leonid17

I forgot to mention that the ballet was based on Carlo Goldoni’s comedy, “The Servant of Two Masters.” and was first performed on the 23.03.1946 at Leningrad’s Maly Theatre with an extraordinary cast of notable dancers. It was later staged by the Estonia Ballet in 1954 with Fenster's choreography and apparently was last revived in 1962 by the Vilnius ballet company with choreography by Bronius Kelbauskas.

The title of the ballet in question has received number of translations. “The Imaginary Fiancée! with Music by Mikhail Ivanovich Chulaki was staged by Boris Fenster and designed by Tatyana Bruni for the Maly (Mikhailovskii) Theatre in 1946. It is doubtful that the music was ever recorded or the ballet filmed. Chulaki wrote the scores for four films and he cobbled together the scores for “The Stone Flower”, and “Ivan the Terrible” both staged by Yuri Grigorovich. There is only a recording of his Symphony No 2 available as far as I know. I rmember Mr Chulaki from his visits to London in the 1960;s when he was Director of the Bolshoi Theatre. See two sketches from”The False Groom” at http://visualrian.com/images?text=Mikhail+...p;section=photo

I have always thought that, “Dances at a Gathering” should be treated as a piece d'occasion not a repertory work as it needs great personalities involved to make it work. From October 1970 when Mr Robbins first staged the work, I can remember the atmosphere of anticipation before the curtain rose at the Royal Opera House and the tumultuous applause at the end of its performance. The interplay between the dancers was a joy. The sheer physicality, the romantic subtleties, the comedy all brought together with the absolute commitment achieving a quality of performance in a single act work from the RB that I had only associated with performances of Ashton ballets. Laura Connor, Ann Jenner, Monica Mason, Lynn Seymour, Antoinette Sibley, Michael Coleman, Johnathan Kelly, Rudolf Nureyev, David Wall was not the complete cast as Anthony Twiner’s subtle and powerful pianistics was a significant part of the ballet’s tremendous London success. This cast of course met the criteria, “I think also that it needs to be cast from dancers with strong and differing personalities. “, that Aylmer expressed The RB’s last two revivals of this ballet despite some stellar casting, never really got off the ground for me but then who could reproduce the appoggiatura or acciaccatura in the choreography that Lynn Seymour, Rusolf Nureyev and the rest of the cast brought to it early performances. As Aylmer quite correctly states the choreography with the RB has been adjusted since its original staging. Did Robbins stage subtly different versions? Are The RB’s revivals of 2008 and 2009 meant to be a revival of the 1970 RB production or a reproduction of the NYC production?

From BBC Press Release The Ballet Russes In England Ep 1/2 Tuesday 23 February 11.30am-12.00 noon BBC RADIO 4 Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes is associated with its exotic Parisian premières, but the company performed in England more than anywhere else. In this short series, Jane Pritchard, Curator Of Dance at the Victoria And Albert Museum, draws on evidence from the museum's archive to show how little of Britain's dance history can be taken for granted. In the first programme, What Did Britain Do For Diaghilev?, Jane traces 20 years of the Ballets Russes in England via receipts, telegrams, costumes and letters. She explores the company's tours and how they triumphed, went bankrupt, survived rats, Spanish flu, a revolving stage, variety seasons when they danced between talented dogs and Grock the clown, and an audience which had never seen anything like it. The second programme asks, What Did Diaghilev Do For Britain? In 1929 Diaghilev was dead. How would the bereft dancers, composer and artists – and audiences – who'd gathered around the Ballets Russes in London, keep his ideals alive? From small beginnings, British and Irish ex-Diaghilev dancers went on to found our three major ballet companies. Former character dancers, like Alexander Grant, describe how the ballets were handed on by the company's Russian exiles. And dance lovers and dance makers try to get to the root of our ongoing romance with Diaghilev's Russian ballet. Presenter/Jane Pritchard, Producer/Frances Byrnes

Thank you phenby for posting even more information than we have already achieved.

Didn't a dancer a long time ago ,"That a noisy shoe is a sin."

