elena

Thanks for sharing those links... personally I enjoyed her interpretation in the monologue a lot. She seemed to have issues in the veil section, though I hesitate to judge her entire performance based on the trickiest part. I hope they give her an opportunity to keep developing the role; having a debut such as this, and under the circumstances of what recently happened with Filin, could not have been easy. I imagine she was quite nervous (yes I am biased).

I am not as knowledgeable as others here, but I also felt surprised by this. I hope he doesn't get too carried away with developing this "new identity" for the POB. (Besides, I always had the impression that the POB under Lefevre also did a fair bit of modern works as well - perhaps I am wrong? Anyone feel free to clarify I always enjoy to learn more). I see POB as I see Mariinsky or Bolshoi - it is not that they should be museums of dance, but they also have a tradition that needs to be preserved.

Having said that, I do wish him success in his endeavors and that he finds the balance needed, you never know what can happen.

Thank you for linking to this... I enjoy to see clips of Serenade it looks truly beautiful, I have never had the opportunity to see it performed sadly.

I thought I would share this, as it seems to be one of the most accurate articles on the treatment of his eyesight (and other injuries) I have come across - though I read it with a translator because it's in Russian. It speaks of treatment to his eyes with embryonic cells and so forth, but stipulates (as posted earlier by others) that time will be needed to assess how his sight is recovering. It does seem he is getting the best care available, which is a great thing.

http://www.vesti.ru/doc.html?id=1010110&cid=7

I truly hope that the report video linked in the previous page is accurate and his eyesight has been saved... from what I have read and put together with the conflicting reports of the status of his vision, he was to have a transplant of the corneas and then in 2 weeks they would know more details of how he is healing (and also that one eye was affected more than the other). However if the operation was a success that must be a good sign and I pray it has been saved for certain.

The ironic thing about this whole attack is that it will probably achieve the opposite of what that deranged maniac wants - it will give him more support than ever for his leadership I believe. Let it be so... may he come back healthy and with more support and success than ever.

It's a cliche phrase but I am genuinely shocked and appalled, what an insane way to attack someone. I hope that the deranged person that committed this atrocity is caught and brought to justice. I also hope for a speedy recovery, and my thoughts go to his family and loved ones in this terrible time.

Posting here a video I just came across of Obraztsova rehearsing Bayadère with Gracheva I am so happy she is getting the opportunity, perhaps I am biased because I do enjoy her dancing so much.

I read this board every day basically and have for a long time though I didn't register until about last year I think. However, I have tried my best to try and only post in things I feel don't require much knowledge (such as tv shows related to ballet, or dancers whom I enjoy which is a subjective thing in the end).

It is good to see those of us with less knowledge are welcome, though on a personal level I try to keep my posts to a minimum to not intrude. I must say though that I do learn a lot from reading BA, and the search function is my best friend.

For those of us who still have to learn, this forum is a gold mine of information... so thank you to the people who do not mind answering with their knowledge and who contribute, and also to the beginners who are not too shy to ask the things other people might not dare to ask themselves.

I think that Shapran is the most complete (female) artist in the competition and would love to see her win! I just wish the Mariinsky could have kept her - terrible loss for them and really Fateyev should have done everything possible within his power to keep her.

I agree! I also think they should have tried to keep Smirnova but oh well, it makes sense for them to go elsewhere though it is a real loss for the Mariinsky. It speaks volumes that neither of them ended up deciding to join the company... in my opinion anyway.

There is this Russian program on now where different dancers compete (called "Big [bolshoi] Ballet") and Skorik was supposed to be the partner of Ermakov representing Mariinsky, but at the last minute she dropped out and Tereshkina had to guest with Ermakov in her place. They had a bit explaining why but as I do not understand Russian... some say it is because she was too insecure and felt weaker than other competitors (such as Smirnova, Shapran, Tikhomirova, etc.) but who knows, another person reported she said on her FB she was having knee issues.

Episode 1, the bit about Skorik and Fateev explaining begins at around 52 min if anyone understands... To me Skorik does look very insecure so maybe it was for the best, whereas Tereshkina looks absolutely confident once she steps in to take over.

http://youtu.be/GAflZZDHe24

My favorites are Marc Haegeman, Gene Schiavone, Natasha Rezina and Martha Swope.

Good choices!

