leonid17

As ever, I respect your informed opinion and am glad to read your more up to date appreciation of Osipova's performances than mine of two years ago.

Not a big fan of Osipova's, are you now? That's OK. Chacun a son gout, as they say. Hopefully, when the Bolshoi does revive Esmeralda all the deserving ballerinas will be given a chance to perform in it. It is obvious Osipova has been extremely dedicated to achieving the level of execution of ballet steps that she has and can forcefully express joy. What I personally feel is lacking in her stage work is an understanding that controlled perfection of execution is to be aimed for as it reveals a dancer as more of an artist if they perform two perfect pirouettes than if they attempt four or six and in the process lose the line and a clean finish. Even at speed multiple pirouettes extend the musical phrase which is not an aesthetic pleasure. In the end blame should go either to the dancer, their coach or the company director. Someone has to take the blame when I am spending £80 or £90 for a seat and I am not really enjoying what I am watching. Academic classical ballet is an art form and the whole process of training is to achieve a smooth execution of the choreography in which either dramatic or musical portrayal is achieved without technical execution spoiling either the line of the music, the choreographic line, the correct steps or the dramatic portrayal. Technique is always the means to an end and not just the end result to be displayed to the public for cheap applause. Academic classical ballet is a sophisticated genre which at its best is a high-art form and that is why it is generally performed in an Opera House and not a stadium. I have never been a fan (short for fanatic) of any dancer, but I have been an devotee of the genre and an admirer of those that excel in their calling. I was probably less serious in my approach to ballet when I was younger but then I studied the technique and continue almost daily to learn more of the history because it is knowledge of the history that has fully enabled me to really see and begin to understand the art form. You were right I am "not a big fan..." of anyone. I especially liked the sentiment expressed when you said, " Hopefully, when the Bolshoi does revive Esmeralda all the deserving ballerinas will be given a chance to perform in it." and on that I entirely agree with you.

I would suggest that Alexandrova, Lunkina and Antonicheva are likely to prove to be superior interpretative artists and if allowed so might Gracheva. I would not include Zakharova as she does in my opinion turn a performance far too much to her personal approach and far to far away from the aesthetics of a role. You say, "Just to see what she was capable of while still a student please take a couple of minute to view her Esmeralda variation performed at the tender age of 17." It is a long time since I have seen such vulgarity of execution in one so young and it very sad to think that she was encouraged to perform the variations at such speed and over emphasis of the choreography to show physical rather than artistic prowess. As such it became a cabaret act with poor line, untidy finishing to enchainements etc. all at the expense of trying to jump higher, turn more and throw her leg into positions that should not exist in 19th century choreography even when performed in the 21st century. At 21 Osipova was a much better dancer but still the obsession to push the technique beyond good taste was at times in evidence. Did I enjoy her Kitri? Yes! Did I admire it? Not really.

"At least three dancers"? And at the Bolshoi, who might they be? A couple years ago I might have agreed but since then Osipova has expanded her repertoire and range. Also, historically, this role was hogged by Mathilde Kschessinskaya, who considered it hers and hers alone. It wasn't until she fled Russia that any other ballerina even had a shot at Esmeralda. Kschessinskaya, I might add, was criticized throughout her life for being rather limited in her emotional range, despite her technical brilliance. That being said, I think the Bolshoi is so loaded with talented ballerinas that many of them might succeed in the revival. Of course you are quite right about Kschessinskaya hogging the role of "La Esmeralda" but she was noted for her performance in this role. After all there is no point in being Prima Ballerina Assoluta without respect for the status and exhibition of that status. Ksessinskaya made envious enemies from within the ballet world and among those critics whom she neither deigned to talk to or entertain, the Imperial courtiers because of her earlier relationships with the Tsar and her ability to use influence to get what she wanted. The Maryinsky administration who were little above curs snapping at her heel and of course the noble balletomanes to whose parties she did not go. Such behaviour was experience under the soviet regime although of course, they did not use the decadent description of Prima Ballerina Assoluta although both Ulanova and Plisetskaya have been described as such in print as I believe was Natalia Dudinskaya who undoubtedly did assume a status wherin she was able to control the performance of certain roles whilst her husband was director of the Kirov to the detriment of the careers of certain dancers. I concur with your opinion, " That being said, I think the Bolshoi is so loaded with talented ballerinas that many of them might succeed in the revival.

