Birdsall

The ship looks fancier than before! Is the shipwreck more exciting in this new production?

Thanks for posting. Not sure what those wood blinds are doing hanging in the sky, but it doesn't bother me too much since I have seen all sorts of crazy sets in opera. Ballet is downright traditional and conservative most of the time compared to opera where it isn't surprising to have things take place on a space station on the moon not matter what the libretto says! LOL

AlbanyGirl, at the bottom right corner you see "quote" buttons. You hit that and the person's whole quote appears in your reply box and you can edit it. Just wanting to be helpful. However, someone else can hopefully explain the difference between pressing the "MultiQuote" button and the "Quote" button. Whenever I press either one I seem to get the same result (the entire person's posting as a quote).

Yes, last year each one was shown live at 11am, and I liked that! Disappointed that the movie theaters near me are not going to show any live this season apparently unless they add those dates at the last minute.

I think new costumes for Corsaire is a very good thing! Lankendem's red pajamas need to GO!!!

I see. I wonder if it is being transmitted live in some places.

The movie theater where I see them is playing La Sylphide on Oct. 7 and 9, but not on Sept. 30, so I guess they will show a recorded version (from Sept. 30, I assume from what you say). I wonder if the Bolshoi is going away from transmitting them "live" and just showing them a few days later after recording them. That will be a shame if that is how they plan to do it this season. Part of the allure of the transmissions is that they are "live" (at least the first time they transmit). This is probably why the Met's live transmissions have been so successful while the Opera in Cinema series (as opposed to the Metropolitan Opera) has been less successful. Lots of people go to the Met transmissions b/c they are live. Mistakes can happen, and that gives a slight more excitement to it. When Opera in Cinema first started it was more pre-recorded transmissions, so they did not take off in popularity like the Met operas. So I was glad when the Ballet in Cinema always had a "live" transmission and a repeat. Now it appears there will be two pre-recorded transmissions at least here in Florida.

I think there's a big difference between an administrator or a coach teaching an athlete or dancer what it means to be in "shape" to be successful in that pursuit or demanding that they be so, and your smoking example, where the health benefits are equally applicable to the teachers and students. Fateev doesn't have to go onstage. Lincoln Kirstein didn't have to be a twig to head School of American ballet. I wouldn't expect them to live the monkish, disciplined lives of athletes or dancers when their professions don't require it, because their expertise and duties are not dependent on it. I agree basically with everything you say, but I think being overweight does hurt people's health, so everyone should strive to keep weight off hypothetically. For a while I was a Pilates instructor and I felt like a hypocrite at moments when I gained a little. I was always very critical of my weight, and always worrying about it back then. Now even though most people consider me a decent look for 45 years old my tiny Asian mother thinks I am absolutely obese, b/c I am not skin and bones like I was at 16 years old. When I taught Pilates I was constantly trying to keep my weight down, because teaching Pilates and telling people how to get the long, lean look makes more sense when the teachers are also lean. Part of me was so relieved once I quit (I was actually helping out a friend for a couple of years and was certified to teach it), because if I gained 5 lbs. I felt I did not look the part. But like you say, an administrator doesn't have to be lean. I just think someone who is vocally preaching the skinny, skinny, skinny element of ballet should look the part, but that is my personal opinion. If he simply tells people that being skinny helps their career as a statement that is reality, I would give him more slack, but from what someone else posted, it sounds like he really stresses it as a very important part, and I guess it is. But if that becomes a top thing he stresses, I just personally think he should also stress it with himself regardless if he goes on stage or not. If I owned a Pilates studio but never taught and just ran it, I would also try to keep my weight down a little better than I currently do. Of course, this is slightly different b/c you are trying to sell a "look" to get clients. In his situation he is not trying to sell anything, rather simply tell them the facts of the ballet world. So, yes, you are right. He doesn't have to please me on this weight issue or do what I think people should do. I just think super skinniness is stressed for the women in ballet and I would rather see a dancer like Stepanova with a womanly figure than bean poles if it meant they would be healthier. If some are like bean poles as someone mentioned above simply by nature and healthy as "bean poles" that is fine too.

The late Charles France of ABT wasn't svelte, either. If you look at coaching videos in Russia (and older ones from the Soviet Union), many of the older coaches, especially, are quite heavy, when they had been a lot thinner as dancers, even if they came from generations where proportion and balance, rather than thin-ness was prized. They don't need to be svelte to impart their knowledge, nor do they need to be svelte to administer a company. I totally agree with what you say, except that if he is going around (as someone suggested) and telling people they have to be super skinny and if he is holding dancers back b/c they don't fit his idea of skinny (even if the rest of the world views the dancer as skinny) then I find it a bit hypocritical. I think leaders should set an example. If he is obsessed with dancers being skinny and states this publicly then I personally (and this is only a personal opinion) feel he should set an example and keep weight off himself and his criticism of dancers' weight would hold more water for me personally. But, yes, in theory, people can teach and be administrators of ballet without being skinny. I worked in public schools and teachers told kids not to smoke, but the kids would see them smoking near the dumpster before school and during their lunch. Personally, I don't agree with teaching in that way. I think if you hold a strong position publicly you should attempt to be beyond reproach.

The irony is that Fateyev looks like he needs to lose a lot of weight. I just saw him recently. I don't mean to be catty. I just find it crazy that an overweight person who doesn't seem to be able to control his food intake seems (according to people here) to demand that ballerinas be so thin. Again, I don't mean this to insult him. It just seems crazy when heavy people are telling fairly thin people that they need to lose weight.

