coda

About an hour ago I watched the satellite "News" from Moscow with a brief report on the Benois de la danse gala concert. It showed Nikolai Tsiskaridze performing on stage for the first time since his unfortunate injury in Palais Garnier last October. In an interview he said: "I am not allowed yet to do any jumping or spinning or running. I am learning to walk". His 'walk' in this gala concert was Adagio from "Raymonda" with Elisabeth Platel.

The ITAR-TASS Agency in Moscow reported on Benois de la danse 2004 awards which were announced yesterday. Алина Кожокару (Alina Cojocaru) got the prize as the best ballerina for her role in “Cinderella”. The best male dancers are Laurent Hilaire for "Chants du compagnon errant" and Lloyd Riggins for his role in “The Death in Venice”. The gala concert will take place in Moscow tonight.

Thibault as Basil! At last!

On the 1989 Bolshoi tour Vladimirov already came to London as a coach and gave a talk at the Pavlova Society. In 1990, he headed two prolonged UK tours by a group of Bolshoi's dancers, which included Bessmertnova, Vasyuchenko, Bylova and others. They danced in about 30 to 40 venues all over the country, with approximately the same repertoire almost every night. In those divertissments Vladimirov always danced Adagio from "Spartacus" with Natalia Arkhipova.

Dear Jane, The Russian word for ‘opening night’ is ‘premyera’, i.e. premiere. As usual ‘premyera’ is danced by the best cast. However, if three casts are prepared, all first three performances will be called – semi-officially – “premyera”. So, the 'second premiere' means the second performance of the new production. After reading the above enquiry about Yuri Vladimirov I looked through my quite extensive library of books on ballet and discovered that I almost don’t have any records about him. But I remember that dancer very well. A pupil of the legendary (at least in Russia) Alexei Yermolayev Yuri graduated in 1962 and became Gold medalist of two international competitions – in Moscow and in Varna, and also won a Nijinsky Prize in Paris. While dancing as a principal in the Bolshoi at the same time with Vassilyev, M.Liepa, M.Lavrovsky he was not pushed into shade by them. Although not a very refined dancer Vladimirov was most daring and athletic and an excellent partner. His partnership with Nina Sorokina was remarkable, absolutely virtuosic, be it Spartacus/Phrygia or Diana & Acteon. There were two roles in which I think he was absolutely superior – Ivan the Terrible and the Peasant at the station in Plissetskaya’s “Anna Karenina”. The Peasant was not a leading role but Tolstoi attached a special significance to this character in his novel, and Vladimirov brilliantly expressed it.

I am afraid a trip to Moscow does not provide an opportunity to see ballets EVERY night as it will be during this summer season. Also, are you aware, Alymer, that ticket prices for ballets at Bolshoi now are higher than those at Covent Garden?

«Well, I'm going to save a lot of money this summer!» I, on the contrary, will end bankrupt this August. To miss the Boshoi’s Don Q.? Never. I hope Maria Alexandrova will dance Kitri. Galina Stepanenko is in a brilliant form. Who knows, may be Nina Ananiashvili will also turn up. Of course, it could be nice to see their Balanchine and “Beauty”. May be the fact that both these ballets were danced by the Royal Ballet this season prompted the impresario to replace them with two Bolshoi’s exclusives: R & J and La Fille du Pharaoh. I had a luck to see La Fille du Pharaoh twice when the Bolshoi was in Paris last January where it had a great success and definitely I will go to see it again in CG. The story is wonderfully ridiculous: an Englishman caught in a desert sees in his dream how the mummy of a Pharaoh’s daughter Aspiccia comes to life as a huntress with a bow. They fall in love and their troubles start: a lion, the damsel in distress, her resque, his arrest, their escape by boat, a fishermen’s village, etc. There is a funniest monkey there as well. The scenery and costumes are exotic and colourful. Children will love all this too. But the most important of course is that this ballet is a FEAST OF DANCE. So much finest footwork for soloists to do. There are 3 excellent Aspiccias: Zakharova, Gracheva, and Alexandrova, not to mention Ananiashvili. What a pity that the corps will probably have to be sized down to fit the Covent Garden stage. Their R & J is also an exclusive but modern production: no point shoes, both Romeo and Juliet are part of the crowd that prevents their union to survive. I heard and read very contradictory opinions and am looking forward to see it myself, especially Masha Alexandrova acclaimed as Juliet. How can I miss Swan Lake with the Bolshoi’s corps? And Spartacus? It became fashionable now among SOME ballet-goers to throw harsh words about “Spartacus” and Grigorovich. Many like to kick a wounded lion. True, there is no Vassilyev-Liepa-Bessmertnova cast at the moment (like there is no Fonteyn-Nureyev in “Giselle”) but nobody dances “Spartacus” better than the Bolshoi. Those who come to see it for the first time are enraptured with it as we were a few years ago. Of course, if one wants to save money…

"... makes me almost speechless with rage." WHY rage?

