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mumwang

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  • Connection to/interest in ballet** (Please describe. Examples: fan, teacher, dancer, writer, avid balletgoer)
    fan
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    Singapore
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    Singapore
  1. Not sure if this has been posted but here is Kuznetsova (kommersant critic) on Onegin with praise for Smirnova/Lantratov : http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/2233930
  2. Anderson Speaks: http://izvestia.ru/news/553183 He seems to claim responsibility for the casting arguing that his priority and duty is to the Cranko choreography and not to any singular individual or to conventional casting traditions.....
  3. Alexendrova and Krysanova can be seen rehearsing Lacotte's Marco Spada here: http://www.vesti.ru/videos?vid=517984&cid=460 Thought it interesting that while the Bolshoi advertised Zakhorova as dancing Tatiania ( when announcing the acquirement of Onegin at the press conference last season), leading to premature conclusions that she would be the opening night ballerina, Smirnova/Lantratov seem to have caught the fancy of the Cranko stagers. Didn't think Smirnova would be able to best out the Bolshoi prima/s for such an important event especially dancers of the dramatic caliber of Obraztsova/Kaptsova but one never knows with the Cranko fund and it seems one should never underestimate Smirnova ... I'm sure all the casts will be special in their own way and it is such a wonderful opportunity for Smirnova/Lantratov. Nice to see Tikhomirova getting the opening night Olga slot.
  4. Artem Ovcharenko weighs in: http://www.mk.ru/culture/theatre/article/2013/06/28/876603-grazhdanskaya-zhena-dmitrichenko-uhodit-iz-bolshogo.html
  5. Two more vids courtesy of youtube user Galina Mochkina http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xjozu6cSIM (Kitri entrance) (Daria Vasnetsova as queen of the dryads)
  6. mumwang

    Skorik

    I agree that the sur le cou-de-pied at the end of the adagio could have been better but then there are dancers that beat that working leg with such urgency and crudeness without sufficient turn out or holding the thigh in place and restricting the movement to below the knee, that while hers seemed too small in scale and too constrained I did not see it as a major flaw. With time perhaps she will learn to do it with clarity but without sacrificing the delicacy. As for the arabesques I can only say that while it was not the rounded fullness nor the luscious contour of Kondaurova's line, I did find it a fine classical line just different. I don't have issues with the sissones, as for control I thought her legato work was fine, yes it would have looked a lot better if she didn't slam down her leg when she made the transition from supported developpe into an individual manuovere. Perhaps the comment was meant to address her black swan variation solo in which yes i think I saw at least one over extended devloppe that was not well controlled given that she veered too much of horizontal in order to achieve that over 180 look which yes, I don't like either. As for the entrechat passe, i thought she she missed one passe in the middle or was slightly slow in the middle thus leading to some scrambling after that. I agree that the commentator that you quoted has made valid points but I think that the two of us are coming from different POVs. I didn't expect a flawless performance and as long as individual mistakes did not mar the overall impression I was willing to give her chance. I saw potential and I am not going to be fixated on certain technical issues. Also of course 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder' and aesthetic/artistic taste vary from person to person as discussion on this thread has evidently demonstrated.. As for Kondaurova/Kolb I thought him a fine partner and I respected the fact that despite the height issue he partnered with consideration. I was also sufficiently moved at this performance to be prepared to negate his obviously weakened technique but I must say that I still thought him a fine actor. Again each to our own...
  7. mumwang

    Skorik

    This afternoon skoryk danced her second Tokyo swan lake with sergeev and I thought the two made a lovely pair. Sergeev is a born dancer, noble in manner, poetic in dance and secure in technique. he is also a fine partner and I thought his warmth drew out an inspired skoryk. Although I still detected little emotion on her face her dancing was quite lovely in the white act pas. Musically they seem suited, and aesthetically they looked nice. I was also impressed that in the diagonal of turns in the white swan variation skoryk made two rotations and still on pointe bought her passé breathing down her rotating leg. I didn't see any visible obvious mistakes. In act 3 she was controlled and poised though I thought the solo was labored in tempi and there was not enough sensuality or emoting in the pas. She did 32 single fouttes with minimal movement and at least to my ears they were done at a reasonable speed. Visibly relieved after the fouttes the manège and the diagonal of pas de chat into attitude/arabesque was done with gusto and attack. Act 4 was also at least to my eyes quite lovely, I admired her epaulment and I liked that when sergeev partnered her in the white acts, in the supported turns her back achieved a singing quality and his secure partnering allowed her to employ fully her adagio skills. I suppose she will always have her detractors but I hope that people will give her a chance because on the right day, with the right partner and with practice and time as she has had with this sl she can produce a fine performance.I also hope that the Mariinsky management will allow this two to dance together more often because I thought sergeev brought out a different skoryk from the one in bayadere. Surprisingly so since height wise they are not ideally suited. The corps was breathtaking as always and I especially admired the cygnets, Petushkova in the Spanish dance and alisa sodoleva and ekaterina bondarenko as the princesses. Also oksana marchuk stood out in the corps. Ivanova continued to be captivating, i found myself constantly drawn to her petit frame in the act 4 corp even when centre stage was occupied. The only disappointment was a sub standard pas de trios at the skoryk and lopatkina performances and almost unchanging secondary casting for the three sl performances. On another note, lopatkina was absolutely brilliant two days ago and she received most deservedly a spontaneous standing ovation from an oversold house( there were additional seats specially for that performance). Kondaurova and kolb were also a magnificent pair and at their performance I admired the delicate shirinkina in the pdt.
  8. mumwang