Esmeralda being of course a perfect part for Osipova, this is great, great news for all her fans around the world With respect, at the Imperial Maryinsky Theatre from where the new production of Esmeralda will originate, the leading role was historically always the perogative of a distinguished premier danseuse. Osipova is a charming, exhuberant, talented demi-caractere soloist dancer who acquitted herself well as Kitri in London without generally effacing the memory of great performers of this role. I would think that there are at least three dancers ahead of her in artistic stature for casting in this difficult role. If you can watch either Komleva, Yevteyeva or Asylmuratova in the pas de deux from "Esmeralda" you will know it requires a dancer of great stature to pull off even this brief extract.

Jacques George Clemenceau Le Clercq, American Poet and Translator(1898 – 19720) wrote poetry under the name of Paul Tanaquil. If you check out Amazon there are two books of poems of his available and if you don’t mind downloading a whole book of poems, you can at http://www.archive.org/stream/attitudes00l...dlrich_djvu.txt

She often looked exceptional pale and with dark circles under her eyes and was quite an introverted person dedicated to her art and when younger restricted by her mother in any social life. I very much like your bringing in in the descriptive analogy with Maria Taglioni who also travelled a great deal to dance with many companies. I am taking the advantage of your questions to add a brief biography of Eva. Eva Evdokimova was the first American to win an international ballet competition( Varna 1970) and the first American winner of the 2005 Ulanova Prize in Moscow for selfless dedication to the art of ballet. Eva Evdokimova a US Citizen, was born in Switzerland on December 1, 1948 was of mixed American and Bulgarian parentage. Her mother worked for the U.N., and her father, a journalist, was a stateless refugee. Her early childhood was spent in Munich where she first studied ballet. She later come to London and studied at the Royal Ballet School. At the age of 17 she joined the Royal Danish Ballet (where she was a pupil of Vera Volkova to whom she gave great credit for her abilities) dancing in the corps de ballet then in 1969 she joined Berlin Ballet as a soloist and became a principal of that company with the title of Prima Ballerina during the period from 1973 - 1985. Despite her height, Rudolf Nureyev chose her to be his partner on many occasions for more than a decade. Over the years Eva acquired an enormous repertoire covering the Romantic and 19th century Russian classics and appeared in many 20th century classics. She appeared as a guest star with the Munich Ballet, both ABT and the National Ballet of Canada and many other companies. I remember an enthusiastic review by Jack Anderson in 1983, when she appeared in New York with Nureyev and the Boston Ballet as Kitri in Don Quixote. Eva retired from dancing in 1990 variously teaching and staging ballets thereafter. and was a judge at international ballet competitons.

In Memory of Eva Evdokimova Often in watching ballet, we can find resonance with a spiritual experience. Great art can do this. Spirituality exists not to simply bring comfort. Spirituality provides the purpose for each step we have to take to build to our unified whole. Great ballet dancers know this and accept the experience of struggle to take part in a higher artistic expression. Leonid 04.04.2009 London

This saddens me greatly as I first got to know Evie and her mother quite closely over a two week period in 1968 at the Varna International Ballet Competition. This extraordinary shy and rather fey young girl was to become an outstanding technician and a wonderful Giselle and as La Sylphide. I ran into her and her mother all over Europe and loved the period that she spent with Festival Ballet in London where I saw her perform on many occasions. I am finding it difficult to believe she has passed from this life as I had heard many admiring remarks regarding her teaching in America where she settled after her sojourn in Europe. Evie danced with many famous partners and had a wide and successful repertoire. To me she never changed from that shy teenager I first met over 40 years ago. To sad and too soon to have think only of her in memories.

