Drew

5 hours ago, Buddy said:

I’m very sorry to hear another confirmation of this, Mashinka.

I have been assuming everyone's source for "Vaziev is a bully towards the corps" is the same one source--his yearly appearances on World Ballet Day. Is there another?

Re World Ballet Day: I thought his relatively brief appearance in 2021 was the most unpleasant to watch of any of his appearances as he singled out one person for humiliation and that seems to me worse than acting the martinet towards many or calling out a lot of different people (especially when you know you are on camera).

Les Ballets 1933 was in most respects a failure--but it was also an important artistic event that (I think) impacted the trajectory of ballet history from the use of baby ballerinas to Balanchine's future commitments and even future works....some of which got a first try out with this company. I'm glad it happened.  Institutionally it was a blip on the ballet history radar or barely. I'm not saying I put the Harkness in the same category, but note that at least there is still a Harkness Foundation supporting dancers.

Some companies (not referring to any in particular here) can also be important for the audiences they bring to ballet even if they don't dance Swan Lake at standard of the Mariinsky or have major new rep.

1 hour ago, On Pointe said:

I agree that the style of that era is long gone and looks archaic to our eyes now.  But where's the sheer joy of moving to music?  I hope that hasn't become extinct.  The current crop moves from one pretty pose to another,  giving us plenty of time to admire their ultra high extensions and impressively arched feet,  but that's not enough.  Maybe I've been looking at too many videos of class work and coaching sessions.  There's not enough performance quality in their work. Obviously video can only give us an approximation of a stage performance,  but Sergeenkova is not exciting to me.

I guess I'm a little more optimistic about the company than you are, but I can't deny I've occasionally had similar concerns. Unlike some who are posting, I see the company live very little. But in 2019 I was at one live performance of the Grigorovich Swan Lake (London tour) that was going fine--without being all that compelling--when Tikhomirova took the stage as the Neopolitan Princess in the ballroom scene. The difference between her and the other dancers was palpable--she danced her solo with such life and rhythmic energy that the other dancers looked faded and dull. I enjoyed her performance but it almost depressed me because they all should have been dancing like that! I gather she isn't likely to progress beyond the soloist stage (VolcanoHunter has reported elsewhere on Tikhomirova's lack of success carrying the evening in principal roles and she isn't getting cast in them now anyway), but certainly she danced with what I thought was "the sheer joy of moving to music."

That said, my tastes are pretty eclectic: obviously, I don't dislike everything I get glimpses of happening under Vaziev and I am looking forward to seeing what happens with Sergeenkova.

In the video I have seen (of her Swan Lake and of Diamonds), Sergeenkova seems less gymnastic/uncoordinated than some of the other super flexible dancers I have seen--less ultra skinny in her legs too. I do see the extra band she has on her shoes and I find it slightly distracting. (It's as if I'm watching a rehearsal.) But I liked the fact that, on video at any rate, her recent Diamonds was without tragedy airs -- and I was intrigued by the way she really seemed to look at her partner and respond to his presence.

The Bolshoi of the 60s/70s is long gone--like the NYCB of that era. Vaziev may be injecting more of his own aesthetic into the company (for good or ill) vis-a-vis his more immediate predecessors but the company he came into was already a different one from the Bolshoi of Maximova etc.

2 hours ago, Helene said:

You're not going to get into NYCB from there...

2 hours ago, canbelto said:

It's also often not the most prestigious schools that have the most abuse. Big schools - lots of prying eyes. Students so talented they can go elsewhere. 

I always thought of North Carolina School of the Arts as very prestigious, so I tried to look up their ballet alumnae. According to Wikipedia they include several NYCB dancers --LeCrone and Claire Kretzchmar among those still dancing. They both did some "finishing" at SAB, so perhaps one wouldn't go directly from NCSA to NYCB--but it certainly has had a serious reputation for pre-professional training... Among current ABT dancers Murphy studied there....Hayden is mentioned in the first paragraph of Murphy's ABT biography and there is a scholarship named for Murphy at NCSA. In roughly the same generation Maria Ricceto. (And much of the ugliest stuff in the Times report dates to the mid-90s.)

At one time (late 80s) SAB even tapped the Dean of Dance at NCSA to be its new head.  This was a vague memory in my head, but google confirmed it--Robert Lindgren. (Vague memory also recalls something about an  attempt by him to introduce a modern/contemporary dance course at SAB that was NOT well received and may have led to his departure. Others may remember more.) But anyway NCSA has a history as an important arts training institution....

