MadameP

I saw her in Diamonds (and she is to do another Diamonds in early April) and she has GORGEOUS arms and lines generally with those LONG legs, and flow of movement, as well as real ballerina presence.  Technically she was flawless in that difficult role.  She has great all-round technique, and is surprisingly fast for such a tall ballerina.  She looks fabulous also - such a pretty girl!  I think the main trouble the Bolshoi will have will be in finding a suitable partner for her.  She is extremely tall, at least 5'9" and her partner, Alexander Volchkov, really was not quite tall enough for her, in my opinion, although he's a fairly tall man.  She really needs Belyakov or Rodkin.  I love to see these young ballerinas given chances!  

I think Shrayner is definitely worth the "hype".  I have seen her in several solo roles, and most notably in La Sylphide, with Belyakov.   She has lovely stage personality - and her vivacity and expressions as the Sylph were really wonderful.  She makes great use of her eyes.   The mime scenes just seemed entirely natural and that's rare!  I think her outstanding quality is her ballon and elevation, and certainly she performed an impressive springy sequence of sissones in act 2 as well as easy, high floating grand jetes. .Technically, yes, Ii agree sometimes her footwork is a little untidy, but I think she is GREATLY talented.   As Sylphide, Kitri (which she debuted in London,) , many solo roles, I think she's an exciting prospect to watch.  

As per the publicity photos, Viktoria Tereshkina dances Paquita on the opening night of the run.  

14 hours ago, mnacenani said:

Having read Ismene's translation of this interview I totally sympathise with Vaziev, I have the

feeling that he is the medicine Balshoy needed badly after the turmoil of 2013. I just cannot

believe Vaziev told Masha Alexandrova "I wanted to harm you" as she recounted in the Kultura

chat with Sati Spivakova, but then balletmistress Natalya of our local ballet academy says she

has seen and heard Russian ballet directors saying such things and worse to dancers. Evidently

a modus vivendi has been found, since Masha danced on Tuesday as far as I know. Does anyone

have any feedback on Tuesday's Bright Stream ??

Here are the bows:

1 hour ago, Drew said:

No words.

Drew - I agree...  

I also very much enjoyed Margarita's Sylphide.  She has wonderful elevation and ballon, and also great acting - she was a mercurial and mischievous Sylphide, who projected well and had great rapport with her partner, Belyakov.  

14 hours ago, California said:

I don't disagree with MadameP, but I'm so pleased that a company would share their gala with the world on-line, it's hard to complain. I wondered if they were mainly working on the technique in all these pieces, but hadn't progressed to mastering the distinct style of each. E.g., one that struck me in this regard was Raymonda. Their movements were too pretty, too classical -- I didn't pick up the accented Slavic feel one does when NYCB or Mariinsky does their version of this. But I was still happy to see it. Can you imagine any major American companies sharing their galas with the world on-line? Dream on!

California - I do stand by my comments, but yes, I agree that it is great that this company shared a gala online with people all over the world who might never have seen them in that repertoire.   (Whether or not they should have been dancing half of it is another thing!)  So - yes, I am grateful to them for that!  

OK, well since many are commenting, so will I!  I watched the whole of the gala.  There were highs and lows.  I don't want to be a party pooper, but I am British and have seen Voices of Spring so many times, and this performances in the gala was appalling.  It was pedestrian, lacking in sparkle, lacking in joy.  This was atrocious Ashton.  There is more to it than just whether the lifts are performed adequately.  Shirinkina and Shklyarov were excellent in Parting - intense, sexy, musical - this was probably the highlight of the gala for me.  Loved it.  Although Osiel can jump and turn and I love his sunny charm, he does have a tendency to walk nonchalantly around the stage in DQ and his arms are dire.  But ... he does have great technique and partnering.  Yes, Shklyarov messed up the ending of his Corsaire variation and ended up facing the wrong way, but he saved it. Tonight he was jumping well, and he is an excellent technician with stage presence.   Shirinkina unfortunately did not end her fouettes well, but the rest of her Medora was beautiful, technically accurate and musical.  Very happy to see her in this and she looks wonderful after so many years under the Fateev skeleton regime.  Congratulations to her and Shklyarov for great performances this evening.  Swan Lake ballerina had poor adagio and rudimentary arms. Personally I love Spartacus, but tonight's excerpt was not worthy Grigorovich.   Kruteleva in Flammes de Paris had fabulous elevation, fouettes and turns in general - she is strong ballerina and with more pizazz than her partner.  Some nice dancers among the corps - particularly Konstantin Ivkin, whose elevation is stunning and has great personality on stage.  All in all, I think Zelensky has a mixed bunch, and, as I said, in my opinion there were highs and VERY lows.    

Thank you for this link!  Interesting programme!  

I loved Ksenia Zhiganshina in her Emeralds rehearsal - and I think Vaziev was just teasing her.  It seemed to me he was very friendly with her.  

