Mariinsky Bayadere KennCen Oct 22-17, 17

[Drew]

Deleted what I originally wrote...because although I and a few others would have run happily from Bayadere to Robbins to Bayadere in a single day, I guess most people wouldn't.

I do think, as a general matter, that Kennedy Center has public obligations that extend beyond selling tickets though. And even private organizations may want to serve the public or see the PR value in doing so. 

Edited October 17, 2017 by Drew

[YouOverThere]

14 minutes ago, Drew said:

Deleted what I originally wrote...because although I and a few others would have run happily from Bayadere to Robbins to Bayadere in a single day, I guess most people wouldn't.

I do think, as a general matter, that Kennedy Center has public obligations that extend beyond selling tickets though. And even private organizations may want to serve the public or see the PR value in doing so. 

 

I don't know a whole lot about the Kennedy Center's management (and I will learn even less since I dropped my membership), but my naive impression is that there is room for improvement. Some of their actions have frustrated me, such as not selling standing room tickets for ABT's Swan Lake and paying a LUDICROUSLY high salary ($2.7 million/year) to a National Symphony Orchestra music director who had been fired by several other orchestras.

[kfw]

Was anyone at the rehearsal this afternoon? I haven't followed the company for years and didn't hear the dancers announced during the commentary before I turned it off. The closest I can come to matching faces onstage to official portraits is Makhalina for Nikiya, but she looks 10 years older in the portrait than whoever was onstage!

[maps]

Wed cast did OR.  The Mariinsky  brought the elephant [Yermakov was fun-waved to the crowd and did an arm  pedal when it went backwards],  sleighs, litters, and the tiger.   The show is longer than the listed run time-applause and there was a end of show type of standing ovation after Act 2.  Orchestra was great conducted by  Gavriel Heine.  

 

ON/OR casts:

Nikya- Tereshkina /Skorik

Solor-Kim /Yermakov

Brahmin-Kulaev

Gamzatti-Matvienko /Kolegeva

Magdeveya-Popov

Warrior-Baimuradov

Idol-Tkachenko /Baibordin.  Students from Kirov Academy.

Slave-Belykov /Beloborodov

D'Jampe-Ostreikovskaya, Selina

Manu-Nagahisa /Martynuk and Nagahisa [ran twice].   2 students from Kirov Academy with Nagahasi ON/OR.

Dance of Bayaderes- Ivanova, Mikheikina, Asaben, Gimadieva

Grand pas-Yalinich, Guseinova, Smirnova, Chereshkevich, Solovyov, Beloborodov

Indian-Belik, Yenikeyev, Demchenko/ Lebedeva, Matyshev, Lopatin 

Shades-Martynuk, Selina, Lukina /Ivanova-Skoblikova, Ivannikova, Nagahisa

Lead shade-Svetlana Ivanova  [?]

 

The 32 shades were perfect.  OR was first tier so shade patterns were clear.  At one point they are in lines DS to US -arabesque and arms in first forming a linking pattern like diamond shaped lace where they almost touch.  

  

 

 

Edited October 18, 2017 by maps
cast

[Drew]

1 hour ago, maps said:

The Wed cast did OR.  The Mariinsky used 32 shades and brought the elephant.   The show is longer than the listed run time-applause and there was a end of show type of standing ovation after Act 2.

 

ON/OR casts:

Nikya- Tereshkina /Skorik

Solor-Kim /Yermakov

Brahmin-Kulaev

Gamzatti-Matvienko /Kolegeva

Magdeveya-Popov

Warrior-Baimuradov

Idol-Tkachenko /Baibordin.  Students from Kirov Academy.

Slave-Belykov /Beloborodov

D'Jampe-Ostreikovskaya, Selina

Manu-Nagahisa /Martynuk and Nagahisa [ran twice].   2 students from Kirov Academy with Nagahasi ON/OR.

Indian-Lebedeva, Matyshev, Lopatin /Belik, Yenikeyev, Demchenko

Shades-Martynuk, Selina, Lukina /Ivanova-Skoblikova, Ivannikova, Nagahisa

  

 

 

 

Thank you!

