Reviews
San Francisco Ballet Program 2 Opening Night
Wednesday, February 10, 2010, 7:30pm
GHOSTS
“I have never admired Yuan Yuan Tan (Tuesday) or Maria Kochetkova (Wednesday) more than in the main duet”
The New York Times
San Francisco Ballet Program 2 Opening Night
Tuesday, February 09, 2010, 8pm
OPUS 19/THE DREAMER*
“Maria Kochetkova and Davit Karapetyan shone in the lead roles.”
San Francisco Examiner
San Francisco Ballet Program 1 Opening Night
Saturday, January 23, 2010, 8pm
SWAN LAKE
“As Odette and Odile, Maria Kochetkova danced both the fragile heroine and the evil temptress spectacularly, her arms moving with unique grace and beauty.”
San Francisco Examiner
San Francisco Ballet 2010 Opening Night Gala
Wednesday, January 20, 2010, 8pm
Balcony pas de deux from ROMEO & JULIET
“Maria Kochetkova, partnered with Joan Boada, was luminous in the Balcony Pas de Deux from Tomasson’s “Romeo and Juliet.” Even when she stands still, Kochetkova seems to be in elegant, gentle motion.”
San Francisco Examiner
San Francisco Ballet China Tour: Shanghai
September, 2009
Within the Golden Hour
“In the final pas de deux, Maria Kochetkova was ecstatic and extraordinarily beautiful, wonderfully partnered by Ruben Martin Cintas. Kochetkova’s well-proportioned body, her beautiful line, and her supple upper-back were perfectly displayed in Wheeldon’s choreography.”
Ballet.co.uk
San Francisco Ballet China Tour: Shanghai
September, 2009
On a Theme of Paganini
“In the main pas de deux, Kochetkova was sweet and charming and totally ravishing.”
Ballet.co.uk
San Francisco Ballet at Stern Grove
Sunday, August 16, 2009, 2pm
On a Theme of Paganini
“The whole thing was made to showcase the company’s brilliant young Bolshoi-trained ballerina Maria Kochetkova, and exploit the contrast between her diminutive size and the huge scale on which she dances. Kochetkova is the jewel in this crown, and it’s fair to say she blazes in it. Ballet, like opera, is inherently a popular art, and she has the potential to pull in a huge crowd of young people.”
Bay Area Reporter
San Francisco Ballet Program 7
Sunday, April 26, 2009, 2pm
JEWELS: EMERALDS
“On Sunday Maria Kochetkova and Frances Chung (partnered by Nicolas Blanc and Isaac Hernandez) were more closely bound to the music, not just in timing but also on a more mysterious level. With them, you could feel the radiance of choreography in three-dimensional space acquire a moment-by-moment drama that seemed akin to the music’s.”
The New York Times
“At the Sunday matinee, Maria Kochetkova and Frances Chung realized the graceful solos of “Emeralds” with elegance and unpretentious dignity.”
San Francisco Examiner
San Francisco Ballet Program 6
Friday, April 3, 2009, 8pm
Within the Golden Hour
“Weightless Maria Kochetkova and Joan Boada had the melting pas de deux to an interloping bit of Vivaldi, which integrates surprisingly well with the Bosso while lending a climactic gravitas.”
San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Ballet Program 1
Tuesday, January 27, 2009, 8pm
Diving into the Lilacs
“Maria Kochetkova winningly pushed the bounds of too-cute opposite dashing Pascal Molat”
San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Ballet ‘Russian Treasures’ 2009 Opening Night Gala
Wednesday, January 21, 2009, 8pm
Raymonda Pas de Deux
“One standard-setting ballerina performance, from Maria Kochetkova, came with a novelty. Wednesday’s “Raymonda Pas de Deux” was billed as a world premiere with choreography by Yuri Possokhov after the 19th century master Petipa.
Possokhov either has a sharp memory for the steps passed down through his native Bolshoi Ballet or he called upon his powers of invention, or both, because this “Raymonda” pas (not the usual Act 3 excerpt we’re used to from “Raymonda” but apparently from a different section of the full ballet) is filled with combinations of now-rare charm. Hungarian-inflected character arms punctuated whimsical little hops and turns, made all the more delightful by the delicate Kochetkova’s understanding of academic ballet logic and attention to detail, and by Joan Boada’s pure airborne zeal.
Not for the first time that evening, crystalline choreography met with crystalline interpreters as spirit raising as a Champagne toast.”
San Francisco Chronicle
“Maria Kochetkova and Joan Boada’s Raymonda pas de deux stood out in its equally strong partnering and individual performances, a glittering masterpiece of classical ballet perfection.”
Saturday Matinee
NBC’s Superstars of Dance
Monday, January 5, 2009
Kitri from Don Quixote
“Bolshoi-trained Russian ballerina Maria Kochetkova, a principal dancer with the San Francisco Ballet soared through an excerpt from the ballet ‘Don Quixote’”
Washington Post
San Francisco Chronicle’s ‘Best of Dance in 2008′
Giselle
“HIGH: San Francisco Ballet’s Maria Kochetkova in “Giselle” (Feb. 19): Tiny, delicate and irrepressibly sweet, the Russian-trained Kochetkova broke our hearts. Cutting through all the hype of San Francisco Ballet’s forward-looking 75th season, the company’s doll-like new principal gave a performance to remember for a lifetime.”
