Jump to content
This Site Uses Cookies. If You Want to Disable Cookies, Please See Your Browser Documentation. ×

Shapran's Giselle variation


Recommended Posts

Not sure what's so "shocking". Kristina Shapran was great in the toughest parts of the variation, such as the pirouettes en attitude, then then double-pirouettes in both directions. It appears that the support in the left pointe shoe broke but it affected only the diagonal of hops (done in demi pointe...but obviously planned...she didn't begin in full pointe and stumble down into demi). The circle of piques after the diagonal went well.

This clip is hardly "shock" worthy. People see in it what they want. Shapran is a moving actress, too; quite touching and into the character. She looks great! Everything bodes well for a grand O/O debut next week. Just change the pointe shoe.

Link to comment

Shapran has many qualities, consistent hard-hitting technique (the double pirouettes are decent but the hops are a mess) unfortunately is not IMO one of the them.

I thought her a wonderful Juliet and Shyrin on the recent (nov-dec 2015) Japan tour but I also think that dramatic or even more neo-classical roles lie more naturally within her range (as opposed to say strictly classical ones with all its academic rigor).

Still, I would be curious to know how she does with Odette-Odile.

Link to comment

I don't know. The pique turns interspersed with the ballones seem to be the alternate steps dancers do when they have problems with traveling the full length of the stage which is a Mariinsky trademark. Tereshkina travels the diagonal so long that even her detractors are impressed. Here in America we are lucky if a Giselle goes maybe 5 feet for the diagonal. I have seen Shapran do this same version of the variation at the Mikhailovsky and had hoped she would do the iconic version at the Mariinsky. Even Skorik (when she did this version of the diagonal with pique turns) did the hops on pointe interspersed with turns. It was only when she attempted the full hops across the stage that she came to grief, although she now does them the way we expect. I have also seen Shapran do a very odd version of the Lilac fairy's Italian fouettes that I had never seen before. Maybe she is injured and feeling like she has to still perform on injury. No idea.

I think Kschessinskaya's bio relates that Petipa said that if you don't do a variation the way it is done and introduce new steps the audience will think you can't do the steps, and maybe I am guilty of that type of thinking here, but I have to admit I was very disappointed in this variation.

Link to comment

Not sure what's so "shocking". Kristina Shapran was great in the toughest parts of the variation, such as the pirouettes en attitude, then then double-pirouettes in both directions. It appears that the support in the left pointe shoe broke but it affected only the diagonal of hops (done in demi pointe...but obviously planned...she didn't begin in full pointe and stumble down into demi). The circle of piques after the diagonal went well.

This clip is hardly "shock" worthy. People see in it what they want. Shapran is a moving actress, too; quite touching and into the character. She looks great! Everything bodes well for a grand O/O debut next week. Just change the pointe shoe.

Shapran did not do the double pirouettes perfectly in both directions. To the right, yes, she did do double en dedans followed by double en dehors, but to the left, she only did the double en dedans. The ballonnes truly were terrible as she never really got en pointe at all. However, I do agree that she is a touching actress.

Link to comment
It appears that the support in the left pointe shoe broke but it affected only the diagonal of hops (done in demi pointe...but obviously planned...she didn't begin in full pointe and stumble down into demi). The circle of piques after the diagonal went well.
Everything bodes well for a grand O/O debut next week. Just change the pointe shoe.

Just a quick comment in regards to the question of the support of the shoe.... she is wearing Gaynor Minden and they do not break down and lose "support" in the same way that traditional pointe shoes do (this is part of why more and more dancers are choosing them- especially for performances). The box and shank are made of substances that give VERY consistent support to the foot which not only gives security that the shoe won't "die" on a dancer mid performance but also helps to lessen potential injury as well.

It is possible ofcourse that something else could have occurred with her shoe (such as the ribbon breaking for example) that might have made doing the historical diagonal unwise but the design of the shoe eliminates the possibility of the problem being with the box or shank.

I suspect however it is neither a pointe shoe problem nor a current injury issue but rather her personal preference, for whatever reason, not to risk the overall quality of her performance on that one ( albeit iconic) moment in the ballet.

Link to comment

I only know Shapran from video glimpses and her winsome beauty alone makes it hard for me to resist her...In the theater I bet I would find it close to impossible. Yet in a lot of video I do find myself resisting her. Unexpectedly...as I think of myself as "team Vaganova" in the various Mariinsky wars and she is a Vaganova school product. I do find her face unspeakably lovely albeit in a more conventional style than her Leonardo-esque contemporary Smirnova.

In this video of Giselle's variation, my resistance is not just due to the missing & demi-pointe hops -- though I will say that in the second series of the latter you can definitely see her go on to full pointe and fall right off, a move which doesn't look intentional. I'm also not crazy about the way she comes out of the attitude turns on a turned in or awkwardly placed foot that then has to be adjusted. Many ballerinas fudge the ending of those turns, but she needs, at least, to find a defter way to fudge. The final pique turns also seemed slow-ish to me. If foregoing speed is meant to be a "Giselle" effect of softness, then I'm not sure she shouldn't get rid of the show-offy balance at the beginning which is inconsistent with a soft or modest Giselle. (Osipova pulls out all the stops, but she is unequivocally performing Giselle as a girl who is so mad for dancing that she is quite prepared let it kill her.)

