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Plisskin

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Everything posted by Plisskin

  1. Plisskin

    Misty Copeland

    People criticize dancers like Misty, Isabella, and Hee not quite matching up to international (mainly Russian) dancers. But is it really a surprise that they are deficient when they get little to nil coaching and preparation like the latter do? No. They basically have to rely on themselves or other dancers to help with their variations with a one-on-one here and there from Irina. Terrible for a supposed top rated company. Same with Simkin, Hammoudi, heck everybody on the roster down to the corp who have issues. All those dancers have the goods to be brilliant, but it's not being realized because the company isn't invested in creating their own quality dancers. Tragic.
  2. Plisskin

    Misty Copeland

    ABT doesn't really coach their dancers. Their pretty notorious for it actually. Only 5 ballet masters on staff... Terrible. One, Keith Roberts, has only been with the company for 2 years. And they heavily rely on Irina Kolpakova for the females. The other 3 ballet masters I'm confused on why they are ballet masters when, in my opinion, there have been more qualified people whom have danced with ABT to coach. From social media I've seen Stiefel helping dancers like Calvin Royal and Stearns.
  3. Plisskin

    Joy Womack

    Russian's prefer their dancers stick thin with Vaganova port de bras. Joy isn't any of those and she doesn't dance like a Russian either. Which is interesting because Precious Adams does and if I recall correctly, she spent even less time at the Bolshoi school than Joy did. I'm quite sure she has her detractors from small comments she's made from her Youtube video's. I do know that pre-Bolshoi controversy, I remember reading some nasty Russian comments from her graduation performance.
  4. Plisskin

    Joy Womack

    It's plastered all over news articles that she is a "principal" (she even says she is a principal) but she's actually a leading soloist? Wow. Thanks for the info.
  5. Plisskin

    Joy Womack

    She was also recently on CNN last month for being payed 8 USD a day ($240 a month) because the Russian ruble is terrible right now. She still loves and is very much a Russiaphile. Article here: http://edition.cnn.com/2015/04/17/europe/kremlin-ballet-american/ I saw some video's of her dancing from her channel and I wasn't terribly impressed... I find her interesting though. She self promotes a lot.
  6. Plisskin

    Joy Womack

    The first American (but not really) to graduate at the Bolshoi is now a principal dancer at the Kremlin after controversy at the Bolshoi. She is also now selling energy/ diet bars for dancers called "The Prima Bar" and has a Youtube channel where she uploads video's of her dancing and bts of dancing with the Kremlin.
  7. Plisskin

    Misty Copeland

    No, and my comment didn't elude to anything of the sort. It was said in jest. That title is eyeroll worthy at best, especially considering that there is nothing American about ABT. I even think they should just revert the name back to Ballet Theatre. That makes much more sense for this company whose AD and staff value international stars dancers.
  8. Plisskin

    Misty Copeland

    Congress needs to rescind that "National Ballet Company' title ABT lobbied and/ or payed for and give that to NYCB.
  9. Plisskin

    Misty Copeland

    I don't think just reviews is why these dancers are well known and global. Especially in this day and age. I think the availability of video's, live streamed performances, and performances you can see in theatres is why. Especially for people in my age group (I'm 26).
  10. Plisskin

    Misty Copeland

    Indeed. ABT marketing is like its stuck in the 90's, and relies heavily on commercials in the tivo/ playback era where people fast forward through them. If no one wants to see ABT dancers it's their fault not the dancers. And it's not because guest artists are superior either. Who wants to see Sarah Lane, Stella Abrera, or Isabella Boylston when, other than diehard ABT fans, no one knows who they are? People know who Vishneva, Cojocaru, and Osipova are mainly because of DVD/ Bluray and live broadcasts of their dancing. People also know the companies they dance for because of this reason as well. You can barely and sometimes not at all, find any video's of ABT dancers other than people like Gomes and Hallberg. And that's only because they performed at the Bolshoi, where they actually market and record performances. I think it is a crime that all of the wonderful performances of one of the partnerships at ABT in decades, Gomes/ Vishneva, has not been recorded and put on DVD/ bluray to this day. This is also the reason why Copeland can sell tickets and someone like Sarah Lane can't. Not that nonsense that ABT staffer was saying. So many problems with this company it's sad.
  11. Plisskin

    Misty Copeland

    You haven't but a lot of her detractors in here and elsewhere have. Look back a few pages.
  12. Plisskin

    Misty Copeland

    ABT would have their own stars if their marketing wasn't so stuck in the pre-Internet age. I was surprised when they started a YouTube channel, albeit with less than exciting video and hardly updated anymore. Even San Francisco Ballet, with half of the budget of ABT participated in World Ballet Day with other top companies.
  13. Plisskin

    Misty Copeland

    More opinions stated as fact. I, unlike some people in this thread, have also seen Copeland live. Not a YouTube clip or music video. But LIVE. And thought she had a nice body and good port de bras and was graceful. Technically not strong though. Not my favorite dancer but she's hardly any worse than principal dancers like Boylston or Seo. The former who is completely ungraceful and has terrible port de bras with scraggly fingers, and the latter who more often than not is technically deficient and seems to have stamina issues at times. They have their failings, yet don't get criticized as much as Misty.
  14. Plisskin

