Letters from Yelena (32 page)

Guy Mankowski
was raised on the Isle of Wight before being taught by monks at Ampleforth College, York. After graduating with a Masters from Newcastle University and a
Psychology degree from Durham, Guy formed a Dickensian pop band called Alba Nova, releasing one EP. After that he started working as a psychologist at The Royal Hospital in London. Guy is currently
undertaking a PhD in Creative Writing at Northumbria University and writing his third novel, entitled
How I Left The National Grid.

In 2011 Guy was awarded a Research and Development Grant by the Arts Council which allowed him to travel to St Petersburg and research the lives of the young ballerinas there. He worked
backstage at the famous Mariinsky Theatre and was one of the few English people to ever be granted unmitigated access to the prestigious Vaganova Academy.

Guy was also a Writer in Residence for the North East based Dora Frankel Dance company, and is currently working with them as a Dramaturgical Consultant.

Acknowledgements

In writing this book I was grateful to be able to draw upon the experience of English and Russian ballerinas, dancers and choreographers who gave me their time and knowledge.
In particular I was fortunate to interview the exceptional Isabella McGuire Mayes, the only British ballerina to have been accepted into St. Petersburg’s Vaganova Academy, and I am very
grateful for her input. I am also grateful to Stephanie Gordyniec for facilitating this. I am particularly indebted to the choreographer Dora Frankel, who let me interview her at great length. Her
dancers Holly Irving and Natasha Kowalski were generous in offering me their insights. Beth Loughran kindly allowed me to sit in on her professional ballet classes at Dance City in Newcastle.

I would like to extend special thanks to Christine Chambers at Arts Council North East for her guidance and support. Much of the research and development time for this novel was funded by a
grant from the Arts Council, to whom I am thankful. Their support allowed me to travel to St Petersburg in Russia to research the novel. Whilst there, thanks to Alexey Fomkin, pro-rector of the
Vaganova Academy, I was allowed to tour their prestigious ballet school and spend time with the ballerinas. Masha of St Petersburg Tour Guides served as an excellent translator for me, even in the
face of questions of considerable and sometimes questionable detail. She gave me an illuminating insight into the cultural heritage of St Petersburg and its ballet.

I would also like to thank my family – Vivienne, Andrew and Oliver Mankowski and Shirley and Stanley Firmin, who have been very supportive.

I would also like to thank the publicist Lucy Boguslawski and the director Tom Chalmers at Legend Press, a company it’s been great to work with. My editor Lauren Parsons-Wolff was
instrumental in developing the novel and I am particularly grateful for her help.

I would lastly like to thank Sarah Assbring, whose music as El Perro Del Mar first inspired Yelena.

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