I would add Nikolay Krusser, and Irina Lepnyova who has some stunning photos...

http://media-cache-e..._fj0Vg5pq_c.jpg

https://s-media-cach..._hcRkhnRY_c.jpg

Hola, Elena!

I totally agree that the Tapia is the most beautiful theater for ballet in Pto Rico. Alas, most ballet performances now seem to happen in the newer, more modern Teatro Bellas Artes in Santurce (San Juan). Before Bellas Artes opened about 20 yrs ago, the main theater for large classical-arts productions was the Moorish-style University of Puerto Rico Theater in Rio Piedras (San Juan), where the Casals Festivals used to take place and where I 'discovered' Alicia Alonso and the Cuban ballet stars on August 1, 1978, catching the 'ballet bug' big-time! (The rest is history...ha-ha.)

Besides San Juan's Tapia, Pto Rico has another gorgeous 19th-C theater in Ponce, Teatro La Perla (1864), also boasting a European-style 'horseshoe' arrangement of seats.

Hola Natalia! (Also nice name, though I am biased because it is my sisters name)

So nice to read your comments!! Bellas Artes as you mentioned is where now performances seem to happen the most and that is where I generally go. I studied at the UPR Río Piedras but never seen ballet at the theater there! Also not seen performances in La Perla.

I have been to performances mostly at the Bellas Artes, and very few at Tapia. I do wish there was more ballet in PR than there is now a days, though the locals do an admiral job of giving us fans ballet in a place where the fan base isn't huge, and for that I am grateful!

I do lurk on here a lot and get ballet-envy (in a good way) over what people are able to view (and where).

My first theater was El Teatro Tapia (I am from and live in Puerto Rico). I have seen ballet in other theaters in PR, but I find El Tapia to be the most beautiful, others are more modern. I have never been able to see a performance of ballet outside of PR, but hopefully someday soon I will be able to.

The photos of the theaters in Cuba are gorgeous, my father and grandparents are Cuban (Havana) and I have family there still. I hope to visit someday...

I read somewhere that they filmed many more dancers and no one knew who/what was going to be used until it aired... which seems fairly common for reality tv. I was left with the same feeling others had, I wish it would have focused more on the actual dancing. I could have done without the Allison and Rex drama, and I even felt sort of bad for them the show decided to use that as such a focus point, especially for the finale episode. Then again I would be content with watching a show that revolved entirely on them doing class, rehearsing and performing, and only speaking about ballet subjects... everything else being unnecessary filler between the dancing. But this is the CW so I will take what I can get lol...

All in all though I feel that for what it was, it was a nice show and gave me a bit of ballet on my tv which I am always thankful for. Also, it let me know more about Ballet West than just knowing it exists, so I think in that way it was a success. If I ever had the chance to see them dance I would go for it.

LOL Okay, I understand the laughter better now. I thought it was Schadenfreude, but maybe it was just that it was simply not expected and that Miko's mother was so emotional about his quitting that made them laugh b/c I guess there was humor to the whole Jules storyline.

Yeah definitely, especially since Jules himself was sort of funny about the whole thing. I think I need to watch it again, maybe the audience will be calmer next time haha...

Elena,

Thanks for your comments! I am in total agreement with you. I did not find Miko and Jules' mother bad at all. She simply wants success for her children.

Her crying when her son decided to quit was simply disappointment, b/c it probably complicates matters (having to take two children to two different trainings and events should he decide to do something like hockey or whatever), plus a dream dissolved. Life was easier when they were both doing it. She probably had a little dream of seeing them dance together one day. For the audience to laugh at her sadness is bizarre to me. If you see someone crying, you should want to console or at the very least not laugh!!!! Laughing at someone's tears is like scowling at someone's laughter. Why?

When Miko's mother talked about their food and how she doesn't want them to get "big," it reminded me so much of my mother. My mother considers me obese, and I am 6 feet 190 lbs. and workout 3 times a week and do yoga 4-6 times per week. No beer belly here, but I am OBESE in her eyes, b/c I don't look like I did when I was 16 years old (a weed). I am 45 and most 45 year old men look much worse in the weight department.

But this type of parenting does keep you concerned and constantly working on your weight throughout your life like weeding the garden. It never ends. Asian mothers don't want us to throw in the towel and just let ourselves go no matter what age. She will eat a tiny cup of soup for dinner at a restaurant.