I have been watching the live feed, but will probably watch the archived videos as well.  Does anyone know where the Bolshoi one will be?  

1 hour ago, mussel said:

So she was promoted from soloist, bypassing first and leading soloist? 

 

Her Bolshoi bio: http://www.bolshoi.ru/en/persons/ballet/2881/ 

 

Her reps at Bolshoi hasn't been updated to include Odette/Odile and Diamond.

It doesn't show her Mireiile or Medora either.

Finally she will get the recognition, the company ranking and the roles she should have had long ago.  

Bad luck for NYC that this is the repertoire they will see -  London was very divided over Taming of the Shrew, and I do not like it myself, but many did.  

I see Konstantin Ivkin has also gone to Munich.  I hope Yuri Fateev is thoroughly ashamed at the way he woefully underused this highly talented boy and failed to give him the opportunities he deserved.   This boy had the best elevation and ballon of any of the male dancers at Mariinsky.  Yes, he danced a few Bluebirds - and they were sensational - but never anything else to show off his amazing jump.  Where were his Solors, James and all the roles to show off his talent?  He should have been promoted long ago.  I am delighted he has gone to another company where, hopefully, Zelensky will see and use his talent, but sad and angry that Mariinsky theatre will no longer have him.  

Can't wait to see this, and, if there is to be a special guest companies category, I really hope Mariinsky will get a slot!  

Seriously ... please someone tell me in VERY SIMPLE  terms EXACTLY how to just see new posts, like the page I used to look at that used to show just new comments each day?  Thank you!!!

Aaaarghhhhhh!!!!!  It is all different!!!  Help!!!  OK, thank you for the hard work in doing this!  

I was in Moscow during February and attended a dress rehearsal of Raymonda at the New Theatre, and Grigorovich, at his advanced age, was prowling around the auditorium, talking to dancers, coaches and onlookers. During the rehearsal itself, he stood at the back, issuing instructions in a Far From Frail voice, and judging by the reactions of dancers, he is held in CONSIDERABLE awe, respect and, I think, some element of fear also! Great character and great man. Bolshoi theatre is holding a special festival of "his" ballets throughout January and February to honour his 90th birthday.

As Grigorovich is now eighty nine and has been increasingly frail for some years, why should he be mentioned in a documentary about the current state of affairs in the company?

Grigorovich is still hugely influential within the company - that's why!

A few have left also. As it has been reported, Maria Shirinkina and Vladimir Shklyarov are going to Munich, although so far their names have not been taken off the roster. Two whose names HAVE been taken off the roster, and who are also going to Munich, are Alexei Popov (coryphee) and Ekaterina Bondarenko (corps.) Alexei is a real loss to the company, having excellent technique and several principal roles in his repertoire - including Albrecht, Nutcracker prince, Desire, Vaslav, James, Ivan the Fool, Mercutio and his final appearance role of Bambi. What a shame he never got the promotion he deserved.

Golub is married with at least one child Last time I saw her dance was in Young Lady and the Hooligan - January 25th, 2015, in a double bill with Leningrad Symphony and I cannot remember seeing her on the playbill since then, but maybe others can, but I do not think so?

It would be just too weird if videos consistently show a dancer in time with the music and errors appear only in live performance. If 100% of a huge number of videos show a dancer moving in time with the music it seems to me that this is highly probative of her ability to do so, consistently. Of course nobody dances musically in time with the music all the time, so there must be videos of this dancer showing tempo errors, but I have never seen one.

I really think the burden is on those who say this dancer is unmusical to show us a video where this is the case.

Yes, of course it is impossible for any dancer to dance EVERY SINGLE step in time - if you are seeing "dancing in time with the music" as the sole requisite for a musical dancer. Clearly nerves, on the night mishaps, slight inaccuracies of technique etc, must play a role and SOMEtimes some steps may be not quite in time, but overall, this is obvious, and it is plain to see when a dancer is "hearing" the music and dancing with it.

FWIW, there is a thread called "Bolshoi 2016 London Tour" and another called "Bolshoi Under Vaziev" to discuss matters like audience behavior and Bolshoi dancing style.

I would be interested in seeing videos in which Yulia appears to be dancing unmusically or not with the beat (two different things, actually). As a musician, I've always been impressed with her musicality, i.e. Her ability to use the music in her dancing. To my eye, there is a sophistication in her dancing - a lack of "beatiness" -- that may be mistaken by some as not being "on" the music. Among solo musicians, it's ok to play with the beat for expressive purposes so long as you get to the down beat in time (if you are not intending to make a ritard.) But let's talk specifc videos about Yulia! Thanks!

