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CharlieH

Inactive Member
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Everything posted by CharlieH

  1. On the positive side, Stepanova was excellent leading the Swan Lake Hungarian Pas during her early Mariinsky years. A good solid character dancer with her hourglass physique. Very Marie Petipa.
  2. Stepanova is a fine poser but, in general, she is a robotic and self conscious mover. The bend of her upper body is extreme warping, with chest jutting out...as Makhalina used to do in the 1990s. Hands too big. The one Bolshoi prima who I avoid at all costs. I’ll hand her one thing: since her Mariinsky choryphee days, into her Kremlin Ballet time, her social media claque has not let up. Knowledgeable ballet aficionados see through the smoke. I don’t care for pushy social-media-dependent ballerinas (Copeland, Stepanova & Kochetkova the worst).
  3. Amar Ramasar is the “cover guy” of the 2018/19 Kennedy Center Dance Subscription season. He and Tiler Peck are on the posters in the theater, on the cover of the booklet, the mailers, etc.
  4. I’m disappointed that this article includes quotes from negative reviews by Macaulay on two of the guys in question. Was that really necessary?
  5. When I mentioned Weiner, I was thinking only about the emailing of inappropriate photos.
  6. Marcelo will be guesting with Washington Ballet at the end of September, as will be Stella Abrera, Katherine Barkman (Ballet Manila) and Connor Walsh (Houston Ballet). https://www.washingtonballet.org/performance/2018-2019-season/twb-welcomes
  7. “Inappropriate communications” can also be the emailing or texting of photos (a la Anthony Weiner). Not just about words.
  8. Well, Volochkova came out of a limo on stage during her “Stairway to the Sky” show in 2003! Resurrecting this thread, as Russian friends inform me that Volochkova is preparing a 25th Anniversary show, as 2019 will mark 25 years since graduating from Dudinskaya’s class of 1994 at the АРБ. I remember when Anastasia Volochkova was a natural brunette and lovely budding ballerina, debuting O/O in Swan Lake one year before her graduation. One would never have guessed that she’d morph into the diva gangster-mol persona with grotesque tattooed eyebrows. She’s a regular on Russian TV talk shows and is probably Russia’s most recognized (former) ballerina but I can’t help but lament what might have been had her original promise been fulfilled. Now she’s known for her extension poses, even now in her 40s. Ouch! A few examples here. https://www.cosmo.ru/stars/news/07-04-2017/anastasiya-volochkova-pokazala-effektivnye-uprazhneniya-dlya-stalnogo-pressa/ Really?
  9. According to his FB Page (August 8), Ratmansky has begun work on the Berlin Bayadere. https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10212214418740485&id=1377723438&set=a.1133754148868&source=48
  10. So did I. Sometimes it’s the choice of the member to remove his/her contributions when leaving the group. Just guessing.
  11. Gnossie is listed as “inactive member.” L’Ordre du Roi remains one of a handful of ballets among the Sergeev notes (Harvard) that have yet to be used for a staging. Above, Laurent mentioned a part of that ballet (Pas des Etoiles) that was recently staged by Danil’ Salimbaev, the ballet master of Russia’s Chuvash State Opera and Ballet Theatre in Cheboksary. Even that appears to be a new creation as part of a Petipa Tribute mixed bill, not using the Harvard notes. At least Salimbaev used the correct musical score by Vizentini, unlike Samodurov in Ekaterinburg. A link to the Chuvash Theatre’s Page on the Petipa Tribute evening that included the Pas des Etoiles. http://opera21.ru/page.php?id=3788 Since it’s just in Russian, I’ve translated the list of ballets shown: ”Dream of Aurora” by Salimbaev to Tchaikovsky music...apparently a new ballet based on Sleeping Beauty (!) ”Pas des Etoiles from L’Ordre du Roi” to Vizentini music, by Salimbaev “Shades from Bayadere” by Petipa, to Minkus ”Act II from Paquita” (Grand Pas) by Petipa, to Minkus The accompanying page of photos for this program: http://opera21.ru/page.php?id=3786 The few pics of a couple in blue must be from the Pas des Etoiles...just before the pics of the Shades.