So glad that others like this ballet! Maybe one day the Mariinsky will take it on tour if more and more people talk about it.

Question: This string bean look (which I like on some dancers)......is this a look that the company wants simply b/c the company prefers that look and wants to be known for dancers with this look, or is it because they think the public expects that look? If they think the public wants that look I know people who prefer a more womanly look. I think Stepanova is beautiful. I think many people would. If they think the public wants that look in dancers, I am not sure they are correct.

Here is another video that has Gabriela Komleva talking about it.

I feel the same way that Tereshkina feels (see video below in which she discusses the ballet) about this ballet *Legend of Love*.....it is unknown for the most part here in the West, but it is such a fabulous ballet. Modern but still immersed in ballet vocabulary! Lopatkina, Tereshkina, and Kondaurova are all fabulous in the role of Mekhmeneh Bahnu who gives up her beauty to cure her sister of a disease. I feel like the ballet shows various love: love of family, romantic love, jealous love, love of your people/humanity, etc. It is such a shame that it is not better known. Too bad the Mariinsky does not tour with this ballet! It probably would not bring in the crowds but it should if the world were just. Not only is the main female role fabulous, but the secondary female role is great too and the male lead is also a great role for male dancers.

I can't quite put my finger on it, but Firebird is one of my least favorite ballets, and I have Vishneva's and Kondaurova's commercial recordings of the role and like them in it. But these clips of Stepanova's Firebird (thanks to those who posted them here) make me think I might finally understand why people like this ballet, if I see her in the complete ballet.

If you like a deliciously evil Black Swan literally dripping with evil cancel work or cancel plans (give the baby to a stranger....just kidding) and RUN to see Tereshkina's Swan Lake. Her white swan is good too, but her Black Swan is incredible in both dancing and characterization, in my opinion. It won't be to some people's taste, but overall it stands out more than most Black Swans.

I saw a YouTube clip of Stepanova in Firebird, although I can't find it now. Just the short clip I saw was amazing. She is a corps member, and needs to be promoted fast. Certain performers are so extraordinary and time is fleeting that I think some should leap frog up the ranks instead of waiting their turn. When you know that there is someone like Stepanova ready and willing but you might have to sit through one of the performances by a dancer who is not ready for prime time it does frustrate people. I understand that there are politics in casting, but there is at least one dancer that makes your jaw drop in a really bad way at the Mariinsky. You don't even know how it is possible. Then, there are some in the corps that make your jaw drop in a good way. It is one thing to have a situation where dancers are "okay" (decent) and getting ahead due to politics while others who are better get held back. It is another situation when there are dancers rising that are truly not ready even for a provincial company and they get ahead while extraordinary talent is held back. I think that is the frustration being voiced here.

Thanks for posting this! I love entrechats, and so learning the etymology is interesting.

I think the Mariinsky did it last season. I get the impression that the Ballets Russes ballets are not very popular in the U.S. Even Firebird doesn't seem to be played as often as you would think it should be. ABT just did a new version, but I don't think many other companies do it currently. Maybe it will change. I think there are fashions/trends in ballet. I know there are in opera. For years you won't see something like Rusalka and then suddenly everyone is doing Rusalka all over the place.

I don't have any answers. I just thought the article was interesting and something to think about. But there are no perfect solutions.

I have always been under the impression that Abderakhman was a guest visiting Raymonda's family. So even if he was the enemy he was a guest at that moment. He brings gifts in the first act (Mariinsky version). The Bolshoi version has him appearing first in her dream which makes less sense to me, b/c why would she dream of him before she ever lays eyes on him? But the main reason I wanted to post is to post a link to this article which I found, b/c above we were discussing the issue of racism in Raymonda. I found this article interesting. http://www.dancemagazine.com/issues/July-2010/Exotic-or-Offensive

My question is why does he ignore such good dancers and promote ones who are less good? I would think all the teachers/coaches would be pleading with him all the time saying, "Come look at this dancer! She is amazing!" or "Skorik is not ready! Putting her in as Queen of the Dryads will not do her any favors because she is unprepared!" I know bosses do not always listen to those under them, but you would think if things are getting this bad all of the teachers would be pleading with him to open his eyes!

Yes, it is nice and more fluid than just lifting the leg as high as you can and putting it back down on the floor once it is behind you. I agree!

I can't remember if the 2 young dancers who danced Zulma (or Sulma.....the program used an "S") on different days did a penchee or an arabesque at the end, but they definitely brought the leg completely around, and that is probably because there were Cuban teachers during the summer intensive. I have seen some dancers lift their leg so high behind them instead that there is no way to bring it all the way around behind them. So it is flashy at the beginning (height of leg) but not all the way through. So I guess it is a trick to impress with leg height, but circling the leg all the way is more impressive in the long run.

It would still be interesting to know who started it and if it was a ballerina who did the hops backwards on pointe or if a choreographer decided on the steps. It was probably created for the first time for a very "fierce technician" as you mention. Maybe during a gala occasion and then ballerinas loved it and continued to dance it that way but then, as you say, it was thrown out when other influences came into play. Maybe since so many ballerinas from Cuba are teaching in Florida one day these steps will become popular! Did you read my review of the Carreno Dance Festival? In Giselle Sulma moved her leg completely around her body during her short variation, and I believe that is the Cuban way, if I am not mistaken. Everyone else tries to lift the leg behind them as high as they can so there is no way to circle it around so it simply comes back down behind them instead of circling all the way around. So that is an example of how the Cuban step is being taught to young ballerinas. Maybe other things will be taught too eventually (like the Black Swan coda)!