MadameP

Zelensky had better brush up his communication skills quickly. He needs to think of his audience. They must be furious at the prospect of so many loved dancers leaving, and especially their stars, Lacarra and Dino.

I love Fairy of Dolls - that has so many opportunities for different soloists and Ruslan and Lyudmila has a gorgeous ballet scene!

This is just to let everyone know that Karina's condition is as follows:

Whether or not he was guilty or innocent, I would not be in his shoes.

I love this ballet - as I mentioned on the other thread. Shurale and La Bayadere are my favourite ballets. There is little available officially of it, but several bootleg versions of the entire ballet of course exist. I was fortunate to see many casts recently in St Petersburg, and yes, it is spectacular to see that forest fire! and also the forest creatures and giants, but, as you say, it is the SCORE that is so beautiful - what a tragedy that Yarullin died so young. The choreography is also varied and inventive as you say. It is actually a very difficult role for the ballerina. Yakobsen was a genius and the final pas de deux especially is very moving. There are some little echoes of the choreography also in his beautiful miniature entitled "Reflections" that is also on YT.

A group of friends could get together and send a larger amount comprised of smaller amounts...

That is what RBV2 is doing via his account.

_{MadameP, please check your mail!}

OK - thank you, I will look!

So many people would like to help and that is so great. I know that Vaganova does not have a PayPal account. Maybe they COULD create one? That would be a great solution. Buddy, with regard to the RBV2 video and suggestions therein, I can only say that I know the account holder personally, and can vouch for him 100%. I realise that this does not help you insofaras you don't know ME either, but I could not allow your comment to go unanswered. I don't know what else I can say, other than I KNOW that all he wants to do is help Karina and every amount donated will go to her fund and he is paying the bank transfer fee himself so that others do not have to. Everyone must do as they think best. I just think - I and every person who reads this forum, is a ballet lover and that girl may not have long to live and I hope anyone who can help, will help. She has a rare talent, as do all VAganova students, and they give up their childhood to dedicate themselves to the art form we all love, an art form that has the power to take us away from our everyday lives and to a place of beauty. She has the misfortune to live in a country where health care is expensive and inadequate but we at least can HELP, to the best of our abilities. By whatever means, PLEASE everyone help...

Lebedev is definitely a must-see dancer. He has everything - great turns, fabulous jump, and above all, he just has that wonderful cruising easy quality that is so rare, particularly beautiful arms and line and such elegance! He is one of those dancers who loves the audience and they love him in return - he has GREAT stage presence. I love watching him!

The following YouTube upload also offers an alternative for donating for those who wish to give small amounts but do not know how to do so. Russianballetvideos2 is offering a service whereby he will collect smaller amounts from people who would otherwise have to pay ridiculous amounts for doing a bank transferral, and then he will transfer the collated amount. This upload gives details of where to pay money and this is the way I have chosen to pay, since I know this method is completely safe.

I do not know how many courses of chemotherapy would be needed, or what the prognosis is, but this is so great - very many good and kind people.

Ksenia Ziganshina has put up this page, which several dancers have copied, and which contains details of an account into which anyone can make donations. Hospitals in Russia have severe blood shortages and obviously getting blood for Karina is crucial. Apparently each course of chemotherapy is 27,000 rubles. I cannot get google translate to work, but if anyone else can, please do so!

https://vk.com/id12929041?z=photo12929041_417536774%2Falbum12929041_00%2Frev

DEAR FRIENDS!!!! URGENT HELP NEEDED. Please treat with understanding. After all, each of us can be in this situation. At the graduate Academy of Russian Ballet. Vaganova Soldatova Karina (19 years) found acute leukemia (blood cancer) !!! The girl needs help. Pozhaluysta❗❗❗Davayte Unite and will collect the money but who can .... It is very kind and bright person !!! People beg do not be indifferent !!!! Sdelayte repost possible .... For questions write in a personal or comments !!! This girl has all of life is yet to come ....

This is the google translation of the comment Skvortsova wrote on her VK page where she posted the same message (VK is the Russian equivalent of Facebook.)

I tried to fix the second link. Hope it now works.

Several dancers have today put up public photographs on Instagram of a notice concerning Vaganova student, Karina Soldatova, who has leukaemia and is in urgent need of financial assistance. Health care in Russia is expensive and many families simply cannot afford it. It is so very sad.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BF3Rvg8IJeE/?taken-by=anna_skvor

and

https://www.instagram.com/p/BF3YCc4heSKH8HXQM8j3HOt7AWzn6LYGKUo2Rk0/?taken-by=svetkaa_

I hope one of the links will work, showing the same notice. The first was put up by Anna Skvortsova, now at Stanislavsky, and the second by Svetlana Russkikh, now at Mariinsky.

Please if anyone can help, it would be such a wonderful thing. I am sure anyone at Vaganova could be contacted about this.

Not in recent years then - we can thank Yuri Fateyev for that.

I've only ever seen Shurale in bits and pieces on YouTube. Wish the Russian companies would bring Shurale and other Russian ballets to the US and Western Europe when they tour.

