Hans

Hm, come to think of it, I don't remember loud cheering at the opera in Lausanne, but my memory may not be accurate. There are times when children do cute/non-annoying things, (at WB's "Where the Wild Things Are" a small girl loudly whispered to her mother, "This is a long movie!") but then I recall the time when I took the train from New York to DC to see the Nutcracker. I arrived in time for Act II, and when the Sugarplum Fairy started her variation, a child behind me started loudly humming along I turned around, gave her a look that would have frozen water in July, and she was silent for the rest of the evening.

Carbro, check out this photo. I agree re: high extensions on men, but I think the idea that it looks better on some than others applies here as well--I know a dancer in the corps of ABT who naturally has high extensions, and they look fine on him. I love the last line of your post BTW--that should be posted in every ballet studio across the world! Alexandra, that's a good point re: Balanchine, and it is very true that students imitate what they see rather than what they're told.

SAB students do still take music lessons (they have a wonderful teacher, Jeffrey Middleton).

I've never seen Zakharova dance, so I don't know what her technique is like, but I did see a photo of her in the Sleeping Beauty reconstruction during the Rose Adagio in which she was in arabesque penché, her hand on a corps member's shoulder, one finger under her chin, her working leg raised a little beyond 180º...and the back of her long 19C tutu resting on her head.

Alexandra--we must have been posting at the same time. See my post just above yours for examples. Bart, you're right--hypermobility is just a fancy term for flexibility. [Edit: The previous statement is not quite correct; see posts further down for detail.] I also agree with Natalia and Alexandra; perhaps the difference between Neumeier and Forsythe's dancers and the Kirov is that the Vaganova Academy is free to select whatever bodies it likes and then mold them for 8-10 years into any shape it wants...and it appears to be selecting the most flexible dancers in all of Russia and then stretching them out for the entire course of their training. The Gottlieb quote is right on. One of the hallmarks of Vaganova training is a sense of harmony of the body, and it is not in evidence anymore. (By the way, what a lovely photograph of Vishneva accompanies that article--nice to see a beautiful, sensible 90º arabesque! Contrast with this photo of Daria Pavlenko, who has twisted herself in a bizarre fashion in order to raise her leg.) As for Asylmuratova and Makhalina, I can see why they would be criticized for their extensions--the legs certainly do go high. However, they are always in control of their limbs, and they don't distort the position of the torso in favor of height. They do seem to have that "harmony of the body" idea intact, IMO. Natalia, I'm a little bit terrified at the thought of Zhanna Ayupova retiring! That will truly be the end of an era at the Kirov. I can only imagine what the next generation is going to look like--dancers who have grown up seeing people like Gumerova and Tereshkina dancing everything. At least Asylmuratova and Makhalina bothered to act--and the company still had people like Margarita Kulik and Elena Pankova to remind everyone that there's more to ballet than giving yourself a concussion with your instep. Editing to add: A comment carbro made about Vishneva's extensions in ABT's Giselle made me think of something even worse than the Kirov's "Corsaire"--these new, limber bodies contorting themselves in a Romantic ballet! Maybe some of us should sneak into the Mariinsky's wardrobe department and sew the skirts together, Bournonville-like.

