puppytreats

One doubts obtaining outside talent to perform a secondary roles such as Olga.

The strength of Cory and Marcello becomes more apparent upon viewing a second case, such as at "Works and Process." The structure, tension, and the characterization of evil dissolves without powerful, rehearsed male performers.

What is the source of and motivation for Iago? Why falsely accuse and destroy innocence, happiness and love? I could not derive the source of Iago's hatred, or desire to act upon it, from the play or the dance.

Are discount tickets available?

I don't understand the characterization of one as being too strong for Giselle. Giselle possessed incredible emotional and moral strength, even though her body could not survive in this world, and the strength of her love overcame the willis.

From where did you rent this?

I think I can live with late casting info, but not knowing which ballets are being performed in June (if you are someone planning to go in June) for White Nights is crazy. I am glad I decided to go in March and cancelled my plan to go in June b/c I would have absolutely no idea what dates to book my hotel or airfare. I don't like to stay away from my dog for more than a week, so it would be awlful trying to wonder which week to book. Not to mention some people need to ask for the time off from work. So there are so many logistics. A listing of the ballets and operas should be out. We are into the second half of April now, and White Nights starts May 24 (granted, the May ballets are listed but no word about June and July).

Poor puppy.

Vasiliev delivered...but in clunky (heavy, even thunderous at times) manner, IMO. And those white tights did not help. Very personable/charismatic stage persona, so I'm rooting for him to (a) find a more becoming costume and (b) soften those landings.

The dancers in the other performances also wore white tights. Does even a star get to decide what everybody wears?

There can be slight alterations. At the Bolshoi, all of the Conrads wore slightly different costumes - some had the Greek 'skirt' version (Tsiskaridze, for ex.), while most wore tights...some tights darker than others. Back to ABT/Conrad: Vasiliev looked so embarrasingly chunky, that I had to apologize to my partner during the first intermission when he asked me "Didn't you say that Vasiliev was supposed to be good? He's heavy." It was being commented a lot by folks in our group. His chunky line is a serious-enough problem when it detracts from all of what he does so spectacularly.

Your friend apparently isn't familiar with a body feature known as "muscle". Vasiliev is totally buffed (he played Ali Saturday evening, and, no, there weren't rolls of fat showing when he didn't have a shirt on).

Unshapely or bulky muscles, or short, squat muscular bodies, or an unpleasant facial feature or personality type, are not aesthetically pleasing to all. Neither is a sloppy landing after a quadruple pirouette.

In "No. 9", what does the rest of the cast, especially the main couple, do at the end while the single character (Jared, Herman) does the tours a la second? Are they left on stage?

Is the dress red or crimson? I sat so far away, I could not tell.

Did Ratmansky modify the choreography since the Fall?

Quote:

"They recall plenty of rumors of sexual favors with government officials in return for lobbying Yuri for roles."

Rumours should remain rumours.

Solo, do the innocent, vulnerable, or naive not merit protection?

This was Russia. Only the naïve flinch at brazen corruption. When I asked another member of the board of trustees about bribes, thievery, and waste at the Bolshoi, he shrugged. ... The board member was shocked no more by the notion of financial malfeasance ...'I could care less,' .. 'Either you are one of the top three theatres in the world or you aren’t. If you spend an extra fifty million dollars, who cares? What’s a few hundred million for a country like ours?'...

'[ Money showed itself all the time, in the intrusions of rich boyfriends, in the impertinent demands of board members and politicians, in the campaigns to bring in more oligarchs to augment the budget. The dancers themselves worried about money; their base salaries were small, and they depended on Filin’s favor to be given the serious roles that would boost their income...

: 'What happens in the theatre reflects what is happening in the streets.' Russians, in the contemporary version of their fatalism, see their country as a landscape of endless bespredel, lawlessness, a world devoid of order or justice or restraint. One disaster is of a piece with another. The acid attack on Filin was of a piece with recent events like the broad-daylight assassination of Aslan Usoyan, also known as Grandpa Hassan, a renowned mobster. ... 'They found him encased in a barrel of concrete! It’s just like what happened to Sergei Filin.'

Why does Kevin O'Hare express a goal of having a rep of all new full length ballets in 10 years? Why would audiences want to give up the opportunity to see beloved favorites, even if not to the exclusion of new dances?

Iksanov said the acid attack occurred because Tsiskaridze went unpunished. Why should he have been punished? With respect to the issue of the deceptive petition, I understand his point about misconduct and punishment, but I am unsure that this creates an environment condusive to what happened to Filin, as Iksanov claims. In any event, why would his support for his student be problematic, or contribute to this environment? One can imagine that he objected to Filin's wanting to take his student away, and this caused tensions, but again, does this merit punishment? Does Iksanov think he merits punishment for criticism about waste and building problems with the reconstruction?