[Liotarded]

I’ll be there tomorrow night Thursday. Wife is working so — again — just me. Orange tie having liquid appetizers at the Roof Terrace Restaurant bar beforehand if anyone wants to say hello or better yet join!

[sandik]

15 hours ago, Liotarded said:

Orange tie having liquid appetizers

 

Oh no -- don't let your tie drink your wine!

[Liotarded]

1 hour ago, sandik said:

 

Oh no -- don't let your tie drink your wine!

 

 But... but... that’s my conversation starter! ;)

[sandik]

4 hours ago, Liotarded said:

 

 But... but... that’s my conversation starter! ;)

 

I wouldn't want to disrupt your style -- I just want to make sure you don't end up with a soggy tie.

[DC Export]

I attended last night's show. I have to say that I was a little disappointed. I am open to the reasoning that I am more accustomed to the American aesthetic of athleticism than the emotive qualities of the Mariinsky, but overall I found the lack of dance in this ballet difficult to get over.

 

The choreography just didn't lend itself to telling a compelling story. The first act was full of painfully-slow mime, which shortened what I felt could have been a meaningful interaction between Solor (Timur Askerov) and Nikiya (Ekaterina Kondaurova) to set the stage for the tragedy to come. Instead, their pas was so brief that the audience did not feel the depth of their love. Which wasn't helped by the fact that our Nikiya barely looked at Solor throughout the production; she seemed to be dancing on her own, never acknowledging the presence of her lover.  Ms. Kondaurova's long arms added so much beauty to her extensions, but I was distracted from the first scene (where the midriff is bear with a tube top and harem skirt) to the end (traditional leotard and tutu) by the protrusion of her rib cage in comparison to the size of her stomach. I hate to body shame anyone, regardless of where they fall on the scale, but it is saddening to see this company continue a sad legacy of emaciated artists.

 

 

On the plus side, Nadezhda Batoeva was incredibly compelling as Gamzatti, precise technique in her steps and a visceral emotion in her jealousy. Askerov was also a gallant Solor, his solos were some of the high-points of the production, and his gestures and face told a wonderful story about his conflict and guilt, though it wasn't evidently reciprocated by Nikiya. Also, the divertissements in the second act were a nice reprieve from drawn-out mime and (pretty) walking around the stage. I normally dislike these sections of ballets since they don't advance the plot, but it was just nice to see people dance. 

[alexL]

To my surprise, Skorik was wonderful on Wednesday. Her arabesque penchee en pointe wasn't as secure as Tereshina's but I liked her overall performance. I think someone mentioned that she has the most beautiful hands in ballet and I kind of agree. I've seen her many years ago once and she wasn't that impressive then. I think she's learned how to display her physicality without looking like a contortionist. The only time I was distracted was when she took an extra time to stretch out her penche to 180 degrees. Why Yermakov isn't a principal yet is the biggest mystery to me. His partnering was flawless (unlike Kim who made a major mistake on Tuesday). 

On Tuesday, Tereshkina looked a little fatigued by the end of 3rd act. I believe she will perform better this weekend after some rest. This might offend some people on this board but to me Kim isn't the most elegant dancer. Obviously he has much to improve on his epaulement and mime in a more noble manner.  

For some reason Kolegova dyed her hair in Blonde as Gamzatti which I thought was odd(Matvienko didn't dye her hair on Tuesday). Nevertheless she was a beautiful Gamzatti and nailed most of the technical aspects (a small mistake on jete en tournant). I'd love to see her as Nikiya some day. 

The 3rd act was wonderful on both days and it's totally worth the trip just for the shades. The fact that Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra is way better than ABT Orchestra does help a lot. Bravo to the concert master who nailed those difficult violin solos. 

[Mashinka]

18 hours ago, DC Export said:

  Ms. Kondaurova's long arms added so much beauty to her extensions, but I was distracted from the first scene (where the midriff is bear with a tube top and harem skirt) to the end (traditional leotard and tutu) by the protrusion of her rib cage in comparison to the size of her stomach. I hate to body shame anyone, regardless of where they fall on the scale, but it is saddening to see this company continue a sad legacy of emaciated artists.

