Evelyn Godunova
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The culmination of the Latvian National Ballet’s centenary will take place tomorrow, December 1st. It will be a brilliant gala concert, in which the Latvian ballet soloists working abroad – the soloist of the Berlin State Ballet EVELĪNA GODUNOVA and the premier of the ballet of Milan “Teatro alla Scala” Timofeys Andrijašenko with their stage mates will will perform together with the artists of the Latvian National Ballet.
We meet Evelina Godunova in a long-distance conversation in Berlin.
Internationally renowned Latvian dancer Evelina Godunova was born in 1991 in Riga, she graduated from the Riga School of Choreography. She studied at the Royal Ballet School in London and the Moscow Ballet Academy, as well as master classes in Vienna.
He began his career as an artist at the age of eleven at the Latvian National Opera, dancing the role of the page in the ballet “Swan Lake”. In 2015 she received the “Night of Players” award in the category “Performance of the Year in Ballet Art” for the role of Juliet in the ballet “Romeo and Juliet”.
He was a soloist of “Universal Ballet” in Seoul. In 2017 she became the first Latvian ballerina to win the gold medal and special prize of the prestigious Moscow International Ballet Competition. Since 2018 Evelina Godunova is the first soloist of the Berlin State Ballet. She has danced leading roles such as the Candy Fairy in “The Nutcracker”, Princess Aurora in “The Enchanted Princess”, the lead role in the ballet “Gisele”, Kitrie in “Don Quixote”, Juliet and others.
In 2018, the ballet magazine “Dance Europe” nominated her in the category “Best Ballerina of the Year”. She is the winner of numerous international ballet competitions: Seoul Ballet Competition in South Korea, XXIII Moscow International Competition in Russia, competitions in the United States, China, Italy, France, Ukraine and elsewhere.
– Evelina, do you remember the last time you danced on the stage of the Latvian National Opera?
Evelyn Godunova: – I don’t even remember exactly, actually it’s been a long, long time. If we talk about the show, the last time I danced in the Latvian National Opera was in 2015, when we went to Beijing with some Latvian ballets. So it turns out that “The Enchanted Princess” in the production of Aivars Leimanis was my last performance in Latvia. Three shows before the trip to Beijing, it seems it was June, on a beautiful summer evening, I also danced in Riga.
– Tomorrow, at the centenary gala concert of the Latvian National Ballet, you will dance Kitria from the ballet “Don Quixote”. Why exactly this choice?
– When I graduated from Riga Choreography High School in 2010, it was my big dream to perform this role on the stage of LNO together with Latvian dancers. Now, after speaking with the artistic director of the Latvian National Ballet, Aivaras Leimanis, we decided that this would be a unique opportunity to fulfill an old dream, and on the anniversary of such a beautiful ballet! Until now I have attended gala concerts with Kitria, but I danced the full role in a production at the Berlin State Ballet together with my partner Danīla Simkin.
– How would you describe your Kitria?
– Kitria is brave, breezy at the same time, with a sense of humor, loving, very elegant and knows how to flirt. “Don Quixote” is already a play about flirting, about love, about youth, about sunny Spain, when excitement, passion and love so sparklingly flow through the veins of young people.
– Is it important for a dancer as a personality that she also possesses the character traits of the role she is playing, in this case Kitria?
– Everything we dance, we also find it in ourselves. When a dancer creates a role, she always looks inside herself. And maybe those qualities that she never shows anywhere in life can finally be revealed on stage. But of course this is a little different. At this time, the ballerina like personality fades and Kitria, Gisele, your character comes to the fore and flourishes. A small seed as a facet of the character’s character, of course, also comes from the character of each dancer. Therefore, each dancer plays the same role differently. Each of us is unique.
– In which of the ballet styles do you feel best?
– I’m still a ballet dancer. I really like neoclassical and also contemporary dance, but I find myself more in great classical roles, dramatic characters who speak, who tell stories, who create a dialogue with the audience. Exciting!
– You have participated in many international competitions and you were the first to win one of the most prestigious ballet competitions in the world – the Moscow International Competition…
– It must be said that Latvia is lucky to have excellent male dancers. Mikhail Baryshnikov, Aleksandr Godunov (with Elina Godunova, it’s a coincidence of surnames. – VK) and Timofey Andriyashenko each won a competition in Moscow. But the truth is that in the women’s competition I was lucky enough to be the first and so far the only winner.
– What is the most vivid thing that has remained in your mind about the Moscow race?
