canbelto

Yesterday's matinee featured Tiler Peck and if there's a better SPF I haven't seen one. Sterling Hyltin was superb as the Dewdrops. Corps were great. Only Robert Fairchild seemed like he was suffering from Nutcracker fatigue.

Here's Dudinskaya doing the variation "as notated." She substitutes some tricky pirouette sequences in the second half of the variation but she does start with the notated steps. I kind of think this is the kind of variation where a ballerina should have some leeway to show off her particular talents. If she has a particularly beautiful developpe a la seconde, then I can see why she'd choose to skip straight to that move. If she is a human gyroscope (a la Alicia Alonso) then show off the multiple pirouettes. It seems as if the dancers who did the notated steps are/were known as great terre a terre technicians who would excel at petit allegro steps.

I found another great video of Margot Fonteyn whizzing through the variation like it was child's play: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFDLNdHXKsk

Interesting side by side comparison of Lopatkina in this variation: she does the step in 2006 but not in 1995:

Another example of artistic ungenerosity was the behavior of the ABT orchestra during Angel Corella's farewell. It was a huge occasion, with confetti and tears all around, but the orchestra packed up and bolted the minute the final chord ended, and not one of them stayed to honor one of the company's most beloved stars. I found that sort of sad.

I was at both performances yesterday. Great day of dancing -- standouts include Tiler Peck in Andantino, the entire cast of Year of the Rabbit, and Lauren Lovette as the purple girl in Les Carillons. I'm amazed that the NYCB was able to pull out such a strong season despite the injuries. Bravo to all of them.

I have to say that the picture of Skorik reminds me of Edwin Denby's famous "pouter pigeon" description. The neck, chin, arms, wrists, and legs are held at such an exaggerated angle, and the facial expression is so frozen. It just doesn't look natural at all.

You forgot Late Spring. What a wonderful film, I prefer it to Tokyo Story.

Saw it this morning. I thought it was great overall. Only thing that I would have improved is Lopatin's portrayal. Not his dancing -- it was very fine, but I feel as if James should be more moody and introspective from the start of the ballet. Lopatin seems pretty happy with Effie, and more curious than actually entranced by the Sylph. I thought Krysanova was absolutely lovely.

It will certainly be nice for there to be footage of Schklyarov dancing.

This video is what we call a private circulation.

Just adding that it's not just Kitri and Giselle that suffers in terms of this kind of figure selection. Juliet, Aurora, Rubies, third movement of Symphony in C, are all traditionally roles that belonged to the short dynamic dancers. Raymonda and Nikya can really go either way in terms of casting. Also, selection for taller and skinnier females means selection for tall, cavalier-type male dancers, so there's even less room for the demi-character males.

I also think that by going so much for the "skinny and long" look the Mariinsky is losing out on certain dancing abilities. For instance, I notice that the best jumpers in the world, male or female, anywhere, in any company, usually aren't "skinny and long." They are usually on the short side, with powerful thighs. I call them the "dark haired dancing dynamos" because they usually have dark hair, are tiny (short), aren't necessarily the prettiest in terms of body shape, but they are fantastic jumpers. So what the Mariinsky is getting in terms of beautiful-looking O/O's, they're also losing in terms of dynamite Kitris or Giselles.

I think to be fair there's this certain sort of laziness in all major companies where there's a lot of talent but a rather rigid, politics-based casting system (which is basically every major ballet company). For instance the NYCB has arguably one of the most talented, deep pools of females right now, but one of the most major roles (the female solo in Agon) has basically been owned by Wendy Whelan for, I don't know, as long as I've watched the NYCB. I mean I like Wendy as much as the next person, but I'd love to see another ballerina take a crack at the Agon duet. Another example is Megan Fairchild -- she's a competent but rather unexciting dancer who is cast in a lion's share of the Balanchine "petit allegro" roles.