 

 

 

Bare midriffs in ballet are a personal hate of mine and most dancers tend to look as you describe Kondaurova.  She has never struck me as emaciated when she wears a tutu though.  I always cringe when I see the scene where Nikiya dances with the gift basket, the prominent ribs, I agree, aren't a good look.

[Drew]

Outside of the first movement of Symphony in C,  which did not tell me much, Nikiya in Friday's Bayadere is the first time I have seen Tereshkina dance. With no exaggeration, I consider it a highlight of my balletgoing life..

 

I expected to admire her, but not to such an extent. I even performed a thought experiment as the curtain came down. If I had never read a word about Tereshkina what might I have speculated concerning her reputation based on the performance I had just seen? (I leave video out of this discussion, because even more than usual, it seems to fall short.)

 

'Surely' I would have said to myself, 'this ballerina must be well known for what the Russians call 'plastique' and for a highly expressive plastique too, indeed for the interpretive variety and subtle differentiations of every phrase and pose...and her musicality too--she must be famous for that--she dances so completely inside the music she seems directly bound not just to its rhythm, but its texture; and the phrasing as one dance figure turns into the next is extraordinary for its clarity and flow. Plus of course, people must marvel at her stage presence and, if they care about mime, her striking pantomime too.' As an aside I MIGHT have added to myself 'and with all this, she is technically meticulous.' 

 

It would never have occured to me that she is often (admitedly not always) written about, in English anyway, as if she were just a strong and consistent technician or ...cold?!? 

 

All in all, a thrilling performance yesterday from pretty much the whole company, led by Tereshkina, Kim, and Matvienko. All the stresses of travel--I am currently exhausted and insomniac in my hotel, wondering if I will actually survive the day or become horribly sick--worth it 100 times over. (Though please, if you care to, send healing energies my way!)

Edited October 21, 2017 by Drew
Typo

[Birdsall]

10 hours ago, alexL said:

To my surprise, Skorik was wonderful on Wednesday. Her arabesque penchee en pointe wasn't as secure as Tereshina's but I liked her overall performance. I think someone mentioned that she has the most beautiful hands in ballet and I kind of agree. I've seen her many years ago once and she wasn't that impressive then. I think she's learned how to display her physicality without looking like a contortionist. The only time I was distracted was when she took an extra time to stretch out her penche to 180 degrees. Why Yermakov isn't a principal yet is the biggest mystery to me. His partnering was flawless (unlike Kim who made a major mistake on Tuesday). 

On Tuesday, Tereshkina looked a little fatigued by the end of 3rd act. I believe she will perform better this weekend after some rest. This might offend some people on this board but to me Kim isn't the most elegant dancer. Obviously he has much to improve on his epaulement and mime in a more noble manner.  

For some reason Kolegova dyed her hair in Blonde as Gamzatti which I thought was odd(Matvienko didn't dye her hair on Tuesday). Nevertheless she was a beautiful Gamzatti and nailed most of the technical aspects (a small mistake on jete en tournant). I'd love to see her as Nikiya some day. 

The 3rd act was wonderful on both days and it's totally worth the trip just for the shades. The fact that Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra is way better than ABT Orchestra does help a lot. Bravo to the concert master who nailed those difficult violin solos. 

 

Kolegova has been blonde for months. I think it must be a personal choice, not a character choice. I personally like her best as brunette or redhead.....she is such a stunning woman but for some reason I don't think blonde is her best color.

[Birdsall]

1 hour ago, Drew said:

Outside of the first movement of Symphony in C,  which did not tell me much, Nikiya in Friday's Bayadere is the first time I have seen Tereshkina dance. With no exaggeration, I consider it a highlight of my balletgoing life..

 

I expected to admire her, but not to such an extent. I even performed a thought experiment as the curtain came down. If I had never read a word about about Tereshkina what might I have speculated concerning her reputation based on the performance I had just seen? (I leave video out of this discussion, because even more than usual, it seems to fall short.)

