tamicute

Bolshoi Ballet first came to USA in 1959.

It is not the love of an art form, but the reality that in Russia anything can be manipulated. As an example, there might be a wealthy and powerful businessman who operates a garbage service, who has a rival interfering with his dominance of that garbage business. If he has a strong friendship with Putin or any other high ranking politician, his rival will be removed from his position through a variety of possibilities. I would not consider that as the importance of the art form of garbage pickup in Russia, but political friends doing favors. That is all that is happening with ballet in Russia, but the key is that the arts are big money in Russia and likely to get Putin's attention.

It is not the bright side, but the dark side of the political situation in Russia. President Obama does not appoint the director of the Metropolitan Opera House, but President Putin in 1995 appointed his friend, Gergiev, as director of Mariinsky Theater. In 2000, Bolshoi director, Vladimir Vasiliev, the most famous Russian dancer, who did not defect, heard on the radio that Putin had issued the removal of Vasiliev as Bolshoi director. Recently, Putin ordered the removal of Iskanov as Bolshoi Theater director and many believe that it was Zakharova's influence on Putin, who caused Iskanov's removal. Lastly, Gergiev's influence with Putin, who appointed him as Mariinsky director, made Putin order the Ministry of Culture to remove the decades long director of Museum of Arts History, one of 3 insititutions which Gergiev desired to join with Mariinsky, under his control. Gergiev with the orders from Putin to the Minister of Culture, removed the director to the dismay of all employees and hired a director with no previous experience in the Arts. Now Gergiev, once again using the Minister of culture, under the orders of Putin, issued the removal of the Vaganova main director, Dorofeeva, and has Asylmuratova hanging in limbo. You can see all of this story on Youtube in this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKtoH41hMTs This video was put on the Vaganova website home page (or maybe Vaganova facebook page) by Mariinsky dancer, Ilya Kuznetsov, who has severely criticized Gergiev for his wrong doing. Most definitely this does not show the bright side of Russia, but the evil dark side where great people in their positions are removed because of the desires of others who have close relationships with President Putin.

I was unaware that once MT1 is restored, that Mariinsky Ballet will become a touring circus. They already have a few acts in place 1. Contortionist act - Somova, Vasnetsova 2. Trampoline act - Ivkin 3. Duet aerials with the giant throwing the midget - Romanchikov, Martynuk 4. Pin the tail on the donkey - Fateyev 5. the world's most obnoxious musician - Gergiev .

Thank you Sandik for enlightening me on studies I never knew.

Xander Parish is accustomed to the flat floor, but has stated that he feels more comfortable and prefers the raked floor. There must have been a reason that raked floors became the only types of floors in Russia. Maybe it was these raked floors that held the secret to the great jumps of Nijinsky, Soloviev and Vasiliev, not explained in biomechanics.

What you say, only proves Gergiev's complete lack of interest or concern for his Mariinsky dancers. No SPB professional dancer would ever have thought any major theater in SPB would have a flat stage, but then, nobody would ever have thought that Gergiev would be making ballet decisions.

I read both Catherine and Helene mentioning raked floors which is a fact of life throughout Russian schools and ballet studios and rehearsal rooms and stage performances. Every MT1 studio and the mini-stage on the highest floor, use raked floors. Catherine probably already knows since dancers complain about it, but it never entered Gergiev's genius ballet mind, that Russian ballet is based on raked floors. MT2 stage is a flat surface with no rake and even Xander Parish, from UK, where they use flat surfaces as they do here in USA, he prefers the raked floors and does admit that the MT2 flat stage presents problems for dancers. I am convinced that Gergiev has no interest in spending money for dancers to have more rehearsal studios or raked floors, so the Helene/Catherine conversation is a waste of time since Master (not Maestro) Gergiev has no intention of making MT2 ballet studios. He would rather kick out school children from a 275 year old institution and Vaganova does have raked floors..

I remember reading a report on this site when Gergiev criticized Vaganova, but can you provide the link to what you found, pertaining to criticism from several years ago. I would like to read it and your knowledge in finding these links, greatly surpasses mine. Thank you very much

He realizes the money making ability of ballet, but he loves his orchestra and opera and treats ballet like a slave. A look at Mariinsky ticket prices will show that he charges much more for ballet, but Ilya Kuznetsov in his complaint, severely criticized Gergiev for making 8 new opera productions to none for ballet in past season. I am doing this on memory, so my numbers might be slightly off. Gergiev never considered the raked floors or number of ballet studios to be worth considering. For him, ballet is not important, but he does realize, as proven by ticket prices, that it is his biggest money maker, but he does nothing for ballet, except treat it like a slave.

