598 replies to this topic

[solo]

. By the way, isn't it telling that Filin never used his power to unjustifiably promote his own wife?

Good point, Natalia.

It is a wrong point because it disagrees with facts.
There is no need here to listen to behind-the-scenes rumours and speculations. It will be enough to look at the page of Artistic Director’s wife on the Bolshoi’s website: http://www.bolshoi.r...ons/ballet/273/
After joining the Bolshoi in 1996 she remained for 14+ years a reliable and hard-working corps de ballet member: swans, Willis, shades, etc., sometimes dancing in groups of 6 or 8.
Her career took off in that very year of 2011 when she was given parts in ‘The Rubies’ and ‘Symphony of Psalms’, Fairy of Generosity and White Cat in ‘The Sleeping Beauty’ and the French Doll in ‘The Nutcracker’. The year 2012 brought more new advanced roles: one of 4 swans in ‘Swan Lake’, Mona in ‘Giselle’, pas de six in ‘La Sylphide’, pas de trois in ‘The Emeralds’, 1st variation in pas d'aks′on in ‘La fille du pharaoh’, a nymph in ‘Apollo’ and others.
I have written it without delving into guesses and arguments but only in order to state the sober facts as they are.

[Mme. Hermine]

Regardless, she wasn't dancing O-O or the like.

[chiapuris]

As far as Vorontsova or her entourage thinking she is being held behind, she's probably not only looking at the Somovas and Smirnovas and their careers, but also the trajectory of Osipova's.

Anyone remember Osipova's debut in the Bolshoi's Giselle?

[Helene]

he was managing a dacha village outside Moscow

Dmitrichenko is involved in real estate business circles? I smell the trail of the syndicate. They've seemed to be involved from the beginning (attack seems so professional hit-man)... but exactly how they were involved seemed rather vague... this is still vague, but another thread.

This attack seems so thug-who-thinks-he-is-a-professional-hitman. A professional hit man wouldn't have left an audit trail, unless it was part of a set up to make him seem like a bumbling fool.

[Drew]

As far as Vorontsova or her entourage thinking she is being held behind, she's probably not only looking at the Somovas and Smirnovas and their careers, but also the trajectory of Osipova's.

Anyone remember Osipova's debut in the Bolshoi's Giselle?

Not sure how you are linking this to the topic, or what your perspective on that debut was--but yes...Excerpts were almost immediately put up on youtube. The performance and the excerpts were well-received by many though I know there were skeptics...and she was pretty soon after making guest appearances in the role. (I also remember interviews she gave when she was preparing the debut in which she spoke about the work she was doing with her coach etc.)

[volcanohunter]

It will be enough to look at the page of Artistic Director’s wife on the Bolshoi’s website: http://www.bolshoi.r...ons/ballet/273/
After joining the Bolshoi in 1996 she remained for 14+ years a reliable and hard-working corps de ballet member: swans, Willis, shades, etc., sometimes dancing in groups of 6 or 8.
Her career took off in that very year of 2011 when she was given parts in ‘The Rubies’ and ‘Symphony of Psalms’, Fairy of Generosity and White Cat in ‘The Sleeping Beauty’ and the French Doll in ‘The Nutcracker’. The year 2012 brought more new advanced roles: one of 4 swans in ‘Swan Lake’, Mona in ‘Giselle’, pas de six in ‘La Sylphide’, pas de trois in ‘The Emeralds’, 1st variation in pas d'aks′on in ‘La fille du pharaoh’, a nymph in ‘Apollo’ and others.
I have written it without delving into guesses and arguments but only in order to state the sober facts as they are.

Wouldn't it be fair to say that her roles began to improve markedly in 2009 under Yuri Burlaka? That's when she was cast in the Travail quartet in Coppelia and as one of Esmeralda's four friends. The following year came Lise's friends and the D'Jampe dance. Prior to that she had been on maternity leave twice, which obviously would have limited her stage time. I assume that her casting in the "Rubies" corps, the "Emeralds" trio and as one of Apollo's nymphs would have been approved by repetiteurs of the Balanchine Trust, and that Kylian's repetiteurs likewise would have chosen the dancers for Symphony of Psalms, which was cast largely from the ranks of the corps de ballet. http://www.bolshoi.r...#20110721190000

[Amy Reusch]

he was managing a dacha village outside Moscow

Dmitrichenko is involved in real estate business circles? I smell the trail of the syndicate. They've seemed to be involved from the beginning (attack seems so professional hit-man)... but exactly how they were involved seemed rather vague... this is still vague, but another thread.

This attack seems so thug-who-thinks-he-is-a-professional-hitman. A professional hit man wouldn't have left an audit trail, unless it was part of a set up to make him seem like a bumbling fool.

Maybe it was intended scare as many people as possible... no trail would be less publicity? Someone with syndicate aspirations as opposed to real connections? I imagine there are all levels of proficiency when it comes to hit men. They don't seem to have found the hacker though.

Edited to add quote from Ismene Brown's blog : "a non-profit dacha partnership of which Dmitrichenko is chairman, according to the SPARK database.". That doesn't sound like organized crime.

[Helene]

Ismene Brown reports in an opinion piece in theartsdesk.com that

Dmitrichenko does not believe he has anything to be sorry for, because he paid 50000 rubles for Filin to be beaten up and didn't know about the acid plans, which he would have expected to cost more.

Dmitrichenko is a computer whiz and has been hacking into Bolshoi management's email accounts to expose what he claims is an extortion scheme by at least Filin in which dancers must pay fees to get roles and permission to dance overseas. (This is discussed in an article in "Izvetsia", which appears in translation on Brown's blog: http://www.ismeneb.c...lin_attack.html)

Dmitrichenko was involved in the attacks on Filin last fall: cyberattacks, phone messages, and slashed tires. She doesn't mention the cyberattacks on Yanin.