Celebrations in St. Petersburg, Russia Programme of the international festival "Diaghilev P.S." Saint Petersburg 12-19 October 2009 12 October, Mnd Alexandrinsky Theatre Opening of the Festival. John Neumeier´s Gala Tribute to Diaghilev Hamburg Ballet Company Vaslaw – Nijinsky – Le Sacre. 13 October, Tue Great Philharmonic Hall Opera Gala Tribute to Diaghilev Conductor Alexander Titov. State Academic Symphony Orchestra of St Petersburg. 14 October, Wed State Russian Museum Opening of the Exhibition Diaghilev. The Beginning. 15 October, Thu State Hermitage Opening of the Exhibition Dance. Homage to Diaghilev. 16 October, Fri State Hermitage Russian Ballet Academy Performance at the Hermitage theatre. 17 October, Sat State Museum of Ethnography Opening of the Exhibition Silver Age in Gold Gala Dinner and Ball Jewels in Ballet. 18 October, Sun The Sheremetev Palace "Imperial Collection" Concert of young soloists playing unique musical instruments 19 October, Mon Alexandrinsky Theatre Closing of the Festival Ballet Gala featuring International Stars including performance by the Bolshoi theatre of Russia Further information at http://www.theatremuseum.ru/eng/diagilev/programm.html

Ed Yong starts his blog by saying, “Classical ballet is one of the more conservative of art forms.” without reference to the type of classical ballet he is referring to. He then goes on to say, “Classical ballet is one of the more conservative of art forms. Dancers express emotion and character through the same vocabulary of postures that was originally set in 1760, and often with entire choreographies that have been handed down for centuries.” If he is talking about the basic “five positions” in ballet, they are credited to Pierre Beauchamps, who died in1705. There are a number of ways to approaching the aesthetics of academic classical ballet tradition and among them is the reasoning that a harmonic relationship of the body shape and movement should always be present and is fixed by academic standards. Changes both in training and performing have taken place within curricula and demands outside and secondary to the academic school rules have taken place. C choreographers and Director of the 20th and 21st centuries have made performance demands of dancers which go beyond the aesthetic execution of the academic classical ballet vocabulary. The academic classical ballet of the Imperial Ballet of St.Petersburg is where the tradition made its last major changes to establish a worldwide method and practice is for all intents and purposes the new fount of all training and balletic tradition inherited from earlier forms. Academic classical ballet clearly has a set of aesthetic standards which should always be maintained in the Imperial Russian repertoire of the late 19th century and for some works of the 20th century. The angle height of an extended leg in any direction or in arabesque should never go beyond either ten to or ten past six o’clock for the simple reason the leg line breaks the accepted academic and harmonic relationship of the body that is aesthetically pleasing and historically accurate. ]Dancers in the past could achieve high extensions, but they were never to be encouraged upon the stage for aesthetic reasons and propriety. For me not all dancers can achieve a harmonious shape in a high extended pose even if they can achieve it physically and in this case the company director should step in and say not on my watch. Ed Yong states, “Almost more importantly, they show that the usually unquantifiable world of artistic expression can be studied with a scientific lens. In this case, the formal nature of classical ballet gave Daprati a rare opportunity to do so. Body postures could be objectively analysed, movements are standardised enough to allow for easy comparisons, and most of all, performances have been carefully archived for decades. That provided Daprati's group with more than enough raw material for studying the evolution of ballet postures over time.” You cannot examine single aspects of a “posture” outside the contextual choreographic phrases or the total characterisation in a ballet. It simply has no value in terms of an aesthetic balletic experience which comes through the whole of the phrasing of a variation or a pas de deux and more importantly the characterization of the role. To support her audience assumptions, Daprati’s sample she uses, negates her study when we find that, “For both types of images, she found that 12 recruits with hardly any experience of ballet were more likely to prefer those taken from more recent years, than those hailing from the post-war period. “ This is an atypical sample of people who go to ballet. I find Daprati’s methodology and analysis indicates to me both a naivete and a simplistic view of what 20th century audiences wanted as you cannot talk about a London ballet audiences as being a single group when it is made up of some six or more disparate groups including a fairly large conservative group who attend 20 to 100 times more often than other members of Royal Opera House audiences. If there is a correlation between extremes in ballet and social pressures I think she has failed. The most regular of the ballet audiences remain I believe above the appeal of the cheap and the vulgar in academic classical ballet yet will accept the extremes of such execution in modern works. Ray is quite right to state, “The story doesn't take into account the influence of tastes and standards w/in ballet communities themselves that tend, I would assert (anecdotally, of course), towards exacerbating these changes. And of course it doesn't consider differences in national schools, or the post-Soviet influx of Russian bodies and training into the international pool.”

