MadameP

Here is a link to the discussion around entrechat jumps:

http://dancers.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=2123

Obviously, even dancers can be confused on how to count entrechat.

Why doesn't this link work for me? It says, "Sorry, you don't have permission for that," and "You are not allowed to visit this community." ????

Was there any official filming of this?

Basically, in entrechat4, if the feet start in 5th with the right foot in front, then at the end of the step, they return to 5th with right foot in front.

With regard to the diagonale of entrechats4 (or not!), I was not present at the American run of Raymondas, but have seen many Raymondas on the Mariinsky stage in St Petersburg. For the sake of information only, here is a list of all those ballerinas I have seen perform the role of Raymonda at Mariinsky Theatre, and what they actually performed during this sequence.

Lopatkina - changements

Right, Drew, re. Fountains and Raymonda...big hulking villains of Arab descent...sweet European heroines strumming lutes....

I love Fountain! It is one of my favourite ballets and I do not know why MT does not tour this wonderful ballet instead of the horrible Ratmansky Cinderella. Well - I do ... Fateyev and Gergiev! Anyway, It has everything - great dramatic dancing roles, music, stage sets. Shame one has to go to SPb to see it. I will never forget seeing the truly amazing Ilya Kuznetsov as Ghirei, who made me cry so much at the end where he is grieving by the fountain. Smekalov also is an excellent Ghirei. I also have seen some beautiful Marias - Kolegova, Novikova, Shirinkina and Osmolkina. Unfortunately, the Zaremas cast were not so effective, although Petushkova had great jumps and acting.

No discernible moment of injury for Skorik. Just a general malaise throughout although her lines were beautiful. Askerov attempted romance in the dream but got a wili. Act 2- announced Kolegeva doing Raymonda in Acts 2 and 3 and unfortunately didn't also sub in Chebynkina. Kolegeva was enchanting as usual, Askerov delivered excellent class grand allegro on his diagonals. I never saw Skorik in other than act 1. Kondaurova and Kolegeva did entrechats just not quite complete quatre [more height on the jump]. They had great performances throughout all acts/shows. Loved Korsuntsev as de Brienne.

Just have to laugh at "Askerov attempted romance in the dream but got a wili" LOL!!! I find him a very wooden actor, although he is a good enough partner, but I do think Skorik is not very forthcoming with her emotions on stage, so he was probably in a no-win situation.

WRONG!

Well, are we talking at cross purposes? I have been in Moscow until last week, and saw Smirnova/Rodkin and Krysanova/Ovcharenko in Raymonda on the Bolshoi stage and there was no white lady in sight!

Wrong. Look at the film with Bessmertnova.

Not in the CURRENT Bolshoi Raymonda, Natalia! I have just seen it - and not a White Lady anywhere. I wasn't talking about the film, but about the CURRENT Bolshoi production!

White Lady appears in every major production I've seen, including Bolshoi & POB. It's not just a La Scala thing. The Kirov-Mariinsky is by far the greatest aberration...not to say that it is not a pretty version...just very, very different.

My qualm is that this and other 1940s/50s K Sergeyev stagings were "sold" to Soviet audiences as if they were Petipa's Holy Grail. Nothing could have been further from the truth! Yet, I respect the K Sergeyevs as unique works of art in and of themselves. Just don't call them "Petipa" AND - even worse - arrogantly bury heads in the sand and dismiss the work of stagers like Vikharev and Ratmansky who shed light on the truth. The truth hurts when one was led to believe that something else was the be-all and end-all. Like the lies in the newspaper PRAVDA ("The Truth") during USSR times!

THe White Lady does NOT appear in the Bolshoi production. I have just come back from Russia, where I saw a number of Don Quixotes and Raymondas, and I can tell you there is not one glimpse of a White Lady in the current Bolshoi production (or in the Mariinsky one either!)

Madame P it's perfectly okay to belabor the point, but I blame Yuri Fateyev.

Yes - I agree totally. That is it in a nutshell!!! Yuri Fateyev is entirely to blame.

Thanks for your recollections, atm711!

After last night's performance of the K. Sergeyev version at the Kennedy Center, I'm wondering if I even want to sit through this two more times on Saturday (2nd & 3rd casts). Such is the effect of a weak Raymonda & Jean de Brienne, to have the power to dash one's love for a ballet. The corps de ballet and a couple of the soloists (Batoeva especially) were fine but, overall, what I saw last night with this version was a downer. (Furthermore, the Virsaladze designs look tackier than ever!) It makes me want to see the La Scala version a thousand times, to set things right in my brain with this ballet!

I understand all too well. I realise I am repeating what I have already said on another thread, but Mariinsky did NOT field its best Raymondas on this tour, and the Jean de Briennes are equally lacklustre, to put it politely. Somova, Lopatkina and Novikova are the best Raymondas, with Kolegova by far the best of the Raymondas on this tour. As for the JdBs - the time for both Ivanchenko and Korsuntsev to hang up their dancing shoes is long past. It is not acceptable merely to be a good porteur these days... And although Askerov has good physique and jumps, he simply has no charisma or acting ability. It is a great shame. Zverev is a wonderful actor with great presence and would have been far better as JdB, although he is a magnetic Abderakhman. But look at the dancers in the corps, coryphee and solo parts. I cannot mention everybody, but look at the immaculate boys in the pas de 4, Sofya I-S, Nadia Batoeva - some of the unsung corps dancers such as Frolova, Varentseva - the wrong dancers were in the leading roles.

ROTFL! I hope that he recharges for the Saturday matinee. I sincerely want to be proven wrong about "Zombiechenko"!

