canbelto

I'm reading Julie Andrews' wonderful autobiography, "Home," that focuses heavily on her unhappy childhood. A wonderful book.

VAI has released the 1974 telecast of Romeo and Juliet with Maximova and Vasiliev, taped live from the Bolshoi.

Petrushka. Balanchine's Nutcracker Prince mime or Odette's mime about how the lake was created from her mother's tears?

I returned from the Fokine evening and it was beautiful! Chopiniana is another one of those ballets the Kirov dances as if it were in their blood. The beauty and harmony of the corps de ballet is breathtaking. Anton Korsakov was a bit dull as the poet (then again, most Poets are rather dull), but Yulia Bolshakova and Ekaterina Osmolkina were exquisite. Bolshakova's dark hair, dark eyes, and willowy figure give her an eerie resemblance to Anna Pavlova. Spectre with the wrong dancers can look awful silly very quickly (exhibit A: watch Farukh Ruzimatov in the Nina and Friends video). But Igor Kolb's elevation, line, and style made the miniature work. His Spectre also had a recklessness that was fun to watch. He swung the Girl (Nadezha Gonchar) so quickly that she almost tripped and fell. Uliana Lopatkina's Dying Swan was beautiful, great boneless arms. In the tradition of so many Swans, she milked the curtain calls for all they were worth. Scheherazade. The Kirov spared no expense with the sets, which is probably why the intermission took about 30-40 minutes. But it was well worth the wait. , HOT HOT HOT! Igor Kolb and Diana Vishneva positively sizzled in their duets. Diana used her almost insanely pliant back to suggest the exotic dancer. Huge ovations for both Kolb and Diana at the end, well deserved. Overall, a great tribute to Mikhail Fokine, who I dare say would have been very proud.

I'll be there tonight for the Fokine program. Anyone else going to be there? As for Somova, I also wish the comparisons to Sylvie Guillem would stop. Sylvie could be extreme with her extensions BUT she had musicality, she had line, she had breathtaking technique, and she was also capable of striking the most beautiful classical positions. I disagree with some of the artistic choices she's made, but I'd never put her in the same breath as Somova, really.

Maybe they should just have an agreement. Alistair MacCauley avoids reviewing full length ballets, especially those choreographed by Petipa. I'm really tired of his relentlessly negative comments.

Stone Flower. Julie Kent or Gillian Murphy?

Also, I really went in trying to think positive about Somova. I kind of thought, "she can't be that bad." But she wasn't that bad. She was worse.

Bare legs, if they have the legs. Spessivtseva solo or Fonteyn Rose Adagio (where she rejects the last prince's hand)?

One thing that annoys me is the idea that Somova would be good in Balanchine. Balanchine wanted crispness, attack, MOVEMENT above all else. The biggest problem with Somova is that except for the ear-whacking, she can't move. She was the only dancer for whom the City Center stage didn't seem too small. The rest of them seemed to float so effortlessly that the narrow, shallow stage seemed unnecessarily confining. But she has trouble jumping, she has trouble with bourrees, pique turns, etc. etc. Mr. B would be horrified that she's dancing in his ballets.

Roland Petit. Pierre Lacotte or Sergei Vikharev?

I went as well. Despite the turmoil and "regime change" backstage, the show must go on, and everything was beautiful at the ballet. Raymonda showed a happier, more spontaneous Lopatkina then I've ever seen. It was also great to see her doing some allegro dancing. Korsuntsev didn't have much to do but he looked handsome and elegant. This is the kind of ballet the MT does so well -- they can pull off the kind of character dances that cause other companies grief. The uniformity of their training was evident by the way that I only noticed the differences in height and appearance in the ladies when they were taking their curtain calls. Lovely. Bravo. If the audience had a favorite of the night I'd say it was Paquita. Again, the company dances this sort of ballet as if it were in their blood. Diana was fabulous -- bubbly and charming. She literally seems to sparkle, and it wasn't just her glittery tiara. The role seems tailor made because it mixes adagio dancing with pull-out-all-the-stops allegro moves. I loved the "Pavlova" harp variation. She also pulled out two triples in the fouettes. She and Fadeev were a beautiful couple. Alina Somova, bleached blond and all legs and not much else, stuck out like a sore thumb compared to all her colleagues. At times she seems to be wanting to do a weird impersonation of Lopatkina, with the way she holds her chin. She has a distressing lack of turnout, elevation, and speed. She's not so much a gymnast as a ... I have no idea what. In comparison, Ekaterina Konduarova, Olesia Novikova (I *think* it was her), Ekaterina Osmolikina and Viktoria Tereshkina all sparkled with impressive but elegant technique. Tereshkina in particular was really stunningly beautiful. Bayadere was the worst part of the evening. Who insisted on programming this? The poor corps de ballet (24 instead of 32, no ramp) were literally hugging the wings. Somova was really unimpressive. She is NOT like Sylvie Guillem or Svetlana Zakharova, who back up the 'ear whacking' with an impressive technique. She does not. She has a lack of elevation, her jumps having little beauty. Her turns in the scarf duet were shaky and she stumbled out of every one. Her bleached blond 'do, acrilylic nails, and "look at me" style ruin the spell of the otherworldly shade. It's a crying shame that so many talented soloists are dancing small variations and Somova is given such huge leading roles. Leonid Sarafanov is a technical wunderkind and he knows it. When taking his curtain calls he had this "yeah, I'm awesome, I know it" look. He's a real crowdpleaser, and a poor partner for Somova, being too short and too boyish. I can't wait to see him do Spectre a la Rose. The three shades were wonderful, especially Ekaterina Konduarova, who unfortunately almost grand jeted into the pit. While I was waiting in line at the box office who do I see in front of me but a lovely little lady talking animatedly in Russian. I realized it was Irina Kolpakova, who is still pretty, petite, and bubbly. People around me also saw Tatiana Terekhova as well as Mikhail Baryshnikov.

Pancake. Tchaikovsky pas de deux or Grand pas classique? (Sorry, can't think of two more popular gala showpiece duets)

Delibes. Natalia Makarova or Natalia Dudinskaya?

Valentina Pereyaslavec Dancing for Mr. B or Elusive Muse?

Legwarmers. Karsavina's "Theatre Street" or Kschessinskaya's "Dancing in St. Petersburg"?

Pick one and put forth a new duo. For instance, from above: Metropolitan Opera. Lynn Garafola or Richard Buckle's books on the Ballet Russes?

Petipa SB. "NYCB" buns (pulled straight back) or "everywhere else" buns (with a part down the middle)?

Les Sylphides. Best 'white' act: Swan Lake (Act 2) or Kingdom of the Shades?

Costumes. Uliana Lopatkina or Diana Vishneva?

Story. White or Black swan pdd?

Ballet Imperial. "Midsummer's Night Dream" or "The Dream"?

Yes you did Farrell Fan. Man I Love! Galina Ulanova or Maya Plisetskaya?

Someone chooses from the above choice, and then comes up with a choice themselves. For example, suppose you were to pick "Who Cares?" You would then do a "this" or "that." Say you write, "Kirov or Bolshoi?" Someone would then have to choose, and then come up with a choice. And so on ...

Since this game is played incessantly on other message boards, I thought it'd be fun to start this off here. Who Cares? or Vienna Waltzes?