sasark

hi ABT Fan and AlbanyGirl. Thanks so much for your responses! To answer your question, the company is/was the Ballet of the National Theater of Brno, in the Czech Republic, which is where I live. I saw one performance last night, and I will return to see a different cast on Saturday. AlbanyGirl, I'd love to see your comments whenever you have time! ABT Fan, your last comment is so on the money in regard to my Odette/Odile from last night. The ballerina, a visiting soloist from the Eifman Ballet in St. Petersburg (Svetlana Bjednenko), was not compelling as Odette, at least not to me. But her Odile -- wow! From the minute she appeared, I could see this was her part. That is why it was so unfortunate when she had some troubles with the fouettes... First of all, she did travel. But that was a small thing. About two-thirds of the way through the sequence, she faltered significantly enough that I was afraid she was going to fall. Someone earlier in Act III *did* fall, so who knows -- maybe that was on her mind. Anyway, when she faltered, I could hear people all around me sucking in their breath. She kept going, thank god, more or less until the point at which I think the music says you're supposed to stop. But it did seem that she ended the fouettes a few beats early, and a little clumsily. It really was too bad, because as I said, up until then, she was a beguiling Odile. But, as you say, it's not enough to do just one part, and I think her Odette needs a lot of work. It seemed very one-note to me. She came across as martyr-like and not much else. So that was the big downside. It might sound like a big downside, but in general I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the production. Brno is not a very big city, so I wasn't sure what to expect. But in general, I thought the standard seemed high, and I'm looking forward to seeing a different ballerina in a few days. By the way, the little swans were great. Thanks for letting me know which they were. I'd heard to look out for little swans but never would have guessed that that's who they were! Sasha

Thank you all!

I'm going to see a production of "Swan Lake" tomorrow and have a newbie question. Apart from the 32 fouettes, what do you think are the most important sequences, from a technical perspective? On a more general note, what qualities characterize your favorite productions of this work? And in the other direction, what shortcomings can ruin it for you? thanks a lot, Sasha

sandik -- no, rest assured, I didn't mean that at all! The Bluebird, who was portrayed by Mihael Sosnovschi, was perfectly good. I just remembered Florine more. And it wasn't until I came back home and re-read this thread, with the cast list in hand, that I realized the ballerina was the same one already recommended here. noamokiage -- thanks for your kind words, and for the information! I hope no one was seriously injured. And yes, I'd like very much to see Hashimoto again -- she was lovely.

OK, I have been to Vienna and am back satisfied. : ) First I must complain (slightly, in a good-humored way) that this is the second time I have bought a Vienna ballet ticket for a show where Olga Esina was the only lead ballerina listed, and the second time I was disappointed with a casting change seemingly kept secret until performance night. Grrr... But that is a minor gripe, as I enjoyed the show immensely and, when it ended, found myself wishing I could see it again. Before I go on, I'll mention that in preparation, I watched full-length YouTubes of the Sergeyev and Nureyev versions, plus shorter clips of the Peter Wright choreography (I couldn't find a full version online). I also watched a few interviews with ballerinas who have danced the role. So I didn't have another live version to compare it to, but I had a general understanding of the story and the classic parts of the choreography. So, here are my impressions: The lead ballerina was Nina Poláková, a Slovakian "first soloist" making her debut as Aurora that night. (Or possibly her debut in the role in Vienna? It's hard to say, as most of the program was German-only). Of course, I was nervous to see how she'd do. But for the most part, the worries were needless. The performance wasn't perfect, but I thought she did a nice job. First, I'll list a few little downsides: During the Rose Adagio, she never got her right hand all the way up. In fact, I don't think she got it even halfway up. On the other hand, perhaps it's better to do what she did rather than raise your hand all the way up and then frantically jerk it down. Also, to her credit, she didn't exude nervousness or self-consciousness during this sequence (or if she did, I couldn't tell from the ninth row). Another slight flaw: a few times when her foot was in passé position, it appeared to me to be slightly over-crossed, which I found distracting, though she was not the only ballerina in the show to do that. And most of the time she had it placed properly. Lastly -- and this is more of a comment about Poláková and her prince together -- but they did not seem 100% at ease with each other (to my eye). The prince, portrayed by a Ukrainian dancer, Denys Cherevychko, had a lot of good qualities, as did she, but several times it appeared something was off between them. Once her hand appeared to be searching for him and not quite finding him. Another time, he held her wrist in what looked to be a vice-like grip, while her arm trembled a little. They just didn't seem 100% comfortable together. Separately, I thought they both had good qualities. He struck me as a graceful, powerful jumper. He did, however, seem like he was getting a little tired toward the end of Act III. He slipped slightly coming out of the pirouette of his wedding solo, and his extension during the following coupé jetés was pretty modest. But aside from those picky details, most of what he did seemed very good. And in terms of his acting and on-stage persona, I thought he did well -- he had an air of seriousness, which seemed right for the role. As for Poláková, I thought her best moments were the solo that follows the Rose Adagio, and her wedding solo. In particular, I remember thinking her piqués en arabesque were quite pretty, and her port de bras throughout the show was beautiful. Additionally, she has an easy, natural stage presence. She came across as someone who is as happy as I think Aurora is supposed to be. Of the supporting dancers, there was one fairy I liked quite a bit, but unfortunately I cannot tell you who she was because the program didn't indicate the order of the fairies' solos, and I couldn't match the look of each solo to the character, a challenge made more difficult by my inability to translate the names of the fairies or remember all six qualities that they represent. I thought all of the wedding dances were strong. Since naomikage mentioned Kiyoka Hashimoto, I should report that she portrayed Florine elegantly, with precise, detailed movements. At the end of their last pas de deux, she did a small quick motion with her hands -- a little flourish -- to match a tiny detail in the music, which I thought was a nice touch. Other highlights of the show were the sumptuous sets and costumes, which I am guessing were the work of Philip Prowse, whom the program credits for "bühne und kostüme." From the moment the curtain went up, I thought "wow!" The initial sets were all dusty red with gold accents, as were the dresses of the ladies of the court (the mimes). These dresses had high, stiff bodices and sleeves fitted to the elbow, where they then fell to the floor in a fabulous lacy cascade. But my favorite dresses were those worn by the court ladies at Aurora's wedding. These were a deep, gleaming gold, with pinkish-peach accents, made all the more dramatic by the enormous bustles. They looked inspired and very expensive. The designer wasn't restricted to glamorous dresses -- other standouts were the costumes worn by Carabosse's henchmen. With oversized black-and-purple jackets, and expressionless, porcelain-like face masks, this look was somewhere between Prince and Tim Burton. With all that great vision, I couldn't help but wonder why Aurora didn't have better dresses, but fortunately, her dancing kept you from thinking too much about it! I am not a musician, but Tchaikovsky's wonderful score sounded perfect to me as performed by the Staatsoper Orchestra. So all in all, it was a great show. Now I am hoping to see the Czech National Ballet perform their take on SB next month. They'll be staging a version by Mexican choreographer Javier Torres.