    Skorik

    Perhaps I should explain further why I found skoryk's debut an okay effort. Firstly I tought her physical qualities were immediately evident and it does give her a pleasing aesthetic line. There were individual mistakes yes, but every dancer makes missteps. Vishneva and Kondaurova also committed blunders in the shades scene though I thoroughly enjoyed both. While I'm defi not saying that skoryk's communicative ability is on the level where she make us forget those mistakes unlike the other two but the point is no one can expect a flawless performance in one of the hardest classical role. I understand fifi's disappointment, if one was expecting a Mariinsky principal or a personal fav than skoryk no doubt was a huge let down but I went to watch a debut from a controversial and young soloist and I thought I got exactly that-a mixed performance with good and bad moments. Perhaps her biggest issue is her inability to communicate with her partners when the going gets tough. In act 1 she responded well to her partner and the fire dance was fine and delicate though the dance with the slave was bad, the partnering was a struggle. I'm not an expert but I thought that in act 1 the choreo was performed as it should have been though I think they omitted one jump. Major issue here was that occasionally she would be ahead of the music making the partnering insecure and difficult. In act 2 the snake dance, she performed in my eyes good first half of the solo. Smooth penches, fine bourees and musically accurate. In the fast bit she had some issues with the footwork and when she got bitten I agree the acting was exaggerated and histrionic. The last act like I what I said she made some mistakes but for me they were forgivable because being a debut I did not expect a flawless rendition of what can be considered an undeniably pure, academic and terribly hard scene. The was a foundered arabesque in the opening pas, one botched turn in the middle pas and perhaps some smaller errors but in general I did not see major technical deficiencies. The scarf adagio went fine, the solo after that also was fine though she did not manage to extend/balance on arabesque after the double turns. The diagonal of soutenuees was fast and clean, I liked that she took her head back while transitioning to arabesque though the piques could have been done with more abandon. Again the issue here was her inability to communicate with her partner, too detached too cold in expression but in general I found her work here largely accurate and clean.
  9. mumwang