I think the devil is in the details with something like Raymonda. If Abderakhman was represented as someone exotic, a kind of foil for Jean de Brienne, and if there was a hint that Raymonda was simultaneously attracted to and afraid of this Saracen knight, then I would not have found the Bolshoi presentation so offensive. But the fact is he was represented as a total crazy lunatic clown, and Raymonda acted like he had rabies in the Bolshoi HD performance. That's making the story both less nuanced and more offensive. It's sort of like the "blackface" in old movies. I don't find Fred Astaire's blackface number offensive because it seemed to me he was paying homage to the strong tradition of African American tap dancers. Today is it un-PC? Yes. But it's not offensive. However, something like Birth of a Nation is just sort of disgusting from a modern viewpoint because of its presentation.

I found these classic Mariinsky performances: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7NMMqLOAgY Interesting to compare them with a more recent performance by Osipova: I like Osipova but I really love the "classic" Kirov performances, especially the way they do that cambre and drop their arms completely. So expressive. Why doesn't the Mariinsky do this piece anymore? It's absolutely gorgeous.

Fateev is a good coach. His students (Fadeev and Shklyarov) certainly are/were excellent dancers who represent the best of the Mariinsky tradition. I think maybe he has more to offer as a personal coach than administrator?

I saw Avengers, Brave, Dictator, Ted, Dark Knight Rises, and The Campaign. My favorite movie was actually Ted. I'm not usually into the frat-house type comedies but I thought this one had enough sweetness and heart to make it work. I laughed, I even cried.

There's that moment in Fokines Firebird when the Firebird is facing the Prince, and she does that cambre while rustling her arms and head. It's like a bird rustling when captured but I remember the first time I saw the Fonteyn video there was also something erotic about it. That quick quiver she does with her entire body, like she's enthralled and scared at the same time.

The thing is though if he didn't have those bulky legs he might not have that amazing elevation. I've noticed many many male dancers who were famous for their powerful explosive jumps (Villella, Nijinsky, Soloviev, Cornejo) all have that basic shape -- short, stocky, with muscular legs.

I would highly advise people to catch the second Osta/LeRiche performance. I saw them last night and while Osta's technique was diminished she was frail, tragic, heart rending as Giselle. Just wonderful. One beautiful personal touch: as she leaves Albrecht forever, she gives him the same blank, deranged look she gave him during the Mad Scene. Spooky and surreal. Daniel Stokes in the peasant pas de deux was simply painful to watch. Almost fell twice, completely overwhelmed by the steps. Cozette was an improvement over Friday night.

Especially Ganio, whose entrechat series was maybe the best I have ever seen, and I've seen David Hallberg ... They seemed to soar as the series continued, until he was nearly reaching the proscenium. And he was so sensitive too. Loved his last attempt to reach for Giselle's skirt. Bravo to Ganio for breathing life into a performance that otherwise was lovely but a bit ossified.

Cozette's main disappointment was her wobbly arabesques. The slow bourrees didnt bother me as much. I also found her lacking in a certain authority.

I thought by far the best dancer onstage last night was Ganio. Wow! Cozette I found to be a disappointment. Dupont was fine in Act One -- I wish she had better elevation for the many jumps in act two. The Wilis were magnificent. Will be back tonight to see Osta/LeRiche.

I believe a somewhat larger-than-average proportion of Veronika's height is in her legs, making her appear particularly tall onstage, and particularly in tutus. She also has long feet and perhaps slightly longer-than-average arms -- making her, in my opinion, the perfectly sized and proportioned ballerina. I so wish there were more like her. I could watch her Odette (with a good Siegfried) 7 nights a week. It's so hard having to wait a whole year for just one more performance! Okay, forgive me for gushing. You're right -- Veronika's proportions do give her the illusion of being a lot taller than she actually is. I mean, she is on the tall side for a ballerina, but in real life she doesn't really tower over people the way you'd expect. She's slim and chic offstage, whereas onstage she's majestic and imposing. I think the tallest ballerina I've ever met was Uliana Lopatkina. She has to be around 5'10" or 5'11" -- she really did tower over everyone around her, including some of the men of the company.