A tall, statuesque ballerina, Alyona Kovalyova with her long, fragile lines and big eyes has the lyrical grace of a Russian icon. The young ballerina possesses a rare beauty and a graceful physique.
She tells: “There are no dancers in my family. My mother considered it necessary for all girls to take ballet classes, that is good for posture and to move beautiful. It turned out that I was studying under a pedagogue who previously worked at the Vaganova Ballet Academy, she suggested me to try to audition. We went to the auditions at the Academy for the Preparatory Section, some children were crying, that shocked me. I was afraid, but I was accepted. I attended the prep course and each time I liked it more and more, so I ended up staying. I stayed for 3 years in the prep course and then at age 8 I entered the regular school»
Alyona was born in Saint Petersburg in 1998. She graduated from the Vaganova Ballet Academy in 2016 (teacher Yulia Kasenkova) with distinction and joined the Bolshoi Ballet. Her coach at the Bolshoi is Olga Chenchikova.
Since joining the Bolshoi, Kovalyova received two principal roles in Etudes and in Diamonds in the first year being only 18 years old and that’s amazing for such a young ballerina. On 16 September, she debuted in the acid test of all ballerinas: Odette/Odile in «Swan Lake». Kovalyova's academically sculpted physique is textbook perfect and lends itself easily to any classical role. With a round, doll-like face, high insteps, endless legs - she is well over 175 cm tall - she's the spitting image of a ballerina, whether in motion or simply standing in place.
Kovalyova's physique is by far one of the most perfect in the Bolshoi troupe, and as such lends itself perfectly to the dual swan role. Her Odette on 16 September proved to be a sensitive, vulnerable, honest creature, shy and trembling at the appropriate moments, with an easy legato and textbook positions. Surprisingly, her Odile offered moments of sharp coyness that one would not expect from someone as young as she. Kovalyova's strong technical foundation will no doubt serve as a basis for strengthening the emotional contrast between the characters over time. It is easy to predict that in several years, she will be the Bolshoi prima everyone wants to see.
On 25th July, 2018 Alyona was promoted from Soloist to the First Soloist.
«Work hard, don't give up and believe that everything is possible. Through desire you can achieve whatever you want if you love it and live it. And remain yourself. There is an individuality and something special in each person, not just in artists, that is attractive and unique»-, Alyona says.
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