The simple answer is that Gergiev places no value on his ballet slaves. Having a raked stage, despite having raked floors as children and in the MT1 ballet studios and on all major Russian stages, Gergiev never considered anything for ballet, so no raked stage or raked studios. Lack of ballet studios is simply that ballet is of no importance in Gergiev's mind, so they will have to manage as is.

My personal opinion is that every member of the Mariinsky Ballet should be prepared to quit, if Fateyev is not removed from his position. However, Skorik and Askerov will be exceptions, along with Mr. and Mrs. Shklyarov..

I have seen all 3 scheduled performers dance Swan Lake live, Kolegova 7 times, both Somova and Tereshkina twice and I have seen Lopatkina perform Swan Lake 6 times. Of course, some were not at Mariinsky, but most were. Yes, Lopatkina's dancing years are limited, but her new position takes more importance than her American fans, plus she is almost certainly schedule to perform at Sochi Olympic opening ceremonies on February 7. Everything seems to indicate a wasted effort on your part to hand a Lopatkina petition to MT management during your upcoming November trip. Regarding Lopatkina combining performing and working at Vaganova, there would be no criticism if she performs at home, but much criticism if she spends one week in USA to satisfy her American fans. A trip to USA would actually entail leaving Russia on Sunday and arriving back the following Tuesday which would be 10 days out of Russia, but of course, she could come for one performance which realistically would require her to leave two days prior to her performance and arrive back home, two days after her performance, still amounting to 5 days away from home. Even if she opts for the 5 day venture, i would call such an action as being negligent of her Vaganova duties.

Now that Lopatkina is Vaganova artistic director, she should not go on any tours, since she is much more needed at home to fix Asylmuratova's sinking ship, in the words of Valery Gergiev. However, in the words of everyone knowledgeable in ballet, which Gergiev has proven to have no knowledge or interest in, Asylmuratova left with a great foundation and great staff that loved her and great students who worshiped her. If your petition is all about Lopatkina, i am opposed to it because Mariinsky is sending outstanding ballerinas to perform Odette/Odile and clearly, Lopatkina has a new position and her new school does not need it's artistic director gallivanting to USA to perform for one week to satisfy her fans in USA, when her students and teachers, need her more than her USA fans.

