182 replies to this topic

[nysusan]

Veronika Part guested in Makarova's staging of Swan Lake with the Tchaikovsky Perm Ballet. From Clement Crisp's review:

"I am a hardened and, I sometimes feel, a numbed observer of ballerinas in Swan Lake , hopes fading as yet another nice young woman collides with the role and goes to her (and the ballet's) doom. On Sunday afternoon (lightning strikes at a matinee!) Part took the stage in that simple leap, then assumed the Swan Queen's initial pose. And everything was right. And more than right. What followed was a display of Kirov style at its most noble as a discipline to shape a magnificent interpretation, both physical and emotional."

Link to the full review (also in today's links):

http://www.ft.com/cm...?nclick_check=1

[drb]

Thank you, Nysusan... and as he goes on it gets even better!
And so we wait, till 2 PM, Saturday, May 31.  Every Part O/O (in NYC) has been a revelation, and each revelation a different one.  The month after, two Part/Gomes Bayaderes.  Thank you, Gene Schiavone, for my favorite recent ballet photo:
http://www.geneschia...bum08/0000536_G

[atm711]

Thanks nysusan and drb--my day is off to an exhilarating start

[Dale]

London's Ballet Magazine is reporting Veronika Part will leave ABT at the end of the Met season. The link is here.

[Mashinka]

As a Londoner I very much hope she does not join the Royal Ballet.

[Rosa]

What a great, sad article. Lovely photos.

[Natalia]

Mashinka, on Mar 6 2008, 09:26 AM, said:

As a Londoner I very much hope she does not join the Royal Ballet.

Why not, Mashinka? The Royal Ballet seems to be the troupe that Part would like to join, if one 'reads into' the article to which Dale provided a link. Anything less than a national-level troupe with a classics-heavy repertoire would be a step down, after a Kirov or an ABT, IMO.

On second thought...

Mashinka & others - Do you think that Part's talents could perhaps be better served in a smaller, chamber-sized company, i.e., be the undisputed 'prima' of a smaller company, rather than fighting through the ranks of yet another mega-troupe?

[Mashinka]

I’ve watched the Royal Ballet go from a homogenous company with a recognizable style to a kind of International All Stars in the past twenty years or so and I’m desperate to see the company develop artists that have come through the school.  The thought of yet another stylistically different personality to absorb doesn’t exactly fill me with joy I’m afraid.

[Natalia]

Got it, Mashinka.  It seems that every-other Int'l Ballet Competition winner ends up with either ABT or the Royal!  That fact also bodes poorly for Part's ascendancy through the RB ranks, as she -- a beautful adagio stylist but spotty technician in allegro -- would be up against some of the most accomplished female 'technicans' (competition medalists) on the planet, e.g., Nunez, Cojocaru, Marquez, Cuthbertson, Rojo, Lamb and on and on...Ansanelli, Morera, etc.  Not to forget the importance of fleet-footedness in the Ashton rep (and in much of the Balanchines, too). I'm afraid that there would be a future of Queen Mothers and Lady Capulets for Part, if she joins the RB.

So perhaps the Chamber Ballet route would be a more felicitous one for her?

[drb]

Natalia, on Mar 6 2008, 01:56 PM, said:

...So perhaps the Chamber Ballet route would be a more felicitous one for her?

Perhaps someone could alert Mr. McKenzie of her availability and he could entice her to ABT with an offer to be Principal.  After all, she is that company's best Odette/Odile, Nikiya, Raymonda, Lilac, Myrtha,  "Mozartiana",...
Another choice would be the Mariinsky.  Perhaps their next A.D. might wish to return to the Mariinsky style: what more perfect choice?

[sz]

Dale, on Mar 6 2008, 09:10 AM, said:

London's Ballet Magazine is reporting Veronika Part will leave ABT at the end of the Met season. The link is here.

Interesting article but rather thin on listing all the ballet opportunities Part has had with ABT.  From ABT's website:

"Her roles with the Company include Terpsichore in Apollo, a Shade in La Bayadère, Twig in Cinderella, Prayer in Coppélia, Mercedes and the Queen of the Driads in Don Quixote, Myrta in Giselle, leading roles in Ballet Imperial and Mozartiana, the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Snow Queen in The Nutcracker, the Chief Nursemaid in Petrouchka, the Polovtsian Princess in the Polovtsian Dances, Raymonda, Henrietta, the White Lady and the Lead Spanish Dancer in Raymonda, Lady Capulet in Romeo and Juliet, Odette-Odile, the Polish Princess and a Big Swan in Swan Lake, a leading role in Les Sylphides and Symphonie Concertane, Terpsichore in Sylvia and the second movement in Symphony in C. She created a leading role in Kaleidoscope and Within You Without You: A Tribute to George Harrison. "


While I certainly understand Part's frustration with the politics at ABT.... she is very much loved by Director, Kevin McKenzie, and has been given many more opportunities than this article at Ballet.co suggests.  Problem is, that there are many other principals (avec imports) and soloists who are stronger.  