 

'Surely' I would have said to myself, 'this ballerina must be well known for what the Russians call 'plastique' and for a highly expressive plastique too, indeed for the interpretive variety and subtle differentiations of every phrase and pose...and her musicality too--she must be famous for that--she dances so completely inside the music she seems directly bound not just to its rhythm, but its texture; and the phrasing as one dance figure turns into the next is extraordinary for its clarity and flow. Plus of course, people must marvel at her stage presence and, if they care about mime, her striking pantomime too.' As an aside I MIGHT have added to myself 'and with all this, she is technically meticulous.' 

 

It would never have occured to me that she is often (admitedly not always) written about, in English anyway, as if she were just a strong and consistent technician or ...cold?!? 

 

All in all, a thrilling performance yesterday from pretty much the whole company, led by Tereshkina, Kim, and Matvienko. All the stresses of travel--I am currently exhausted and insomniac in my hotel, wondering if I will actually survive the day or become horribly sick--worth it 100 times over. (Though please, if you care to, send healing energies my way!)

 

Drew, everytime I have seen Tereshkina (and I have seen her in person as Nikiya twice and as Odette/Odile twice among other things) she gives her complete all to the audience. I do not understand why some say she is a cold dancer. I find it to be the exact opposite. She is a very warm dancer giving her all technically and emotionally even though, in my opinion, she's not the best actress....but tries her best and gives to the audience). When I have seen her she never fails to motion to the orchestra at curtain calls to give the orchestra credit.

 

For some reason Tereshkina is not someone I seek out to see, but when I see her in the cast I am happy. And after each performance of hers I recognize that she is a performer who strives to give her all to us. I read somewhere that she gives her best because she realizes some people come to see her instead of buying a new dress, so how can she not give her best? So that sounds like a very big hearted person too.

 

I hope you paid attention to her series of turns that end in arabesque near the end of the scarf variation. She usually does triples ending in arabesque and does it excellently.

[YouOverThere]

On 10/4/2017 at 10:26 AM, maps said:

Woetzel's program looks great, has Ramasar/Ulbricht/T Peck, etc and is only 80 minutes.    It's the grand reopening of the small Terrace Theatre and NYCB is between runs.   Bayadere is very long and you might be able to see the short demo [80 minutes with no intermission] then go to Bayadere for at least act 3.  Some people have done that sort of thing when WB and the Mariinsky [?] were performing simultaneously at the KC.  I do wish both had not been scheduled concurrently and looked at the Terrace Theatre schedule a while ago.  If sales are good for  both, which they are, then other bookings should get comps for this market [the DMV]. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Woetzel's program was interesting (and it provided an opportunity for this financially-challenged ballet fan to sit close to the stage), but there were a heck of a lot of empty seats for a program that was listed as a sell-out Thursday morning. It ran longer than advertised, finishing about the same time as the 2nd act of La Bayadere. Julie Kent made a cameo appearance, dancing the famous dance from The King and I with Woetzel.

 

I fortunately managed to get to the Tue, Wed, and Thu La Bayadere performances, since tickets for the weekend performances are both rare and expensive. Since the Fri performance was a sell out, I figured there was no chance to sneak in to watch the 3rd act.

[maps]

Interesting similarities in choreography for Madaveya and Prodigal.   Bayadere looked as fresh as the 1929 Balanchine Prodigal Son which I do not think is dated, and  mime contributes to the flow of the narrative dance. 

 

Edited June 24, 2018 by maps

[minervaave]