The best of dance in 2008, Rachel Howard
Dance Magazine
Interview
“Since Kochetkova arrived at SFB in the summer of 2007 she has learned quickly, and garnered attention nearly as fast. No new ballerina in memory has left such a deep impression on the company’s audiences in such a short time.”
Dance Magazine
San Francisco Ballet in Washington DC
Giselle
“During its Friday night opening, the young Miss Kochetkova had the ethereal grace, lovely line and strong technique for the part. She is an entrancing Giselle at the beginning of her career and undoubtedly will make her own distinctive mark as she grows in the role.”
The Washington Times
“The coveted opening night of “Giselle” is going to a relative newcomer to the company, Maria Kochetkova.
“She’s a very young Russian girl who’s been with me over a year now,” says Mr. Tomasson, 66. “She is absolutely beautiful in ‘Giselle,’ and I’m having her dance opening night because she hasn’t been seen here before.”"
The Washington Times
“Maria Kochetkova’s Giselle was all delicacy, with exquisitely formed positions and toes of steel.”
The Washington Post
San Francisco Ballet in Washington DC
Within the Golden Hour
“In the third duet, the amazing Maria Kochetkova and Joan Boada, illuminated by a subtle blue light, mirrored each other’s steps with carefree spontaneity in what looked like a game or contest.”
Ballet.co
San Francisco Ballet at the Orange County Performing Arts Center
Within the Golden Hour
“Petite Maria Kochetkova melted effortlessly into the firm grip of Joan Boada; here was an astonishingly seamless adagio and a flawless duo who made it hard to tell which of them was instigating the first move.”
LA Times
San Francisco Ballet American Tour: Chicago
Within the Golden Hour
“Wheeldon has crafted a series of hauntingly lovely duets for three principals couples, with particularly hypnotic dancing by the petite, technically bravura, highly expressive Maria Kochetkova (a standout dancer in all of the company’s programs) and her partner, Joan Boada”
Chicago Tribune
San Francisco Ballet American Tour: Chicago
Don Quixote Pas de Deux
“As for the gala, there were three standout sections [including the] grand pas de deux from “Don Quixote,” in which Kochetkova and Boada set the stage on fire.”
Chicago Tribune
San Francisco Ballet American Tour: Chicago
On a Theme of Paganini
“At its heart is an utterly glorious pas de deux, telegraphing Tomasson’s riveting sense of drama, danced exquisitely Wednesday at the Harris Theater by creamy, swarthy Davit Karapetyan and delicate Maria Kochetkova, one of the more artful ballerinas on view during this visit by the San Francisco Ballet, where Tomasson is artistic director.”
Chicago Tribune
“Tomasson’s strongest work here is in the more intimate sequences, with tiny, delicate, Russian-bred Maria Kochetkova wholly captivating in the way she seemed to completely defy gravity with her exquisite pointe work”
Chicago Sun-Times
San Francisco Ballet Program 5
On a Theme of Paganini
“The sweet innocence that made her “Giselle” heartbreaking proves magical again here, as Kochetkova kisses Davit Karapetyan’s forehead and curls up so tiny inside his burly arms.”
San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Ballet
Giselle
“Balletomanes in the ornate lobby of the San Francisco War Memorial seemed busy Saturday evening, discussing what will happen in a few days. Instead of focusing on the business at hand, the opening of the “Giselle” revival with the “A cast,” talk was all about the coming role debut Tuesday of Bolshoi’s/Royal Ballet’s Maria Kochetkova, to be partnered by Joan Boada.”
The Examiner
“The buzz among serious ballet watchers is for Maria Kochetkova, who will make her company debut as Giselle on Tuesday.”
San Francisco Chronicle
“Maria Kochetkova did not disappoint in San Francisco Ballet’s “Giselle” last night. Yes, she is tiny, porcelain-skinned, and feather light, but the key to her interpretation was this: You could see how much trust she was putting in her Albrecht, and just how dangerous and exhilarating that trust was. When Albrecht sat on the bench next to her, when she counted out the “he-loves-me-he-loves-me-not” flower petals–none of this happened with a coy flutter of lashes, but instead with swallows of fear. Even little passages like the series of piques where she kisses her fingers and they touch hands became not mere flirtations, but tests–can I trust you?–followed by not just romantic elation, but relief. Her Albrecht Joan Boada nuzzled her like a kitten he’d taken in from the cold, while in his rakish excitement we saw the mounting danger, that he did not realize the magnitude of sin he was committing in toying with such a delicate soul.
The first act was pure drama, and rightly so, Kochetkova’s technique unostentatious–even her fleet jumps seemed an expression of Giselle’s irrepressible joy in dancing, not feats for their own sake. Surprisingly, Kochetkova does not have a huge arabesque penchee to dazzle us with, but in the second act, she called on that buoyant jump again, a benevolent wisp in the air on that series of changements with one foot in coupe. Meanwhile, Boada was in good form with beautiful feet and a stretch that reaches well beyond his small proportions. He was an extravagantly penitent Albrecht, replacing the fluttering beaten jumps that so pierced the heart in Tiit Helimets’ interpretation with an odd run of frenzied brisees.
