270 replies to this topic

[Mme. Hermine]

[Tara]

Getting some Act 3 video posted now.



I want so badly to like this girl but .... her hands make me often cringe and she drop character way too often. It almost looks as if she is dancing with really long fingernails or something? It's just odd and looks large in proportion to the rest of her and then add in the tense nature of the way she places them. For me, it just doesn't work.

I will say she handled her Act 1 better and with more vim and vigor than I had expected. There was one very nice moment in her Act 2 variation but otherwise it was a disappointment and this Wedding Pas was so full of tension on her part that it was difficult to enjoy at all. Plus no tangible chemistry between them outside of the usual teamwork needed to complete a Pas. She was very fortunate that she had him as a partner too. He is better than a few "names" in that regard by a long shot. And bless his heart- the look he gives her at the end of the Pas. It's as if he is double checking that she is ok. Either physically or emotionally or both. I would not be the least bit surprised to learn he is a favored personality among the company men.

She has alot going for her as a dancer but this is just simply not the right rep or company for her to achieve her personal best, imho. I hope she moves onto somewhere else or at least gets some serious one on one coaching for those hands and arms.

editing to add: Just watch her Act 3 variation and coda. At least she made a nice show of the coda and looked so happy to get to relax and even show off a bit with the nice fan work. A nice way to end a rather shaky debut.

Any insider news on what we can expect next from her?

[Mme. Hermine]

coda

[Renata Rodrigues]

Again Fateev decided to mistreat our eyes : Keenan Kampa will dance Kitri again on Feb. 17. Your partner will be Yevgeny Ivanchenko. The supporting cast will be Daria Plavenko  (PRINCIPAL!!!), Elena Evteeva and Nadezhdda Gonchar (SECOND SOLOISTS!!!) and the lovely Yulia Stepanova.

[YID]

Keenan Kampa's DQ is The worst Kitri ever, and such a disgrace and mistreatment of Mariinsky's stage and legacy. I've see all possible clips of her DQ and a DQ of Novikova (just days before) - the (nightmarish) night and bright day. She's not ready (and who knows if ever would be) for Mariinsky's stage. The good news is that Svetlana Ivanova is given a chance as Gizelle soon.

[aurora]

YID, on 23 January 2013 - 01:09 PM, said:

Keenan Kampa's DQ is The worst Kitri ever, and such a disgrace and mistreatment of Mariinsky's stage and legacy. I've see all possible clips of her DQ and a DQ of Novikova (just days before) - the (nightmarish) night and bright day. She's not ready (and who knows if ever would be) for Mariinsky's stage. The good news is that Svetlana Ivanova is given a chance as Gizelle soon.

Remember, Somova has done this role quite a bit. Personally I'd rather watch Keenan Kampa. At least her fouttees didn't look like a fish flopping around on dry land gasping for breath, her feet point, she has turn out, her rib cage isn't out of alignment, etc etc.

I'm not saying I thought it was a brilliant attempt, or even a particularly good one. But it was her first, and to my eyes hardly the atrocity it is being made out to be. Certainly other people have polluted the shades of the Mariinsky long before her (to steal from P&P).

[YID]

to each his/her own. Even though i did not like mid-career Somova (she was more "vaganova-style" right after vaganova school), i'd take her.
" But it was her first, and to my eyes hardly the atrocity it is being made out to be" - as someone in a russian forum said, "let her be and be trained in any other place but Mariinsky", when there are many more much more talented (though neglected) balerina's. But what can i say, when there's an artistic genocide in Mariinsky ballet, and acid attacks in Moscow.

[Mashinka]

'Aritistic genocide'

The perfect way of describing the current Kirov policies.  Well said.

[Natalia]

The 'still photo' (freeze frame) in post #123 above -- Kampa in the coda, looking like Gomer Pyle in a Hoedown -- must be preserved for posterity as a marker capping-off the Fateev Era. Years from now, we will all be wondering "how the heck" this was allowed to happen.

[Tiara]

Natalia, on 24 January 2013 - 04:36 AM, said:

The 'still photo' (freeze frame) in post #123 above -- Kampa in the coda, looking like Gomer Pyle in a Hoedown -- must be preserved for posterity as a marker capping-off the Fateev Era. Years from now, we will all be wondering "how the heck" this was allowed to happen.

I want to laugh at your hoedown remark as it is funny, but really the fact that Kampa gets not just one, but two Kitris is a complete disgrace.  She had a great Basilio, wonderful Mariinsky corps and soloists, the best coaches in the world ... every possible opportunity she could have to give a good performance and all she could produce was this travesty of Kitri.  And this terrible performance is rewarded with another Kitri?  Inexcusable.

[Renata Rodrigues]

Yulia Stepanova in Le Corsaire pas de trois:

[ksk04]

Really gorgeous throughout--very assured. I hope this is a harbinger of good things though I worry she will suffer a fate similar to Batalov (who was thrilling--great work by him).

[Jayne]

I feel sorry for Ms. Kampa.  I have to wonder why the AD thinks she is ready for these roles?  Obviously she wasn't cast in principal roles when she was at Boston Ballet.  Mikko Nissinen clearly thought she needed more time in the corps and wasn't ready for major roles.  This just strikes me as a stunt casting to garner more press.  Look!  We're casting an American!  Buy tickets, Americans, you won't know the difference!  

I never danced, but I've played sports.  Some athletes burst out of the gate and their talent is so obvious that it's blinding and they are ready to perform at a very high level.  Others need time and space to grow and mature before they are ready for the elite level.  Ms. Kampa would have benefited from a slower trajectory.  Of course the same could be said for Ms. Skorik and Ms. Somova.  

How old is Daria Pavlenko?  Could she make a move elsewhere?  Maybe to the Mikhailovsky?  Or abroad to La Scala or a similar company?

[amiaow]

I've wondered if the Kitri was just a part of Kampa's contract- ie she is contracted for X number of soloist/principal roles per season. She's only cast once during February (for the same again, hopefully better than last time) so it will be interesting to see if anything else comes of her this year. She is beautiful to look at and technically strong, but stylistically she is not ready for the Mariinsky stage. It is early in the season so we will see.

[Natalia]

amiaow, on 31 January 2013 - 12:54 AM, said:

I've wondered if the Kitri was just a part of Kampa's contract- ie she is contracted for X number of soloist/principal roles per season. ...

If so, it's odd to have her listed as corps, sitting in the corps ladies' dressing room, living in the tight corps de ballet 'hostel apartments.'  Anybody who gets a contract with principal roles should be listed as 'Guest Soloist' at least.

True, she danced virtually no small solo parts in Boston, let alone larger solo roles. The Street Dancer in Boston's DonQ came a few days before her departure, which Nissinen knew about months before.