MadameP

True - but at least they are better than the horrible scaffolding in the Cinderella sets.

Eleanora graduates next year, and, given Fateev's track record for allowing wonderfully talented dancers to go elsewhere, I would say her chances of ending up in Mariinsky Theatre are extremely thin - the way he likes his ballerinas.

Any performance with Lopatkina at Mariinsky is to be treasured these days - she so rarely gets a scheduled performance. Her Diamonds is THE Diamond of all diamonds for me!

I will post this also in the Mariinsky section, but I felt there are many people on this forum who love the Mariinsky ballet, but who could never go to St Petersburg, and for them Galina Mochkina was their link to that ballet world. She had many friends and many online friends, who knew her through her many video uploads. All of these ballet videos were of Mariinsky performances she had seen and filmed herself, posted publicly and of great historical value. Galina died unexpectedly yesterday, in hospital. For years, she had attended Mariinsky ballet performances and she had filmed many performances. Her uploads on YouTube, and more recently, on FaceBook, enabled millions of people worldwide to see ballets and dancers they would never have seen otherwise. She will be very greatly missed. Not only that though, Galina was a lovely, sweet person, and I know she was part of going to St Petersburg for me. She was always ready to help buy tickets, she was responsible on so many occasions for getting bouquets of flowers to Mariinsky dancers. She was just a lovely, kind person. I am honoured to have known her, and I know all her friends will miss her greatly. I would like to say thank you, Galina, for all your videos, for your friendship and of course, I send prayers and good wishes to all Galina's family and friends at this very sad time. YouTube has a video up with already many comments:

I will post this also in the obituary section, but I felt there are many people on this forum who love the Mariinsky ballet, but who could never go to St Petersburg, and for them Galina Mochkina was their link to that ballet world. She had many friends and many online friends, who knew her through her many video uploads. All of these were public videos of Mariinsky performances she had seen and filmed herself, and of great historical value. Galina died unexpectedly yesterday, in hospital. For years, she had attended Mariinsky ballet performances and she had filmed many performances. Her uploads on YouTube, and more recently, on FaceBook, enabled millions of people worldwide to see ballets and dancers they would never have seen otherwise. She will be very greatly missed. Not only that though, Galina was a lovely, sweet person, and I know she was part of going to St Petersburg for me. She was always ready to help buy tickets, she was responsible on so many occasions for getting bouquets of flowers to Mariinsky dancers. She was just a lovely, kind person. I am honoured to have known her, and I know all her friends will miss her greatly. I would like to say thank you, Galina, for all your videos, for your friendship and of course, I send prayers and good wishes to all Galina's family and friends at this very sad time. YouTube has a video up with already many comments:

Yesterday was holiday in Russia, so probably box office staff just ran out of time when updating the website?

Great news because finally Ksenia has her first major role at Bolshoi! On this Friday, 22nd April, she is to be Gulnare in Corsaire - Krysanova/Tsvirko are Medora/Conrad! I think this is a perfect role for her - she has such natural charm. Best wishes and congratulations to Ksenia!

I wish they would show some of the actual ballets on this channel. For those of us who do not live in America, it is very difficult to see Balanchine choreography. The Royal Ballet does have , and has had, SOME Balanchine in its repertoire, but only a fraction of what is available. Yes, there is some on video but I would love to be able to see more.

She has a wonderful partner in Ovcharenko!

ROH site does list Yulia among the principal dancers for the tour, but I can't find anywhere which role she will be dancing.

Yes, debuts for Stepanova, Marchenkova and Belyakov in this one performance.

Belyakov was promoted to leading soloist recently, jumping two ranks, and is a very tall, strong dancer with a spectacular jump. He is 24 or 25, I think. He has already partnered Yulia recently in Frank Bridge Variationsi, and he dances several leading roles. Marchenkova is a corps ballerina who dances many small solo roles, so Gamzatti is a great debut for her.

Yulia will make her debut as Nikiya in La Bayadere opposite Artemy Belyakov on 16th April - wonderful news!

Completely agree, Kathleen! I have seen so many ballerinas struggle when they would have been much better not even attempting to lift both arms in 5th. It is such a shame. What is the point of teetering en pointe, forcing the conductor to wait a ludicrous length of time only to snatch the arm back down again the moment it is raised? None at all. It is not beautiful, not musical and only makes the ballerina herself look technically deficient, attempting to do what she cannot do. Just ..... DON'T!

Following on from the TWO PROMOTIONS theme, today there are two new coryphees - Tatiana Tiliguzova and Roman Belyakov are both on the roster as coryphees as of today.

Skorik has been replaced by Osmolkina as Aurora.

I agree with everything you say about Somova. She rarely does those extreme extensions now, but uses her flexibility entirely appropriately to each role, but that flexibility gives her such an ease of movement - especially in her glorious grands jetes. Her acting is always unforced and natural and I saw that Raymonda debut, and she was a wonderful Raymonda. It's really a crime that America could not see this great Raymonda. Beautiful arms too! Even though I really do not like this version of LHBH, it does have a few nice moments, notably the PDD. I think she is the best Tsar Maiden so I do hope she will open the LHBH run next year!

LHBH is not danced by either Korsuntsev or Ivanchenko so at least it means you will get the chance to see some of the younger, more virtuoso male dancers.

I saw Uliana Lopatkina's debut as Tsar Maiden in LHBH at MT2. Strange role for her, but actually she was excellent and very funny, but still it is a DIRE ballet in my opinion! The sets are terrible, and so is much of the music. I wish MT would DUMP all their Ratmansky, although, to be fair, at least LHBH is not as awful as Anna Karenina...

Little Humpbacked Horse? Seriously? Mariinsky thinks this is worthy of showing to American audiences for a whole run of performances ? I despair. Really I do.

Here is the Mariinsky's "official" take on their American season, as reported on their website: http://www.mariinsky.ru/en/news1/

Ooops - wrong place!

LOL!!!

OK, thank you!

Agree. Tereshkina does the changements, for example, and she has very strong pointework, so I am sure she COULD do the entrechats4 - yet she doesn't.