Twenty-nine-year-old Andrea Laššáková is from Dolny Kubin, Slovakia, but like so many in the ballet world left home early, moving to Bratislava to study dance at the age of 10. By the age of 17, she was in the Slovak National Ballet as a demi-soloist and joined the Finnish National Ballet two years later dancing featured and leading roles, including the principal couple in Jerome Robbins’ masterpiece Glass Pieces. A year after this she was recruited by Mikhail Messerer to join the Mikhailovsky Theatre in St. Petersburg as a coryphée. Laššáková spent seven seasons at the Mikhailovsky, rising to the rank of first soloist, where she danced principal roles in the majority of the classical repertoire, including Odette/ Odile in Swan Lake, Medora in Le Corsaire, Gamzatti in La Bayadere, Myrta in Giselle and Queen of the Dryads in Don Quixote. While at Mikhailovsky, she was fortunate enough to be coached first by Tatiana Nikolaevna Legat of the legendary Legat ballet dynasty, as the last student that she took under her wing, and then by Zhanna Ismaelovna Ayupova, People’s Artist of Russia and former prima ballerina of the Mariinsky Theatre.
Then the war came. Although Laššáková felt that there had been many incredible aspects to working in Russia, such as the deep respect and honor they have for classical art, and the centuries of tradition that they uphold in the theaters, she also recognized that there were many areas of life in Russia that made her question if Russia was the right place for her. Then the war began. As she recounted: “We left suddenly, in a way that was very difficult and verging on traumatic. We came to America without any real plan and just had to keep pushing ahead despite having no idea what the future held. Every day was a new adventure and it felt like every week was a new location. Fortunately, out of all of the uncertainty came incredible opportunities. We are forging our own path and I couldn’t be more grateful to be back on course working towards fulfilling my dreams in a free country, where I will feel proud and blessed to continue my career. So, despite everything that’s happening in the world, especially in Russia and Ukraine, we are still able to perform and share our beautiful art.
Many of us come from different countries now, but we can come here and feel like it is our home, and feel that we belong. I hope every day for the safety of my friends and loved ones in Russia and all of the Russian people that are against the war, this project I think of also as a way to honour what has happened with what I do: a wonderful opportunity to express myself through my art, in a safe and supportive environment, working with some of the greatest artists in the world, on some of the best repertoire that there is. It brings the best parts of Russian ballet together and I hope it continues for as long as possible.”
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