The status of any dancer depends not on media hype, company publicity, or fans and company pleasing critics, but by the reasoned judgement of connoisseurs of academic classical ballet. As I am sure you know from your wide experience of watching ballet, because a company designates a dancer as a principal dancer, does not mean they deserve the appellation. The Kirov/Maryinsky, Bolshoi and Royal Ballet companies have too often promoted dancers to stations well above their talent and artistry and publicised them as being significant. Zakharovova is a product of a type of schooling that may seem exemplary because of her technical attainment, but her choices made in the interpretation of roles has for me and others been uneven and disappointing. Therefore one is entitled to question not only her personal status but the judgement of those that give her such a status. The days of significant interpreters of the academic classical repertoire sometimes seem to me to be past and that balance in a performance goes beyond striking and holding a pose on point, or the ability to turn or elevation, instead, it is reflected in their integrated technique informed by artistry that results in a "complete" performance rather than exciting or "beautiful" moments that Zakharova can certainly achieve

I disagree. I think a ballerina with good stagecraft, if she remains calm, can make the RA about interacting with her suitors, which is what the RA is all about. Then there's Ashley Bouder, who managed last week to combine the two in equal measure. For me the letting go of the supporting hand and the balances reflect Aurora's status and independence of choice. The balances indicate a refined time of thought in the matter. If this is the case, I think a well brought up Royal Princess would never exhibit a "teasing time" in making her judgement. Think of the audience it was created for and especially the presence of the Imperial Family. I hold a picture in my mind of the pained expression of the likes of Christian Johannson and Evgenia Sokolova must have has as Carlotta Brianza exhibited her physical strength and Italian training in the balances. Perhaps the Czars comment to Tchaikovsky of the ballet as "Very nice," was also a reflection of the 'homage' as being, " not quite, quite" given Brianza's tour de force style compared to the Imperial Theatres more refined style at that time. In an intergrated artistic production reflecting the ballets aesthetic, one hopes that the balances are absolutely secure and never held for more than 2 counts to maintain the flow of the music and to avoid a seemingly vulgar display of technique, which should always be disguised by artistry. However, I can well remember in my youth Dame Margot Fonteyn on occasions holding and holding the balances and I cheered with the rest of he audience.

Curious question: When did you see him live on stage last time? Best regards from Berlin... I have not seen Vladimir Malakhov for some years now, but I know he is still dancing leading roles in Berlin (Siegfried this month and later the role of Ahmed in his production of La Peri to Burgmullers music). He is 42 years of age now and has been a complete artist in many leading roles and as well as Premier danseur he is the Artistic Director of the Staatsballett Berlin. Nina Alovert wrote of him," The dancing of a great artist is like the singing or playing of a great musician. Vladimir Malakhov, the new guest star at American Ballet Theatre, belongs to this rare group of dancers. His artistry is more than just a matter of the good dancer's natural qualities: pliant muscles, high insteps, a soft plie, ballon, and elevation. With Malakhov there are also such special qualities as the flexibility of his back and the beauty of his lines, poses, and hands." Dance Magazine August 1995. In my opinion Mr Malakhov never needed the manufacturing of the "celebrity" press treatment that made other dancers more famous than they deserved especially when they never really became artists of the dance.

It offends me because the title was never applied to a number of much greater greater artists of the Kirov/Maryinsky ballet or indeed the Bolshoi Ballet. Of course there are moments in Zakharova performances that one cannot help but recognise her physical/technical achievements. However it is my experience that Zakharova attracts fans and not balletomanes.

Ouch! I do however concur with Mashinka's opinion.

Thank you phenby for posting such extensive information on the Danmuseet exhibition. I am astounded at the number of costumes being displayed and was pleased to read your impressions of the quality of the catalogue. Although 1909 has been and gone, the exhibitions continue to enable different countries to see the various loans. Later this year as earlier posted, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London will have a chance to mark the celebration. If they can in any way match the Dansmuseet exhibition, it really will be something to look forward to.

Thank Robert you for posting such a long acknowledgement of Margaret Dale's work. I first met her in 1968 in Varna where we were both attending the Ballet Competition she to make a film me to have an almost all day all night balletfest with dancers rehearsing into the early morning. We spoke often during the two weeks spent there and she was gracious enough to interview me for the film which was shown on BBC television. Margaret had a perceptive view of the ballet scene as one might expect given her broad experience. We met occasionally at performances at the Royal Opera House and elsewhere over the years and she was always very warm and encouraging. I last saw her a just over two years ago at the National Film Theatre when they held a marvellous tribute season of her work. She was frail but lively in speech and manner and her eyes shone brightly as we reminisced. Her contribution to ballet in England cannot be under-estimated and I am sure everyone who ever met her will be truly saddened at the loss of an extraordinary talented and a very nice person. For a description of the NFT Tribute see: http://www.dancebooks.co.uk/sdr-uk/eventDi....asp?eventID=51

I have only ever read Catcher in the Rye of Mr Salinger's oeuvre but his name has always had a worldwide resonance. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8dca4262-0c75-11...144feabdc0.html http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/o...icle7007023.ece http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/culture/olive...-the-avalanche/ http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/20...ve_author_dies/

I heard Mr. Wild in London and although not a favourite pianist of mine, his playing of certain pieces always had a sense of miraculoulous achievement. See http://www.earlwild.com/home.html

You may be right. I have searched Russian and Ukrainian records and world wide and the only use of the name Serdkin I have found so far is that given to Lifar whilst the Ukrainian name Lifarenko remains extant. Is it possible that Lifar gave Marie-Françoise Christout a false name to protect his family in soviet Russia? Is this distinguished lady of letters, still with us?

