Natalia Posted February 12, 2005 Share Posted February 12, 2005 Last month I reported, in the Bolshoi forum, the selection of young corps dancer Anna Nikulina for the 2004/05 Triumph prize in the junior (budding artists) division. What I did not know at the time was that one of the senior (seasoned artists) awards had gone to Uliana Lopatkina. I just read this in the latest issue of the Russian magazine 'Balet'. [following repeated from my post on Nikulina.] These awards are traditionally granted during Russian Orthodox Christmas (Jan. 7) the following year, in a ceremony at the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. What is the "Triumph" prize, exactly? The following comes from a recent ITAR-TASS article on last year's ceremony: ***** Founded in 1992 by oligarch Boris Berezovsky, the $50,000 Triumph Prize is given yearly to five outstanding artists "who foster Russia's artistic traditions and whose creations are deemed innovative." Berezovsky did not attend the Moscow ceremony, as he is wanted in Russia on charges of fraud and has received political asylum in Britain. According to press representative Yana Urmantseva, the exiled oligarch plays no part in choosing the Triumph Prize winners. In 2000, the jury created a second category of prizes for 20 "young artists who are making their voices heard." Each jury member gets to name one winner, and laureates of this year's prize earn $2,500. ***** The larger ($50K) prize has gone to several ballet artists in the past, including Nina Ananiashvili and, last year, Nikolai Tsiskaridze. Link to comment
Ballet lovers Posted February 13, 2005 Share Posted February 13, 2005 It is really amazing Natalia, a so important prize for a so nice dancer like Lopatkina !!! We only hope she will enlarge a little bit her classical repertory in the future ! 'Don Quixote" or " Sleeping Beauty" for example ? Link to comment
Natalia Posted February 14, 2005 Author Share Posted February 14, 2005 It is really amazing Natalia, a so important prize for a so nice dancer like Lopatkina !!!We only hope she will enlarge a little bit her classical repertory in the future ! 'Don Quixote" or " Sleeping Beauty" for example ? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Ballet Lovers, I'm afraid that she's not a fiery Kitri type but...who knows? As for 'Beauty,' Lopatkina became the Lilac Fairy par excellence in the K. Sergeyev version before the new-old Vikharev reconstruction took over. I can't imagine a more perfect role for Lopatkina in 'Beauty' than Lilac: majestic, generous, all-knowing... As a naive 16-yr-old dainty Aurora? I don't think so but 'wild pigs can fly' on the Kirov stage, nowadays (alas)!!! I'd love to see Lopatkina in Neumeier's Kameliandame or its Ashton counterpart, Marguerite & Armand. Or how about Lopatkina returning to dance Raymonda some day? Now THERE's her natural-born role...a 'clapping variation' as I've never seen before or since! Link to comment
Thalictum Posted February 14, 2005 Share Posted February 14, 2005 Speaking of pigs flying, there can be no question that the Kirov has become a company without shame. There is no artistic agenda anymore, only a political one, and a blind battle for power. Last night, 18 or 19-year-old Vladimir Skylarov made his debut as Desire in Sleeping Beauty. This is a role that Vasili Scherbakov has rehearsed for two years. He is a decade older than Skylarov, and he is perfect for this part. He should have performed it five years ago. Once a year there is a rumor that he will actually perform it. Somehow it never happens. This is psychological torture to rival the Kirov in the days of Shelest and Osipenko. The Kirov also stupidly cast 19-or-20-year-old Grigory Popov for a debut as Bluebird. Popov is a very short dancer with a great jump who could become a first-rate grotesque/demi-caractere dancer. But he cannot pirouette. He is described as a woodpecker, not a blue bird. Link to comment
Natalia Posted February 14, 2005 Author Share Posted February 14, 2005 Speaking of pigs flying, ....<{POST_SNAPBACK}> Somehow, I just KNEW that you'd be responding to this one, Thal! I'm still waiting to read my Russian boards & probably won't do so 'til tom'rw, as we're very busy in the office today. I know that there was a lot of 'talk' about the too-junior casting of both of these important ballets -- 'Beauty' and 'Swan' -- for the current Tchaikovsky Festival, e.g., why on earth give this important 'Swan' to the (to me) brittle & grotesque Alina Somova? She makes Zakharova's extensions look like Fonteyn's, in comparison....scarry to think about it...imagine having to look at it.... Actually, let's try to shift this talk to another thread, as we're straying away from Lopatkina.... Link to comment
Thalictum Posted February 14, 2005 Share Posted February 14, 2005 Right on, Natalia. Samova needs two years in the corp de ballet -- "and then we'll talk!" Link to comment
Thalictum Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 I heard that Skylarov gave a middling performance technically as Desire, and was unconvincing as an aristocrat. And now onto the Samova nightmare. Link to comment
Natalia Posted February 15, 2005 Author Share Posted February 15, 2005 I heard that Skylarov gave a middling performance technically as Desire, and was unconvincing as an aristocrat. And now onto the Samova nightmare. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thanks (I guess) for the reports. Not too upbeat. I'm going ahead & closing this thread because we've -- I'm guilty here, too! -- strayed from the Triumph Prize/Lopatkina topic. Again, I invite folks to discuss the pushing of dancers on the separate thread begun by BalletNut on 'Anything Goes.' I'll do a short compendium on the Tchaikovsky Festival reports-in-print (including legit web sites & fora) that I've read, including reactions to the Sl. Beauty & Swan Lakes during the festival. It's hard to understand Thalictum's report without a knowledge of reactions from writers; what may be a fact comes across as gossip. I'm trying to avoid misunderstandings. Link to comment
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