you tempted?
L. S.: The Ukrainian National Opera is a top rate company, so if I considered another job it would have to be something at least as reputable. Well, there is time to think things over.
The Day: How is your career in Kyiv?
L. S.: The solo in the grand from Pachita was my debut on the capital’s stage. Then I danced as Cipollino in the title ballet and as Prince in the Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, and Swan Lake. By the way, the latter was my debut in Japan. I also dance as Tsarevich Ivan in Igor Stravinsky’s Firebird (staged by Ihor Lytvynov).
The Day: Which ballet part makes you feel especially comfortable?
L. S.: James in La Sylphide. This ballet has an especially distinct theme of choosing between one’s dream and reality. You want to touch your dream and it dies. Dreams must remain dreams.
The Day: Is there a cherished dream outside the theater, one that drives and inspires you?
L. S.: Yes, there is, but I never discuss it.
The Day: Did you have time to rest after the Moscow contest?
L. S.: I spent two weeks in Antalya, Turkey. I liked it there. And then it was back to rehearsals and tours. I danced in Swan Lake with the National Opera’s ballet in Budapest, on picturesque Margaret Island. I also performed in Riga, Yurmala to be precise, where they staged all those popular KVN (a tongue-in-cheek quiz show — Ed.). The open-air stage was ill-equipped for classic ballet, of course, and it was rather cold, so we had to wait our turn dressing in the wings. But the audience was warmly responsive. Ballet soloists spoke delightedly of the master classes previously conducted by Alla Lahoda. Also, I toured in China where I was invited after winning in Paris. The French and Chinese management in Shanghai turned out in permanent contact, arranging joint winners’ performances.
The Day: Did you compete in China?
L. S.: No, I was a guest and performed in the gala concert. But it made watching the contest even more interesting I wasn’t involved, so I wasn’t nervous and could notice things I wouldn’t have otherwise. The organizing committee made no secret of patronizing Chinese performers, yet two Ukrainian girls were awarded diplomas: Hanna Shepeleva and Mariya Abashova (both are studying in Austria). In Shanghai, I met not only with girls from Ukraine, but also with Monsieur Lafauri, director of the Paris contest. I said hello in English and he suddenly replied in Russian, “How is your precious health?” But that exhausted his Russian vocabulary.
The Day: You are experienced enough to answer this one. How does a performer benefit from international contests?
L. S.: Getting prepared for a contest makes one muster all one’s resources and abilities, and teaches one to focus on the task at hand. I was nervous before every contest, especially in Moscow, because I had already won two contests, and the responsibility was tremendous. A contest also tempers one morally; it is an opportunity to compare your styles to others, to assess modern ballet. And communicating with colleagues is very useful. I don’t speak English well, but I can understand enough.
The Day: So where is the three times laureate starting the new season?
L. S.: In Australia. Our touring group will be led by Alla Lahoda and that says it all. She is an amazing woman: a teacher, administrator, and interpreter; she can take care of the lighting and hotel accommodations. I think she could step out onstage and dance, if need be. She has a very strong will. Before the trip we had a hard series of rehearsals for Sleeping Beauty. She made us repeat every scene, polishing every pas. Since it’s our first time in Australia, we want the local audiences to be really impressed by Ukrainian ballet.
P.S.: After the first performance (Leonid danced with Tetiana Holiakova), he called home from Australia. When asked how the audience had received it, he replied, “Very well.”
