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Bolshoi sacks Tsiskaridze


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Sorry for all these negative comments. I do not post much on this forum, but I'm really sorry about what's happening at the Bolshoi right now, and to read such blind, biased comments from a ballerina who could be a ballerina of better quality HAD SHE ONLY CONCENTRATE ON HER DANCING, and try another female coach if it's required. Tsiskaridze, on the other hand, should recommend his tutor to change a coach for a role if necessary, had he been a coach who truly cares about his pupil. He's not the GOD of the Bolshoi and there's no harm to his pupil rehearsing with someone else for a short term.

According to the interview, she was told to take on another coach partly because Tsiskaridze's teaching contract would not be renewed. If this is true, under other circumstances, she might have been amenable to some coaching from a female coach, but here she very well may have been motivated by loyalty: had she moved to another coach, even temporarily, it would be chipping away at his student base and that much easier to justify not renewing his contract as a teacher (which was separate from his contract as a dancer).

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I don't know how all of this is going to end, is there no hope at all left for Mr Filin's eyesight? If not, is it possible for him to take a medical retirement? Will Galina Stepanenko continue as "acting" AD in the same way Yuri Fateyev has an on-going "acting" AD contract?

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Sorry for all these negative comments. I do not post much on this forum, but I'm really sorry about what's happening at the Bolshoi right now, and to read such blind, biased comments from a ballerina who could be a ballerina of better quality HAD SHE ONLY CONCENTRATE ON HER DANCING, and try another female coach if it's required. Tsiskaridze, on the other hand, should recommend his tutor to change a coach for a role if necessary, had he been a coach who truly cares about his pupil. He's not the GOD of the Bolshoi and there's no harm to his pupil rehearsing with someone else for a short term.

According to the interview, she was told to take on another coach partly because Tsiskaridze's teaching contract would not be renewed. If this is true, under other circumstances, she might have been amenable to some coaching from a female coach, but here she very well may have been motivated by loyalty: had she moved to another coach, even temporarily, it would be chipping away at his student base and that much easier to justify not renewing his contract as a teacher (which was separate from his contract as a dancer).

I didn't think of that. But anyway, my point is that she is being blindly loyal to her coach-Tsiskaridze, who demands her sacrifice for his own good, not "sacrificing" himself for the sake of Voronstova's career. Tsiskaridze did nothing good to her except telling her she is the best ballerina in the world deserving to be promoted as a super star(From what I read from the conversation, her only regret is that she was not being promoted like Smirnova, Kretova, Chudin, and the like, and she clearly thinks those dancers are inferior to her. She's probably also thinking that Filin should still promote her as he would have had she chosen to join the Stanislavsky four years ago, regardless of the change of the atmosphere in both theatres - Had she joined Stanislavsky and as a result now being promoted like a star, she would have no complaint at all). That's not what a coach should do. Apart from coaching, he should also advice his pupil how to deal with the Management, relationship with colleagues, and in this situation demanding her to change for another coach. While I doubt Tsiskaridze's quality as a human being, it suffers for me to see that Voronstova is still blaming Filin as the bad guy and blindly supports her coach with her entire career in the Bolshoi. A good coach would see his pupil's successful career at the Bolshoi as the most valuable sign of loyalty, Tsiskaridze has no such regards for Vorontsova, and only thinks about himself.

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Anyway, she is still a young ballerina and has a career ahead of her which is too early to judge right now. But if she become an anonymous and average ballerina because of these political factors that distracted her attention from pure art itself, Tsiskaridze should at least share half of the responsibilities. He was not the AD of Bolshoi YET, and should do something to prevent his pupil from speaking negatively about her current AD who's suffering in hospital in front of public. Tsiskaridze is not helping his pupil here to deal with other people from the theatre, especially those in power with whom Tsiskaridze is not friendly, the result of which is that Vorontsova has no one but Tsiskaridze to rely on, and if Tsiskaridze could not win back his position at the Bolshoi, the girl has no chance to return to the Bolshoi at least for the next 10-15 years.

I would like to see both artists continue to thrive on the stage with their highest qualities and talents, but even assuming that everything she said badly about Filin and the like is true, not malicious lies, what she is doing is not at all wise, and I don't think Tsiskaridze wouldn't be able to see the negative effect this interview is going to have on Vorontsova's career. Anyway, good luck to both of them, and good luck to Filin as well.