I will just say that if the police had investigated the cyber attack on Yanin properly in all likelihood none of this would have happened, factions are inevitable when an injustice was not just ignored but possibly condoned.

I find it odd that so many writing here immediately assume that all guilt is down to Tsiskaridze, has anyone even considered that his criticism of the Bolshoi management might actually be justified?

Helene has mostly addressed this, but since I thought perhaps this was probably an allusion to what I wrote above about Iksanov and Tsiskaridze, let me clarify. I don't "assume" any guilt down to Tsiskaridze at all. Some of his criticisms of the management may be justified. (I doubt all, given the excellent state of the company's dancing in recent years; management is clearly doing something right). I simply was making the point about Iksanov's statements about Tsiskaridze. I find them more understandable now. Why? If the criminal(s) had a some kind relationship with Tsiskaridze or his "faction" at the Bolshoi, then it's quite plausible that his remarks and attitude-however unintentionally--influenced them and if, as I think likely from Filin's comments that he "knew" who was responsible for the attack, Iksanov knew, too, at least who the prime suspect was, then that knowledge might have fueled his remarks about Tsiskaridze having contributed to the context in which the attacks occurred (because of Tsiskaridze's support for Vorontzova etc. etc.). That, puppytreats, is the answer to your question as well.

It's nothing to do with assuming "guilt" and certainly not legal guilt. I would add my agreement with the position that questions of guilt in relation to the attack on Filin have nothing to do with whether or not ANYONE'S criticisms of management are justified. Even if all complaints against management were justified, then that would not in any way justify the criminal attack on Filin.

Am I correct in reading that you suggest no discussion by anyone except management itself, since you indicate that expression of dissatisfaction by dancers and teachers, even if correct, and even if between a teacher and student behind closed doors, creates an "atmosphere" in which people feel they can or should physically attack someone?

I will say that given Dmitrichenko's and Vorontzova's closeness to Tsiskaridze (reflected in the quote mentioned above in which he defends Dmitrichenko), one better understands Iksanov's claim that Tsiskaridze's attacks on the management helped create the atmosphere in which the attack happened (since presumably he had some idea that Dmitrichenko was a main suspect)

What does this mean?

Little kids are going to be bored at "Onegin", "Manon", etc.

I wondered last year why a child was brought to "Onegin", not due to boredom issues. I would not bring a child to "Manon" or the like.

. Ashley also has the best arms and back of any of the principal women at City Ballet right now -- her guesting in Europe really paid off on that score, I think. Fantasy casting -- I would love to see Ashley do Giselle!

I always thought that Ashley as Giselle was unimaginable, until I saw her in "Serenade" and felt I had seen her as Giselle, and she was wonderful.

Not everyone lives near the subway

$40 or so in ny

Oh, how sweet! I am a bit late here - but still wishing you all many hearts and chances for showing love and kindness - and eating chocolate, should the need arise.

-d-

When, d, does the need not arise?

PNB dances "Apollo" in a smoother, more musical, more flowing, and less linear way than I've seen others perform. Seth Orza is wonderful. His interpretation is less rude and seems a bit more mature and confident than others. The muse of poetry was truly wonderful in this version. Terpsichore by Carla Korbes was so natural; she is like a woman and a girl at the same time. This was the best performance of this ballet that I have ever seen.

"Concerto B" presents a beautiful piece of music by J. Sebastian Bach. I bought my ticket just to see this. However, the spacing was off and some of the dancing seemed a bit sloppy. B. Bold starred in this piece, as well as the pdd in "Agon", which really confused me. He is round, not angular, and does not seem to have the appearance of a strong line. Last year, I saw NYCB's Maria K in "Agon" and she epitomized the role, but her lines did not come across in PNB's version. However, I enjoyed seeing the interplay of chaos and order, as well as the expression of the music in the dance.

Jerome Tisserand received a lot of applause, as did the New York company alumni, Carla and Seth. Bold was greatly appreciated by the audience, too.

The top level was virtually empty, shamefully. The sight lines in the balcony are far superior to the orchestra, where I had trouble seeing in the past, even from the second row. One of the reasons I waited to buy a ticket until the last minute was my belief, based on sitting in the orchestra in the past, that seeing the stage at City Center was difficult, and the online seating charts did not advise how many great,upper level tickets were available.

For the most part, the musicians were excellent, especially in the Bach piece.

No one from the theatre or PNB made any announcements, comments, or speeches. This created a bit of a feeling of distance, especially after reading so much about this company and its outreach efforts.

It wasn't a public petition like when a full-page newspaper ad in the New York Times advocating the release of a political prisoner and signed by Nobel laureates is published. It was an under-handed coup attempt when, as a man with a TV pulpit and who's the go-to guy for a pithy quote, his attempts at persuasion failed, and he obtained signatures by misrepresenting the situation to fellow artists. It was never meant to go public: it was leaked to the press.

