ECat
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Posts posted by ECat
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Love the video Buddy! Thank you!
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Yes, I'd love to hear the translation for the introduction as well!
Alina Somova is not one of my favorite Mariinsky ballerinas, however one cannot help but be charmed by her. Alina radiates a sincere innocence and radiates sunshine. She certainly shines as Princess Aurora. What I admire about her the most is how hard she has worked throughout her career to become the dancer she is today. She naturally has very long and hyperextended legs, extreme flexibility and most likely instability in her ligaments. One can only imagine how difficult it would be to wrangle those lovely long legs of hers. In my opinion, she lacked strength in the beginning of her career and didn't always have full control over her long limbs, but she has gained so much strength and stability and has become a world-renowned ballerina. Kudos to her!
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1 hour ago, Buddy said:
I'm glad that you enjoyed the video, ECat.
In my post above I said that she was let go from the Bolshoi because of weight gain. I'm not so sure about that. She might have just left and I confused her with someone else.
The video is no longer available, but I'll try to post it again if it reappears.
You could be correct as I do not know why she left. If she had gained weight, she certainly lost it as she looks like pure perfection to me. Chinara is very feminine, strong, and gorgeous.
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Oh thank thank thank you @Buddy for sharing this! Absolutely I remember Chinara Alizade and I always thought she should be promoted. Well it looks like she is more than prospering at the Polish National Ballet! What a treat to get to see her dance a principal role. Chinara makes an absolutely divine Princess Aurora. Her legs and feet are mesmerizing to my eyes. She also has such a beautiful face. What a lavish production indeed!
This was basically a feast for my eyes!
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Oh I love this! Thank you VERY much for sharing!
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2 hours ago, pherank said:
Good job, ECat!
This one was shown last night to introduce the Colbert Late Night Show - short but sweet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lYzfMN6oGE&list=PLiZxWe0ejyv9x6ls6z0on_EQhSuxhMP4R
"Colorful locals" indeed.
Oh my goodness that was hilarious!!! My favorite part was the "Cat Turd Beach". Thank you so much!
2 hours ago, Helene said:Oh, that's great @ECat. I loved the chicken!
Thank you so much Helene!!!
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Oh thank you @Helene! The Dolly Parton video looks like will be fantastic. Dolly is like a ray of sunshine!
In the hopes of levity, I'd like to share a video I made.
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Bolshoi is streaming Swan Lake live right now!!!
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WOW! Thank you for sharing this. What a beautiful performance from the entire cast. From the principals to the corps - great ballet company. The dancer that stood out to me the most was Jeanette Kakareka dancing the walking pas de deus in Emeralds. It looked like she was ademi-soloist in Diamonds as well. Alina Somova was gorgeous, too. Very nice camera work.
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Just got word that Alvin Ailey in Los Angeles is cancelled
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Thank you @aqualia2008 for another wonderful video! Lebedev really has a beautiful facility to work with. His feet and ankles are gorgeously arched. He has great technique - landing in 5th very cleanly. My only wish is that he wouldn't lift that hip up so high in order to get his arabesque higher. I imagine he is quite flexible in those hips.
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That was fantastic!!! Made my day! Thanks for sharing that!
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WOW! This sounds like a wonderful and exciting opportunity for David. Congratulations to him! He did his long rehab with the therapists at the Australian Ballet and in his book he mentioned how highly regarded the company.
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40 minutes ago, seallen said:
ECat thank you so very much for sharing your story - it is so powerful for us individually and collectively to speak our truth. This is ballet's greatest opportunity to heal and thrive as we move into the future.
I also have a story of body shaming beginning at age 11 as I entered training in a professional program in NYC. I was a student in the 60s, just as the 'body type' for ballet was under the influence of Balanchine and SAB was actively sorting and selecting accordingly...this influence took hold at other schools, where I also studied and danced, as the Balanchine body became the ideal in the late 60's and 70's.
My memories, while 50 years ago, are still so fresh and alive: looking up to the 'older' girls (12 and 13) who would offer tips for what we now know is disordered eating, listening to girls in the dressing room bathroom stalls suffering with bulimia, having a teacher suggest I eat one container of yogurt and if I was hungry to have a small piece of cheese in order to get into the costume (I was 5'4" growing to almost 5'5" and weighed 104 lbs), I watched and participated in humiliating weigh ins and the celebration and praise when we had starved ourselves to reach weight.
I have been a fan of Kathryn Morgan throughout her early rise, her illness and now as an exceptionally gifted dancer, teacher and advocate for health in ballet (physical and mental). While old enough to be her mother, her powerful video speaks to me - speaks to that confused and emotionally abused little girl, still inside, who was told that I was so talented but my body was so "wrong".
It is time to embrace new standards of what is aesthetically pleasing in dance - other aesthetic forms are beginning to embrace body diversity. It is my hope that together, with our love of the art form, we will create a movement that as Morgan states, "stands up" and "talks about this more". We will no longer stand for "ruining the joy" as we become advocates mental health and body image in the ballet world.
Thank YOU for sharing your story. Much like you, my eating disorder started a long while ago (early 1990's) and it would have been so helpful if we had someone like Kathryn Morgan who spoke openly about this sort of thing. For me it felt like suffering silently and alone and I thought it was normal. Kudos to people who are opening up and starting discussions about this. I am sorry that you had to go through that.
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1 hour ago, seallen said:
Brava Kathryn Morgan! for bringing the full spotlight on body shaming in dance.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lD0xB8VNzSk
Thank you so much for posting this and welcome! This video touches me quite personally because at age 12 I had my first of 4 hospitalizations for anorexia and I was also a serious ballet student. My situation was different because I was never told to lose weight. At the Washington Ballet School, I was not allowed to audition for the Nutcracker until I put on some weight and at the Academy of the Maryland Youth Ballet I was asked to leave until I gained weight. Luckily these 2 ballet schools acted responsibly in my situation.