I have seen Yulia dance on stage many times - at Mariinsky, at Bolshoi, in London - as well as having been fortunate to see her rehearse and in class, both at Mariinsky when she was there, and at Bolshoi Theatre. I am mystified by any comments or even implications that she might be unmusical. She is not. In this last most recent performance I have seen her in, her Bolshoi Swan Lake debut, she clearly danced "on" the music, both in her adagio work, and , specifically, in the way even her pirouettes were timed exactly with the beat of the music, so if one merely equates musicality with "dancing in time to the music" then, yes, she is exceptionally musical. However, musicality also encompasses embodying the mood of the music, being able to phrase a sequence of movements appropriately with the line of the music, being able to dance with attack when the music requires or with seamless flow of movement, being able to embody the mood of the music through the movement of the body. This is what I saw in Yulia Stepanova's Odette-Odile - this to me is musicality in a dancer.

I too went to the Stepanova/Rodkin Swan Lake last night. It was a great evening for all Yulia Stepanova fans and although I have seen her dance Odette-Odile several times with the Mariinsky, this was her Bolshoi debut in the role. There is much to say, and so apologies in advance it this is somewhat rambling (!).

To start with the first act, Denis Rodkin has all the hallmarks of a Perfect Prince - handsome, tall, strong, courteous in manner. The first act showed off his somewhat stately technique and natural presence on stage as well as graceful arms. The jester, ,Gusev, was light and frolicsome, for want of a better word, without being too irritating. He pulled of his final grande pirouette magnificently and to predictable applause. I liked Kokhlova's charming prince's friend, with fast light pointework, but Ana Turazashvili was miscast in my opinion with little charisma and stiff arms and spiky fingers. Rodkin partnered both of them ably, however!

This was Yulia's debut though and many of the audience near me were excited to be seeing her for the first time. They applauded her entry and not surprising. She did look absolutely exquisite, and her undulating swan arms throughout were just amazing! She has soft, flowing movement and everything seems easy for her, with effortless extensions and beautiful lines in arabesque. She and Rodkin complement each other physically very well. She was a tender, feminine swan with expressions that were so natural and just made perfect sense, and she interacted well with all the other characters on the stage.

The adagio in particular was real poetry and flow of movement, met by great applause and cheers. She does have wonderful legato movement quality, but she is also technically superb. Her tiny frappes sur le cou de pied at the end of the adagio were delicate and precise and that section ended with single, double and then quadruple pirouettes.

I have to say, that Denis Rodkin's partnering was exemplary throughout, and the high lifts especially were just so strong and easy. However, I have seen him dance many times before, and I did feel he was slightly hampered by the smaller stage. His grands jetes en tournant in particular lacked the ultimate stretching out of back leg, although they were high and easy.

The corps in general were well rehearsed and not a pointe shoe to be heard. Congratulations on that! They do not have the arms of their Mariinsky counterparts, but nonetheless, they were good. The four little swans danced with great precision and well synchronised in their dance but later on in the scene their arms were all over the place. I have to say that I found two of the three big swans decidedly lacking, especially Marchenkova, who displayed the most awful flailing, vulgar arms throughout. Horrible. The same mannerism also prevailed in her Spanish bride variation later.

I do hate what Grigorovich has done in particular to the first white scene, where Odette and the prince are interrupted far too much by the Evil Genius., Igor Tsvirko, who displayed animalistic evil throughout and strong technique. I also wonder what has happened to the lake? The backcloth is murky brown.

The Black Act for me is very successful. I love the different variations for the brides with their retinues. Of the Brides, I enjoyed Yana Parienko the most. She to me represents good Bolshoi style, and she was strong, exuberant, stylish in her Polish dance. Loved her. The Russian bride, Yakusheva, was also excellent and musical, with charm and amplitude of arms and nice use of her head.

Rodkin was acting well in this act and the Black Swan pd2 was fabulous. Yulia's difficult variation with its succession of single and double pirouettes was performed technically perfectly and with musicality also and her fouettes also were strong. She did single, single, double six times, and then singles until the last double, which she sailed round and then nailed dead perfectly in 5th. Characterisation was old fashioned glamour and seduction and Rodkin fell for it hook line and sinker!

The last act contains some nice choreographic patterns for the swans, and the despairing Odette of Yulia was very moving. However, The ending of this version leaves much to be desired, with Odette apparently dying behind one of the irritating gauzy shells that feature in this production, while a sorrowing Rodkin is marooned in front . The people sitting near me were bewildered by this ending and actually asked "has it ended?" Having said this, the ballet was a triumph in artistry for Yulia Stepanova and she was met with cheers and much applause and two beautiful bouquets of flowers. I heard many people say they had never seen anything like it, and several mentioned Yulia's beautiful arms.

I waited at the stage door afterwards and Yulia was full of smiles and very happy when she came out accompanied by her coach, Lyudmila Semenyaka, and Denis Rodkin. Great evening! Great debut for Yulia, and I hope for a promotion for her very soon!