KSENIA OVSYANICK

Being free is the most important thing for me.

Principal ballerina Ksenia Ovsyanick •

Interview by Svetlana AVVAKUM

The fate of ballet dancers is often dependent and subject to strict regulations, but not in the case of Ksenia Ovsyanick. She breaks stereotypes by turning seeming failures and difficulties into steps forward on her path. Having not gone beyond the first round at the Lausanne Competition, she received the opportunity to study at the English National Ballet School and then joined the company while still studying; there she progressed from corps de ballet dancer to soloist. Having received an injury and taking this as a sign that something needed to change, she started thinking about moving to another theatre. The choice fell on the Staatsballett Berlin, which completely coincided with her expectations and possibilities. The period of forced inactivity during the pandemic provided an opportunity to become a mother and expand the boundaries of dance off stage. Ballet was chosen independently and consciously in her early childhood in Belarus and forever became a way of life.

You worked for quite a long time at the English National Ballet in London and now at Staatsballett Berlin. Tell me that as time passes, do you feel that the theatre is a home or just a place of work for you? Sometimes you spend more time there than with your family.

For me, theatre is definitely more than work. I spend the majority of my time here. It is a place of work. It is a place of work, creativity, and self-realisation. And now my little baby has become part of my theatre life too, as sometimes the way to spend time together is for him to join me here.