Jayne

I thought this was an interesting Q&A with the new AD. I watched a few excerpts of Impressing the Czar on youtube, and regret that I was never able to watch it live. The Mr. Pnut rap is still circling around my brain. But more traditional ballets have their place in Belgium as well. http://dancetabs.com/2012/12/assis-carreiro-royal-ballet-of-flanders-artistic-director/

I feel sorry for Ms. Kampa. I have to wonder why the AD thinks she is ready for these roles? Obviously she wasn't cast in principal roles when she was at Boston Ballet. Mikko Nissinen clearly thought she needed more time in the corps and wasn't ready for major roles. This just strikes me as a stunt casting to garner more press. Look! We're casting an American! Buy tickets, Americans, you won't know the difference! I never danced, but I've played sports. Some athletes burst out of the gate and their talent is so obvious that it's blinding and they are ready to perform at a very high level. Others need time and space to grow and mature before they are ready for the elite level. Ms. Kampa would have benefited from a slower trajectory. Of course the same could be said for Ms. Skorik and Ms. Somova. How old is Daria Pavlenko? Could she make a move elsewhere? Maybe to the Mikhailovsky? Or abroad to La Scala or a similar company?

Based on recent complaints about the dearth of tall partners for tall ballerinas at NYCB, I'm worried Peter Martins is going to offer Seth a generous contract to return to NYCB as a principal starting February 17!

Pray there are no storms during the interim time. Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal also perform this version. I don't know if they own their sets or rented from Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo. The Executive Director of Atlanta Ballet, Arturo Jacobus, has ties to PNB, he was President of PNB 1993-2002 left to become Executive Director of San Francisco Ballet. So it makes sense that they could make this business arrangement work. PNB also shared the costs for Glazunov / Caniparoli "Seasons" with Louisville Ballet. And of course the Balanchine new designs for Coppelia were shared between SFB, PNB and Boston Ballet. I'm all for this sharing, the cities are far enough apart that they are not competing for audience members or donors, and if the financial savings keeps the companies financially sound, all the better.

We should start a petition for Peter Boal and try to get it added to the 2013-2014 program.

Russia has some very fine eye doctors and has led the world in lens transplant advances. But they are expensive nowadays, as Russia's socialized medicine really isn't available to everyone anymore. Regarding Mr Tsiskaradze, I think he is the lightning rod that represents a very unhappy group at the Bolshoi. Like most people, he's right on the money on some issues, and overly melodramatic on other issues. Obviously whenever a new discovery (such as Smirnova) is cast for opening night, another diva isn't cast, and that is going to cause hurt feelings. I do think Tsiskaradze has received some professional rebukes in the past 2 months. First, his private letter was publicized when it was never meant to be - causing him tremendous embarassment. Second, he wasn't cast again until Orthodox New Year's Eve, and Filin then gave an interview essentially stating that this was purposeful, to teach him a lesson. So, while Mr Tsiskaradze may have felt humiliated, he did not necessarily act on his actions. Someone else might have on his behalf. It could have been someone who is connected to his unhappy group, or it could have been an obsessed fan. The latter option certainly has happened in the past, think of John Hinkley Jr's decision to shoot Ronald Reagan in order to impress Jodie Foster. I do think Mr. Tsiskaradze needs to lawyer up to protect his rights, and hire a better PR firm immediately, to put a more sympathetic picture out there.

If you recall from the earlier interview with Sergei, he said his concerns were dismissed by the management - they receive a lot of threats and it's just part and parcel of doing business at the Bolshoi. Sergei was told to be brave, and go about his business. With that in mind, he (or upper management) may have given Lunkina the same advice. Perhaps in the wake of the acid attack, they would advise her differently, and Sergei would not necessarily dismiss Lunkina for fleeing to Canada. Anyway, I hope she joins NBC, Winnipeg Royal or Montreal, as she could dance another 10 years at a high level and be safe.

Carrie Imler is woefully underutilized in NYC. It may just be the nature of casting dancers. Someone is always underutilized. But her jumps and articulation are amazing to behold. Nurse is a comic role and she will do it justice (she has flair in all her roles), but it's a shame she's not in Concerto Barocco or Agon. Some day I'd love to see her perform Cortege Hongrois, which was made for another technical powerhouse: Melissa Hayden.

