599 replies to this topic

[puppytreats]

it sounds like they're accusing him of implicit approval of what happened. i think that if he wanted to be seen more sympathetically he should be stronger in denouncing it.

Maybe he would be better served by not being in the press. He is attacked for saying too little (by whose standards, I do not know.) He accused of supporting a vicious attack because he does not say, "X", even though he does not say "I think he deserved the attack." He would be attacked for protesting too much if he more strongly denounced it. He would draw attention. He is damned if he does or does not say anything, or for how much he does or does not say. That is the nature of the media, and how papers sell. Hypothetically, even if he did not know of the attack, he would be accused of not saying enough, I believe.

I do not say this as a fan (I am not), or a supporter of what I read about his conduct (the truth of which I have no way to verify). I just think it is wrong to speculate as to criminality or vilify the degree of reported stated outrage and relate it to criminality or morality.

[macnellie]

If t is a friend of putin's he can say whatever he wants.

[puppytreats]

New today, to serve the story, or the truth?
From The Telegraph:

"But there were departures among traditionalists as well: shortly afterwards, Ivan Vasiliev, the ballet's star principal dancer and Natalia Osipova, another young talent, resigned in protest at the Bolshoi's more progressive artistic programme, defecting to the Mikhailovsky Theatre in St Petersburg."

Does leaving the Bolshoi to stop dancing Petipa, Grigovich, etc. to dance Nacho Duato qualify?

[Mme. Hermine]

you know a report will come out with a little bit of information sometimes and by the time it begins to be shared by news organizations, there are already any number of reports that have more current information, so they kind of compete with one another, and of course we don't know what's what or what's more current or what's more reliable until a report or statement comes from the source. so i don't know. but it serves well to be cautious.

[aurora]

New today, to serve the story, or the truth?
From The Telegraph:

"But there were departures among traditionalists as well: shortly afterwards, Ivan Vasiliev, the ballet's star principal dancer and Natalia Osipova, another young talent, resigned in protest at the Bolshoi's more progressive artistic programme, defecting to the Mikhailovsky Theatre in St Petersburg."

Does leaving the Bolshoi to stop dancing Petipa, Grigovich, etc. to dance Nacho Duato qualify?

Or is this another uninformed reporter? Or the truth coming out?

I believe your point about Nacho Duato, combined with multiple interviews in which they discuss their desire to dance modern, as well as classical ballet, and have access to classical roles that are not necessarily part of their emploi as *traditionally* seen at the Bolshoi, in addition to their both working frequently with Ratmansky in their other positions (as principal dancers with ABT), makes it clear that it was an uninformed, or at least, a mistaken reporter.

[elena]

I thought I would share this, as it seems to be one of the most accurate articles on the treatment of his eyesight (and other injuries) I have come across - though I read it with a translator because it's in Russian. It speaks of treatment to his eyes with embryonic cells and so forth, but stipulates (as posted earlier by others) that time will be needed to assess how his sight is recovering. It does seem he is getting the best care available, which is a great thing.

http://www.vesti.ru/...d=1010110&cid=7

[Helene]

it sounds like they're accusing him of implicit approval of what happened. i think that if he wanted to be seen more sympathetically he should be stronger in denouncing it.

Maybe he would be better served by not being in the press. He is attacked for saying too little (by whose standards, I do not know.) He accused of supporting a vicious attack because he does not say, "X", even though he does not say "I think he deserved the attack." He would be attacked for protesting too much if he more strongly denounced it. He would draw attention. He is damned if he does or does not say anything, or for how much he does or does not say. That is the nature of the media, and how papers sell. Hypothetically, even if he did not know of the attack, he would be accused of not saying enough, I believe.

I understood solo's comment, which is here not quoted fully, and is incomprehensible out of context, to mean that for someone who has been so publicly critical of every administration since Grigorovich plus the Bolshoi reconstruction -- plus the outed petition against the administration in which, according to the signees, he lied about the status of those in the administration -- to be behind a physical attack would be stupid, because he's the first person at whom fingers would be pointed. The full quote, and I emphasize what was missing, is "Can he, after all this public exposure, back a low criminal night attack on his colleague to allow all fingers to be pointed back at him?"

As far as Tsiskaridze saying too little, I think it speaks to his character that in response to a criminal attack against the artistic director of the Bolshoi, he says nothing directly. Not, "We've had our differences, but this attack [criminal, crazy, uncalled for, something negative, immoral, etc.], and I wish him a full recovery."

Perhaps someone who is familiar with Russian culture can say whether such a statement would be considered PC claptrap and that it's standard to stay silent when one's self-proclaimed enemies are attacked.

Edited by Helene, 20 January 2013 - 11:49 PM.
To add full quote.

[canbelto]

Ironic but interesting reading: Dance Magazine published an extended interview with Filin this month:

http://www.dancemaga...xpanded-version

[innopac]

"Bolshoi ballet artistic director 'calm' after acid attack on Moscow street"
by Miriam Elder, The Guardian, 20 January 2013

The attack has also exposed a wave of violence that has swept Russia's arts world. Last week, the director of a St Petersburg theatre's production of Lolita was beaten up by unknown men. In the same city earlier this month, a museum devoted to Vladimir Nabokov, the author of Lolita, was defaced.

In December, a director at Moscow's Gogol Theatre, Alexey Malobrodsky, was beaten up. After the attack on Filin, the theatre's new artistic director, Kirill Serebrennikov, revealed he had also been receiving threats. He published one threatening text message on his Facebook page. . .

http://www.guardian....scow-no-arrests

[sandik]

Interesting that this RT report features footage of POB dancers at a dress rehearsal (Ould-Braham and Thibault)! Also, funny how this reporter keeps referencing the film, Black Swan, in his reports.