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all of this is so odd because Sergei Filin was AD for less than 24 months when this happened. He was considered to be the "well lighted bridge" between the past (Yuri Grigorovich) and future (importing more choreographers, etc). So on the face of it - there were more opportunities for all the dancers - whether in Jormo Elo's works, or in Grigorovich's revivals. Particularly after the renovation was complete - there are now two theatres offering ballet performances - so more opportunities would have come for Ms Vorontsova if she was willing to be patient. Also, given that Mr Grigorovich was allowed to cast his revivals - she would have had opportunities there.

I am so sorry that Nikolai Tsiskaridze's grace on stage was not matched by graceful off stage.

The Bolshoi will go on, I think some sort of accomodation will be made for Mr Filin to "consult" so he can keep earning a salary. There will be a trial in another month, and I'm fairly sure Mr. Tsiskaridze and Ms Vorontsova will find full employment elsewhere - and she will finally be able to dance Odette/Odile.

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So Tsiskaridze's influence colours Vorontsova's views on Filin? Strange spin to put on the words of a girl whose boyfriend is in jail and has lost his career, From the interview she sounded more concerned about Dmitrichenko than her former coach to me.

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So Tsiskaridze's influence colours Vorontsova's views on Filin? Strange spin to put on the words of a girl whose boyfriend is in jail and has lost his career, From the interview she sounded more concerned about Dmitrichenko than her former coach to me.

Nothing at all indicates Dmitricenko's being in jail/losing his career is in any way Filin's fault.

Let's try this again. A woman is raped. Her attacker (who confessed) is jailed and his career is ruined. Is it the rape victim's fault?

Assuming (which I doubt) that Dmitrichenko is innocent. It is STILL not the victim's fault that he is in this situation. He was not in any way set up by Filin.

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Dmitrichenko is not a rapist.

It is clear his "confession" was made under duress. Innocent or guilty he stays in jail and his career is finished, she says as much in the interview when she refers to the low rate of acquittal in Russia. Try just for once to employ a little empathy. She has lost her job and her boyfriend at the same time. If I were her I would be devastated.

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Dmitrichenko is not a rapist.

It is clear his "confession" was made under duress. Innocent or guilty he stays in jail and his career is finished, she says as much in the interview when she refers to the low rate of acquittal in Russia. Try just for once to employ a little empathy. She has lost her job and her boyfriend at the same time. If I were her I would be devastatJay

It's pretty clear to me that aurora is not saying that Dmitrichenko is a rapist. It's just an metaphor showing that whether Dmitrichenko is innocent or not, Filin is not to be blamed. He remains victim and no evidence shows that he demanded that Dmitrichenko be arrested. And the fact that he is still listed as a leading soloist by the Bolshoi means that his career is not entirely ruined. The fact that despite the antagonism he had with Filin, he still got many important roles under Filin's administration indicates that Filin did nothing to "revenge" or to block his artistic career. The chronology of the role he got on the Bolshoi website is proof to it, and seems to me that he is the third most promoted male dancers (the other two being Ovcharenko and Lantratov) in the last two years, with a good chance to proceed to principal.

You seem to be firmly believing that Vorontsova is forced to leave, do you have absolute evidence for it? It's irresponsible to believe in only one version of the story in which Tsiskaridze, Vorontsova, and Dmitrichenko are the victims instead of Filin when there're many doubts about different people's narration. That is pretty biased to me. And whatever the fact is, it's improper to say so negatively about Filin(and at least the Ovcharenko part seem be a lie) at the current stage, when Filin is losing his sight, and eventually the rest of his artistic career, unless she believes in the theory of Tsiskaridze that Filin's accident is made up by himself, which is more difficult to believe in than the innocence of Dmitrichenko, based on the news and discussion we know. If Filin intentionally wants to bring Tsiskaridze down with a fake accident, why the police didn't arrest Tsiskaridze and coerce him to confess directly?

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I understand what a metaphor is, the one Aurora used is singularly unpleasant.

What I said was that Vorontsova is less concerned with her teacher right now when her boyfriend is in prison.

Tsiskaridze was never arrested because he had nothing to do with the attack. Dmitrichenko is in prison after his computer was seized and evidence that he was hacking into Filin's files was found.

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I understand what a metaphor is, the one Aurora used is singularly unpleasant.

Acid attacks and blindness are also unpleasant.

I'm sorry if my analogy disturbed your sensibilities (or those of anyone else), but rape provides the quintessential example of "blaming the victim," which I believe we can all agree is a horrible thing, whatever the circumstances.

As for Vorontsova, I do pity her, whether or not she was forced to resign, she is in an unpleasant situation, largely not of her own making.