I put the Agon clip up for the NYC audiences

One of the links references a quote from Nikolai Tsiskaridze who stated the attackers were related to Mr. Filin's love life or his control over the Bolshoi budget. At the very minimum, these comments are certainly are unhelpful and distressing for Mrs. Filina. They may be slanderous (we know nothing of his love life or if he has much control over the money pots). They may even be a distraction, to throw attention away from Mr. Tsiskaridze's on-going office politics war with the current management at the Bolshoi. While he may be an amazing dancer, and caring partner to his ballerinas, he certainly does not show the type of diplomacy in a crisis situation that would be needed to run the Bolshoi. I think Mr. Tsiskaridze should thank his lucky stars that he was not selected for management, and hasn't put himself in the position to be harassed, extorted and maimed by Russian criminals. I think he may be fired for his comments, and most certainly will fall under suspicion as a backer of the attack, after the severe response to his December letter to the Kremlin advocating for the Management position.

If you need to brush up on your Agon, here are Allegra Kent and Arthur Mitchell in practice, on a German language documentary: My german is a little rusty, but I'll try to translate later tonight.

Team Pavlenko - she sounds amazing - let her run the theatre!

Will this be another Ballet San Jose debacle? I'm worried that OBT just doesn't have the financial backing of enough donors and grant dollars to sustain a beautiful rep season with 30-35 full dancers and all the support staff required. What a sad time. I give Mr. Stowell credit for guiding the company through rough waters during the past 5 years.

I really enjoyed Melissa during the 2nd half of the competition, but I was just thrilled to see Tony Dovolani win - he's always a gentleman on the show and it's clear that the other dancers completely respect him. I think it's going to be tough to return to a "regular" DWTS after such a high level of dancing this season.

the video, and subsequent discussion, are jewels on this board. Thank you, thank you - I have enjoyed watching and reading all of it. MCB just looks so *fresh* when they dance it. I love the swing of the "nighty" costumes, but I also adore Martin's costumes. I've had a long week, and this is a lovely tall, glass of cool water to refresh my thirsty soul.

While in the short term Kolya may be able to continue dancing and teaching, in the long term, I think this letter will torpedo any opportunities in management. To serve in management for a state organization requires supreme diplomacy and discretion, and -ahem- not being a media divo. These are qualities that Kolya does not seem to be working on. Positions may open up in other companies, but I don't think the Bolshoi would accept him now, after this mess. I wish he had gone the route of Tamara Rojo: served on arts boards, shadows other AD's to learn more, and perhaps taken up an apprenticeship position with a different theater to learn the management tasks. I don't know if Kolya's has a university education, but I think an MBA focused on arts management would be useful.

Yes -- there were several moments where he was dancing near Joshua Grant and their amplitude was really impressive. I noted that he seemed taller, more serious, more princely than I've seen him in the past. As if he's finally gained command of his tall thin gangliness and transformed his body to serve the dance.

I went to the matinee today, I wasn't really sure what to expect but actually I was surprised by all four pieces, for different reasons: arms that work: The music is a composition by Barret Anspach, his sister dances for PNB, and she was in this piece. The music was intriguing, very modern for orchestra. I really, really liked the set, it looked like a roller coaster across mid-stage and the use of the rubber bands was done very well. I saw pictures on the PNB facebook page, and wasn't impressed. But on stage, they looked completely different. What looks like macrime knit covered by an Eileen Fischer wrap looks completely different when the dancers are in movement. It just goes to show you how lighting and staging really alter the theatrical experience of dance. Andrew Bartee choreographed, and he went for a contemporary dance movement style. Not all of it worked, and I thought it needed some editing, and more time in studio for practice. But I thought his ideas were very interesting. Angelica Generosa really stood out to me in this piece, though she was just a small part of it. When she dances, it seems as organic as walking across the street. I also liked Leah O'Connor in this. Lost in Light: A traditional tutu-style partnering piece, set to absolutely gorgeous music by Dan Coleman, with the PNB orchestra's chamber ensemble sounding perfect in the pit. The choreography by Margaret Mullin was a forgettable mix of classical steps done without a unifying idea, and the costumes were something of a hodgepodge. But the lighting set the mood of a moonlit night, and to take the advice of Mr. B - I just relaxed and enjoyed the music. I do give kudos to Laura Gilbreath in this piece, I know I've critiqued her in the past. But here I liked the purity of her adagio. Benjamin Griffiths also looks more mature here. Kammermusik No.3: The big draw of the night - Mark Morris' world premiere to music by Paul Hindemith. The lighting and costumes were purple, vaguely mandarin, unisex and suited the straight arms and use of 24 corps dancers. There was a leit motif of tripping throughout the piece. There was a bit of cheeky humor at the end but overall it seemed well rehearsed, the dancers seemed more committed than the first 2 pieces, or at least seemed more polished. I did think he used the stage space very well for the corps. I really wanted to love it, but I came away just respecting it. Sum Stravinsky: Now this, I loved. Kiyon Gaines has done prior choreography for PNB, but I think this is his most successful piece to date. The costumes were classical tutus for the ladies, and sheer shirts with bicycle length hose for the men. Sheer fabric was folded to create interesting designs on both the bodices / tunics and tutus for the ladies. It sound strange, but it worked really well. If I can find a picture, I will link it later on. Set to Concerto in E-Flat Dumbarton Oaks 8-v-1938, the piece was a cross between David Dawson's "A Million Kisses to my Skin" and Balanchine's tutu plotless divertissements. It had wonderful humor, technical wizardry, and most importantly - great energy. The dancers were clearly thrilled to perform it, and it looked well rehearsed. The audience responded with the biggest applause of the night. More kudos to Laura Gilbreath, this time for a Spanish flavored Pas with Seth Orza. I've never seen her look so pleased to be on stage, nor so detailed. Truly, this was a breakthrough performance for her. Again, Angelica Generosa stood out in the corps. Maybe it's her glossy black hair in a sea of dishwater blondes at PNB, but I really think the combination of gorgeous dancing, a beautiful smile and stage presence make her future soloist material. Ryan Cardea was also a standout. The only drawback was dressing / lighting the dancers in such a similar blue color compared to last season's David Dawson piece brings out the obvious comparison. So I arrived at McCaw Hall thinking that PNB commissioned their own dancers to save on $$$ to spend on (very expensive) Mark Morris, and I would have to sit through 3 "meh" works to see 1 amazing "pro" from NYC. I left wishing the entire rep had been Kiyon Gaines. Maybe I should initiate a JumpStart web campaign to fund an All Gaines rep next season at PNB.