http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A3%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0,_%D0%93%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%A1%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B3%D0%B5%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%B0 This is the Russian version of the wikipedia site and the Russian versions almost always have much more information than the English versions, when it comes to Russia individuals. In case, anyone cannot open up the site, here is the google translation which says under PRIVATE that she was married 3 times, near the end of the article. Galina Ulanova ( December 26, 1909 [ 8 January 1910 ], St. Petersburg , Russian Empire - 21 March 1998 , Moscow , Russia ) - Soviet Russian ballerina , ballet teacher. , People's Artist of the USSR ( 1951 ). Twice Hero of Socialist Labor ( 1974 , 1980 ). Laureate of Lenin ( 1957 ) and four of Stalin ( 1941 , 1946 , 1947 , 1950 ) awards. Is the most titled and most of all the award among all folk artists of the USSR. Content [ remove ] 1 Biography 2 Private 3 Honors and Awards 4 Filmography 5 Memory 6 Bibliography 7 Notes 8 Links Biography [ edit | edit source code ]Ulanova was born into a family of artists Ballet Mariinsky Theatre . Father Sergey Ulanov , went on to become a ballet director, and his mother, Maria Romanova , was a teacher Ballet School. For his career as a child ballerina did not seek. At 9 years old was admitted to the Petrograd Ballet School, where her principal teachers were her mother - Maria Romanova (her first daughter was six years old), and then Agrippina Vaganova . In 1928 she graduated from Ulanova Leningrad Choreographic School . After the final performance May 16 1928 Ulanova was accepted into the troupe of the Leningrad Theater of Opera and Ballet (later Leningrad State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre named after SM Kirov, in 1992, and now - the Mariinsky Theatre). The first performances of Galina Ulanova in the theater immediately attracted the attention of critics. Here, in 1929 at the age of 19 years Ulanova danced her first leading part - Odette-Odile in "Swan Lake." In the Kirov Theater Ulanova worked until 1944 . Among her other best roles of Giselle (" Giselle "Adam, 1932 ), Maria (" The Nutcracker "by Tchaikovsky, 1934 ), Maria (" The Fountain of Bakhchisarai "Asafiev, 1934 ). But the biggest success was the creation of Ulanova unique image of Juliet in Prokofiev's " Romeo and Juliet "( 1940 , choreographer Lavrovskiy ).About the transition to the Grand Theatre Ulanova said: "In Moscow, I would have never moved, so much the authorities ordered almost the Central Committee's decision on this issue was." In 1942 arrived in Alma-Ata , worked in the company of the Kazakh State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre in Alma-Ata , where she performed the roles of Maria in "The Fountain of Bakhchisarai" Asafiev, Giselle in the ballet A.Sh.Adana and also performed at the concerts. In 1943 she was awarded the honorary title " People's Artist of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic . " External Image Ulanova in the ballet "Romeo and Juliet " In the years 1944-1960 Ulanova was the leading dancer of the Bolshoi Theatre, which also shone in " Swan Lake "," Romeo and Juliet "( 1947 ), " The Fountain of Bakhchisarai "( 1944 ), etc. The top of the tragic dance Ulanova was the role of Giselle (especially in scene of madness). First Galina Ulanova performed in Vienna in July 1945. Performed the seventh waltz from " Chopiniana "and" Swan "," Waltz " Rubinstein with partner B. Transfiguration . The first tour of the Bolshoi Theatre in 1956 in London , where Ulanova danced Giselle and Juliet and had a triumphant success, the likes of which, according to foreign authorities, they have not seen since the days of Anna Pavlova . In 1960 , the last time danced " Chopiniana ", she finished a career dancer. His stage career dancer officially ended in 1962 . From 1960 to the end of his life Ulanova worked at the Bolshoi ballet master -coach. Among her pupils - a whole galaxy of stars Ekaterina Maximova , Vladimir Vasiliev , Svetlana Adyrkhayeva , Nina Timofeeva , Lyudmila Semenyaka , Nina Semizorova , Alla Mikhalchanka , Hope Grachev . In 1964 I was chairman of the jury of the International Ballet Competition in Varna ( Bulgaria ), and in 1969 - I International Ballet Competition in Moscow. Died 21 March 1998 in Moscow and was buried in the Novodevichy Cemetery (plot number 5). Private [ edit | edit source code ]She was married three times, and all three of its elected representatives - artists: director Yuri Zawadzki , actor and director Ivan Bersenev , artist Vadim Ryndin . She did not have any hobbies, side of profession training. But, of course, have been passions: "Nature to me is the same as the music. It is also puzzling, "- said a dancer. "Before, there were horse-drawn tram in St. Petersburg. On the horses wore blinders that nothing would distract them. Here in these "blinkers" I took most of my life. Nothing prevented work, think about their profession. Most comfortable for me to state - the loneliness. I do not usually go up to anybody. If you come up to me, start talking about the theater. " She loved animals. Was hard on yourself. Early in the morning - an hour has its own charging, which included ballet and pas. And in his later years her weight remained the same as in the artistic years - 49 kg. She was always elegant, graceful gait different light. Honors and Awards [ edit | edit source code ]Twice Hero of Socialist Labor (1974, 1980) Honored Artist of the RSFSR ( 1939 ) People's Artist of the RSFSR ( 1940 ) People's Artist of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic ( 1943 ) People's Artist of the USSR ( 1951 ) Stalin Prize, first degree ( 1941 ) - for outstanding achievements in the art of ballet Stalin Prize, first degree ( 1946 ) - for the performance in the title role of the ballet "Cinderella" C. Prokofiev Stalin Prize, first degree ( 1947 ) - for the performance in the title role of the ballet "Romeo and Juliet" by S. Prokofiev Stalin Prize of the second degree ( 1950 ) - for his interpretation of the Tao-Hoa in ballet " The Red Poppy " by R. Glier Lenin Prize ( 1957 ) Award of the President of the Russian Federation in the field of Literature and Art (1997) [1] Four of the Order of Lenin (1953, 1979, 1974, 1980) Four of the Order of the Red Banner (1939, 1951, 1959, 1967) Order "Badge of Honor" (1940) Order of Friendship of Peoples (1986) Order "Cyril and Methodius" I degree ( Bulgaria ) (1968) Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters ( France ) (1992) Order Parasat (1995, Kazakhstan ) The medal "For the Defense of Leningrad" Medal "For Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945." Medal "For Finland, the" Order of the Lion of Finland (1958) Prize and Gold Medal Exhibition of Economic Achievements (1971) Anna Pavlova Prize of the Paris Academy of Dance (1958) Award Viotti (1959, Vercelli , Italy ) Oscar Award Purcell "Living for the Dance" (1988, Milan ) The prize " Golden Mask "in the nomination" For the honor and dignity "(1995) Corresponding member of the Academy of Arts of the GDR (1959) Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1961) Honorary member of the foreign Honorary Citizen of Moscow ( 1997 ) In 1953 at the studio " thumbnail "for the film" Masters of Russian