182 replies to this topic

[Old Fashioned]

FauxPas, on Mar 7 2008, 03:39 PM, said:

This whole idea of Part staying in New York and working out her problems or McKenzie having a Scrooge in the last scene of "A Christmas Carol" total change of heart and making Veronika a principal is quixotic.  That would be wonderful, but it ain't gonna happen.  It is also likely that neither party wants it to happen.

Even if McKenzie miraculously offers Veronika principal status, that doesn't guarantee that she will stay.  Her problems with ABT probably go beyond that.

[GWTW]

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We don't know what her real reason for leaving is and wouldn't be so quick to judge her actions based on what's given in the article. Part seems awfully reluctant to talk about her situation, so I would assume it's more than not fitting into the ABT culture. The bottom line is, she's unhappy there and her loyal fans should support her decision to leave and seek out something better for herself. The problem is we can't figure out a place that would be a perfect fit for her.

I thought this was a very outspoken interview considering Part hasn't even left ABT yet. I feel very bad for Part. I know from experience how very difficult it can be to move to the US. On the other hand, even if no-one was doing much hand-holding, by now she should have learnt that Americans love people who can make lemonade from lemons.  

[vipa]

Old Fashioned, on Mar 7 2008, 07:35 PM, said:

FauxPas, on Mar 7 2008, 03:39 PM, said:

This whole idea of Part staying in New York and working out her problems or McKenzie having a Scrooge in the last scene of "A Christmas Carol" total change of heart and making Veronika a principal is quixotic.  That would be wonderful, but it ain't gonna happen.  It is also likely that neither party wants it to happen.

Even if McKenzie miraculously offers Veronika principal status, that doesn't guarantee that she will stay.  Her problems with ABT probably go beyond that.

I think she that if her Sleeping Beauty had been more of an unequivocal success she might have been promoted.  A former ABT principal once told me that she felt her "test" was Etudes.  It went well and shortly thereafter she was promoted.  It's not really that simple but I think that dancers in ABT are given opportunities and if they don't rise to the occasion they hit a plateau career wise.

Part is a very special dancer, (who I have been critical of in some roles) I wish her well.

[naomikage]

Haglund, on Mar 8 2008, 06:44 AM, said:

Julie has in the past done Don Q. - I think even a few years ago in Tokyo - but my point was that she is not a current Kitri because the company has dancers who are much more suitable for the role.

Julie Kent danced Kitri in Tokyo in July 2005 with Jose Carenno and I saw the performance but it was not a good Kitri..she had problems with fouttes, she is not a technical dancer. I read in an interveiw that she was asked by McKenzie that she had the choice of dancing Raymonda or Kitri, and she chose the latter because she seldom performs the role.
As a matter of fact Part replaced Annaniashivili in Raymonda at that occasion and it was a failure, she fell down at the act 3 last variation. So many dancers stumbled that day but Part was the worst.

But I really loved her Kirov elegant style and I will miss her so badly. Her Odette waas so beautiful and dramatic.

[Haglund's]

naomikage, on Mar 7 2008, 10:10 PM, said:

Julie Kent danced Kitri in Tokyo in July 2005 with Jose Carenno and I saw the performance but it was not a good Kitri..she had problems with fouttes, she is not a technical dancer. I read in an interveiw that she was asked by McKenzie that she had the choice of dancing Raymonda or Kitri, and she chose the latter because she seldom performs the role.
As a matter of fact Part replaced Annaniashivili in Raymonda at that occasion and it was a failure, she fell down at the act 3 last variation. So many dancers stumbled that day but Part was the worst.

But I really loved her Kirov elegant style and I will miss her so badly. Her Odette waas so beautiful and dramatic.

ABT should have been doing Bayadere or Corsaire given the earthquakes and typoons at that time in Japan.  Irina Dvorovenko's and Max Berloserkovsky's website shows that ABT will return to Tokyo and Biwako with Swan Lake and something else in mid-July.  Hope for calmer weather and steadier feet.

I wish Veronika well wherever she ends up.  She obviously has not reached her peak, and needs a lot of additional opportunities to do so.  But, it doesn't seem to be working for her to view herself as a sad victim who isn't receiving all the the help and attention which she deserves or the victim when others receive casting opportunities that she would like to have.  Hopefully she will shrug this off at her new company and focus on delivering the strength and beauty that we know are within her.

[SanderO]

It is so hard to speculate on these things when all you have is press reports.  However, it appears that she is a dancer who had an expectation of "advancement" and wanted to dance principal roles and be challenged to improve.

Obviously her move to NYC was very stressful for her as far as adapting to the language and culture and it appears that this too may have contributed to her being less than thrilled about being with ABT.  I don't know that the ABT cares about smoothing the way for foreigners who they enlist to dance with respect to culture and language and so forth, but ignoring these things (if they do/did) is certainly not going to make a better dancer.  You obviously need a well adjusted person to be free enough to optimize their professional career. I am guessing that this has played a part in her decision to leave NYC and the ABT.  But why would London be any different?  Perhaps with the language less a barrier and some "street smarts" she is better equipped now to press on with her career.

But dancers need to be both given opportunity and to create them as far as advancement goes.  And there is only so much room at the top.  And being shy does not help. If no one is advocating for you and you can't or will not do it, then you rely oj circumstances or others to provide the opportunity. America doesn't work that way. We are firm believes of "self promotion", public relations, networking and "marketing" to "get ahead."  None of these sound like things Ms Part is comfortable with based on the press accounts.

