Students of the A.Y. Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet, Saint Petersburg

 

From an idea to the appearance of Zidans items on the website, many steps remain behind the scenes, including the creation of beautiful content. We have been working with Alina Khanko for many years—a photographer who knows everything about ballet photography. How to position a foot to emphasise its elegance and lines, how to capture a jump so that the skirt flutters beautifully, and how to arrange several adults or little ballerinas for a successful composition—Alina possesses a vast arsenal of secret knowledge. Alina shoots in studios with different interiors, outside, in dance halls and theatres, and comes up with unconventional solutions. We admireher talent and wanted to learn more about her, so we interviewed her.

 

 

When asked why Alina photographs ballet, she answers without hesitation: "Ballet is my only passion and love in this material world. I am a fan of ballet. I consider it the highest form of art." As a child, she dreamed of becoming a ballerina, but she didn’t get a chance to pursue this direction: her parents were artists, and it wasn't part of their plans. "As a child, I had two options: a ballerina or a nun. In that order: if not a ballerina, then only the convent," Alina jokes.

It took many years to get into ballet. "At 35, a childhood block in my mind that ballet wasn't for me suddenly broke, and I went to study in a ballet studio for adults. My first job in the ballet sphere was shooting a video clip of a rehearsal for my first ballet teacher Anna Sysoeva's birthday. After that, everything rolled on like a beautiful snowball."

 

     

 

Today, Alina has been engaged in amateur ballet for many years. Indeed, "over the past year, due to busyness, I've only managed to attend ballet class a few times. Previously, when my demand in ballet photography wasn't as high as it is now, I would go almost every free evening. And it was never enough, never enough ballet! If I had my way, I would live in the ballet class!"

Alina's VK page states that she studied at the State University of Film and Television in Saint Petersburg, specializing in "Directing Multimedia and Animation." In conversation, it turned out that she only studied there for one year, and here's why. "I couldn't keep up with the pace of education," Alina explains, "it was too slow, and I needed everything right away. I adored the computer and everything associated with it. Having entered the university, I already confidently used programs like Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premier, Adobe After Effects; Corel Draw; to some extent, I self-taught 3DMax from books. But at the university, an elderly kind professor spent an entire academic year teaching students to work in PaintBrush, a basic image editing program. I barely managed to endure until the end of the academic year and decided that time was more valuable, and continued my education in computer graphics independently. I didn't have to work in the profession: I quickly realized that I couldn't create on demand, such as designing websites on topics far from me. I understood that you can only create about topics you are passionate about. I still didn't fully realize that I could somehow combine the theme of dance and artistic creation, so I banally went to work as a waitress in a restaurant. I had many jobs before becoming a photographer: while studying—I was a drawing teacher, and later—in the restaurant—I went from waitress to general manager."

 

The A.Y. Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet, Saint Petersburg. Photographer: Mark Olich

 

Alina didn't need to study to become a "ballet photographer." She says, "Two creative rivers merged at the right place and time." As she mastered classical choreography, she studied photography and video shooting—these two spheres developed in parallel, resulting in a beautiful and unexpected outcome. "Initially, I didn't think I would become a ballet photographer. I adored ballet, and ballet photography became a natural fruit of this love."

 

24.04.24 post in the 'Soul of Ballet' community.

 

We met Alina several years ago through her VK community "Soul of Ballet." Currently, the community has over 43,000 subscribers. Alina says she doesn't remember how old the community is, but it's been many years. "There was no specific goal in creating it—I just wanted to do something else that would be related to ballet. I wanted to read about it, write about it, look for ballet photos, make beautiful collages on ballet themes, inspire with quotes... Activity for the sake of activity!"

 

Students of the A.Y. Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet, Saint Petersburg

 

Alina conducts individual and group photo shoots for children and adults, and we were curious about whom she prefers to work with.

