2016-2017 Season

[Buddy]

Yuri Grigorovich's The Stone Flower is being performed this month.

 

Here is some official footage of him coaching the dancers. He will be 90 in January,

 

Viktoria Tereshkina appears in the last third with a constant smile. She is supposed to be a lovely person to work with.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7irLgQ17bmU

 

 

Edited December 17, 2016 by Buddy

[Buddy]

“The Four Seasons” and beyond.

 

This work was broadcast on-line June 19 from the Mariinsky II Theatre and can now be seen here. It’s a ballet in two acts.

 

 

The choreographer is Ilya Zhivoi, but I see much of the influence of the Mariinsky’s highly talented young choreographer, Maxim Petrov, who has presented four of his works at consecutive Mariinsky Festival’s A Creative Workshop of Young Choreographers. I would go as far as to say that this work seems like a collaboration. 

 

Much of what I consider the essentials of Maxim Petrov is evident here. What is different from his four large scale works, which are my favorites, is a lovely lyrical gentleness, which may exist in some of his small scale works. This may be one point of departure for what Ilya Zhivoi has done and is another very fine direction for this sort of thing to go in.

 

The beautiful and very interesting complex blending and intertwining of dancers, who sometimes are performing separate patterns in the same grouping can be seen at 11:55 and 1:10:00. Much of this can be seen in Maxim Petrov’s work here at 1:30:00

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXILEnsBSrY

 

Whoever’s doing what, there’s something very fine coming from several Mariinsky performances of young choreographers’ efforts. I’d like to add Garrett Smith who presented his work at this year’s  A Creative Workshop of Young Choreographers.  In a somewhat similar manner he has directed highly interesting, individual detailing to his small group of dancers. This can be seen at 43:10.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXILEnsBSrY

 

I like very much the gently lyrical feeling in The Four Seasons. I wouldn’t change a thing in what these fine choreographers are doing. I would like to say that much new dance seems to require a lot of physical difficulty and I wouldn’t mind seeing less physically demanding yet beautifully developed and equally interesting styling.

 

A quick mention of Yekaterina’s Kondaurova’s excellent performance. I’ve stated that she can deliver extremely impressive theatricality as well. This can be very noticeable in her facial expression and is often done very selectively. Here it can be seen at 9:00 from The Four Seasons.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiMucyaun0g  

 

Edited June 22, 2017 by Buddy
typo correction

[Buddy]

MadameP said at the broadcast topic:

 

“I enjoyed it very much for what it was, including the played around with Vivaldi music.”

 

http://balletalert.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/42705-mariinsky-livestream-the-seasons/#comment-383425

 

For those who watch it now, here is an explanation of the music which might add to your enjoyment.

 

For the last season’s Creative Workshop, Zhivoi prepared a one-act SeasonS to music by Max Richter (featured on his album Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi – The Four Seasons). The music of the contemporary British composer Max Richter represents a 21st century interpretation of Antonio Vivaldi’s masterpiece. Richter kept the shapes, the textures and dynamics of the Vivaldi’s cycle, but in his interpretation the instrumental music of the Baroque hit meets electronic sounds. The Spring and Summer parts of the composer’s album were the basis for the  premiere of SeasonS (2016). Continuing his choreographic exploration of Max Richter’s music, Ilya Zhivoi will present his two-act ballet at the Stars of the White Nights Festival–2017.

 

https://www.mariinsky.ru/en/playbill/playbill/2017/6/19/2_1900

(click on "About The Production")

Edited June 22, 2017 by Buddy