– The stage of the Bolshoi Theater, which is really huge. You have to think about technical accuracy, be able to dance each step in the appropriate amplitude, be able to handle this phase. The eyes of many important and decisive personalities in the world of ballet look at you. So much stress, so much tension to bear, even more knowing that the competitors are very strong and there is a huge rivalry.
Evelina Godunova as Clara in Peter Tchaikovsky’s ballet “The Nutcracker” at the Berlin State Opera together with ballet soloist Dina Tamazlakar.
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– Sounds very powerful – Berlin State Ballet. How does this temple of art appear in your eyes?
– The Berlin State Ballet is one of the leading European stages. Big stars or from all over the world dance there. There are about a hundred people in the troupe, it is very international, cosmopolitan, there are many French artists among us, as well as dancers of many other nationalities, so our main working language is English. (Evelīna Godunova is the only one in this troupe not only from Latvia, but also from the Baltic states. – VK)
We have three stages – the historic building of the Berlin State Opera on the Unter den Linden boulevard, which is the most prestigious of the three opera houses in the German capital, then we also perform at the Berlin Comic Opera (for several years the musical the conductor of this opera was the Latvian conductor Ainārs Rubiķis – VK) and the Berlin German Opera. Since we do shows on all three stages mentioned, we have a lot of work.
– What about internal competition?
– I would not say that there is no envy among the dancers. Everyone is given opportunities and therefore there is no reason to get upset. Of course, each of us would like to dance more. Last year I was lucky enough to dance four performances of Don Quixote. The Berlin State Ballet has a phenomenal amount of them. Usually each dancer gets two or three performances, I have four! Therefore, there will be only two “Giseles” this year. Four performances might seem like a little, but for the Berlin State Ballet’s massive troupe, it’s actually a lot.
– What does it really mean to be a soloist at the Berlin State Ballet?
– This means work, discipline and more discipline. But I’ve been keeping up with it since childhood. Give your body to the ballet and you are just an instrument. The Berlin Ballet is not about you, your selfishness or how much you want to be on stage. It’s a story about art, beautiful technique, beautiful body lines.
A ballerina must do everything so that a person who has come to the ballet for the first time and, for example, has never seen “Swan Lake” or “The Enchanted Princess” in his life, understands what the ballerina is saying to him with her movements and through the music, and is so fascinated that he would like to open the doors of the ballet again and again.
– Are you recognized on the street in Berlin?
– It so happened that, while walking down the street, I accidentally hear passers-by say my name, let’s say, Um, Elina Godunova… It’s interesting and confusing. But also enjoyable. So there are people who love the art of ballet so much that they recognize us, dancers, without costumes and makeup.
– What are the most fatal turning points in your life?
– My fellow human beings have played the most important role in my career. My first ballet teacher, Rita Harlapa-Makova, who still works in a dance school in Riga, was one of those personalities who determined a lot in my destiny. Then Aivars Leimanis accepted me into the Latvian National Ballet company. There I experienced my first performances. After the competition, I was invited to work in South Korea. It was also a good turning point, because I met so many excellent educators in this country who gave me knowledge and inspired me.
And then the aforementioned Moscow International Competition, victory in it, first place and sympathy award. With that, many doors opened, I started to make myself known. An invitation came from the Berlin State Ballet. I’m really happy here. Ballet is both my work and my passion, a way of life, a way of life and a matter of my heart.
It means so much more than doing what you’re paid to do. And the lifestyle also means that, for example, at Christmas I will be in Berlin on stage dancing in “The Enchanted Princess”. The theater is also waiting for me on January 1st. It’s like that year after year. We celebrate the holiday at work on stage.
– What else fascinates you besides ballet?
– Art, especially painting – classical, renaissance, impressionist, contemporary art. In this sense, Berlin has everything your heart desires. When I have time, I run to see an exhibition that has just opened. Now, for example, in Potsdam, which is an hour’s drive from Berlin, similar to Jurmala from Riga, you can see surrealist paintings. Surrealist paintings were brought in from museums around the world. As soon as I have time, I will go to Potsdam. And I love music very much.
– And what will you visit first in Riga?
– The national stage for opera and ballet! Try our Don Quixote duet with a partner. I live in Berlin, my partner Yong Gyu Choi in Amsterdam. Let’s meet in Riga. We met in Seoul and I can say that Youngju is a very nice dancer and good partner. I’ve seen Seoul, he’s never seen Riga.
I intend to go together to an open-air restaurant in Piazza Doma where the only lighting is provided by candles. There is also a wonderful garlic jam which my partner must try. I look forward to meeting my mother, my family. We will be together again for a while.
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