Marc Haegeman

Regardless of the somewhat archaic production, this Kirov Raymonda is one of the handful of recordings that should figure in any serious ballet collection (and quite near to the top of it). Not only do we have here one of the greatest exponents of the Vaganova School and Petersburg classicism in full glory, but the cast itself is essentially what the Kirov and its tradition is all about. Practically all the dancers are now teachers in St. Petersburg and elsewhere in the world of the current generations, while the character artists featured here (Strogaya, Ostaltsov) are among the greatest names in the genre.

Yes, it was filmed on tour at the Bolshoi.

As leonid pointed out, it's indeed erroneous to think that there was no La Bayadère at the Bolshoi after 1917, but also typical for the tendency in historical surveys of this theatre to let everything begin again with Yuri Grigorovich and act as if nothing much happened between Gorsky and him - one might call this period the Bolshoi "Dark Ages". (Something that former AD Alexei Ratmansky always tried to reset, precisely by paying attention to ballets that were staged in those Dark Ages.) The 1923 production was performed no less than 126 times until 1936. The WW II revival was performed by Marina Semyonova and Sofia Golovkina. Only afterwards the full-length ballet disappeared from the Bolshoi rep and just the Kingdom of the Shades Act was kept until Grigorovich revived the whole ballet in 1991. No chance the new/old Mariinsky productions will be filmed. They didn't bother with them when they were new and in, they're not going to now.

That's correct Rosa. Grigorovich unconvincingly changed the ending and the music in a recent revision of his Bolshoi Swan Lake (the Prince is left on his own etc.)

Some shots from the 4th Prague Ballet Gala, which took place on 9 Jan 2009, featuring Ekaterina Krysanova and Dmitry Gudanov (Bolshoi Ballet), Aki Saito and Wim Vanlessen (Royal Ballet of Flanders), Viengsay Valdés and Romel Frometa (Cuban National Ballet), Mathilde Froustey and Josua Hoffalt (Paris Opera Ballet), and Elisabet Ros (Béjart Ballet Lausanne). http://www.for-ballet-lovers-only.com/prag...etgala2009.html

In January 1989, Makarova discussed this issue on the "Leningrad Legend" Kultur dvd. There were two extended segments where she coached the young Elena Pankova in the 2nd variation from "Paquita," and the young Zhanna Ayupova for her first Odette/Odile. Even then, she noticed a big difference in the company she had left 18 years earlier. She lamented the fact that the young members had few, " . . . examples of master dancing." She also mentioned that when she started out, she had been inspired by watching the "masters," and that, " . . . inspiration is important in the theatre." She was concerned about the technical and artistic development of the younger members, and that they should take the initiative to, " . . . develop their inner world." Fast forward to the present. With a few stellar exceptions, exactly what will this new generation learn and from whom? Vinogradov didn't limit himself to just the older dancers. Before his removal in 1995, he "ran off" dancers such as Larissa Lezhnina. Elena Pankova, Irina Schapsits and Anna Polikarpova (to name a few), also departed. Of that generation, (mid-late 80s graduates), the ones who stayed and eventually became Principals were Makhalina and Ayupova. At that time Asylmuratova was in her dancing prime, and she repeatedly opted for international guest engagements, notably with the Royal Ballet and Petit's Marseilles company. The immediate past Director of the Ballet, Makhar Vaziev, also saw these departures on his watch: Natalia Sologub, and Dmitri Semionov (Polina's brother), and others. When a new Director comes to power, his/her tastes and vision (or lack thereof), prevail. Before he was appointed Interim Director, Fateev's was the company's main Balanchine repetiteur, and still is, so it figures that he would favor Balanchine mixed-bills. IMO what the Maryinsky Ballet needs is a resident choreographer, or a Director who is also a choreographer. Ideally, this would be the same person. For all of Vinogradov's pecadillos, he was (also) a credited choreographer: The Maryinsky hasn't had such since 1995. Hopefully, Fateev will try to develop and encourage young choreographers, or stage his own work. Obviously, the company is in transition; and as someone stated earlier, "time will tell" what the ultimate results will be. Interesting points, cygnet. This lack of living examples from older artists has been a problem at the Mariinsky for a long time now and people like Makarova, Lezhnina, Shapchits or Asylmuratova always underlined how important these models have been for their own development, although at that point they were essentially talking about their own traditional classics. The repertoire at the Mariinsky has broadened considerably in the last ten or fifteen years, especially with western import, for which the whole issue of live examples becomes even more difficult. As the example of Alexei Ratmansky at the Bolshoi has shown the combination of AD with chief choreographer is less ideal than we would like to think it is. In a recent interview in the UK magazine Dance Now Ratmansky made it very clear that the two positions are in fact incompatible, especially in a huge company like Bolshoi or Mariinsky. In any case, in the long run, it didn't work for him.

