Follow of the week: get to know rising Bolshoi Ballet dancer and descendent of Matilda

A post shared by Eleonora (@elya_7ard) on Oct 7, 2017 at 12:55pm PDT

Eleonora Sevenard is a Bolshoi Ballet dancer and the great-grandniece of Mathilde Kschessinska, who is at the centre of the controversial historical film Matilda directed by Alexey Uchitel.

Sevenard, who is 19-years-old, says that her famous great-grandaunt sparked her initial interest in ballet. She is a recent graduate of the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet after joining the Bolshoi Balett company, made her stage debut this September. Earlier this year, Sevenard took part in the Russian Ballet Icons Gala in the London Coliseum theatre and Opera Garnier in Paris.

Sevenard’s Instagram account shows the backstage life of a rising ballet star: from rehearsals, premieres and travels, to videos of the dancer practicing arabesques and other ballet moves in unexpected places.

A post shared by Eleonora (@elya_7ard) on Aug 16, 2015 at 10:10am PDT

Uchitel’s contentious film Matilda revolves around Sevenard’s great-grandaunt ballerina Mathilde Kschessinska and her relationship with Nicholas II and has been the subject of considerable controversy and criticism from representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church and government officials, as well as several attacks.