It happens to Westerners not only in cases when they write about classical Indian dancing. A few years ago a London ballet (!) critic writing for "Evening Standard" praised Alexander Gorsky for dancing well in Don Q.

Oh no, Alexandra, it is nothing to do with viruses. This article is similar to the story, which had already been described once in the section "Humour in Ballet": "A German company was doing a performance on some island in Scandinavia (can't remember Sweden or Denmark) and they needed special passes to access the island. So the whole troupe got passes, but there were two left: the pass for Mr. Petipa and for Mr. Tchaikovsky. These guys never showed up . " :grinning: :grinning: This story pales in comparison with the Islamabad review.

I opened the link which you gave. There was a warning there: ARE YOU STUPID? Answer YES or NO. This was followed by the review which looked... well... :shrug: :shrug: Was that a joke?

The Bolshoi's official website does not provide comprehensive biographies of the Bolshoi's dancers bur at least it is listing the roles in their repertoire. http://bolshoi.ru Then click: - English -Encyclopedia -Theatre's Ballet Unfortunately, there are inconsistencies in transliteration of the names, for example 'Tsiskaridze' is spelt as 'Ziskaridze', etc.

It was mentioned on the Mariinsky forum that "Etudes" were performed at home last Saturday with Daria Pavlenko in the leading part. Surprisingly, Sarafanov was replaced by two dancers during that performance, at first by Andrei Ivanov and later, in the scene with sylphides, by Ilya Kuznetsov.

I am afraid, Marc, that the class arrangement at the Bolshoi looks like a scale of ranks. When, during his interview on a Russian TV programme “The Night Flight” last year, Nikolai Tsiskaridze was asked the same question as Silvy asked here he replied: “When a 10-y-o child comes to a ballet school, he can see in his class a mirror and wooden bars along the walls, on both sides and in the middle. All depends on the spot the child is placed at. The hierarchy of the class is determined by the distance from the centre. One who stands in the centre is the best. And each child learns his place pretty soon. The situation is changing from time to time, somebody is moved closer to the centre, someone is moved off. I was somehow lucky as I was placed in the centre from the beginning and stayed there throughout all 8 years. When, after the graduation, I joined the Bolshoi and was placed almost by the door, my aspiration to get back to the centre where I have got used to stand for 8 years kept pushing me on. After finding themselves in the the back row some people sadly ‘crack’ but I was lucky, my drive was forcing me to move forward.”

Referring to Alexandra's posting on 4 Jan.: Natalia Sologub, in fact, is not a product of the Kirov school. She graduated from the Bashkirian Ballet School in Ufa (the Nureyev's hometown) in 1998 and joined the Mariinsky the same year. I find her a very talented dancer - for modern ballets.

To celebrate Nikolai Tsiskaridze’s 30th birthday, which is today, the ‘bolshoi.net’ is displaying 30 photographs featuring him performing various roles and rehearsing with Ulanova, Vassilyev, Grigorovich and Roland Petit on: http://www.bolshoi.net/photos/logvinov/tsiskar-30/page.htm His own website is: www.tsiskaridze.ru Alas, it is in Russian only. However, if you click on "Nikolai Tsiskaridze" in English letters and then go to the word "Фотогалерея" (Photo gallery) on the top line right, you will be able to see hundreds of photographs of him performing with his many partners at the Bolshoi.

You mentioned "The Red Poppy", Marc. Do you know that quite soon after its revival at the Bolshoi in 1949 (in response to the revolution in China) it has been renamed and became "The Red Flower". It was rumoured at that time that 'the red poppy' notion was not acceptable to the Chinese. The Western ballet historians who wrote about Ulanova very rarely mentioned her role in this ballet but in my opinion she was incredible as Tao Hoa - a real exquisite Oriental flower of such tenderness and grace. It would be a joy to see the ballets you mentioned back on the Bolshoi stage, however, who knows, may be Chabukiani and Zakharov's versions will be replaced by new ones, in the same way as Lavrovsky's R & J was replaced by Poklitaru for example.

