“Irina Kolesnikova has a statuesque allure and firm technique… a star she undoubtedly is.” “Irina Kolesnikova is exquisite... She is a dancer of magnetic power - so much so that any ballet company in the world would welcome her with open arms…”.“The jewel in the crown of SPBT is the ravishingly beautiful lrina Kolesnikova, who rivals any star of the Bolshoi or Kirov in techique and stage artistry”.“Kolesnikova\'s supreme technical control makes this possible, while her Garbo-like smoulder creates a transfixing allure, both regal and unbearably tender… “. “Irina Kolesnikova could join the likes of Fonteyn, Guillem and Bussel, as a ballerina whose fame extends outside hard core ballet fans”.“Like a Yehudi Menuhin or a Renee Fleming, the sole purpose of her physical gifts is to express artistic truth. In Giselle it becomes a search that transforms familiar steps into a heartbreaking language of love”. “Kolesnikova is undoubtedly a rare gem who should remain jealously guarded ”

This is how the Saint Petersburg ballerina Irina Kolesnikova is appraised in Europe, Australia, Japan and South Africa. This, however, is just the lesser part of her press file. One could quote endlessly from comments made by some of the most highly rated overseas critics. These days it is hard to believe that she was only accepted by the Russian Ballet Academy on Architect Rossi Street at the second attempt. At the age of ten, having just started her ballet schooling, Irina was ready to overcome any difficulty. Living on the outskirts of the city meant she had to get up very early and use several methods of public transport to get to the centre. But then she was very lucky with her first ballet mistress; N. D. Aleksandrova was a beautiful and cultured woman, herself formerly a well-known ballerina, and she loved this sweet, capable and very modest young girl. Her extreme shyness and habit of hiding in the shadows of her more energetic contemporaries prevented her from standing out in the senior classes. Irina’s potential artistic qualities were noticed and encouraged by A. A. Stepin, the acting teacher, but the stern and demanding classical dance mistress, E. V. Kokorina steeped in the supreme traditions of the academic school, failed to single out this quiet student. In the graduate performance, “La Bayadère”, Irina was hardly visible in the Grand Pas de quatre, but then unexpectedly shone in the character dance “Panaderos”, discovering in herself both passion and daring. However, she did not come to the notice of the heads of either the Mariinsky or the Maly Opera Theatres. Her stage career began in the Corps de Ballet, as it should do, of A. A. Makarov’s “Choreographic Miniatures”. Prospects for promotion did not seem to be on the cards and this soon started to depress Irina.

Her friends advised her to join a private company that had recently been set up by Konstantin Tachkin. At the time, this was not a prestigious move, but the desire to dance outweighed any other considerations. Irina made up her mind, not suspecting that she was taking a life-changing decision. Solo parts were not slow in coming. Lengthy tours and daily performances strengthened her technique. Mr. Tachkin noticed this hard-working, modest girl and her obvious qualities as a ballerina. During her first season, he gave her permission to rehearse “Swan Lake”. The company did not have its own principal ballerinas at this time; they had to be “borrowed” from the Mariinsky. Kolesnikova familiarised herself with eminent touring ballerinas such as Margarita Kulik and Irina Chistyakova but gave them no ground in terms of technique, and in fact, in dramatic qualities, she was even superior to them.

Kolesnikova is taciturn and reserved when she looks at the old recordings of her dancing, and shudders with embarrassment. It is true that in those early days she did not possess the necessary restraint, emotions at times gushed out one-dimensionally, saturating her expressive suppleness and mimicry. She was helped to overcome these excessive and impetuous tendencies by Svetlana Efremova, Lyubov Kunakova and even Alla Osipenko all of whom managed to fine-tune the ballerina and imbue her with artistic taste. These days, Kolesnikova is an artist in her own right with her own “face” and her own take on her characters. Perhaps that is her most estimable quality. In technical terms, she is unique even when compared with the most virtuoso of ballerinas.
In Odile’s variations, only she can do four spins instead of one at speed and in attitude. As for the “simple” spins, en dehors and en dedans, words are not enough: for Kolesnikova, four or five spins are the norm. What is more, this is not a pre-meditated trick, but the expression of a unique internal dynamism, a particular psychic energy. Kolesnikova’s technique is essential to her because she is a big ballerina in all senses of the word: she is tall, she has strong, fine, voluptuous legs, and a soft, fleshy and lush body. What she is not like is a starved skeleton. Physical and spiritual ascetism is not for her. This is a corporeal ballerina, sensual in her flexibility and in her interpretation of the role. Her heroines – the tender Odette, the exultant Odile, the suffering Nikiya, are above all wonderful women. Even in the Kingdom of the Shades (act three of “La Bayadère”), we see before us a deeply sensitive woman. Her suppleness is replete and “strident”. This ballerina has the power to reach all the major and minor chords. On stage, Kolesnikova has to experience all the most important, decisive events and feel the strongest feelings. If, however, the parts are lacking in dramatic power, then Kolesnikova will imbue them with life-affirming joy. Her Kitri is full of brilliance and sparkle; her eyes shine and her dancing glows. Even her well-mannered Aurora shines with joy.

This brilliant dancer is also a distinctive actress. It is amazing that she can retain the original freshness of her first interpretation even when she is dancing these key roles for the three hundredth or five hundredth time. It is possible because she finds it interesting to perfect her physique and enrich and deepen the essence of the role. Freedom from the technical exigencies allows her to resolve any artistic questions. In the second act of “Giselle”, it is not just Kolesnikova’s arms that “sing”, but also her supple and inspirited body that merges with the music in glorious unison. How radiant is her Cantilena in the white adagio of “The Nutcracker? Her dancing seems to be under the spell of the music. These are the heights that the performing arts can attain.

In 2008, Kolesnikova celebrated ten years of work on the stage. Her achievements are quite considerable. She is only 28 but her name is enough to sell out theatres in many different countries and continents. As a prize-winner at many international competitions, and a welcome guest at the several-thousand-seated Albert Hall in London, Kolesnikova is often invited to take part in many charity events at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris and at the Coliseum in London. A photo-album dedicated to Irina will be published with a monograph written by Nina Alovert. What more could one wish for her other than to be a successful artist? New and stimulating work, perhaps, or an offer to dance at least once at the Mariinsky? Who hasn’t been invited to dance on that great stage in recent times! Kolesnikova still has not received an invitation. Is it perhaps because she is better known abroad than in Russia?