Natalia

Oh no!! So happy that I saw her O/O in DC during the 2009 tour at the KennCen...with Gomes as her Siegfried and Hallberg as Purple Rothbart. We should treasure her every appearance, including her Mozartiana...last of this season in the July 8 matinee of Tchai Spectacular. It better not be her last dance with ABT! We want to see her in much much more...maybe as La bonne fee in Harlequinade, traditionally a role for a tall beauty? Of course, full starring roles, too.

Thanks for all inputs, fellow amateur balletic sleuths.

Nanushka's quote from the current ABT playbill reminds me of the "Three Ivans" dance in the 1962 film "An Evening with the Royal Ballet" in which the Ivans -led by the same dancer in the above clip from New Zealand, Alexander Grant - perform to the Nutcracker Trepak! (I can't find a YouTube clip but the Ivans appear at the 18-minute mark of the Aurora's Wedding segment of the film...and they are immediately followed by the Aurora/Desire pdd.)

To add to the mystery of the Ivans' music:  the aforementioned Dancemagazine Dec 1972 "portfolio" by Olga Maynard cites (p. 56...within the segment "Diaghilev's Princess"), in a paragraph about Nijinska's new dances in 1921:

"The worst breach of taste was the use of part of the Grand Adagio (Desire's variation) for a rankle pseudo-Russian folk dance, "Innocent Ivan and his Brothers," later to become the Three Ivans in the de Valois version of Beauty. This uncouth trio had nothing whatever to do with the courtly magnificence..."

So we now have three possibilities for the music to which our Ivans performed in London - Nov 1921. Which will ABT present? Will Ratmansky "sacrifice" the magnificent Prince Desire variation to give it to the Ivans (hope NOT!)...or shift the Aurora/Desire coda music up to the Ivans (grrr)? That's why my "vote" goes to Ratmansky most likely using the Nutcracker Trepak tune, even if it may not be what was used in 1921.

p.s. Even more fun to speculate: Who will dance our three Ivans? My total-fantasy choices for a great impact at the opening:

Danil' Simkin 

Jeffrey Cirio

Herman Cornejo (or ??? since he is the lead in two of the performances)

...The All-Star Principal Ivans Terrific Trio! Once...just once for fun.

In addition to the aforementioned "Portfolio: Sleeping Beauty" by Olga Maynard (Dec. 1972 Dancemagazine), perhaps the best detailed description of  the Diaghilev troupe's 1921 The Sleeping Princess is in pp. 555-591 of Cyril W. Beaumont's Complete Book of Ballets (1937, Putnam Books, London).

Beaumont  describes the production in detail, including the titles & sequence of diverts in the last scene (Aurora's Wedding) (pp 578-581):

1. Pas de Quatre for Harlequin/Colombine and Pierrot/Pierrette. The description of each dance and music suggests that this is danced to the "Jewels pas de 4" music.  [Indeed...Beaumont later lists "Florestan & Two Sisters" as replacing this, two years later, in Diaghilev's 1-act version of SlPrincess.]

2. Cats pdd - the usual music

3. Florine/Bluebird pdd - the usual

4. Red Riding Hood/Wolf pdd - the usual

5. Bluebeard/Ariana/"Sister Anne" pas de trois - Beaumont does not state the music but, based on the detailed description on the action, this could be the Hop o My Thumb music...the sisters escape after near murder by Bluebeard.

6. Sheherazade/Shah/His Brother pas de trois - danced to Nutcracker Dance Arabe

7. Mandarin/Two Porcelain Princesses pas de trois - danced to Nutcracker Danse Chinoise

8. Innocent Ivan/Two Brothers pas de trois  - Beaumont describes the dance in minute detail but does not cite the music to which it is danced. (!!! - Nutcracker Trepak? SB Desire solo? SB Aurora/Desire coda?)

...then comes the full Aurora/Desire pdd...barely mentioned by Beaumont...just one tiny sentence: "(after the Ivans)...The Prince comes forward leading the Princess and together the dance a charming measure." (p. 581)

In his long essay that follows the description of the 1921 version's dances (pp. 582-591), Beaumont states (top of p. 583) that two St Petersburg episodes were excised in 1921: Hop o My Thumb and Cinderella/Fortune pdd.

In Diaghilev's 1922 one-act reduction (Aurora's Wedding - Paris), the wedding diverts retained from the full 1921 London ballet were (shortened titles):

1. "Florestan and his Two Sisters" instead of Harlequin et al pas de Quatre.

2. Red Hood

3. Bluebirds 

4. Porcelain Princesses

5. Three Ivans

...then the Aurora/Desire pdd, then  Mazurka & finale. (pp. 590-91)...no Cats in 1922?

I suspect that the above (1922 diverts) is what we may see from Ratmansky in ABT's Tchaikovsky Spectacular...but with the 1890 Jewels Pas de Quatre instead of the later Harlequins-1921 or Florestan Sisters-1922 Diaghilev-era episodes danced to Jewels music. 

