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

Panda

New Member
  • Posts

    5
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Registration Profile Information

  • Connection to/interest in ballet** (Please describe. Examples: fan, teacher, dancer, writer, avid balletgoer)
    avid balletgoer
  • City**
    new york
  1. I am not really confident to be able to express well enough what I think. I'll try. When I saw the Kirov was going to perform at City Center Theater,which is very small. I did not expect they would do full length classics. They obviously chose to do excerpts and perform like a concert. How do you expect some coherence of story in this context??? If we see "Paquita, grand pas" in a program, I think many people expect to see soloist dancers to show off their dancing skills and their individuality. Yes it is very show off piece. If you see Don Q pdd in a concert we expect to see super technique and we gasp and crap hands when a dancer dose incredible foette, of course. Then Mr.Macualay criticized these pieces not artistic? They are touring with restricted budget. Why dose he complain about back drops of DonQ pdd? What dose he want to put there? Don Q scenery? They did for another purpose. Le corsaire was composed of wonderful dancing pieces together from full length le corsaire to make a fun piece for the concert. When they performed as a full length ballet, three odalisques do not dance in the scene Le Jardin. Yes it's mixture. It dose not make sense. They know that. It is a dancing piece. Why dose he complain? If they performed at the Met, they would do full length works and of course they would emphasize more artistic points rather than technique. By seeing this season's program only and criticize they pursue circus techniques is one sided view,I think. The kirov (classical ballet itself)has many kinds of things together. I enjoy many aspects of ballet like sheer technique , musicality and drama(Giselle,for example) which depend on what they do in which occasion. They did very simple steps graciously and musically in the beginning of the Le corsaire with bell sound, he said NO choreograph. For him the beginning of La bayader , which is very simple ,doesn't bother at all. Some balanchine works also have many simple steps and NO meaning. Why does he praise these and dislike others? Maybe I might be wrong. But the way how he describes is like from the top? Somehow he provoked some anger to the Kirov or traditional classical ballet fans, I think. I like serenade ,theme and variation,Symphony in C etc. I really enjoy them. Even so, I treasure old classics like the swan lake very much. The kirov is the best company who can do the swan lake artistically without any doubt. I never have thought Balanchine works are on the top over these classics. They are existed in parallel. And probably many people outside of the U.S. think like me. That he prefers Balanchine to others is no problem. But I wish him to find better way to write. Whatever he thinks, the Kirov adjusted their way of dancing for this small theater and give us very intense beautiful performances everyday. They pour 100(120?)% energy. I was moved by them. They are giving us wonderful pleasure moments. I am not sure I could make me understood well, though. If I misundestood what Mr. Macaulay wrote, I have to apologize.
  2. Thank you for encouraging me to write. I like one of Balanchine''s words, Ballet is important and significant -yse. But first of all it is a pleasure. I feel that Mr.Macaulay is missing "a pleasure".
  3. I have to say I am not a native English speaker. I therefore may not get his point exactly what he nuanced. However, after I read his reviews about the Kirov, he sounds he dose not enjoy classic ballet at all....or at least he does not like the kirov. An art is a subjective thing. Everybody has their own opinion. But I think that they also should respect others' . The Kirov is an epitome of classical ballet and the director,coaches, teachers and dancers all know ballet very very well of course. They choose programs and productions with their taste which was nurtured under the long tradition. In a sense they know the best. His way of criticism appears he lacks respects for this century old ballet tradition. I have many things I want to say about his review since I really disagree with him at many points. But I'll stop it this time.
  4. I went to see Kirov on the first night. I now know I am a minority. I LOVED Somova's Nikia, though I have never liked Gillem's a la second toward her ear. Her jump was also phenomenal. And I thought she is very elegant and musical. Just she is very young and not polished yet. I saw her big potential. I really want to see her Balanchine work. I was dissappinted with Vishneva. She has recetnly become somehow sloppy to do steps. She used to be more intensed. She might need to rest.... Whatsoever, I enjoyed the performance very much. I felt "this is the classical ballet", which I fell in love when I was 8 years old. It ,of course, includes these character dances. Nobody except Russian can dance Mazrka, unfortunately. ( I am not Russian,though) I personally think the relation between executing steps and music is the essence of the excitement of Kirov performance. And also the posture of the upper body. Glacious!!!
  5. I think bolshoi performed "Romeo and Juliette" for that season. I moved to New York in 1988. I hadn't seen any 3acts of spasrutacus until this year. But Bolshoi came probably in 1987or 1986, I haerd. I don't know what they did then.
×
×
  • Create New...