"Interestingly the epaulement appeared weak - one soloist just didn't seem to know what to do with her arms in her variation & had a certain unintentional 'flappiness' about them. "

I remember Veronika Part having impressed me some years ago as Queen of the Dryads and the Lilac Fairy among other roles. I have read how she divides both critics and ballettalkers as to her abilities and performance consistency. I must say I was also somewhat disappointed with her when she came with ABT to Sadler’s Wells Theatre two years ago but that was, generally a misbegotten venture by the company which did nothing for its prestige in London at that time. I had read about Mr McKenzie’s “Swan Lake” production in the past and also the reviews of the current run in London. On the whole it would appear that I chose the right cast although perhaps I would have preferred that the two leading men had changed roles. After seeing Sonnanbend’s designs for the same ballet last week and I positively loved the comparative normality of Zack Brown’s costumes even if they lacked a cohesive conceptual approach. I liked Brown’s sets and thought the palace ballroom effective and a hoot as it looked like Colefax and Fowler had been let loose on a grand English stately home. The performance looked at times somewhat small scale with too few people involved in entrances and in attendance for what after all is a “Grand Ballet.” I found the Prologue a fairly brutal affair. Dramatically effective, but rather too naturalistic a portrayal of the event rather than magically sinister In Act one Marcelo Gomes as Prince Siegfried did little wrong except give the impression of being a danseur noble. In general he executed all the right steps and mimetic requirements, but I found him physically too stocky for the role of a balletic Prince. Frederick Franklin was missing as the tutor as this sprightly gentleman had another stage engagement half a mile away and Victor Barbee took the role. Georgina Parkinson played the Queen Mother for all it was worth and at her entrance, my memory recalled an image of this beautiful woman I had watched for many years with the RB including seeing her as Odette/Odile. The dances in Act one were not choreographically memorable but in the Pas de Trois of Misty Copeland, Yuriko Kajiho and Jared Mathers(Benno), were youthful and pleasing and Kajiho stood out for me. In Act II the swan costumes were fine. Rothbart was affirmatively sinister and the Prince suitably in awe, when a truly, majestic Odette/Odile, arrived on the stage in the shape of Veronika Part. Not one of the revues I have read exaggerated her abilities and portrayal. I put it this performance in my top ten of Odette Odiles I have seen. Part was flawless in the white acts and just the teeniest bit short of perfect in the black act( caused only be an unsteadiness in the last two fouettes but even then, she never for a split second stepped outside of the characterisation). As meltingly a beautiful performance of Odette as you could wish for. No vulgar extensions as if in preparation for a gynaecological examination, that have became the trademark of better known performers of this role. Part came to London and conquered the audience with consummate skill and artistry in a modern performing style albeit some distance from a Fonteyn or Beriosova. I have read negative comments about the ABT corps de ballet. On this occasion, the corps was no worse than the RB I saw last week and because of their appropriate costuming were infinitely more pleasing. The Cygnets of Gemma Bond, Sarah Lane, Renata Pavam and Jacquelyn Reyes were in my opinion superior to the RB counterparts I recently saw. The two big swans were Leann Underwood and Melanie Hamrick who appeared on a rare occasions to have to reach hard to get through the choreography, but were still very effective. The Black Act was entirely dominated by Part. Technically and dramatically assuming the doppelganger Odette, she was thrilling, but all the time, she remained within the aesthetics of academic classical ballet. Gomes partnered her extremely well and danced an attractive variation with style. The cast list said that the dancing Rothbart was Cory Stearns. He gave a performance that was villainous, gratuitously charming and dominated the male dancing in this act. In fact he was a hit even though I have never thought purple on a man looks good. I suppose the colour is kind of midway between the red of a devil and the black of a Satan and is therefore symbolic as to character of Rothbart. The Pricesses were played by: Zhong-Jing Fang - Hungarian, Jessica Saund - Spanish, Gemma Bond - Italian, Simone Messmer - Polish. Czardas was led by Elizabeth Mertz and Patrick Ogle, The Spanish by Jennifer Whalenand and Roman Zhurbin with Sarah Smithh and Alexandre Hammoudi, Neapolitan by Blaine Hoven and Grant Delong. I liked the theatricality of Odile's exit and the appearance of the tragic figure of Odette seen through an open door at the top of a flight of stairs. I resented the shortening of the last act by Mr McKenzie but the general audience at the end accepted the denouement and applauded almost rapturously with many bravos. Part, Gomez and Krauchenka all added to what is always a satisfying end to a tale where the protagonists end up in the state of eternal love and the baddy collapses in what one hopes is his death. I have given the cast as printed. Charles Barker conducted the Orchestra of English National Opera. I thought it a successful evening and I add a well-done and a thank you to the board and sponsors of ABT, Mr McKenzie, the coaching staff and all the artists.

