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July - Aug 2014 at the Royal Opera House


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It depends on the company and the choreographer and how much each wants the work to be performed given the demands/requirements of the other. It depends upon availability of dancers, especially in a mixed bill program and when only part of the company is on tour, and on time constraints. Stagers can have the same authority or lack of it. It is my guess that Ratmansky trusts his wife implicitly and gives her free reign and/or they discuss and come up with a decision together, when it is their decision to make.

According to your own post in the Vaganova graduation thread, "Concerning Shakirova: over the last two years Renata has been given multiple opportunities to perform with the Mariinsky troupe (she is expected to dance, for example, on July 17 in Concerto DSCH). This explains the level of assuredness and ease she is displaying on stage." The 2013 premiere was less than two years ago, and he and/or his wife might have very well seen her then.

On the other hand, Ratmansky didn't have to see Shakirova dance during the time of the premiere, nor did his wife. They've both got eyes, ears, and wide networks, and if Shakirova had been cast as a 7th-grader or 8th-grader, she may have come to their attention through management, colleagues, video, etc., or she may have been cast on the basis of class as late as the casting process.

We won't know who cast her unless there is official news about it. If he did cast Shakirova, she would have appealed to him or to his wife, if she did the casting.

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It is a norm everywhere that the (living) choreographer has a say (and often his voice is deciding) in the casting decisions

I was going to say that it would be tricky for a dead choreographer to make casting decisions, but I suppose they could have left instructions.

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To clear a possible misunderstanding: seeing Shakirova's name in the cast for «DSCH» didn't surprise me at all and, of course, I remember that she was dancing «DSCH» in July. In my original post I simply said that she didn't impress me on August 12. I saw her on several occasions before, so I know her as a dancer quite well.

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Renata Shakirova has the distinction of being the ONLY Vaganova student not even in her graduate year to be given solo roles with the Mariinsky - amongst her roles are Florine, Little Swan, Juliet's Friend, Amor. lead girl in Rubies, soloist in Concerto DSCH, Terpsichore. She has a resume most corps and coryphee dancers must envy. .

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Thanks so much for the link to the performance -- we're seeing this here in Seattle again next spring and I'm very glad to get another look in advance!

I've just looked at parts of the DSCH video, but I believe that I saw the same cast in St. Petersburg in April about two months later. If you like what you see here, sandik, I think you'll like it live much better. Once again the performance I saw seemed much more alive as almost all real performances have been compared to their video recordings. I was delighted with the vibrance of it all, Kimin Kim being outstanding. A beautiful contrast was Svetlana Ivanova, who did not appear in London in the central duet, but was a portrait in calm and loveliness as well as handling being flipped around with remarkably fine agility.

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Thanks so much for the link to the performance -- we're seeing this here in Seattle again next spring and I'm very glad to get another look in advance!

I've just looked at parts of the DSCH video, but I believe that I saw the same cast in St. Petersburg in April about two months later. If you like what you see here, sandik, I think you'll like it live much better. Once again the performance I saw seemed much more alive as almost all real performances have been compared to their video recordings. I was delighted with the vibrance of it all, Kimin Kim being outstanding. A beautiful contrast was Svetlana Ivanova, who did not appear in London in the central duet, but was a portrait in calm and loveliness as well as handling being flipped around with remarkably fine agility.

Live is indeed almost always better. PNB added this to their rep in 2011 and I'm so glad to be getting another go at it.

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I also had really good glasses and a view from the stalls circle. Anyway, if the Mariinsky said it was Kamil then the photo of him on the Mariinsky website can't be right for sure that wasn't the guy doing those jumps.....

You're right. The photo in the programme and on the website absolutely does not look like the photo I took. But who am I to argue with the Mariinsky.

I also saw DSCH, and also have seen Kamil Yangurazov dancing many times. He is tall, dark haired with distinctive facial features. He was in that performance but it was definitely not him doing those high jumps. From the photograph I would say it is Boris Zhurilov, who is in the corps and more usually seen in character roles. What a shame when he is such a good jumper.

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Tiara, Shakirova is not the only Vaganova student to be given solo role with the Mariinsky ballet. Ksenia Ziganshina danced Amor in her 7th grade and danced the principal role of Masha in Nutcracker in her 9th grade (with the company - not with the school). Even though I agree that it is not a lot compared to Shakirova.

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Tiara, Shakirova is not the only Vaganova student to be given solo role with the Mariinsky ballet. Ksenia Ziganshina danced Amor in her 7th grade and danced the principal role of Masha in Nutcracker in her 9th grade (with the company - not with the school). Even though I agree that it is not a lot compared to Shakirova.

OH - you are right! I completely forgot about Zhiganshina doing Amor and Masha! And also there is Nika Tshvitaria who danced Florine. I suppose what I mean is - she has danced far MORE roles than any other student has done before, because this is a huge amount of roles that she already has - not just one or two - and she also was taken on tour to dance in a solo role, which I think no Vaganova student has done before. She has already got a very impressive resume, as I said, that all corps dancers and many coryphees, must envy.

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Prokofiev's score is more attuned to the Grimm version of the fairy tale, where Cinderella's stepsisters cut off various part of their feet to fit into the slipper and are discovered when blood fills their stockings. It sounds like Ratmansky wasn't trying to reconcile the tough parts of the score by trying to reconcile them to tiaras.

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I think Batoeva is a terrific dancer but she is relegated to small roles. Cinderella is the only lead role she has done, I believe. I could be wrong.

I do not like Ratmansky's Cinderella overall, but there are some interesting moments and someone like Batoeva makes a huge difference, I suspect. You saw one of the best young dancers!