One other contemporary (1920s) description is Andre Levinson's preface to a folio-style art book on Bakst's designs for the 1921 Sleeping Princess. I'll let someone else do the research & reporting on that one. 

If memory serves - and I'm truly working from memory's way from home for a while - the 1921 Three Ivans was danced to the Russian Trepak of Nutcracker & not the SB pdd coda music...so the pdd should be intact. 

In 1890 the pdd coda music went to a totally different set of characters altogether...two sets of fairies & their princes? Something that may not have been in the Stepanov notes...so neither Vikharev nor Ratmansky could stage...so we got a much-later Airora/Desire pdd coda.  Back to my beach near Notfolk.. Virginia Beach! Perfect day so far.

10 hours ago, fondoffouettes said:

Well, if it looks anything like this, I can imagine Ratmansky relishing the opportunity...

 

 

Can anyone recommend a source to learn more about the Ballets Russes' Sleeping Princess and subsequent "Aurora's Wedding"? I'd really like to read more about those productions and understand what exists of Baskt's designs.

I'm currently on the road working, so cannot offer specifics on a very thorough booklet about the 1921 Diaghilev production that appeared in Dancemagazine in the early 1970s. My home library has most of the wonderful scholarly inserts that used to appear in the magazine during 60s/70s....on specific ballets or dancers. Those were the days.

10 hours ago, Drew said:

I was wondering if they would insert Nijinska's 3 Ivans...

The season brochure clearly states that this version will add the recons of two of Nijinska's 1921's creations: Three Ivans and Porcelain Princess/Mandarin (Chinese). There's no mention of Scheherazade (Arabian) but maybe  it'll be added as a surprise? On the flip side, they'll likely eliminate some of the 1890 dances that didn't make it to the 1921 London version, such as Hop o my Thumb and Cinderella?

Thanks to all for the great reports & clips! 

Thanks for these links, maps! So the first one - if we scroll past the tribute to "El Comandante" at the top - lets us know that Ro-Deo was the huge hit of the run.

That ballet continues to make a deep impression in my soul, after the recent Kennedy Center season. Remember that I wrote at the time that this ballet could become a calling card for NYCB on tour? I was specifically thinking about Russia. Little did I know that it had already made an impact in Cuba.  Well done, Justin Peck & team! 

Some great photos of the dancers in Ro-DEO and InCreases found here (by official Havana Ballet Festival photographer Carlos  Quezada):

https://balletthebestphotographs.wordpress.com/2016/11/01/

You'll notice more than one woman among the usually-all-male corps on Ro-Deo. I was told by an attendee that Peck adjusted the choreography to include ladies among the corps "players." Dan Ulbricht's sequence of pirouettes a la seconde was performed by Mearns, for ex.

Apologies if another thread was started about this but it is very interesting. Justin Peck directed/led a tour of several (about 20) NYCB dancers to the latest Int'l Ballet Festival in Havana., dancing four of his works:

InCreases

Furiant Scherzo (world prem. - Bouder & DeLuz)

Year of the Rabbit 

Ro-Deo: Four Dance Episodes

The group - called "DANCE AMERICANA" -  included Mearns, Ramasar, Applebaum, DeLuz, Hall, Stanley, Pollack, Garrity, Woodward and ???. One story mentioned that some Miami City Ballet dancers also performed but I couldn't find a full list of names.

There was very little publicity in the US but I found this from a UK site:

http://theprisma.co.uk/2016/12/05/justin-peck-seeks-the-meaning-of-music-with-ballet-shoes/

Also "news" to me, Carlos Acosta's ACOSTA DANZA company (based in the UK?) toured Cuba this past April, dancing, among other works, Justin Peck's Belles-Lettres (created for NYCB).

http://www.acostadanza.com/en

So....Peck may be the "Toast of Havana"!

Any belated reports? I'm having a hard time finding online reviews of Peck's DANCE AMERICANA troupe. The Acosta group seems to be better publicized & established.

2 hours ago, nysusan said:

 

 

Nanushka, you beat me to it! I know I sound like a broken record, but they really ought to get Fabrice Calmels to partner Veronika. Not that I'd object to them bringing in one of the big Russian guys, but Calmels is perfect for her, they've danced together before and he'd make a great Onegin!

Andrei Ermakov is 6' 5"...is still young, yet experienced in multi-act dramatic ballets (such as Anna K)....and a true Russian Hunk! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrey_Ermakov

Roman Beliakov is THE tallest guy at the Mariinsky, so he must be at least 6'5". Just graduated in 2013...so about age 23...lots of ENERGIA!

https://www.mariinsky.ru/en/company/ballet/coryphees/coryphees_man/belyakov1/

18 minutes ago, canbelto said:

It might be hard to find the right partner for her but I think Veronika Part would be a wonderful Tatiana.

Yes. I'm usually not a fan of the "Ardani Guests Policy" but wouldn't mind having a big Russian male guest at ABT next year to dance Onegin to Part's Tatyana. Thinking about the very strong guys who partnered Lopatkina in her last tour to Brooklyn last year: Andrei Yermakov or Roman Beliaev.

