Xiaoyi

I wonder if Renata Shakirova will eventually perform Gulnara as she was injured in January and has not performed since then.

Flamboyant but boring production. I am a bit disappointed:(

I have one orchestra ticket for Apr. 12 performance of Mariinsky Ballet's DC tour - Le Corsaire. It was bought on the first day of general public sale. I ask $100 for this. We can transfer through ebay. It is electronic ticket. So I can send you immediately. PM me if you are interested. Mariinsky Ballet Opera House Fri, Apr 12, 2019, 7:30 PM Medora: Maria Khoreva (replaces Viktoria Tereshkina)Conrad: Konsantin ZverevGulnara: Renata ShakirovaAli: Kimin KimLankedem: Alexei Timofeyev Seats Qty. Price Total Orchestra Price Zone B: T-124 1 $129.00 $129.00 Order Total $129.00 Ticket Service Charge $18.06 Grand Total $147.06 Amount Charged To Credit Card $147.06

I cannot believe that ROH set the same price for The Bright Stream as for the other three traditional repertoire. Two nights on workdays. Who's gonna pay for that?

Mayerling is too challenging for the male dancer’s stamina. So there will definitely be three casts.

Thank you for the information. I guess the festival will be March 21-31. The only ballet performance in this week is Jewels which is marked “No Tickets” now. Looking forward to what Mariinsky will present in this festival and who the guests will be.

The real broadcast on January 20th will feature Olga Smirnova and Artemy Belyakov according to Smirnova’s official website: https://www.olgasmirnovaballet.com/

2018.12.13 Swan Lake - Kondaurova/Askerov/Belyakov/Khoreva/Guseinova/Beishenaliev Kondaurova and Askerov starred in Mariinsky’s Swan Lake recording in 2013 which I guess everyone in this forum has watched. I went through the recording again before the performance so as to detect the possible difference in acting. But I didn’t notice much, except the reduced difficulty in Odile’s variation and foette. Compared to Osmolkina’s version under the veil of depression or a blue-green vintage filter, Kondaurova’s Odette was more human and lively. A very different interpretation, but it still made sense with Kondaurova’s personal quality. Kondaurova had perfect muscular arms like wings of a swan, and this gave her a strong stage presence. Her acting was mostly delicate and designed in detail. She looked at the water mirror and shook her head as if a girl was appreciating and decorating herself during Odette’s entrance. Her arms brushed with the Prince’s arms before lying on the ground at the beginning of white adagio, showing affection and linking the dance together. The white adagio itself did not impress me so much. (Maybe because the recording took the feeling of freshness away.) It looked like the prince was chasing a shy maiden hidden away from people, instead of fighting the destiny with her. Kondaurova’s back flexibility is not so good as Osmolkina. So her attitude and lying back pose in the Prince’s arm were not so soft. Odette’s variation was great with meaning in every string of dance steps. The first half told her sad story, and the second half showed her love for the prince and doubt about the future. Her speed of moving and turning responded perfectly to the music. The goodbye kiss with the Prince connecting a speedy turn was very touching. However, after the Prince made the vow, Kondaurova didn’t show surprise and took it for granted, which made me felt weird. Kondaurova’s Odile was more charming than evil, like a playful courtesan. She also teased the audience when she was trying to attract the Prince. As a tall ballerina, she performed the technique very well and stably. I liked her single foettes as her double turns looked too slow and forced in the recording. Odette was sad at the beginning of Act IV, as if her feet were trembling with the music. But she was a bit blank in the duet, with little anger or blame to the Prince. However, I forgot the doubt of her acting when I saw a gorgeous queen up in the air. She looked so strong and divine that the triumph over Rothbart made sense. I’m not a fan of Askerov, but I have to admit was dependable as a partner and impressive in Prince’s variation in Act III (one of the variations he prepared for Moscow Ballet Competition). He acted according to the Mariinsky’s tradition, and gave enough response to Kondaurova’s acting. I cannot ask for more. Zverev had a back problem and flew back to Russia after Japan tour. So Belyakov danced Rothbart in all 3 performances in Tianjin. He was quite weak in technique, and wasn’t giving 100% maybe due to the tiredness. The jumps had no height or aggressive power. And the struggle before death in Act IV looked so fake. Shumakov’s Joker was brilliant, full of energy and wit. For the first time, I noticed so many acting details of Joker, with the tutor at the queen’s arrival in Act I and behind the bride candidates in Act III. Then I found that these details are set and Beishenaliev from the other performance did that too. However, Shumakov made them look spontaneous and authentic. I liked Guseinova in pas de trois. She presented a graceful young lady with good musicality. Khoreva was beautiful and great in technique, but she was too eager to show off and please the audience with a fake smile. She performed as if she was in a competition. Beishenaliev was tense too, but it was understandable considering that this is his first few shows as the friend of prince, replacing injured Zaleyev.