In spite of my strongest possible adherence to classical ballet in its purest form and very selective acceptance of modern ballet I am looking forward to seeing this new R & J since I saw a set of photographs on: http://www.bolshoi.net/balet/romeo/libretto.htm Regardless of whether I like it or not I just wish that the new management of the Bolshoi who takes over in 2004 will treasure the Bolshoi's classical traditions and does not reserve a disproportional place for modern ballet productions in the Bolshoi's repertoire.

Dear Cygnet, While I was trying to find some time in my pre-Christmas bustle to reply to your first posting, Marc had already done it. Still I would like, Cygnet, to object to at least two of your points. The first one is about Zakharova not being “a big loss to the Kirov stylistically or artistically”. In my opinion, a ballerina of Zakharova’s calibre would have been a great loss to any company. Although I don’t think she has matured as an actress yet ( she is still 24), however, she has a uniquely beautiful body, exquisite feet and arms and on the top of it her technique is outstanding. The beauty of her line and her gracefulness are exceptional. All this allows her to be called, as they do it in Mariinsky, an “Imperial ballerina”. Her departure to Moscow was one of the reasons why the Kirov’s Maestro became enraged with the ballet management. Zakharova always keeps herself in excellent form and is a modest and quiet person, therefore I am completely taken aback by your suggestion that “she easily takes Volochkova's place”. Those who know these two ballerinas well would not even put their names on the same written line. The second point. Your advice to Maestro to invite “the best choreographers in Europe” made me shudder at the mere thought of it. Isn’t your list too excessive? To invite all that lot to “create” in Mariinsky would be the best way to destroy the unique classical company as we know it. Crisis at the Kirov? They only have a problem with some aspects of management but Vaziev can be praised at least for creating a quite diverse repertoire for the company, and Mariinsky dancers proved that they can dance anything. However, “to open the doors” and flood their repertoire with supermodern choreography will be wrong. There are numerous companies in the world who dance 'creations' by avangardistic choreographers, some of them featuring on your list. Ask those companies to dance The Kingdom of Shades or Chopiniana – and what will you get? Please let Mariinsky remain the guardian of that most specialised form of art which is called CLASSICAL BALLET. Where the management problem is concerned I am sure it will be solved soon.

"... Unfortunately there are no details about her though...." It is not surprising that St.Petersburg Ballet's website does not give any details about Lyubov - or Lyuba, as she is usually called, - Kunakova. Her trip to England with the Tachkin's ballet was one off trip. Her permanent job at the moment is that of a repetiteur with the Mariinsky Ballet and her two young charges there are Victoria Tereshkina (she danced Odette-Odile with the Kirov at the Lowry, Manchester, last April and in London in July) and Tatiana Tkachenko who is already dancing several leading roles. Lyuba's former pupil at the Vaganova Academy - Elena Glurdzhidze - has now joined the English National Ballet and will dance the leading role in "Cinderella" at the London theatre "Apollo" tonight. I can only agree with all kind words which were written about Lyuba here. Her physique was so beautiful: good proportions, long neck, exquisite wrists. She was exuberant, radiant on stage.

Dear Nora, You can find a lot of information about Maris, Andris and Ilse Liepa on: http://liepa.ru/home/english.htm Maris Liepa remains, without any doubt, the most prominent ballet personality in this family. Since you, Nora, are obviously interested in ballet, try to find that particular videofilm of the Bolshoi's "Spartacus" where Maris Liepa danced Crassus. It was his greatest achievment. Yekaterina is Andris' wife. She was a member of the Kirov's corps de ballet and used to dance Princess in "The Firebird" at the time when Andris was appearing in the Kirov's productions.