This is a really tough issue because ballet does have certain aesthetics. If a dancer really is having an issues with too much weight there needs to be a better way to address it and to help them. Ballet involves scrutinizing every inch of the body in front of a mirror every day so that alone can cause issues. Many ballet companies employ beautiful dancers who aren't stick thin and hopefully more companies can catch on. Today's choreographic demands require a lot of strength and an undernourished body will not be able to keep up.
Thank you Kathryn Morgan for shedding some light on this situation so we can try to come up with better solutions.
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On 2/23/2020 at 1:11 PM, sandik said:
We have, from time to time, indulged in fantasy casting and programming. Several years ago, when the summer performance calendar was less plump, we would often have the online equivalent of the dog days conversations (a term from old-school journalism -- stories about stray dogs and other things in the summer when it was too hot to do other reporting). If you have a wish list for your local company, or a more ambitious wish list for a company to be created later (call it "If I Were Diaghilev"), bring it forth -- we'd love to see it. And perhaps it will kick start some other commentary.
Actually I had started this thread:
Your idea of naming it "If I were Diaghilev" is fantastic!
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19 minutes ago, sandik said:
I've had several conversations with sports writers about how they cover their beat -- I haven't yet referred to "the stats" when it comes to dance, but tickled to see it here!
Thank you!
In terms of stats, I suppose it's just nice to be in communication with other like-minded ballet lovers who enjoy staying up to date on all things ballet! But it would be fun to have "fantasy ballet" leagues!!!
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13 hours ago, Emily12 said:
Oh I agree with this whole-heartedly. So many casting decisions are a mystery to me. I always wish I knew or had the inside track as it is at times beyond baffling. The predilections of ADs has no baring on what is “natural” or “normal”!
Boylston is technically strong, solid and reliable - I can see how that would be of value to an AD, but she has never touched my soul. There could also be a dozen reasons political or otherwise that we will never be privy to. Maybe she’s charming or laughs at his jokes more than others - Lol.I love Lane as a dancer. I also don’t think her repertoire is exactly shabby. She has danced or is set to dance the 3 roles she says she always dreamed about - Giselle, Manon and Juliet. She’s also danced Nikiya, Kitri, Aurora, Swanhilda, Gulnare, Clara, Praline, Columbine, Olga, and many other leads in one acts and short ballets. I was lucky enough to be at the 1.5 Swan Lakes where Lane subbed in for Kotchetkova and then Copeland. For four rehearsals, she surely pulled it off. I believe she will get the chance again, but until then, even if she doesn’t benefit from the same favoritism as Seo and Bolyston, she’s hardly baby in the corner and we will get to enjoy her Juliet, Giselle, Nikiya and Aurora this spring.
Emily12 I couldn't of said it better myself. As a fellow actress, many casting decisions are simply out of our control and so much more goes into that than talent alone. It is probably the same in ballet. Also I agree that Sarah Lane has had many great roles and opportunities.
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Back in 2012 or so, ABT brought Sleeping Beauty to Los Angeles and Christine Schevchenko was the Songbird Fairy in the prologue and nearly stole the show.
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On 2/13/2020 at 9:09 PM, Josette said:
ECat, I was just thinking about that particular Giselle yesterday. I took my Mom to that performance, in which Dvorovenko gave one of the the most moving and unforgettable performances of Giselle I have seen. Her dancing was sublime in both acts and her mad scene extraordinary. I ran into friends after the show and we were all beside ourselves.
Josette thank you so much for your thoughts in this performance. I am glad that we both were so moved by it. It was a truly magical performance!
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Please accept my apologies for coming so late to this conversation but I was very happy to have found it as I was at that Sunday matinee performance. The reason I am commenting is that I was so moved by the performance that I still think about it. It is almost 11 years later and the memories that stand out the most are Irina Dvorovenko as Giselle, Veronika Part as Myrtha, and the glorious corps in Act II. Irina moved me to tears with her portrayal. Never before had I seen the vulnerability and the "weak heart" of Giselle so clearly. Her mad scene was fantastic. it is no surprise that she is now an actress. Veronika was a force to be reckoned with while being velvety smooth. The wilds were fantastic!
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@The Traveling Ballerina thank you for your wonderful review! In fact, thank you for all of you reviews. It gives me greats pleasure to read them. That photo of Hee Seo from the first act is sublime.
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2 hours ago, California said:
I think San Francisco would also be a good home with their rep -- full-length classics, Ratmansky. I don't know enough about Boston or Miami...
Agreed on San Francisco! Boston would be a viable option as well. Miami City is very Balanchine heavy.
35 minutes ago, Sal said:San Francisco Ballet would be a great company for Brandt and/or Lane -- SFB does all of the classics, plus lots of new works, plus Balanchine, plus they dance a lot. Great company, great city!
Agreed all around! Great company, great rep, great city! They both would do well there.
Houston Ballet seemed like an especially good option for them since they are heavy on the classics and MacMillan and they seem to like petit dancers.
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For a long time now I have felt that both Sarah Lane and Skylar Brandt would do quite well at Houston Ballet.
2020: Free Streaming during COVID-19 Crisis
in COVID-19: Ballet and the Arts
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@volcanohunter thank you os much for taking the time to translate that. It sounds like he said nothing of much importance. Alina Somova is not my favorite Mariinsky ballerina but I did enjoy watching dancers in some of the other roles.