MadameP

11 hours ago, Birdsall said:

That looks almost identical to the Sergeyev, except that she lingers on the floor a little longer. When I saw her in the Sergeyev Mariinsky version instead of lingering on the floor she got up and went from side to side showing how weak Odette felt followed by the high attitudes (which you also see here). Nadezhda Batoeva recently debuted and did a 2nd Swan Lake at the Mariinsky, and she lingered on the floor just as Stepanova does here. So I think it is the Sergeyev, but apparently there are slight variations on the small details of Sergeyev's version.

Yes, I agree it is Sergeyev version, allowing a little for personal artistic license and maybe the company allows this?!  (Kolesnikova embellished the port de bras  - as, for example, in Odile, when raising her arms to 5th -)  As for the Bolshoi Grigorovich Swan Lake ... I greatly admire Grigorovich for Spartacus,  Ivan the Terrible, Golden Age, Legend of Love  ... MANY ballets .. but I do not like his Swan Lake.   But just my opinion!  

I consider Spartacus to be a great Grigorovich ballet and this is a wonderful opportunity for many who have never seen it live to see it, in the UK.  Michael Lobukhin is a stupendous Spartacus, and for me the best male currently performing Grigorovich repertoire "warhorses" as was written above.   No doubt Denis Rodkin will also be cast - a good role for him, too, but truthfully (and obviously this is my opinion) Lobukhin is far superior.   Bright Stream is of great interest also - many in the UK will never have seen it.  It was inevitable that Swan Lake would form part of the repertoire - it must be the biggest "seller-outer" in the world of ballet!  As for Bayadere - well, those who have not seen Alyona Kovalyova will no doubt be able to form their own opinions, since no doubt she will be featured!  

Here are Yulia Stepanova's fabulous Odile fouettes from her Swan Lake performance in London on 1st September, 2018, as posted on her instagram account today:

I hope you're having a great time, Birdsall!  Bayadere and SHurale are my favourites!  That series of ramps in the Bolshoi Bayadere is truly spectacular - the Bolshoi does spectacular well!  Have fun in Italy!

32 minutes ago, Mashinka said:

Looking at the present Bolshoi line up, I don't see a natural Spartacus in the ranks.  A guest might be a good idea, Brooklyn Mack perhaps?

Agree about Carlos Acosta, by far the best Spartacus this century.

 

Bolshoi does indeed have a natural Spartacus.  In my opinion, Mikhail Lobukhin is the best Spartacus the Bolshoi Theatre has - he is an amazing Spartacus with all the physical and dancing attributes for the role.  He  totally commands the stage.  His acting, theatricality, partnering, sheer quality in this role is outstanding.  

14 hours ago, ABT Fan said:

This pas, along with the gorgeous music, is one of the most beautiful duets I've ever seen by any choreographer. It's my favorite part of that ballet.

My favourite part of that ballet also - just sublime, and I have seen many pairs of dancers in it but possibly my favourite was Osmolkina (with Stepin.). For theatrical beauty, the very last scene of the ballet is hard to beat with Puck on his swing and the magical fireflies flickering !  So lovely! 

Yes, Yuri Fateev is a law unto himself. And Makhalina does still dance on average once or twice a season- certainly not enough to justify her principal status.  

27 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

Not necessarily. May Nagahisa went from apprentice straight up to 2nd Soloist. The old order can be thrown out the window!

Shakirova does not have either Odette/Odile or Nikiya in her repertoire.  In my opinion, she is no Aurora, although she now has that role in her repertoire. She is no Raymonda. I don't think she is principal calibre although I like her very much, and I do not believe Chebykina is principal calibre either.  For me, both are good soloists, but not principals.  As for Nagahisa, I still defend all those Vaganova corps and coryphee girls who were overlooked in favour of her... 

39 minutes ago, Colette said:

 

 

Things seem to be changing, Makhalina and Pavlenko got decent farewells. A lovely change for once. But I must remind you that Lopatkina was simply unable to dance again after her hip surgery, more than a managment decision it was a health issue. Sadly. 😭

 

 

Now there is a place in the principal ranks and it should be filled by Osmolkina or Novikova but I doubt it will happen, I fear it might be Shakirova or ....Chebikyna. 

Makhalina still dances very occasionally - once a season.  There was a special Lopatkina "evening" during her last season, but no official farewell performance.  So sad.  Chebykina and Shakirova are both second soloists: I think it is more likely that a first soloist would be promoted to principal, .  

1 hour ago, CharlieH said:

Thanks. Pavlenko is lucky. This is more than was given to Lopatkina, whose departure was simply announced. No chance for the public to cheer and say thanks.

Agree.  

I felt I should make a separate thread as some might not see my post in the current season thread, and I know many like Pavlenko.  Last night's performance of Anna Karenina was Daria Pavlenko's last performance on the Mariinsky stage after 22 years in the theatre.    She is an Honoured Artist of Russia and had danced most of the classical roles in the repertoire during her long career.  I wish her a long and happy retirement.  Here is a video of her final bows:

I read that last night's performance of Anna Karenina with Daria Pavlenko in the leading role, was the last performance of Pavlenko after 22 years dancing for Mariinsky Theatre.   A video of her bows was uploaded:

17 hours ago, canbelto said:

The awesome thing about the internet is that you can research.

Here are the original Petipa-era costumes for Ramze and her pageboys.

Here is Lacotte's vision:

So you can see the exaggerated eye makeup as well as the exaggerated, offensive, stereotypical red lips are all Lacotte. 