21 minutes ago, ECat said:

Hopefully she will get a lot of performances during the mixed bill performances. But it is disheartening to see her only get one full length.

I feel this way too...and can only guess how discouraging it is for her...

36 minutes ago, pherank said:

But ABT has been relying on an 'international stars' model for decades. The stars had precedence over dancers who had come up slowly through the ranks. I happen to like the school-centered company model. That's me. It may be a quieter means of establishing a style and approach, but it is very effective over the long term, and binds people together (internally) in a way that the eclectic stars approach can never do.

The value of a school-centered approach (for companies that have the resources) is enormous. Even ABT has been working to make that happen in recent years. Many ballet fans feel this way. Me too.

(Schools do seem to go through ups and downs. I remember how excited people were when they saw what was happening under Claude Bessy at the POB school.)

For my taste, the occasional relation with guest artists would not have bothered me at ABT had it remained more limited—especially given their (to my taste often dull) repertory and the need to fill the Met—but over-reliance on guest artists, especially those who only came in for a one-shot performance and, at times, the company’s seeming failure to fully develop internal talent did bother me. 

As noted by others, that has gone through a sea change in recent years. But actually it’s a kind of uneven history—seasons with heavy-reliance on guest artists years at a time....and then the emergence of more dancers from the ranks and then the pendulum swinging back. A stable school could make a big difference as it already seems to gave done.

10 hours ago, pherank said:

One specific concern I have is that Rojo would bring in a few "stars" to make the company more like ABT (no thanks), and de-emphasize the importance of the SFB School to the company - something Tomasson spent 3 decades on. If my memory serves me, over 60% of the dancers spent time at the SFB School. [Just checked, and the website say's "more than 65%"].

Do you not trust the company's board on these issues? Have their members expressed a desire for that kind of change? That is, I'm imagining these or related questions would have been brought up in the interview/vetting process. 

As you may know, the director of the ENB school is Viviane Durante, and Rojo presided over brand new digs for the school as well--neither of which things suggest she thinks a company's school is unimportant.  I don't have figures, but the school website lists about 20 alums who are in ENB at the present time including soloists, a principal, and what they call a "leading principal."  (Overall, that would be less than the percentage at San Francisco of dancers from their school but over 30 percent of ENB's dancers--and one doubts their school has the pick of the crop in London.)

Tomasson had a super distinguished tenure at San Francisco. Bravo to him! But it wasn't an easy transition (as noted by others above) and he did/does bring in dancers from outside the company-- Mackay recently but quite a number of others -- not as guest artists but as soloists and principals, and I would be surprised if Rojo didn't do that as well.  Naghdi even made a guest appearance--very rare at San Francisco. Which I agree is a good thing. 

For all I know Rojo will be a bust in San Francisco, but I think she's a very compelling figure and am "rooting" for her and the company 100 percent.

I think being close to New York is a double edged sword for ballet companies that aspire to be (or are) "world class"....San Francisco and Pacific Northwest Ballet perhaps have some advantages...

17 hours ago, pherank said:

You know, I'm still wondering: Why is Rojo leaving ENB? If things have turned out so well for her there (as the p.r. makes it sound), why not continue to build up ENB?

And why go halfway around the world - leaving behind the usual ballet centers to lead a US West Coast company? What's the benefit to Rojo? I would think it would be more difficult, not less, to get notice for her 'artistic vision' when located in California. Perhaps she intends on making SFB tour more (good luck with that). Or maybe the point is to get away from all the touring that ENB has had to do?

I was mildly surprised by this announcement, but fact is, she could have been the fairy godmother of ENB rather than its Director and still wanted to see what she could do someplace else. (And that's without the impact of the pandemic--which has caused a lot of people to rethink what they want/need from life.)

It doesn't odd to me that almost any artistic director would want the San Francisco job. Vis-a-vis ENB, it is a slightly larger company which, for starters, may appeal to her. (These are delicate matters, but I'd have thought it's slightly more prestigious internationally as well though presumably not in the UK).  And as you mentioned,  ENB has to tour throughout the UK--that's their raison-d'être--and the touring may also mean there is a limit to the kind of development of new repertory that interests Rojo. I suppose it may be she has been promised resources in San Francisco she doesn't have at ENB, though I agree with what was said above about her needing to learn a new donor community.  And yes, one suspects San Francisco's audiences' apparent openness to new repertory appealed to her as well...

