Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, December 17, 1993 TAG: 9312180004
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ALMENA HUGHES STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
"Their special relationship with each other is nice because you know it is real. They'll have good chemistry as well as their style and technique," said Terri Post, artistic director of the Southwest Virginia Ballet, which will collaborate in the production.
Serova, of St. Petersburg, Russia, will dance the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy. Martin, of Virginia Beach but living in Russia, will be the Cavalier.
"I'm the head nut," Martin recently quipped of the character he has re-created in performances at Old Dominion University, the National Ballet School in Toronto, Canada, and the Kirov school in Russia.
Serova, just arrived in Roanoke from Mexico the night before her interview, was not as self-assured. She danced the part of the fairy for the first time in Mexico on Dec. 12.
"I like it, but I feel that I am tall for the part," she explained, glancing frequently at Martin to confirm the correctness of her choice of English words.
She said she is 173 centimeters tall, or about 5 feet 8 inches, and feels more at home in her favorite role in the pas de deux from "La Bayadere."
Martin, roughly the same height as Serova, pondered his favorite role. His and Serova's heads moved close as they engaged in an animated discussion in Russian, punctuated with an occasional head shake and "nyet," or a nod and "da." There was much fluttering of Serova's manicured hands and pink-polished nails, which contrasted with her clean-scrubbed face and unadorned hair.
At last, Martin proclaimed his favorite role was Don Quixote.
Before starting their professional careers the couple, who has been together for three years, studied at the Vaganova Russian Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg. Serova, 18 years old and dancing for 11 years, is a soloist in that city's Kirov Company.
Martin, 20 and dancing for 14 years, is a member of St. Petersburg's Makarov Company. At the age of 13, he was one of 30 children selected from 700 who auditioned to attend the National Ballet School of Canada. While attending a summer dance program in Chicago, he was invited to become the first American male to attend the Vaganova School since the beginning of the Cold War.
Born with a hearing impairment, he wears hearing aids in both ears while dancing to correct his equilibrium. He also is a spokesman for Beltone hearing aids.
Serova and Martin both have performed at the Maryinski Theatre in St. Petersburg, where The Nutcracker opened to serious panning by the critics. The theater, though, often has been a site of great praise.
"Always, on the stage, it doesn't matter which ballet, it feels magical," Serova said. For lack of exact words to describe the experience of dancing at the Maryinski, she simply beat her hand to her chest and said, "It makes your heart ... ."
"I was impressed and held back because I couldn't believe I was dancing on the same stage as [Mikhail] Baryshnikov, [Rudolf] Nureyev and other Russian giants," Martin said. "It's partially nerve-racking because you don't want to disappoint your teachers and fans. And yet, you are almost paralyzed with awe."
As for the initial criticisms of The Nutcracker ballet, Martin said that in all fairness, ballet master Marious Petipa died before he completed the work he'd conceived, and the last one-third of its choreography fell to his assistant. That probably accounts for at least part of what some people perceive as a disjointed quality in the work. But since the ballet's revival by George Ballanchine in 1954, it seems to be increasing in popularity and has become somewhat of a seasonal classic presented in various incarnations and interpretations.
Artistic director Post said the version this weekend will mostly be her interpretation. But it will be strongly influenced by Istvan Ament, artistic director of the Old Dominion University School of Ballet in Norfolk, under whom both Post and Martin studied.
Their mutual acquaintance with Ament, in fact, is how Martin and Serova got from Russia to Roanoke. Ament suggested the couple in response to Post's query about possibly sharing ODU guest artists.
"Our company is a student company. When we do our productions, we augment our students with professional dancers," Post explained. "Having two dancers come in is very, very inspiring for them."
The Roanoke Symphony Orchestra and the Roanoke Children's Choir also will collaborate in production of The Nutcracker. Local dancers will include Teresa Timko as the Snow Queen, John Mayer as the Snow King and Stephen Schmitter as the male lead in the Russian dance.
Performances will be Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. For tickets and information, call 343-9127.
by CNB