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kika

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Everything posted by kika

  1. In his performance with Lane, Simkin did an impressively clean and high set of entrechat six in Act 2. Incredible technique and endurance, and effective in that he was all-out dancing to death.
  2. Nanushka I cannot tell you whether anyone did in fact get a refund, but plenty were asking for their money back. I don't know what the official policy is about refunds. The audience applauded Brandt on her first entrance, and during the final curtain calls there was a standing ovation and enthusiastic cheering. I would not say there was anything muted about the response. It was a very very good performance.
  3. We went to last night's performance when the website announced Brandt would be dancing. Plenty of Copeland fans were queueing for ticket refunds, but many did stay, and we spoke to several who said they were glad they stayed. Brandt was very well-rehearsed, and especially good in the second act. It was hard to believe this was a debut. She may have been a tad conservative in Act 1, as you had the feeling she could have sailed around in multiple turns, especially the attitude turns in her variation, but she kept it clean and under control. She did have some nice sustained balances. Her technique was rock solid. The mad scene was involving and clearly acted. As good as the first act was, we preferred her in Act 2. She was light, lyrical, delicate, and very expressive. Her variation was clean and she did not fudge any difficult moments. Beautifully held extensions, nothing wobbly. Herman Cornejo did not do the entrechat six in his variation that others did, but two sets of brises from the diagonal, and some not-memorable jumps (?) inbetween. He finished with a solid double pirouette. Partnering strong and attentive, and he has a great presence still. He just didn't do much of the wow stuff. The audience cheered them both during the curtain calls.
  4. Indiana Woodward did a lovely job with her variation in Bournonville on Thursday. Wish I could have seen her in La Sylphide today. How was she?
  5. kika

    2015 US Tour

    Last night, Thursday, we saw the cast with Steven McRae and Iana Salenko. He has wonderful jumps and turns and presence, and seems to be a natural and buoyant dancer. Salenko was lovely, but maybe not what you'd think of when you imagine Kitri. But her dancing was nearly flawless, with a lyrical fineness and detail, and beautiful lines. Her fouettes were pretty and strong and fluent, and she had one especially impressive balance in the pas de deux. I enjoyed her dancing but every so often missed the kind of attack I associate with Kitri. As much as we enjoyed Nunez on opening night, we enjoyed the production itself more the second time. There seemed to be some genuine enthusiasm and unforced fun onstage last night. I did wonder again if the RB style is maybe not what you imagine to be the ideal fit for Don Q. I missed the flirting with danger sort of zest and attack you get with some of the Russians. Although, McRae was exciting and had many "wow" jumps. Just also to say: the Amour, Yasmine Naghdi, looked like she might make a good Kitri sometime soon.
  6. kika