 

The A.Y. Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet, Saint Petersburg. Photographer: Mark Olich

 

"It's interesting to work with both children and adults. But, as evident from my work, my love for children, their bright eyes, their naturalness, purity, and vivid emotions reciprocates, and I most often have children coming for photo shoots. Working with adults is also interesting, as I understand them very well: I am like them, an adult passionate fan of ballet. Each shoot is unique in its own way, and this variety is what I love. I particularly enjoy group shoots: they offer broader possibilities for creating interesting compositions, rhythms, and patterns. Individual shooting is valuable for the work with a specific person." Alina happily adds about individual shooting with children: "The most valuable thing in my work is when a child leaves a shoot on wings of inspiration, spirituality, and self-belief!"

 

Andrey Orlov's JVBA Ballet Project

 

We have witnessed Alina's shoots multiple times and have enjoyed seeing how she establishes contact with everyone she photographs, allowing the person to open up and relax. What is the main secret to establishing this contact? Alina answers: "My heart is overflowing with love, which the Almighty blesses me with daily. This love spills over to everyone who comes to my shoots. Love is the only secret and the main ingredient of my creativity. Love for ballet and people."

 

The A.Y. Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet, Saint Petersburg. Photographer: Mark Olich

 

We asked Alina to share a strange, amusing, or curious incident on set that stuck with her: "I had a video shoot. If I remember correctly, I needed to film an interview with a lady. Upon arriving at the photo studio, I discovered that the tripod had no plate—the piece that attaches the camera to the tripod. Of course, being a budding 'professional,' not a muscle on my face twitched, and I didn't show anything was wrong; I just clutched the camera with my hands and held it throughout the shoot. Thankfully, my client was not very knowledgeable about the equipment."

 

Alina Khanko and Vladimir Shklyarov, Premier of the Mariinsky Theatre

 

Alina often offers models clothing and accessories from her collection, including Zidans products. People frequently choose what they like from her 'Clothing' catalog on the official website https://ahanko.ru/, and she only adjusts the selection based on the style of the hall, the model's parameters, and age if a child comes to the shoot. We were pleased to hear Alina's feedback on our products: "People like Zidans clothing. It looks good, is succinct, and combines well with other clothing."

 

Models: Elizaveta Safina and Sasha Shumilova

 

We asked such an active and always energetic Alina how she feels about the monotonous part of a photographer's work, which takes a tremendous amount of time and is entirely unlike the creative process in the studio—photo editing. Alina responds that, although she loves working with people, it is an incredibly energy-consuming field, and in her words, "just as any battery needs recharging, so too do I need to be re-energized with creative energy each time. This requires a harmonious rhythm of active and passive phases."

 

The A.Y. Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet, Saint Petersburg. Photographer: Mark Olich

 

"And what about other areas of work and hobbies? Do you have any?" we asked. A definitive response: "No! Only ballet photography and video! My work is my hobby and beloved activity. All my time I either shoot ballet, edit ballet, or engage in ballet. And I have no free time for anything else."

 

 

The A.Y. Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet, Saint Petersburg. Photographer: Mark Olich

 

We asked Alina a bit about her tastes. Her favorite ballet pieces are the "White Adagio" from "Swan Lake" and the pas de deux from "The Nutcracker." "I love everything with beautiful music. Without beautiful and harmonious music, I cannot appreciate ballet."

Alina follows Ksenia Zasetskaya among photographers. "I can't do it like her and probably never will," she modestly states.

Alina lives in Saint Petersburg, so our final request was for her to name the top 5 places she would recommend to ballet lovers in the city. Alina lists the Mariinsky Theatre, Mikhailovsky Theatre, Memorial Museum Apartment of the Samoilov Family Actors, Vaganova Academy Museum, and the Museum of Theatre and Music Art.

Although we have known Alina for many years not only as a professional ballet photographer but also as a partner and person inspired by her beloved work, now we know even more about her endless love for creativity, which drives her entire life.

 

The A.Y. Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet, Saint Petersburg. Photographer: Mark Olich