91 replies to this topic

[bart]

Marc Haegeman, on Jan 24 2008, 02:20 AM, said:

[ ... ]  she along the way revitalizes most of the "old" ballets she tackles is a welcome bonus. For someone of her age that's quite an achievement.

Mashinka, on Jan 24 2008, 05:51 AM, said:

An aspect of Osipova's dancing not so far mentioned is how she appears to have the power to energize the dancers around her, as if they instinctively up their game when in the presence of someone so dynamic.

Very rare qualities -- and something to welcome and celebrate.   You can see and feel it even on the brief clips.  I look forward to seeing more.

   It amazes me how, in these days of super-athletic, super-flexible dancers, so many of them do NOT revitalize the ballets or energize their fellow dancers.  Sometimes today it seems to be about showing the world just how extraordinary I am, at the expense of what is going on around me.  Not to mention the cases in which extreme technical abilities are coimbined with absence of stage presence or, indeed, personal blandness on stage.   ("I stretch, therefore I am".)  In contrast, Osipova seems to be an extremely generous dancer to those on stage with her as well as to the audience.

[Marc Haegeman]

It's also interesting to see how a dancer like Osipova challenges the other soloists who perform the same principal roles. It's clear to everybody in the company that nobody dances Kitri the way Osipova does. In comes this little spitfire who all of the sudden places the hurdle a lot higher. Some take the challenge and try to change their approach even if they realize they cannot really 'outdance' her, others just don't and seem to give up. Question is how this will develop with Osipova getting more and more principal roles - Giselle now, while Medora, Sylphide, Aurora and Flames of Paris are scheduled.

[Ostrich]

A very interesting point. Especilly Alexandrova has seen "her" repertoire encroached upon by Osipova, I think. And I'm delighted to hear she will be doing Aurora - she should excell at that!

[Mashinka]

I would say that of all the ballerinas at the Bolshoi, Alexandrova is the one most capable of standing her ground.

[drb]

Ms. Osipova appeared on the US cable channel Russia Today a few days ago, accepting her award as Best Female Dancer of 2007 during the Critics' Circle National Dance Awards at Covent Garden.  An excerpt from Russia Today's website:

Quote

National Dance Awards are the only professional awards in the UK, dedicated specifically to dance. They are presented by the dance section of the Critics' Circle, which brings together more than 50 dance writers.... The Bolshoi was recognised as the best dance company, its dancer Ivan Vasilyev received the Spotlight Award for Classical Male Artist, while Natalya Osipova got the Best Female Dancer prize.

For the full story and a link to the video:

http://www.russiatod...ment/news/20029

[Paul Parish]

I don't find Osipova "athletic" -- despite the huge scale on which she dances, I find her like Baryshnikov and Sizova, the Nicholas Brothers, Fred Astaire -- someone who is profoundly classical in the way she moves. It's not muscular dancing -- she's moving her BONES around, it's just phenomenally easy and accurate for her, and she can do more in the space of time she's got than anybody else. Of course Kitri is her entryway -- her energy is outrageous, offscale, she embodies the comic sublime.

[coda]

Quote:
“Osipova is still quite young. Artistic development generally comes with maturity.”

Having seen Osipova in all her roles, except Giselle, on stage in the course of several years I was very impressed with the pace of her artistic development. The Vision scene from Don Q. was especially indicative of that. There was a one year gap between her performances of Don Q. which I saw, and her Dulcinea (which does not come so naturally to her as Kitri) acquired greater gentleness, her arms improved, and there was a general impression that she will be able to ‘tackle’ great classical roles quite soon.
Last week I had a chance to see a (non-commercial) DVD of her Moscow “Giselle” and, although it is better not to base judgement on recordings, I was astonished with her fine and profound rendering of this role, her breathtaking weightlessness (as opposed to her earthborn Kitri) and the haunting feeling she left me with by her performance.

Quote:
“…Last staging of the Lavrovsky’s "Romeo" dates from 1995 and it was last performed somewhere in 2000. In late 2003 the Bolshoi got the lovely Radu Poklitaru "Romeo and Juliet", which isn't exactly the best version…”

There was between those two a Grigorovich’s production of “Romeo” in 1979 with Bessmertnova and later N.Pavlova and Ananiashvili as Juliet.
Although I personally prefer the Lavrovsky’s ballet it seems to me that the Macmillan’s version will suit Osipova best.

[Paul Parish]

Coda,I agree with you about Osipova's Giselle-- her mad scene is extremely upsetting, I found myself carried away, she's virtually kicking everybody, she just won't HAVE it, and her defiance really moves me.