I've noticed this in the past as well -- when dance is the topic of a general readership (or viewership) report, editors and reporters often try and make a connection to whatever aspect of the art form has been available in public. Nureyev was the default example of a ballet dancer for years, no matter who they were actually discussing, all females are prima ballerinas, and dancers lives are all supposed to have resembled The Red Shoes, Chorus Line, Fame, and now Black Swan.

It's as if all stock brokers are supposed to emulate Gordon Gecko.

[Mme. Hermine]

In today's NY Times:

http://www.nytimes.c...filin.html?_r=0

Nikolai Tsiskaridze, a popular principal dancer who has clashed publicly with Mr. Filin, condemned the crime on Russia’s Channel One news on Sunday, saying it went leagues beyond the artistic rivalries that are woven into the theater’s history.

“There have always been stories about glass in point shoes, about cats thrown onto the stage, about brooms thrown onto the stage and so on,” he said. “This is a peculiar part of theatrical life, and no one has changed it,” he said. “That is just hooliganism compared to what happened to Sergei, because throwing acid in someone’s face — that is a monstrous crime, which does not just disfigure a person’s life, but strips him of livelihood, of his eyesight itself. This is monstrous.”

[Pamela Moberg]

My very sincerest well wishings to Mr. Filin. Judging by other crimes of that magnitude which I have read about, I am afraid the road to recovery might be a long one. However, saving his eye sight is the most important concern, and I know for a fact that eye surgeons are very competent these days. Personally I dont really think it was a political act. Most probably just some thugs out to rob or cause damage, unfortunately these things seems to be happening all over the place nowadays. It will be very interesting to follow Mr. Filin's medical progress and I hope you folks will post any news items.

I have a wonderful DVD with him dancing and I will watch it again tonight - will write more about the DVD which I received as a Christmas present, on the appropriate forum.

[Drew]

Personally I dont really think it was a political act. Most probably just some thugs out to rob or cause damage, unfortunately these things seems to be happening all over the place nowadays.

It's possible that it was not "political" (that is, that it did not involve Filin's role at the Bolshoi), but given how intense the threats against Filin had become and given much of what is (if I may say so) understood about the influence of organized crime in Russia in relation to the arts, and, finally, given the highly personal and peculiar nature of the attack--throwing sulfuric acid in someone's face isn't exactly a clean way to rob someone--it seems to me highly unlikely this was just an arbitrary bit of street violence such as is "happening all over the place."

No-one has said Filin was robbed, and according to press reports Filin himself says the attacker called him by name before the attack. So, whatever the motive--and, as you say, it may not be political--I would be very surprised if this turned out to be "some thugs out to rob or cause damage" without a very direct motivation, however irrational, against Filin. What that is we may never know. I tend to think that even if the police determine the cause, it may not be made fully public...

[Birdsall]

Personally I dont really think it was a political act. Most probably just some thugs out to rob or cause damage, unfortunately these things seems to be happening all over the place nowadays.

It's possible that it was not "political" (that is, that it did not involve Filin's role at the Bolshoi), but given how intense the threats against Filin had become and given much of what is (if I may say so) understood about the influence of organized crime in Russia in relation to the arts, and, finally, given the highly personal and peculiar nature of the attack--throwing sulfuric acid in someone's face isn't exactly a clean way to rob someone--it seems to me highly unlikely this was just an arbitrary bit of street violence such as is "happening all over the place."

No-one has said Filin was robbed, and according to press reports Filin himself says the attacker called him by name before the attack. So, whatever the motive--and, as you say, it may not be political--I would be very surprised if this turned out to be "some thugs out to rob or cause damage" without a very direct motivation, however irrational, against Filin. What that is we may never know. I tend to think that even if the police determine the cause, it may not be made fully public...

I have read that forensic investigators tend to find that any attack involving a person's face is usually a sign of intense anger/passion.....and that almost always leads to someone who knows the person very well. Random crimes do not usually target the face of a person. It is literally an attempt to get at the essence or being or soul of the person to attack the face.

[Amy Reusch]

I can't quite fathom, the attack,surely must be about something more than "ticket scalping", but... the black market and the Bolshoi have been mentioned in the same breath before...


A few months ago at the Bolshoi:

"The only way to find a seat is to find a ticket through a specialist agency or black market touts which could cost up to 25,000 rubles ($800), according to the Russian media.". [re-opening gala]

http://dawn.com/2011...stored-bolshoi/

and...

"Despite assurances from the theater administration that seats to the first night show were available by invitation only, some online brokers still offered tickets to Friday’s performance, with prices ranging from 1 million rubles ($33,600) to 2.5 million rubles ($84,100)"

http://en.rian.ru/ar.../168258137.html


And...

"Right after the Bolshoi Theater's main stage reopened following an expensive restoration, ticket scalpers began storming its gates. A popular LiveJournal post by an anonymous user calling herself angryrussia detailed how it was nearly impossible for an ordinary person to score tickets to, say, the “Ruslan and Lyudmila” opera – buying online was not an option, and lines to the box office were dominated by well-organized groups of “enterprising businessmen” who made profits off illegally reselling Bolshoi tickets.
According to the blogger, the scalpers were able to cut off access to the box office for hours – and the theater administration apparently did nothing to stop them.

Angryrussia asked the obvious question: “Why are these guys in hoods creating a ticket mafia 100 meters away from the State Duma – and nobody is doing anything about it?” She answers her own question when she muses: “Why do foreign theaters do everything so that I, a foreigner, can easily and comfortably visit them – and something like this is impossible in my own country? Or would something like this be seen as unprofitable by the theater administration – because the ticket mafia gives them a cut of its earnings? Oops, did I just say this out loud?”"

http://themoscownews.../189211509.html


Could this also be why the director of the Gogol Theater was beaten up?