IT has been a luxurious October for Shanghai’s ballet lovers as the two top Russian ballet companies — the Bolshoi Ballet and the Mariinsky Ballet — were in town at the same time, staging signature performances together with their orchestras during the 23rd China Shanghai International Arts Festival.

The Bolshoi Ballet opened the visual feast with the masculine “Spartacus” and a ballet gala at Shanghai Grand Theater, which was followed by Mariinsky’s gala and the three-act “La Bayadère” at the New Bund 31 Performing Arts Center in the Pudong New Area.

“It’s very rare for these two ballet companies to perform in a city at the same time,” Kimin Kim, the Mariinsky Ballet’s principal dancer, told Shanghai Daily in an exclusive interview.

“It makes me jealous,” he said. “When I was young, I would definitely dream of watching both of them at home.”

Born in Seoul, Kim graduated from the Korean National University of Arts. After half a year being a trainee with the Mariinsky, Kim made his debut and became a soloist in 2012. He has been a principal dancer since 2015.

As the St Petersburg-based ballet’s only principal dancer from Asia, Kim stood out in the troupe and was warmly welcomed by Shanghai audience.

Together with principal dancer Viktoria Tereshkina, they co-starred in the first “La Bayadère” performance in Shanghai last week.

Kim’s outstanding jumping ability and steady stage presence impressed the audience, while Tereshkina’s precision and elegance in difficult movements fully reflected the temperament of the Mariinsky Ballet.

During the interview, Kim recalled that when he took part in Mariinsky’s entrance selection, there were only two foreigners among the 300 candidates — himself and a Briton.

“Russian language is difficult to learn, including pronunciation and grammar,” said Kim. “But learning language was a must if I wanted to learn ballet in Russia.”

When asked if he felt under pressure as a foreign principal dancer in a top Russian ballet company, Kim said he has been more proud of himself than stressed.

“It’s important for a dancer to collect various life experience and be open to the world,” he said. “My colleagues have been very friendly and helpful. I felt extremely proud when I went back to perform in South Korea with Mariinsky.”

Kim believes that the reason why Russian ballet has been recognized and flourished worldwide is due to the unique training methods and traditions, as well as the country and its people’s enduring admiration for fine art, including ballet.

“Symphony, literature, poetry ... all these can nourish ballet,” said Kim. “But overall, I think the cultural atmosphere of the whole world is going downhill. I hope to see and even perform more works by contemporary choreographers in my lifetime.”

Because of the Bolshoi Ballet’s previous appearance, the comparison between the two ballet companies became inevitable.

“The two ballet companies have very different styles, which has a lot to do with the different temperaments of the two cities of Moscow and St Petersburg,” said Kim.

“Mariinsky is like the city of St Petersburg, which tends to emphasize more on humanity and culture,” he said. “The Bolshoi is more expressive and outgoing. Some passionate emotions and feelings are expressed directly on stage.”

Last year, Valery Gergiev, artistic and general director of the Mariinsky Theater, was appointed general director of the Bolshoi Theater. The star conductor also showed up at Shanghai Grand Theater to watch Bolshoi Ballet’s gala performance.

According to Tereshkina, there is a certain degree of competition between the two theaters, but they also learn from each other and respect each other.

“We go to each other’s theaters more frequently and have friendly exchanges,” she said.

“Russia’s ballet advantage comes from the fact that we have many masters in our academies,” she added. “They have rich experience of performing around the world and would share them with the next generation.”

The two-week ballet feast not only attracted a lot of audiences from out of Shanghai, but also sparked heated discussions on social media. Ballet fans discussed their favorite dancers and compared the repertoire and performance of the two companies.

Ballet lover Ding Huiyin watched all the four performances by the two troupes in the city.

“Bolshoi’s unrestrained spirit was fully reflected in the gala. You could feel the dancers’ passion was about to overflow from the stage,” she told Shanghai Daily.

“As for Mariinsky’s ‘La Bayadère,’ the principal dancers are simply so stable that by the end of the three-hour performance, their technical movements were not compromised at all. The stage is full of dancers’ confidence and composure, which is an enjoyment for the audience.”

Many Russian-speaking volunteers provided services for the two troupes during their stay in Shanghai, and therefore had close contact with the top art groups.

Ren Hongyi is a senior student of East China Normal University. As a volunteer for Bolshoi Ballet, Ren assisted the sound engineer and did translation work during the debugging of equipment at Shanghai Grand Theater. She also served as the translator for the dancers’ interviews.

Ren watched Mariinsky’s “Swan Lake” in St Petersburg during her student exchange program last year. The volunteer experience allowed her to get closer to the performing arts from a perspective that the audience cannot see.

“It was the first time I noticed the staff on both sides of the stage assisting the performance. Dark clothes make them less visible to the audience,” she said.

“I used to think that people engaged in elegant art are very serious. But in actual contact, the dancers are very friendly. A principal dancer even added me on WeChat and gave me the bouquet she received after the performance.”

Another volunteer Li Yiqiu is a postgraduate student in Russian language and literature at Shanghai International Studies University.

As the personal translator of Mariinsky’s theater manager, Li had to deal with various matters, including logistics services and communication with the Chinese dance group.

“The performers’ costumes, props and their body condition bring us the ultimate enjoyment. Their skills are indeed world-leading,” Li told Shanghai Daily.

“Russian dancers love Chinese culture and often ask me to recommend attractions and where to buy Chinese souvenirs.”

Li is a theater art fan, who shared her insights about why Russia is a giant in ballet.

“Ballet has an unparalleled mass base in Russia. Russian people are very proud of their arts and are very active in going to theaters to watch performances,” she noted.

“Although there are ballet lovers in China, the proportion of the population is far less than that of Russia.”