Ballet ". The film includes snippets of ballets Boris Asafiev " The Fountain of Bakhchisarai "and" Flames of Paris "and the ballet" Swan Lake " P. Tchaikovsky . Galina Ulanova performed in this film is one of the major parties. Filmography [ edit | edit source code ] 1947 - Ballet dancer - Ballerina Sinelnikova 1953 - Masters of Russian Ballet 1954 - Romeo and Juliet (film-ballet) 1956 - "Giselle" - Giselle (ballet to music by A. Adan staged L.M.Lavrovskogo conductor Rozhdestvensky, recording The Bolshoi Ballet In The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (London)) 1998 - " In Memory of Ulanova "- documentary, 1998, 39 min., directed by Nikita Tikhonov 2005 - " Ulanova forever "- documentary, 2005, 39 min., directed by Nikita Tikhonov Memory [ edit | edit source code ] The monument at the grave of Galina Ulanova at Novodevichy Cemetery The plaque Galina Ulanova on Malaya Morskaya street, 13/8 in St. Petersburg Creativity ballerina devoted documentaries "Galina Ulanova" (Black and white, 1963, directed by Christy L. and M. Slavinskaya ), "Ulanova World" (that "Screen" DH, 1981, directed by A. Simonov and Vasiliev) and the book "Galina Ulanova" V. Bogdanov-Berezovsky (Moscow, 1961), "Days with Ulanova" A. Kahn (Moscow, 1963), Boris Lvov-Anokhin G "Alina Ulanova" (Moscow, 1984) "Galina Ulanova:" I did not want to dance "by S. Davlekamova (Moscow, 2005). In 1981 in Paris as part of an organized UNESCO gala evening premiere of the ballet "In honor of Ulanova" (choreographed by Vladimir Vasiliev). The only dancer - she was living at the monuments in St. Petersburg at the Alley of Heroes of the Moscow Victory Park (1984, sculptor Anikushin ) [2] and the Stockholm front of the Museum Dance (1984, sculptor E. Janson Manizer). In the Netherlands, was launched variety of tulips "Ulanova". In France, the famous hall " Pleyel "was opened after reconstruction performance in her honor. Apartment Ulanova in Moscow made ​​the memorial museum . Name of Galina Ulanova jewelry set diamond weighing 164.70 carats produced in March 1998 on the diamond pipe "Lucky" in Western Yakutia. Diamond, "Galina Ulanova" joins a collection of over 400 unique and well-known registered Yakut diamonds, which are a national treasure of Russia. 12 June 2003 in Almaty, on the facade of the building on the street, Almaty, 140 is a memorial plaque in memory of the stay of Galina Ulanova in Alma-Ata during the evacuation. 8 January 2004 in St. Petersburg, in the courtyard of the St. Petersburg Academy of Russian Ballet. Vaganova was a monument to Galina Ulanova sculptor E. Janson Manizer. 26 March 2008 on the wall 1/125-B on the coast waterfront , where the dancer had lived 47 years, was a memorial plaque [3] [4] . In Russia Fund was established Galina Ulanova. 1 December 2009 The Central Bank of Russia announced the release of a commemorative silver coin to 2 rubles dedicated to the centenary of the birth of Galina Ulanova. Coins issued edition 5000 pieces and are made ​​of 925 silver, weight 15.5 grams of pure metal (half an ounce). Despite the release date of the coins bear the date 2010 . In honor of the centenary of the birth of Galina Ulanova were given gala concerts: January 8 "Mona Lisa of the Russian Ballet", held at the Mariinsky Theatre and 16 January at the Grand Theatre. 21 July 2011 on the facade of the house 13/8 on Malaya Morskaya Street (former Gogol Street) in St. Petersburg, where Ulanova lived from 1926 to 1935, was a memorial plaque [5] [6] . On coins and postage stamps Reverse 2 rubles commemorative coin with a portrait of Ulanova Galina Ulanova, Russian brand in 2000 Bibliography [ edit | edit source code ]Golubev (Potapov) Dance Galina Ulanova. - AL : The WTO, 1948. - 172 p. - 10,000 copies. Bogdanov-Berezovsky VM Galina Ulanova. - M .: Arts, 1949. - 192 p. - 10,000 copies. Galina Ulanova. - M .: Arts, 1953. - 16. - 10,000 copies. Lvov-Anokhin BA Ulanova . - M .: Arts, 1954. - 32. - 10,000 copies. Lvov-Anokhin BA Lenin Prize Galina Ulanova. - M .: Knowledge, 1958. - 32. - 94,000 copies. Bogdanov-Berezovsky Galina Ulanova. - M .: Arts, 1961. - 212 p. - 50,000 copies. Fuhmann F. Galina Ulanowa . - Berlin: Henschelverlag, 1961. - 84. Albert E. Kahn Days with Ulanova = Days With Ulanova; An Intimate Portrait of the Legendary Russian Ballerina. - 2nd. - NY.: Simon and Schuster / Fireside, 1979. - 235 p. - ISBN 978-0671242947 A. Kahn Days with Ulanova . - Moscow: Izd. Lit., 1963. - 230. Boris Lvov-Anokhin Galina Ulanova. - M .: Arts, 1970. - 280 p. - (Life in Art). - 50,000 copies. Boris Lvov-Anokhin Galina Ulanova. - 2nd. - M .: Arts, 1984. - 350 p. - 50,000 copies. Dainiak A. Galina Ulanova. - Minsk: Literature, 1998. - 208. - (The life of famous people). - 11,000 copies. - ISBN 985-437-622-2 Kravchenko T. Galina Ulanova. - Moscow-Smolensk: Olympus RUSICH, 1999. - 464. - (Woman - a myth). - 15,000 copies. - ISBN 5-7390-0677-5 , 5-8138-0024-7 Davlekamova S. Galina Ulanova: I did not want to dance . - M .: AST-Press, 2005. - 348. - ( Ballet Stars ). - 5000 copies. - ISBN 5-94464-068-5 Kartasheva E. My favorite Galina. - M .: Aquarius Publishers, 2006. - 104. - 500 copies. - ISBN 5-902312-74-4 Gaevsky Galina Ulanova. - M .: World encyclopedias Avanta + Astrel, 2010. - 128 p. - 3000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-98986-347-1 , 978-5-271-26376-7 Tarasov B How did the legend. The mystery of Galina Ulanova. - R-on-Don.: Phoenix, 2010. - 288. - (Avenue of Stars). - 2500 copies. - ISBN 978-5-222-17707-5 Albert E. Kahn Days with Ulanova = Days With Ulanova: An Intimate Portrait Of The Legendary Russian Ballerina. - Third. - NY.: Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2010. - 258 p. - ISBN 978-1169749405 Davlekamova S. Galina Ulanova: I did not want to dance. - 2nd. - M .: AST-Press, 2011. - 348. - ( Ballet Stars ). - 3000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-462-01066-8 Notes [ edit | edit source code ] ↑ About the prizes of the President of the Russian Federation in the field of literature . Retrieved February 15, 2013.Archived from the original on 26 February 2013 . ↑ Monument GS Ulanova ↑ The house on the coast waterfront memorial plaque in memory of a ballerina Galina Ulanova . CITY-FM (26.03.2008). Retrieved July 21, 2011. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012 . ↑ In Moscow, immortalized the famous ballerina Galina Ulanova . The first channel (26.03.2008). Retrieved July 21, 2011. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012 . ↑ In St. Petersburg, unveiled a plaque to Galina Ulanova . Interfax-Russia.Ru (21.07.2011). Retrieved July 21, 2011. ↑ Plaque Galina Ulanova discovered the music of Prokofiev . BaltInfo.ru (21.07.2011). Retrieved July 21, 2011. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012 . References [ edit | edit source code ] Galina Ulanova on Commons ? Ulanova, Galina . Website of " Heroes Countries . " Museum-Apartment GS Ulanova Biography on the site of the Bolshoi Theatre VIDEO: Galina Ulanova dancing Gallery of Galina Ulanova online "Masters of musical theater" Galina Ulanova - biography Biography on kino-teatr.ru Biography on peoples.ru Tomb of Galina Ulanova Galina Ulanova. Living for dance Galina Ulanova Foundation About the Contest of Galina Ulanova in Krasnoyarsk in November - December 2010 101 years since the birth of the great Russian ballerina Galina Ulanova in Alma-Ata: three myths and one mystery The plaque Galina Ulanova in Almaty