    Skorik

    This afternoon skoryk debuted as Nikiya during the Mariisky Japanese tour. Having seen videos of her earlier principal attempts I can only surmise that she has grown tremendously. She has a wonderful physical instrument, long tapered legs, a gorgeous instep and a swan's neck that renders her a fine pure classical line, nothing gimmicky. She was spontaneous and reactive in the first act and I thought she emoted well in the fight scene and in the basket dance though I would have preferred less histrionics at Nikiya's death. The third act is a challenge for many a ballerina and insofar as technique was concerned she acquitted herself well. She negotiated the tricky scarf adagio with confidence and handled most of the technical challenges admirably though I would have liked to see more soul and spirituality in the final act. There were some technical glitches (mainly minor partnering issues and one blotched turn) and there were understandably rough edges narratively and musically but it was overall a fine and sincere performance. I look forward to following her career. On a separate note, kondarova gave a glorious performance the night before. The corps is on fine form and I was particularly impressed by Petushkova in the Indian dance and among the female corps and corphees Svetlana Ivanova, Daria Vasnetsova, , Viktoria krasnokutskaya, Anna lavrinenko and yulia stepanova.
  10. Part 2 03:23 (Zhan) " Obviously, Mr Petit wants the dancers he chose to be able to interpret his work well. Everyone wants to dance well. If anyone questions why my dancing short of personality, I'll feel bad." (Lee) "I just hope this whole thing will be over and done with. Now, I feel like I am treading on line everyday." Mr Petit was not happy with the Carmen Cast A rehearsal, so he decides to see Carmen Cast B in pm same day. 04:41 (Zhu) feels like Mr Petit is paying more attention to her this time. She think its because she has slim down due to stress and lack of sleep. 2pm same day, Carmen Cast B rehearsal. 11:53 (Zhu) "We should try to surpass ourselves. And we have to have the belief to do it or it will be hard." The following day, New Carmen cast A Zhu and Yu. 15:58 (Zhu) " It was out of my expectations. But if we prepare ourselves well, it's not accidental." 20:25 (Zhu) "Not too excited about being promoted to be cast A Carmen yet, cause it's not be finalized yet. And the pressure is even greater" 21:58 (Zhan) 'It's not that I did not work hard to meet the expectations. Ballet is a cruel profession and you can't always be perfect or get what you want just because you made the sacrifices ." 19th Oct a dancer Mr Petit chose for Carmen comes in from Houston Ballet. 30:29 2nd Nov. 35:17 Mr Petit decides rather unexpectedly to see Zhu and Yu danced Carmen again . 39:38 (Zhao) Mr Petit feels really touched by Wang's L 40:44 (Zhan) "No one can help you. (AS a dancer) The moments of suffering and pain are always more than those of glory and fame." 47:40 Mr petit kind of decides to make Yu dance Carmen China premiere 48:38 They ask the dancers to dance wild for the special occasion. 51:06 The girls feel sorry for the guest dancer who is not chosen for the premier, and at same time they worry that Yu will be too tired as he has to do the lead in both pieces. 62:13 (Zhan) If you didn't dance well enough others can tell and you feel embarrased both for yourself and for the company (lee) It's hard to work for Mr Petit. He has such a strong personality, his one look is enough to kill . Yet we will give anything and evrything to achieve his vision. Whenever he watches us perform, he watches from the wings as if us and him are performing together. 70:19 (Zhu) "This is a turning point for me as it has matured me and allowed me to better understand things. You must always have the belief that you can surpass yourself." 71:18 (Zhan) "Competition is necessary. And though we compete professionally, off the stage we all respect and love each other." (Yu) You have to practice, you must have strength. Otherwise the audience won't believe it. The audience come to watch you perform so even if it takes your last breath you must finish it well."
  11. This is a brief translation/summary of the first part of episode three. Though not a word by word or professional translation by any means, hope it helps for those that don't understand mandarin. 03:51 Zhu Yan 04:01 Zhan Jian 04:11 Wang Qi Ming 04:19 Meng Nining 05:39 Li Jun 07:21 Yu Bo 08:49 (Zhu) I started as an apprentice. When I finally got a chance to dance, I got injured. While resting at home, I set a 5-year plan, doing competition, becoming principle dancer...Calm down a while did help to think( one's future) 10:55 Mr Petit would attend Central Ballet performance to make a decision on casting. 13:05 3hrs before curtain up, Zhu hurts her feet in rehearsal. 20: Meng replaces Zhu for DQ. Since Meng hasn't dance the pas de deux with Yu for a long time, she's very nervous. Yu tries to pacify her, but becomes nervous too. 22:30 (Zhu) worried that the masters(choreographers) would only decide the cast on performance and not care about dancer's status or previous experience. ( since she couldn't make the performance due to sudden injury) 27:03 (Zhu) feels terribly lost in the wing, while watching others dancing in the spotlight. But says the positive competition could advance the dancing quality. 28:22 (Zhu)"We always try to be the best we can be but I know not everything is in my control" 28:50 Next day, with the injury, Zhu still comes to practice, cause she has heard Mr Petit would attend the 2nd night performance again. 31:53 (Zhu) " Ballet would never completely be in one's control, maybe that's why ballet is so charming. Have to keep on practicing all the time to be one's best." However, Mr Petit didn't show up for 2nd performance. 38:23 (Meng) Once Zhu said, whenever she's left alone on stage while dancing Themes & Variations, she felt so lonely and helpless. National Ballet started rehearsing Mr Petit comes in August. 48:04 (Meng) danced with much bigger and more sexy movement they ever did but still not to Mr Petit's standard. 53:07 (Zhu) feels a bit awkards the first time she watched Carmen video, knows it's her weak point. Knows she is not in her best state at the moment, but understands it also means she could be better. 53:57 (Zhan) felt the pressure to show technique and charactor's personality in dancing Mr petit's work, especially as she feels the pressure to live up to NBC's reputation. 60:47 13th Oct. am (Zhao, then director of National ballet of China) "Mr Petit assistant came today and Mr Petit would be here soon, better ajust and prepare yourselves". 61:47 (Wang and Zhu) surprised Mr Petit showed up much earlier than expected, and worries about having to dance for both Mr Petit and his assist. (Lee) "I feel doomed". 69:38 (Zhan) "It felt extremely scary."
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