The ballerina of Austrian origin admitted that only in Russia did her dream come true

— Prisca, did you think that fate would turn out this way: that you would live and work in Russia, and you would be perceived as a Russian ballerina of Austrian origin?

“I probably didn’t think so, but I always had this desire – to dance here and study here.” You have a magnificent ballet.

— I would like to understand – is it better for you here than in Germany, where you danced before coming to Russia?

— It was also good in Germany, but here traditions are still stronger. In Vienna, at my school there was a Russian ballet teacher – Galina Skuratova. And in the troupe of the Vienna Opera, where I later joined, Russian ballerinas worked – Olga Esina, Maria Yakovleva. I saw them dancing. And one more thing is important – here the audience appreciates art more and understands more. Of course, in Germany too, and I don’t want to say anything bad, but there, for example, it’s not so important for the viewer who is dancing. And here the audience chooses which lineup to go and watch.

-You speak Russian quite fluently. Where did you learn the language?

— It’s hard to say so… I started learning Russian with a teacher early because I was interested in Russian culture. I wanted to understand what the Russian dancers were saying, to understand their comments. And plus, I think it’s a very beautiful language. Then, when I worked in Munich, I also taught, because Mikhail Zelensky and Yana Serebryakova worked there. Of course, we spoke English, but then I took Russian more seriously.

— After moving to St. Petersburg, was it difficult to adapt? How does your Austro-German mentality get along with the Russian one? Still, these are two big differences.

– It’s not difficult to get along at all. Probably because I’m still in the theater all day, doing what I love, dancing a lot, like never before in my life. The people here are very kind, I was warmly received by the troupe, and so were the audience. In general, life here is good for me.

— Six months is not a long time, but perhaps during this time you became disillusioned with something, your illusions disappeared?

– No, it turned out even better than I thought. In Europe we don’t have the opportunity to work so much – we simply don’t have so many performances. And here in just six months I danced as much as in Germany or Austria in a year.

— I won’t leave you alone with the difference in mentality: the Germans love order, they are better organized, but we Russians are still such goofballs. Especially creative people.

— First, the Austrians are not as organized as the Germans. Secondly, I don’t like to live according to a schedule, so I like it here better. Our profession requires discipline, and if they say that I dance in the evening, it would not occur to me to say that I had already worked for eight hours and therefore cannot dance. I like to work like this: they said: “I’m dancing,” which means I must be ready.

– Maybe you are afraid of offending someone here and answer questions with caution?

– No, that’s not true. I really like everything, and I am grateful for the opportunity to dance so much to the management of the ballet and theater. After all, I dance with almost the entire troupe, I have many different partners – this is a new experience for me.

— You weren’t afraid to go to perform in Crimea, although you could have been subject to sanctions and it is now clear that it was the trip to Crimea that provoked your departure from the Munich Opera? After all, the management didn’t really like it.

– No, I wasn’t afraid. I don’t know if it’s possible to say this in Russian, but now it’s double standard. Double standards – some are allowed, others are not. The ballerina still works in Germany, and she continues to travel to Russia and back – without problems. But this is none of my business – I am responsible for myself. I’m actually very glad that it all worked out this way. Everything could have ended badly or well for me, but it turned out well.

— Did you warn the management in advance that you were going to Crimea at the invitation of the Mikhailovsky Theater? And how did they talk to you in the theater after this trip? Did you offer to leave of your own free will or were you fired immediately?

“I didn’t say anything at the theater because it was my vacation.” But someone saw the posters with my name on them and informed management. Some bad person did this. Then the administration told me that it was not a very good idea to go to Crimea, but they added: “it’s your decision, think about it.” And just before my vacation, the director came to me, said that he had heard about my desire to perform in Crimea and warned: “If you are leaving, we need to fire you.” He said so. But in fact, they couldn’t fire me, they just hoped that I would get scared and refuse the trip.

– And you are brave.

– For the last two years in the theater it didn’t matter how you dance, politics became more important there… The Ukrainian flag hangs at the theater. And besides, I’ve been dancing very little for the last year, so I didn’t lose anything. All that remained was to wait for the roles. When I returned from Crimea, I already received a letter from the directorate. It didn’t say that I was fired, but it said that if this happened again, they would have a reason to refuse me and the right to fire me.

– So, you were warned?

– Yes. And in Munich the season opened with Paquita, where I was supposed to dance. But Laurent Hilaire (he previously worked in Moscow at Stasik) said that I would not come out to open the season. “We didn’t know if you would come back,” he explained to me. I was ready for this. Maybe they were counting on me to admit that I made a mistake, to repent – is that the right word? This is the story.

– How much pain did you feel at that moment?

– You know, not very much, because… I wasn’t very happy in Munich last year, although I lived there for seven years. In general, I continued to go to rehearsals, but I knew that I wouldn’t be on stage because I support Russia. That’s what they told me…

– Do you accept the idea that you can return there?