Wow--three new posts all in the time it took me to write this one! I'm going to read through them and then edit as necessary. I agree about the Guillem syndrome, Alexandra, but wasn't Balanchine promoting high extensions before she became famous? I remember a passage from "Choura," by Danilova in which she says something to the effect that her students at SAB are always stretching--"they tear their legs apart"--and that she would say, "How high can you do developpé? Higher than your head? Why don't you work on your two pirouettes which are not so hot instead?" I'm not sure when that book was written, though, so it might have been around the same time Guillem was becoming famous. While I admire Sylvie Guillem in many ways, I'm not really a fan of hers. But somehow the high extensions look different on her. I don't know if it's the Paris Opera training, but it's as if extensions that high are entirely natural for her, and so she was able to work on other aspects of her technique while maintaining the high legs. Also, people tend to ignore the fact that Guillem also has that lovely Paris Opera port de bras, a voracious jump, &c. One thing I do notice about Paris Opera dancers (although this is only from video) is that while they do all seem to have those gumby-like bodies, they don't work exclusively on raising their legs. And you're exactly right about the multiple pirouettes. If one has good balance and strong abdominal and back muscles, s/he can turn because the hip joints aren't really integral to the movement. Petit allegro does use the hips extensively, as dancers are taught to do beats "from the thighs" rather than merely beating the feet. What appears to be happening at the Kirov (and by extension, probably at the Vaganova Academy) is that they choose dancers who are naturally very flexible. However, unlike at, say, Paris Opera, it looks as if the dancers are encouraged to stretch, developpé to the sky, &c. all the time rather than only working on it during adagio combinations. I noticed this immediately when the corps women came out doing grands jetés in a circle during Act I. The Vaganova method teaches that in order to do a high jump, you first do a strong, quick grand battement with the front leg. This brings your hips and torso up into the air, and then the back leg comes up so that the action of the jump follows an arc in the air, as if the dancer were leaping over a hill. You probably will not see a split in the air. With their super-flexible, weak hips, the dancers have the ability to throw the front leg up, but they don't raise the pelvis and torso into the air. Thus, the jump makes a straight line in the air, the front leg is often higher than 90º, and the back leg droops. The overall impression is one of heaviness and effort rather than lightness and ease. In terms of petit allegro, this will probably sound weird, but the Balanchine style actually requires less precision than the type of petit allegro Vaganova-trained dancers are used to doing. It is not essential that the heels stay down during pliés--which makes it easier to "cheat" and do certain movements, such as consecutive pas jetés, faster--a perfectly turned-out fifth position with the feet "glued" together toe to heel is not important, and fifth is allowed to be over-crossed. (That over-crossed fifth has done some strange things to NYCB's technique too--beats so crossed you can't see them--but that's another thread. ) Anyway, a beaten step such as entrechat-six, jeté battu, or brisé requires extremely strong, minute control of the adductors (inner thigh muscles that pull the legs together). When the adductors are stretched out as much as they are in the current Kirov bodies, the dancer gives up some of this control, giving beats a weak, unfocused look instead of a sparkling, "snappy" quality. The degree of care taken when the feet are on the floor during petit allegro is generally what determines speed. Once in the air, a dancer has a limited amount of time in which to beat the legs, so the time taken to complete a step, say pas jeté battu, doesn't vary much from company to company regardless of style. What does alter the time taken to complete a combination is often how picky one is when it comes to doing an obsessively perfect fifth position on the ground. If you look at a Vaganova-trained dancer from the side, s/he will probably have a fully-rotated, "glued together" fifth position with the heels firmly on the floor every single time. Most other dancers sacrifice a little turnout (it still appears turned-out from the front; I wouldn't really consider this a technical flaw because the turnout muscles are still engaged) and Balanchine-style dancers tend to keep their heels a little off the floor--that is, the second the metatarsal areas of their feet touch the ground, they're already pushing off into the next jump. So historically, Kirov dancers have tended to have slower petit allegro not because they can't beat, but because they are so concerned with with making every position on the ground perfect. (I don't think they should be criticized for that.) The beats themselves were brilliant, and it is that brilliance that is lacking in today's Kirov dancers.

Good to know, thank you carbro!

Having recently seen the Kirov, I thought I'd add that I didn't find them loud at all; on the contrary, they were much quieter than ABT. However, I was sitting in the second tier (nosebleed) so I don't know how much that alters the sound.

***Change of Course!*** It might be better to have a thread more along the lines of, "Who do you want to see more of at ABT and why?" which would have less of a tendency to get caught up in politics, &c. Obviously, I'd like to see Bystrova receive classical solo parts more often--it's great that she's such a good character dancer, but as drb (I think) mentioned on the Giselle thread, imagine her in the peasant pas de deux, or even eventually as Giselle! I'll bet she'd make a lovely Princess Florine too. I also wonder what is happening with Adrienne Schulte. I recall seeing a film of her in class at CPYB and was blown away by her technique, but haven't heard of her dancing anything more important than "the third girl from the left."