That variation does not exist in the current Mariinsky version of Bayadere, however, i am not familiar with the Vikharev reconstruction music which does add a 4th act. If that music exists in the reconstruction, my guess would be act 4. If you search on Youtube, for Bayadere reconstruction, it is in 4 parts and my guess is that part 4 is most likely to have it, if at all.

This is the link to the article http://top.rbc.ru/spb_sz/14/10/2013/881983.shtml This is what google translate comes up with, with a few mistakes "The Emperor of All Russia in the field of arts" was accused of nepotism The Mariinsky Theatre ocherednyo scandal erupted - the theater's management is accused of violating labor laws. The other day on the Internet, on the website change.org, published a petition to the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Vladimir Medina to demand the release from office of the head of the Mariinsky Theatre Valery Gergiev. The authors of the message that while a total of 145 people have signed the recall that Valery Gergiev has served as artistic director of the theater for 25 years. Signatory outraged that over the years never held elections for the post of head of the theater. In addition, they express dissatisfaction with nepotism that prevails at the Mariinsky Thus, the older sister takes Valery Gergiev at the Mariinsky artistic director of the Academy of Young Singers, her husband's younger sister Valery Gergiev - Director of the Concert Hall Theater. "The theater violates labor laws - Russia," the authors write angry letters.They note that this is recorded in outstanding trade union leaders Ballet Theatre in the Ministry of Culture, as well as outstanding artist Mikhail Shemyakin in the judiciary. The letter states that the recent level of professional theater productions falls. And this is due, in the opinion of the signatories, to the fact that he V.Gergiyev is rare, entrusting management is not enough competent people.To confirm his words they give a list of the posts held by Valery Gergiev: artistic director and director of the Mariinsky Theatre (the three halls of the Mariinsky Theatre), the new dean of the Faculty of Arts of St. Petersburg State University, honorary professor of the St. Petersburg Conservatory, Chairman of the All-Russian Choral Society, chief conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra; Honorary President of the Edinburgh International Festival, director of the Youth Orchestra's Carnegie Hall, the head of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, the head of music festivals in Mikkeli (Finland), Rotterdam (Netherlands), the Easter Festival (Moscow); festival "White Nights" (St. Petersburg), "New Horizons" "Mardi Gras", "New Horizons" and "Brass Evenings" (Petersburg Mariinsky Theatre) and so on. "State Academy of Young Singers of the Mariinsky Theatre is critical, as a result of mismanagement, the organization brings irreparable losses in the ranks of talented young people who dedicated their lives to the art of opera" - they wrote. It is worth noting that in recent months the name of Valery Gergiev appears in many scandals. The loudest is associated with the idea to combine the Mariinsky Theatre, the Academy of Russian Ballet, St. Petersburg State Conservatory and Zubov Institute. It turned out that his idea is to create a single "National Centre for the Arts," which evil tongues have already nicknamed the "cultural empire Gergiev," inspires not all of its potential subjects. St. Petersburg State Conservatory named after Rimsky-Korsakov has opposed this proposal. Negative reaction to the proposal and expressed the union representatives of the Russian Institute of Art History (Zubovsky Institute). Then, the press service of the Mariinsky Theatre to comment on the statement of the conservatory and the institution refused. Another scandal broke out in St. Petersburg, Valery Gergiev due to a conflict with the famous artist Mikhail Shemyakin. The latter said he would sue the head of the Mariinsky Theatre because the theater for eight years, refused to pay his work on the three performances. "So far, in the eight years since I did not ask how many letters I wrote, I denied payment for my work. Ie choreographer received. People who worked on productions, props, everyone got their money . A major artist has not received a penny "- quoted Shemyakin" Echo of Moscow ". "This is a completely insane situation, but characterizes the nature of the future Emperor of All Russia in the field of arts. Musical and music. Judge for yourself," - he said, referring just to the proposal to combine Valery Gergiev kulutrnye institutions of the city. As for the official position of the Mariinsky Theatre on the conflict with Shemyakin, the comments from the press service of the theater also could be obtained. There previously told RBC that no official information on the conflict with the artist in the theater have been reported.