4 hours ago, Fleurfairy said:

I just cannot picture Misty in this role. It is rapid-fire pointework - something that is not her forte. I'll give her a lot of credit for trying if she does perform, but I would not be surprised if she withdraws. 

Didn't Misty dance Lise in Ashton's Fille? It's replete with filigreed footwork. I was thinking like you before I recalled that she's danced a major Ashton role. Was her Elssler pdd sharp in that?

3 hours ago, MadameP said:

That's exactly what I thought, too, Natalia, except no - leave Zhivoi at Mariinsky!  

You're right. The Mariinsky needs him. In StP, he won't be forced to stoop to "PC culture" to sell a few extra tickets.

I actually adore the corps segments of Onegin as much as the soloists' parts, especially the A1 Russian-folk dance...that high-voltage criss-cross of the couples w/ the guys supporting the gals' grand jetes across the stage, at breakneck speed. It's a highlight of the corps ballet repertoire anywhere! The various corps ballroom dances in As 2 & 3 are also fantastic.

Gorgeous work! My kind of contemporary ballet...lovely expressive movements to lovely music, women on pointe, gorgeous flowing dresses on the women (girls are girls - boys are boys), a true star in Kondaurova, a new strong partner in Beliakov (still so young when Lopatkina chose him as a partner...says a lot), likeable corps, etc.

A heck of a happier experience than I recently had with Justin Peck's ugly mess, The Times Are Racing, for NYCB!!! Send Ilya Zhivoi to NY.

56 minutes ago, Mazurka said:

...... I think in the US it would be the Sarasota Ballet that would pull it off as their esthetic would be a good match and of course I think Ashton, whom they promote is part of that Romantic tradition and draws from it.     

 

 

 

iness!  The pas de deux is gorgeous.

Thanks for all of this, Mazurka, including the lovely clips. Unfortunately, the recent Board, staffing (# of dancers cut) & overall budgetary changes in Sarasota no longer make staging the Rose-designed Onegin (or any Onegin) a realistic option for that troupe. 

Any bets on what will be next year's "Mid-20th-C Costume-Fluff" full-evening narrative ballet? I vote Merry Widow, which was created for almost-60 Margot Fonteyn. Imagine the possible guest artists. 

1 hour ago, cubanmiamiboy said:

 

I have never been a fan of all this complex period pieces from literature being translated into dancing form. It looks to me that Onegin, just as Anna Karenina or Manon, they all tend to be a long series of sequences focused on the ballerina running around dramatically in floating dark dresses and endless adagio pdd's. I even dislike R&J. I find them very boring.

Also Hynd's Merry Widow. For me, unless the set & costume designs are truly spectacular, as they used to be in the original Onegin, I don't waste time & money on the mid-20th-C full-evening narrative ballets, no matter who's dancing. I'd rather see an evening of Balanchine "Blacks and Whites" danced by NYCB.

Apparently the "Mariinsky East" in Vladivostok is aggressively hiring. Maybe she could do well & link herself to the overall Mariinsky enterprise.

On May 5, 2017 at 9:38 AM, Natalia said:

Scheduling or perhaps Budgeting problems, Birdsall? Or policy/change of focus? Not so much "All Ashton Rarities, All the Time" as in years past. Maybe it's cheaper to stage well-know Ashtons, like THE DREAM, which can be rented more economically from other US companies that already have it in their rep?

 

yet...

 

I just realized that only two ballets in the final triple bill for next season (April 2018) were announced. So there's a tiny glimmer of hope that they're leaving the spot open for a possible reinstatement of APPARITIONS, if budget or other conditions allow?

Now confirmed: No recon of Ashton's APPARITIONS at Sarasota Ballet.

Balanchine's BUGAKU will fill the "tbd" slot in the April 2018 triple bill. Boo!

http://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20170613/sarasota-ballet-adds-balanchines-bugaku-to-upcoming-season

1 hour ago, YouOverThere said:

The National Symphony's rendition of Beethoven's 9th was louder than any music played during any of the NYCB performances.

But so much more pleasant...NORMAL music with hummable tunes. Not a cacophony of noise. 

Eyes on Elisabeth Beyer. She won exactly the same prize in this competition (Jr ladies singles' gold) that ABT's Christine Schevchenko won for the USA 12 years ago. 

Random gleanings....Mariinsky's Chebykina shares Honorable Mention diploma with Joy Womack. Highest sr ladies prize is 2nd place for Ms Gomes of Brazil (who won 1st in Varna last yr). Mariinsky's Ernest Latypov wins 2nd place Sr Men. His coach, Selyutski, won top prize for coaching.

A girl fr the USA won top Jr prize...first name Elizabeth. I'll let others fill in.

Thanks to Mazurka & kbarber for insights on the design changes. Now I understand. It would have cost way too much to redo the Jurgen Rose production with the original fabrics. So modern audiences lose out. If one reads reviews of ONEGIN as presented in NY during the Stuttgart's landmark 1969 tour, they all laud the "sumptuous" costumes & sets..."operatic-scaled luxury." The designs were a huge part of the success of this ballet. Read Walter Terry et. al.