Angelique

Why she did not perform in Bayadere on Saturday is that she is very close to her coach, Tatiana Terekhova, and very close to her coach's husband, Sergei Berezhnoi, whose funeral was last Tuesday.

Thank you, alexaa1a!

Some folks are very disappointed for not being able to catch Alinas Nikiya in London, since they flew across the pond just for that one performance. Now, that you explained the reason why, I am sure they will understand.

Although I have never seen Sergey on stage, my heart goes out to his family and friends. All dancers go to heaven.

tho' each individual's opinion is but that, individual, it might be of interest to know that Somova has had the good opinion of Mikhail Baryshnikov and Irina Kolpakova (both of whom voiced such to me personally, in Kolpakova's case she enthusiastically prodded me to see Somova in HUMPBACKED HORSE, not that i needed any prodding) and Maya Plisetskaya, which is noted in a recent TIME OUT NEW YORK interview.

Individual opinion, yes, but golden! Just like Golden is the Mask Award for The Tsar Maiden.

Personally, I can't speak for "people". I consider myself just a member of the audience, nothing more, nothing less.

Back to Bessmertnova. She was certainly technically strong but she was not a virtuoso. Not the way Natalia Dudinskaya or Michail Barishnikov were. This however doesn’t take anything away from Bessmertnova’s greatness. There is a point where technical virtuosity starts to overpower other aspects of a performance and a performer, Osipova being *the* poster child of this phenomenon (Thank God Somova is not Osipova!).

“Ulanova, Plisestskaya, Kolpakova, Fonteyn, Seymour, Sibley, Grey, Osipenko, Assylmuratova” - you got me here, Simon. They might be good technicians but out of the bunch only Ulanova, Kolpakova and Assylmuratova come close to moving me the way modern dancers do and yes, the way Somova’s luminous stage persona does. The rest aforementioned artists are certainly some ones to be revered as part of rich balletic heritage, but quietly passed over while searching for an interesting ballet feature on YouTube.

PS. Don’t have a clue as to why Somova has been given four and not fourteen appearances in the upcoming London season. I won't be there :-))) Although I personally know people who will fly across the pond for a chance to catch her in "La Bayadere".

Even if Somova raised her technical level and musicality, I can't imagine a resemblance between the style and movement quality of an "ideal" Somova and Bessmertnova.

Well, I can. Besides, technical virtuoso Bessmertnova was not.

I also got carried away a bit in my previous post stating that Kolpakova doesn’t do it for me. She certainly does, but not the other Kirov period dancers mentioned in the same sentence, no matter how highly revered they might be by others.

May I ask what's this sudden obsession with Bessmertnova? Who stopped dancing over twenty years ago and who you've never seen dance?

Ohhhh, Bessmertnova!!!! No, I haven’t seen her dancing live. But what I‘ve seen on video and DVD made me believe that it is Natalia B. who is the greatest dancer of the 20th Century. You might ask “what about Pavlova or Spessivtseva?” Unfortunately there isn’t much film about them that survived the cataclysms of history. On the other hand films about Bessmernova exist and they effect me on many levels, emotional as well as intellectual. Her dancing doesn’t seem to belong to any particular period, but remain contemporary and fresh even now. She is not of this world, rather the one we wish could exist.

<Sentimental cap off/>

PS. Other dancers you mention along with NB: Dudinskaya, Shelast, Osipenko, Makarova, Kolpakova, Assylmuratova, Kurgapkina just don’t do it for me. Sorry!

We are a discussion board, not a fan board, and threads on dancers are to discuss the dancers, pro and con. The only place taste comes into the picture is when there is a congratulations thread that turns highly critical, and even then, if the promotion is controversial, it is fine to discuss.

Helene, I want to thank you for this most valuable information. While visiting dancers’ threads, I tend to be reluctant to express an opinion unless it is a positive one, at least for the most part. Now I know that it is OK to express an alternate opinion about dancers who are not as well known, or as frequently discussed as Alina Somova.

These are discussion boards and you'll find the majority of posts on this thread are negative about Somova, in fact all except your ...

Oh, that makes me proud. Proud of being able to uphold my very own and heart-felt opinion in spite of the majority or rather a vocal minority. Alina Somova is the Principal of the greatest classical company in the world (author’s opinion) and nothing, but absolutely nothing can change this. She is not Bessmertnova. Not yet. One day!

I will give you one, Simon, – the Principal is underdog no longer.

What I am struggling to understand, Simon G. is why you and the like minded people happen to express yourself in the thread of a dancer you don't champion? Wouldn’t it be better for one’s health and enjoyment of life to express oneself in the thread of a dancer that your crowd wants to advance?? Aren't lovers more preferable than haters???

Perhaps you like to trash the beloved by many Somova just for the sake of trashing? Well, I don’t think it works. There is an unwritten rule of fair play and deep-rooted tendency with most Americans to cheer for the underdog. So you see, your “sophisticated” opinion expressed in the thread might be all for nothing.

