trieste

It seems like a wise enough choice on Osipova's part -- having seen her once, I'd love to see her again no matter what company's banner she's under. As for homegrown talent at the Royal Ballet, Melissa Hamilton is one to watch. By all rights she should be a principal in the next decade. Far better than Lauren Cuthbertson in my eyes, and of much wider employ to boot.

So nice to see Smirnova on those lists! Truly envious of all who will be in London to see these performances. Edit: Has Smirnova had a Swan Lake at home/before this?

I wonder if she's dealing with an injury in those Bayadere videos. She's never been the best turner but those pirouettes are particularly weak.

Interesting! Not what I was expecting, to be honest. But she is a good dancer.

If this first bit is off topic, feel free to move or delete, but... Whenever I watch clips of Russian troupes doing Rubies, what strikes me most is the shallowness of the iconic plies. Obviously there are other issues (Novikova in particular makes too much a princess of this role and seems afraid to drop that nobility and engage the humor of the choreo), but I wonder if anyone knows if this is an issue with training, staging, or just mannerisms...? Surely the dancers at the Bolshoi and the Mariinsky are trained for deep, fully turned out plies! Why do we not see them? Aside from this Kandaurova was perfect for the role. As far as Esina, she is of course very good, but lacking in what I would maybe call...musical sensitivity? Her phrasing is correct, everything is in place. I just get a sensation of disjointedness when I watch her swing so effortlessly into those ultra-geometrical arabesques. She is one of those dancers that I don't 'get' for reasons I can't place. Although I appreciate her controlled extentions, as I'm sure many here do! Zakharova always surprises me with her Giselles! She has a harshness to her that she can turn off and on with a switch. When you see her Odile or Kitri you forget how fragile she can be. (And physically, how fragile she looks. I can't help but worry when I see that many bones.)

I love learning that the dancers I admire are also intelligent and articulate!

Best: 1. POB and ABT here in Chicago! Osipova, Hallberg, Part, Gillot, Dupont! 2. Watching Olga Smirnova's rise thanks to Youtube. She is remarkable. Shapran too, though there was less documentation of her -- hopefully this will change. 3. Victoria Jaiani in the Arabian dance from the Joffrey's Nutcracker. Worst: 1. Not getting to see more dance. 2. Unjutified promotions. 3. The ladies of the corps in the Joffrey Nutcracker... (Though the gentlemen were dashing and capable.) 4. The Joffrey's lackluster hometown programming in general. I'm too young and broke to travel to see everything I'd like, so it would be nice if my city's big company gave me more reasons to support them.

Ugh, just saw Shapran and Polunin's segment. That was some of the worst choreography I've suffered through. What a pretentious list of contemporary dance cliches ('robotic' movement! big extensions! overparterning! pointless pointes!) -- not even these two could save this work -- it was more like the cheese seen on So You Think You Can Dance (no offense, fans of this show) than any serious balletic choreography. Dumbed down Macgregor/Forsythe pastiche. The little clip of rehearsal footage was nice to watch though. Disappointing, considering the choreographic choices for this show have been mostly good, and at the least interesting.

I am desperate to see Shapran and/or Polunin!

From what I've seen of Sae Eun Park, her feet and legs are not at all up to par with the POB standard. She also seems to lack their signature refinement and that certain luscious quality that sets their dancers apart. The female premiere danseuse rankings I find most surprising... I've hardly even heard of Colasante, but have seen lovely dancing from all the girls ranked lower, several of which were featured in the US tour.

Part, Hallberg, Gomes. I've only seen Part as Myrtha but she tool my breath away.

Shapran is a huge loss for the Mariinsky, no doubt. She has the most consistently charming presence, where Smirnova, while stunning, can seem sometimes cold, a la Lopatkina, almost... Both are so exciting to watch develop.

Thanks silvermash! I have no doubt that this will be fascinating, at the very least! Gillot is a dancer of great intelligence, and it'll be interesting to see if it translates to choreography. Hopefully it'll pop up on YT.

Fortunately, I love Froustey...her FMG uploaded was terrific.

I'm having a little bit of trouble picturing the exact motion Paul is describing. But I agree, Tereshkina is amazing. She makes it look so easy, no matter what it is she's doing.

They're filming Sylphide? Isn't there a 2004 DVD with Dupont?

I'm cerainly awake now! Such exciting performers, and that fan trick really is impressive.

This documentary is also on Netflix, available for instant streaming.

Wow, thanks! I had been wanting to get into Russian cinema but was unsure of where to start.

Alice Renavand definitely has that special something. I saw her in Chicago and she was amazing, with big presence.

Somova has improved vastly under her new coach, both in artistry and technique. The fact is that not many dancers (or actors, musicians, singers, painters, writers) can give a mature performance at 20. Those such as Guillem and Smirnova are the exception, but it seems ADs are eager to replicate that sort of rise artificially, which is bizarre and cruel. Honestly, when I watch videos of Skorik, she seems terrified, and nerves can ruin much more naturally gifted performers. Skorik is a symptom of the cancer at the Mariinsky, not the disease itself, and shouldn't be attacked as such. She's a young artist with her whole career ahead of her.

I've always thought the POB dancers seemed very friendly -- recently, Agnes Letestu designed Dorothee Gilbert's wedding dress! I wouldn't let a 'frenemy' do that for me...

Congrats to all. Skorik is so young, I hope she develops into her rank. When you think about how much you changed between 20 and 30, surely it is possible for her to change greatly. She has a lot of time, plenty of facility, and, clearly, support from the company. Is the promotion entirely justified? Probably not, but to do anything but hope for improvement is counterproductive. And I burst out laughing at your pun, Cristian.

I love the Hodson-after-Nijinsky Rite, but yes, from what I've seen of the Mariinsky dancers in this work, they seem very afraid to make anything 'harsh' or 'ugly'. The same thing foils their attempts at more angular Balanchine.

Now I feel a dunce for not grasping this concept before it was shown to me. Is it typically done before a performance of an actual ballet? ETA: Yes, yes, Gillot as Courtesan! I have no doubt she is one of the best.