When Esina left in 2006, she was probably in the corps de ballet or at most,a coryphee, but definitely not high enough to be a low level 2nd soloist, and definitely nowhere near principal level.. I saw Esina's same Mariinsky festival Swan Lake that Buddy saw and I stick to my previous post, that there are some Mariinsky corps de ballet girls who are better ballerinas than Esina. As far as a Vaganova trained dancer leaving Russia and seemingly lost nothing in their Vaganova/Mariinsky style, that is false because even Russian friends who lived in Russia and saw Baryshnikov and Makarova in Russia, recognized that very quickly, they lost some of their unique Vaganova style that they had in Russian. In men, who need brilliant turns and jumps, losses in Vaganova style are not as easily detectable, but with Makarova, certain aspects of her dancing style got worse as she was away from her previous training and coaches. Makarova was a great ballerina, but certain parts of her dancing were not what they once were. However, today, there are many Russian coaches around the world, but not in Vienna and actually the current Vienna coaches include 2 Russian men, but no women, so it is impossible that Esina would be dancing with the same Vaganova style as graduates from her time period. Being away for 7 years with no female Vaganova coaches makes it impossible for Esina to resemble other Mariinsky Vaganova graduates from those years, who stayed at Mariinsky and still dance at Mariinsky and definitely not at a Mariinsky principal level. I saw the 2004 Vaganova graduation performances and Esina danced a solo in Paquita plus Leda and the Swan by Roland Petit. Bolshakova, Martynyuk, Yakovleva and several other girls, including 7th year 2005 grad, Darya Vasnetsova, all danced full classical pas de deux, and Bolshakova did Nikiya in full Kingdom of Shades, so Esina in terms of what she danced, was not near the top 5 from a classical standpoint of that 2004 year graduation performances. She danced the same Leda and Swan at the recent Mariinsky Theatre 2 opening with the same partner as in 2004, Alexnader Sergeyev. Esina was the only foreign ballerina invited to that Mariinsky 2 opening gala and this unique distinction itself seems very strange plus why is Esina a guest principal. With all the much more famous ballerinas in the world than Esina, she was the only ballerina invited to perform Mariinsky 2 opening night gala. Buddy mentions seeing Esina in a gala, but I have looked through youtube and google search for Esina in galas and I cannot find anything until last October's Swan Lake at the Bolshoi and then she was in 2 performances of the Mariinsky Festival, then Mariinsky 2 gala opening and then Corsaire to close out the Mariinsky Ballet season. To me, this seems very suspicious that suddenly in the past 12 months, both Bolshoi and Mariinsky recognize something special in her, which I do not think exists at all. Everything happened in the past 12 months. My first ballet performance of any kind was when a friend invited me to see the Kirov Swan Lake in 1960. I was 20 years old and immediately became addicted to the Vaganova/Kirov style. I did not see any great Vaganova style in Esina as a Vaganova student and certainly feel that her Vaganova style has suffered greatly in the 7 years away from Russia with the wrong type of training to preserve that Vaganova style. She does not deserve to even be a first soloist so guest principal is crazy.

