Moscow (AFP)

In their bedroom, Margarita Chraïner and Igor Tsvirko installed a linoleum carpet and a bar: this is the minimum that these dancers from the legendary Bolshoi Theater could do, to stop because of the coronavirus, to stay in shape.

"I don't think I've gotten bigger, that's the main thing," smiles Igor Tsvirko, soloist who notably played the main roles in the ballets "Ivan the Terrible" and "Nureyev".

At her side, Margarita Chraïner massages her feet with a tennis ball before doing a splits. As a couple for over a year, the two young dancers have lived together in this apartment owned by the Moscow theater.

The building houses several other Bolshoi dancers and it was outside the building that the acid attack against the artistic director of the theater took place in 2013, a resounding news item that had shaken the institution .

They only started training again this week, more than a month after the start of confinement in Moscow, the main source of coronavirus in Russia. Given via the Zoom application, their training is led by a teacher taking steps in his bedroom, against the backdrop of piano accompaniment.

In front of their screen, the dancers jump a few times and then finish stretching. "We did a little cardio," explains Margarita Chraïner, 26, before embarking on a few steps with her partner.

"We were probably lucky to be able to keep in shape" by being a duo, smiles the dancer whose performances in "Coppélia" and "Carmen Suite" were noticed.

For several weeks, it was up to them to create their own training routine and find the necessary equipment. Even their ballet shoes have "worn out" when they could not get new ones, says Igor Tsvirko.

At the start of confinement, "the Bolshoi gave very important and useful advice: keep in shape and find a way to do ballet in self-isolation," says Igor Tsvirko. "This is what we, the interpreters, do: find linoleum, bars."

While they are speaking, the theater has brought in rolls of black dance mats, a special format with strong adhesion.

- "Stronger" -

The director general of the theater, Vladimir Ourine, in an interview with the daily Kommersant in early April, said that it was impossible to organize online courses for the troupe of 250 Bolshoi dancers.

According to Igor Tsvirko, the Bolshoi leadership did not immediately grasp the interest of videoconferencing to give lessons. "I think it is mainly due to the fact that some people are not familiar with the technical innovations that exist," he said.

They were forced to do so when, according to Vladimir Ourine, the "good" scenario does not envisage a reopening of the theater before the next season in September, estimates confirmed by Igor Tsvirko.

"I doubt that anyone will start working before September," he regrets, impatient to return to the scene.

"This atmosphere when you come in, warm up and talk to your favorite costume designers, your make-up artists - the little butterflies in my stomach, this is probably what I miss the most".

On the physical level, the couple prepared for "a difficult return period for the artists, to regain strength" when the ballets will start again, in the words of Margarita Chraïner.

The spectators will also change, adds Igor Tsvirko: "They will certainly take precautions, will probably sit down with masks and gloves".

But the two dancers are also worried about the economic cost of the pandemic, for their country as for their art: "Russia, for sure, is in economic crisis, like the whole world in general so the question will concern the cost of tickets".

Vladimir Ourine told Kommersant he feared that a later opening than September would be synonymous with financial disaster. But the dancers are optimistic and believe in a return of the troop with renewed energy.

"I hope that people will not weaken during this period but that they will only be stronger," said Igor Tsvirko.

© 2020 AFP