ECat
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Recently I have discovered that amazingness that is David Zaleyev, Second Soloist at Mariinsky. Last weekend I saw him in the pas de trois in Emeralds and he was one of the best male dancers on stage that entire evening.
Here he is with Renata Shakirova in a 2017 performance of The Nutcracker. It makes me wonder why he isn't a first soloist yet. In my opinion he is quite a versatile dancer. He can do roles such as Mercutio, The Jester in Legend of Love, Broze Idol, The Hooligan and then be a princely cavalier in the Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty. Mariinsky has a wealth of male (and female) talent in the soloist ranks.
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3 hours ago, aqualia2008 said:
WOW! Lebedev's variation in this is fantastic! His technique is so clean and he has such a lovely facility.
Soboleva is quite lovely as well.
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What a lovely dancer to discuss! It looks as though he is on the shorter side and perhaps he thought he would be limited at the Mariinsky.
Isn't Sarafanov married to Olesya Novikova? Is that a common thing to be married and be in separate companies?
Check out this charming performance
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That is disappointing to here that the Bolshoi's contribution is staged. This is the first year Shipulina was not seen taking class and I always loved watching her.
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17 hours ago, cubanmiamiboy said:
The season opened with a very depleted company. Just three female Principals-(Albertson, Lauren and Karranza) and three males-(Cerdeiro, Rebello and Krenstetter). Gone are Renato Panteado, Reyneris Reyes, the Delgado sisters, Simone Messmer etc.
Thank you for the review! I did not realize Simone Messmer had left the company. Do you know why or where she went?
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28 minutes ago, Syzygy said:
There’s a wonderful clip of Violette Verdy coaching Pacific Northwest Ballet in Emeralds in which she emphasizes that, in the “bracelet” variation, “you don’t do it to your arms, your arms do it to you.” In an otherwise very pretty rendition of Emeralds by the Mariinsky yesterday, Yana Seline (corps, filling in for Daria Ionova) moved her arms, they didn’t move her. The only other “offensive” bit* might have been that Xenia Fateeva fell off pointe in the bourrees twice during her solos (the second time there was an audible “ugh” by the man to my left), but to me, she was the highlight. All grace and “perfume.” For the record, I love when dancers fall. I’d rather see someone really go for it than play it safe.
Speaking of falling: Rubies. Renata Shakirova and Kimin Kim were about ten seconds into their entrance when Shakirova wiped out in the most dramatic splits that got an audible gasp! from the entire audience. Jazzy splits! It was amazing, and if Mr. B. were around I’m sure he would include it in the choreography. She wasn’t hurt, and got right back up, high-fived Kimin (that was part of the choreography), and finished the ballet excellently. Each battement was to her head, she was fun without cheesing to make up for the fall, and most importantly she wasn’t sulking after an inevitable mistake like *cough cough* certain American ballerinas that are very popular on this board. Ekaterina Chebykina also fell in the last five counts as the tall girl during the finale. How exciting! Both were wonderful, both were good sports.
Diamonds. I’ve been looking forward to seeing Maria Khoreva in person, and she did not disappoint. She was absolutely beautiful in every way. For those of you wondering about tempo, while the adagio wasn’t the slowest I’ve seen (Het National made Mariinsky’s Adiagio tempo look downright American) it certainly could have been altered for the finale. Maria Khoreva was almost perfection, but the only time she showed her age was in the VERY SLOW coda, when she did a tight, cautions in the ménage. I'm sure she and her coaches have the ability to correct it. Otherwise, I only have positive things to say about her and her partner, Timur Askerov.
The corps in every movement: Clean and in-line. No NYCB in terms of movement quality, but neater.
*Actually the most offensive part of the performance was the audience. I’m still new-ish to L.A. — can someone tell me how it works here? At the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion you’re allowed to bring drinks and snacks into the theater. That’s fine, I enjoy sparkling wine at 2pm as much as the next person. But they also sell bags of potato chips that the audience will open and consume during the show. In Emeralds, I could hardly hear the music over a woman clad in a set of many small, noisy bangles opening a bags of chips, then: CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP. This is the second ballet at Dorothy Chandler I’ve gone to where this has happened. Last year at Miami City Ballet’s Nutcracker, after intermission the family directly behind me came back from intermission with bags of potato chips and spent the first half of the second act squeeeeeaking the bags open before CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP. I asked them to stop and my partner (someone who did not grow up going to the theater) snapped at me for telling the mother that her kids shouldn’t rustle plastic during a show. Am I crazy?
