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State Ballet of Georgia's American Tour, with Ananiashvili


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On another thread, drb posted a link to Nina Ananiashvili's plans re dancing with ABT this spring.

Further down, you'll find some exciting news about the State Ballet of Georgia's tour plans for the eastern US later in the spring.

Starting May 30, her Georgian company tours the United States. The Bolshoi’s Sergei Filin partners Nina in three Swan Lake performances at Bard College at Annandale-on-Hudson, NY; four evenings at the Spoleto USA Festival in Charleston, SC; and one performance in Philadelphia, PA. The superstars also highlight SBG’s Giselles in New Haven, CT.

The company makes it final U.S. stop at the Jacob’s Pillow Festival in the Berkshires, where the program will consist of Mozartiana, Second Before the Ground and a Grand Divertissement from Don Quixote.

Tje site says: "Watch for confirmed dates soon." There is also a note about a Japan tour including Angel Corella.
ABT’s Angel Corella and the Bolshoi’s Andrei Uvarov are slated to join SBG’s Japan tour (July 10-August 4), where the company will alternate performances of Swan Lake and Don Quixote.
here's a link to the entire piece, courtesy of drb:

http://www.ananiashvili.com/georgia/nina/N...39;sReturn.html

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You will also find Nina's company called Georgia State Ballet and Tblisi Opera Ballet on BT. Putting these links together, you will find it is a substantial company. There is a more folk-oriented company in Georgia with a name that translates as the first two names, which may be why some Georgia media try to make a distinction by identifying Nina's company in terms of its theater. The real name will be whichever one they use for the tour, of course.

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Here is the home website of Nina's company. The ballet is about the same size as each of the three large American companies. It is worth clicking on the museum link, and the opera one, in order to hear some interesting singing. With some patience one may see some panoramic ballet photos, including the local choreographer's Serenade, at the top of the ballet page that suggest their corps is quite impressive.

http://www.opera.ge/eng/ballet.php?page=ballet

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The company's schedule and Nina's performance dates have been posted on her website:

NINA'S PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE ON TOUR WITH THE STATE BALLET OF GEORGIA FOR THE 2007 SEASON

Cast and schedule subject to change, please double check before purchasing tickets

SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA, CHARLESTON, SO. CAROLINA

Date Theater/Location Ballet Partner/Cast

2007

June 7 Charleston, South Carolina Swan Lake Nina with Sergei Filiin; State Ballet of Georgia

June 8 Charleston, South Carolina Swan Lake The State Ballet of Georgia

June 9, Mat Charleston, South Carolina Swan Lake The State Ballet of Georgia

June 9, Eve Charleston, South Carolina Swan Lake Nina with Sergei Filiin; State Ballet of Georgia

June 10 Charleston, South Carolina Swan Lake The State Ballet of Georgia

NEW HAVEN FESTIVAL OF ARTS & IDEAS

Date Theater/Location Ballet Partner/Cast

2007

June 15 New Haven Festival of Arts & Ideas, New Haven Giselle Nina with Filin; State Ballet of Georgia

June 16 New Haven Festival of Arts & Ideas, New Haven Giselle Nina with Filin; State Ballet of Georgia

JACOB'S PILLOW, LEE, MASSACHUSETTS

Date Theater/Location Ballet Partner/Cast

2007

June 20 Jacob's Pillow, Lee, MA Performance 1 Nina with The State Ballet of Georgia

June 21 Jacob's Pillow, Lee, MA Performance 2 Nina with The State Ballet of Georgia

June 22 Jacob's Pillow, Lee, MA Performance 3 Nina with The State Ballet of Georgia

June 23, Mat Jacob's Pillow, Lee, MA Performance 4 Nina with The State Ballet of Georgia

June 23, Eve Jacob's Pillow, Lee, MA Performance 5 Nina with The State Ballet of Georgia

June 24, Mat Jacob's Pillow, Lee, MA Performance 6 Nina with The State Ballet of Georgia

(An earlier posting on her site stated that the Pillow ballets would be Mozartiana, Second Before the Ground, Grand Divertissement from Don Quixote.)