2018.12.14 Swan Lake - Osmolkina/Parish/Belyakov/Selina/Nagahisa/Stepin How lucky and privileged I was to watch Ekaterina Osmolkina’s Swan Lake twice in a month. A rare pleasure, even for the audience in St. Petersburg. Affecting Odette and enchanting Odile. Act II was better than the performance in Nanjing. The entrance of Odette took my breath away with fluid arms, great back flexibility and musicality. The white adagio moved me to tears, as her arms were conveying sadness and love with the violin. (A friend told me she was also crying in the other corner of the theater.) I wanted time to stop when I was watching this part. There was a little bit of stumbling at the end of the Odette’s variation, but it didn’t hurt the performance. Osmolkina presented a strong fear of destiny and broken heart after betrayal in the duet in Act IV. I also love the part when Odette was fighting Rothbart with the Prince. Although she looked so fragile as a fallen leaf swirling in the wind, she held herself together until the last minute with facial expression showing the inner force of Odette. Her Odile was also great. I won’t go into details since it was written last time. Parish’s partnering was OK, but not so good as Askerov. It was obvious in the lifts in white adagio. For pas de trois, Stepin was in better shape than Nanjing with regal presence and stable technique. I hope that I can watch him as the Prince some day. I had some doubt about May Nagahisa's proportion and arms when watching the videos before. But I became a little fan of her after this performance. Her pointe technique was stunning, best of the new generation. Her stage presence was fresh with good musicality and light arms. Selina looked average compared to Nagahisa. The character dances were amazing too. I love Hungarian Dance the most. Yernikeyev showed a strong and dramatic stage presence in it. Nedviga is always a delightful character dancer. He danced the Neapolitan part as in 2013 recording. Gavriel Heine conducted better than Repnikov with more attention to the dancers. The atmosphere of character dances was more fervent under his baton.

There is rumour from fans that Batoeva and Shapran are possible to get promoted to principals this season. Let’s wait and see.

Dreamer, can I ask about the source of Bolshoi tour at Kennedy Center? I'm just too excited about this and want to make sure that this is really going to happen. (I've searched the internet but no news about this.)

The slow down that I mentioned was the end of Odette's variation when she makes turns in diagonal direction swapping her wings. From 1'50'' in this Zakharova's video: https://youtu.be/cpsk0GPEI1U So it had nothing to do with Parish. Parish's assisting turns got better and tolerable now. It didn't look easy and fluid, but at least he didn't slow down the ballerina or knock her off balance this time.