I was at Swan Lake tonight sitting in the stalls and they appeared to be very nearly full. The boxes all the way round however, were all empty. As this is my third Swan Lake in eight days I am exhausted. I really enjoyed the performance so I will tell all (from my point of view) tomorrow.

What a memory, I failed to recognise the music. Well done. I do remember both Eva Evdokimova and Galina Samsova's extraordinary performances in this production.

As far as I know, the Sadler's Wells four act 1934 production changed little if at all until 1952 when de Valois revised the production with Ashton choreographing a pas de six to the Act I Valse and in Act III a new version of the Neapolitan Dance in Act III. In 1963 a major revision took place with added theatrical inventions by Robert Helpmann and the four acts becoming three including a Prologue, with various choreographic contributions by; Ashton, Nureyev and Maria Fay (too many details to remember and list) but including a major revision of Act four with imaginative patterning for the corps which could only really be seen to best effect from the balcony or amphitheatre. In 1965 the Royal Ballet Touring Company gave a new production going back to the atmospheric Leslie Hurry designs staged by John Field and Ashton which was performed at the Royal Opera House. In 1971 The main Royal Ballet adopted the Touring Company version but not so long after Ashtons last act was dropped and Ivanov's restored, Petipa's Pas de trois was also restored to Act I and the Ashton's Pas de quatre moved to Act III. Norman Morrice staged another production in 1979 in which I think some dances reverted to earlier amendations. 1987 Anthony Dowell production which later included Ashton's Neapolitan dance. I was interested to read Jane Simpson's comment on the film of Dame Margot and Michael Somes. The described unsupported hops were a shock to me as I had never seen them or remembered if that is the excerpt on the film which also included "The Firebird" I saw decades ago. I am not at home so cannot be exact but I hope not too far wrong as I wrote a history of Swan Lake for my own use sometime ago and know the productions well.

