EllaZ

I have seen all four Don Quixotes and I happen to like Stepanova's interpretation of Kitri better than the others (despite the unfortunate wobble in the beginning, but then every one has their off days and I'd say this mistake speaks to how eager and emotional she was trying to do her best in this performance). Other than this she was absolutely perfect for the rest of the performance, and whenever she appears on stage, the vibrancy in her movements, her charisma, combined with her beautiful lines, gorgeous jumps, unique body type and excellent musicality, makes her portrayal of Kitri extremely convincing to the extent that I am willing to stop comparing her to others and simply enjoy her presence as Kitri. Now it's almost two days after I saw her performance, and images of her Kitri is still somehow very fresh in my mind. Admittedly she was already one of my favorite ballerinas before I saw her as Kitri, but I too shared the view that Kitri was not the best part for her. However, this performance totally changed this view of mine, and I am just amazed at how much more she can still surprise me on stage. The audience responded to her portrayal particularly well, and there were also visibly more people waiting for her at the stage door after the performance, in comparison to both her Swan Lakes and her Spartacus. Krysanova's interpretation was solid, classic, emotional and characteristic of her style, and she looked particularly well together with David Motta Soares. I've seen Krysanova live three times as Kitri (and many times more in other parts), and I would just say that I am very grateful that I got to see her latest one in London. I share MadameP's view regarding Eleonora Sevenard. It is impressive for a young ballerina to be able to portray this part at this level, but there is still plenty of room to grow in terms of characterization. Margarita Shrainer's Kitri was also charming to me, although in comparison to the other three performances, she definitely still has room to grow both in terms of technique and characterization. The four Basilios were all good and each of them has something more remarkable than others, but this also in some ways means to me that each of them is also short of something. In general, I liked David Motta Soares's first act the most, and Denis Rodkin's third act, and Artem Belyakov's acting skills, and Igor Tsvirko's spirit and technique, and I just wonder how nice it would be If someone could combine all of their most distinguishable qualities :).