– Right now, probably not. And I don’t want to. Maybe later, when everything calms down. I’m here now, and the only pity is that we artists can’t go wherever we want. We, artists, I didn’t hurt anyone – neither German, nor Ukrainian, nor Russian people. I just wanted to do my job, and I had the opportunity to dance with the stars of Russian and world ballet. Such chances are rare.

— A difficult question: if you were now offered to go to America or England to dance with Robert Bolle or one of the other ballet stars, but under one condition, you need to make a statement – condemn Russia, admit that I was wrong. Would you go for it?

– No. I did what I did. And I felt that I was right. Yes, I wouldn’t say that, because I don’t think so.

— Your relatives – dad, mom, brothers (you seem to have four of them)…. what they say, how they evaluate the fact that you work in Russia, a country that has been made an outcast.

– Actually, I have more relatives – five brothers and a sister. And I am neither the eldest nor the youngest, I am in the middle. Everyone has different opinions, but my mother is very happy that I have a lot of work. She knows that I have always worked hard, but never had the opportunity to perform that much. Now I have eight, sometimes nine performances a month. Everyone is happy that I’m dancing, but it’s just, you know, everyone has their own opinions.

– But no one broke off relations with you? I know from our people how ties in one family are broken, bridges are burned. There is nothing to say about friends.

– No, we have normal relations with each other.

– How is your day going now?

— I wake up at 9.30, at 10.00 and go to class. Then a rehearsal and a performance in the evening. I still need time to try on costumes – in general, I live in the theater.

– Do you have a personal life?

– Well… while I’m here.

— Are you renting an apartment?

– No, the theater has an apartment – I live there.

— How is your life organized: do you cook, do shopping, and so on?

– Oh, I rarely cook, I go to the buffet here – I’m probably lazy.

— Where have you managed to go in these six months, what Russian cities have you seen?

— A little, I was on tour in Moscow and Novosibirsk, and in the summer in Crimea.

-What is your favorite game?

— The one I’m dancing at the moment. Since childhood, I have always dreamed of dancing Kitri in Don Quixote, and I am already dancing in Hidalgo of La Mancha. And there will also be a premiere in the classic version. In general, I love classical ballet.

— In the ballet “Giselle,” which the Mikhailovsky Theater just brought to Moscow, your heroine goes crazy. Is it difficult or easy to go crazy on stage? Can you go crazy with your artistic director Vladimir Kekhman?

— With Vladimir Abramovich? Oh, no, no. And on stage… Sometimes it’s difficult, sometimes not, but Kekhman has nothing to do with it. I actually have a little fear before the madness scene. But I danced this part back in Munich.

— Is there an ideal in ballet for you?

— I always liked Mikhail Baryshnikov and especially what he once said: “I don’t want to be better than others. Only better than myself.” I really liked this expression and, of course, the way he dances. And also, of course, Svetlana Zakharova: I always looked at her and… I don’t have enough words, excuse me… I admired her – should I say so? And I really like Victoria Tereshkina, she used to perform in Vienna. Then I looked for her video on YouTube. In general, I always look for inspiration from others. Our profession is such that everyone has something special. We all love what we do, and the public can see it.

– Your Russian is good. Are there any problems with Russian cuisine?

– No. For me, food is not a cult at all. I really love… cheesecakes. In Austria, they don’t make these. We don’t even have that kind of cottage cheese. I also like pancakes, but in general I like everything. No, I’m not a vegan, I also eat meat, but in small quantities.

— Is there a special diet that ballerinas follow? Aren’t you exhausting yourself?

– No. I eat a little in the morning and a little in the evening. And you don’t need to eat before the performance.

“We’ve been talking to you for about forty minutes, and I get the feeling that you are surrounded by exceptionally wonderful people, that everything is fine. But that doesn’t happen in life.

– I know. Probably, in my life I have never felt that everything was fine. And now is such a period that it’s really good. There are problems at home, in my soul, but I don’t like to talk about it. It’s better to focus on the good.

-Have you made any friends? Who are you friends with?

— We communicate with partners, of course. With the girls from the corps de ballet, they support me.

– How do they address you? The name is not simple.

– Well, Prisca they say. And also – Priskochka and Priskulka.

— In the premiere performance “The Lady with the Camellias” you got the role from “Swan Lake” “Russian Dance”, you dance it so dashingly.

— It’s much easier for me: I’ve already danced “Russian Dance,” but I love it very much.

— “The Lady with Camellias” is a play about the difficult fate of a ballerina. Is this also about your life?

— Yes, I thought about it, that it’s difficult for ballerinas, that they also have a personal life. But if we talk about me, I would never leave the stage. I understand how much I have given to this profession and I cannot say no.

— Last question – can you say that your dream has come true?

– Yes. I want to work and live in Russia. This is where my life is now.