Paul, I can't help you there, since I haven't seen the Danilova/Balanchine version of Coppélia. Ideally we need video-recordings of both to compare the mime in detail. A very superficial comparison of the mime in Vikharev's staging and in Pierre Lacotte's for the Paris Opéra Ballet School made it seem that at least some of the mime in the French version has been updated, made to look more "contemporary", maybe by Aveline or Lacotte himself. Following the premiere in Paris in 1870 Marius Petipa created his version of the ballet for St. Petersburg in 1884. He re-choreographed the dances, yet how far he went in this is impossible to tell. Ten years later Petipa revived the work for the Mariinsky Theatre with the help of Enrico Cecchetti (when Swanilda was danced by Pierina Legnani). It's this last version which Vikharev reconstructed, but it's guesswork to distinguish the different hands. You might say this is Coppélia combining the French, Russian and Italian schools. Vikharev gives an example in his programme notes. The Thème slave varié he considers Saint Léon reworked by Petipa, while Swanilda's solo is already more Italian school. Whilst the practice of mime at the Marinsky/Kirov is fascinating,I think we have gone way off post talking about Coppelia in depth when the subject is Osmolkina in Swan Lake with the Royal Ballet. I think the aspect of mime in the Soviet era needs a post of its own. However, in the absence of recently published textual material from Russian archives I think it will be difficult to confirm mimetic practices except perhaps from autobiographies and reviews . We know that the Diaghilev Ballet Russe maintained mime in old ballets. Had it already been diluted by the time Balanchine and Danilova had graduated? What about the style of ballet acting influenced by Sergei Radlov? In 1961 Carabosse in the shape of Anatole Gridin was still brilliantly miming his head off as Carabosse or Hilarion. Mime was still being taught in the sixth year at the Vaganova academy. At what stage does stylised acting become separate from mime which in itself is stylised acting. In the mid 1950's Yacobson was criticised in Soviet Russia for using too much mime. Mime has remained in Giselle in Soviet Russia sometimes in a more diluted form than others. Precision needs to be applied in addressing this subject as the general vision we have of mime in Soviet ballet performances is much restricted not so much as to how and when it happened, but by whether it was reported, or not.

I have not only watched something in excess 250 performances of Swan Lake by various companies having different traditions, I have constantly researched the history of academic classical ballet since the mid 1960's. I have a wide range of knowledge of 'so called' history books written in some five languages which often get their facts correct, but have little understanding of performance practice in the past, or show that they know how to contextualise what facts they are re-recording. The manner, in which the Royal Ballet "Swan Lake" performed the dances in "Swan Lake" today, is quite different to the inherited style established by Nikolai Sergeyev for the Sadlers Wells which I believe I am entitled to say I have some contact. I first saw "Swan Lake" with the company in 1960, then again in 1961 and 1962 before major changes in the production were established. I also should say that I saw Royal Ballet dancers who performed in a manner that entitled them to call themselves the only inheritors of the ballet of the St.Petersburg Imperial Theatres. There is no such thing as a fully, authentic notated performance in the Sergeyev notations and I think no "interpreter" of the notations would claim so and as casting and choreography changed fairly frequently. Not only were interpolations frequent, variations, solos and groupings of classical, demi-caractere and character dances were changed according to casting and the current members of the company. There is today, a great deal of difference in performing dance material not perfectly recorded a hundred years ago in terms of; actual steps, a good number of stylistic aspects, physical attributes, the prevailing aesthetic in the performing those steps and the huge pool of different dancer types to choose from to fit the choreographer or company directors ideal. In my opinion, the Royal Ballet has betrayed their own inheritance in the manner of both arrangements of the choreography, the casting of roles and the performing style, not once, but on a number of occasions and that may seem obscurantism to current fans of the Royal Ballet, but as someone who loved the company very much I am here to make my statements based on fact and knowledge. I am sorry to say Natalia that your comments, "Disgraceful? Kindly read your history, Leonid. The RB is the only troupe on this earth that performs the original Ivanov/Petipa choreography. True, the sets and costumes are absurd. Perhaps you meant to write 'disgraceful design' and not 'disgraceful production'? I, for one, am delighted to have read elsewhere that this production has been filmed for DVD release later this year, on the Opus Arte label, starring Nunez/Soares. Hip-hip, hooray!", are in the first case somewhat too personalised, in the second contain no substantive evidence and you then end with a fan like response which shocks me when so much serious discussion takes place on Ballet talk. The production design impinges space needed to set off the dances which is disgraceful and the costumes ignore every traditional sense of how the ballet should be presented which is again, disgraceful. No work of art needs updating. If we are serious about academic classical ballets as a work of art we should respect their integrity and let the audience move towards appreciation as was the case in the past. Academic Classical Ballet does not need to be "dumbed down" with an intrusive 'modern' design for a "modern audience" as if the audience themselves cannot appreciate an old work of art for what it is. To do so is patronising.