I don't see why this should be the end of the road for her, and i hope it is not.

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As for Vorontsova, I do pity her, whether or not she was forced to resign, she is in an unpleasant situation, largely not of her own making.

I don't see why this should be the end of the road for her, and i hope it is not.

Agree. And I still think that even if Filin here is the bad guy, her career is equally negatively influenced by Tsiskaridze. She certainly suffers a lot on her own, partly because of her vanity and ambition. But to speak in such a way in front of the public does nothing good to her reputation and career, unless Tsiskaridze wins in the end. While as we know, quite a few professional dancers accused Tsiskaridze of lying, Anzhelina was also not speaking entirely the truth here based on what I know. And more importantly, she should spend her energy on her dancing, not on giving public interviews. While she's talented, there's still much room to grow and to work on.

She and Khokhlova are the only two 09 grads who proceed to soloist level in the last two years(before that she was listed as a corps-de-ballet, indicating she lied in her interview), and several more experienced and equally talented 07, 08 grads(Okuneva, Parienko, Vlashnets, etc) are still fighting their path among the corps. I see no reason for the Bolshoi to single her out and force her to leave, unless she herself does something improper. The same goes with Dmitrichenko, who once proved innocent, still has the chance to remain or to leave for somewhere else as a soloist based on the roles he got in the last two years. There's no reason and no proof that the Bolshoi singled him and his girlfriend out, completely without the influence made by Tsiskaridze.

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Admin warning:

It doesn't matter how personally invested anyone here is in this matter, or who can can get information on their own.

Only official news on this board. If you want to discuss your own revelations, and you're not a dance professional, start a blog and discuss your views there.

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Sorry, Helene. I think I'd better drop the topic. But what I said on this board is entirely based on the interview posted on this forum, Ovcharenko's message to another forum whose link I posted, the news about Filin's current state, and the information based on the official website of the Bolshoi. I keep a record of the information updated on the website in regard to promotion and debut for a long time. And please correct me if something I said here is wrongly registered.

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If that comment is aimed at me, then perhaps I should have added that what I learn will be for my own peace of mind, 90% of what I know about this business I have not shared here.

I have not worked with the Bolshoi but have worked on performances with former company members. The close friend I have in the company is a paragon of diplomacy and he never gossips about work, but who is on this tour and who isn't will speak volumes.

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But what I said on this board is entirely based on the interview posted on this forum, Ovcharenko's message to another forum whose link I posted, the news about Filin's current state, and the information based on the official website of the Bolshoi. I keep a record of the information updated on the website in regard to promotion and debut for a long time. And please correct me if something I said here is wrongly registered.

That is exactly our policy.

If that comment is aimed at me, then perhaps I should have added that what I learn will be for my own peace of mind, 90% of what I know about this business I have not shared here.

Any mention on this board of "I know something/someone you don't" always has been verboten. Your peace of mind is your private concern.
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She and Khokhlova are the only two 09 grads who proceed to soloist level in the last two years(before that she was listed as a corps-de-ballet, indicating she lied in her interview)

Where do you believe she lied in the interview? If we're thinking of the same passage, she said she joined the company at coryphée rank. "It's a little lower in rank than a soloist, but the pay is practically the same" (p. 18 in the original text). At the Bolshoi coryphées are members of the corps de ballet. The Bolshoi corps has three internal ranks: "artist of the ballet," "artist of the ballet 1st category" and "artist of the ballet 1st category - coryphée." Looking at an alphabetical listing of the Bolshoi's corps you would not be able to tell which of the dancers belongs to which category. After that comes the rank of "artist of the ballet higher category," i.e., soloist, then "artist of the ballet higher category - first soloist," followed by "artist of the ballet, leading master of the stage - leading soloist," and "artist of the ballet, leading master of the stage - ballerinas and premiers," or principals in English.

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She and Khokhlova are the only two 09 grads who proceed to soloist level in the last two years(before that she was listed as a corps-de-ballet, indicating she lied in her interview)

"It's a little lower in rank than a soloist, but the pay is practically the same" (p. 18 in the original text). At the Bolshoi coryphées are members of the corps de ballet. The Bolshoi corps has three internal ranks: "artist of the ballet," "artist of the ballet 1st category" and "artist of the ballet 1st category - coryphée."

I was told by a friend with theatre connection that coryphees at the Bolshoi are listed as soloist, and I assumed that everyone know it. But that might be incorrect. And this is something I cannot find from reliable official sources, so I apologize if it's not correct.

