MadameP

Ekaterina Osmolkina performed the "Lezhnina" variation in last night's Paquita.

I wonder if her husband, Konstantin Zaklinsky, will leave his present position at Vaganova Academy, where he teaches duet class, and go with her?

Wow! That ballet must have been quite some spectacle!

I hope not. I will be attending that performance, and would much prefer to see Lopatkina or Kolegova in the role. I guess we'll have to wait and see (and pray to the casting gods). There are no casting gods.

Yet she did the entrechat quatre sequence...she danced a lovely blue variation.

OK, I will have to chime in here! I do love Raymonda! Actually, the role Raymonda is probably the hardest role in the ballerina's repertoire with all those widely different variations so it is a real judge of a ballerina's quality. Some can bring off the youthful, spontaneous Raymonda but do not have the regal quality for the final grand pas, while others do not succeed in the early parts of the ballet. Some just don't have the lyrical quality for the vision scene. For me, Lopatkina of all dancers has the sheer quality of movement that is just breathtaking in the vision scene and that final grand pas is wonderful. Raymonda is a great role for her. I loved Maria Shirinkina's Raymonda, a great testament to her hard work and that of her coach, Terekhova. She danced the early variations particularly well and especially the blue variation. Not many do the entrechat quatre en pointe sequence, but she did it perfectly. She has exceptionally beautiful arms. Tereshkina personally I do not like in the role of Raymonda. I find her always a hard, bright ballerina, with insufficient lyrical qualities for the role. Kondaurova was miscast as Raymonda in my opinion as she truly does not ever resemble a young, happy girl - I just think it is not her role. I like Kolegova very much in the role, but she would not be my favourite. I don't find her very convincing as a young girl. Oxama Skorik also for me was just not suitable for Raymonda mainly because she cannot act. Novikova is an absolutely wonderful Raymonda - she has that crystalline strength of technique and quality and can dance all the variations equally credibly. I hope she gets to dance Raymonda and that America can see her. Personally, I think of the dancers currently in Mariinsky who have not danced Raymonda, Somova is a GLARING omission, and I cannot understand why she does not dance it. She would be perfect. She has the great technique, beautiful jump, some of the most beautiful arms in the company and she would be perfect in all the variations. I really hope Mariinsky will choose wisely. We all have different tastes, but if I could choose, I would like to see, in alphabetical order(!) - Lopatkina, Novikova, Shirinkina and Somova.

Margarita is noticeable in the corps because she is so beautiful and vivacious as well as having a great technique - her expression is so full of intelligent humour! I too have seen her stepsister and also a number of small - VERY small! - solo roles. I would love to see her given something really GOOD to dance - but we seem to be saying this all the time about so many dancers. It's so sad.

nysusan, I saw that same program. Wow, it was a showdown between most of the Mariinsky (who were very hostile) and Isabelle Fokine. I thought Isabelle made it clear she simply wouldn't let the Fokine works be performed if she didn't approve of how they were being danced. And there is a huge difference between Makhalina's Swan and Lopatkina's. Maybe Isabelle gave up the fight (also you can't be everywhere to monitor everything). I prefer Makhalina's version to Lopatkina's About Lopatkina, I think she is a life altering ballerina but she doesn't do everything well. Balanchine, for example. She dances the Diamonds PDD from Jewels as if it were Swan Lake. Blech, no. But generally, I think she chooses her roles carefully, ones that suit her. You don't really see her doing contemporary work, as Kondaurova does. But that's fine. No dancer is good at everything, and everyone has things they excel at. I will only say the Odette she did at BAM was SO wonderful, IMO. Much better than the already excellent SL she did in London in August. And I love how she makes every role so unique. I'm just sorry that unless I go to StP I may never see her dance live again:( GO! :-) You should go to St Petersburg - to see Lopatkina dance there is to see her where she truly belongs. And regarding contemporary ballets, I suppose it depends on what exactly we call a contemporary ballet, but she was wonderful in Hans Van Manen's Trois Gnossienes (with Andrei Ermakov) and also Five Tangos and Variations for Two Couples. She has also danced Forsythe's In the Middle Somewhat Elevated. Other choreographers might be considered more neo-classical than modern or contemporary and I am never sure where to draw the line, but she has certainly danced in many ballets choreographed ... more recently! :-)

Yes! I wish I could find the quote, but now I can't, but Lopatkina herself is on record as saying she would not dance Aurora, because she considered it a role not suitable for her. If I remember correctly, she was referring to her height, as she considered it was a role for shorter dancers than she is, and dancers of a different physical type. I always felt it was a shame, as she has such a pure technique. Anyway, I wish some other dancers would refrain from dancing roles not suitable for them! :-)

Thank you for saying perfectly the way I also feel about Uliana Lopatkina. I have been fortunate to see her live in a number of performances at Mariinsky Theatre and truly felt I was honoured to see this great artiste at the pinnacle of her interpretative abilities. I doubt I ever again will see a ballerina who has her unique, light, floating graceful quality, with those beautiful lines and arms. She is a VERY great Mariinsky ballerina. Of course she is not perfect in EVERY role - no ballerina is.