That said, as others have pointed out, a lot of the dancing was very fine and the flaws would probably have been relatively unimportant to me if I had found her interpretation delicately beautiful or warmly touching. I didn't. To my eyes, the dancing appeared to lack variety or piquancy. Of course, Shapran can't help but look like a picture-book Giselle of the weak-heart/sweetheart type--I don't know if I have ever seen a ballerina look more like a picture book Giselle of that type. But I didn't feel it in the dancing. Maybe I'm missing it; maybe this is an off performance; maybe it's the reductiveness of video--but others are clearly seeing something in her that I haven't been able to yet whether in this video or other videos. (Well, in video from Le Parc I will say she looks very sexy.)

I'm hoping that seeing her live will make a big difference. And if all goes well and no weather or other misfortune prevents me, I will get to do so in February if only in a solo role.

Link to comment

I have seen Shapran dance live at the Mariinsky Theatre on many occasions, and she is one of those dancers who I never feel at ease watching. She does not have strong pointe technique, and, for example, made numerous mistakes in the Lilac Fairy performance of hers I saw most recently. including the relatively straightforward technically end of Act 1, when the court is going to sleep. As Medora at Mikhailovsky she showed similarly weak pointework and Ido not think she has improved since then. I do think she has been given too many roles before her technique is adequate for it. Watching her dance, I am always nervous she is going to fall off pointe, and especially in turns. At this level, technique should be taken for granted. I do think she needs a lot more stamina and strength generally in her work before being entrusted with great roles such as Giselle.

Link to comment

For a slightly more complete picture of Shapran's Giselle, here is the Act 2 PDD from the same performance. Personally, though the tempi is at various moments too draggy for me (that seems to be a general mariinsky thing when it comes to legato dancing) and though videos are often inaccurate representations, I think Act 2 is a somewhat better fit for her.

Her Giselle on video as compared to say her Juliet (which I felt showed a dancer capable of complexity and nuance rather than just being very very pretty), seems more conventionally shaped. Nothing wrong with that but perhaps in time she will leave a more individual mark )

Link to comment

So having watched Shapran, plus the 'famed' Skorik fail and tonight's Satanila on Kultura with Shakirova, the one thing all 3 have in common is shoe. And it was something that plagued me and continues to plague many dancers with really brilliant, stellar technique and dancers without. As stated above, due to the polymer that is used in the construction of the shank and box of the shoe, it doesn't break down like a traditional, paste shoe. Which is wonderful in most circumstances. But the shape required for hops on pointe, and the more arched the foot the more important this becomes, is almost a 90 degree angle. So in order to prevent the ankle from rolling into what is a full pointe position, the ankle and toes clench and purposefully hold back. The Gaynors generally like to be in two positions, pointed and almost pointed. It is a pre-arched shoe and why it makes rolling through Demi-pointe so hard. They have created different strength shanks to help this issue, but the instant a dancer feels like she is going over too far it is safer, and instinctual really, to come off pointe. So the very reason the shoes are so reliable are what make them so difficult to manipulate in that position. It's the very reason many teachers do not like young dancers wearing them, and why some old school dancers won't go near them. The ability for a shoe to conform to the dancer's foot changes. And the Gaynor Minden shoe has what can really only be described as a 'popping' feeling going from Demi to pointe. Many dancers swear by them, I loved the lightness of the shoe and how quiet they are especially in comparison to their Russian-manufactured counterpart. I always changed shoes anytime I needed to do ballone or extended hops because I never felt completely in control of the shoe. And when we are talking CM from being en pointe and off, I preferred loud and clunky to sleek and plastic. And promptly changed back as soon as possible. Just my take.

Link to comment

Watching some of the 'Bolshoi Ballet' competition show, I was surprised to see Shakirova repeatedly fall off pointe in her series of hops, as -- though she is young and obviously inexperienced, she certainly does appear to have technical chops. I was wondering about training, shoes (as Fraildove mentioned above), nerves, bad luck, or just a particular weakness.

Link to comment

This is a tricky thing to mention but the first thing I notice in the Shapran videos is how emaciated she looks. Not just "ballet thin," or even "Russian ballet thin," but actually emaciated. In fact, the Giselle tutu seems too big for her shoulders, as the elastic straps fall off. Ballet requires a lot of strength, and Shapran looks so thin I wonder how she can even stand, let alone dance.

I'll also add that Alina Somova gained some weight after she had her baby and became much technically stronger, and Oksana Skorik also gained some weight and has become technically stronger.

Link to comment

Her pirouettes on the left went only en dedands, and the sautes on pointe section looked like it had been carefully changed and re choreographed to suit her weakness. That's not a role for her. There are many adagio-based/Juliet type for that type of dancers. Leave the technical roles for the capable technical ballerinas.