I forgot to mention that without the annual New Year's Eve concerts from Vienna which have a few minutes of the ballet company performing, while the orchestra dominates the program, few ballet fans would even think that Vienna has a ballet company. As it is, most people who have seen the ballet company perform on New year's Eve, would think that ballet company is similar to what existed at the Metropolitan Opera House, where there was no ballet company performing full length ballets, but a group of dancers used in operas and concerts to add dancing to the program. This is where Mariinsky gets it's guest principal from, when it has so many talented girls in the lower ranks.?

Mariinsky Ballet is loaded with ballerina talent that there is no logic in needing any guest principal or hiring any outside ballerina to be a principal, unless she is considered one of the most famous and greatest ballerinas in the world. Esina left Mariinsky in 2006 to go to Vienna which never has had a famous ballerina in it's history. Esina was not the top ranked Vaganova student in 2004, that honor went to Natalia Bolshakova, with Valeria Martynyuk and Maria Yakovleva, all in the running with Esina for second best student of the 2004 graduating class. I am not certain about this being true, but I think that when Esina departed for Vienna, she was still ranked in corps de ballet, but it is possible that she was a coryphee. Vienna Ballet does not approach the prestige of London's Royal Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, the Royal Danish Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, National Ballet of Cuba, National Ballet of Canada and a handful of German ballet companies, more highly regarded than Vienna. In Vienna, Esina never danced Nikiya, only Gamzatti, nor did she dance Kitri, only Queen of Dryads, nor Giselle, only Myrtha. For the Vienna Ballet which has a poor reputation around the world when compared to Mariinsky Ballet, how can any ballerina who was not considered good enough to dance Giselle, not good enough to dance Nikiya and not good enough to dance Kitri, even be considered for a principal at Mariinsky Ballet. For many years, the general opinion has been that to be a Mariinsky principal, a ballerina needs to dance Odette/Odile and Nikiya. Esina was not considered good enough to dance Nikiya in Vienna with much weaker ballerinas than exist at Mariinsky. For the 2011/2012 Bolshoi season, Evgenia Obraztsova joined Bolshoi Ballet because she was not given principal status and one of her main obstacles was the fact that she was not considered Odette/Odile and Nikiya worthy for Mariinsky Ballet, but had recently danced Odette/Odile at Stanislavsky Ballet, a better ballet company than Esina's Vienna Ballet.. At the time, Genia left for Bolshoi, she had graduated from Vaganova, slightly over 9 years earlier. Esina now is a guest principal, having graduated from Vaganova, slightly over 9 years ago, same as Genia when she was refused principal and left for Bolshoi. When Genia left for Bolshoi, she only had no Nikiya, same as Esina. However, unlike Esina at a much weaker Vienna Ballet, Genia had danced both Giselle and Kitri. There is no logic in thinking that Genia with only 2 important roles missing at Mariinsky and one overall, since she danced Odette/Odile at Stanislavsky, preventing her from principal status, would not be considered a principal, while Esina, from a very weak ballet company in comparison to Mariinsky Ballet, would be considered principal worthy with 3 major missing pieces, Nikiya, Giselle and Kitri. I will bring up one final ballerina and this comparison makes the Esina principal status more insane. In 2002, the Vaganova graduating class had two equally highly regarded ballerinas, sharing same prize at 2002 Vaganova Prix, Olesya Novikova and Evgenia Obraztsova. Novikova has danced every important classical role in the repertoire, including Nikiya, which she has danced at a better company than Vienna, at Mikhailovsky Ballet. However, Novikova has not danced Nikiya at Mariinsky. Novikova started at Mariinsky, two years earlier than Esina started at Mariinsky and she has no missing roles in her repertoire, but she is not a principal. There is no logic in Novikova, being two years older and much more talented than Esina and more fame than Esina, who has been primarily unknown at not famous Vienna, not being a principal, while Esina is a principal. I will conclude that Esina does not deserve to be a principal. If she wanted to return, she is worthy of a second soloist. She is worse than every first soloist, except Gumerova. She is worse than many second soloists, worse than many coryphee and worse than some corps de ballet girls. Olesya Novikova has been greatly cheated by Esina being given guest principal status when Novikova is clearly a vastly superior ballerina and has stuck at Mariinsky for 11 years, despite her husband being chased away when Fateyev greatly favored his pupil Shklyarov over Sarafanov. I hope that Esina is never given a permanent principal ranking and I would advise her to go back to Vienna and let the great Mariinsky ballerinas dance better than she ever will.