Many people in the past have commented on ABT's tendency to hire talented young dancers (who have often already distinguished themselves in the ballet world by, say, winning the gold medal at Varna or being reviewed positively as the lead in an academy performance). Some of these dancers are given soloist roles almost immediately--Paloma Herrera comes to mind--while others, such as Maria Bystrova and Elizabeth Gaither, are left in the corps and seemingly forgotten about. Specifically, I started this thread to continue the discussion regarding Bystrova on the ABT Giselle thread, but there are plenty of other examples. I understand that ABT needs a corps and that the entire company cannot be made of soloists, but why is it that some dancers seem to almost bypass the corps whereas others of equal (or in some cases, greater) talent have to struggle for years just to get demi-soloist roles?

An excerpt from my review of the Kirov's "Le Corsaire:" I can go into an even more in-depth technical analysis if anyone would like particular examples, but this seems to be a good starting point. What have others noticed regarding this issue?

Not to mention Josh Groban

I've had a short ballet in my head for a couple years now, to a harp chaconne by Handel. It is a pas de deux, and the theme will either be Flora and Zephyr or Cupid and Psyche. I have very specific steps set for some sections, but I want to find dancers to teach it to before I forget about it.

There is a tape; my sister saw it in one of her theatre classes at college.

drb how I would love to see Bystrova be allowed so much as the possibility of one day dancing Giselle with ABT! I suppose it could still happen, but at the glacial pace her career has moved (stuck in the corps for years and only just now receiving soloist roles alongside newbies like Hamrick--of whom I'm also a big fan)...well, it's as you said, who would consider giving her the chance? Also, why wasn't she given the chance sooner? Moderators, if you feel the Bystrova discussion is too I'm happy to start another thread.

Your mention of Moyna and Zulma being exposure roles for younger dancers gave me a wonderful vision--Melanie Hamrick and Karen Uphoff as Moyna and Zulma, led by Michele Wiles or Veronika Part as Myrtha! (I assume it's asking too much to let Bystrova have a crack at Myrtha or even the peasant pas de deux.)

The Fairies of the Precious Stones and Metals pas de quatre is original. The Florestan pas de trois is an English invention (from the 1940's?).

Does ABT usually cast principal dancers (Michele Wiles) in soloist roles (Moyna/Zulma)? Or perhaps (I don't know what the posted casting is) Wiles, Part, and Murphy will all rotate between M/Z and Myrtha? That would be interesting--a very powerful Wili trio indeed!

Thank you for that review carbro--what an amazing run! I'm already anxiously awaiting the Kirov's return to the Kennedy Center, and now I'm looking forward to ABT just as much.

I thought that when Petipa revised it, Swan Lake was a success...? It was the original (1877?) production (which Petipa did not choreograph) that failed. Adam's music for Giselle is not concert music; it is musique dansant(e?). Therefore, it is not meant to be listened to by itself--and frankly, I wouldn't want to do that. However, as musique dansant it is perfect IMO.

I'm going to play devil's advocate. I love the original Act II variation music. However, Petipa is the one who directed that the Golden Fairy's variation be inserted. So is Petipa to be blamed for changing Tchaikovsky's "classic" music, or are we to be blamed for changing Petipa's "classic" choreography?

I performed the role of Benno twice in northern Virginia, and I danced the Act I pas de trois, but not Act II. I suspect that I'm Classique, which makes me appropriate for the Act I pas de trois, but not for being called "Benno;" however, I can't blame the company as I was one of precisely two male dancers. Can't say I wouldn't have minded doing the promenades in Act II, though.

I think Thalictum meant that the casts will change, most likely with no notice whatsoever, as happened recently at the Kennedy Center (Natalia provided some of the unpublicized cast changes there on the Kirov Corsaire thread). Such changes are to be expected with the Kirov; it can be extremely frustrating if, for example, you bought tickets to see Ballerina X and then the curtain goes up and Ballerina Y pas de bourrées onto the stage.

I know, but the mere possibility that they could happen excites me.

fandeballet, I like your suggestion for a list of etiquette guidelines on the site--perhaps it could be a sticky in one of the forums.