  12. Good observation. After getting egg on my face about “the Macks,” I don’t dare say a thing about Mr. and Mrs. Sarabia! adding: In reading the Hong Kong roster, I see that long-time WB dancer and coach/teacher Luis Torres has also moved there. Thanks, @its the momand @Imspear! Sorry about that. I still have a secret wish that Brooklyn Mack might make his way to a certain big NYC-based company. A company with a current need for tall male principals with a WOW factor?
  13. Didn’t his wife (Alicia Graf Mack) resettle in NYC? I’m assuming that they’re still together; one never knows nowadays! 😏 Whatever the reason, I’ll definitely miss him. I suppose that Gian Carlo Perez will now have to carry the heavy work load among the top guys. I didn’t see much of Ndlovu or Sarabia last season...Sarabia mostly out for the past two years.
  14. Samodurov’s new version of The King’s Command opens October 11. Not at all a Petipa recon - new steps, scenario, music & designs. Only the title remains, making one wonder “What’s the point?” even though it supposedly honors Petipa. http://www.uralopera.ru/afisha/show.php?id=21169
  15. News from Berlin. The company is growing, including additional dancers in all categories, including Simkin as a regular (not guest) member of the roster. https://www.staatsballett-berlin.de/en/newsletter/210/
  16. It’s probably more likely that Webb may go to Birmingham Royal Ballet, although it would be sad for Sarasota if that happens.
  17. Is this what you saw (History of the Legend)? https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2149002125389053&id=100008378597978&set=a.1637062726582998&source=48&ref=content_filter This is what’s public but there's no description or explanation. I hope that this is an autobiography.
  18. I’m a big fan of Shurale. A western ballet troupe should seriously consider staging this work, perhaps ABT? If so, please don’t change a single element in this production as it is sheer perfection - choreography, story, designs and the exquisite music by Farid Yarullin. The perfect ballet, especially with a cast like this one, when the Mariinsky revived the masterwork a few years ago, staged by Terekhova: ABT? Please? With the right casting, of course. It’s ok to dream, yes? 😃
  19. My biggest fear is that a total outsider, such as, say, Nacho Duato, would be selected. Prior link to NYCB or at least to the Balanchine legacy should be a pre-requisite.
  20. After her 2017 Moscow IBC senior gold medal and a year of freelancing, Evelina Godunova has landed at Berlin Staatsballett as Soloist...just in time for Ratmansky’s recon of La Bayadere! Here’s a link to Berlin’s roster of dancers, updated August 2018...and note several additions to both Principal and Soloist categories, such as Simkin, a regular - not merely “guest” - Principal! https://www.staatsballett-berlin.de/en/ensemble A great interview of Evelina, shortly after her Moscow IBC win, courtesy of Vaganova Today: http://www.vaganovatoday.com/interview-with-evelina-godunova Yet another Evelina interview: https://eng.lsm.lv/article/culture/culture/ballerina-evelina-godunova-after-winning-the-bolshoi.a241362/ Evelina has it all, extraordinary tech, sensitive artistry, facial beauty (IMO), perfect proportions. I’m so glad that she’s opted to stick with an established company rather than to continue freelancing. Fingers crossed that she might be among the featured dancers in Ratmansky’s Bayadere. Potential Gamzatti? I’m looking forward to tracking her progress and discussing others’ thoughts on this up-and-coming dancer, on this thread.
  21. Indeed, California. Jacobs presents basic information on ballet as a jumping-off point for her magnificent musings. This is one of those books that we balletomanes can cherish forever. I keep mine on my night stand, as a reminder of what makes life sweet. Like savoring a Bon-Bon before going to sleep.
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