Yekaterina Osmolkina may not be a principal of the Mariinsky Ballet but last night she gave a true ballerina performance of Odette/Odile in what might have been a culture shock of coming face to face with the Royal Ballet's disgraceful production of “Swan Lake”. It was only three days earlier, that she made her absolute debut in this ballet.. On Monday it seemed to me that she was a stranger in a new land, without her usual coach to guide her or a former Royal Ballet Odette/Odilel to assist her. Fortunately she had Jonathon Cope to coach her in what after all was a very different approach to the ballet compared to the prevailing Kirov manner of presentation. She appeared tentative at times and perhaps the lack of a rake played a part in some technical unevenness. But brave she was and even made an appealing foray into an exhibition of the highly unfamiliar mime scenes of the white acts. It was more than a rehearsal and I felt instinctively that there was much more to come from this appealing dancer. Last night she was as in clear command of the mime as one has seen on this stage for a long time. The clean and clear articulation of the choreography was absolutely present and it seemed as if the orchestra played and sounded better than at her first performance. There was no need for any adjustment in watching Osmolkina perform, here was no exaggeration of technique or thrusting arabesques, instead there was a constant flow of elegant movement that comes from a sensitive understanding of a role. As Odette, was she moving? No, she was inspiring. Osmolkina danced Odette in a manner of her own, but with an interpretation that resonated with historical performances of the past. A subtle Odette, expressing her Mother's tears, her desperate plight and the intense desire to overcome her the power of Rothbart seemingly to be resolved in meeting Siegfried to whom she responded with an intensity that was at first tentative in expression then subtly passionate. I have heard of dancers who are a quick study, but a Kirov dancer in two performances becoming an eloquent exponent of mime in a ballet which Soviet ballet productions traditionally expunged is an extraordinary achievement. Where there were for me only moments to admire in the lake scene on Monday, she flowed expressively throughout the scene on Thursday. I was merely expecting the traditional transformation of Odette to take place in the next act as the role demands, but here was a dancer who although still inexperienced, had grown into this demanding role in three days distilling every class she had ever taken and coaching she had received into a complete performance, to conquer her audience and the Opera House audience submitted and resoundedly responded to her. This was a significantly important performance in the making. Was her Odile different, well it was staggeringly different from Monday. Her first entrance was so commanding that in seconds she had convinced that although she looked like Odette here was and entirely different character. Thrustingly confident, brilliant in technique and yet controlling her line and execution in a way that was somehow menacing. If there was a flaw it was when she appeared to slip slightly in the fouettes which affected her balance somewhat but she never stopped and with a brilliant cover up ended at thirty /thirty one and not thirty two. Never did the confidence on her face slip as did her foot and a triumph with the audience was assured. On Monday, despite travelling forward, Osmolkina was more technically effective in the fouettes with interspersed double pirouettes, but last night she triumphed in the characterisation and we were convinced of the impersonation. In the last act, she rose to the high emotional drama being fought out between heaven and hell dancing with passion and eloquence and the silent, rapt audience response was palpable. Osmolkina has the ability to articulate the choreography of Odette technically, musically and dramatically. In the last act, her arabesques had a sense of yearning as if to both unite with Siegfried and escape the thraldom of Rothbart. Anguish, it was there, yearning it was there, and her body sang and swooped as Tchaikovsky’s musically dramatic personification of torment sang out in tumultuous frenzy as the opposing forces struggle for ascendancy. Love overcomes and prevails through death and the dark force has become impotent. It is the ending we seek and it was a full bloodedly drama performed by the protagonists and the audience responded noisily and with flowers. A great performance by Osmolkina? If not, it was one that showed her personal greatness in commitment and an extraordinary ability to assume a role in a foreign land, on a foreign stage and with a foreign company with a different aesthetic. I loved it. Osmolkina was partnered by Ivan Putrov more effectively and with more vigour at the second performance than the first. As Siegfried it was a small performance. His hair on Monday was such an extraordinary untamed mess I was shocked that the Director or other authority of the company allowed him to go on stage looking as he did. Last night it was tamed and his performance was better, though I do not think one should draw a correlation with these two events. Putrov has some very good qualities as a dancer. A light jump, which gives the allusion of flight, clean double-tours en lair and almost always excellent beats. His face is small but pleasantly featured but his dramatic expression does not convince me. The connection between face and body when high emotion is expected to be conveyed did not reach me and I was not far from the stage. He was at one time a dancer of great promise and perhaps I was seeing him in a role less suited to his abilities. The Royal Ballet is cursed in my opinion with the worst production of "Swan Lake" I have ever seen. I do not care about claims of choreographic authenticity (which I might dispute), the designs for both the costumes and settings have nothing to do with the presentation of academic classical ballet. Vulgarly gaudy? Yes! Inappropriate? Undoubtedly! Empathetic for to a highly stylised 19th century ballet? No and yet again, no! I had upon hearing reports from the original rehearsals of this product, decided to avoid it for all these years. I had after all seen a several hundred plus performances of Swan Lake in my time as many of them memorable and I did not want to have my sensibilities offended. I believe I was right in avoiding this product and it would take a lot to make me see it again even though last night's performance completely surmounted the generally appalling visual nightmare.

