SFCleo

Have no idea whether this is the right place to put this, but here is Tsiskaridze's explanation of Vaganova's grade system which I ran across on Instagram.  

Please let me know if there's a better place for this and I'll move it.  http://tsiskaridze.tumblr.com/post/149171658093/vaganova-academy-grade-system-explained-kind-of

11 hours ago, Euphra said:

It is le petit corsaire dance where I found her naughtiness and different brio that I haven't seen in her other roles. Although when she shouted, "na abordage!", it sounded a bit weak...she needs to put more energy and end it better with a real shout.   I don't know how other people felt about it, though.

I did wait at the stage door, and got her autograph and took photo with her. After finishing the restless role of Medora, she looked very tired, but she kindly signed and took photos with fans and little girls. I only told her that I wish her success. My Russian is poor, and she hardly understands/speaks English, so it was hard to have conversation. She seems to be a quiet and rather introverted person, and I can see that she's got great acting ability to change herself in the roles such as seducing Odile and lively Medora. 

I hope she's at home or in a nice vacation spot with her husband resting up and eating something!

Thanks for sharing your observations with us.  It's great to hear that she was able to convey Medora's personality,  which is quite different as you say from the other leading roles she's done.  The ability to convey cheerful girlishness that she demonstrated in this debut will hopefully persuade Vaziev to give her Giselle and Aurora very soon.  

What did you think of "la petite Corsaire"?  I wish I could've seen her  making the "twirling the mustache" gesture!  Did you see/speak with her afterwards at the stage door?  

Photo gallery from Dance Tabs of Le Corsaire. 

I miss the Italian fouettés when watching the Bolshoi version!

Italian fouettes seem to be out of style at the Bolshoi. Have no idea why, they are just wonderful when done well.

Thank you Drew and Birdsall for responding with your interesting thoughts!

This was not intended as a contest about who is the best ballerina but rather to explore musicality and/or lack thereof. I chose videos of the same variation in order to compare apples with apples.

Each of these wonderful ballerinas has put her own stamp on the Bolshoi Queen of the Dryads variation, expressing the music in different ways. Although in general I prefer Vaganova style, I have to say that Shipulina is overall the most successful in conveying the choppy choreography of this variation as a continuous flow. As Drew says, there is a consistency across the variation. One section of the variation leads to the next and somehow this makes the tempo seem faster than in the other two videos, although I think it might be actually slower. It's as though Shipulina has the entire variation in her head and is therefore able to "explain" to us how the parts relate. We don't get bogged down. I'm pretty sure she's been dancing this variation for years and that certainly is an advantage she has over the other two ballerinas. As an exponent of Bolshoi style she has a bit of a hard edge which makes her a more imperious queen here, a valid interpretation if less than satisfying to those who prefer a kind and merciful persona for this role.

Smirnova prepared this role for the Bolshoi in Cinema recording, and it shows. There is nothing wrong technically with her performance that I can see (although she like the other two was not totally solid with those 5th position endings in the diagonal -- the broadcast transmission showed her practicing that section of the variation during the intermission, so it must be very difficult indeed!) Her phrasing is very smooth throughout yet somewhat featureless compared with Shipulina's. Just now comparing it again with Shipulina, the tempo seems faster. And there's that funny bit at the end of the diagonal where the orchestra usually does an accelerando but not for Smirnova. The accelerando doesn't really fit this choreography anyhow and Smirnova or her coach were somehow able to get rid of it. The flow of this variation in this case is achieved by a faster and more even tempo overall and less emphatic phrasing, but in my view is still less convincing than Shipulina's approach. Oh, and by the way, I find the look in Smirnov's eyes somewhat unsettling -- she reminds me of a 30's silent movie queen, not the vibe I'm looking for in this character!

And now to our sweet and gentle queen, Stepanova. Stepanova has performed the Mariinsky choreography for many years, a far more difficult yet easier to watch version (see video below), and as others have remarked, this video is of her debut in the Bolshoi version. It's the least finished of the three, but is clearly superior in conveying the character. The tempo is about the same as Shipulina and it's obvious that Stepanova was not given the freedom that Smirnova was permitted -- there's that POB-type pushing or dragging of the toe just above the floor (very technical term ) before each pirouette in the diagonal and the arabesques that Shipulina does but not Smirnova, for example. This is a "move" I've never seen Mariinsky dancers perform so it must have felt as awkward as it looks. More successful is Stepanova's pirouette at the end of the first diagonal, well timed to the accelerando, which however is not as marked as in the Shipulina version. In the next section, Stepanova beautifully expresses the more playful nature of the second theme, providing needed contrast that is missing in the other two videos. She has yet to fully overcome the choppiness of this variation but we need to remember that this is a work in progress -- I just wish I could see it live once she has refined it!