First of all, thank you for the review of the cast you saw. It sounds like it was fantastic. In terms of the chomping that would have gotten me upset as well. You're not crazy. I did not know that food was allowed in the theatre and would have thought that that was against the policy. I'm sorry that you had that experience.
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It was a magical evening last night at the Music Center watching Mariinsky perform Jewels.
Here is a summary of the beauty that I witnessed:
The curtain opened on Emeralds to a beautiful dreamy scene of soft shimmering green hues, the lovely corps, and the first couple Daria Ionova and Maxim Zyuzin. Maxim was a stable and handsome partner for Daria who was magnificent. She used her port de bras so beautifully. In fact at the intermission my husband, who is no ballet expert at all, mentioned that the Mariinsky dancers use their arms/hands/wrists differently than the American dancers we see. I was impressed by his observations as the Russians tend to start the movements from their thoracic spinal areas and it truly is beautiful. It may not be pure Balanchine but it was lovely to see.
Maria Iliushkina and Roman Belyakov were the second couple. There is another thread just about Maria and her bright future and from this performance, I agree. First of all she has a beautiful face - almost doll like. She was almost floating during her walking pas de deux and was so expressive in her variation. She melted into to some of those poses so beautifully.
The pas de trois was excellent with 3 fantastic dancers. Mai Nagahisa (who always catches the eye of myself and my husband), Laura Fernandez, and David Zaleyev. They were a spirited and light trio full of energy and perfect technique.
The corps and all of the dancers seemed very well rehearsed. Maria seemed to be the crowd favorite of this one. it was a great start to the evening!
Rubies was my favorite. Nadezhda Batoeva and Philipp Stepin blew me away! They showed nuances that I had never noticed before in this ballet. They were having a great time, the tricky partnering looked like a walk in the park, and they sparkled! Hopefully they both will be promoted to principal during their careers as they are deserving. Maria Bulanova as the Tall Girl was sensual and powerful. She seemed relaxed during the penchee section as she exits the stage. This ballet was the highlight of the evening for me as it was fun, surprising, and risky. There was only one mistake in the whole evening and it was during the section with the man and the 4 corps men as they sautee quickly. One corps man didn't get to the sautee fast enough but it was hardly noticeable.
Ah - the splendor that is Ekaterina Kondaurova! She did not disappoint at all. She was regal, elegant, haughty, and gorgeous. Andrei Yermakov was her partner. He was great in his solo sections with his menage of jumps and turns in second. The corps de ballet was radiant.
A magical evening indeed!!!
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15 hours ago, ksk04 said:
I was at the opening night and will be at the two Kondaurova shows as well. Not a lot of time to express my thoughts fully right now, but I want to give huge credit to Svetlana Ivanova for leading the line of shades out, in what I imagine is, her 40s??? Without breaking an ounce of sweat or having a flagging arabesque. Wow. She was exquisitely poised (in the Bayadere divertissement in Act 2 as well)--definitely a different generation.
A couple of years ago I saw Mariinsky performa La Bayadere at the Kennedy Center. it warms my heart that Ivanova stood out for you as she did the same for me. My husband, who knows very little about ballet, said she was one of his favorite dancers on stage. She was a shade and in the pas de quatre in the Act II Grand pas. She truly does shine. Not only is she radiant to look at but she is a beautiful dancer with lovely feet and legs.
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On 5/9/2018 at 9:05 PM, cubanmiamiboy said:
How about Marianela Nuñez...? Is she enough international ...? enough versatile...? Young enough to be a current technical competition of Osipova or Peck...?
Apologies as I am coming rather late to this discussion. I happen to love that Marianela Nunez was mentioned. Also Obratsova and Krysanova. I would like to add Tereshinka to the list as well. It is a difficult thing to choose just one current female "Ruler of ballet". There are so many aspects that go into it that everyone has mentioned. For me personally I think Tereshinka is quite versatile. Perhaps the romantic style may not be her strong suit though.
Thank you as this is a most interesting discussion!
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14 hours ago, volcanohunter said:
Stashkevich is on maternity leave. If you're looking for evidence, you can track down photos of Svetlana Adyrkhaeva's last birthday party.
Thank you for the update! Glad to hear that she's not injured. Congrats to her and her husband!
