Salome

Principal of the Royal Ballet Sarah Wildor has "resigned". Very sad news.

It was being discussed in a thread a while ago about drawing dancers as a hobby, I can't find the original thread but I wondered if anyone would like to look at my dancer drawings which I've just put online, although it's not exactly a hobby for me because I am studying art. They are at http://amysymons.250x.com/dancers.htm, let me know what you think! Amy [ 08-22-2001: Message edited by: Amy S ]

Can anyone tell me anything about him? Also, I remember someone mentioned a while ago that he had danced in Onegin, would that be as Onegin or Lenksy? We are, unfortunately, suffering a severe chap shortage in RB at the moment, I don't know where we're going to find enough Onegins to go round!

The exhibition finishes on the 22nd, Sunday. As to potential duos Cojocaru/Putrov just occurred to me, but I suppose we will have to wait until after they dance in the mixed bill or it's really just conjecture.

It is definitely a shame that Acosta and Rojo won't dance Don Q together in the autumn, I can't see any reason why they haven't been cast together. I suppose we will have to be content with the pas de deux for now! By the way, for those interested in Acosta, there is an exhibition of photographs of him by Angela Taylor at the e-onegin gallery, it's at 54 Shepherd Market in Mayfair. I can't remember when it finishes (don't think it's on for long) but the opening party was on Wednesday, lots of people were there, including Carlos himself and Zenaida Yanowsky. It's well worth a look if you are in London.

It will be interesting to see who replaces Hilaire in London, Murro again? Giannina, Kevin, I have emailed you both.

No dancing........knee socks.......spinning sets, you're frightening me! Surely it can't be that bad? I can't wait to see it in London now, I usually like ballets that nobody else does so maybe I will think it fantastic. Which performance are you going to Giannina? Does anybody know if Hilaire's foot is actually broken or just injured? I was very much looking forward to seeing him dance.

I'll try to do a proper one when I have time but for now just a couple of things that stand out to me: Tamara Rojo as Ondine Gloria Wildor's La Fille Rojo as Giselle Song of the earth, especially Leanne Benjaman and Johan Kobborg Come on, help me, where is everyone?

I also thought Nikolai Tsiskaridze superb as the Golden Slave, especially from my seat 4 feet from the stage! The last-night atmosphere was electric, there was a lady from Moscow with friends in the company who had managed to get in without a ticket just to see him dance Scheherazade kneeling on the floor next to me, she had to dash out quickly at the end before she was caught, only at the Kirov! I too thought it a terrible shame that the company didn't assemble for the final 'goodbye' applause, both Diana Vishneva and Igor Kolb were in the theatre but didn't appear, I did see Vaziev for a moment but as Mashinka says, blink and you would have missed him. Now looking forward to the Bolshoi next year............. [ 07-10-2001: Message edited by: Amy S ]

Now there's something that could be revived, they may only have lasted for two performances but if the Kirov want to be absolutely faithful to Fokine's original idea, and with some strategically placed air conditioning........ Or maybe not! ;)

A note on Tamara Rojo. I have been watching Rojo since she was with ENB (English National Ballet), she has to be seen to be believed. Her technical skills, though excellent, are never visible (at least when I have seen her), she lives her dance, the steps are merely her way of expression. She is no longer a 'showy' dancer (I say 'no longer' as Tamara herself has stated that she has leaned this way in the past), her movements are never an effort, she is her character and is not a slave to the audience. She is an actress and an artist.

It really depend what interests you but I would say Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes is a good choice, not just because it's facinating, but also because, as dirac says, of the sheer volume of good reference material and first-hand accounts. I've studied it myself and I'd be quite happy to point you towards some useful books and give you any information that might help. If you really can't decide try looking through a general ballet history book (Clement Crisp and Mary Clarke's 'Ballet, An Illustrated History' is a good one) and just picking what attracts you most.