I wouldn't see it so dramatic. It's not back to anything: the Bolshoi has always kept the Grigorovich ballets in the rep (some of them like Spartacus were even given a second youth in the last 4/5 years, something that even Grigorovich himself would never have expected to happen at this point), just like the Mariinsky always kept the Sergeyev versions (leonid of course meant Konstantin, not Nicolay Sergeyev), even alongside the new/old reconstructions. What will matter, though, in the near future is how much attention and playtime these Soviet productions will be given in respect to the newer (let's call it the reconstructed) work. In the Mariinsky's case it looks rather bad, but it remains to be seen how much they will weigh in at the Bolshoi.

Quote from the interview, linked above: "Fateev is not, to my deep regret, a fan of the reconstructions of 19th-century period performance. "Their time has gone," he says firmly." If we have to go with this quote then the existing new/old ballets will no longer be performed. Quote from the interview: "His approach appears to be accommodating but not lax, given that he wants (supported strongly by Gergiev) to lure the iconic Kirov classicist Irina Kolpakova back as coach from America to re-establish shapes and lines." In any case they won't lure her back in order to reconstruct 19th century ballets....

This has also seems to have been an issue within the Bolshoi when Alexei Ratmansky wanted to stage ballets from the pre-Grigorovich era: the coaches and through them their pupils. Creativity is limited to the familiar repertory. Anything different, whether it is going back in time or new work, is tantamount to sacrilege.

It wasn't just Sleeping Beauty and Bayadere though. There was Awakening of Flora, Ondine, and Carnaval of Venice. I suppose they're all going to be junked as well? I know there's no video of it, but "Ondine" doesn't fall into the same category. "Ondine" is no reconstruction in the same vein as Vikharev's work, but is a pastiche (enjoyable as it is) from Pierre Lacotte.

This is my personal opinion, but I think there may be still another reason why Fateev is making the entire troupe younger: they're more able to do a large-scale ballets that demand a large number of physically strong dancers. This could portend the very possibility of new versions of La Bayadare, Le Corsaire and Raymonda some time in the future in true full-length versions but with more "modern" choreography (all three of the ballets I mentioned require substantial numbers of dancers on-stage). And since when would a company like the Mariinsky only be able to do full-length classics with young dancers? Like leonid tried to explain companies like Bolshoi and Kirov were remarkable in the great classics among others because they had older dancers in their ranks - even in the corps de ballet, older members act as essential lynchpins for the ensemble. They have full-length versions of Corsaire, Bayadère (even two) and Raymonda, which count among the best around and form the backbone of their repertoire. Give me one good reason why they would change those?

And they aren't available on DVD either. The main problem with these reconstructions has always been that the company itself never really believed in them. The dancers disliked and distrusted everything about these productions, from steps to costumes, from mime to length, considering them far inferior to the productions they knew. Dancing style? In "Beauty" and "Bayadère" there was never any concession towards a different style, they just kept on dancing them in the same way as they dance the older productions. (Not everything is lost though - I have seen the sets of the Kingdom of the Shades Act from the reconstructed "Bayadère" used for the old Soviet production.) It's a great shame as these Petipa reconstructions are among the most remarkable achievements of the Makhar Vaziev era. But for Gergiev they are incompatible with his view of a "modern" image. It's moreover ironic that the Mariinsky is dumping them, while the Bolshoi is now taking serious efforts to revive important chunks of the Petipa/19th-century heritage, as recently with "Le Corsaire", "Paquita Grand Pas", and later this season "Coppelia" (in the reconstruction by Vikharev...).

Pavlenko's "comeback" performance should be Steptext on Jan 9.

That's the privilege of being prima ballerina. It could have been a Somova gala each year. Count your blessings.

Wouldn't it be great, chiap? For some reason, I keep thinking that there will be a Balanchine triple-bill somewhere in the mix, given the huge number of Balanchines that were recently revived AND new AD Fateev's preferences...but perhaps the Balanchines will be shown during the Lopatkina Gala and/or the final Gala Concert? I definitely vote for a Raymonda and for Daria Pavlenko in anything. Sacto, I'd love to see Schklyarov but, in the past, Ivan has usually gone to not-too-tall demi-caractere dancers, rather than Noble Prince types, like Shklyarov. I am almost betting on Leonid Sarafanov and/or Andrei Ivanov sharing the role, although Andrian Fadeev has a wonderful 'comic persona' as we've seen in his Lankedem/Corsaire. Actually - I will bet $100 that Sarafanov will be in the mix of Ivans! As for the Tsar Maiden, I can bet that it will go to the newest Primas, Alina Somova and/or Viktoria Tereshkina, although that is just my gut feeling on where the chips are falling nowadays. This being a Ratmansky work, though, it's not outside the realm of possibility that Diana Vishneva may be involved, in which case it may be Vishneva/Fadeev for the opener. Tsar Maiden? Lopatkina, of course And how about Lobukhin or Sergeyev for the male role?