She is talented and if she doesn't change her own approach to advancement in her career, it will be in the hands of others in the management of some company who will decide to "invest" in her.  When you examine people such as Anna Pavlova, you can see how their ego and confidence propelled her career to the point where she created her own dance world and they came!  Diana Vishneva is taking a similar tack.

In the end there is only so much room at the top and the people up there are not likely to make room for me.  Are they?

[kfw]

Haglund, on Mar 8 2008, 10:20 AM, said:

it doesn't seem to be working for her to view herself as a sad victim who isn't receiving all the the help and attention which she deserves or the victim when others receive casting opportunities that she would like to have.

The interviewer, Graham Watts, describes her as (understandably) sad, but nowhere does she make herself out to be a victim, and quite the contrary when she says she realized she needed to lighten her demeanor and "pull myself together, be stronger and work in their style."� A woman who leaves her home country for one whose language she doesn't know, persists for six years in a system that doesn't suit her, gives many beautiful performances nonetheless, and now dares to leave what she has for what she might not find . . . I admire her courage, and I hope she won't be a stranger to D.C.

[ruteyo]

I can see her in one of those tall German companies...

maybe BERLIN w/ Malakhov, Semionova, Nakamura, Salenko, etc.

She probably wouldnt be too happy though because it doesnt have the same status like Kirov/RB.

Otherwise, their repertoire is great and versatile enough for her I think.

[Haglund's]

I wonder about the possibilities of Veronika dancing with Roberto Bolle, either guesting at the RB or La Scala or with Bolle's travelling group.  It might be beneficial to both of them.

[SanderO]

Haglund, on Mar 8 2008, 08:46 PM, said:

I wonder about the possibilities of Veronika dancing with Roberto Bolle, either guesting at the RB or La Scala or with Bolle's travelling group.  It might be beneficial to both of them.

Oh that's brilliant. I think they would look great together.

[cubanmiamiboy]

SanderO, on Mar 8 2008, 06:48 PM, said:

Haglund, on Mar 8 2008, 08:46 PM, said:

I wonder about the possibilities of Veronika dancing with Roberto Bolle, either guesting at the RB or La Scala or with Bolle's travelling group.  It might be beneficial to both of them.

Oh that's brilliant. I think they would look great together.

mmm..so what are we doing with  Zakharova and her up to ears extensions...? (She's been his favorite for a while now) Pas de Trois...?

[Natalia]

kfw, on Mar 8 2008, 12:37 PM, said:

.......I hope she won't be a stranger to D.C.

Kfw, what do you mean by "D.C."? Washington, DC? Now I'm wondering if the offer from another U.S. company came from the Washington Ballet...or Farrell Ballet, perhaps?

Or does "D.C." stand for something else that I may be missing?

Regardless of the location of the offer, Part is dreaming of returning to Europe, according to that interview.

[kfw]

Sorry to be unclear, Natalia. I did mean Washington, D.C. It does sound like she has her heart set on dancing on the other side of the pond, but it's fun to speculate.

[Adam]

I haven't read every post in this thread, but I want to point something out on which I haven't noticed anyone else commenting. There's very little interview in Graham Watts' "interview". He has virtually no quotes. What he's doing is using Veronika as a convenient starting point (and any dancer would have sufficed, but Veronika's expressed intention to move to Europe and - perhaps - the Royal, makes her convenient to his purpose) to attack ABT and to promote the Royal.

He has comments such as "When I ask her this question directly, she talks about her time in New York as a positive life experience, making her a much stronger person. Notably, she doesn’t attempt to discuss what it has meant for her professionally. Although she is circumspect about recent experiences, her palpable aura of unhappiness clearly stems from the fact that this turning point has ended in a career cul-de-sac. "

Now, that doesn't mean that his conclusions aren't partially correct. Certainly, her leaving ABT means she wasn't entirely happy - or, at least, feels she will be happier elsewhere. But Veronika actually said very little about ABT or her problems.

But that suits Watts just fine. He says, essentially, "Oh, the poor dear. And she has such class. She wouldn't say anything bad about anyone. But I know what the look in her eye meant. That wistful look means, "Kevin McKenzie, you duplicitous liar, you ruined my career. But I shall rise from the ashes by joining the world's premier ballet company, THE ROYAL BALLET." And the way the corners of her mouth turned up means "London is SO much nicer than New York."

It doesn't matter what Veronika said. Watts can tell what she was thinking.

[Mashinka]

I've just re-read that interview and you are absolutely right, can’t imagine how I didn’t spot this first time around, in reality she appears to have said less than fifty words that appear in quotes.  In fact the entire interview could, on that basis, be a piece of fiction.

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I shall rise from the ashes by joining the world's premier ballet company, THE ROYAL BALLET

Actually there are great similarities between the RB and ABT as both are pretty much an ad hoc group of stars these days with far fewer indigenous dancers than is healthy for a national company.  Back in the mists of time I remember when the Royal Ballet was the premiere ballet company, but it sure as hell isn't now.

Can I add that much that is currently written in the UK is nothing more than insular tosh and in fact writers of Watt's ilk do the RB a huge disservice by refusing to face the fact that without the services of a handful of imported stars and with the continuing lack of an in-house classical chorographer the company has little going for it.  Sniping at other companies won't change that.