I saw Friday night and the Saturday matinee, and it was night and day.  Kim and Tereshkina were just on, and they both blew me away with their dancing.  And some of the smaller parts (Manu and the 3rd shade) were fantastic too, not just the Golden Idol, which I would expect.  I hadn't loved Tereshkina before, but now I can really appreciate her.  The way she holds her balances that extra second and has such control over all her movements is the difference between good and great.  And Kim was just spectacular.  It's a performance I will always remember.  Saturday was just not as good - Skorik had a couple of obvious stumbles in Act III that really hurt the magic of the act,  And Yermakov didn't do the same spectacular choreography at the end.  I'd love to know the name for the jumps Kim did going around in a circle at the very end.  Were they 540's?  But multiple ones in a row?  Even Kim's seres of chaine turns was lightning fast compared to Yermakov.  I have heard people have wildly different views on Skorik, and now I am in the not a fan category.  She seemed so much less secure than Tereshkina, and that is not a comfortable thing to watch.  Things that were memorable with Tereshkina were throwaways with Skorik and she seemed to rush to get off of pointe in some cases.  I'm also going to say I was really iimpressed by May Nagahisa, who played the 3rd shade on Friday and was wonderful, and then I found out she was only 15!  I can't wait to see how she develops.  The corps de ballet were amazing in both shows and totally worth whatever bobbles occured among different casts.  

[Queenofspade]

In Bayadere coda usually a manege of double assembles en tournant is performed by the male dancer, these steps were introduced by Rudolf Nureyev and since then double grand assembles en tournant  have become iconic for male Bayadere coda.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BaiJO2BDHJO/  male coda from Saturday matinee (shot from the wings).

Why Solor of Friday night chose to replace them by so called “козлы” (goat jump - if translated roughly from Russian) - he only knows. Maybe he wanted to bring some difference, maybe to save some energy… because to do three Bayaderes during one week is not an easy one.
If I’m not mistaken “Kozly” doesn’t have a proper name in ballet terminology,  those jumps came from Russian character dance.
And no, it s not a 540, i e it s not a revoltade, it' s some sort of jete.

Here Zelensky performs a manege of "kozly" https://youtu.be/1cNZYP09QQ4?t=1m14s
If some members of the audience like “kozly” better then double grand assembles en tournant, fine, it' s a matter of taste, but this doesn’t mean that each performer has to do them. I' d dare to say that elegant double assembles en tournant suit refined Shades act of La Bayadere better than “kozly”, but the latter kind of manege is OK as well.
I think there is no point in reproaching dancers that their steps differ. I believe diversity is wonderful.

Thanks to all for your interesting insightful comments.

Edited October 22, 2017 by Queenofspade
added some example of a described jump

[theo]

I was at the Saturday matinee.  For some reason this production just underwhelmed me.  Skorik was fine in the first two acts.   Her dancing was lovely in  spots and she does have some stage presence. In fact I found something about her almost hypnotic.  She is stunning to look at.  She could stand there like a statue and still be interesting to look at.  Andrei Yermakov as Solor was okay;  The High Brahmin (Soslan Kulaev) was a a character I could sympathize  with and I enjoyed the dancing by Roman Belyakov (the slave) and Vasily Tkachenko (the golden idol).  I have no real thoughts about  Anastasia Kolegova as Gamzatti, except that the role itself in this production didn't do much for her.

 

 In my opinion it all fell apart in act III.  Not even the entrance of the shades, which is one of my favorite parts, did anything for me.  I was sitting in the 4th row just to the right and something about the screen just killed it for me.  As far as the shades themselves, at one point during some of the act III dancing when the shades spend a lot of time just standing there, I thought that the dancer standing in the front to the left (facing the stage) was going to nod off.   It really looked like she was fighting to stay awake. She was kind of wobbling, It made me think of the scene in The Turning Point when Leslie Brown is dancing in the corps in Giselle and she's drunk and fighting to stand still without teetering.   There were also foibles from both Skorik and Yermakov.   My overall opinion: Meh.        

[Kaysta]

I concur with the wonderful reviews of Tereshkina and Kim.  They were fantastic.  Literally, the best Nikiya and Solor I've ever seen.

[Drew]

On 10/22/2017 at 4:37 AM, Queenofspade said:

In Bayadere coda usually a manege of double assembles en tournant are performed by the male dancer, these steps were introduced by Rudolf Nureyev and since then double grand assembles en tournant  have become iconic for male Bayadere coda.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BaiJO2BDHJO/  male coda from Saturday matinee (shot from the wings).

