ballet_n00b
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Posts posted by ballet_n00b
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Allan Ulrich's online article, with photos, that also appears on the SF Chronical website:
http://www.sfgate.com/performance/article/Mathilde-Froustey-from-France-to-S-F-Ballet-5600595.php
A p.r. piece - nice photos - but not nearly as revealing as the Dances avec a plume interview.
Thanks for linking the danse avec la plume interview, it was extremely long but very interesting.
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Zhiganshina is heading to Bolshoi. Amielishko, Dementieva, Gimadieva, Guseinova and Russkikh have been chosen by Mariinsky, Rudnickaya — by Mikhailovsky, and Yalynskaya — by the Jakobson's Ballet Theatre, whereas Gagarskaya and Leontiev are heading to Eifman.
Wow, Zhiganshina to the Bolshoi, that's a surprise!
Although, come to think of it I had read a comment to that effect on her instagram (or vk?) but I assumed it was tongue-in-cheek (my Russian's not very good).
I guess those Mariinsky performances and the holiday with Fateyev to Florida weren't enough to get her to sign on.
In any case, I wish her and the rest of them all the best for the start of their careers.
Do you happen to know where Klishina is going?
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Yeah you're right, I was being a bit too cynical. At least, the film should inspire some youngsters to learn piano or take an interest in classical music.
I know I wouldn't have if I hadn't been forced to study Shine in school.
I just hope that there is a decent amount of "music" in this movie and not just cold war politics.
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Well he's got the height for it. I guess makeup can do something about the hair.
However, I don't hold out much hope for this being a good movie.
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This is devastating news for the hopelessly infatuated.
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I was saddened to hear this news.
I haven't seen that many of his movies but I really liked him in "It's a mad, mad, mad, mad world", especially the part in the plane with Buddy Hackett.
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Thank you for posting these.
I'm unfamiliar with this ballet but I have to say I found it impossible to concentrate on the dance with the Chopin F minor concerto (my favourite) playing in the background.
It's one of my favourite ballets. I love the Chopin too, and the combination of it and the dancing, far from being distracting, just adds to the enjoyment.
That's nice, I will definitely watch it through. Frankly, I'd watch Obraztsova dance anything.
I think the problem is that I'm currently learning that concerto and I can't help but mentally play along when I hear it.
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The clips are online:
Zakharova & Revazov: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RafefXyt34
Obraztsova & Lantrantov: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqiWanssaI0&feature=youtu.be
Smirnova & Ovrachenko: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdDv0LPpDK8
Thank you for posting these.
I'm unfamiliar with this ballet but I have to say I found it impossible to concentrate on the dance with the Chopin F minor concerto (my favourite) playing in the background.
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She also slowed down the final series of promenades to such an extent that it sapped the music of its propulsive drive.
This is an absolute pet peeve of mine in the Rose Adagio; the part where they get to that final tonic chord played in inversions just seems interminable in countless performances I've seen.
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Isn't Mr McRae Australian?
He is, but he doesn't sound particularly Australian.
Prix de Lausanne 2003:
http://www.prixdelausanne.org/v4/index.php/View-users-list/Prizewinners/Page-16.html
In this interview, Mark Monahan writes,
By his teens, already an extremely capable tapper, he knew that his future lay in dance, and, having trained throughout high school, he won a place at the Royal Ballet School in London, at 17. A year later, in 2004, he joined the Royal Ballet; by 2009, he was a principal.
Given the chronology, did he take the Prix de Lausanne scholarship to the Royal Ballet School, which he joined a year later? The Royal Ballet site lists the Artists, but, alas, provides no bio links.
I remember reading an article which said that he already had a place at the school but needed the scholarship money or he wouldn't have been able to afford to go.
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My Russian is not great, but in the first article didn't it say that Vorontsova herself decided not to renew her contract for professional reasons (she's quoted as saying something about insufficient work)?
Although maybe she would've been forced out anyway.
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Yes I saw that Nutcracker video; it's beautiful.
I like Zhiganishina a lot too, although I'm still too inexperienced a viewer to be able to judge their relative merits.
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While I admire Lunkina greatly as an artist, I've kinda lost some respect for her as a person after reading this interview;
if you're going to make such serious allegations, you need to back it up with more than just hearsay.
And I have just developed much more respect for her than ever before. Bravo Sveta, tell the truth and shame the devil.
Well good for you, but it doesn't change the fact that this "truth" merely consists of unsubstantiated allegations.
