Russian Ballet and One Month Down

Originally Published 09/21/2014

The Kremlin and the Kremlin Ballet

Yesterday was amazing, to say the least. It started slow, but ended beautifully.

We went to the Kremlin in the morning, with hopes of seeing the military parade. We missed it by a few minutes, though. Despite that minor setback, we went through several cathedrals on the grounds of the Kremlin. They were quite beautiful and very interesting.

I won’t lie; we got a little rambunctious prior to entering the cathedrals. Our coordinator gave us time to walk the area and take photos, which I did. I also may have joined a photo scavenger hunt competition with Jess and Jordan. We were determined to take “selfies” with several different characters throughout the crowded square. We all chickened out on some of our challenges and therefore had fewer prime photos from our challenge. It was a fun experience though!

After enjoying the cathedrals, we went home to eat and get dressed up for the ballet. I was ecstatic to be seeing the Russian ballet. As soon as I made the decision to come to Russia, I determined that I would see the Russian ballet, no matter what. Luckily, as soon as we arrived in Moscow, our local coordinator set us up with tickets to see the Kremlin Ballet. Granted, my real dream was to see the Bolshoi Ballet, after all, they are the best in the world. Knowing that the Bolshoi Ballet is rather expensive, I understood and appreciated why we took the discount path. Our ballet tickets were for Giselle. 

There were several things that stood out to me about this ballet:

• There was not a live orchestra. I assumed that the Kremlin Ballet could afford to have an orchestra. It would really be a worthwhile investment because the CD they were playing kept skipping. The dancers were confused every time the sound would cut out. I really felt bad for the performers. They have practiced for so long, and to have inconsistent audio during their performance is a real bummer.

• There were several dancers who were off in their performance. There were always at least two girls who were out of line in their formations, which was highly distracting. Those girls were also slightly off on their feet. The other dancers would be en-pointe, but the two or three were not. I am somewhat picky about things like that, as I used to be a dancer. I have also attended several professional ballets, so I know what to look for.

• The audience’s attire was atrocious. Our coordinator told us that it wasn’t a big deal if we dressed up for the ballet, but I personally made a big deal to everyone that it was very important that we do dress up for the ballet. I find it to be highly disrespectful to arrive at a professional performance underdressed. You wouldn’t go to the symphony in sweatpants. You wouldn’t attend a Broadway musical in a tracksuit. You should not attend the ballet in jeans and a tee-shirt. There was an overwhelming and rather appalling amount of people wearing ripped jeans and graphic tee shirts. I realize that this is not the Bolshoi Ballet, but you are at the Kremlin Ballet, so act professionally.

• Complete and total lack of respect for the performers from audience members. I heard several phones ring during the ballet. Many audience members were laughing through the ballet. If you are going to laugh at every incredible movement that this dancer does, please leave the auditorium. Also, you are NOT at a hoedown. This is not the time nor place to begin rhythmic clapping while the performer is dancing. Save your applause until their solo is finished. Thank you!

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There are ballet performances every single night this week. Many of which are actually Russian ballets, such as the Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and The Snow Maiden (all of which were composed by Peter Tchaikovsky). Don’t get me wrong- I thoroughly enjoyed Giselle. Really, I did. It was great to see, and I loved it. It was beautiful and powerful. Heck, I cried through most of it! As much as I loved the performance, I think I would have preferred seeing a ballet that originated in Russia and not in France. I just think that everyone in my ILP group would have gotten something more out of the experience if we had seen a different performance. 

I promise that this was not me trying to complain about the ballet, these are merely some of my observations. I really, really loved it. I saw the Russian ballet as I have always wanted and it was incredible. I can’t fully make judgments in regards to the Russian ballet, because I didn’t see the world-renowned Bolshoi Ballet, I saw the Kremlin Ballet. I’m sure that if I went to see the Bolshoi Ballet, I would have no complaints whatsoever. I suppose it’s true that you get what you pay for. Tickets for the Kremlin Ballet were less than $20 and tickets for Bolshoi range from $200-$1000. Not everyone is as interested in the ballet as me, so there’s no point in making ten students fork out that kind of money for the big ballet.

Overall, the ballet was beautiful, and I know that it will stick with me for the rest of my life.

One Month Down

Okay, changing gears, I have been in Russia for almost a month now! Can you believe it? I can’t. This next Saturday will mark one month since I’ve been here. I would do a “one month post,” but I will be in Latvia and Lithuania this weekend, so I will not have time to make a post about it. I also don’t know if I will have time to make a post during this week, so in honor of being here for one month, here is my list of Things That Take Some Getting Used to in Russia:

• The stench. We are talking body odor here, people. Europeans seem to think that hygiene is overrated. I don’t know why, but most people I come across here in Russia, smell like an outhouse. It gets exceptionally overwhelming when you are on the metro during rush hour, and everyone’s stinky armpits are in your face… which brings me to item number two.
• The metro. It took me a couple of weeks to understand this complex metro system. Maybe I’m just mentally challenged, but I had no clue where I was for the longest time. It wasn’t until I was hopelessly lost in the middle of Moscow, that I finally understood the system. I still struggle a little bit when it comes to transfers. Some of the transfers make me feel like I’m in a little mouse maze, praying that I find the right metro.The stench. We are talking body odor here, people. Europeans seem to think that hygiene is overrated. I don’t know why, but most people I come across here in Russia, smell like an outhouse. It gets exceptionally overwhelming when you are on the metro during rush hour, and everyone’s stinky armpits are in your face… which brings me to item number two.
• Portion sizes– way too much food or not enough. When I go out to eat, I find myself hungry afterward. The portions are small and aren’t filling enough to satisfy my needs after a long day. At home, however, the nanny feeds me entirely too much. I think she looks at the obesity rate in America and thinks, “Wow, those Americans sure like to eat, I bet this skinny little American can eat three pounds of spaghetti by herself.” I’m not exaggerating that much either with that three pounds of spaghetti comment. She will cook food for me and pile my plate up. I’m talking a heaping, rounded plate full. By the time I approach the bottom of my plate I want to explode. But I’m not done yet, so I begin taking big mouthfuls of food and gulping them down with water to make it go down faster. If she would give me just a small portion and then allow me to come in for seconds, I think we would all be much happier…and healthier.
• Grumpy people on the streets. I know I have said it before, but Russians are not the jolliest of people on the street. You know how when you are in a really good mood, you smile at random people on the street? That’s how I was when I first arrived in Russia. I was super excited to be here and wanted to smile at everyone, then realized that they thought I was crazy because of it. It took a little while to realize that no one smiles in public. People don’t get excited in public, so we definitely stand out in a group.
• Smoke. Smoke everywhere. You know, Americans should be very proud of the progress they have made in anti-smoking campaigns. You can’t walk two feet on the street without going through a gray cloud of smoke. The smell of cigarettes isn’t quite as pungent as they are back in America, but it’s definitely strong. I often get headaches from the smell of cigarettes, so it has taken some time to develop immunity to the headaches.
• Waiting. We do a lot of waiting in Moscow. You wait for your group to arrive, then wait for your metro to arrive, you wait on the metro, then wait for class to start, you wait for your students to arrive, you wait for the metro again and repeat the process somewhere else. When I think of big metropolises, I think of the hustle and bustle of the city. People flitting from one place to the next. Although Moscow is one of the largest cities in the world, it is a fairly slow-paced place. The people like to take their time going from place to place, that is, unless they are trying to get on the metro and you are getting off too slowly, then they get very grouchy and pushy.
• The Language. I definitely struggle with the language barrier. I really need to push myself to understand Russian better. I just have a hard time with the language construction. Seeing that I’ve been here for a month and only know a few phrases, I think it’s time to step up my game. Mastering the alphabet could be a good thing too.
  • Even though I do not understand a lick of Russian, I have gotten used to not understanding, if that makes sense. The sound of people talking is just white noise. I kind of miss the humor of hearing an awkward part of someone’s conversation as you walk by, but I know I will get my fill of that in a few months. For now, I am just embracing the joy of not understanding.
• The water. I realize that there are places in the world with far worse water conditions than they have here, but I must say how incredibly grateful I am for clean water in America. The tap water here is technically safe because they heavily chlorinate it.
  • One night, I needed to take my melatonin (I’ve got insomnia) and we were out of clean cups- and bottled water. On a whim, I thought, “Hey, I’ll just stick my head under the faucet like I do in America and pop this pill.” It was a huge mistake. My throat immediately burned from the chlorine. Imagine gulping a bunch of water from the kiddie pool at the rec center- that is what it tasted like. I ended up having to eat some food to wash the taste away. Everyone here buys gallons of purified water, which is great, but I definitely miss the ease and convenience of tap water. Also, I’m convinced that Russians don’t casually drink water. I’m perpetually thirsty because I can’t find any water.
• Weird mystery meat. I don’t know what the deal is, but Russians like to pulverize their meat. They can have a thick, plump chicken breast, look at it and then decide, “Nah, that looks too good. I should definitely squash it so it is flat, weird and tasteless.” Not every household does this, but I have definitely seen a trend of abusing perfectly juicy cuts of meat.

I think that covers most of it. Oh! I have a quick story for you then I am calling it quits for this post.

A Bonus Rant About Hot Dogs

So, here in Russia, they call hotdogs, sausages. Not a problem. I like hot dogs. But, I have noticed that every time the nanny cooks sausages for me I feel sick after, which is weird because I have cooked those sausages myself and never felt sick. I had always associated the sick feeling with the fact that she feeds me way too much food. The other day, I figured out what the source of my sickness was. Each hot dog is individually wrapped in a thin plastic casing, which you are supposed to cut off, obviously. The nanny grabbed two hot dogs and threw them into some boiling water with the plastic still on. I was pretty freaked out but just embraced it, thinking that maybe that package doesn’t have the plastic wrap on it. She served the hot dogs to me, and I saw writing from the plastic sleeve burned into the hot dog. There was Russian writing on my hot dog, meaning that the plastic had seeped into the hot dog. I took a couple of bites, trying to appease the nanny but immediately felt sick. The plastic had definitely gone into the hot dog. I couldn’t just leave it on my plate, because I didn’t want to offend her. I ended up gulping the plastic sausages down with water. I have definitely cracked the case of ‘Why do the hot dogs kill my stomach?’ I will not be accepting “sausages” from her ever again.

Okay, that’s it for me. Sorry, this post was pretty long, drawn-out, and random. I hope you have an excellent week. If I don’t get a chance to write before I leave for Latvia, have a good weekend too.

Love you all,

Madison