Some background information. Swan Lake is a production set on SBG by Alexei Fadeyechev in 2005.

Mozartiana was due to Bart Cook and Maria Calegari, also in 2005. Prior to this Suzanne Farrell had coached Nina in the lead role. Second Before the Ground is Trey McIntyre's ballet to African music arranged by the Kronos Quartet.

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I think I may have to make a pilgrimage to New Haven to see Nina & Sergei Filin in Giselle. I looked at the site for the New Haven Festival but it didn't have any info up yet for this year's schedule. Anyone know which venue is likely for Nina's company, or have any suggestions for hotels, Metro North vs Amtrak etc?

Susan

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I see that The Pillow's site confirms the program listed above. It also offers some large photos, including in (last photo) the budding Farrell, Nino Gogua, and young male star Lasha Khozashvili:

http://www.jacobspillow.org/gallery/category.asp?catid=2

From the ananiashvili.com 2005 interview with Bart Cook and Maria Calegari, remarks on some dancers they especially liked:

Maria: There was a boy [Lasha Khozashvili], a natural for Apollo---beautiful like Michelangelo’s “David” with a nymph-type face. He also had a pretty good technique. And there was girl---Nino Gogua--- with dark Georgian hair [she] had the body, feet, extension that even Suzanne Farrell would envy. She also had a natural feminine grace. Of course her technique has some ways to go, but she has such great potential.

Bart: Yes---there was a girl---Nino Gogua, quite green, not much stage experience and she needs to develop strength. But she came through when she had to substitute for injured colleagues. And there were the other ballerinas Tsicia [Cholokashvili], Lali [Kandelaki], Anna.

There are some photos of these and other dancers on Nina's site as well. Of course there must be others to look forward to as well, in a company of Nina plus 15 soloists and a corps of 67.

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There is now a huge photo gallery on the company's site. This large company seems full of very expressive dancers. While you cannot be sure from still photos, it looks like there are a number of virtuosic power dancers among the men. There's lots of Balanchine (but then, is it possible that they have the second largest active Balanchine rep?), even a couple of Apollo sets, but also Ashton, Bournonville, the classics, and some unfamiliar works.

http://www.opera.ge/eng/photo-gallery.php?...=administration

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Yes, thanks drb - the photos are great!

I called the New Haven Festival to get some info on the 2 performances of Giselle that are scheduled for 6/15 & 16 and was told that they will be at the Shubert Theater and tickets will go on sale on May 7th. I can't wait, that's such a short trip from NY that I can't resist it!

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From an article on efforts to promote Georgian culture world-wide in the current Georgian Times, this quote:

In June, the Paliashvili Opera and Ballet Company will tour to the US to perform Swan Lake and Giselle at the Spoleto, New Heave, and Jacobs Pillow Festivals.

This is the 4th name I've seen for this company!

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And, the previous month, from Cal Performances in Berkeley:

For the troupe's West Coast debut at Cal Performances, Ananiashvili (in select performances) and the company will perform the American premieres of a new ballet by Yuri Possokhov, resident choreographer of San Francisco Ballet, set to traditional Georgian music; a new work by the Bolshoi's Aleksei Ratmansky; and an evening-length production of one of the most beloved ballets of all time, Giselle....

Program A (Thu, Feb 14, 2008): Balanchine/Chaconne, set to Gluck, plus new works by Yuri Possokhov and Aleksei Ratmansky (American premieres)

Program B (Fri-Sun, Feb 15-17, 2008): Giselle

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After her return to Odette/Odile last week, further news on Nina's remarkable return to the big roles at age 44, from her company's website:

Sunday, 6 May at 15:00

The Tbilisi Z. Paliashvili Opera and Ballet State Theatre with the participation of world ballet stars Nino Ananiashvili and Andrei Uvarov is pleased to announce one performance of Don Quixote, Ludwig Minkus’s ballet in three acts.

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Tickets for Nina's New Haven Giselles went on sale this morning & they are a bargain - from a high of $45 to a low of $7 for the last 3 rows of the balcony. They add a convenience fee of $3.50 - $5.50 plus a small restoration fee but they're still a great deal. I'm going on Saturday.