Fascinating variation and charmingly performed. Whose music? Do any of our contributors know? Drigo perhaps?

Yekaterina Osmolkina appeared with the Royal Ballet tonight in their vulgarly trashy, "Swan Lake". As it must have been a culture shock for her I am not going to write about her performance, of which there was much to be admired, until I have seen her again on the 26th.

Stanislav Isaev was definitely Adam and Maximova was Eve. After more research I now believe that in this film the She Devil is Vera Timashova, the devil is Nikolai Tikhomirov and the Creator is a dancer called something like Voaoshin. Well done to find rest of cast. I do not recognise last named dancer but Timashova and Tikhomirov were leading dancers with Moscow Classical Ballet appearing in UK in 1995. Timashova teaches in Canada and is a guest teacher in USA.

The confusion is still on the air. This music was, by all the accounts regarding to the 1884 revival, written by Minkus and added by Petipa, along with Giselle's variation for the second Act-(her Tempo di Valse one with Albretch lying on the floor)-, and probably even Giselle's Pas de Seul Act I -(Spessivtzeva's solo). Then my curiosity on the choreography goes to where does it comes...given the fact that it kind of survived well into the XX Century when Karsavina danced it... I wonder if anybody ever saw this Pas de deux being danced during the 50's, or even before... (Edited to add: There is no mention of Minkus in the Zuraitis, BTW...) I cannot exactly confirm the case for Giselle, but it was certainly the practice that leading dancers in the Imperial era did not all dance the same choreography and music and choreography was interpolated willy-nilly in the major works. I think rg may be correct that it looks like something prepared for a competition and a friend says he had seen Pyatkina dance this pas. It has also been suggested that it is a second cousin to the Auber Grand pas Classique but I can't quite see that.

I can only suggest the cast in the video may have been that of the Moscow Classical Ballet that I saw at the Dominion Theatre in London in 1984 with Yekaterina Maximova as Eve, Stanislav Isaev as Adam, Valeri Trofimchuk the Devil and Andrei Kudelin as God. I was not aware that the full ballet had been recorded. Curiously enough there is currently on youtube Maximova and Vasiliev in a pas de deux from the ballet which I presume was done as a concert number. I would suggest the date given is incorrect.