I'm sorry if this seems snide, you like Somova, that's cool and great for you, but to make any kind of case for Somova as a great ballerina or classicist is a non starter. Also it's interesting to note just how much the artisitc directorship of the Mariinksy is responding to the criticism of her and cooling their relationship in casting. In the Mariinsky season at the ROH this & next month, in a four week season of 25 performances Somova is only dancing four times.

I don’t believe in skewing casting in favor of any one dancer. In fact a new battalion of Mariinsky graces are now waiting in the wings and it won’t be long before the same passionate debates (at least I hope) would be raging around them. No dancer, no matter how great, should dominate the repertoire.

Don't go to see Somova if you do not understand her style. Attend performances with dancers that you happen to like. Ars longa, vita brevis.

PS. “snide” as you put it is OK, even if it smacks of self-righteousness. In fact it is the shining example of that strong emotion that sizzles inside you. I can only hope that someone who reads your… evaluation of Somova and happens to adore her, might not be tempted to do the same, i.e. evaluate a dancer that you like and/or admire in a similar fashion.

I didn't see Somova's live, but from the clips, it looks like her feet are a little stronger since the last time I saw her, but her hands were very distracting.

Personally I would not recommend to anyone to go see a dancer who does appeal to you. Mariinsky has wide spectrum of performers to satisfy just about every taste.

What both Tereshkina and Obratztsova had (live) that Somova shows little of in the clips is a sense of the musical and dance line: there's not much connecting between the steps and mini-phrases, which are more like text-speak than sung lines.

I would like to draw my own comparisons. Obraztsova is certainly musical and graceful the way only petite dancers tend to be. But to me she can be boring. Evgenia remains her charming self whether she portrays tragic Giselle or happy Aurora. Somova is infinitely more versatile. One can never predict which side of her artistic self she is going to reveal in a particular performance. Tereshkina possesses perfect technique, but not perfect pitch. Moreover, she doesn’t touch my heart the way Obraztsova and Somova do, each in her own special way. But like yourself, I cannot help but to admire Tereshkina's polished, even chiseled, if I may say so, dancing. I wouldn’t go so far as to call Victoria an ultimate Petipa ballerina, but she comes darn close to being one. In any case, I would much prefer any one of the three young Graces to Diana Vishneva, whose fame nowadays far exceeds the quality of her dancing.

...there's not much connecting between the steps and mini-phrases, which are more like text-speak than sung lines

Matter of style, although I appreciate the fact that some folks consider that style to be two-dimensional. There are dancers of a step and dancers of a line. Alina is a dancer of a line and air.

Comparing performers always provokes heated debates. Perhaps it is not so bad. After all, is it not Art’s purpose to penetrate the deep recesses of our heart, touch our inmost feelings and invoke strong emotions?

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Somova who has a remarkable physical endowment and flexibility, is a dancer of individual effects or even individual steps. I think that Somova has improved as a dancer and technician but will never be a great artist - particularly in the big classical ballets.

Having watched Somova's breathtaking Nikiya live, I find her to be a powerful classical dancer. But Bessmertnova, no she is not. May be some day...

Apologies. It is Ratmansky, of course. Not “Rot” and certainly not “rotten”. But to be completely honest, I do not favor his ballets, Karenina being the worst of the bunch. Call it a freudian slip )

On the other hand I enjoyed Alonso’s concise choreography of Carmen quite a bit.

Greenwich Time reviews Alina Somova's performance as Tsar Maiden in Rotmansky's "The Little Humpbacked Horse":

Mariinsky Ballet loosens up in appealing NY run

Wow at the Vaganova Shades!

Really? I know they are students but I was astounded at how *UN* synchronized they were. The leader very beautifully and elegantly lifts her leg to arabesque in a continuous movement.

The lead is Olga Smirnova, star student of the graduation class. She too made some surprising missteps. Regardless, she moves like a dream, combining gymnastics like arabesques and attitudes (personally I don't have a problem with them) with articulate connecting steps, which remain the soul of Petipa’s ingenious choreography.

As far as the whole ensemble goes, to periphrases Mm. Assylmuratova - “The Shades” deserve better. They do indeed.

To elaborate further on too narrowly defined technique, it is my believe that high extension has been singled out unjustly as *the* violator of classical dance esthetics. Why, a dancer who can mount a very high but poorly positioned jump with feet turned in and arms stretched out in “Misses Moore!” exclamation is far worse. And what about triple fouete turns that don’t even open a la seconde?

Perhaps nowadays, when we focus on speed, extension, turns, and jumps, we use the term "technique" too narrowly?

Indeed. There is no way strong jumps, high extensions and triple fouette turns can possibly compensate for the delicious connecting pas and sense of pose, which go back to the Imperial Ballet and is the soul of Petipa’s choreography. However, nowadays top notch classical dancer is expected to combine all of the above.

This is Ulanova from 1940 with the Kirov, widely considered to be the greatest ballerina of all time by many:

She was certainly great master of "whisper" and half-tones. Someone wrote that Ulanova danced fear. Her dance as that of her partner Sergeyev is so pure, pristine even. But I wonder if it would have the same effect now. And I don't mean on a small audience of balletomanes, but on a broader one that come to expect everything to be faster, higher and yes, flashier.