Phones ringing in performances seems to be reaching epidemic levels, I haven't been to a single performance, ballet, opera or play, in the last two years (which must in triple figures) in which a phone hasn't rung. They don't even just ring now, they play very loud tunes, last week we had one which even manage to resound over Shostokovich's Lady Macbeth, anyone who knows the opera can imagine how loud that phone must have been! What a shame the devices that block mobile signals are not legal, maybe a large fine for any phone that rings would work, I'm sure audience members sitting close would happily report the culprit. Amy

Makhalina also did a very impressive Swan Lake last year, I would have liked to see her Manon. Does anyone know what her reviews are like in Russia? Amy

I don't know what her injury was, but even after an entire Corsaire on Saturday she seemed very well and not to be suffering at all (and signing lots of autographs!). Just out of interest did anyone also notice a huge bruise on Diana Vishneva's hip after her Manon? It looked quite nasty to me, I hope it was nothing serious. Speaking of durable dancers, Ilya Kuznetsov has danced every night this week and still seems to show not a trace of tiredness, I don't know what the Kirov would have done without him this season. Amy

Sorry Anne! It just seems that everyone I’ve spoken to recently has been moaning about something, prices, booking etc., they are members of the particular group of balletomanes who seem never to be satisfied by anything (and there are lots of them), if the Bolshoi were bringing Swan Lake you can bet they would be complaining bitterly that the only thing they ever see is full-length classics, they would of course still go to see it, so that they could have a jibe about falling standards and insult the sets, the very sets they are currently bemoaning the loss of. They seem to regard going to ballet as a military exercise rather that enjoyment. I too would probably much rather see the Bolshoi perform some full length works but financially I don’t think this would currently be possible for them in London. I’d much rather see the ‘Stars of the Bolshoi’ perform a few bits and pieces rather that see no Bolshoi at all! ;) I would also rather they perform a more assessable programme at relatively reasonable prices and sell out, rather than bring full-length works with full scenery, be forced to charge higher prices due to the extra cost that entails and lose money. They are having a troubled time, but hopefully once (or if) they are back on their feet again we will see some works that are new to them. Someone may also be interested in this sensible and balanced article by Clement Crisp about the Kirov and Bolshoi Clement Crisp Ariticle [ 04-25-2001: Message edited by: Salome ]

I'm so glad it's not too serious, I hope he makes a quick recovery.

The sensationalist and nasty attitude is typical of the British press at the moment, that why I don't even read newspapers now, let alone reviews! I'm afraid I can't understand the attitudes of some of the English ballet-goers, all they ever do is moan. The Kirov price are too high but they are bringing large sets and a huge company for full length works, the Bolshoi are bring less dancers, less scenery, presenting short works and charging lower prices but still they moan, you can't have it both ways. I also cannot understand this obsession with full length works being 'proper ballet' and short works and divertissements being 'rubbish', nearly all the programs presented by Diaghilev contained short works and a good share of 'fun' pieces such as the Polovtsian Dances, the same goes for many of the programmes performed by Fonteyn and Nureyev, a typical one being 'Diversions, Divertissement from Napoli, Pas de deux from Flower Festival at Genzano and Le Corsaire, and The Firebird, 3 April 1963. If we look at the forthcoming Bolshoi season what do we see but Chopiniana, Flower Festival at Genzano and Le Corsaire, and with some of the worlds finest dancers. Do you really consider Narcissus and Spectre de la Rose to be 'tired' and 'old'?

I'm not sure if this has been posted somewhere else but Nikolai Tsiskaridze of the Bolshoi Ballet has been seriously injured in a car accident, the last I heard he was in hospital but I don't know any more than that.

Speaking of T.S Eliot, how about The Waste Land? Ok, I know it's not strictly a book, but I'm feeling cruel and would absolutly love to see someone have a go at it. Bejart prehaps? I sure he'd have fun with 'Old man with wrinkled female breasts'. Oh, and there's always Down and out in Paris and London and of course Animal Farm, in fact anything by George Orwell!

