Ольга Смирнова

Это Ольга Смирнова и я. Она очен очен очен красивая балерина.

Translation: This is Olga Smirnova and me. She is a very very very beautiful ballerina.

More information that I don't know how to write in Russian: Olga Smirnova is a soloist with the Bolshoi Ballet, a recent graduate of the Vaganova Academy (2011), and a former student of my current ballet teacher, Liudmila Kovaleva. Olga Smirnova came to the academy yesterday to spend some time working with Liudmila Kovaleva. She came into the studio about halfway through our class and stayed there, warming up and watching, until we were finished. After class, I asked for a picture with her.

I have been told that Olga Smirnova comes to take Liudmila Kovaleva's class whenever she has a chance, and that makes me very very happy. She has come to class a few times already. Each of those classes left me feeling very inspired and determined. Seeing a beautiful dancer perform on stage and seeing them dance during class can both be equally incredible experiences, though in entirely different ways. In class, you still witness the beauty of their dancing, but you also get to see the work that goes into the construction of the technical foundation that enables the beauty to exist. I love getting to witness any small part of this process, and that is why I love it so much when Olga Smirnova comes to take class with us.