I know that this thread has been dormant for a while, but I'm hoping to revive it with a few new questions... Can anyone identify the name of the turn/leap Roberto Bolle does between 2:16:38 and 2:16:45 in the following video? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9gIDiUSdug Also... during a pirouette or pique turn, if the dancer's toe (of the raised leg) crosses the knee of the standing leg, is that poor technique -- or artistic choice? For example, in the following video, you can see the "crossover" at approximately 45:37. It looked odd to me, but I'm not really sure. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-a4HjwuuEs thanks a lot! Sasha

NPR had an interesting piece on Gergiev yesterday, focusing on his relationship with Putin, his management style, and a few controversies: http://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/2014/02/03/271168650/valery-gergiev-the-powerful-and-polarizing-maestro

Thank you all so much for the tips! I really appreciate it. And I will definitely report back on the performance. My ballet knowledge is not as advanced as that of many of you (or most of you!), but I'll share my impressions. thanks again, Sasha

Since there are not many posts in this subforum, I think my question is a long shot, but -- is anyone planning to attend the Vienna Opera Ballet's "Sleeping Beauty," which runs from Feb. 17 through March 5? I will be there on Feb. 17 and thought it might be fun to meet with another member of this forum to discuss the performance, if anyone is attending. I'll be leaving Vienna the following day (the 18th) so it would work out only if you are attending at the beginning of the run, as I am (though if you are attending later, I'd still be curious to hear your thoughts, either as a response to this thread or as a PM). Even if you are not planning to attend, if you have some familiarity with this ballet (I have never seen it), or this company, I would welcome any suggestions of things I should look for. The cast includes Olga Esina and Vladimir Shishov. I have not seen either, but I have been reading with interest reviews of Esina on this site. Again, I'd welcome any insights or pre-show suggestions. thanks, Sasha

Thanks so much everyone for the welcome! carbro, to answer your Swan Lake question, the male lead in the was someone named Ulvi Azizov. I actually did not care for his performance so much. I don't recall having any technical complaints, but I remember thinking his interpretation was a bit hammy. The ballerina, though -- wow! Her name is Alina Nanu. I have not seen her discussed on this board (or anywhere much), so maybe she's not a big ballet star, but I left the theater feeling like I'd just seen something really special. Everything she did was just absolutely gorgeous. And more than that, she told a story. I'm referring to her Odette with those comments, but her Odile was also exhilarating. I can't recall ever having left a ballet and thinking that one dancer stood out so much from everyone else. kbarber, thanks for the Dresden tip! California, I live in Brno. I looked into going in Bratislava last year, but I got frustrated with their web site. It sounds like it might be worth another try, though. Maybe next time I'll just have one of my Slovak colleagues call them for me. Sasha

Hi there. I am a midtier balletphile who is very excited to have found this site. I intend to see a lot of ballet this year and am eager to benefit from the wisdom of this forum! As a student, my past is a bit checkered: I studied off and on starting at the age of 7 and continuing through the current day, though always with much-too-long breaks. So I have never been on pointe and am not advanced (at all...), but especially in the past few years I have really enjoyed it (especially at the wonderful Dance Complex in Cambridge, Mass -- sorry, just a little plug!). Last year, my work brought me from Boston to the Czech Republic and I have not found a class taught in English here, so I'm currently relegated to solitary barre exercises in my apartment. I realize that's probably bad for a number of reasons, but it's better than nothing. As a balletgoer, prior to my relocation, I hadn't seen much outside the Boston Ballet and a few other local companies. Now I am really broadening my horizons. Right after arriving here, I saw an amazing Odette/Odile in Prague, along with some other works in Vienna and Budapest that I wasn't as crazy about. In a few weeks, I'm heading off to see Olga Esina as Aurora, and in the summer, I'm hoping to see the Paris Opera Ballet perform The Crystal Palace. I will also visit Russia later this year. I'm not fluent in the language of ballet criticism, so I'm eager to begin soaking up some knowledge so I can report back properly! Sasha