Валя Семукова в па-де-де с Вадимом Гуляевым в “Щелкунчике“

: I came across some very grainy footage recently of a most extraordinary ballet dancer - someone who obviously had the greatest future. Around 16, she’d been taking leading roles in the Mariinsky (Kirov) Theatre while still a student at the school. The film shows Valentina Semyukova in a pas de deux from ’The Nutcracker’. She is partnered with Vadim Gulayev. She already seems formed as a dancer, about to enlarge on her technique. Through the movement, there is a perfect disposition of her body’s forms- creating an exquisite line. The phrasing concerning the music is always intelligently considered and placed in a discourteous fashion. Not just following the music but leading purposefully away and then returning to catch the beat. She is still technically tentative, particularly in the section involving ’fish dives’ - the choreography has been simplified somewhat for the still-developing dancer. Very sadly, Valentina Semyukova died of an unspecified illness at just 17 years of age.