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Bolshoi sacks Tsiskaridze


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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.

I understand this. Some of my observations might be based on a false assumption. I didn't put it forward until I realized my false assumption(as I took this information as a fact for granted), and I explained it to correct my false assumption which might be shared by some others. Thanks for your clarification anyway.

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I've been wondering, what exactly is the literal translation for "coryphee"? I see it comes from "head" and "leader" (

Would it be Senior Corps or is it more like a dance captain of the corps? If I push "google translate" hard enough it comes up with "chorus leader". Is it also an opera term?

I think in theory they are meant to anchor the corps on stage, either because they are considered more promising or because they are older and more experienced. It depends on the company though. At POB the only way to be promoted to coryphée is through the concours and so some of the most senior and experienced dancers are never promoted out of quadrille.

Larousse gives four definitions:

  • Chef du chœur, dans le théâtre grec. - Head of the choir in Greek theatre
  • Deuxième échelon dans la hiérarchie du corps de ballet de l'Opéra. - Second rank in the ballet company of the opera
  • Danseur placé à la tête du quadrille. - Dancer at the head of the quadrille/corps de ballet
  • Chef de pupitre qui donne l'attaque aux choristes. - Chorister who leads his/her vocal section
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Oh! Thank you! The Quadrille connection is interesting!

"The quadrille (in French quadrille de contredanses) was now a lively dance with four couples, arranged in the shape of a square, with each couple facing the center of that square. One pair was called the head couple, the other pairs the side couples. A dance figure was often performed first by the head couple, and then repeated by the side couples. In the original French version only two couples were used, but two more couples were eventually added to form the sides of a square. The couples in each corner of the square took turns, in performing the dance, where one couple danced, and the other couples rested. Terms used in the quadrille are mostly the same as those in ballet. Dance figures have names such as jeté, chassé, croisé, plié, arabesque, and so on."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadrille

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The programme “Great Expectations” on RUSSIA 24 TV channel today:

http://www.vesti.ru/videos?vid=519252&cid=460

had interviews with the acting artistic director Galina Stepanenko and the former ballet company manager Ruslan Pronin.

Pronin said that although he and Tsiskaridze were not special friends but his own departure from the Bolshoi is linked to the situation with Tsiskaridze, i.e. with the way how the administration was ‘squeezing-out’ this Principal dancer from the theatre: ‘I didn’t like the methods used by them’ Pronin said. ‘They realised that they cannot rely on me and our paths diverged.’

In the meantime Mikhail Messerer said in his interview that Angelina Vorontsova is rehearsing the role of Diana Mireille de Poitier in his production of “The Flames of Paris” at the Mikhailovsky Theatre and he hopes to see her also in the role of Jeanne in July. When asked if she had joined the Mikhailovsky company Messerer replied : ‘For a start she will appear with us in “The Flames of Paris”. Further actions depend on her - whether she chooses to stay with us or not. She has many offers.

http://izvestia.ru/news/552977#ixzz2Y05XhD6h

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Oh! Thank you! The Quadrille connection is interesting!

"The quadrille (in French quadrille de contredanses) was now a lively dance with four couples, arranged in the shape of a square, with each couple facing the center of that square. One pair was called the head couple, the other pairs the side couples. A dance figure was often performed first by the head couple, and then repeated by the side couples. In the original French version only two couples were used, but two more couples were eventually added to form the sides of a square. The couples in each corner of the square took turns, in performing the dance, where one couple danced, and the other couples rested. Terms used in the quadrille are mostly the same as those in ballet. Dance figures have names such as jeté, chassé, croisé, plié, arabesque, and so on."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadrille

That is interesting. I had not known quadrille was its own type of dance.

In terms of the Larousee definition though, also remember that in French the lowest rank in the corps de ballet is still/now called quadrille. (Ranks at POB: quadrille, coryphée, sujet, premier danseur, étoile)

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The programme “Great Expectations” on RUSSIA 24 TV channel today:

http://www.vesti.ru/videos?vid=519252&cid=460

had interviews with the acting artistic director Galina Stepanenko and the former ballet company manager Ruslan Pronin

The interesting detail revealed is that the Bolshoi had offered to renew Vorontsova's contract for only six months. This makes the Bolshoi's claim that it hadn't intended to terminate Vorontsova's contract sound a little disingenuous. No wonder she left.