Link to comment

Watching some of the 'Bolshoi Ballet' competition show, I was surprised to see Shakirova repeatedly fall off pointe in her series of hops, as -- though she is young and obviously inexperienced, she certainly does appear to have technical chops. I was wondering about training, shoes (as Fraildove mentioned above), nerves, bad luck, or just a particular weakness.

If I remember correctly Shakirova also fell off pointe when she did the rose adagio at her Vaganova graduation. She's a decent addition to the Mariinsky but I am not totally in love with her at all.

Link to comment

This is a tricky thing to mention but the first thing I notice in the Shapran videos is how emaciated she looks. Not just "ballet thin," or even "Russian ballet thin," but actually emaciated. In fact, the Giselle tutu seems too big for her shoulders, as the elastic straps fall off. Ballet requires a lot of strength, and Shapran looks so thin I wonder how she can even stand, let alone dance.

I'll also add that Alina Somova gained some weight after she had her baby and became much technically stronger, and Oksana Skorik also gained some weight and has become technically stronger.

I wonder what she looks like in person, because most Mariinsky dancers look even skinnier in person when you are next to them. For example, Kolegova looks average weight and "full" on stage, but when next to her she is very thin. Somova looks thin on stage and is even thinner in person but not unhealthy, in my opinion. Ilya Kuznetsov always looked beefy on stage to me, but he looked thin in person.

So if Shapran looks very thin on stage she must really be extremely thin in person.

Link to comment

Her pirouettes on the left went only en dedands, and the sautes on pointe section looked like it had been carefully changed and re choreographed to suit her weakness. That's not a role for her. There are many adagio-based/Juliet type for that type of dancers. Leave the technical roles for the capable technical ballerinas.

Yes. Completely agree. That's what I said earlier - she didn't do the doubles properly both ways. And agree also that ballonne section was not only abysmally executed, but actually devised to cover up technical inadequacies.

Link to comment

S

I wonder what she looks like in person, because most Mariinsky dancers look even skinnier in person when you are next to them. For example, Kolegova looks average weight and "full" on stage, but when next to her she is very thin. Somova looks thin on stage and is even thinner in person but not unhealthy, in my opinion. Ilya Kuznetsov always looked beefy on stage to me, but he looked thin in person.

So if Shapran looks very thin on stage she must really be extremely thin in person.

Shapran is EXTREMELY thin in real life. Even thinner than Oxana Skorik, and certainly vastly thinner than Somova. I do wonder if she lacks stamina generally because of her very low weight, because she IS one of the thinnest of the ballerinas I have seen, with very little muscle.

Link to comment

But the shape required for hops on pointe, and the more arched the foot the more important this becomes, is almost a 90 degree angle. So in order to prevent the ankle from rolling into what is a full pointe position, the ankle and toes clench and purposefully hold back. The Gaynors generally like to be in two positions, pointed and almost pointed. It is a pre-arched shoe and why it makes rolling through Demi-pointe so hard. They have created different strength shanks to help this issue, but the instant a dancer feels like she is going over too far it is safer, and instinctual really, to come off pointe. So the very reason the shoes are so reliable are what make them so difficult to manipulate in that position. It's the very reason many teachers do not like young dancers wearing them, and why some old school dancers won't go near them. The ability for a shoe to conform to the dancer's foot changes.

Thanks for these insights, Fraildove. I had always assumed that resistance to GMs was just a matter of tradition...it's interesting to hear a dancer explain the actual technical concerns!

Link to comment

I think in the "old days", before the advent of GMs, if a dancer had weak feet/ankles, then she just was not cast in repertoire that required particularly strong pointework, but now with the technological advance in the making of pointe shoes, we see many dancers doing repertoire they should not be dancing, and actually too reliant on the strength of the SHOE, rather than the strength of the foot. It's a "cheat", if you like, and in steps such as hops en pointe, this cheat is exposed.

Link to comment

I think there is a generalized lack of strength around the ankle section in the contemporary ballerinas when compared to those from past generations. Sautes on pointe are here and there in different sections of choreography-(the Cuban black swan coda, Balanchine's lead Marzipan, and the Tarantella in Anyuta, to cite some examples). When Anyuta was revived, Obratzsova changed the section of the choreo in which she is supposed to do the backwards traveling sautes in arabesque, from pointe to flat feet.

Maximova, @ 0:43

Obratzsova @ 0:47

Link to comment

What did Kristina Shapran perform with Polinun in Big Ballet 2012 besides Marguerite and Armand? I assume the pieces were all chosen to emphasis her strengths.

I think she danced Manon too? Remember thinking she was a little green for that kind of role (at that point in time) but anyways I think they were all dramatic and/or contemporary pieces.

Link to comment

I think she danced Manon too? Remember thinking she was a little green for that kind of role (at that point in time) but anyways I think they were all dramatic and/or contemporary pieces.

She also danced part of the scene from Coppelius's workshop in Petit's Coppelia.

Link to comment
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...