Helena's comment made me think that maybe I merely need to see more Ashton, it took me a long time before I could get past the popularity and surface prettyness of Beethoven's 6th.

I do agree with your comments about Ashton, I think what I said came out wrong (must slow down!), when I referred to him I really meant 'popualar' Ashton such as Fille, just as Manon is in England 'popular' MacMillan, rather than the more dangerous works you mention which I think are on a different scale altogether. I wasn't commenting on the quality of the choreography but quality of emotion which I find more real in Manon than Fille, I am not even saying that I prefer MacMillan to Ashton, merely that MacMillan is Gericault to Ashton's Ingres, they are different and can be appreciated on different levels.

A few points, forgive me if IÕm a little incoherent and sorry about the length! Regarding incongruousness of character, last night I saw PucciniÕs Manon Lescaut, in the production I saw it could be described as neither lewd nor vulgar but I did find it insincere and lacking in depth character, I think this is frequently the case with any opera or ballet that is adapted from a book. The narrative structure of the opera is far from ideal and differs considerably from the ballet but my principal problem was that they had tried to make Manon a consistent character. Manon was portrayed in the first two acts as being innocent, rather shy and almost frightened of the men around her, this made her thirst for jewels and riches all the more implausible but was necessary to make her behaviour in the third act seem to be in character, it was in my opinion unsuccessful. Human beings are complex animals and not everything they do can be Ôin characterÕ. In fact, if a character acts in a way that one finds odd or unexpected I think it only serves to deepen that character further. In this way I find MacMillan's Manon more plausible, this seems to prove that attempts to make characters 'consistent' frequently don't work. Regarding differences in attitudes between Americans and Europeans, it is a point I find very interesting and I do hope others (anyone French?) will offer an opinion. I think this all comes down to culture, not superficial culture but deep-rooted social attitudes. From the opinions of the people here I think we can safely presume that nobody is offended by the inference of sex or immorality in Manon (and presumable this could be taken as a reasonable cross-section of the American public?) rather I think it is the character of Manon herself and her attitudes to the men around her that proves a problem. The MacMillan Manon, danced by Guillem at least, is not an innocent girl but a fully grown woman, and a real person aware of what she is doing and capable making her own decisions, she is a victim but only of herself, she does what she does not merely for survival or necessity, to ward of starvation, but because she has an insatiable thirst for material things, she is a decadent living merely for pleasure and Ôthis ceaseless round of pleasure was so essential to her beingÕ. Manon is living purely for herself without ties or responsibilities and she is willing to give up even the man she truly loves for this pleasure, she is selfish and materialistic and fails to be moved by love. She is a very French heroine of the Decadent tradition, and everything she stands for goes totally against what is held to be desirable in American culture. Decadence was extremely fashionable in France (in certain circles!) for a long time and (although of course we hate to admit it!) anything that was fashionable in France eventually became so in England, it is that decadent streak, that desire to live purely for pleasure, that still runs through Europe today, it is part of our accepted culture, especially among the section of society who regularly attends the theatre, we have a taste for unusual emotions and are unafraid of them whereas in America I think this is still considered to be undesirable and alien and preference is given to 'normal'love between two people, which should be stronger than anything else. Our different tastes are most apparent when one looks and the difference in English and American comedy (I mean, come on, we did make Monty Python!)with us celebrating the surreal and downright wierd and the latter focussing on more-or-less real life situations, we have much more of a taste for the unusual. This ÔstreakÕ aids our appreciation of this particular ballet as it is part of our culture and we can identify with the central character, we are also very familiar with the very complicated social attitudes of the time. (This is of course only a suggestion! Anyone else have one?) (I have here removed what I said about Ashton which was written in haste and didn't express at all well what I wanted to say) [This message has been edited by Salome (edited October 09, 2000).]

Slightly off subject but I think that the photograph taken of Nureyev and Dudinskaya in Laurencia 1960 is the earliest taken of Nureyev 'in character'.