MadameP

I think in the "old days", before the advent of GMs, if a dancer had weak feet/ankles, then she just was not cast in repertoire that required particularly strong pointework, but now with the technological advance in the making of pointe shoes, we see many dancers doing repertoire they should not be dancing, and actually too reliant on the strength of the SHOE, rather than the strength of the foot. It's a "cheat", if you like, and in steps such as hops en pointe, this cheat is exposed.

The Fairy's Five Tangoes Impressing the Tsar LOVE IT!!!

S Shapran is EXTREMELY thin in real life. Even thinner than Oxana Skorik, and certainly vastly thinner than Somova. I do wonder if she lacks stamina generally because of her very low weight, because she IS one of the thinnest of the ballerinas I have seen, with very little muscle.

Yes. Completely agree. That's what I said earlier - she didn't do the doubles properly both ways. And agree also that ballonne section was not only abysmally executed, but actually devised to cover up technical inadequacies.

I have seen Shapran dance live at the Mariinsky Theatre on many occasions, and she is one of those dancers who I never feel at ease watching. She does not have strong pointe technique, and, for example, made numerous mistakes in the Lilac Fairy performance of hers I saw most recently. including the relatively straightforward technically end of Act 1, when the court is going to sleep. As Medora at Mikhailovsky she showed similarly weak pointework and Ido not think she has improved since then. I do think she has been given too many roles before her technique is adequate for it. Watching her dance, I am always nervous she is going to fall off pointe, and especially in turns. At this level, technique should be taken for granted. I do think she needs a lot more stamina and strength generally in her work before being entrusted with great roles such as Giselle.

Shapran did not do the double pirouettes perfectly in both directions. To the right, yes, she did do double en dedans followed by double en dehors, but to the left, she only did the double en dedans. The ballonnes truly were terrible as she never really got en pointe at all. However, I do agree that she is a touching actress.

I loved reading this! Thank you for your appreciation of our Great British Royal Ballet Company and style!

Agree also with this. Tsvirko was the better half of his partnership and Khoklova appeared muted in contrast. Tsvirko has great presence on stage and also excellent technique. Regarding Winter Dreams - well, I love this ballet very much and actually more than any other MacMillan ballet, and I know it is unfair to judge this very young couple against great professionals, but I saw Mukhamedov and Bussell dance this on stage, and Mukhamedov just took the breath away with his passion and ardour. It is a wonderful pas de deux, at the heart of this beautiful ballet, and this young Perm couple gave of all their all (and yes, I assume they will dance it in the Perm triple bill as part of the Mariinsky Festival) but they were young and sweet, where I wanted to see PASSION!

I loved Batoeva and Latypov also. Such grace and poetry and yes, exquisite lines! Actually, whether or not it is reminiscent of Robbins choreography, I like the ballet Without anyway, and I thought they did a great job. The lifts were beautiful and Nadia Batoeva is the best female dancer in the competition. I do love Lebedev also - he does just ooze charm and elegance and that cruising, easy quality and refinement. I enjoyed watching all the excerpts very much.

Both these Abderakhams are excellent, in particular Zverev, who really can steal the scene away from any of the current JdBs! He has such presence on stage! But he should be given JdB. He is a wonderful dancer!

Yes, although she's in a spot of bother (!) Raymonda is an aristocrat, not just any girl, and so the quality of aristocratic refinement should be present in each variation, although, as you say, each variation should be "subtly different"!

Agree - I love watching him. He just has such charm on stage and that easy, cruising, smooth quality with beautiful arms. Phenomenal controlled and centred turns, exquisite line - he does deserve to be a major international star.

I saw Ivanchenko's JdB in Alina Somova's Raymonda debut, and have also seen Korsuntsev, Askerov and Ermakov in the same role at the Mariinsky and all the current JdBs either on stage or on video. I think Ivanchenko actually is the most princely in bearing and appearance of the three who will be appearing at the KC, and a wonderful partner. Technically he has the edge on Korsuntsev, although ERmakov is superior to them both. Askerov unfortunately cannot act. But ... for a medieval image of a courtly knight with perfect manners and partnering, Ivanchenko does fit the bill and is still technically able to execute the role, although he is not exciting ... agree with Birdsall ... massive doses of espresso first!