The final moments were telling. In Yuan Yuan Tan’s performance, as Giselle sunk back into the grave, Tan lolled her head as though to protest leaving him, almost like Odette in the second act of “Swan Lake.” In Kochetkova’s final moments, she gazed upon Albrecht lovingly, but she did not shake in protest of their separation. She accepted it–and everything: his betrayal of her, his penitence. This was not a tragic final parting, but a bittersweet one. It seemed to me perfectly in character. And it made this performance of “Giselle” one I will never forget.”
Rachel Howard
“Maria Kochetkova, the company’s new prima ballerina direct from Russia, turned in a company debut performance that was instantly legendary.”
SF Mike
San Francisco Ballet Program 2 Opening Night
Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes
“Maria Kochetkova makes whatever she dances darling.”
San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Ballet at 75 Diamond Gala
Pas de Deux from La Esmeralda
“Meanwhile fellow Cuban Joan Boada struck up a heated new partnership with Kochetkova, he dashing with usual recklessness through tours while she delighted the standing-room die-hards with her fouette turns, not only tossing in ample doubles but rotating her spot (a gyroscopic feat much harder than it looks).”
San Francisco Chronicle
“Petite and lightning-fast Maria Kochetkova, who joined the troupe last fall, has found a congenial partner in Joan Boada. Their pas de deux from “La Esmeralda” sparkled with whipping turns, flying jetés and an insouciant sense of competition.”
San Jose Mercury News
“In the boy-and-girl-outdo-each-other category, Joan Boada and company newcomer Maria Kochetkova both showed world-class technique and consummate artistry in the classic ‘La Esmeralda’ pas de deux.”
The Examiner
San Francisco Ballet Opening Night
Nutcracker
“There were surprises to fuel little-girl ballerina dreams and grown-up balletomane ravings alike, and sometimes – especially in the sensational debut of the new Russian-trained principal Maria Kochetkova – both at once.
Kochetkova, a 23-year-old recruit from the English National Ballet, is tiny and light, a sparrow. In the closing Grand Pas de Deux, she seemed hardly to touch the floor, and when she leapt toward her Nutcracker cavalier, Davit Karapetyan, for a diabolically difficult shoulder-sit, she landed as though she’d simply flitted to a fresh branch.
Her variation (you know the famous music from the game Tetris and a million TV ads, come on, sing along) was a marvel of birdlike crispness. And don’t forget her fouette turns in the coda: copious doubles so natural you nearly giggled. Now throw on top of all of this Karapetyan’s own virtuosity: sissones so high and split in the air they were like scissors snapping open and shut. The response from parents and children both was rapturous.”
San Francisco Chronicle
“Maria Kochetkova, the company’s newest import from Russia (via the English National Ballet), is a “different” dancer. Quite without the thin, elongated figure of a typical ballerina, the tiny dancer has it all: a self-possessed, intense, regal artist, she exudes the air of a genuine star.”
Examiner
“It wasn’t until the Grand Pas de Deux by petite firebrand Maria Kochetkova and Davit Karapetyan that magical Tchiakovsky again met lush, magical dancing. Armenian-born Karapetyan is an athletic yet lyrical dancer who can combine geometrically pure virtuosity with a certain warm irony, as he did Thursday during the Grand Pas de Deux. His turns in second rotatedwith clockwork surety, and his leaps and beats were preternaturally secure. He partnered Russian-born Kochetkova, who combined a sparkling blend of robust attack and precise lyricism, effortlessly. And it was then that full magic of “Nutcracker” returned, the pairsewing up the night with enough wizardry to meet Drosselmeyer toe to toe.”
Contra Costa Times
English National Ballet Opening Night
Nutcracker
“On the first night, Maria Kochetkova was a vivacious Clara. She has a sweeping line, and dances with expansive glee.”
Independent
“With the exception of Maria Kochetkova’s fleet Clara and Fernando Bufala’s whipcrack Russian, the performances tended to be fine rather than great…”
Telegraph
“All this is achieved partly by the prominence given throughout to Drosselmeyer, presented as showman, magician and also storyteller. Fabian Reimair, good-looking and surprisingly young for this role, played it on opening night with cheerful charm, making much of a strong personality and polished technique. Young Maria Kochetkova matched him equally as the heroine, little Clara – a real poppet.”
Stage
“Maria Kochetkova made an elegant debut in Clara’s russet bob and white satin pyjamas, skimming through feathery lifts with Yat-Sen Chang’s springy Nutcracker prince.”
Financial Times
English National Ballet
Alice in Wonderland
“Maria Kochetkova is a charming and spirited Alice.”
The Sunday Times
“The best dancing came from Sarah McIlroy’s enjoyably nasty Queen of Hearts and Maria Kochetkova’s sweetly droopy Dormouse.”
The Financial Times
* Denotes premiere in role