    2015 US Tour

    We saw the opening night performance with Marianela Nunez and Carlos Acosta. I enjoyed Nunez as she has beautiful solid technique, and on top of it a wonderful musicality. She also danced with exuberance and really performed. She makes her Kitri personable and memorable, and had good playful chemistry with Acosta. The Amour, Meaghan Grace Hinkis, was crisp, fast, musical and playful. A perfect Amour. I admire the effort to restage Don Q, and there were some enjoyable new moments, including some guitar playing music. But I did think the stage was busy and crowded at times, especially when you wanted to enjoy the solo dancing. Regarding the performance as a whole: I found myself wondering if maybe the Royal Ballet style might create a different kind of Don Q. I might have been looking for a sort of zest and abandon that can make the show a certain kind of exciting. This was different. There was tremendous charm, especially from Nunez, Acosta, Hinkis, and some of the character roles, but the production and dancing felt polite and restrained at times. There is a scene where Kitri climbs up on a bar (as in drinking bar) and poses and vamps, but it is balletic and polite, not at all what it could be. But this is just my opinion and maybe others thought it worked.
  7. I attended Saturday afternoon. Thank you for calling attention to the mistake. Will correct it.
  8. Saturday matinee in Spectre, Selina and Latypov created a really charming well-expressed bit of theatre. At one point she is in a dreamy trance and he is leading her around, some kind of playful, strangely powerful influence on her, engaging her dream state/unconscious. The Rose seems a tricky role to navigate, and he made it fascinating without being camp or ridiculous. Both danced well, and Latypov appears to be a gifted natural performer. Selina projects well, even when she is in a trance. They were delightful to watch. The Saturday afternoon Paquita was, overall, the best of the three Paquita performances I had seen, which included Wednesday and Thursday. Yermakov was rather sensational with some brilliant split jumps and a dynamic stage presence. Tkachenko was dynamic in the Pas de Trois, great elevation, and seems like he is eager to do more. Selina and Batoeva? (according to the program) had nice work in their variations. Of the others, Viktoria Brilyova is hard not to notice and it would be interesting to see her in some larger roles, as she moves elegantly and has an attractive, confident presence onstage. Saturday afternoon the dancers seemed in general fresher and the performances were more satisfying. Paquita was mostly a pleasure this time. When I first wrote I typed Sunday instead of Saturday. Just corrected it.
  9. Natalia, Kimin did dance Spectre on Wednesday, as scheduled. I don't want to say he was underwhelming exactly. It's just that I had seen him in rehearsals lfor other roles ast year, and maybe my expectations were high. On this visit many of the dancers looked like they were "spent". Also Spectre needs a kind of fabulous compelling presence from the male lead, and an ease. Regarding Latypov: he looks like he is in a special category. It's exciting to spot someone who seems to have such promise. He is still somewhat coltish, but a pleasure for the fine classical technique. The casting list on the Ken Cen website is at odds with the playbill/program. Which is to be believed?
  10. I attended the performances Weds Jan 28 and Thurs Jan 29. Wednesday: I thought Rite of Spring might be interesting as part of a special "themed" evening placing it in a context. It was probably ambitious and bold to lead with it this way on a bill with Swan and Spectre and Paquita. Many in the audience seemed unprepared for it, and were bewildered and disappointed. I wish I had read up on it beforehand. But honestly I did get tired of it, and was relieved when it ended. On the other hand, I find myself thinking about it off and on, and wondering about it, so it was provocative. In Spectre Yana Selina was charming and expressive. She always stands out to me in this company. There are so many dancers with show-stopping extensions and fouettes and technical fireworks, and yet Selina is memorable for her dancing, the way she actually moves. She has an old-fashioned polish and poise, beautiful use of upper body and head and arms, and something very feminine. In Spectre I thought she projected well and seemed like a very strong actress to boot. In Paquita Pas de Trois I thought Ernest Latypov was a standout for beautifully clean and impressive technique, easy elevation, nice lines and a boyishly modest stage presence. His variation was flawless and elegant. If he had been more "showy" in his manner he may have had more response from the audience. For me it was the most memorable male dancing of the evening. He seems like one to watch. Kondaurova was regal in Paquita, and really uses her epaulement and neck and head. It was my first time seeing Yermakov. He had some great jumps and a certain energy and attack that was missing elsewhere in the evening. Kristina Shapran was exquisite in her Paquita variation. She uses her arms and head and eyes, and the music, and really had a glow in this one. There were some promising-looking soloists in Paquita whom I had not seen before. One is a blonde, maybe it is Asaben? Thursday: I had never seen Oxana Skorik before and The Swan is so brief and special that it's a tricky piece from which to know a dancer. She has beautiful lines and a supple back, but I wasn't really moved. Maybe I was not receptive enough. The corps seemed better in Paquita than it had been the night before when the spacings were a bit messy. Anastasia Matvienko is a technical force and it's great to see her strength and to watch her do it all. She did single fouettes but they were fast and secure and she finished well with a double. She had a rather business-like way about her and was technically impressive with pleasing lines, and dynamic, but I would say she was proud, rather than charismatic. Maybe I need to see her in something else. The Pas de Trois was good. Vasily Tkachenko had some nice elevation and was strong and handled the variation very nicely. He seemed on top of it all, capable and buoyant. Selina and Batoeva were both good. These three worked well together and the variation was a little more "fun" than the night before. In general I wasn't really wowed by anything on this visit. My lasting impressions are probably Latypov for the promise he shows, and Selina for her consistently lovely dancing and the ability it seems she has an actress, and Shapran for her glow in Paquita. I forgot to mention: In Thursday's Paquita, Anastasia Matvienko did the jumping grand jetes variation in addition to her role as female lead. She didn't change costume, just did the jumping variation in her regal tutu and crown. She also did the variation the night before when Kondaurova was Paquita lead.