Tsiskaridze has proven to be extremely knowledgeable on ballet history and has shown to exhibit a great eye for talent, which many do not have such vision. He wanted to have Filin's job, but that is not going to happen soon, but he cannot be ballet director of a lower ranked company, so Mariinsky Ballet director seems to be his only possibility. Is Gergiev willing to hand over the ballet director position that he has never relinquished in his 18 years as Mariinsky director? Both Vaziev and Fateyev have been acting directors and Gergiev wants to be ballet director. Tsiskaridze will never accept, in my opinion, acting ballet director, but is Gergiev willing to hire a true ballet director?. Mariinsky Ballet and actually every ballet company in the world, needs Tstiskaridze as their ballet director, but i can only imagine Tsiskaridze accepting Bolshoi or Mariinsky. Incidentally, Tsiksridze is talked about in Russian forums as attending many Mariinsky performances, so my guess is that he would be interested in REAL Mariinsky Ballet Director job.

Impressive comment and certainly true.

The male principal roster is very small and weak for Mariinsky. Kolb has become a character dancer, so he no longer dances principal roles. Ivanchenko should have retired a long time ago, leaving only two worthy principals in Shklyarov and Korsuntsev. Analyzing possible promotions to principal, 1st soloist possibilities, are only two since Andrei Batalov is not liked by Fateyev adn Kuznetsov does not dance principal roles. That leaves Sergeyev, who I would support as principal, but not likely, and Askerov, who I do not see as a 1st soloist, but he has a wealthy father and wealth can do much in post soviet Russia. Therefore, I expect Askerov to become the 5th male principal. Askerov's father is one of the most powerful individuals in Azerbaijan, maybe the most powerful, being on Azerbaijani TV often. I see little hope of 2nd soloists jumping to principal and no hope for coryphee jumping to principal, but there are several worthy principals in the 2nd soloist and coryphee categories. I will list the names, but they have no chance of getting principal status now and obviously coryphee have no chance of moving to 1st soloist. Ermakov, Zyuzin and Stepin are all worthy of moving up to 1st soloist and if they were 1st soloist now, I would say all 3 were possible principals, particulary Stepin, who I feel is currently the best Mariinsky dancer. Coryphee have two potential future principals in Tkachenko and Alexei Popov, but Tkachenko needs to be given Basilio and Solor among other roles to have a chance. In the corps de ballet rank, both Ivkin and Latypov are potential future principals. It is shocking that Ivkin is still corps de ballet with the best jumping ability at Mariinsky, but then his Vaganova partner, Marchuk is even more shocking as a current corps de ballet girl. Regarding the women, Fateyev has opened the door for his prized collection, his precious Skorik, to move to principal.

Maya Plisetskaya gave Alina Somova, the pair of diamond earring that Maya was wearing when she saw Alina's debut in Little Humped Back Horse. Maya gave Alina the earrings after the performance.

The Bolshoi October casts reveal that the movie version of Spartacus on October 20, will feature Mikhail Lobukhin as Spartacus and not Ivan Vasiliev.