The topic "Volochkova Pickets Bolshoi" has been closed :yawn: , therefore I have to place an extract from a Russian periodical into this topic. From the Russian weekly "SUMMING UP", No.38, 28.09.03 Ekaterina MAXIMOVA talks about the recent conflict between Anastasia (Nastya) Volochkova and the Bolshoi Theatre: "I don't think that this noise about the Bolshoi - as well as Nastya's whole life - deserves such a detailed discussion. Yes, I worked with her some time ago. What is always important for me when working with others is mutual understanding. I do not want to blush with shame for my students and to face the question: "How do you allow her to do it?" On several occasions I told her frankly: "That's all, Nastya, I can not take it any longer". She would repent and cry, we would talk at length about some values in life. She would nod but then would go and do everything in her own way. The personal qualities cannot but be reflected in professional work. One should not do ballet at odd moments. After cutting a class for two days, one needs a whole week to restore the form. It goes without saying that Nastya is an able-bodied girl. However, as long as I knew her, she always was occupied not with the art, but with something else. And the fact that she was changing her teachers so frequently also speaks for something. The people working in the theatre are members of a team. Besides one's own wishes - "I want!", - there should be a commitment to the associates. Nastya does not understand it, it does not even come to her head that she can owe a debt of gratitude to someone. Honestly speaking, I do not understand why the management of the theatre was putting up with this until recently. People say that Nastya has important patrons. Perhaps. When other ballet dancers in the company asked: "Why is Nastya allowed to do whatever she likes?", they got the answer: "This is not discussed." She was permitted to do the things, which other dancers wouldn't even dare to ask for. It turned out that in order to make a career one needs a patron and not the skill to dance well. This situation could not continue infinitely. It does happen in the show business that you are a talk of the town today but nobody wants you tomorrow. Honestly speaking, I do not know what the future is holding for Nastya. However, she is an energetic girl and will be able to apply herself in some field. Let her create her own group - she is blessed with resources for that - and let her rightfully dictate her own will there. I think that Nastya is incapable of working as a team member at all. Of course, she has her fans, I would even say, devoted fans. The Bolshoi Theatre is not a show business. Volochkova, however, is aiming to turn the Bolshoi into a show, more precisely, the show "named after herself". Andrei UVAROV, the People's Artist of Russia: "I was Nastya's partner on the opening night of "Swan Lake". And I said immediately that I will never dance with her again. Our conflict had a personal background. It seems to me that there is a lot of personal feelings involved in Nastya's dismissal from the theatre. It is not for me to talk about other person's future but she will probably face an uneasy time. Talking of her as a ballet dancer... I wouldn't value her highly, rather as an ordinary mediocrity. Nastya is, let me put it this way, on a heavier side. However, it is not the kilograms which are important when dancing with a partner but the ballerina's skill to 'assemble' herself properly. If the ballerina is slacken, her weight increases. It must be said that Nastya does everything possible to dance professionally. Just it does not always work because of her innate qualities. Sadly, Nastya did not blend well with the company at all."

Here is the opinion of an expert on eating disorders whose letter was published in "The Times" on 23.09.03: "Anastasia Volochkova … turns out to be alarmingly underweight. From the information you give, she has a body mass index (BMI) of about 17. The healthy range for BMI is 20-25. Many adult women who are as thin as Ms. Volochkova will not menstruate, and could develop premature osteoporosis and fertility problems. If Ms Volochkova is regarded as "too weighty", this could suggest that her fellow dancers are even thinner, with greater consequences for their health. If the rigours of classical ballet are such that the female dancers have to take long-term risks with their health, perhaps the ballet companies, and even the audiences, need to think again." Who will say after this kind of letters that Volochkova story is good for ballet? What I really would like to check is the scales which showed less than 50 kg.

Mashinka wrote: "... her partner Ivanov is injured through partnering her ..." Please allow me to correct the name. Volochkova's partner who claimed an injury was the Mariinsky's Yevgeny IVANCHENKO. Not to be confused with the Bolshoi's Konstantin IVANOV who also dances some leading roles.

Ari wrote: "Since the Bolshoi just hired Svetlana Zakharova, another very big (well, tall) ballerina, I doubt that Volochkova's size was the moving factor here . . . " Height is not the main problem. Even a taller ballerina can be quite accommodating for her partners. Zakharova is quite tall but she is thin, thin-boned and light. No dancer ever refused to dance with her. Even such a 'sparrow' as the 20-y-o Sarafanov partnered her recently in London. Other ballerinas (and not necessarily tall ones) have heavy bones or heavy legs or they are just difficult to dance with. Somebody reminded me a lovely remark by Maris Liepa: "When one lifts a ballerina, it is not her weight but her nature that causes the problem." On the Russian RTR-Planeta channel, the presenter announced that Volochkova was officially sacked today by the Bolshoi's administration for her refusal to sign her contract ending by the end of December. Then there was a clip showing Volochkova herself standing at the Theatre Square, in front of the Bolshoi Theatre, talking and giving her autographs to people and interviewed by journalists. She said that she has no option but to sue the theatre.