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Prima Ballerina Assoluta


ellecatalano

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They might be my choices, but I suspect Lopatkina would be the most popular choice from the Mariinsky.

Yeah she seems the most obvious choice. I mean isn't she the most revered prima ballerina currently in Russia?

I'm surprise Sylvie Guillem has never been given that title. Which brings up the question...

Who exactly decides which ballerina deserves the title "Prima Ballerina Assoluta" and in today's ballet world does that title still carry the same weight that it once did in the past?

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The tricky part is that there has never been a formal process to place such title. At government level, some of the past PBA have been Kchsessinskaya (by the Tsar), Fonteyn (by the Queen) and Ulanova and Plitsetskaya (by the Duma). Aside from those, the title seems to have been given unofficially, including Markova's and Alonso's. The French government could do it with Guillem,

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The tricky part is that there has never been a formal process to place such title. At government level, some of the past PBA have been Kchsessinskaya (by the Tsar), Fonteyn (by the Queen) and Ulanova and Plitsetskaya (by the Duma). Aside from those, the title seems to have been given unofficially, including Markova's and Alonso's. The French government could do it with Guillem,

Seeing as Guillem turned her back on the Paris Opera Ballet when she decamped to London, I think that is very unlikely.

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Guillem has always had such a pronounced streak of iconoclasm, that this title has never seemed appropriate for her. But she unmistakably occupies an orbit all her own.

I agree, the title wouldn't fit her and since she did turn her back on POB.... Lopatkina does seem to be a very likely choice. I would love to see Tereshkina get the title though....

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I don't think it's likely the French Republic would confer such a title on anyone, but Guillem has received her share of honors from the French government since her dpearture from the POB in 1989: the Legion of Honor in 1994 with a "promotion" in 2009, and the National Order of Merit in 2003, with a further upgrade in 2014.

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I tend to agree that Lopatkina* is an obvious choice - and since she has remained within 'the state system' and not been a rebellious artist(!), she has little controversy surrounding her.

But as cubanmiamiboy has mentioned, there is no formal process to this 'award', and the manner in which the honor is bestowed has differed between nations/cultures. I think the term is something of a relic of another age.

The U.S. comapnies don't use the term, but wouldn't a Suzanne Farrell or Patricia McBride qualify as Kennedy Center honorees?

*Perhaps I just purposefully forgot about it, but if Svetlana Zakharova can be made Assoluta of The Bolshoi, Lopatkina is certainly deserving.

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Is Zakharova officially an assoluta? On the Bolshoi's site her title appears no different than that of every other female principal in the company: ballerina. (I notice that when giving interviews the Bolshoi's women principals invariably refer to themselves as "prima ballerina.") Like Alexandrova, Allash and Antonicheva she is also a People's Artist of Russia, but the long list of awards on her bio page says nothing about being an assoluta. I suspect the person who included that information on Wikipedia was using the "unofficial acknowledgement" principle. :wink:

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Is Zakharova officially an assoluta? On the Bolshoi's site her title appears no different than that of every other female principal in the company: ballerina. (I notice that when giving interviews the Bolshoi's women principals invariably refer to themselves as "prima ballerina.") Like Alexandrova, Allash and Antonicheva she is also a People's Artist of Russia, but the long list of awards on her bio page says nothing about being an assoluta. I suspect the person who included that information on Wikipedia was using the "unofficial acknowledgement" principle. :wink:

I've wondered the same thing, volcanohunter - maybe the author is trying to will it to happen. ;)

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I've wondered the same thing, volcanohunter - maybe the author is trying to will it to happen. ;)

Actually, you're probably absolutely correct. The changes to Zakharova's entry and to the article on the prima ballerina assoluta were made just this morning by a contributor who seems to have had no prior interest in ballet, but a great deal of interest in Serbian history and politics. Ah, Wikipedia.

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Actually, you're probably absolutely correct. The changes to Zakharova's entry and to the article on the prima ballerina assoluta were made just this morning by a contributor who seems to have had no prior interest in ballet, but a great deal of interest in Serbian history and politics. Ah, Wikipedia.

LOL - and this is why students are not allowed to rely upon Wikipedia as their main data source. Sorry Svetlana - you will have to wait along with everyone else.

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I would like to see a recovery of the real meaning of the word "ballerina." Some 30 years ago in her television series titled Ballerina Natalia Makarova bemoaned the popular perception that a ballerina was any female member of a ballet company who wore a tutu and stood on the tips of her toes. She argued for a very narrow understanding of the word. She's correct, of course. The word is overused, but properly understood it is a very lofty designation that shouldn't need supplementary adjectives.

On the other hand, I can't say I care for the concept of "assoluta," as though one dancer could reign supreme over all others. To my mind, true ballerinas are very rare, and what each brings to the stage is singular and inimitable and should be valued as such.

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I would like to see a recovery of the real meaning of the word "ballerina." Some 30 years ago in her television series titled Ballerina Natalia Makarova bemoaned the popular perception that a ballerina was any female member of a ballet company who wore a tutu and stood on the tips of her toes. She argued for a very narrow understanding of the word. She's correct, of course. The word is overused, but properly understood it is a very lofty designation that shouldn't need supplementary adjectives.

Couldn't agree more.

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Petipa wasn't happy when Kschessinskaya got the title of Prima Ballerina Assoluta because he was never consulted on the matter, so doesn't this say that it should be the person in charge of the company who should decide whether or not a ballerina gets such a title?

I definitely think the person in charge of the company should be informed and consulted but they should definitely not have the final say

I wish Osipova would be given the title but almost all Assolutas have been beautiful O/Os and that is not her strongest role

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With respect to Zakharova, I believe she is de facto PBA of the Bolshoi Theatre and La Scala per managements'

casting preferences. I'd also say that Lopatkina is de facto PBA of the Mariinsky Theatre because of her comparable

stature in Russia and abroad, as Zakharova also has in Russia and abroad. The people love them both because they

stay close to home and their respect for tradition. Of the two, I think Lopatkina is the current national icon. That said,

I'm ITA with cubanmiamiboy's, mashinka's and volcanohunter's comments.

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I like the "change over time" that Amy refers to in now reserving the title for those who've proven their ability to dance at the highest level for a long period of time. There are dancers who flame out quickly, usually to injuries, but sometimes to other unfortunate or tragic circumstances such as illness. Who knows how far Valentina Simukova could have gone if she hadn't died of measles? Or, in America, Tanaquil le Clercq or even Gelsey Kirkland whose drug use and emotional difficulties silenced her dancing career?

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The tricky part is that there has never been a formal process to place such title. At government level, some of the past PBA have been Kchsessinskaya (by the Tsar), Fonteyn (by the Queen) and Ulanova and Plitsetskaya (by the Duma). Aside from those, the title seems to have been given unofficially, including Markova's and Alonso's. The French government could do it with Guillem,

I don't think that Ulanova and Plisetskaya were ever officially awarded the title prima ballerina assoluta. I've certainly never seen it listed amongst their official honors. They were both named "People's Artist of the USSR," which was the highest title you could get as an artist in the Soviet Union and was officially bestowed. I think that prima ballerina assoluta is just something that people, particularly in the United States, have used to indicate how important Ulanova and Plisetskaya were. As a comparison, Zakharova and Lopatkina are "People's Artists of Russia" (as are Alexandrova, Antonicheva, Allash, Makhalina, Vishneva, and Dmitri Gudanov). I don't think this title could quite compare to "People's Artist of the USSR," however, since "People's Artist of Russia" was a title under the Soviet government as well, just one that ranked lower than "of the USSR."

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