She was arrested for shoplifting in Brussels, when the Bolshoi first came to Belgium in 1958. (Don't know it also happened in Italy?) Can't imagine she would have wanted to stay in Belgium. She surely just needed an umbrella or a pair of gloves.

I do not know how you arrive at your evaluation of Lepeshinskaya as a dancer and it is my opinion that you are way off mark in your appreciation of her talents and more importantly her artistic and aesthetic status. The only dancer of the period in you mention to be compared with Galina Ulanova in status and artistry was Marina Timofeyevna Semyonova who recently celebrated her 100th birthday. And what about Struchkova? Why make that comparison anyway? As if somebody would be argueing that Lopatkina is a better dancer than Vishneva, or Osipova better than Zakharova?

Actually, I see Kondaurova and Obraztsova reaching the "great" level within a few years--Kondaurova has been dancing a lot of roles that Ulyana Lopatkina is well-known for (her very recent debut as O/O in Swan Lake got RAVE reviews from Russian balletomanes) and Obraztsova has both a Gold medal win at the Moscow International Ballet Competition AND a prestiguous Golden Mask award, not to mention being a huge favorite among balletomanes both East and West (everybody lauded her current performance as Masha in The Nutcracker). I've seen online a number of Obraztsova's performances in "romantic" roles and she is excellent in these roles. With "level" I meant artistic maturity, character, individuality - all things that make a dancer unique, not the fact that they are nominated principal. Not to refer again to recent examples, principal status doesn't necessarily imply we have to do with unique skills or personality.

That's what they said about somebody like Maya Dumchenko as well. Talented artists, no doubt. Yet it will be some time before they reach the level of personalities like Zhanna Ayupova, Uliana Lopatkina, Diana Vishneva, Daria Pavlenko, not to mention Altynai Asylmuratova, Larissa Lezhnina, Tatiana Terekhova, Yulia Makhalina, Irina Shapchits etc. Hopefully they will be given the time to prove they are indeed that "awesome"

Maya Dumchenko in the pas de trois.... ? Unbelievable. But yeah like you say, she's lucky to be on tour once again. Maybe someone will get ill and she can jump in. Thanks for the review.

Thank you for the reports and the link to the blog with the photos. I can't imagine these autograph sessions happening here in Europe.

Then you should have said so to avoid people from drawing the wrong conclusions. It’s bizarre that you immediately refer to unfairness in your own defence, volcanohunter. That you like a dancer or not, is your good right, but that you should slam him or her on account of one single clip you didn’t even watch completely, is anything but fair.

I still do. So do I. The first time I saw a clip of her Giselle I was momentarily tempted to put my eyes out (but thought better of it and turned the video off instead). Well, I hope you had the chance to see Zakharova once live after that missed opportunity, volcanohunter. You do realize that condemning an artist on account of a clip is rather cheap and doesn't really help anybody?

This is not news. From what I've heard, there is a LOT of politicking going on "behind the scenes" over getting the level of promotion for each dancer inside the Mariinsky troupe. I believe most of that politicking is coming from the coaches of each dancer, too. In my opinion, unless you're naturally very talented like these four female dancers from the 2001 and 2002 Vaganova Academy graduating classes (e.g., Ekaterina Kondaurova, Olesia Novikova, Evgenia Obraztsova and Viktoria Tereshkina), you need a coach that can strongly influence the Mariinsky management to promote the dancer. Given that Alina Somova's former coach was the wife of Makhar Vaziev (who was the Deputy Director of the Ballet Company of the Mariinsky Theatre), I'm not surprised Somova got promoted so fast. If I read correctly, there are still detractors about Diana Vishneva becoming Principal dancer, especially those who express concern that Vishneva is spending too much time as guest artist of other ballet companies. It's very rare for a dancer to get promoted to Principal status in a few years with the Mariinsky troupe just because his or her skills are so superior to all others--Ulyana Lopatkina is one of the few I can remember in recent years. (By the way, in my personal opinion I can see Kondaurova, Novikova and Obraztsova become Principal dancers within the next 4-5 years--these three are favorites with both Russian and Western audiences. ) FYI, Diana Vishneva has been a principal dancer since 1996. Both she and Svetlana Zakharova made it to principal within a year after they joined the Mariinsky. It took Lopatkina 4 or 5 years before getting the big prize. That coaches lobby for their pupils is no secret, but how much and in which cases it worked, is purely speculation. Chenchikova had many dancers under her care. Some did make it to principal, others just didn't.

There's as yet pretty little to focus on, Bart, considering his age. As far as I am aware Ivan Vasiliev is still a soloist with the Bolshoi Ballet. Here's his biography on the Bolshoi website. Here's his personal webpage. Before he joined the Bolshoi in October 2006 he won a competition in Perm. Enough said. Youtube is as always spot on...