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This may be a bit off topic but does anyone know why Anastasia Stashkevich hasn't done any performances for a while. She is not scheduled too either. Perhaps she is pregnant? Hope she's not injured. I like her.
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1 hour ago, pherank said:
This video is worth watching. Lind discusses the move from SF to the Netherlands, and some of the differences between Dutch National Ballet and SFB (she is now in Munich at Bayerische Staatsballett).
A Ballerina Abroad: Kristina Lind
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcE4pYRqCoQThank you so much for sharing this! Big congrats to Kristina on her promotion! Very well deserved.
Her leg and feet...divine!
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13 hours ago, volcanohunter said:
To be honest, I think Tikhomirova has advanced as far as she will go. Khokhlova, Shrainer and even Marchenkova are ahead of her on the promotion track. She was favored more by Filin than she is by Vaziev. Making debuts as the French doll in The Nutcracker when she had danced Marie for years, or Manu when she'd been Gamzatti, aren't encouraging signs. Tikhomirova made two unsuccessful attempts at Kitri, which would seem to be a natural fit, and she isn't very versatile stylistically. My own viewing experience suggests that she's much better in episodes than in leading roles.
Zhiganshina's career has stalled a little recently, but she is much younger, so her situation is entirely different.
Thank you for the info about Anna. After you mentioned the recent debuts in smaller roles I had to check it out. I imagine you are are indeed correct that she has gone as far as she will go. I have always enjoyed watching her in featured roles and variations and I guess that is what I will continue to enjoy her in.
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Congratulations to all of those who have been promoted!
3 hours ago, naomikage said:While Alexander Volchkov is now listed Working under contract...
That is too bad about Volchkov. I see he has some performances coming up so hopefully he will still continue to dance often.
Hopefully Anna Tikhomirova and Ksenia Zhiganshina will be promoted soon.
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@ksk04YAY! Thank you for sharing that the casting is up. Already got tickets for Sat evening and I am thrilled with the casting. I had seen Kondaurova and Baoteva in La Bayadère in Dc and they were amazing.
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Welcome @JanLevNYC!!
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@Kathleen O'ConnellThank you for sharing this exciting news! I love the San Fransisco Ballet podcasts so hopefully this will be equally as interesting.
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On 8/18/2019 at 8:04 PM, nanushka said:
His casting has been more irregular in the past few years, I think, than in the few years before that. I’m not particularly surprised he doesn’t show up in the limited casting that’s listed on the calendar. The work with the longest list, The Seasons, is one that I don’t think he danced at the Met this spring. I wouldn’t read anything more into his absence from the lists than that his opportunities for advancement have indeed largely passed.
Thank you @nanushka for the clarification. For a minute I thought maybe he was either injured or performing elsewhere for the fall season.
On a different note, I wish they'd bring back Rodeo. I love that ballet.
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Speaking of Hammoudi, I do not see him cast in any of the fall ballets.
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@variated I have not seen enough of Akane Takada but I imagine that she is a beautiful dancer indeed!
36 minutes ago, Syzygy said:Late to the party, but for my money: Maia Makhateli.
I’d argue that all of those classical ideals — cleanliness, musicality, genetics, turn-out, etc. etc. — with Maia they are just…*chef’s kiss.* (And the fact that she can do anything and is, most importantly, not a bore is a rare and enjoyable cherry on top.)
Oh I didn't even think of her and I must agree that she is indeed a great classicist! Great choice!
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@sandik I have not seen her live either. Just many beautiful cinema appearances and Youtube videos.
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I am coming to this conversation quite late but I'd like to throw a nomination out for Marianela Nunez.
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Thank you @PeggyTulle for posting such a great interview. It is honest indeed and I love it. The more we can talk about our demons, the more we can help to silence them. She seems to be a strong minded dancer!
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Hello @Batsuchan Yes indeed! I just saw the Royal Ballet and we were in Orchestra seats H41 and H40 and they were fantastic. I imagine that any seat closer toward the center in the orchestra are great. I probably would aim for rows C-L or so. However my seats were off to the left quite a bit and I still had amazing visibility.
Victor Lebedev
in Dancers
Posted
In my opinion it is outstanding for a number of reasons. First of all he is a strong partner and really allows Borchenko to shine and shine she does! Secondly, he is a brilliant actor portraying the troubled Prince Seigfried in 3 dimensions. Lastly, his technique is SUPERB. Those clean fifths he lands in from the double tours enl'air in his variation are so clean.