[innopac]

About Zarutsky. . .

"The burly, grim-faced Zarutsky, who served seven years in a maximum security prison for beating up someone who later died, tried to cover his face from TV cameras with his tattooed hand when he was led into the courtroom. He made an indecent gesture and uttered an obscene comment to reporters who shouted out questions about his part in the crime."
http://www.washingto...676f_story.html

[bart]

"The burly, grim-faced Zarutsky, who served seven years in a maximum security prison for beating up someone who later died, tried to cover his face from TV cameras with his tattooed hand when he was led into the courtroom. He made an indecent gesture and uttered an obscene comment to reporters who shouted out questions about his part in the crime."

Something tells me we aren't in The Land of Sweets anymore.

[Mme. Hermine]

Ismene Brown reports in an opinion piece in theartsdesk.com that

Dmitrichenko is a computer whiz and has been hacking into Bolshoi management's email accounts to expose what he claims is an extortion scheme by at least Filin in which dancers must pay fees to get roles and permission to dance overseas.

um, sounds like what an agent/agency does all the time, taking a percentage of an artist's fees in exchange for finding them work. also it is the director's job to give or withhold permission for guest performing, n'est-ce pas?

[Helene]

I know that the Russian and Chinese figure skating Federations take a percentage of the prize money the athletes win -- the official percentage is 10%, but it's paid directly to the Federation, not the athlete(s), and the official reason is because they've provided subsidized training (even when the Russian Fed was in disarray after the break-up of the Soviet Union and provided little for at least a decade). This was a given and wasn't hidden, although the percentage might have been.

However, I don't think that it is customary for theater management to have agent-like arrangements, because then there would be no reason for Dmitrichenko to make accusations and hack into management's email to find evidence. It would be a known practice.

It is standard practice for management to have to approve guest gigs, whether explictly arranged in the dancer's contract or during the time the dancer is specifically contracted to the company. It's also a fine line between using the Bolshoi name and having the Bolshoi affiliation be known. For example, if the posters and PR materials call them "Artists of the Bolshoi" as part of the name of the group, then the theater has every right to control whether this is permitted. If they are "Dancer X and Friends," there certainly can be no stopping the facts, such as a dancer is a Bolshoi [Rank], from being publicized in the dancer bios in the program and in newspaper previews and reviews.

[elena]

Ismene Brown reports in an opinion piece in theartsdesk.com that

Dmitrichenko does not believe he has anything to be sorry for, because he paid 50000 rubles for Filin to be beaten up and didn't know about the acid plans, which he would have expected to cost more.

Dmitrichenko is a computer whiz and has been hacking into Bolshoi management's email accounts to expose what he claims is an extortion scheme by at least Filin in which dancers must pay fees to get roles and permission to dance overseas. (This is discussed in an article in "Izvetsia", which appears in translation on Brown's blog: http://www.ismeneb.c...lin_attack.html)

Dmitrichenko was involved in the attacks on Filin last fall: cyberattacks, phone messages, and slashed tires. She doesn't mention the cyberattacks on Yanin.

He doesn't believe he has anything to be sorry for because he allegedly only asked for a beating? Can't believe I read that correctly.

Acid in the face is a very personal type of crime; acid in the eyes of an Artistic Director only makes the context even more particular. From the start it seemed like the goal of the attack was to get Filin out and unable to do his work. This Zarutsky guy apparently beat someone so badly that person died later on - so this whole "I just paid for a ['harmless'] beating" type of thing seems like a lame excuse to me.

Of course, stranger things have happened and he might be telling the truth; it just doesn't add up for me so far. He should be very sorry for setting these wheels in motion if in fact he did not know, not be trying to justify it.

[abatt]

In the US a wife cannot be forced to testify against her husband. Does that rule exist under Russian law? If so, Dmitrichenko should think about marrying his girl friend ASAP. She will be a star witness.

If Filin was in fact so interested in taking bribes from his own Bolshoi dancers in exchange for parts, why did he offer a contract to an outsider, David Hallberg, and then feature Hallberg in the HD broadcast of SB? Under Dmitrichenko's theory, Filin would have saved all lead parts for Bolshoi dancers and sold them to the highest bribe offer.

[Drew]

He doesn't believe he has anything to be sorry for because he allegedly only asked for a beating? Can't believe I read that correctly.

Acid in the face is a very personal type of crime; acid in the eyes of an Artistic Director only makes the context even more particular. From the start it seemed like the goal of the attack was to get Filin out and unable to do his work. This Zarutsky guy apparently beat someone so badly that person died later on - so this whole "I just paid for a ['harmless'] beating" type of thing seems like a lame excuse to me.

Of course, stranger things have happened and he might be telling the truth; it just doesn't add up for me so far. He should be very sorry for setting these wheels in motion if in fact he did not know, not be trying to justify it.

The problem with trying to parse this out is one ends up inside his logic. Let's play along and not assume he is lying. Hiring someone to beat someone up? I think even dancers at the Bolshoi might agree that's probably technically a crime and considered morally wrong!!! And yes, Elena, one ought to be very sorry indeed for even those hideous consequences of one's actions that one didn't have in mind--maybe it might even give one pause about something as trivial as having someone beaten up. Add to that the fact that hiring someone who managed to kill the last person he "merely" beat up suggests one was never very worried about consequences anyway...Oh well, perhaps Dmitrichenko didn't know the guy's background? Because that, of course, would make it all so much more understandable.

Never mind. Clearly, we should give him a break because he doesn't intend to sound like a psychopath...