As shown in these videos, each of these ballerinas dances this variation musically in her own way. In my view, musicality can and should be discussed with reference to both videos and live performances so long as we compare apples to apples.

Here's Stepanova dancing the Mariinsky version:

Live performances of any art form always provide much more information about the performer's artistry than video does, but that doesn't stop classical musicians from comparing videos of musicians playing the same piece. Let's do the same here, comparing video performances of the QoD variation:

Here's Shipulina:

Smirnova:

and Stepanova:

I don't have the vocabulary to discuss steps and would very much appreciate being educated about what (in detail) these dancers are doing differently and which are successful.

It would be just too weird if videos consistently show a dancer in time with the music and errors appear only in live performance. If 100% of a huge number of videos show a dancer moving in time with the music it seems to me that this is highly probative of her ability to do so, consistently. Of course nobody dances musically in time with the music all the time, so there must be videos of this dancer showing tempo errors, but I have never seen one.

I really think the burden is on those who say this dancer is unmusical to show us a video where this is the case.

FWIW, there is a thread called "Bolshoi 2016 London Tour" and another called "Bolshoi Under Vaziev" to discuss matters like audience behavior and Bolshoi dancing style.

I would be interested in seeing videos in which Yulia appears to be dancing unmusically or not with the beat (two different things, actually). As a musician, I've always been impressed with her musicality, i.e. Her ability to use the music in her dancing. To my eye, there is a sophistication in her dancing - a lack of "beatiness" -- that may be mistaken by some as not being "on" the music. Among solo musicians, it's ok to play with the beat for expressive purposes so long as you get to the down beat in time (if you are not intending to make a ritard.) But let's talk specifc videos about Yulia! Thanks!

Bows and autograph signing.

I think it depends on the character. You can't expect eye contact from a Queen...

And here I thought contributors to this thread were interested in eyewitness reports from other posters. Good grief.

Sorry, did not mean to discount your observations but rather to point out differences of opinion which are very common with respect to this dancer. In videos she seems to be looking at the audience and it's hard to judge the audience rapport, but I have read criticisms similar to yours. it seems to bother some people while others don't see it as a problem.

No doubt opinions of Stepanova are polarized. However, the reviews of Stepanova's Queen of the Dryads in London that I'm aware have been positive.

"In the Dulcinea dream – a ballet blanc reminiscence – the Bolshoi Ballet reminded us of how beautifully versatile the dancers can be. Dryads were as ethereal as swans, picturing an unattainable and idealized fantasy. As Queen of the Dryads, the Bolshoi's latest gem – another Vaganova girl – rivalled Smirnova. A rising soloist, whom Vaziev is increasingly entrusting with roles, Yulia Stepanova is a name to remember. Facing Stepanova's imperial presence and elongated lines, Daria Khokhlova's offered a clever contrast with a vigorous Cupid." https://bachtrack.com/review-bolshoi-ballet-don-quixote-smirnova-rodkin-royal-opera-house-london-july-2016

And another: "In Don Quixote’s dream – a forest-full of dryads in eau-de-nil tutus – Yulia Stepanova flits and shimmies across the stage before landing on point like a dart in a dartboard." https://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/2016/448914/

I hope so too.

Edited to add: thinking about emploi -- I'm intrigued to see video of Kolegova in this role, but a slower tempo makes more sense to me when there is a tall majestic Lilac Fairy, rather than a petite, elfin one:

Kolegova is a good example of a dancer who even in a role not ideally suited to her can nevertheless make something credible of it. It takes an imaginative dancer, with a lot of skill, but also a role that is not too far outside her physical appearance, personality and abilities.

But I guess it's clear I also find more about Skorik "impressive" which is to say genuinely beautiful and artistic (to recall something else said above), than others do. I'm not just writing to balance out attacks--though they do sometimes puzzle me. In addition to what I wrote above and elsewhere about her dancing, I find she has a kind of delicacy and air of vulnerability that is rather appealing too.

