Birdsall

This is inspiring! I will try to remember this video when I am complaining like a baby in my head during yoga class when doing ardha chandrasana!!! If she can do all that at that age, I should stop being such a baby!

I totally agree. He is a great example of masculinity and also being himself. That's a sign of being comfortable with yourself. I don't understand anyone being in the closet at all anymore in this day and age. In my experience the world does not come crashing down b/c people know you are gay. They actually like you better b/c you stop seeming fake and are so refreshingly honest and real. And it probably helps someone's art to be like this.

OMG!!! You made me laugh at that!

When you're jumping in soft shoes, you use a deep plie, roll through the foot and push off from the ground using your toes. On pointe you can't do that. So you don't get a lot of height, but you do still have to get airborne for long enough to beat the legs. That's what makes it's so difficult. For changes, I think it depends on the type of change, the reason for the change, the individual dancer and their company. This is a relatively small change. Beats make the step harder (a lot harder on pointe), but choreographically it's not a huge difference. The conductor didn't have to take endless repeats while she jumped, for example. Usually changes are worked out in rehearsal, so the dancer's coach, repetiteur, conductor and the other dancers will know what is going on. Of course, there are instances where someone has a fit of pique or spite and makes huge changes on the spur of the moment. Or maybe the atmosphere/politics in a company is such that the dancer does not want to rehearse changes in public and just does them on stage. In some companies, like the Mariinsky (I think), it is normal/ok for dancers to make small changes/accommodations to suit style, technique, personal preference etc. In others, such as POB, it is not acceptable to make changes - everyone dancing the same role is supposed to be doing the same choreography. And why they are making the change is important too. Do they have an injury that necessitates the change? Is it a different version of a classic variation? (Think of all the iterations of Kitri's variation, for example.) Do they just not like the way the step looks? And also, is the choreography copyrighted? Cinnamonswirl, thanks for taking the time to explain very fully to me. That is very helpful to read your description. I think the "straight down the stage" entrechats in the La Scala video makes it more apparent that they are entrechats for me. Doing them in a diagonal kept me from seeing the difference, but now after your description and ksk04's comments I see it. I also like your explanation how it is harder to do the entrechats on pointe. It makes sense now that you explain it, but since I am not a dancer I didn't even think about that aspect. Your comments on the planning or not planning changes in choreography was also very helpful!

They are both jumps on pointe so they do look similar, but having watched Tereshkina just now, she does changements while Novikova does entrechats. Changements simply jump, change, and land, but entrechats (quatre, trois, six, whatever) beat multiple times midair before landing. Novikova does two changements in the middle, which is when you see her fifth position alternate. Thanks for the description, ksk04! This is very helpful for me. I usually think of entrechats as like when men do them jumping high, so Novikova's looked different. I guess she does them delicately to fit the character. So when a dancer changes the choreography a little here, is it purely the dancer's decision, or is it made after discussing with others (like the artistic director and/or conductor if the tempo might need slight changing)? I know that in opera a singer doesn't embellish an aria without discussing it with the conductor first and the conductor (at least nowadays) usually has final say in the matter whether embellishments will be used or not. This particular change by Novikova seems like a change that could be done independently b/c the tempo does not sound different to me compared to the other times I have seen Raymonda, so maybe ballet dancers have more leeway than singers. Please give insight into this if you have any!

Someone contacted me and said that the steps are indeed different, but they look the same to me. I have asked for an explanation. If someone else can explain, please do. This is all about learning.

By the way, do not think that I find Novikova lacking b/c of my previous posting. I love her in this! She's amazing in everything she does, it seems!

Not sure if anyone cares (these details interest and intrigue me but maybe not others). I double checked, and Novikova does indeed dance the variation the way Lopatkina, Tereshkina, and Kolegova dance it at the Mariinsky. This is the variation how it is done at the Mariinsky. The only difference is that the others alternate legs during each entrechat. Novikova switches a couple of times but seems to keep the one leg in front most of the time. Not sure if that matters. You guys can tell me if this is bad or good to do or maybe doesn't matter. A side note: Lopatkina does not go past 90 degrees on her extensions either which is an artistic choice, b/c she has that ability. All the others lift higher in this variation.

I am not 100% sure, but 90% sure that the Mariinsky's Raymonda has always had that particular choreography in that variation. I have seen it done, and I believe it is always like that. But maybe I am wrong.

An early Basilio from Novosibirsk and his Solor at ABT seemed like he was in character to me, but I am more used to opera singers, (and some of the greatest singers just stand and sing without any acting), so maybe I am more tolerant to just skimming the surface of the character, but I did feel his Basilio and Solor were not just acrobatics. I think it is a case of viewing a glass half empty or half full. I think he is definitely a creature of the stage and has star charisma so he may not be to everyone's liking, but he belongs on the stage, in my personal opinion!