Lawlessness breeds lawlessness, and step one is to try to establish illegitimacy. That he's been agitating relentlessly within the company is no secret. It's no surprise that, while the translation of Tsiskaridze's literal words were that if Iksanov were Orthodox, he'd understand Tsiskaridze's relationship to Yanin, does anyone really think he wasn't also saying "He's not one of us"? He's the self-proclaimed "preserver of ballet orthodoxy," which is funny when you think about it, with the Bolshoi rep having works like "Spartacus" and "Carmen" so affiliated with the company. You'd think from his words that he was chaneling Petipa, not Grigorovich.

Again, I don't condone NT's alleged misconduct, such as his improper petition (see above), which Helen outlines (see above), but that does not make his separate, proper objections and refusal to lie about colleagues wrongful, or render them the cause of the general lawless behavior described in the theatre (involving many people, described above), nor does it give rise to evidence of his own guilt in a physical attack. All expression of disagreement or refusal to go along with abuse does not make one a contributor to "incivility" leading to violence.

RT states:

"In response three days later Nikolay Tsiskaridze appeared on the BBC with his share of accusations, accusing the Bolshoi leadership of being totalitarian. 'It's like 1937, the days of Stalin – they're constantly organizing meetings against me, they're trying to force staff to sign letters condemning me.'

Anastasia Volochkova, who was Bolshoi prima ballerina until she was sensationally sacked in 2003, took Tsiskaridze’s side. 'You absolutely cannot call it an artistic conflict, when a leadership of a theater organizes the collecting of signatures against artists, who suddenly became unwanted. That’s what Iksanov is now doing to Nikolay Tziskaridze, who has turned into an obstacle. Ten years ago Iksanov was scheming the same way against me,' Volochkova wrote in her blog on January 22."

Writers above suggest that ballet dancers should be mute, not just for political reasons (which admittedly may benefit them), but to avoid generating an atmosphere of "lawlessness". Does the theatre have a mechanism to deal with problems? If it does not, would you be able to mute if ethnic groups, political groups, or artistic dissenters were disallowed or marginalized? If ones who did not submit to sexual harrassment were forced out or defamed? If you were attacked or blacklisted for supporting the victims? I am sure many find the safest route to keep their heads down and say nothing, but consequences arise from this, as well.

In sum, I am asking if he had not lied to obtain petitions, and had not objected to Iksanov for ethnic reasons, would you consider his public commentary about the reconstruction, his refusal to criticize and blacklist disfavored dancers and teachers, or his objection to signings letters directed against them, to be improper or a cause of lawlessness, giving rise to hacking and acid attacks? Would your answer be different based on the culture in the U.S. and the former Soviet Union?

It was a lot more than criticizing the theater. Going to the top artists in the nation to ask them to sign a petition based on outright lies about the state of the current administration is the type of action that would get most people fired on the spot. Once there was public evidence showing his less-than-transparent efforts to undermine the administration through sordid means -- he's not just an op-ed writer doing his job to expose the grievous wrongs of his targets -- why should Iksanov not describe how it impacts his theater, especially when it's not uncommon for incivility to lead to more incivility, posturing about using force, and then physical force?

I do not condone the acts upon Gennady Yanin, which Iksanov attributes to NT (but without showing his alleged proof), nor the filing of false petitions and letters (attributed by others to NT.) Of course, I do not condone the attacks on Filin (not directly attributed by Iksanov to NT, but for which Iksanov blames NT). However, I fail to understand how one can blame acts of violence on acts of "incivility". I am sure in every office people complain (sometimes accurately and sometimes inaccurately) about their supervisors and colleagues, and sometimes do worse (such as the false petition and letter that you mention), but that does not permit an inference of inevitable, future violence, nor give rise to blame for violence by others.

The New York Times states: According to the director, "there was 'no doubt' that he was involved in the 2011 publication of erotic photographs that prompted Gennady Yanin, who was at the time the Bolshoi director, to leave the company.....'I have only one feeling: Everything that happened is the natural result of the lawlessness that was created in the first place by Nikolai Maksimovich Tsiskaridze,” he said. “Pouring mud on the theater and its workers, constant intrigues and certainty of his own impunity — that was the background which made this tragedy possible.'"

If blamed for two vicious attacks (particularly if one assumes that the conclusory allegations are inaccurate), who could not respond? Even without these direct accusations, the director asserts that speaking truth about being admittedly sidelined, pushed out, or purged caused an acid attack. In essence, the director argues that NT bears blame, regardless of participation in the wrongdoing against Filin, because he expressed that did not like the reconstruction, would not speak falsely against other artists, and voiced his desire for other roles. Who could remain polite and not be provoked in that case? I imagine the response was intended, expected, and useful, based on the provocation.