But even she was not directly lying here, she seems to view coryphee as quasi soloist (proven by the quote by volcanohunter above), and when she was talking about Maria Prorvich, she also distinguished the difference between coryphee and average corps-de-ballet, "Marua Prorvich suddenly got from the corps de ballet to coryphee status and started dancing in premieres as a soloist. Yes, the roles were not particularly important, but in my view the difference between her previous level of roles and her new status is obvious." And this might result in a misleading effect easily putting Filin as the bad guy. Whereas how the administration differentiate coryphee and soloist and corps-de-ballet remains unknown to public. If coryphee still belongs to the category of corps-de-ballet, it is easy for average readers and public to assume that coryphee is more similar to average corps-de-ballet.

My main point is not that she is a liar, but much of what she said appear to be biased. I understand that she must be very sad and therefore emotionally biased and is suffering. But to put it public now has nothing good to do with her career and with Filin, and her reputation as a good ballerina might suffer if Tsiskaridze could not justify himself in the end.

I think I've said enough about this, and it's not my intention to say that Vorontsova is a bad ballerina, so I'll drop the topic now.

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For some clarity (hopefully), here is an excerpt from a recent interview by Bolshoi coryphée Ivan Alexeyev, which he gave to the hometown press in Voronezh.

At the Bolshoi, I had to start from scratch, admitted Ivan Alexeyev. If in Voronezh I performed as a soloist, had friends and parents here, at the Bolshoi I became an artist of the first category. After a season, I was promoted to a different category, and now I'm a coryphée, which is a rank below that of soloist. Now I'm dancing in the corps de ballet and performing leading roles. For example, at the Bolshoi Theater I was given the opportunity to dance José in "Carmen Suite", I have a solo part in the ballet "Jewels", and I returned to my favorite role as the Student in "Anyuta."

http://www.moe-online.ru/news/view/258668.html

There is nothing inconsistent in Vorontsova's story. She says she joined the Bolshoi as a coryphée, which would have had her listed among the members of the corps de ballet, as Alexeyev is, and in May 2012 she was promoted to the rank of soloist. You can find that information in the Bolshoi news feed for May 1, 2012.

http://www.bolshoi.ru/en/about/press/articles/2012/

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She and Khokhlova are the only two 09 grads who proceed to soloist level in the last two years(before that she was listed as a corps-de-ballet, indicating she lied in her interview)

"It's a little lower in rank than a soloist, but the pay is practically the same" (p. 18 in the original text). At the Bolshoi coryphées are members of the corps de ballet. The Bolshoi corps has three internal ranks: "artist of the ballet," "artist of the ballet 1st category" and "artist of the ballet 1st category - coryphée."

I was told by a friend with theatre connection that coryphees at the Bolshoi are listed as soloist, and I assumed that everyone know it. But that might be incorrect. And this is something I cannot find from reliable official sources, so I apologize if it's not correct.

This is what does not belong here: inside information that can't be verified officially.

Whether coryphees are listed as soloists or as corps de ballet should be verifiable by official news about ranking -- dancers' statements are official news, whether they are correct or incorrect -- cross-referenced with the website rankings. If a dancer claims to be a coryphee and s/he's listed as a soloist, that would show that coryphees are listed as soloists, especially since a dancer wouldn't claim to be a rank lower than she is.

In the US articles written about dancers often misstate their ranks, especially when a non-dance writer is doing a feature on "local dancer made good," in which case the ranks are often exaggerated. NYCB would have had 1000 Principal Dancers were these articles true.

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Vorontzova is young and, under the circumstances, I can overlook bad judgment from her and any general hysteria she displays (my opinion only about the hysteria) much more than I can overlook it from Tsiskaridze. And, like everyone else who has expressed themselves on this matter, I hope her career finds a way to flourish.

To me the more interesting development in what Baryshnikov has called this "bad vaudeville" is that Ratmansky has now publically declared Tsiskaridze's statements about his (Ratmanksy's) departure from the Bolshoi to be lies. From what appears in the press, I'm not sure I think Tsiskaridze entirely knows what a lie is--perhaps he believes (some of) what he is saying. But I do think that with every interview he gives, he seems to make himself less and less plausible as a future artistic leader. If he is the great ballet teacher and coach some have said he is--and which I can easily believe--then that is a shame. And, in relation to the crime against Filin, entirely unnecessary. (From the beginning, Filin said he did not believe Tsisdaridze was involved and for a long, long time everyone has understood that.)

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