2018.11.24(eve) Swan Lake - Osmolkina/Parish/Zverev/Khoreva/Nikitina/Stepin I went to Nanjing simply for Osmolkina, after her 11 years’ absence from Chinese stages. (So the change from Kim to Parish didn't hurt me so much.) I had watched her videos of Black Swan pdd and White Adagio from Youtube. She exceeded my expectation in this performance. Her Odette was melancholic and sentimental, a beautiful swan queen under the veil of depression. Her fragility and innocence was obvious when she bowed to Rothbart. And she told her story to the Prince with sad eye contact and leaned on his arms with attachment. Her famous musicality and upper body were there as always. And I could see that her arms as Odette got better with more performances and retouch in the past two seasons. (Two minor complaints about the technique, Pas de bourrée not delicate enough during the entrance and the turns getting more slowly instead of speeding up during the variation.) IMHO, her Odile was more impressive and stunning than Odette (You can watch the video from russianballetvideos2). Her entrance and the perfect attitude pose caught my breath immediately. During the pdd, She had got an evil grin facing the audience. And when she turned to the Prince and other characters on stage, she was aggressive and flamboyant, attracting everyone's attention like a super gorgeous princess from a neighbor country. Some of her facial expressions reminded me of Anna Tikhomirova, but in a more elegant way. Some friends complained that Osmolkina's interpretation was too gentle, but I thought this was reasonable. Why would the Prince propose to an obvious devil? Her foettes were well done, although all in singles. The shaft was stable with the leg up high and she matched beats beautifully. (You cannot demand Osmolkina to perform foettes like Tereshkina anyway.) Chinese audience loved the foettes. So Osmolkina sent us a charming air kiss during the bow in applause. In Act 4, Odette refused to make eye contact with the Prince in the adagio out of disappointment, Her solo moving backwards on one leg was so light and ethereal, as if the swan is trying to fly away. When Odette was put on the floor before the final fight, her arm slid gently in front of the Prince's arm, reminding me of the farewell photos in World War II. (The performance will be better with a tragic ending.) I have to praise Parish a bit, although I dislike him overall. His technique and acting improved considerably from Stepanova's debut. The variation of the black swan pdd was light and well-stretched with elegant pose. His partnering was tolerable and even good in Act 4. He was quite devoted to his acting, maybe a bit over acting. The eagerness to find Odette from the swans, the longing for his beloved when dancing with the bride candidates, the doubt of Odile and the regret after being cheated were quite believable. I will not ask too much of him about the neat footwork and musicality. (The little solo by Parish in Act 1 was miserable with no connection to the music.) Anyway, he's done his best. And I've got to tolerate him considering he is the partner for a few great ballerinas. Zverev's Rothbart was almost invisible in my eyes, fading into the dark background. He was light, but not strong and sharp enough. His stage presence was weak IMHO. (He shares some secondary male roles with Smekalov, but with totally different acting quality.) Pas de trois by Khoreva/Nikitina/Stepin was average, not the best they can do. Khoreva has great clean footwork and Nikitina has great upper body. (Nikitina was also the Big Swan in Act 4. She was very beautiful. I can almost imagine her as Odette.) Stepin looked a bit tired and was heavy in his jumping. (He performed 4 out of 5 Swan Lakes in Nanjing, due to Zaleyev's injury.) The Hungarian Dance was especially good with Alina Kraskovskaya and Maxim Zenin, with a sense of nobility. (Written in Chinese and translated into English. Please forgive my mistakes in wording.) Some photos from curtain call:

Maybe La Scala didn't do a proper marketing? I could not beblieve that La Bayadere with great cast was not sold out when La Scala's Manon was sold out early. And The Taming of the Shrew is the best new choreography in Bolshoi in the past few years imho. It deserves to go back to London in three years.

Specific dates for each repertoire are released: https://www.bolshoi.ru/en/performances/10007/ Ballet Company and Orchestra Tour, London Royal Opera House Covent Garden 29 July - 1 August Aram Khachaturyan Spartacus Ballet in three acts 2 – 6 August Pyotr Tchaikovsky Swan Lake Ballet in two acts 7 & 8 August Dmitry Shostakovich The Bright Stream Ballet in two acts 9 & 10 August Aram Khachaturyan Spartacus Ballet in three acts 12 – 14 August Pyotr Tchaikovsky Swan Lake Ballet in two acts 15 – 17 August Ludwig Minkus Don Quixote Ballet in three acts It's a pity that The Taming of the Shrew and La Bayadere are gone : (

