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I quite enjoyed it! It had been a while since I'd seen Mariinsky because I missed Corsaire in April. However, I do agree that there wasn't much meat in the plot. It was difficult to follow, even already knowing the plot before hand. I stand with my previous sentiments about Khoreva-- stunning technique, but no stage presence and can't really act or play a character other than smiling. And her shoes were distracting. She has such beautiful arches but those shoes make her seem like she's barely pointing her foot, and for the first act at least, were tanned too light for her legs, and it cut off her line and distracted. But, she gave a very clean and impressive performance for a nineteen year old. Once she matures a little and gets better with artistry, she'll be a showstopper. Maria Shirinkina-- wow! She subbed in for Chebyakina both shows yesterday and today-- and was promoted today! Much deserved. She was an utter delight to watch. Konstantin Zverev was also a joy. Renata Shakirova was the strongest dancer in this performance. Her personality was explosive, even during the short amount of time she was onstage and her dancing was stunning. I was actually quite surprised by May Nagahisa, her variation was delightful and quite impressive. Her lines were long and breaktaking, and she held quite a few of those moments. However, she didn't seem totally effortless. While I don't think she has the ability to carry a full length, this variation really played to her strengths. A personal favorite of this performance was Vlada Borodulina. I've been very excited to see her in action, and she certainly did not disappoint! As Roberta said in the Paquita thread, very charming with the use of face/eyes! She was very strong throughout the entire ballet, and between the four friends, she got one of the stronger rounds of applause. Ionova a surprise as well, though I still don't know how to feel about her. Her port de bras was captivating throughout her variation, however she struggled through the last line of développé-arabesques. Throughout the first act she didn't participate on the sidelines and play her character, she just kind of stood there and watched the whole ballet happen in front of her. My stance on Nuykina also remains unchanged. She was sloppy in her variation, and lacking in some areas of basic technique. The children were a highlight, an utter joy to watch. Those lines & the crispness of their movement-- outstanding. They received quite the round of applause at curtain, and even some more at the stagedoor. The horse and moving trees were also moments I found quite humourous. But I also agree, the awkward moving of Paquita and Andres around during the prison scene in the silence went on too long and defeated the magic when you could hear sets moving and people backstage. Also possibly another set timing error-- the roses of Act III didn't come down until much after Paquita's fouettes, when a friend told me who went to the Wednesday show that they came down during her fouettes. Anyone else catch this? Overrall, while it wasn't the strongest plot-wise, I quite enjoyed it! As someone with an understanding of technique, this show was an utter delight as these are some of the finest dancers in the world. The music was beautiful and I got goosebumps quite a few times in the third act. Costumes (especially those tutus) were stunning, and the Act III set was charming (I found the pink hues and portraits to be unique and complimentary. While not ideal, I've seen worse). I think one way to describe this ballet is that it is not a ballet I'd recommend as a first time ballet, or for someone who has little ballet knowledge. This isn't Swan Lake or Nutcracker, it's for someone who has a more keen eye for technique and nuance.

Very curious as to who will be doing the Trio of Shades-- wish that casting got announced.

Seeing the sunday show and I am quite worried about her inability to emote.

No you're fine! Weird that it didn't show up, that topic is one of the first open topics on the Kirov-Mariinsky page.

Just a note, we already have a topic for Paquita at the Kennedy Center. Seeing it sunday, I am quite excited. Paquita is a test of technique for every dancer, and it will be interesting to see how the newer Mariinsky dancers (i.e the friends of Paquita: Nagahisa, Borodulina, Ionova, Nuikina, Khiteeva, Illiushkina, etc) do.

I loved reading this! Will be seeing this cast on Sunday (except minus Tereshkina, unfortunately) and I am very excited to see Borodulina and now Ionova-- she does seem like she'd glisten in that variation. I saw Nagahisa as the third shade when Mariinsky came in 2017 with Bayadere, it will be interesting to see how she's grown.

Yekaterina Petrova appears to be out. The casting isn't clear but I would assume she's been replaced by Shamala Guseinova: Paquita’s Friends: Anastasia Lukina, Alexandra Khiteeva, Yekaterina Petrova, Yana SelinaGrand Pas Variations (Act III)1. by Anna Pavlova in the ballet King Candaules: Anastasia Lukina2. Le Corsaire: Alexandra Khiteeva3. by Alexandra Shaposhnikova in the ballet Paquita: Shamala Guseinova 4. by Maria Gorshenkova in the ballet King Candaules: Yana Selina5. From the ballet Camargo: Maria Shirinkina6. by Anna Johansson in the ballet Paquita: Maria Khoreva This is for wednesday, friday, and saturday night performances. Not overly positive, as the website is unclear.

Agree! The costumes are some of the prettiest I've seen for a Sleeping Beauty and the sets are astounding.

It appears for whatever reason they thought Nuykina was more deserving. I have a strong feeling that Masha won't be in the corps for much longer though.

Congratulations to her! I wish it was second soloist, but still progress it progress.

Illiushkina debuted Odette in the 2nd Act of 'Swan Lake' at a closed performance of the White Act for a private company at the Mariinsky. Since it wasn't the full performance, nor an open one, I doubt they'll count it as an official debut, but hopefully she gets a shot at the full length sometime this season!

My bad then!

I could be wrong but I also believe Yana Selina jumped from Coryphée to Second Soloist, though I am not entirely sure.

Matvienko is returning sooner than previously mentioned. She will return as Giselle on October 19th.

Well, I definitely woulda suggest Viktoria Tereshkina, but since you weren't overly inspired by Askerov (and you've seen him 3 times), maybe a Nadezhda Batoeva show? I quite like Batoeva, and I'm starting to enjoy Parrish (though I understand where people's complaints of him come). However the rest of Tereshkina's cast (looking at her Sat. Matinee specifically), seems to be relatively strong. Chebyakina I've heard is inconsistent so I don't know how'd she do here, but Renata Shakirova is absolutely stunning, and Belyakov + Zaleev are strong. This is the cast of friends that I am most excited about-- Illiushkina and Borodulina are both a part of it. I'm definitely aiming to go to this show. I'm not looking forward to having to sit through a Nuikina variation, or Ionova for that matter, but that was a given. Batoeva's cast (I'm looking at Saturday), I think is also relatively strong. Parrish isn't many people's favorites, but I think he's actually quite charming, Maria Shirinkina is a gem, I am also not looking forward to having to see Bulanova (I don't think she's nearly as impressive as people seem to claim), Romanichkov I'm not too sure about (I just don't know much about him), but Caixeta seems incredibly promising, and a lot of fun to watch perform. As for the friends, it's a relatively experienced cast. Lukina is a Second Soloist, and I really like her, though some people have said she's inconsistent. Khiteeva is the only newbie in this cast, and while she's technically outstanding, she is quite boring-- I would like to see if being in a company and working with Mariinsky coaches could bring that out of her. Petrova + Selina are stunning as well. I'm definitely going to try one of the Saturday or Sunday shows, but my luck in catching the Mariinsky hasn't been so great!