Opulent production of historic Swan Lake ballet in Cork next month
Katerina Petrova and Tsetso Ivanov at Cork Opera House last year. Picture: David Creedon
“Every working day begins with a ballet class. After that we have a series of rehearsals,” explains Romanian-born ballerina, Katerina Petrova. “Sometimes we have to rehearse several titles at once, which is quite exhausting both physically and mentally. Especially as each ballet performance has its own quirks.”
Principal dancer Katerina first travelled to Ireland last November to perform with Cork City Ballet in their production of Katerina is a Prima Ballerina of Sofia State Ballet. She travels and dances with her husband Tsetso Ivanov, and is mother to a young son.
Ahead of her appearance in the Cork City Ballet’s full-scale production of Tchaikovsky’s at the Cork Opera House next month, we sat down with her to ask about her lifestyle, training methods, and her impressions of Ireland.
“Our daily life is quite busy, but at the same time, it’s also quite diverse," she explains.
The best thing is that we have the opportunity to travel, dance on different stages, which always keeps things interesting. It is hard,” Katerina admits.
“Already with a small child, my life has changed completely. I am very grateful to all our loved ones who help us out a lot. When we travel for work, the little one stays with grandparents, but when we are on vacation, he is always with us. We love to travel and spend time having adventures together.
"The best part is performing on stage in front of an audience," smiles Katerina. "When you see the full hall and hear the applause. It makes me feel happy and know that the work I put in was justified and everything made sense. The most difficult thing is the daily struggle trying to be in the best condition for work, as well as having sometimes to overcome physical pain or various problems from this lifestyle.
Now Katerina and her dance partner — her husband, Tsetso — are back in Cork as Cork City Ballet celebrates its 30th anniversary with a production of from November 2-4.
“I really like Cork,” Katerina says. “When we first arrived everyone was celebrating Halloween. I liked that the streets were full of life. The architecture is very beautiful, but what I liked most was the warm welcome of the people we met and worked with. I am extremely grateful to Alan Foley for the invitation and for his friendly attitude. I am happy that we will again have the opportunity to visit this beautiful city and work together."
“My encounter with ballet happened by chance," says Katerina. “When I was little, there were rhythmic gymnastics groups at school, I really liked it, and that's when I was first introduced to ballet. My love for it started gradually. I became more and more familiar with this art form, and over time I became more convinced that this would be my profession. I am grateful to my parents for taking me to ballet and supporting every decision I made.
Tsetso and I met in the dance hall. They started letting us dance together and that's how we got closer. We started talking for hours, about everything, not just ballet. And not long after, we were commissioned to dance . Then I felt that there was more going on between us than a partnership on stage.
For 11 years now we have been sharing our lives on and off the stage, and our most important role came with the appearance of our son Kristiyan. I love to dance. It fulfills me and has always given me the opportunity to best show what I feel and feel. If sometimes in my everyday life I have to hide some of my emotions, on stage I have no reason to do so.
I don't have time for other styles outside of classical ballet. I absolutely love watching people dance the tango and I've always wanted to learn. I hope one day I can give myself this pleasure.
In my opinion, it is Tchaikovsky's music that captivates the audience, because there are many different choreographies of this performance around the world. Also, the story of the swan princess bewitched by the evil wizard Rothbart, the two images of Odette and Odile, and the love of the prince is an interesting and fascinating tale. In addition, everyone recognises the famous dance of the four little swans, which is emblematic of this performance.
If my son Kristiyan has the desire to dance, I would never stop him, even though I know how much work, will and persistence lies behind the beauty of this art. But only if he wants, I would never insist against his will. I love it and I love him."