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Zhiganshina graduates next year, along with the equally talented Svetlana Strebko, and she dances Le Papillon pdd at the 22nd June Vaganova graduation performance.
Are they in the same class? I don't recall seeing Strebko in any of the class videos with Zhiganshina.
I'm somewhat confused about what the graduating class consists of.
My understanding is that at Vaganova you can leave after 7 years or 9 years.
Are these both considered the graduating class or just the latter?
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After reading this, I get the feeling that the Bolshoi is a very hostile place for "outsiders'' and extremely resistant to change.
It makes me worried for Obraztsova et al should Filin have to step down.
While I admire Lunkina greatly as an artist, I've kinda lost some respect for her as a person after reading this interview;
if you're going to make such serious allegations, you need to back it up with more than just hearsay.
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She's such a hipster but I really like her dancing (I always pull for the pint-sized ballerinas).
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My favourite Gene Kelly film is Cover Girl (also my favourite Rita Hayworth film).
It gets pretty sentimental at times but I love it anyway.
I'm not a huge fan of "An American in Paris", only thing I really liked was that line that Oscar Levant delivered:
"I'm a concert pianist. That's a pretentious way of saying I'm unemployed at the moment."
Pretty much sums it up.
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Well I've just returned from my whirlwind trip to Brisbane.
It was super amazing.
Alexandrova was just as wonderful as I expected but it was pint-sized Nina Kaptsova who left the biggest impression on me.
Even though I'd heard of her before I'd never seen her dance (on youtube etc), she turned out to be the loveliest of soubrettes and I found her performance utterly charming.
Other random thoughts about the performance:
1) It was pretty obvious that the music was composed by different people; often the writing is pretty homophonic with lots of "oompah" accompaniment. Then you'd get to a number where the orchestral textures would become much richer and the harmonies less diatonic.
Overall the score has some nice moments in between long periods of banality.
2) The audience took a little while to work out when to applaud; the first bows where met with scattered applause and there was virtually no mid-variation applause.
I had expected that this would happen but thankfully things improved as the performance progressed.
In any case it wasn't as cringe-worthy as the concerts I've been to where the audience breaks into applause during a fermata.
3) Ballet is harder than piano. The next time I feel like sawing off my fingers, I'll remind myself that others have it worse.
All in all I had a great time.
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I'm making the 1200km trip to Brisbane next week to see Masha Alexandrova dance on opening night. It's a very expensive overnighter for a student, but I'm not complaining.
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I was saddened to hear of her passing.
I was hoping she'd make it to her centernary.
RIP.
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I wonder, why does the media continue to make lists of this kind? Does it really sell newspapers/magazines?
I find them such a turnoff.
Although, at least in this case the emphasis is on "star" power, which is potentially quantifiable.
An Australian classical music magazine recently had a "Top 10 Greatest Pianists Ever" list.
I couldn't even look at it; even the title was enough to angry up the blood.
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I'm very sad to see that she won't be on the Bolshoi's tour of Australia in May.
Not that I really expected her to come given the rep they're performing.
Sigh, I wonder if I'll ever get to see my favourite dancer live?
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I know a lot of pianophiles don't really know what the make of Cliburn; achieving great success early on then burning out after a decade or so, but I think at his best he was a great pianist.
In particular, his romantic concerti recordings are often amongst the best versions out there (e.g. Rach 3).
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The emphasis is no longer on "voce, voce, voce".....it is on looking hot and whole careers are being made by looking hot and singing adequately.
My, my....aren't we cynical
Hey, I'm with Wagner: "Gesamtkunstwerk", remember? Opera is nothing if it ain't drama. For my money, opera is the ultimate art form, and for sure the ultimate dramatic vehicle. "The Voice" has always only been a part of that "Gesamtkunstwerk" concept. Lighting counts. Customes count. Why not physical appearance? And I don't mean gratuitous looks either, but a look that serves the story. In short......a look that is part of a "Gesamtkunstwerk". (Naturally, this takes balance; but that's what artistic directors and general directors are for -- to provide that balance. I think, on the whole, they do a pretty fine job of it.)
Personally, I don't want Merrill Streep playing Peter Pan regardless of her acting prowess.
Frankly, I don't think Opera is Gesamtkunstwerk for the reasons Birdsall outlined above. It's a nice idea but does not work in practice (or at least not consistently).
Also unlike a medium such as film, which is the most "complete" art form imo, little is lost from the total effect when one removes the visual element.
“Who is to dance at Mariinsky?”
in Kirov-Mariinsky Ballet
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In French it means "enchanting". I'm guessing it is the same here.