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That was a wily offer, and would have kept Ms Vorontsova on a short leash. If she had gone on on bashing the Bolshoi to the press, the 6 month contract could have been non-renewed at any time.

Such a pretty dancer, it wouldn't be such a bad thing if she went back to the Stanik and received mentoring from Igor Zelensky and others who can give her more circumspect advice.

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On Wednesday Tsiskaridze participated in a meet-the-artist night at the Bakhrushin Theatrical Museum in Moscow. The museum hosts such evenings with actors, singers and dancers fairly regularly. In case it's significant, the evening with Tsiskaridze had been announced on June 23.

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According to Google and bing translations of this interview with Anton Korsakov, Tsiskaridze's dismissal is "conditional" but the reason is translating as "because Kohl was a Great Idol nesvergaemyj" (bing) or "because Kohl - nesvergaemy Idol Grand" (Google) which aren't very helpful.

http://izvestia.ru/news/553188

— А увольнение Николая Цискаридзе как вы воспринимаете?

— В свете последних событий это абсолютно нормальная ситуация. Для меня лично это увольнение условное, потому что Коля — несвергаемый идол Большого.
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- What do you think of Nikolai Tsiskaridze's dismissal?

- In light of recent events it's an absolutely normal [or perhaps 'forseeable'] situation. For me personally this dismissal is conditional, because Kolya is the irreplaceable [literally: 'unoverthrowable'] idol of the Bolshoi.

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Boris Akimov, meanwhile, believes that Tsiskaridze's pupils will adapt to new coaches, noting that Denis Rodkin prepared the parts of Prince Kurbsky and Spartacus with other teachers.

According to his Bolshoi bio, Denis Rodkin is now under the tutelage of Yuri Vladimirov, whose most prominent pupil is Dmitry Gudanov.

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Boris Akimov, meanwhile, believes that Tsiskaridze's pupils will adapt to new coaches, noting that Denis Rodkin prepared the parts of Prince Kurbsky and Spartacus with other teachers.

According to his Bolshoi bio, Denis Rodkin is now under the tutelage of Yuri Vladimirov, whose most prominent pupil is Dmitry Gudanov.

If one counts past associations, then I would add Ivan Vasiliev's name to the list of most prominent people who worked closely with Vladimirov.

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On November 10 Tsiskaridze will return to the Bolshoi stage, presumably for one night only, during a memorial gala for mezzo-soprano Elena Obraztsova. It appears he will be performing with Yulia Makhalina, although the press release (in Russian only) doesn't say what exactly. Although the event is taking place at the Bolshoi, the theater's involvement appears to be minimal. For example, the orchestra and chorus will come from a couple of Moscow's smaller opera companies.

http://www.bolshoi.ru/about/press/articles/memory/5017/

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Vladimir Vasiliev's 75th birthday gala last spring also came across as a bit of a rental. The Bolshoi provided a mezzo-soprano, and everyone else came from the outside, primarily from Kazan. The price of artistic control?

The Bolshoi did go all out for the Golovkina centenary last month. Presumably it will do the same for the Plisetskaya gala next week, although that program hasn't been published yet.

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Actually the Obraztsova gala was a pretty big shew and was broadcast on television. Makhalina danced Fokine's Swan. Tsiskaridze gave a little opening speech, at which point he was not greeted like a conquering hero (perhaps the audience didn't even realize who he was), but later he did Widow Simone's clog dance with a quartet from the Mikhailovsky. He didn't keep especially good time, but the audience thought it was hilarious and responded very enthusiastically. The rest was pretty standard gala stuff. I wasn't enthralled by much of the singing, and a couple of the "veterans" really ought not to have performed. In contrast the recordings of Obraztsova at the beginning and the end stood out as vastly superior.

http://tvkultura.ru/video/show/brand_id/59887/episode_id/1246164/video_id/1403246/

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