I know I would be just like my mother or Miko's mother if I adopted a child. I would want my children to succeed at what they want to do, and I would not want them to get "big" for the simple fact that it makes life harder (society looks down on "big" people whether that should be the case or not and sometimes health suffers).

If she were beating her children and they were shown crying constantly in the movie I would understand people's reactions to her behavior, but to me she seems like a very good mother who lives for her children and wants them to succeed. I see nothing wrong in that at all.

Birdsall

Good points! I also agree the audience reaction to the crying was very bizarre, in fact it was the absurdity of it all that made ME get into a laughing fit (I tend to not be able to control my laughter especially in inappropriate situations). It just didn't make sense and I was not expecting that reaction. I will say I didn't feel it was mean spirited and the audience was quite lively in general, after Miko did the Kitri variation or Joan did some of his variations the audience would burst out into applause as well. I'll just chalk it up to being Puerto Rican... we aren't the most silent/serious types.

So this movie finally reached Puerto Rico and I was glad to finally see it... I had read this thread before and I knew a bit what to expect because of it. However one thing I did NOT expect was the audience reaction to Miko Fogarty's mother, for some inexplicable reason everyone was in a collective laughing fit by the time Jules finally decided to quit ballet and she was talking about it (and laughter is contagious and I admit I couldn't help myself). I think it was because people found Jules endearing (especially because of his interactions with his teacher and the faces his teacher made during the competition) so it was no surprise to anyone he quit. I really didn't find her so bad, Miko is a lovely dancer and seems to love it, and as someone mentioned, she didn't force Jules to keep doing it.

I found myself rooting for all of them, yes even Rebecca. I was especially happy to see Joan win the scholarship, my heart went out to him because he does seem to have enormous pressure to succeed (and his family doesn't have bad intentions, it is just the facts of where they are from). All in all I enjoyed it.

They also have the episodes available for streaming on the CW website

I guess I am one of the few here still enjoying this show... by reality tv standards it is not too bad at all, and it is pretty much what I expected. I have read a few comparisons to the reality show with RNZB but I do remember that reality show had a lot of drama as well, particularly S1 where "Katie and Michael" and their relationship drama was one of the main focus points of the show. On season 2 they focused more on dancing and Ethan Steifl came on as AD so they probably learned what to do and not to do from the reactions to S1. I think this show is still trying to find a happy medium between showing a lot of dance to make ballet fans happy, but keeping a bit of the reality element in it to attract other people. I do hope at the very least it gives BW more exposure and they end up with more fans

PS - I was curious about why they kept calling Beckanne "a freak" at ballet... on YT I found a few clips of her (some older ones from her at YAGP and some newer ones for an audition to something) and I see by freak they mean very flexible. She does seem to have gotten better since the earlier clips from YT. I also noticed that on the BW page, she is not listed as a demi-soloist (she is listed under 'artists') so I don't know if that "promotion" was fabricated for the show or if they just don't update their page much. It also shows Katie as a member of BWII.

I missed the last episode, about to watch it now, glad to hear it shows more of rehearsals

Wonderful news!! I am glad it has finally happened for her

I liked it... reality tv is my guilty pleasure (yes I admit it!) and I love ballet so... I just take it with a grain of salt, it was pretty much what I was expecting. I do wish there was more dancing, but I also feel they must be trying to draw in people who don't usually watch ballet related things so it is a "happy medium" for the network.

Finally clips of her Odette have surfaced on YT on this channel:

http://www.youtube.c...l?feature=watch

Thought I would post about it here for others who might have wanted to see it They posted 6 clips including Odile, just including 2 in this post so it is not too long for the forum page.

I personally think she did a lovely job and if given the chance she could certainly keep developing in this role. I don't find it hard to accept someone short as O/O though (it seems some do)... people accept really tall Auroras so why not...

I'm so sad I missed this... of all days, my internet was down the entire day/night yesterday. I was looking forward to it... I hope they repost most of it on their channel but it seems unlikely.

It's sad to see Gary has to go now... he really was quite funny and I loved the way he interacted with everyone. Maybe now they will show a bit more of Ethan, though he is more serious than Gary (not a bad thing, just different).

Sleeping Beauty looks like it turned out really nicely... and the costumes and set and lighting were are really cool. Can't imagine how much work it has been for such a small company to put all that on!! I do hope it all turned out ok for Abby as well, she did seem very nervous about the whole Aurora thing.