About Sofia I-S/SIS: I noticed those physical attributes that you mentioned PLUS the shortish arms. She seems to be the current Mariinsky Go-To Gal for solos requiring petit batterie. I love her ultra-clear entrechats, for ex. Her face registers to the highest rafter, too. She may be a great candidate to dance the Pierina Legnani roles in reconstructions someday.

Sofya is the entrechat queen of the company currently - few can do entrechat6, yet she does them with ease, and she has both ballon AND elevation to perform all those little petit allegro steps immaculately. Her sissones are fabulous and yes, she has strong legs, but if they give her that wonderful flight across the stage in jetes, then I am pleased she has them! She is a fabulous Diamond Fairy in Sleeping Beauty also.

"Technically okay" is not good enough when this is the first time many (MOST) of the American audience will have seen Raymonda. This role is one of the most difficult in the ballerina's repertoire, and it should have been entrusted to a ballerina who could deliver technique, style, and true Mariinsky ballerina quality. Yes, Skorik has improved technically to some extent, but still has inherent weaknesses and lack of artistry: it seems she has not improved since I saw her debut in this role. A great shame for the audience and for all Mariinsky fans.

She's appearing at BAM starting tomorrow night.

Yes - my point was that neither her nor Somova's Raymonda is to be seen by American audiences, and they, in my opinion, are by FAR the two best Raymondas, whereas Skorik is the worst.

Very sad to read all these reviews. I have to say, I am not surprised. I saw Skorik's debut as Raymonda at Mariinsky Theatre, where I was sitting right next to the stage, and then her air of being a student who had only just managed to learn the steps in time was most noticeable. She should have improved by now, indeed as a principal now, the public DESERVES that she should have, especially since she is entrusted with opening night. As for her (lack of) chemistry with her partner - I have yet to see ANY chemistry with a partner from her. I know that many on this forum do not like SOmova, but I can tell you that I also saw SOmova's debut (ONLY) performance in this role and they are a million miles apart. With Somova I saw the multi-faceted Raymonda variations, with the aristocracy, the intelligence, the beautiful arms, upper body and expression, everything, as it should be seen. It is a travesty that Skorik was entrusted with this opening night Raymonda. Where also was Lopatkina? Her beautiful Raymonda, with her unique floating aristocratic quality, deserves to be seen by America. Kolegova and Matvienko are also lovely Raymondas. We are all ballet fans on this forum, but it is very sad that the best that Mariinsky has to offer just has not been offered to you in America on this tour. These reviews make very sad reading.

At the open rehearsal. Lots of marking by Smekalov and a little bit by Kondaurova. The children who clack their knees with palms must be local and under rehearsed because they are not as "perfect" in formations as Vaganova students. Not criticizing them. They probably haven't been able to rehearse much.but that means we all get that little dance that is sometimes cut when Vaganova is on break. Just not as perfect.

I love that little dance. At Bolshoi, it is done by smaller ballerinas, not children, but I do love to see the children!

I will check the JFK head during intermissions but I doubt I will remember which days everyone is attending. But I have met a few people in the past so if I recognize people I will also meet new people. Problem is I won't recognize people who I don't know when there isn't a person I know standing there but maybe I will say, "Hello!" to strangers that look like they are looking for others! And if they aren't BA people, oh, well....LOL

Maybe you should all wear a red carnation to enable easy BA identification(? Or similar? Or adopt a pose (to be pre-determined, such as Raymonda Hungarian pose?!) Hope you all enjoy Raymonda!

Yulia is cast as Bela opposite Rodkin in A Hero of our Time on 23rd March, then as Myrtha in Giselle with Nikulina and Gudanov on 30th March.

Thank you.

I have just returned from Moscow, where I was very fortunate to see Yulia in class and rehearsal as well as her scheduled performances as 1st Variation girl on 3rd February, Queen of the Dryads on 4th February matinee and Street Dancer on 6th February. She was also a last minute 1st variation replacement for Tikhomirova on 7th February. As has been noted elsewhere, the theatre has now dropped the Stepanova part of her name, and she is referred to as Yulia Yangurazova.

Yu

It appears that in the end Yulia only danced once in Russian Seasons and it was the girl in green; not yellow/white and not dark red! She has posted a picture to her instagram.

Yulia's partner, Mercuriev, unfortunately was ill and this is why she was unable to dance the leading role, as she was originally cast.

And that Spessivtseva diagonale at the end of the variation is just sensational, especially the speed of Alonso's!

But Natasha...this last video also shows the diagonal being modified. She does some sautes, but still interchanges them with off pointe sections...

Exactly! I do think Shapran is the latest ballerina to be favoured by Yuri Fateev and given a boost up the promotion ladder far beyond what she merited. Regardless of her principal status at Mikhailovsky, she clearly does not have a strong enough technique to justify her current first soloist status at Mariinsky Theatre. She does have a very pretty face, but although she can produce lovely lines, she actually has quite a long body with jutting out lower ribs and for me she is TOO thin, so physically I don't find her attractive. I think she has good presence on stage, is a fine actress, but she is not a technician and actually has quite a shaky pointe technique. Coryphee would have been a more appropriate ranking for her - 2nd soloist at a push. It just seems unfair on all he girls lower down the rankings, who are much stronger in technique, but not given the chance, that Shapran, like Skorik before her, is given multiple opportunities with all her shortcomings.

The Two Pigeons in rehearsal from World Ballet Day 2015

I think she danced Manon too? Remember thinking she was a little green for that kind of role (at that point in time) but anyways I think they were all dramatic and/or contemporary pieces.

She also danced part of the scene from Coppelius's workshop in Petit's Coppelia.