I think ABT's recent choices of rep at City Center and at the Met have also been a problem.... Part's not a Ballo type.... and the company hasn't done Mozartiana or Sym in C for some time - roles in which Part excelled.  I think the audience and ABT's dancers would benefit from a better variety.

[Natalia]

drb, on Mar 6 2008, 02:12 PM, said:

......Another choice would be the Mariinsky.  Perhaps their next A.D. might wish to return to the Mariinsky style: what more perfect choice?

Drb, I'm afraid that she would have the same problem as before because of her naturally plush physique. Look at what's happened to the other 'plush' ballerinas of Part's generation (mid-1990s graduates) at the Mariinsky, Tatyana Amosova and Tatyana Serova. It's not just Makhar Vaziyev; it's the mindset of the teachers and coaches. Secondly, the main apologist for Part's talents -- her teacher, then coach, Inna Zubkovskaya -- passed away shortly before Part left Russia. Zubkovskaya was also the 'protector-coach' of Serova. Amosova had Udalenkova as teacher but, I think, Zubkovskaya as coach in the theater.

If you don't have the prescribed  physique (attenuated - hyper-slim), then you at least must have a political heavy-hitter on your side. Zubkovskaya was that heavy hitter for Part.

I can't speak for the ABT years in Part's life except that she was not cast in leading roles all that often and, when she was, not all were succesful -- most notably last year's Aurora experience. The above-cited interview reveals more about the ABT years than any of us could state.

That said -- I LOVE Part's Lilac, Odette, Symphony Concertant, Leaves Are Fading, Sugarplum, etc., etc. She will be missed. I hope that she will find a company where she can shine as 'prima' right at the start and not have to fight her way through the ranks yet again. Enough is enough!

[atm711]

drb, on Mar 6 2008, 02:12 PM, said:

Perhaps someone could alert Mr. McKenzie of her availability and he could entice her to ABT with an offer to be Principal.  After all, she is that company's best Odette/Odile, Nikiya, Raymonda, Lilac, Myrtha,  "Mozartiana",...

I could not put it any better.....my ABT attendance will seriously dwindle next season...for the coming season I hav e tickets to see Part, Ananiashvilli and Vishneva---the rest of the roster has never measured up for me to TRUE ballerina status.

[FauxPas]

All I can say is that Veronika made ABT a more interesting and diverse company.  But she needs to be a prima, not a soloist because she is so different, so unique.  This uniqueness also makes her not an ideal "team player" which is what McKenzie clearly wants.  I am not sure that given the way her career has been shaped that she is so "adored" by McKenzie but that is just informed speculation.  

Clearly last season was supposed to be the turnaround where she was featured in the opening night gala with the other principals, given the opening night of a new production and danced a new role in a full-length classic, "La Bayadere".  Well, it didn't happen quite so smoothly.  Her performance in the opening night gala was a dud.  I must disagree with Natalia, I found her lovely but miscast as Aurora but she didn't disgrace herself or the company or Petipa.  Much of it was lovely and her serenity and grace helped anchor that messy production.  She brought class to the evening.  Unfortunately perhaps the failure of the production rubbed off on her, conveniently for the real malefactors.  The "Bayadere" was a total success, especially the second evening.  Then she got injured yet again and missed the yearly event of her Odette/Odile in "Swan Lake" with Marcelo.  I am very sad to see the splitting up of the Marcelo/Veronika partnership.  That had magic that consoled one for losing Ferri/Bocca.  

This has been coming for some time.  I am afraid but when the casting for the Fall City Center season went up, I knew that Veronika's moment had come and passed.  Good things were not going to happen for her at ABT.  I think Veronika can take some of the blame, her dancing and physical conditioning have been uneven - especially in her first seasons when she was new to the company.  Rehearsing and classes may not have been as smooth and stress-free as possible due to some language barriers and insecurities.  Despite not dancing all that often, she has had a full share of injuries over the last six years.   It seems she also plateaued at the Kirov-Mariinsky before she left Russia.  I wish her the best and hope she finds a wonderful new home somewhere where she can fulfill all her potential in an understanding and supportive environment that also challenges her, supports her talent and uniqueness and imposes the discipline that will make her talent fully manifest itself.

You take our love with you, Veronika.

[Cygnet]

I'm not surprised; it's about time she made this decision.  

Faux Pas wrote,

Quote

All I can say is that Veronika made ABT a more interesting and diverse company. But she needs to be a prima, not a soloist because she is so different, so unique. This uniqueness also makes her not an ideal "team player" which is what McKenzie clearly wants. I am not sure that given the way her career has been shaped that she is so "adored" by McKenzie but that is just informed speculation.

Roger that.

Good luck to you Vika - much love always !