Somewhere I have a copy of PNB's 15th anniversary book, and Kent Stowell describes Gelsey Kirkland guesting at PNB in Swan Lake. On opening night she slipped on the 32 fouettes, landing on her rump, and letting out a loud expletive for all to hear. It happens to the best of them.

We need to show this to some islamic terrorists, their eyes will pop out of their sockets, and then they'll be blind. Harder to construct bombs when you can't see.In DWTS news, the Gangnam Style group dance was wacky, but not always in a good way. I think this is Kirstie's week to go, but we'll see if her church members can rally votes.

IMHO there is a lot of pandering to the audience by the pro dancers, who know it can influence the voting. So Max threw a fit last season, and the audience kept him around for a few more weeks. Karina burst into tears this season, and the audience kept Karina/Apollo around to dance another week. The show's staff does have a positive vibe, but there is some manipulation going on if you pay attention. I do think the costume staff can play favorites - I mean all you have to do is look at Nancy Grace and Ricki Lake - two women with similar body shapes and see how they were dressed by the staff.

I found a youtube recording of the full Bolshoi performance of a certain neo-classical ballet about three precious stones, with Olga in the finale. Send me a p.m. and I'll forward the link (assuming you're a regular poster on the board, and don't seem suspiciously affiliated with a certain trust), or you can run a search yourself. Just trying to avoid the attention / ire of a certain trust.

As to costs, consider that sets and costumes can be rented. This is not free, but last season Los Angeles Ballet rented the Oregon Ballet Theatre sets and costumes for Swan Lake. One consideration for MBC is the expense of showing Swan Lake in 4 locations. The set must be installed and then torn down on 4 separate weekends. In comparison, Oregon Ballet Theatre will only install their set for Swan Lake once at their venue and keep it there for the full run. Installing sets requires union staff, there are insurance costs, transportation, lighting to be set up, etc. This is not a cheap venture. I really don't understand the doubt in MBC's dancers to pull off a lovely SL. Perhaps a bad staging / set / costumes would do it in, but the dancers would / should be just fine. I am surprised that MBC can only attract audiences for just 3 performances in metropolitan Miami itself. I don't know the audiences well enough to know why this would be the case. But it is rather unusual.

This is a fascinating topic, and I might make the same trip in a few years. For the experts (who have been before), if you had a week in St Petersburg, how would you plan it? What traditional spots are worth the effort or not? What unusual spots would you recommend? Let's say I fly in on Friday afternoon, stay a week, and depart the following Sunday. Obviously I would try to visit the Mariinsky, Mikhailovsky and Hermitage. What else should I see / hear / eat / do?

this is one of my favorite times of the year, it's so rare that the American Press covers anything intelligent - but the Nobels remind us that honoring the best of science, arts and humanism is important.