    Misty Copeland

    You forgot that if you do mention racism, you have to somehow provide proof, otherwise your a liar. I'm not sure how De Prince, for instance, could provide proof that 1 of her ballet teachers told her she could no longer dance the lead because the audience wasn't ready for a black Aurora.
  15. Plisskin

    Misty Copeland

    Hallberg got his publicity/ journalist wanting to interview him for, like all of the tag lines have said, being the first principal dancer American with a top Russian company. Not his dancing. When it initially happened it was very evident that it was more about him switching to a Russian company (a country who has been at odds with the U.S. for decades) when for so long it was the other way around (Nuryev, Baryshnikov, Makarova). I remember Colbert even jokingly called him a turn coat and Benedict Arnold. If he joined the Royal, ENB or some smaller Russian company in Novosibirsk he'd hardly be invited on talk shows and sit down interviews with The Washington Post and New York Times (eg. Joseph Phillips). There are many star dancers in the ballet world. But they are not known outside of that and granted a plethora of interviews and engagements due to not having a, for lack of a better word, "gimmick" or commercially interesting story to sell them to the masses and make them interesting. Edit: Besides being signed to a management company he has a publicist too? Well then, I think that puts to rest that all of those offers presumably fell in his lap with no effort on his part.
  16. Plisskin

    Misty Copeland

    Copeland, her team, or both(?) have corrected their mistake in crowning her the first black female soloist at ABT. Now they are touting her as the first black female soloist in two decades, which is correct. I'm not sure when they made this correction. Maybe in the past 1-2 years? Not sure. kfw, I do object to Copeland if she is lying. However, I am unaware what she is lying about. All I've seen are speculations that her story in her autobiography is a lie by anonymous internet users on forums and blogs whom dislike her for her "self promotion" and "stealing roles" from Stella and Sarah. I do also object to the double standards exhibited with Misty. If some are going to get mad about her being promoted as "The First Black Soloist" or "The First Black Soloist in Two Decades" or what have you, then that needs to be across the board for all dancers. Which it is not. Another dancer that comes to mind is Joy Womack. "First American to Graduate from the Bolshoi Acadamy" was constantly used in her interviews. However she is not, and their was hardly this level of vitriol aimed at Joy, Hallberg, and other dancers for this mistake like there is for Misty.
  17. Plisskin

    Misty Copeland

    Per his website: management: festspiel@aol.com Peter Diggins Assoc. 133 West 71st Street Suite 8-B New York City, NY 10023 USA +1 (212) 874.4534 Of course Hallberg is selling something. Himself. He's not doing interviews and television appearances talking about himself "just cuz". Like Misty not being the first black female soloist at ABT, Hallberg is not the first American at the Bolshoi. Yet it's been tagged ad nauseum in the press, and not corrected by Hallberg when said to his face. Do you object to Hallberg not telling the truth?
  18. Plisskin

    Misty Copeland

    Yet people hardly ever call him or his media team out on it, as much as they do with Misty. I wonder why...
  19. Plisskin

    Misty Copeland

    So? David Hallberg was afforded many interviews like the Colbert Report not on his dancing, but based on being "The First American At the Bolshoi". And Misty hardly begged, for instance, Prince to be on his tour. He reached out to her first and asked. It wasn't due other " self promotion". Why everybody else gets a pass for these things and not Misty is because...?
  20. Plisskin

    Misty Copeland

    I don't think they should "sell out" per se, but I do think they should be more visible than what they are now. It would make ballet less unknown and seen as elitist. I mean, Nuryev was on The Muppets twice in the 70's doing skits with Miss Piggy at the height of his career! I imagine so-called balletomanes would be outraged by this nowadays and consider it lowly and self-promotion.
  21. Plisskin

    Misty Copeland

    There's barely a record for any ABT dancer unless your Marcelo Gomes or Hallberg dancing at the Bolshoi. Or you can watch a DVD of Stella or Gillian...from a decade ago. This is hardly something unique to Misty.
  22. Plisskin

    Misty Copeland

    Nothing. Her detractors whom cry the mythical race card only want her dancing, at best, corp roles as a soloist or be relegated to modern works like Calvin Royal.
  23. People go see Misty and Osipova because they know who they are. Nobody knows who Hee Seo or Isabella Boylston is. ABT should invest more in DVD/Bluray releases and live telecasts like all the other companies are doing now to create their own star dancers instead of importing them.
  24. Despite declining donations and tickets sales, in 2011 McKenzie took a 30K bonus and the ED's salary, Rachel Moore, increased by 60K. I see your point about in the long run guests might be cheaper, and I do agree with your last paragraph, but I still believe that the company is not that strapped financially if McKenzie, the directors, and the board seem to have enough money for bonuses and 60K pay increases, yet can't seem to have a full-fledged principal roster.
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