I would really love to see Obraztsova as Aurora.

SHurale and Bayadere are my favourite ballets. I was so lucky to see several performances of Shurale and it is a lovely ballet. THe music is beautiful and poignant and the final pas de deux for Syuimbike and Ali-Batyr so lyrical and moving. I think act 2 in particular is one of those acts in ballet where you feel that everything is right with the world. It is an act of great joy, has wonderful crowd scenes, Vaganova children dancing, very poignant moment where Ali-Batyr catches sight of Syuimbike, who has been "hidden" by the villagers. There is also a very beautiful scene for Syuimbike and her friends earlier on in the ballet, which expresses their mutual love, and is just SO moving. I think I cry every time I see this! There is some lovely choreograph for the female corps members, notably where they first swoop onto the stage in a sequence of grand jetes and then turn into their human form. I love Shurale and yes, I WISH Mariinsky would tour with it so that more people could see it but I do think it is one of those ballets that is so entrenched in Russian tradition and folklore, that it would not be the same danced by a non-Russian company. I cannot imagine any non Russian children dancing in it, for example, and they play a big part in act 2. I think it is truly a folk ballet. And Obraztsova and Smekalov were wonderful in this and my favourites, although I also loved Shirinkina, Evseeva and Martynyuk. Incidentally, speaking of ballets that are never toured, The Fountain at Bakhchisarai is another wonderful ballet, rarely (never?) seen out of Russia. Great, great shame...

Can't wait to see her again when she returns from maternity leave. Her technique, pointe technique and placement generally is fabulous, and there are so many roles she dances at Bolshoi that she could never dance at Mariinsky. Yes, her Satanella is fabulous ... but the performance that means the most to me personally is one I saw of her at Mariinsky in Shurale - most radiant, feel-good, joyous of ballets, and she was the perfect Syuimbike. Probably she will never dance that role again.

Very sad that both Shklyarov and Shirinkina will leave. What about the others reported to be leaving? I think we will only know for sure at the end of the season.

Some dark mutterings in London over cast changes. They are always expected, but the fans expect the first team to appear and if newcomers are cast they will need to be of the calibre of a young Osipova to cut any ice. Btw, Osipova was rumoured to be appearing in Flames and Don Q but that doesn't seem to be happening. The fans were upset that booking opened before casting was announced and many have bought far more tickets than they can afford or need, planning to re-sell tickets for those casts they wouldn't have bought tickets for anyway.

Injuries must be serious indeed if the dancers can't recover by August.

Shipulina is pregnant so that is why SHE has been replaced.

I love to see Vaziev giving all these young dancers chances - how great for company morale, and exciting for audiences! I am especially happy to see Yulia Stepanova finally being given roles she deserved to dance years ago at Mariinsky. I saw most of these dancers in performance in Moscow in February, and there is definitely a LOT of talent in the wings!

Google Translate does come up with some inexplicable and hilarious translations! Diana Cherry for Vishneva? LOL! Anyway, just in the interests of clarification:

Anna Zachary is Ana Zakharaya

If you can't afford to dine out at expensive restaurants all the time, I highly recommend the chain of Stolevaya cafeteria type restaurants. There are literally dozens, maybe over 100, in St Petersburg, including one practically next door to MT2 and several on Nevsky Prospect. These offer a good selection of soups, salads, hot and cold Russian food, blini, bread, pelmeni, cakes and so on. The food is freshly made, good quality and amazing value for money (and you don't have to wait for it to be cooked.) Well worth trying. For top end restauants, I highly recommend Percorso, the Italian restaurant voted best restaurant in SPb in (I think) 2014, overlooking St Isaacs cathedral, inside the Four Seasons Lion Palace hotel - beautiful decor, very friendly waiters and delicious menu (including a truffle menu when I was there.) I hope you have a wonderful time!

Those Bakst designs are just exquisite!

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Oh my....I bought both AK and LHBH. Never seen either one.

We all like different ... you will be the one there watching those performances, so I hope you enjoy them!

LHH is the ultimate Ratmansky "El Cheapo" production!!! The scenery fits into a duffle bag, which may explain why it was selected for touring to the Kennedy Center next winter. The music is ugly (dissonant)...nothing like the Pugni score. Many of the costumes are bizarre/creepy (the gypsies' mumus, bald undersea creatures, Elvis horses). To think that the Mariinsky had the great traditional LHH by Petipa et al to the melodic Pugni score - the favorite ballet of Tsar Nicholas II ...but instead we get this due to Gergiev's obsession with Schedrin.

Could not agree more. If only MT would revive the traditional LHBH. And while we are on the subject of Gergiev's obsession with Shchedrin and Ratmansky - Anna Karenina .... truly dire music, truly horrible ballet. Honestly I consider both Anna K and LHBH horse a total waste of scheduling for Mariinsky. They have so many wonderful ballets that they could revive or show more often - case in point is The Awakening of Flora, which I saw last year at MT - a beautiful ballet with great choreography and it is virtually never performed.