It might come out as off topic - for which i appologize to the board and forum....

...

As a person to attended YAGP gala 2011, let me report - the piece was NOT performed...

No apologies are warranted, YID as it is another member who brought up the subject of Alina Somova’s schedule. Apparently I missed the announcement of cancellation of Millepied’s new piece at the aforementioned Gala. Now, that you clarified the matter I don't feel so bad for having missed the event, although I am quite sure there were many other marvelous dancers and pieces to be enjoyed.

The operative word here is "was." The winds of change have blown. Not only was Ms Somova taken off this past Feb/March Canadian tour and had no full-evening ballets at the Mariinsky Festival but she is scheduled to dance no full-evenings between now and the rest of the season at home.

I probably shouldn’t respond to the old song...

But truth is more important. At the time of Mariinsky Canadian tour, Ms. Somova and Alessio Carbone (Paris Opera Ballet) were preparing for World premier of Benjamin Milliepid's new ballet, which was shown at YAGP 2011 Gala: "STARS OF TODAY MEET THE STARS OF TOMORROW".

The problem is with the Skorik developpe at the end of the pas de deux, is that yes, I agree it's an impressive feat of flexibility but it isn't ballet, it's acrobatics, moreover were her partner to take his support away she'd fall over - classical ballet is a language of dance based around placement, balance and in the case of the great Classical works great restraint.

That’s just it, Simon. Unlike yourself, I don’t see acrobatics in Skoric’s closing pas. What I see is altogether different, a metaphor of sorts. Mind that it is not executed at the beginning of the adagio, rather at its end. Didn’t Odette want to set herself free? Didn't Odile want to capture the Prince with her own charms as well as her startling resemblance to Odette? Your point of view is exceedingly interesting and in many aspects I agree with it. Yes, in many if not most Petipa’s ballets such a skewed position would be an overkill. "Swan Lake" is different in many ways, it is more symphonic, more open to dancer’s individual interpretation. You write: “you have to ask would they mind if she did a classically placed developpe?“ Perhaps yes. But Skoric saw it this way and I applaud her power of imagination, not her flexibility.

When unskilled/untrained/uneducated audience members go for the first time and happen upon a ballerina who is whacking her legs, or giving inappropriate dramatic additions in the wrong roles (ie a flirtatious look as Queen of teh Dryads, for example) those audience members know no better, they have no other point of comparison.

I beg to differ. There is something inappropriate in referring to audiences as “trained” or “untrained”. A theatre goer is not a pony after all. I have been regularly attending ballet performances for 8 years and not only by Mariinsky, but POB, ROH, Danish Royal, BT, ABT, NYCB, La Scala and many other famous companies and not so famous too. So I am quite certain that I have not just one, but several frames of reference. Oksana Skoric’s winged pose which provoked this discussion is not just impressive but expressive, i.e. it means something. To emotionally move those in the audience, to touch people's hearts, to stir the imagination, isn’t it what art is suppose to be about? Certainly it doesn't exist just to oblige critics and balletomanes. In this case theatre would be stale, lifeless and attended by the smallest portion of theatre goers.

One thing more: personally I think here is “the place for this discussion”, provided that the forum affords the opportunity for an open and unrehearsed exchange of ideas. A contrario, speaking for myself and myself only, I would not be interested in the aforementioned publication even if I get paid to read it.

I agree, Vishneva is a fantastic Aurora. But Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty are very different ballets, requiring different accents and different nuances, a different movement lexicon entirely, in fact.

You brought up an interesting point, Catherine. Indeed, "Swan Lake" is unlike any other Petipa’s ballet. Perhaps it was the influence of Leo Ivanov (then assistant choreographer to Marius Petipa) that rendered it such, perhaps the legendary choreographer himself was on the way to a more symphonic compositional structure to which "Raymonda" stands a witness. But "Swan Lake" is like no other classical ballet before or after. The closest epithet I can come with is ballet-poem, hence a different movement lexicon

Very promising! The distorted alignment (a la Somova) at 1:34 is disappointing though.

Just out of interest I took a second look at the frame @ 1:34 and thought it absolutely beautiful. Wing like working leg creates a metaphor for a bird ready to take to the skies. In this particular case square hips would render the pose less dynamic, even stale.

Very swan-like. Thank you!

Not sure I can totally agree about Diana. Yes, she was able to embrace other schools and styles of dance, thus becoming a truly global ballet star. When dancing Aurora, however, which along with The Swan Lake constitutes the very core of Mariinsky repertoire, Vishneva was quintessential Imperial ballerina - the proudly set back, those gorgeous arms, the unmistakably Mariinsky port de bras. What is most important, however, it is her profound understanding of the Imperial style, that made her one of, if not the best Mariinsky Auroras. Of course I don’t take into account Malakhov's staging of the ballet, which Diana also performed. It is another animal all together, the one I personally don’t take seriously.