  11. Am also looking forward to reading reviews!
  12. I saw last night's performance with Somova and Shklyarov and also the afternoon rehearsal with Kolegova and Zyuzin. Had not seen Somova dance in the last three years. She's developed artistically. Her Odette was elegant and emotional, and very detailed. Many individual moments where she used everything-- arms, head, eyes and tempo--to express Odette. She has more control of her flexibilty, and made use of it with some exquisitely felt attitudes and a really perfect yearning stretch of upper body. I don't know if it was always there, but she has a glamorous stage presence and I noticed it last night. She has that glow about her. Opening night of a tour is difficult. She had great energy and attack, but sometimes, as Odile, it looked a bit out of control. The fouettes were fast and became somewhat wild-looking, and with an incompletely stretched working leg after the first few singles and doubles (the Russian a la seconde style can be awkward) and, some of Odile's attitude turns were too fast and "spinny" and instead of clearly stopping, she just took the energy from the fast turn straight into the next moment, so your eye picks up that something is wrong and finessed, rather than mastered. It broke the integrity of the variation for a moment or two. Maybe by Friday things will settle. She had a striking balance in a very high split a la seconde developpe in the pas de deux, but a member of the audience emitted an exclamation ("ooooohhhh!") while it was still being held (I think), so perhaps we missed an extra-long balance. She had some gorgeous gleaming Odile moments, but I did more especially like her Odette. Along with others here, I also notice the turned-in passe in the pique turns. But in fact many of the Russian dancers in various companies do the same. It's as if for a moment they stop being classically-trained dancers, and step up on their pointes and spin around on one leg for fun. It's eccentric, and you get used to it as part of the deal, along with the sometimes thudding landings which last night made the corps at times sound like a herd. Shklyarov is pleasant-looking on stage and has beautiful lines, but he seemed a bit "not quite on" last night. The jumps were nice, but the turns were forced and his performance seemed a bit vague and far away. I remember him running a lot, and some elegant arabesques, and some good jumps, but he never really danced. A wonderful performer having an off night maybe. In any case, I did muse on what a great partner last night's von Rothbart might be for Somova. In the Spanish variation both girls were good, particularly the blonde (on right). I don't know these dancers' names, alas. As one of the two swans, Gonchar had some beautifully smooth and lyrical moments, especially on the diagonal. The jester was, for me, a joy to watch. He has good lines and nice feet, and his dancing had an ease and elasticity to it, with beautiful jumps and no jarring landings nor forced turns. He also had a perfectly mischievous stage presence. He was playful and naturally virtuosic, rather than determinedly showy. I remember some particularly high beautiful tours in cleanly-placed passe. In the afternoon I saw Kolegova and Szusin rehearse. It always seems slightly unfair to comment much on reheasals, as dancers may be marking and you don't really know how they will look when they actually perform the role. Kolegova has a pretty face framed with dark hair, like a Disney fairy-tale beauty. She seemed to have a very solid and attractive technique, soft Odette arms and nice lines. I really admired her technique and quiet strength and control. In rehearsal (in performance who knows) she seemed aloof and introverted, but not necessarily in a way that expresses Odette. But she was nice to just watch for awhile. After a few minutes my attention strayed to corps members and I noticed some talented young dancers, which is always reassuring. All in all it was a good experience yesterday. I do wish I had waited until later in the run. I laugh as I remember that opening night was in past years usually eventful in silly ways, with dropped chalices, small slippery stumbles in variations, and late entrances. It never really bothered me as long as there was good dancing anyway. But as Somova seems to have grown so much, I wish I had seen her later in the run, on the chance that after opening night she may settle down and really show the extent of her development.
  13. Thank you for the info Carbro. (I suppose I should get to work on the 10 "substantive" posts...)
  14. Hi, I m new here, and so interested to read all your posts and opinions (many different opinions!). Am writing because am wondering if anyone has a ticket they might be selling for the Mariinsky Swan Lake open rehearsal, January 28th at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. It seems it's all sold out, but if someone finds they have a ticket they won't be using, would be delighted to buy it, even last minute could work. Thank you, and look forward to visiting this site to read the posts about Swan Lake!
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