[Marc Haegeman]

coda, on Feb 2 2008, 11:47 PM, said:

Quote:
“…Last staging of the Lavrovsky’s "Romeo" dates from 1995 and it was last performed somewhere in 2000. In late 2003 the Bolshoi got the lovely Radu Poklitaru "Romeo and Juliet", which isn't exactly the best version…”

There was between those two a Grigorovich’s production of “Romeo” in 1979 with Bessmertnova and later N.Pavlova and Ananiashvili as Juliet.
Although I personally prefer the Lavrovsky’s ballet it seems to me that the Macmillan’s version will suit Osipova best.

Grigorovich's "Romeo" was abandoned in 1995 and Lavrovsky's old production was revived that year, so it came before the latest revival.

I found Osipova's mad scene in "Giselle" one of the most unsettling I've seen. Her range of emotions within that short amount of time is amazing, juxtaposing extreme tenderness with outbursts of grief and despair in less than a wink.

[drb]

Ms. Osipova's website
http://www.natalia-o....com/index.html
has lots of Giselle photos (and of course non-Giselle ones too), and reviews in both languages.  Also news of her promotion to First Soloist on January 24th.

[annamicro]

coda, on Feb 2 2008, 05:47 PM, said:

I was very impressed with the pace of her artistic development.

Last week I had a chance to see a (non-commercial) DVD of her Moscow “Giselle” and, although it is better not to base judgement on recordings, I was astonished with her fine and profound rendering of this role, her breathtaking weightlessness (as opposed to her earthborn Kitri) and the haunting feeling she left me with by her performance.

Hello everybody,

I couldn't agree more: I saw her Giselle live in Turin (December 23rd) and it was a stunning performance.
After that I saw the Moscow one and, even if also her debut was very interesting and promising, the improvement in just one month and two shows was really impressive.

I was looking forward her debut as Sylph in the Bournonville/Kobborg Sylphide and now Bolshoi web-site is announcing her name for the first night on Feb 20th! The Russian  version of the site is confirming the announced partnership with Lopatin, not sure which one is more up-to-date…in any case: Good luck to Natasha!  

[Legwarmer]

I cannot really recall the policy for this board on this, but here's a link to some Sylphide videos: http://www.videobalet.net/

I have never seen any other Sylphide, only Aurelie Dupont on DVD - and of that, only a couple of minutes. I cannot really compare.

But I have to say: Natalia Osipova really surprised me. She is incredibly light, and this role seems perfect for her since she's an effortless jumper. Wonderful. Her arms are exquisite, very soft and floating. I cannot judge much of the emotion, for that I would have needed some "closer" looks - but her gestures were not only with her hands, but with her whole body which accentuates their honesty.

I really don't know what to think of her now - until now, I've always disliked her for her gymnastic aspects, for her plucked eyebrows that are barely still there and for her heavy mascara coat. I've never really taken her seriously. And while I always granted her stable technique I never thought her emotionally mature or talented. The role of Giselle still seems like a complete miscast to me because she put too many modern aspects into it - her technique, I mean - and her interpretation of the mad scene actually made me mad with anger at her for really spoiling it with running around too much and .. ugh.

But La Sylphide? Natalia Osipova - I absolutely agree with you being very, very good for that role.

[Paul Parish]

Hardly anythnig would get me more excited than the chance to see Osipova as the Sylphide -- she dances from SO DEEP, there'd be no chance to mistake her gift for gymnastic --

But when I go to the link -- thank you thank you, Legwarmer -- what downloads to my computer seems to be incompatible with Windows media player, so I get the music/sound but WMP puts up an abstract light show for visuals. ANybody eolse encountered this problem; anyone have a solution?

[bart]

I hope someone can help you with this Paul. I had to download a higher form of Real Player than my computer already had in place.  And thank you, legwarmer, for the link.

Paul Parish, on Feb 27 2008, 12:48 PM, said:

[S]he dances from SO DEEP, there'd be no chance to mistake her gift for gymnastic.

You are right.  The Sylphide clips show that she is real thing, and at a very high level.   Every element of her body moves beautifully at the normal speed, but with such clarity.  It's a miracle, but somehow you have time to see it all, even think about it all.  

What do dance critics call this gift of limpidity?

High point for me:  James awakes.  Osipova moves away, rises to pointe facing down stage.   She s-l-o-w-ly turns her head towards him, eyes lowered.  It's shy, seductive .. and miraculous.

[carbro]

I'm having problems watching thru Real Media, too -- I get a single, still image.  I was also directed to CNet to download something called DivX. But I found one clip on YouTube. Then I got an update alert for I-Tunes/Quicktime.  Oy vey!

Osipova's efforts to capture the Bournonville spirit are not entirely successful.  I found her sauts de basque jarring (not to mention the rushed, high extension).  I think it's a matter of overcoming muscle memory.  But the weightlessness of her upper body is lovely.  I'd love to see how her Sylph develops in the next few years.

It's probably time to reboot and try one or another of my media players and see more of this charming Sylphide.