The worst part of Conderella is that Ratmansky fails to utilize the famous and glorious Mariinsky corps de ballet (he just gives them silly dancing).

I have seen Batoeva as a Big Swan, and she danced the mini-variation that does a lot of Odette-like poses. I think she will one day be a gorgeous Odette.

You saw one of the Mariinsky's best dancers, in my opinion. That is the problem at the Mariinsky. The most incredible ones are usually in small roles. Sometimes they take your breath away while the principals cause you to fall asleep.

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The prostitutes (female and male ) or whatever they were are unnecessary. However, the female prostitutes are finally a chance to see the famous Mariinsky upper bodies (several dancers dancing with the famous style ). Cinderella has a lot of upper body dancing too, but it is always nice to see multiple dancers dancing that way together.

Ratmansky dropped the ball on this ballet!

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Oh I know about the Brothers Grimm version, which is very gruesome in places, but Prokofiev's score follows the original Charles Perrault version, which is the version of the fairy tale I prefer.

Perhaps Prokofiev follows the Perreault storyline, but the character of the score is alternately lyrical and bitter, unlike Tchaikovsky's "Sleeping Beauty": it was written during WWII after Prokofiev returned to the USSR in the mid-1930's, and by then he realized a warm embrace by Soviet authorities was not what he was going to get, regardless of what he was told before he moved back home.

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Yes, the score is dark. So that is probably what he was aiming to depict. I just think the cruelty that is part of the fairy tale can still be depicted without trying so hard to "be cool" which is what I think Ratmansky tends to do with costumes and sets. I lived through the 80s and New Wave and punk rock and green hair and mohawks and all that, so his costuming and hairstyles just seem so dated to me from a fashion standpoint although they never did creep into ballet probably until recently, so the look is probably "new" to ballet. And I notice that the 80s looks are back b/c they are "retro." But if he is looking to shock us old people and jolt us awake from classical tutus I have news for him. We all lived that time period and partied and lived it up, so it is not shocking or avant garde to us anymore! LOL

Cinderella's sets are so ugly (but maybe it is to depict the coldness and cruelty of Cinderella's situation....who knows?) and I hated the conga line also. I mean, you have one of the world's most incredible corps de ballet and you have them dance a conga line. That would be fine if it was for a minute and the rest of the corps dancing was exciting or breath-taking in some way. But it is not. It would be interesting to find out what he changes in the Australian version.

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I just think the cruelty that is part of the fairy tale can still be depicted without trying so hard to "be cool" which is what I think Ratmansky tends to do with costumes and sets. I lived through the 80s and New Wave and punk rock and green hair and mohawks and all that, so his costuming and hairstyles just seem so dated to me from a fashion standpoint although they never did creep into ballet probably until recently, so the look is probably "new" to ballet. And I notice that the 80s looks are back b/c they are "retro." But if he is looking to shock us old people and jolt us awake from classical tutus I have news for him. We all lived that time period and partied and lived it up, so it is not shocking or avant garde to us anymore! LOL

He made it for the Mariinsky Ballet in 2002. The '80's were experienced quite differently in the West than in the Soviet Union. I suspect that this was the first time through for Russian audiences. The Mariinsky was and still is trying to expand its rep to more modern productions. If they wanted a traditional production, I'm sure they could have mounted one.

If Mariinsky management concluded it was a bad experiment, they had no reason subsequently to tour it, to take it as the only offering on some tours, or to revive it in Russia.

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It would be interesting to find out what he changes in the Australian version.

Here are a few looks at the development of the Australian Ratmansky re-fashioning of his Cinderella, marking a return to the home of his first full-length ballet effort.

Thanks for posting that. Already the costumes look better in his revamped version, and from the looks of it he also must have realized the corps choreography needed something more. It looks like that is revamped also.

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He made it for the Mariinsky Ballet in 2002. The '80's were experienced quite differently in the West than in the Soviet Union. I suspect that this was the first time through for Russian audiences. The Mariinsky was and still is trying to expand its rep to more modern productions. If they wanted a traditional production, I'm sure they could have mounted one.

If Mariinsky management concluded it was a bad experiment, they had no reason subsequently to tour it, to take it as the only offering on some tours, or to revive it in Russia.

Yes, I am sure they did not have the New Wave 1980s experience that the West had. That makes sense, but I do think just looking at some of his other scenery choices for ballets that he really wants to seem like the "cool" ballet guy, although maybe that was in his early stages. Judging from the re-vamped Cinderella excerpts posted above, he might be less obsessed with being "cool" now and more interested in substance. I actually find some of his choreography very nice. I like his Little Humpbacked Horse even though I don't care for the sets and costumes on that one either. I tend to think his comic choreography or action choreography or "happy" choreography to be much better than his "love" duets. There is something sort of boring about his love or serious emotions in his choreography, but that is my personal opinion. I want badly to like his love duets in Cinderella and also Anna Karenina, but I lose interest. Of course, who am I? He has many fans, so he doesn't have to listen to me! LOL

I think dancers love having new, modern ballets to dance, even if some members of the audience are skeptical, and since he is creating new story ballets for the repertoire I shouldn't complain too much! But the Australian version of his Cinderella just from the short glimpses does look a lot better!

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If Mariinsky management concluded it was a bad experiment, they had no reason subsequently to tour it, to take it as the only offering on some tours, or to revive it in Russia.

"Mariinsky management" in this case may be Gergiev himself (in the Mariinsky's ballet troupe jargon it always means "Fateev"). It seems that the decision to keep «Cinderella» in the repertoire and tour with it is entirely his own. Ratmansky on at least one occasion indicated that this early effort of his is dated and he wouldn't mind if it was retired. Even among Russian ballet critics «Cinderella»'s choreography is considered weak.

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