News clipping: Maria Khoreva in S Korea, Vishneva in Dance Biennale, untold Maltese ballerina who worked with Diaghilev

• The Korea Times published an article about a press briefing of Maria Khoreva, a popular First Soloist of the Mariinsky Ballet in Russia, on 25th August 2026. She was scheduled to perform at a ballet gala in South Korean capital Seoul. Large part of the article was dedicated to say how highly Khoreva spoke of South Korean ballet dancers. However, she was asked an inevitable question about Russian's invasion of Ukraine. According to the newspaper, she answered, "I am an artist, not a politician." Click here to read the article.

  
  

• Another Mariinsky-Russian angle. The New York Times published an article on 4th August 2026 about the performance by Diana Vishneva's own company in the Dance Biennale in Italy earlier in August. The Mariisnky Theatre's Principal Dancer returned to the festival for the first time since 2023 after absence connected to the war in Ukraine. Her company, WinnDance, comprised dancers over 40 years old, including great names such as Gil Roman, Silvia Azzoni, Igone de Jong, Mara Galeazzi and herself. The article basically said the performance did not shine. Click here for the full article. For the controversies regarding Russia's return to the Venice Biennale art festival, click here. (Subscription required)

  
  

• In June, Swiss auction house Kollar offered Portrait of Francine Meylach by Swiss artist Ferdinand Hodler. The sitter of this 1916 painting was most likely Maltese ballerina Franceine Meilak. Times Malta's article on 23rd August 2026 intended to trace the life of Meilak, at least a small part of it. The untold ballerina danced in Paris and Nice in France, Monte-Carlo in Monaco and with Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes at one point. Click here for the full article.