mtthwbrehm

Yes it is absolutely a different story because it's shorter. In fact there's not really a story at all. Balanchine's Nutcracker is always advertised as Balanchine's Nutcracker, but I have not seen this Swan Lake advertised with Balanchine's name prominently attached. It seems like the idea of a traditional Swan Lake is what motivates people to buy tickets. At Friday's show I passed by a couple who was arguing that there WOULD be another act, but had to be explained that this was not a traditional Swan Lake. You don't need a multiple act ballet to convey story, that is certain. However, when the work of art was designed to be seen in a multi-act staging, like Swan Lake, then in my opinion that difference should be made apparent to the casual buyer.

I hope you're right, especially about Hod. I watched Ms. Hod's Sugar Plum on Sunday and she was extraordinary. Her arms were expansive and expressive. Her interpretation was so grand and the audience loved it. That said, I've been extremely frustrated with her casting. Maybe I'm overlooking the schedule, but she only has two Sugar Plums this entire season, and I believe a similar number of Dewdrops (which she also excels in). After witnessing the extraordinary grand adagio I saw on Sunday, I cannot understand why she's being mostly cast in Hot Chocolate and Lead Flowers.

I believe this is actually for their summer 2020 tour.

Great to hear these comments! Thank you.

Wow it sounds like an incredible performance. Who replaced Olga during the second act?

Even the most experienced ballerinas still make mistakes every now and then. It wasn't a big deal.

Sorry I have not responded to this message, but I will send a personal message! Thank you so much

I can direct message you if more appropriate than this forum, but I believe wholeheartedly in her innocence. She is an extremely beautiful and technically capable ballerina. On stage, I feel that she did not have to act. Her personality was just as sweet and innocent as Aurora. I'll never forgive myself for not bringing her flowers. If it is within your interest, I would consider buying her a nice bouquet for the performance.

I saw Angelina this summer in the Sleeping Beauty. Out of all the ballerinas I saw in Petersburg and Moscow, her performance made the greatest impression. She was effervescent and beautiful, perfectly capturing Aurora. Mikhailovsky is lucky to have her and the theater's repertoire suits her well.

I think that having designated claques in the audience is a good thing. It makes the audience more engaged and more inclined to shout "bravo" and applaud as well. As long as claques aren't doing anything horrible to dancers behind the scenes, it seems to be a good institution. Over the summer I did study abroad in St. Petersburg and had the opportunity to watch performances at the Mariinsky, Mikhailovsky and Bolshoi. The claques at the Bolshoi made the performance much more interesting. No one around me ever seem disinterested or bored. It was a lot easier to work up the courage to cheer "Bravo" when people around you already were cheering. At the Mariinsky, without claques, you could hear a pen drop at the end of variations. At some performances, I made it my duty to applaud loudly. Only a performance of Swan Lake with Victoria Tereshkina had a lot of true ballet fans in attendance. Tereshkina was the only Mariinsky performance I attended which had multiple curtain calls. At the Mikhailovsky the case was worse. The entire audience were tourists from cruise ships who had no idea what they were watching. I saw a performance of Nacho Duato's Sleeping Beauty and I had to start applause for Princess Aurora's (Angelina Vorontsova) entrance. I had never been more upset. Only at the Bolshoi did I feel like the audience truly enjoyed the ballet, and that was probably due to the claques.

PLEASE GO AND TELL US HOW IT IS. Mekhmene Banu is a perfect role for her.

Tsiskaridze founded a committee to ensure the correct teaching of Vaganova's teaching. None of his recent graduates have taken on a Moscow style.

So glad to hear that you enjoyed Anastasia Lukina. I saw her debut as Queen of the Dryads last summer on the fourth of July and she was not ready. She messed up the Italian fouettes, but I was still glad to bring her flowers!

I had the pleasure of attending both performances on Saturday. There has been a lot of critiques against Oksana, but the only noticeable error I saw was during the first en dedan pirouette of the scarf variation. It looked like Andrey hadn't given her the proper fabric length. She very visibly had to yank for more cloth before taking off into the next arabesque-pirouette section. Either way she finished the forward pirouettes with a clean triple on the music, something not a lot of ballerinas can do well. Andrey Ermakov impressed me immensely as Solor, his jumps were so high I was astounded. Anastasia Kolegova won me over as Gamzatti as well. Her italian fouettes were so exciting, and although they are a step I'm not partial to, I thought she did them extremely well. Ekaterina Kondaurova was beautiful in the evening performance but, I was not a fan of her costume in Act II. It looked a little tie-dye from where I was sitting; it did not translate too well. I enjoyed Timur Askerov as well, his jetes were so elegant.

If only it could have premiered this summer!!! I had to stand and then sit for two back to back Don Quixotes, their 'Nureyev' alternative. Either way, hopefully some better recordings emerge online from the premiere. I suppose the Bolshoi decided to stall its Coppelia revival to make room for this.

Yes! I should be able to see Ekaterina Kondaurova and Oksana Skorik if the casting holds.

Thank you! I'm glad to be a part of this online community.

I am really hoping that the performances of Mayerling go on as scheduled. I wonder if Houston Ballet will try to find alternate venues - places like Jones Hall did not flood. Either way, best of luck as they are repairing and many thanks to the MET Dance Center.

I have followed these forums for a long time, but I only recently had the urge to make an account. I'm a university student in Texas and I used to be a ballet dancer. Although I only take ballet class once or twice a week, I regularly attend performances at Houston Ballet. Additionally, this summer I attended a Russian language course in St. Petersburg and had the opportunity to see performances at the Mariinsky, Mikhailovsky, and Bolshoi Ballet (we took a weekend trip to Moscow). Although Hurricane Harvey caused a lot of devastation, I am hoping to attend as many Houston Ballet performances as I can. Additionally, in October I will watch two performances of the Mariinsky's tour to Washington D.C.. My favorite dancers are Katherine Precourt, Karina Gonzalez, Connor Walsh, Nikolai Tsiskaridze, Angelina Vorontsova, Viktoria Tereshkina, Oksana Skorik, Ekaterina Kondaurova, and Maria Alexandrova.