Skorik's well-suited to abstract ballets imo (is that an "emploi"? idk) . One is unlikely to be distracted or annoyed by the lack of characterization in Diamonds, for example. I still can't get to "impressive", however, because of the academic quality of much of her dancing -- I see her thinking about steps rather than the music, and for me that's unforgivable, especially in a dancer with as much stage experience as Skorik has. (I wouldn't mind so much if she were a soloist, but as a principal -- yikes!)

I have to agree with you, Drew, that there is an "air of vulnerability" about her that is intriguing, as well as hints of darker feelings she has not yet explored in her dancing. In a ballet company other than Mariinsky, she might have become the "go-to gal" for dark, thorny modern works. Maybe someday she'll trade the tiaras and pink tutus for something that has more meaning for her. I would love to see that.

Watching Skorik's Aurora (thank you Drew) I kept thinking of the contrast with Obratzsova's happy, good natured, graceful young girl on the verge of becoming a woman. There's a quality of spontaneity and joy conveyed by Obratzsova that makes this character real to us. She is adorable. Nothing of the kind is conveyed by Skorik -- her tense and superficial smile fails to hide her lack of joy, her bow to her mother conveys no affection, she does not appear uncertain about whether she should dance with the suitors, and so on. Her body now creates perfect shapes that have an impersonal beauty but do not convey to me anything about the character. She is clearly uncomfortable in the role but it is one that she has had to perform to "justify" her position as Mariinsky prima. It's a pity.

However, I completely agree that Skorik bears no blame for what is happening at Mariinsky. She has worked hard through many challenges, and I think we have to give her credit for that. It's not her fault that she is an inexpressive dancer; she is doing the best she can with her instrument. Surely nobody thinks she should have turned down the opportunities presented to her! No, she is merely a symptom of what has gone wrong at Mariinsky.

Here is Obratzsova as Aurora:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BH9_H6mAdbt/?taken-by=yulia_makhalina_official

Oxana Skorik has finally made her Aurora debut.

I can't get the link to work, but if you go to Tsiskaridze's tumblr you'll see a photo of Dmitrichenko being embraced by Grigorovich when he visited the Bolshoi last week. A second photo shows him in class at Ilya Kuznetzov's Dance Secrt studio. Nobody there seems to find this disturbing.

Here's another from Instagram. https://instagram.com/p/BHpGE1DhZ02/

Giselle, Swan Lake, Flames. http://www.japanarts.co.jp/news/news.php?id=2134〈=2

Looks like Obratsova and Shipulina will be back from maternity leave. Stepanova scheduled for Swan Lake.

According to Tsiskaridze's tumblr, Alena Kovaleva has joined the Bolshoi corps de ballet. What a coup for Vaziev, she is extraordinary. Do we know whether any other top Vaganova graduates from this year's crop have joined Bolshoi?

I can't get the link to work, but if you go to Tsiska's tumblr you'll find it.

As a performer myself, all I'm saying is that the more opportunities one has to perform a work, the more possible it is to fully attend to the artistic interpretation and make it your own. This is why I love watching artists mature, and frankly, what draws me to Yulia -- her great potential. Yulia's artistry is obviously already on a very high plane, but even she can, and I'm sure will, reach even greater heights.

I can't wait to read your reviews of her London performances this summer!

As far as I know, La Bayadere 2014, where Tereshkina/Shklyarov danced the lead roles and Yulia danced the 3rd shade, was released as DVD only in Japan. One of my acquaintances was at Mariinsky tour in Tokyo last year and bought one there, and I saw it in Amazon too.

Yulia's lilac fairy at the Bolshoi was really beautiful. I'm very curious about her Florine debut but couldn't find...

I haven't seen the Bolshoi Lilac Fairy footage but would love to. Do you have a link?

I'm hoping very much that Yulia will debut as Giselle early next season.

This is all great news. I'm happy that Stepanova's career is really taking off. May she be featured in one of the Bolshoi cinemacasts this coming season. That wasn't the case at the Mariinsky, where she appeared as 3rd Shade in Bayadere just before her departure a couple of years ago ( the DVD that stars Terioshkina).

It is great news indeed that her career is finally going so well.

Are you saying that Yulia was filmed in the Tereshkina performance but cut in the DVD? Or was she just not cast when obviously she should have been?

In case you missed it, Yulia has already appeared on the Bolshoi cinemacast of Don Quixote in the second bridesmaid variation! With Sleeping Beauty, Russian Seasons, and Frank Bridge Variations in the lineup for the 2016-17 season there's a good chance we will be seeing her since she has already danced leading parts in those ballets this season.