Ballet Babble

ABT Ballerina Is Attacked
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By DANIEL J. WAKIN

 

Two muggers attacked Natalia Osipova, a major international ballet star, as she left an  American Ballet Theater performance early Tuesday morning, striking her in the nose and stealing her bag, Ms. Osipova’s agent said.
She had attended a performance of Ballet Theater’s “Sleeping Beauty,” in which she is to dance Saturday night, at the Metropolitan Opera House and was crossing Amsterdam Avenue on her way home when she was mugged, said the agent, Sergei Danilian. “Two guys just came from her back and they hit her and they took her bag,” he said. “She was so brave and so smart — she didn’t scream,” he said of the 5-foot-4 Ms. Osipova.
She had left her passport and money at home and her computer at the Met, but the muggers got away with her point shoes and a small hammer used to shape them. The Met doctor is to examine her on Tuesday, Mr. Danilian said, and would determine whether she could dance full-out during an afternoon rehearsal or just walk through it. She will “absolutely, no doubt,” perform on Saturday, Mr. Danilian said. The police also went to the Met to interview her, he said.
Ms. Osipova, who is Russian, is a star of the Bolshoi Ballet and in her second season as a guest artist with Ballet Theater. She is known for her theatrical flair, prodigious leaps and detailed performances. After Saturday, Ms. Osipova will next perform with the company in ”Romeo and Juliet” on July 10.