I have not found other films of Spessivtseva and the one we have was filmed on a small stage wih a shoestring budget. The credits read:" Filmed at the Savoy Theatre in June 1932" Spessivtseva was 37 years of age at the time and the ballet was staged by SERGEYEV, Nicholas with production by the Camargo Ballet Society. The cast makes interesting reading:- Giselle SPESSIVTSEVA, Olga, Albrecht, DOLIN, Anton, Berthe STEWART, Marjorie, Hilarion ASHTON, Frederick.On-screen participant LESTER, Keith, On-screen Participant RAMBERT, Marie, On-screen Participant SNELL, Herman B, On-screen Participant HAYES, Helen. Walter and Pearl Duff were responsible for the filming and directing. The was a Russian biographical film made in 1995 about Spessivtseva called The Mania of Giselle starring Galina Tyunina. Ballet interest is to be found among the rest of the cast:- Gabriella Komleva, Anna Aleksakhina, Olga Vasilyeva, Sergei Vinogradov, Alexei Gherman, Nikita Dolgushin, Mikhail Kozakov, , Andrey Kuznetsov, Anastasia Melnikova, Tatyana Moskvina, Ivan Okhlobystin

The Kiev newspaper novaya.com.ua /? / articles/2009/12/14/144128-6 carries a story of Serge Lifar’s name(as Lifarenko) and lends some credence with a note about him visiting his parent’s grave in Kiev when attending Moscow Ballet Competition. In appendix A of the Grigoriev Papers held by the Library of Congress, They list names associated with the Serge Grigoriev/Ballets Russes Archive (Where appropriate, full and correct original names, if known appear in parenthesis.) The dancer/choreographer in question is shown as: Lifar, Serge (Sergei Mkhailovich Serdkin) The Cambridge Encyclopedia says, "Serge Lifar (Ukrainian: Сергій Михайлович Лифар, Serhiy Mykhaylovych Lyfar) Who is right?

It certainly is a mystery. I watched the film this morning and have watched it again this evening some eight or nine times. I thought at first the Columbine was Lydia Lopukhova with her Humming Bird nose but she was of course some 3000 odd miles away at this period of time. The Diaghilev Ballet was in at the Theatre des Champs Elysees in June 1913 but Fokine had left the company by then. Are they dancing on a roof or in a garden? When I return to my home I will check further as I am more than intrigued.

Check out. http://www.belairclassiques.com/spip.php?p...ro&langue=1

Jean Simmons was one of the actresses of my childhood and teenage that I adored. She was lost to the world of dance having been discovered by a film director at the Ada Foster Dance School where she had started training two weeks earlier. After her first film Give us the Moon(1943), she did however complete her dance training and obtained a teachers licence at the age of sixteen. Her performance in The Way to the Stars (1945) caught the attention of producer Gabriel Pascal who launched the careers in films of Vivien Leigh and Deborah Kerr. Pascal was to offer her a long-contract with the J. Arthur Rank Studio, though only 16 she accepted. Miss Simmons appeared with many of the famous film stars of the 1950’s and 60’s, but it was in our tiny local cinema that showed old films where often sitting alone in the front row head back looking up at the screen that I can still see myself and the black and white images of her that captured my imagination and my heart.

Thank you cygnet. Amazing news. What have the Royal lost?

I find this tribute to be an extraordinary act of sincere regret and am deeply moved by it. Thank you for posting Dale.

Source: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Xander-Parish-Fans/20591072899 Former First Soloist Mikhail Lobhukin has joined the Bolshoi Ballet as a Principal Dancer effective Jan 1, 2010. Congratulations to him! The Maryinsky and ROH sites haven't updated this information, but the Bolshoi site has done so. http://www.bolshoi.ru/en/theatre/ballet_troupe/soloists/ Hi Cygnet, I posted yesterday afternoon (In Dancers) about Xander Parish's extraordinary move to the Maryinsky together with a link to photographs of him and brief comments about his arrival in St.Petersburg. Thanks for the Lobhukin information.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Xander-Paris...ns/205910728999 Scroll down to see his comments. ADDED: Recent mention of Xander Parish by Clement Crisp. “I must also mention the appearance of Xander Parish as the Lilac Fairy’s cavalier, not a role about which much is said, but Parish’s elegant line and his eloquent feet merit a laurel or two, and many more, I hope, in future.” http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/ba984d6e-d2a2-11...144feabdc0.html