Drew

When I saw the live film broadcast of this production I found the floor very distracting. Even on youtube I find it distracting. Glad you had a lovely time in London.

Sounds wonderful. I am sorry I have not seen Acosta dance more!

Maybe, but I''m not sure about a "goodly" number--it's a role created on one of the world's greatest male dancers and very hard to do right...I missed the spring revival at ABT (would have loved to see Hallberg) but a few years ago did see the Royal's revival with Cope and Pennefeather in the role and neither came close in my opinion, though Cope's partnering skills were on display. (The trickiness of the partnering is another issue as well. I'm plenty nervous about Stearns in the role and he at least has elegant proportions as Dowell did.) Thank you, Drew, for your kind response. I would have thought someone like Joseph Gorak might be just the ticket. I say that only from what I've read, of course. Sadly I've never seen him live. However, David Hallberg says that he sees much of himself in Gorak ... so that, among other things, made me think .... hmmmm. If McKenzie REALLY wanted to bring in a (star) dancer from outside for the role who could easily tick all the boxes I think Sarafanov would be miraculous in it ... and would be oh, so very musical which, of course, Dowell was. The last time I saw Dowell in the role was at Sibley's farewell when they danced together for one last time. It was naturally a very memorable evening. How fortunate you were to have seen Sibley's farewell--wow! (I haven't seen Gorak yet either, but he sounds promising...) For the first time in many years I plan on coming up to New York for the ABT Fall season and, in case any ABT marketing/programming people are reading this, it was also the first time in many years I bought my tickets before casts were announced and thus based entirely on repertory (Ashton, Balanchine, Tharp and 2 Ratmanksy in a single weekend including a premier) ... I have to admit that my comfort with the State Theater also played a role in my decision. But I wasn't unhappy to learn I would be seeing Côte with Kent. P.S. Comfort w. the State Theater obviously does not include its new name...

Upgraded to business class? The ballet gods are smiling on you. Glad you had a great trip.

I loved her in Bournonville when I saw some RDB soloists on tour (also in the early 00's). Well . . . wishing her the best!

Maybe, but I''m not sure about a "goodly" number--it's a role created on one of the world's greatest male dancers and very hard to do right...I missed the spring revival at ABT (would have loved to see Hallberg) but a few years ago did see the Royal's revival with Cope and Pennefeather in the role and neither came close in my opinion, though Cope's partnering skills were on display. (The trickiness of the partnering is another issue as well. I'm plenty nervous about Stearns in the role and he at least has elegant proportions as Dowell did.)

For this viewer at least, not just a loss of $$$, but of artistry and excitement. I certainly hope Cojocaru and Osipova continue to make guest appearances.

Thanks to everyone for these reports and perspectives on the Bolshoi's performances in London. I look forward to more if/as people have the chance. (And Volcanohunter, i appreciate hearing about where you were sitting: as you may know, I am always asking about seats and sight lines...call me "seathunter.")

Yes, 2nd row of orchestra is where I sat, and I saw feet without problem. However I noticed the first few rows are level so a tall person could block your view. After the 4th or 5th row the orchestra seats are raked and start to go up. So it is better to sit in Row 5 probably. I chose using the online diagram and it looked like the seats started farther away from the stage because the pit is large so it looked like row 2 was far enough back but I think Row 5 or 6 might be better. I liked seeing the faces up close though. Thank you. Looking forward to hearing about other performances you see...

Performance of LHH sounds lovely--very much hope I can see Osmolkina one day. I have a question about Mariinsky II though: Were you sitting in the second row downstairs (that is, orchestra seats)? I was curious if you can see the floor and the dancers' feet from that close. (I realize it's different depending on one's height, but I was wondering what your experience was.)

Not sure if this still belongs here and not in discussions of Bolshoi's upcoming tour but...An interview with Filin by Tom Parfitt in The Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/102889/Dancing.in.defiance.html

An interview with Filin by Tom Parfitt in The Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/10207889/Dancing-in-defiance.html “People look from afar and they see a storm overhead but they don’t notice that the people down on the ground are getting on with their lives. The troupe has never stopped, it is a united collective with its creative power preserved. We stand shoulder to shoulder. There is no acid between the artists. Our answer to all that has happened at the Bolshoi is the dance which the artists bring on to the stage.”

You are not not just talking about a contrast in acting capacity...Of course, Yevseyeva is a considerably more experienced dancer than Kampa.

This essay appeared in May, but I just tumbled over it today--after the introductory section it addresses the program and challenges of the Cunningham Foundation as it works to preserve a legacy that, at least partly, defies preservation: http://nplusonemag.com/the-merce-cunningham-archives

Smirnova is a very young ballerina who joined the Bolshoi from the Vaganova school. She was immediately given big roles and is definitely the Bolshoi 'it' girl right now. She recently danced the premier of Eugene Onegin at the Bolshoi--causing rather a dust up when the Bolshoi's "prima" Zakharova walked away from the production in protest at not being given the premier. Diana Vishneva has been quoted as saying that Smirnova combines the best of the Vaganova school AND the Bolshoi/Moscow school. Smirnova should be particularly good in Bayadere, a principal role she has been dancing pretty much from the beginning of her career. I wish I could see her! Krysanova is also a very fine dancer. This is great cast. (Helene just posted as I was typing...anyway, this is would have been my first choice of cast if I were in London...)

Sounds wonderful. Let's hope that they bring it to U.S. when they come (if they come) in 2014.

Very much my feelings.

If Verdy qualifies then I rather think Van Hamel should be on that list too -- she was more admired among many ballet fans than several other ABT dancers on the list. (But in fact, I would tend to want to refine the definition down so that dancers who grew up and got most of their training outside the U.S. would not qualify. And I guess all of us reading that list have a private sub-list of dancers named we doubt are ballerinas in the sense this thread intends.) I think that absolutely individual distinctiveness is part of what makes one a ballerina (whatever the nationality) and that defining American qualities might mean sometimes zeroing in on qualities that aren't necessarily "ballerina" qualities, but qualities of American dancers that ballerinas embody in a particularly powerful and creative way. (Angelica made a related point as I was typing this.) Perhaps a certain streamlined physicality or dynamism? A way of processing 'interpretation' first and foremost through dance in its relation to music?

I take it Christianne means she is the company's "Prima Ballerina" (their top dog as it were)--I had a slight mental hiccup the first time I heard her say it, but I accept a certain amount of contextual latitude in how terms like "Ballerina" and "Prima Ballerina" are used. And in fact don't begrudge her the term at all. (Also don't know if the producers are pushing this or if it's the term the company likes to use for her or ...well, whatever. But I think the general audience does likely want to see a show that includes "ballerinas" not just principal dancers.)

Thank you for this report--I'm very interested in reading about all the performances you see. (From the very little I have seen of Yevseyeva I'm not surprised to read about her being a quality Kitri.)

I did read this--twitter alerted me to it of all things--I found it very interesting. Although Ratmansky works all over the world including Russia it remains rather intriguing to me that the work which, he says, reflects "all my knowledge about what has happened in twentieth-century Russia" (that is, the Shostakovich trilogy) find its birthplace at ABT. (Perhaps because, as he also says, he doesn't want the audience "to look" for that knowledge, but I don't think that's the only reason...) .

They kept saying Wendy Ellis Somes and I kept waiting for them to say Frederic Ashton. But I am glad that's the version of Cinderella they will be working on all season...

I will put in a word for Heinz Claus as well--I still recall his sense of anguish.

Thank you for the report--I almost always have to make corrections to my posts.

Although my knowledge of the company is minimal I was rather pleased with the news about Messerer.