Yes, yet she still often does the same coryphee type roles.

Currently: Lopatkina, Tereshkina, Kondaurova, Skorik, Kolegova. Also, Novikova has danced it, but I cannot remember how recently. (Shirinkina also dances it, but she is on maternity leave.)

Yes, Elena Androsova does have blonde hair.

You are talking about Oksana Marchuk, not Asaben! You are right that Oksana is a beautiful Balanchine dancer - I have seen her in Emeralds pdt and also as chief fairy (can't remember exact name of role!) in Midsummer Night's Dream, and she has softness, lightness and speed. Her musicality and use of arms are some of the best in the company in my opinion.

Oksana Marchuk danced the variation that Lezhnina danced (4th variation) and can be seen clearly in the curtain calls. So, she did not fall out of her pique turns, since the Lezhnina variation (the one with the pas de cheval and delicate pointe work) does not contain any. Since I last posted, someone has put up a video of these curtain calls, and Marchuk can be seen clearly. Moreover, a friend who attended, confirmed that Marchuk did dance the "Lezhnina" variation, and indeed, will dance it at all performances.

If anyone can supply some photographs from the performances then that would settle it! :-)

Marchuk has blonde hair and is short - about 5 foot 3 or 4 nches tall. Asaben is shorter than her if I remember correctly and has darker hair.

I am glad that Kristina Shapran delivered a technically proficient variation when you saw her, but I think she has deficiencies in several areas. I saw her Medora when she was still with Mikhailovsky, and she fell out of several of her turns in her variation, and also came off pointe. I also saw her Lilac Fairy at Mariinsky Theatre, where she was still having problems with her turns, and in particular, her Italian fouettes. Yes, she has an aura and charisma onstage and is a good actress, but she does need to strengthen her technique. If she can do this, then she will deserve her first soloist status, but at the moment, it is a mystery to me why she was brought in as a first soloist, when there are many ranked below her whose technique is better, and who also have allure on stage. Having said that, I do like her as a ballerina, but I think coryphee or maybe second soloist would have been a more appropriate rank for her until she has improved her technique.

I have to agree about Ivanchenko. I have seen him dance many times, and for example when he partners Uliana Lopatkina so wonderfully in Diamonds, I can ALmosts forgive him his blandness and sloppiness and lack of expression. He does have beautiful lines when he chooses, but he doesn't always choose! However, he is a magnificent partner to Lopatkina, and, as you say to Kondaurova in In the Night. He presents his ballerinas to perfection, and I respect him for that. Mariinsky needs good partners, as so many of the boys have trouble with lifts. And In the Night is such a beautiful ballet - love it! :-)

It's really too bad to hear that Ms. K's performance came undone (at least for a while). When she's good, she's really lovely, strong and commanding. I'd like to echo what you say about her partner issues - the Mariinsky just doesn't seem to be able to find someone who really works well with her - either in physical terms, or chemistry. Unfortunately, this is the problem when the Mariinsky trend for ballerinas is ever upwards. No-one short of a giant can partner these extremely tall ballerinas.

Long artistic life and health indeed to Lopatkina! I love that sentiment! I feel honoured every time I see a performance by this great ballerina, at the peak of her artistic and interpretative powers. I look forward to reading your review.

I hope so, too. I love her in everything she does, and I have seen her in all her major roles.

I wish the Mariinsky could have had this Vikharev reconstruction.

Sell, sell, sell!!!

As stated further up this thread, apparently certain Vaganova students were considered worthy of dancing soloist roles with the company until quite recently (Zhiganshina, Shakirova, Tsvitaria.) In the statement issued on the website at the start of the season, it actually says: he ballet company will also be engaged in a key activity for the Mariinsky Theatre – the training of the next generation; there will be debuts by talented students of the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet in repertoire productions alongside members of the company in addition to the academy’s traditional graduation performances. What happened indeed? Mdnagement/Yuri Fateyev says in one breath they are going to use talented students in productions, and then says in the next that they are only fit for the corps? I would like to know what some of the Mariinsky coaches think about all this - they are the ones who see and coach these supposedly feeble graduates in their roles.