Why Solor of Friday night chose to replace them by so called “козлы” (goat jump - if translated roughly from Russian) - he only knows. Maybe he wanted to bring some difference, maybe to save some energy… because to do three Bayaderes during one week is not an easy one.
If I’m not mistaken “Kozly” doesn’t have a proper name in ballet terminology,  those jumps came from Russian character dance.
And no, it s not a 540, i e it s not a revoltade, it' s some sort of jete.

Here Zelensky performs a manege of "kozly" https://youtu.be/1cNZYP09QQ4?t=1m14s
If some members of the audience like “kozly” better then double grand assembles en tournant, fine, it' s a matter of taste, but this doesn’t mean that each performer has to do them. I' d dare to say that elegant double assembles en tournant suit refined Shades act of La Bayadere better than “kozly”, but the latter kind of manege is OK as well.
I think there is no point in reproaching dancers that their steps differ. I believe diversity is wonderful.

Thanks to all for your interesting insightful comments.

 

I was taught to call those jumps, the ones executed by Kim that you are calling "kozly," barrel turns. I have always thought them quite a bit easier to do than double assembles--but found the height and power Kim brought to them thrilling. On Saturday matinee and evening Yermakov and Askerov began their double assembles impressively (to me), but by the fifth/sixth  got progressively sloppier and even a bit out of control. I appreciate that none of these men were 'phoning it in' on the virtuosity  front--two years ago I complained in no uncertain terms about the quality of the male dancing Washington D.C. got from the Mariinsky leading men in Raymonda--but the double assembles definitely started to get away from them at these performances. Yermakov also had some absolutely huge split jump that got a great gasp from the audience, but then found he had to catch himself with his hand when he landed on one knee at the end of that sequence. No such errors from Kim. (Yermakov is a tremendously appealing performer without a doubt though.)

 

When I saw Kim as Solor at ABT, I thought he was terrific, a fine virtuoso with excellent presence, but I wasn't crazy about his lines and or altogether carried away overall. Seeing him this weekend, now when he is more mature and dancing with his own company, not as a drop-in guest artist, and opposite Tereshkina--well, I WAS altogether carried away. I found his performance unspeakably exciting. And I do find him a powerful and charismatic performer quite apart from the huge jumps and sizzling turns. I think he carries himself grandly and 'eats up' space when he walks and even when he performs simple gestures. He also has real chemistry with Tereshkina. Kim is still rather young...can he get even better? Sign me up as someone who would like to find out! But Friday night's performance was just wondrous. Air on his jumps that I don't remember seeing since Baryshnikov.

 

I have to add even Kim had a tiny bobble--in his case on an easy entry jump in, I think, Act II. In general the three performances I saw over the weekend, and which I found wondrous on many different levels, and in which the company once again showed its unique beauty and committment in nineteenth-century repertory, were a touch marred by tiny bobbles. The otherwise fantastic Golden Idol (Tkachenko Baibordin) had a small bobble Friday night, and actually came a bit unglued by the end of his variation Saturday night, though it would have been less obvious if you had never seen the ballet before. Tereshkina, whom I adored, did indeed perform triple pirouettes into arabesque in the shades scene and it was the one place where the utter continuity of her dancing was slightly but visibly interrupted--she had to fudge a little to make it work. Skorik, a lovely if slightly pallid Nikiya, twice lost contol of turns in the Shades scene. Nothing disastrous, but breaking the pure thread of the choreography. Matvienko had to cut the Italian fouettes short. (At intermission, NYSusan pointed out to me that the were not that well done to begin with, and Maps commented that she lacked momentum.) In the second act Grand Pas only Askerov and Batoeva performed the parallel leaping entrance of Solor and Gamzatti with matching lines and matching timing. Or so it seemed to me.