Kondaurova might be the best choice, especially if someone wants to see an actual Mariinsky "principal," but from what I have seen Kolegova can be quite wonderful. I wouldn't be upset by tickets to her. I think anyone with tickets for Kondaurova or Kolegova are probably safe.

Sandik, FYI: those are being done this season. It looks like the end of next season will be the Ashton Festival, but they do not list any particular ballets.

I came across this article about the Sarasota Ballet, and I thought Sir Frederick Ashton fans may want to pay close attention to the last paragraph. There will be an Ashton festival in Spring 2014 http://artssarasota.com/2012-09-11/section/the-promise-of-a-new-season/

Gorgeous Theatre, Cristian!!!!! Thanks for the photo! Praying.

Sounds like they are out to put Les Trockaderos out of business!!! LOL

I didn't know you could exchange! It was probably a mad rush to the box office like how people rushed to their banks when the stock market collapsed in 1929!!! LOL

These videos look like the performances would be more fun for the performers than audience members! I guess it has some fascination appeal for audience members. It is interesting that Osipova can look masculine. But overall as an audience member I would much rather see her in a female role.

I think I would cry buckets if I had the wrong tickets, but Shklyarov would be my only consolation. But who goes to Swan Lake to watch Prince Siegfried all night???? It is a tragedy of epic proportions for those ticket holders!

OMG! That casting is unbelievable! Kondaurova and Kolegova should be worth seeing!

Too bad! You got me excited! It is a crime not to immortalize the Seattle Ring! It is so beautiful! As for Stemme I heard opera fanatics much older than I am who said she was better than Nilsson or anyone else they heard. I think I would break my opera disinterest if she were to release a "Wagner Arias/Scenes" cd or iTunes......I notice she's singing a concert of Wagner at the Mariinsky. Maybe it will be released on iTunes or video. It was one of the rare times I left an opera feeling like I had seen something for the ages.

Do you mean that they are going to telecast the actual video of the Seattle Ring???? That is good news! Any possibility of a commercial release?

I was so looking forward to the Met's new Ring, and each installment disappointed me more, although Siegfried with the beautiful video images perked me up a little. There are some good things, but I think most people including me expected the "machine" to make the impossible possible and thrill us. Maybe our expectations were way too high. There was a preview video several years ago on the Met's website with computer images of what we might see, and the images I saw on that never actually happened. So I really wanted to like this new Ring. There are some good things, but overall, I did not personally think the planks added that much to the story telling and often hindered it. Ocasionally it made transitions of scenes work well, but that's about it, in my opinion. I don't think it looked cheap, but it definitely didn't deliver on the initial hype (for me at least). I would advise anyone who wants to invest in a full Ring Cycle on dvd to consider the old Met one (if you like traditional). It is gorgeous. If you like innovative I think the Copenhagen Ring and the Valencia Ring are a lot of fun. If a Ring Cycle ever comes out on video with Nina Stemme, everyone buy that one. Even if the other singers do not measure up and even if the sets end up being cardboard paper falling down, she makes it worthwhile. She was absolutely fabulous in the San Francisco Ring! It was the Brunnhilde of a lifetime, in my opinion, and it was a great end to my opera going hobby. Not really interested in opera anymore after being obsessed for 20 years. It saved my life after my sister's death, and ballet has now replaced it. I feel like a cheater! LOL I am literally astonished that I've turned my back on opera. I am hoping my love of it will return one day.

I actually was amazed at their descent much more in the old Met Ring done with traditional stage craft. For me it was much more magical. I also love the descent in the Valencia Ring having them descend using video and they are descending from space down to earth and then underground. But this is a personal opinion. I do think the descent in the new Plank Ring is one of the nice moments of that Ring, but these nice moments (for my taste) are so few and far between. I do think there were moments where the changing of the scenes was nice too, but those are also momentary. I am one of the few people I know who loved the L.A. Ring. At the end when the world is coming to an end, all the set trappings are moved away and are shown to be all fantasy and the backstage is revealed and as that gorgeous music plays the stage lights shine out into the audience basically telling us it is up to us to change the greed, materialism, etc. I loved that ending, but very few people I have spoken with did. I also liked the larger than life costumes that the singers complained about, b/c it turned the characters into more mythological characters, but that is also something most people did not like.

It is also now available on dvd and BluRay, but I will stick with the previous Met one which has such beautiful sets. I do like the two crazy Rings from both Copenhagen and Valencia that are interesting in another way. I own those too. But the new Met one is a pass, in my opinion. If the planks actually did something fascinating I would buy the videos, but they pretty much just sit there most of the time like regular sets except they create mainly abstract, boring, ugly sets. I personally think this is the biggest flop of Peter Gelb's tenure. It doesn't please the traditional crowd, and it really doesn't please anyone looking for modern or crazy. It is just so BLAH, in my own personal opinion.

Are they just horsing around during rehearsals or what is going on with this? LOL