Class ACT presents: Svetlana Zakharova stretching before rehearsal during Berlin Staatsballet's production of LA BAYADÈRE. October 2012. Piano by Peter Hartwig
This takes 100% dedication. If you want to be this good at anything, there can not be room for anything else in your life. Only one thing 24/7 for life. That's called mastering a feat.
The thing about watching Zakharova is that the movements come so naturally to her. So much, in fact, that it is easy to think that every body should be able to bend and move like hers and you forget that it is her who differs from the rest. And when you try to imitate her it is like waking up from a trance to find yourself to be achingly average. It's what she does and this magic makes her so special.
There is no imitation. There is practice. If you want to be able to bend: you practice. I practiced 2 hrs a day after classes at home. Every day. To be able to sit between two chairs and to have at least a straight line when you jump in a split. This is to show you that she probably practiced more than that when she was a kid.
Amazing ballerina dancer even after became a mother. I love to watch all her performances on stage. She is so pretty and own a perfect sharp ballerina figure. Her own style natural ballet dancing skill that no other Russian ballerina in history had before !
she is beautiful in every way and manner, one must remember that the art of dancing requires constant persistence and to lasting passion! now i say this woman has got it! The art of her uniqueness is amazing. xox
I think that before commenting on a ballet dancer body you must take 2 things in consideration: 1) The body structure that includes body and muscle percentage. 2) The amount of cardio a professional ballet dancer do everyday since early morning class to that evening performance.
Seeing her practice... Sweet Christmas. I'm shaking. Just look at her... and damn her, she's only getting warmed-up.... The real magic for her has barely even begun... The Natalia Makarova of her generation. If she isn't named "Prima Ballerina Absolutta"... the system just plain doesn't work.
She's not spitting in the shoes, she's breathing to warm them up all the stretchy things she's doing are aimed to warm up the body it's not the work in class where all parts of the body are involved and warmed up gradually its stretching before rehearsals needing to make the body ready for loads as quick as possible:)
She is talented regardless of her body. The only thing people like you care about is whether or not they are appealing which has nothing to do with their ability to dance.
Thank you soo soooooo much for these videos! she is a godess and you really made my day! your videos are amazing and i really like to see her in rehersal cause thers very little videos of those...thank you thanko you !!!!!! :)))))))
Every time I read "too thin or skinny" I just roll my eyes. She's a BALLERINA! Ballerinas are supposed to look like this at least professional ones. So if you only comment on her looks and not her technique its like you were screaming "I ain't got a clue about ballet"
They are also screaming "I'm American!" Lol. Most women outside of the "west/Anglo" world including Australia are usually thin by Western standards. On a side note, a lot has to do with jealousy. However, I really like Svetlana and Alina Somova. Different and personal styles.
I think she is only so skinny because she is such an amazing ballerina, which takes a tremendous effort and strength that it is almost impossible for her not to be skinny. It's like farmers in third world countries or miners being fat--impossible.
No they are NOT! No human being is supposed to look like that. Do male dancers look like that? NO! SHE IS TOO THIN AND SUFFERS WITH AN EATING DISORDER!
I don´t think she has any important eating disorder, if she had it, her body would collapse during the first hour of "Bayadere" or "Swan Lake". Probably she is "picky" with her diet as all the profesional ballerinas are. However, a career like hers is not compatible with eating disorders
1 over 5 ballet dancers has some eating disorder searching the "perfect ballerina's body". But not Svetlana. She's russian, that means she has a different bone structure, she's also "tall" (from an American view, for me, as a venezuelan, she's even a short person), that makes her even thin, but being a ballerina she is in a good weight
I’m 5’9” and I have a tiny bone structure (5 -1/2 inch wrists, for example). If I exercised on such a grueling scale as her, I have no doubt I’d eventually end up with a similar body type.
pereziana are you serious?!? Ballet a perfect environment for eating disorders. If you look at studies a large amount of ballet dancers either, have eating disorders, have engaged in dangerous behaviors to lose weight, or have been told to lose weight despite being a healthy BMI. Svetlana probably does not have a eating disorder. People with eating disorders can be extremely high functioning. We don't always just collapse like in the movies. I should know I've had a eating disorder for 3 years and dance 7+ hours per day. Know one knows cause they atribute my weight to "calories bunt while dancing". it would serve you well to do your research before you coment on mental disorders
That tends to happen after you have a baby and become thin again. After your skin has been stretched and your body has been through so much, you tend to look more sinewy. It's not her fault:P
What an outstanding ballerina!!! She´s so graceful and elegant! I would like she could put on some weight, I think it would look great on her. However, in such an important moment of her career making changes in her diet and the process of getting al litlle bit "heavier" could be complicated and we want her for many more years. The propioception of her own body could be affected if she puts on some weight...Well, anyway, she looks fantastic!!!!!!!!!
I have a question. I’m an old gal and have been stretching my legs and back (for spinal problems) for decades, but I have learned not to stretch on a tensed muscle. (At 0:50 it seems Svetlana has tight knees). So I stretch, feel the tug, relax the muscle then hold the stretch. Am I doing it right? Did I explain that correctly?
Yes. She has been training for years and is much more flexible than you, so she needs to tense her muscles to get a stretch. Since you are older and much tighter, that causes injury for you when it protects her from injury :)