Casting for The Nutcracker released: https://national.ballet.ca/Productions/2018-19-Season/The-Nutcracker The Sugar Plum Fairy Heather Ogden (December 8 at 2:00 pm/December 19, 28 at 7:00 pm/December 23 at 5:00 pm/ December 30 at 1:00 pm) Jillian Vanstone (December 8, 22 at 7:00 pm/December 15, 29 at 2:00 pm/ December 30 at 5:30 pm) Greta Hodgkinson (December 9 at 1:00 pm/December 18, 21 at 7:00 pm) Sonia Rodriguez (December 9, 16 at 5:30 pm/December 13 at 7:00 pm) Jurgita Dronina (December 12, 14, 15 at 7:00 pm) Calley Skalnik (December 16, 27 at 1:00 pm/December 20 at 7:00 pm) Elena Lobsanova (December 22 at 2:00 pm/December 23 at 1:00 pm/December 27 at 5:30 pm/ December 29 at 7:00 pm) Peter/The Nutcracker Guillaume Côté (December 8 at 2:00 pm/December 19 at 7:00 pm) Skylar Campbell (December 8, 22 at 7:00 pm/December 15, 29 at 2:00 pm/December 30 at 5:30 pm) Harrison James (December 9 at 1:00 pm/December 12, 14, 15, 18, 21 at 7:00 pm) Piotr Stanczyk (December 9, 16 at 5:30 pm/December 13 at 7:00 pm) Jack Bertinshaw* (December 16, 27 at 1:00 pm/December 20 at 7:00 pm) Naoya Ebe (December 22 at 2:00 pm/December 23 at 1:00 pm/December 27 at 5:30 pm/December 29 at 7:00 pm) Christopher Gerty (December 23 at 5:00 pm/December 28 at 7:00 pm/December 30 at 1:00 pm) All casting subject to change.

I've bought a few tickets, and would love to post my humble opinions. Figure crossed that the cast will stay unchanged for the real performances.

@pherank and @JosetteThank you very much for sharing the information about the theater. I will try to find some tickets on the Founders Circle if the cast is ideal for me. By the advertisement of RB Japan Tour , 2019.06.21-30, which is just one week ahead of LA tour (the picture below). It lists almost all the principal dancers except Kish and Bonelli (who is in some study course until next season). There is high hope that most of them will come to LA after that. So there will be four possible Rudolph (McRae, Soares, Hirano and Ball). I don't think that Watson will try this exhausting repertoire again, although I would do everything to see the performance if he is listed.

Cast for The Dream & Being and Nothingness released: https://national.ballet.ca/Productions/2018-19-Season/The-Dream The Dream Titania Jillian Vanstone (November 21, 23, 24 at 7:30 pm/November 25 at 2:00 pm) Elena Lobsanova (November 22 at 2:00 pm) Aya Okumura (November 22 at 7:30 pm) Alexandra MacDonald (November 24 at 2:00 pm) Oberon Harrison James (November 21, 24 at 7:30 pm) Evan McKie (November 22 at 2:00 pm) Naoya Ebe (November 22 at 7:30 pm) Guillaume Côté (November 23 at 7:30 pm/November 25 at 2:00 pm) Brendan Saye (November 24 at 2:00 pm) Puck Skylar Campbell (November 21, 23, 24 at 7:30 pm) Donald Thom (November 22 at 2:00 pm) Siphesihle November (November 22 at 7:30 pm/November 25 at 2:00 pm) Naoya Ebe (November 24 at 2:00 pm) Being and Nothingness Part 1 – The Light Greta Hodgkinson (November 21, 22, 23 at 7:30 pm) Tanya Howard (November 22 at 2:00 pm/November 24 at 7:30 pm) Jenna Savella (November 24, 25 at 2:00 pm) Part 2 – The Bedroom Kathryn Hosier and Félix Paquet (November 21, 22, 24 at 7:30 pm/November 24 at 2:00 pm) Miyoko Koyasu and Nan Wang (November 22, 25 at 2:00 pm/November 23 at 7:30 pm) Part 3 – The Door Chelsy Meiss and Jack Bertinshaw (November 21, 23, 24 at 7:30 pm) Meghan Pugh and Skylar Campbell (November 22 at 2:00 pm/November 22 at 7:30 pm) Aya Okumura and Jack Bertinshaw (November 24, 25 at 2:00 pm) Part 4 – The Sink Siphesihle November (November 21, 23, 24 at 7:30 pm) Kota Sato (November 22 at 2:00 pm/November 22 at 7:30 pm) Spencer Hack (November 24, 25 at 2:00 pm) Part 5 – The Living Room Svetlana Lunkina and Brendan Saye (November 21, 23, 24 at 7:30 pm) Hannah Fischer and Christopher Gerty (November 22, 24 at 2:00 pm) Heather Ogden and Brendan Saye (November 22 at 7:30 pm/ November 25 at 2:00 pm) Part 6 – The Street Joe Chapman, Jimmy Coleman, Trygve Cumpston, Giorgio Galli, Christopher Gertyor Peng-Fei Jiang, Spencer Hack or Alexander Skinner, Teagan Richman-Taylor, Kota Sato or Larkin Miller, Donald Thom, Nan Wang or Nicholas Rose, Ethan Watts Part 7 – The Call Greta Hodgkinson and Ben Rudisin (November 21, 22, 23 at 7:30 pm) Tanya Howard and Guillaume Côté (November 22 at 2:00 pm/November 24 at 7:30 pm) Jenna Savella and Piotr Stanczyk (November 24, 25 at 2:00 pm) All casting is subject to change.