 

But I was just thrilled by the whole weekend anyway. It was my first time seeing the Mariinsky Bayadere. I loved the production, with all its seeming absurdities, and I loved the dancers from the leads to the women in the back lines of the corps, the mime performers, and the character dancers. Obviously I preferred some leads more than others: Tereshkina!  Kim! Kondaurova, too!!!--whom I haven't yet mentioned, but who was at once sensual and transcendent, and really just unbelievably ... I can't even find the words. When she tore across the stage in the diagonal of chaine turns, her long arms whipping around her, she looked liked the embodiment of the sacred fire--a flame burning  across the stage. Not quite on that level, but of the Gamzattis, Batoeva was quite fresh and appealing--she gave the role more genuine characterization than Matvienko or Kolegova did. Though perhaps she had more of an Aurora glow about her than a Gamzatti one.

 

Even the leads I liked less had something to offer. Just two examples: Matvienko's fierceness as Gamzatti, the way she really seemed to manhandle Tereshkina during their confrontation, was melodrama at its best ... even if I wasn't crazy about some of her dancing in the Grand Pas. Kolegova was a generic and not very fierce Gamzatti, but when she swung her leg up into the Italian fouettes it looked so natural the audience burst into spontaneous applause. I was sitting roughly in the middle of the orchestra or a bit forther back,  and fortunately did not have Theo's experience--no-one looked bored to me! Even the music sounded resplendent--thank you Gavriel Heine. 

 

This is long: I feel I should say more about the production and numerous dancers--Kondaurova especially--and the soloists and the ensemble ... oh and the charming Nagahisa... but will stop.

 

 

Edited October 28, 2017 by Drew
Typos/correct a name

[Liotarded]

I enjoy reading everyone’s insightful comments on this board — thank you! As mentioned I went Thursday (Kondaurova, Askerov, Batoeva). Loved it. My first time seeing LB and only set in stone prior commitments kept me from going to multiple performances.  

[theo]

I also enjoy all of the reports from everybody else.  I wish I had an opportunity to see the other casts.  Drew's comments about my comments made me laugh just a little.  I should have described what I saw better.  The dancer that I thought looked like she was falling asleep did not look bored at all, she looked pooped! .... and kind of out of it.  She never fumbled though.  It was like she had a micro nap and woke up exactly at the right moment!

 

I've had  a full day now to think about what I saw and I have to comment about the audience.  I heard lots of Russian being spoken and people dressed for the occasion.  They were enthusiastic and old school.  It was nice to be around.  I miss that kind of vibe. 

 

Kansas City Nutcracker next! 

[Queenofspade]

17 hours ago, Drew said:

 Yermakov also had some absolutely huge split jump that got a great gasp from the audience, but then found he had to catch himself with his hand when he landed on one knee at the end of that sequence. No such errors from Kim. (Yermakov is a tremendously appealing performer without a doubt though.)

 

 

 

I gave a full video of male coda of Saturday matinee in my previous comment.  Just for information, Kim doesn't do split jumps (double grand jete entrelace is a right name. "Split", "barrel" - this is ballet slang).

 in the first part of the coda he  does only several single jetes,  he doesn't do a  pas de ciseaux, nor saut de basque landed on a knee like others, so he in fact had no chance for what you called an error in this particular combination of steps.

BTW, was there an error? A performer who posted his Bayadere coda in Instagram is very selective of what he posts, .. they all are, aren't they?.. and if there had been a real error, we wouldn't have had a chance to watch it, but we have and we can watch.

Sorry,  these are different codas with different steps, if we compare these codas of these Solors, let's be more accurate.

There wasn't any lost of control  in manege of double grand assembles either, I m talking about Saturday matinee.  Askerov too did it all very good, close to perfect in the evening.

Although I don't want to offend fans, but actually I think Kim's coda is the least technically challenging of all Mariinsky's Solors even when he does a manege of double assembles. As I said his first part of coda has only a series of several single jetes, these jumps are often performed by ladies. If he wanted to reiterate the steps performed by Nikiya right before male coda, he succeeded. But other Solors from Mariinsky - Shklyarov, Askerov and even the youngest Solors, all of them do some spectacular and well balanced Bayadere male codas with a real variety of different technically challenging  steps performed from the very first second till the end.

We don't see the same from Kim, whose first part of the coda looks empty and in fact reminds a modest warm-up before the final manege.

 

Edited October 23, 2017 by Queenofspade