I have to say, I sat right next to the Mariinsky stage for her Raymonda with Ermakov JdB and I could see that she had actually improved technically. The problem is that everything looks careful and rehearsed: it is like the performance of someone learning the role, and even her acting LOOKS rehearsed, and not natural. She is a very inexpressive dancer.

Yes, Latypov was promoted some months ago.

I am so delighted to read this. I thought when Ermakov and Zverev were promoted to First Soloist that Fiipp Stepin should have been promoted also so this is GREAT news. I think he should be a principal. He has the cleanest technique in the company, with always perfectly placed 5ths on landing, particularly beautiful arms and use of the head, and is a fine actor. He also partners extremely well. Of course, he is very good looking as well, with good physique - and that certainly helps! He danced one of the best Nutcracker princes I ever saw with Olesya Novikova, amazing James with his brilliant footwork, and great comedic Basilio, beautiful lyrical first movement of In the Night, quirky Rubies ... there are so many roles he excels in that it is impossible to mention them all, but suffice it to say he is a true classical dancer and product of the Vaganova school. LOVE him! GREAT NEWS!!!

Yes, dragging, rolling, rocking ... please just DANCE. I am fed up with the current Mariinsky management's obsession with all things "modern" at the expense of the preservation of its heritage of great classical ballet.

Thank you for trying to remember the titles and details. Perhaps if anyone else remembers or has any more information, they could post the link here? I would love to see these old films!

W Wow! That 50s film would be worth seeing! Do you have any information at all about it - the exact title or date or anything else? It might be possible to trace it somewhere if there is some more information. I would love to see it!

Do you know which parts of The Bronze Horseman were filmed and Is it possible to see these two filmings anywhere?

No - that was Tsiskaridze who was involved in Vaganova's Laurencia. The programme mentions the choreography by Chabukiani and that the person who arranged everything was Tsiskaridze. He bascially took parts of Act 2 of Laurencia and, like Fairy of Dolls, it is called a Suite.

I don't see Ermakov in this role. Actually I think both Zverev and Stepin are far better dancers and far more deserving of principal status. The 2005 Vaganova graduation review by Catherine Pawlick is interesting: http://www.ballet-dance.com/200507/articles/Vaganova20050606.html Clearly Zverev was considered higher level since he was given Katya Osmolkina to partner in Bayadere. He has such elegance and panache on stage. Filipp Stepin also has some of the best technique in the company and in his graduation, he danced Markitenka and the pas d'esclave from Corsaire. Ermakov danced a modern number rather than Desire or Bluebird. I think both Zverev and Stepin would be better choices for The Bronze Horseman, with Shklyarov third choice. As for the choice of Smekalov to reinvent The Bronze Horseman, I do think it was strange to entrust this production to him, since he has no great full length ballets to recommend him as a choice, and actually the only piece he choreographed that I even liked was Parting - only a few minutes long. Why did Mariinsky not use Vikharev, who has made several good reconstructions? Zakharov was a great choreographer and the production of his Bronze Horseman is being entrusted to someone relatively inexperienced. I just think it is awful and I hope Smekalov does not "modernise" it too much.

The schedule of ballets for Mariinsky Festival 2016 has now been put up on the Mariinsky website, and opening the Festival on 31st March is Yuri Smekalov's new production of The Bronze Horseman, followed by two further performances of the ballet on 2nd and 3rd April. There is no casting yet. I am SO disappointed. I have only seen extracts of the original staging and I was looking forward to seeing the reconstruction of this ballet: now we will get an entirely new version. Why would the Mariinsky management do this? There are so many great, historic ballets in its repertoire that need to be seen, and so many reconstructions that would really benefit the repertoire as a whole and the dancers. Why a modern adaptation of The Bronze Horseman? Doesn't the Mariinsky management care about its great heritage of ballets?

I agree! These videos are the passport for many people to seeing and enjoying ballet that they might NEVER have a chance to see otherwise - and actually they are unofficial PR for all the ballet companies involved, as you say. I just think people who report these unofficial filmings and get them deleted should turn a blind eye and leave monitoring of their ballets to the official sources. As Natalia said ' Bah Humbugs!"