Can I ask for some suggestions on seating? About feet visibility, sidelines and distance from upstairs The ramp in orchestra stalls looks decent from the photos on the official website. But I'm not sure what the space is really like. Are the front rows of loge and balcony too faraway? As a short person, I'm worried about tall men sitting in front of me. And I'm kind of worried if I get a good seat after the cast is released (in May, I guess.)

Swan Lake, Nanjing https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MzI3NDY4NTM3Ng==&mid=2247484969&idx=1&sn=9e8e04ff3670d05b934fa127db8ffe05&chksm=eb110a86dc66839047ccdc8b1f611a0d5632de05aab92b37caeb32cf24704db05d72785ff4d7&mpshare=1&scene=1&srcid=1114Nj3i9danYkMXrs3xlyGm&pass_ticket=4XrR3PQN3xiRPAGPTVBWPBbXOuHB2FatOY9tdNd%2FMzhKBq5I5qlA4WbHMaY7xEfu#rd 2018.11.22[Thu.] 19:30 Yekaterina Chebykina, Timur Askerov, Konstantin Zverev (as Rothbart), Nadezhda Gonchar, Elena Yevseyeva, Philipp Stepin (as Prince's friends) (The following cast in the same sequence) 2018.11.23[Fri.] 19:30 Anastasia Kolegova, Yevgeny Ivanchenko, Andrei Yermakov, Maria Khoreva, Anastasia Nikitina, David Zaleyev 2018.11.24[Sat.] 14:30 Yekaterina Chebykina, Timur Askerov, Ivan Oskorbin, Nadezhda Gonchar, Elena Yevseyeva, Philipp Stepin 2018.11.24[Sat.] 19:30 Yekaterina Osmolkina, Kimin Kim, Konstantin Zverev, Maria Khoreva, Anastasia Nikitina, David Zaleyev 2018.11.25[Sun.] 19:30 Anastasia Kolegova, Yevgeny Ivanchenko, Ivan Oskorbin, Nadezhda Gonchar, Elena Yevseyeva, David Zaleyev Swan Lake, Tianjin https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MzU1MTQ5Mzk2MA==&mid=2247496542&idx=1&sn=f91fd8668e8e9d95fda42bd8e04bd7c2&chksm=fb923b79cce5b26fd9ddaf1482673300970ce88e601cd2c97f99e59f6b773f16b445e5c14b25&mpshare=1&scene=1&srcid=1114ipmZ4AbNMHopsIDh5JRA&pass_ticket=4XrR3PQN3xiRPAGPTVBWPBbXOuHB2FatOY9tdNd%2FMzhKBq5I5qlA4WbHMaY7xEfu#rd 2018.12.12[Wed.] 19:00 Nadezhda Batoeva, Vladimir Shklyarov, Konstantin Zverev, Renata Sharkirova, May Nagahisa, Philipp Stepin 2018.12.13[Thu.] 19:00 Ekaterina Kondaurova, Timur Askerov, Roman Belyakov, Maria Khoreva, Shamala Guseinova, David Zaleyev 2018.12.14[Fri.] 19:00 Ekaterina Osmolkina, Xander Parish, Konstantin Zverev, Yana Selina, May Nagahisa, Philipp Stepin It was rumor that Balanchine Gala (Prodigal Son. Symphony in C) would also come to China with the sales-promising Swan Lake. But it was declined by the conservative theaters : (