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From a prewrite on the Spoleto Festival, Nina describes her dancers and her somewhat radical Swan Lake:

The young dancers are eager to succeed, she said. But she has to tend to their mind-sets.

"They're liking to do tricks," Ananiashvili said. "They think doing 25 pirouettes is ballet. What I try to teach them ... is that ballet is art. Ballet is not a circus."

What keeps audiences coming, she said, is seeing dancers express emotion. In "Swan Lake," that means the romance of Prince Siegfried and Odette.

Her troupe's version of the tale makes it a point to get to the romance quickly. The opening scene, usually Siegfried's birthday celebration, is abbreviated. It's staged as a scene in a rehearsal studio, where dancers are practicing for "Swan Lake." The man cast as Siegfried dozes off. He dreams his way into a performance, and from there the traditional scenario and choreography take over.

http://www.charlotte.com/364/story/110737.html

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"They're liking to do tricks," Ananiashvili said. "They think doing 25 pirouettes is ballet. What I try to teach them ... is that ballet is art. Ballet is not a circus."

What keeps audiences coming, she said, is seeing dancers express emotion.

http://www.charlotte.com/364/story/110737.html

:jawdrop: I'm glad that there are those who realize acrobats is not ballet. To those who think it's all about high lifts and multiple tours... :)

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From today's Chicago Sun Times (Links) we learn of yet another venue for Nina's 2008 tour.

So far

Berkeley, February 14-17

Chicago, March 5-9

U. Minnesota, March 14, 15

Does anyone know the booking agency, or can anyone fill in the gaps?

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Both Nina and her company seem to have got off to a good start, judging from the Charleston Post and Courier (see June 8 Links):

After praising the corps's impeccable performance, including perfect arabesques, the review went on to say

In the double role of Odette/Odile, from her quicksilver 32 fouettes to her perfect arabesque penches, with one leg held totally perpendicular to the body, the svelte Ananiashvili seemed to defy her 44 years and the fact she had a baby only 15 months ago.

Premier danseur Irakli Bakhtadze, as Prince Siegfried, whose swift tours en l'air showed the bravura and expansiveness of the Russian balletic style, also vividly displayed his confusion and grief when deceived by the evil magician Rothbart, brazenly danced by Lasha Khozashvili.

Added June 11: The paper has published the following correction:

Corrections

Saturday, June 9, 2007

Spoleto

On Page 3AA of Friday's editions, a review of "Swan Lake" contained errors. The role of Prince Siegfried was danced by Sergei Filin. The role of Rothbart, The Evil Genius, was danced by David Khozashvili.

The Post and Courier regrets the errors.

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Two more venues, LA and Iowa, have been added to the 2008 tour. So here is the picture so far:

Berkeley, February 14-17

UCLA, February 21-24*

Chicago, March 5-9

U. Iowa, March 11**

U. Minnesota, March 14, 15

*Feb. 21: Chaconne, new Possokhov (to Georgian music), new Ratmansky

Feb. 23 8 PM: Giselle with Nina Ananiashvili

Feb. 23 2 PM, Feb. 24 2PM: Giselle

http://www.uclalive.org/event.asp?Event_ID=474

**Giselle

http://www.culturalcorridor.org/calendar_d...ls.asp?R=177207

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Two more venues, LA and Iowa, have been added to the 2008 tour. So here is the picture so far:

Berkeley, February 14-17

UCLA, February 21-24*

Chicago, March 5-9

U. Iowa, March 11**

U. Minnesota, March 14, 15

*Feb. 21: Chaconne, new Possokhov (to Georgian music), new Ratmansky

Feb. 23 8 PM: Giselle with Nina Ananiashvili

Feb. 23 2 PM, Feb. 24 2PM: Giselle

http://www.uclalive.org/event.asp?Event_ID=474

**Giselle

http://www.culturalcorridor.org/calendar_d...ls.asp?R=177207

Add BAM to that list, according to the Playbill piece in today's links:

http://www.playbillarts.com/news/article/6765.html

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