Trainer Talk
Dance Magazine has an interview with Marina Stavitskaya, who was one of Natalie’s ballet trainers for Black Swan. In the interview there are a couple Black Swan questions, and Marina, in response, has some more details and very kind words for Natalie.
Natalie Portman thanked you in her Academy Award acceptance speech. How did you end up working with her?
Benjamin Millepied called me and said “Marina, I would like you to work with Natalie and show her precise Vaganova style.” When I met her, I could see she had studied ballet before. In class, she was like a mathematician, very serious and determined to take each correction—working on her feet, legs, back, and arms. She achieved a lot. She did fouettés and piqué turns on pointe. Her arms were slightly different than I wanted, so we worked on them, bringing a little Russian touch. I enjoyed working with her and felt we had a good connection.