Link to ROH official website: https://www.roh.org.uk/seasons/2018-19/spring/events What attracts me most is the wonderful R & J casts: Natalia Osipova + David Hallberg, Sarah Lamb + Vadim Muntagirov, Francesca Hayward + Corrales (saw him on WBF Tokyo, wonderful technique although not very handsome. I hope he will be a better partner than Golding). Yasmine Naghdi + Matthew Ball are cast for R & J cinema broadcast on June 11th. There was a lot of acclaim for their debut in 2015. Stix-Brunell, Cuthbertson, Lamb & Muntagirov are cast for Within the Golden Hour / New Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui / Flight Pattern cinema broadcast on May 16th.

Cast for Anna Karenina released: https://national.ballet.ca/Productions/2018-19-Season/Anna-Karenina Anna Karenina Svetlana Lunkina (November 10, 14, 16 at 7:30 pm/November 18 at 2:00 pm) Heather Ogden (November 11 at 2:00 pm/November 15, 17 at 7:30 pm) Sonia Rodriguez (November 13 at 7:30 pm/November 15, 17 at 2:00 pm) Alexei Vronsky Harrison James (November 10, 14, 16 at 7:30 pm/November 18 at 2:00 pm) Guillaume Côté (November 11 at 2:00 pm/November 15, 17 at 7:30 pm) Naoya Ebe (November 13 at 7:30 pm/November 15, 17 at 2:00 pm) Alexei Karenin Piotr Stanczyk (November 10, 14, 16 at 7:30 pm/November 18 at 2:00 pm) Evan McKie (November 11 at 2:00 pm/November 15, 17 at 7:30 pm) Brendan Saye (November 13 at 7:30 pm/November 15, 17 at 2:00 pm) Levin Skylar Campbell (November 10, 14, 16 at 7:30 pm/November 18 at 2:00 pm) Félix Paquet (November 11 at 2:00 pm/November 15, 17 at 7:30 pm) Kota Sato (November 13 at 7:30 pm/November 15, 17 at 2:00 pm) Kitty Meghan Pugh (November 10, 14, 16 at 7:30 pm/November 18 at 2:00 pm) Antonella Martinelli (November 11 at 2:00 pm/November 15, 17 at 7:30 pm) Calley Skalnik (November 13 at 7:30 pm/November 15, 17 at 2:00 pm) Dolly Xiao Nan Yu (November 10, 14, 16 at 7:30 pm/November 18 at 2:00 pm) Chelsy Meiss (November 11 at 2:00 pm/November 15, 17 at 7:30 pm) Jenna Savella (November 13 at 7:30 pm/November 15, 17 at 2:00 pm) Stiva Naoya Ebe (November 10, 14, 16 at 7:30 pm/November 18 at 2:00 pm) Ethan Watts (November 11 at 2:00 pm/November 15, 17 at 7:30 pm) Christopher Gerty (November 13 at 7:30 pm/November 15, 17 at 2:00 pm)

Ratmansky's La Bayadere released the cast last weekend. And Godunova will debut Gamzatti on November 10th with Daniil Simkin. https://www.staatsballett-berlin.de/en/spielplan/la-bayadere/10-11-2018/720