25 replies to this topic

[nysusan]

Natalia, on 12 November 2010 - 08:09 AM, said:

Nysusan, Vasnetsova has improved A LOT since that 2008 NY season. The "Somova-isms" are gone. She's become a much more refined artist and has won accolades from those in the know for her Phrygia in Spartacus, for example.

Natalia, that's wonderful news!  I'm glad to hear that she's developing as a dancer. Gives me hope for the new crop of Mariinsky ballerinas.

Now, if we could only see Pavlenko back on the stage again soon...

[Catherine]

hi all,

Pavlenko is already back in classes and --more importantly-- rehearsals. So just a matter of time til she dances something this season.

I'm in Petersburg at the moment -- tonight is Lopatkina's Swan Lake in honor of Natalia Makarova, who will be present (her Jubilee). Grisha Popov will be the Jester, Danila Korsuntsev Prince Siegfried.

[nysusan]

Catherine, on 23 November 2010 - 08:11 PM, said:

hi all,

Pavlenko is already back in classes and --more importantly-- rehearsals. So just a matter of time til she dances something this season.

I'm in Petersburg at the moment -- tonight is Lopatkina's Swan Lake in honor of Natalia Makarova, who will be present (her Jubilee). Grisha Popov will be the Jester, Danila Korsuntsev Prince Siegfried.

Thank you for this wonderful news about Pavlenko, I can't wait to see her again.

I also hope to hear your impressions of the Lopatkina/Korsuntsev Swan Lake at Makarova's Jubilee.  Makarova, Fonteyn and Pavlenko are my 3 favorite O/O's of all time, followed by Lopatkina and Part - so I really wish I could be there. I'm sure it will be wonderful.

[Catherine]

Am reviewing for a publication, so for now can just say "sublime"! I have been in the US for 6 mos now, and it has been a long painful dry spell in terms of dance viewing. I cannot understand how the level of dance in classical companies --and the QUANTITY-- is so low. After over 5 yrs in Petersburg it has really been a shock to my system. In SF: No fall season. What is that? Really? I understand NYCB only has its first fall season this year. ABT also isnt performing yet. What is that about? What are balletomanes to do from May to December? Hibernate I guess...

So, seeing this classical warhorse, after being artistically "starved" -- well it was like food for a dying man. Simply sublime.
Lopatkina sublime. Korsuntsev sublime. Popov as the Jester - sublime. THere's nothing negative to say about this company or any of the dancers. The corps is out of this world, you cannot see that on any American stage, period.

Interesting that Nikitina seems to have filled out a lot. I didnt expect that, i expected her to stay as lanky as Somova. Shirinkina is now the lead swan, so Selina's months --and years-- of that spot are long over (obviously, as she's no longer just coryphee!). Victoria Brileva is easy to spot as one of the four swans now, along with Skorik. They're probably the two beauties "to watch" bc Kondaurova started out in the same spot...

[canbelto]

Catherine, on 24 November 2010 - 06:02 PM, said:

Am reviewing for a publication, so for now can just say "sublime"! I have been in the US for 6 mos now, and it has been a long painful dry spell in terms of dance viewing. I cannot understand how the level of dance in classical companies --and the QUANTITY-- is so low. After over 5 yrs in Petersburg it has really been a shock to my system. In SF: No fall season. What is that? Really? I understand NYCB only has its first fall season this year. ABT also isnt performing yet. What is that about? What are balletomanes to do from May to December? Hibernate I guess...

Well for most New Yorkers I think they kind of split the world into two seasons: opera season (fall into winter), and dance season (starts after Nutcracker, but intensifies in the spring). Of course there is overlap with the NYCB's winter season and Paul Taylor's visit and Fall for Dance but the intense focus is on opera in the fall and winter, and dance in the spring. For those uninterested in opera it might be a drag but for those who have an interest in both it works well.

[Catherine]

But in Russia you have both, for 11 months out of the year



Forgot to add the most important: before the curtain there was a short speech wishing Makarova well (she sat in the Tsar's box), including comments that she had done in her art what not even Pavlova or Spessivtseva had done -- setting ballets around the world and being lauded for them.

Makarova did come out on stage at the end and bowed, taking in the warmth. She is quite short. I tried to imagine her with a 5'8" ish cavalier behind her, and the effect is much *smaller* (all around) when used to watching the long elegant stretch of Lopatkina. Different eras.

canbelto, on 24 November 2010 - 09:08 PM, said:

Catherine, on 24 November 2010 - 06:02 PM, said:

Am reviewing for a publication, so for now can just say "sublime"! I have been in the US for 6 mos now, and it has been a long painful dry spell in terms of dance viewing. I cannot understand how the level of dance in classical companies --and the QUANTITY-- is so low. After over 5 yrs in Petersburg it has really been a shock to my system. In SF: No fall season. What is that? Really? I understand NYCB only has its first fall season this year. ABT also isnt performing yet. What is that about? What are balletomanes to do from May to December? Hibernate I guess...