Your first photo is from the Gorsky revival.  According to Wikipedia, it is 

English: Photo of the ballerina Sofia Fedorova (1879-1963) costumed as the slave Hita with unidentified children in the choreographer Alexander Gorsky's (1871-1924) revival of the choreographer Marius Petipa (1818-1910) and the composer Cesare Pugni's (1902-1870) ballet The Pharaoh's Daughter.

Link to page:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pharaoh's_Daughter_-Hita_-Pas_des_Caryatids_-Sofia_Fedorova_%26_Unidentified_as_Slaves_-1909.jpg

Following on from the recent round of promotions, I am wondering if there will be any more, and hoping Soares still might become a soloist?  He surely deserves it, as he has far more roles currently in his repertoire now than most of the male soloists currently on the roster, most of whom rarely if ever perform principal roles.  Soares has danced Albrecht, Nutcracker Prince, Pechorin, Torero, Franz, to name just a few of his roles, and is still only in the corps?  It's a shame for this talented boy.  Here is his Fisherman's variation from Pharaoh.

9 hours ago, Buddy said:

Thanks, MadameP. I couldn't get this video clip to work, but I found one on YouTube, maybe the same, 5 minutes long (still not long enough, keep searching).

Yulia Stepanova and Anastasia Stashkevich (brief glance) both project as much personality as I've seen from them. Absolutely fine. Of course their dancing is lovely.

The production, I love it !  May not go down in history as one of the great classics (or maybe it will) but who cares. Performances, costumes, scenery.... A Real Gem !

 

Yes, so sorry.  I put up the wrong link.  I think Quinten maybe have put up the correct one now, but in any case.... here it is again:

11 hours ago, Buddy said:

I guess that we’ve got two parallel worlds going here and I can’t resist jumping into the Olga Smirnova one. Thanks again, MadameP. This one is brilliant and delightful, but for heaven sakes find ones that last for more than a minute. 😊

As usual this one shows that she knows every second exactly what she’s doing and how it’s effecting us. Look at her face. And she probably knows that she’s seconds ahead of all of us (at least me) in knowing exactly how each moment will register.

And her dancing here is as clearly defined as a work by Leonardo da Vinci.

Now some questions to ponder. Does she want to relinquish some of this control to what I’ll call exterior artistic/poetic currents, which is what I sense when I watch Anna Pavlova (based on one 60 second video clip) or Galina Ulanova ? Secondly, does she want to venture into the feeling of ‘etherial flow,’  which I consider a wonderful part of the Vaganova/Mariinsky beauty, when she exhibits her exceptional Vaganova/Mariinsky ‘fineness’ ? This to me will be fascinating to see. In any case, I’m Absolutely Delighted with what she does.   

 

  

It's so charming, isn't it?  Love that little excerpt!  And, Buddy, your wish is my command, and this one is longer than 1 minute, but not Olga Smirnova.  Here are Yulia Stepanova and Anastasia Stashkevich from Act One of Pharaoh's Daughter.  What a great spectacle this ballet is, and how gorgeous is Yulia Stepanova here?!  

Edited: I put the wrong link.  So sorry.  Here is the correct one:

OK, and one more!!!   Soares in the Fisherman's variation from Pharaoh - love this talented boy. WHY hasn't he been promoted??

More of Olga Smirnova (with Semyon Chudin) in her Pharaoh's Daughter:

8 minutes ago, Quinten said:

According to the Bolshoi website, Jacopo Tissi has been promoted to Leading Soloist, and Alyona Kovalyova and Margarita Shrainer have each been promoted to First Soloist. Congratulations to all.

Great news - especially for Shrainer, who jumped a rank!  Zhiganshina also was promoted to soloist recently.  I do wonder why Soares has not been also been promoted though.  

Here is Ksenia Zhiganshina dancing the Congo variation from the underwater scene of Pharaoh's Daughter.  I was so happy to see this lovely young ballerina recently promoted to soloist!

She will not be forgotten by those she coached, or who saw her perform.  I hope those awful people who caused her death get their just desserts...  

9 hours ago, Laurent said:

There is sponsorship and "sponsorship". The way it functions at Mariinsky is different from the examples given for American companies.

Indeed, and all my comments concerning May Nagahisa were solely intended as criticism of promotion and sponsorship as it exists in the *Mariinsky* - not in any other company.  

Here is Olga Smirnova in the beautiful "underwater" scene from Pharaoh's Daughter.  I love her grace in this, the choreography, costumes, scenery, music - everything.  I am very glad to see this fabulous ballet back in the current Bolshoi repertoire and hope they perform it again next season.   In my opinion, it IS well worth its place in the repertoire, and far more so than some of the current horrors currently wasting space in the playbill!  

20 hours ago, Laurent said:

If Americans are haunted by some ghosts in their closet, I suppose, it is a problem they must be addressing without imposing it on the rest of the world. A Nubian princess who is, by the way, in no way an "African-American", is supposed to look like a Nubian. La fille de pharaon is a wonderful early example of the grand ballet genre, one of the two genres prevalent in the last third of the 19th Century. I love Lacotte's re-staging for an opportunity to experience that genre by modern day audience, including lovely Pugni's music who was a great master of  ballet scores. Another reason why one should want to see it is that Pierre Lacotte revives some of the lost, and now forgotten, gems of the 1860-70-ies ballerina craft. My three favourite casts are, in the order of performance, Zakharova/Rodkin, Obraztsova/Ovcharenko, Stepanova/Skvortsov.

Can only say, I completely agree with this - except perhaps your favourite casting, and we are all entitled to our favourites!