Well for most New Yorkers I think they kind of split the world into two seasons: opera season (fall into winter), and dance season (starts after Nutcracker, but intensifies in the spring). Of course there is overlap with the NYCB's winter season and Paul Taylor's visit and Fall for Dance but the intense focus is on opera in the fall and winter, and dance in the spring. For those uninterested in opera it might be a drag but for those who have an interest in both it works well.

[richard53dog]

Catherine, on 24 November 2010 - 09:45 PM, said:

But in Russia you have both, for 11 months out of the year

Well, the theaters operate differently in the US, at least in NYC. Rather than mix the ballet and opera programs as they do in St Pete (or London and Paris for that matter), the seasons are dedicated to one genre. So in NYC, the Met runs opera EVERY NIGHT from September to May. Then ABT takes over the theater, again every night for 10 weeks or so. The NYST currently runs NYCB for 4 weeks or so Sept to Oct, then opera from Oct-Nov, then NYCB Nut from Nov-Jan, then NYCB rep from Jan-Feb. More NYCO from Feb-April, then NYCB till June.

Ballet companies revisit regularly in both theaters.

And there is more ballet/dance sprinkled through the Fall at City Center.

At least in NY, we do have enough to keep ourselves busy.

Perhaps you are in the wrong spot?

[Catherine]

richard53dog, on 25 November 2010 - 06:53 AM, said:

Catherine, on 24 November 2010 - 09:45 PM, said:

But in Russia you have both, for 11 months out of the year

Well, the theaters operate differently in the US, at least in NYC. Rather than mix the ballet and opera programs as they do in St Pete (or London and Paris for that matter), the seasons are dedicated to one genre. So in NYC, the Met runs opera EVERY NIGHT from September to May. Then ABT takes over the theater, again every night for 10 weeks or so. The NYST currently runs NYCB for 4 weeks or so Sept to Oct, then opera from Oct-Nov, then NYCB Nut from Nov-Jan, then NYCB rep from Jan-Feb. More NYCO from Feb-April, then NYCB till June.

Ballet companies revisit regularly in both theaters.

And there is more ballet/dance sprinkled through the Fall at City Center.

At least in NY, we do have enough to keep ourselves busy.

Perhaps you are in the wrong spot?

Indeed.

I lived in St. P for almost 6 yrs, just up to last year. I had no choice to leave when my visa ended but oh how i wish I could return! There really is no ballet --after experiencing the Mariinsky for so long, year-round-- in the USA that would satisfy me. NYC is a step up from my tiny home town on the other coast (which even "in season" (Jan-May) doesnt have nightly ballet), but even that...it's not Russian, the corps is mix-matched, etc etc... *sigh* Withdrawal is painful! Try demoting yourself to Nestle's quick after eating Godiva daily...

[canbelto]

Catherine, on 25 November 2010 - 07:08 AM, said:

Indeed.

I lived in St. P for almost 6 yrs, just up to last year. I had no choice to leave when my visa ended but oh how i wish I could return! There really is no ballet --after experiencing the Mariinsky for so long, year-round-- in the USA that would satisfy me. NYC is a step up from my tiny home town on the other coast (which even "in season" (Jan-May) doesnt have nightly ballet), but even that...it's not Russian, the corps is mix-matched, etc etc... *sigh* Withdrawal is painful! Try demoting yourself to Nestle's quick after eating Godiva daily...

The NYCB corps is mix-matched? It's actually extremely uniform in schooling, style, and aesthetics. Maybe, along with the Mariinsky, the Bolshoi, and the POB, one of the last ballet companies to really all spring from one school and one teaching style. In fact, it's been criticized in the NYC critic circles in some years for being *too* uniform in look and style. The NYCB, for instance, might be one of the few companies left in the world that insists that all its female members wear the same brand of pointe shoes ...

[Catherine]

No no -- I wasn't talking about NYCB, I'm not from that city, so i can't comment (haven't seen their corps) since the 80s. Talking about other national companies in the US...

[cubanmiamiboy]

Catherine, on 25 November 2010 - 07:08 AM, said:

Withdrawal is painful! Try demoting yourself to Nestle's quick after eating Godiva...

Yes indeed...