1 hour ago, California said:

Singles go on sale  to the public April 25: https://www.abt.org/performances/summer-season/

Friends at $480 and up get access one week ahead: https://www.abt.org/support/individual-giving/membership/

Thank you very much! (I know I'm an idiot...) Relieved, too, that it's April which gives a lot of time to see how the Pandemic/Endemic situation progresses....

When do seats go on sale to (non subscribing) public? I have tried to find this online but had difficulty. In all of the announcements about the season I see that subscriptions are on sale, but nothing about when individual seats will be available. (I realize there must be some obvious place I am not looking, but if anyone can tell me the answer I'd be grateful.)

Congratulations to Kokoreva. Based on video, I believe I would love seeing her live. The Raymonda Act III variation she did in the broadcast was a WOW! for me.

I don't have a clear cut "position" on whether a company like this does better hiring from within its own ranks and alums or going outside. Certainly this is not centuries' old company with a byzantine bureaucracy where any "outsider" is likely to be eaten alive.

But at the least Rojo seems to me a very interesting and even an exciting choice, as she seems to have found intelligent ways to be 'of the moment' at ENB while still being committed to classical ballet...Since San Francisco Ballet has a lot of great dancers as well as great ballets in its repertory of course one hopes the transition won't be too bumpy even if it's bound to be somewhat bumpy. 

This is from the Guardian's piece on Rojo's move:

"The acclaimed dancer – who has introduced groundbreaking works into the ENB’s repertoire, including more than 40 works choreographed by women – will step down in late 2022 to take up the role of artistic director at San Francisco Ballet....Rojo has been credited with giving ENB a new, international allure, through innovative and risk-taking commissions such as Akram Khan’s Giselle.

"She also led ENB into a new chapter in 2019 by moving it into the RIBA award-winning Mulryan Centre for Dance in east London, several months before the pandemic hit. Since then, she’s been a strong advocate of the arts, after ENB had to furlough 85% of its workforce and many of the staff, including Rojo, took pay cuts."

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/jan/11/tamara-rojo-to-leave-english-national-ballet

It's exciting that the company is so awash with talent (though sad that their opportunities to dance are still being impacted by the pandemic)...But a huge YES from me to Laracey getting opportunities in Mozartiana and the one act Swan Lake. Even though I wouldn't be able to see any of her performances, I would be pleased just to know they were taking place. And, of course, whoever gets cast--the options already mentioned above include a slew of wonderful dancers--I plan to be reading about the performances here.

Edited to add: Farrell was incomparable in Mozartiana, but I did enjoy Hyltin in the ballet when I saw her dance it a few years back--her debut season in Mozartiana I believe.

6 hours ago, Kathleen O'Connell said:

Oh, I think I'll go down a different path. The "mad scene" is where she gets good and mad. She's got better things to do with her life than be the next dead girl a thoughtless nobleman begs forgiveness from in the last act. 

I remember when I began taking Mr. Drew to the ballet. After a couple of years, he had seen Giselle and Swan Lake (repeatedly even) and we were gearing up for his first Bayadere.  I started to give him a little synopsis and as I got to the part of the story where the nobleman betrays the woman he had sworn to love, Mr. Drew said to me something along the lines of "oh that's what happens in all of them..." 

5 hours ago, Buddy said:

Hi Drew and Happy New Year.

[...] the change of pace is worth noting and perhaps discussing.

 

Happy New Year to you too Buddy and to you @ECat.

Pacing...Hmmm...Stepping aside from Giselle, I've noticed Khoreva's turns along the dialgonal are faster than I'm used to seeing at the Mariinsky; I quite like that as long as she looks relaxed and on axis when doing it and ends securely (all of which she usually does in the video I have seen and as best I remember, too, when I saw her live).  I don't think I would mind at all seeing some more speed in turns from the Mariinsky's featured dancers. In an interview given shortly after she joined the Bolshoi, Stepanova said that was one of the first things she worked on with her coach there.

But you were writing about the corps in the December 19th Giselle excerpts.  I actually thought one dancer looked clearly misaligned at a moment when the corps was standing along the sides of stage framing the action (camera angles play a role here and perhaps it was not as clear from most of the audience). Also, the exact positioning of the dancers' hands/fingers wasn't the same when they were posed along the side of the stage. I won't say I've never seen that at the Mariinsky because I have, but not that often or at least not that obviously, so that was my main concern....

23 hours ago, Buddy said:

Something of a New Year’s Day present. An old friend of ours posted a video of Olga Smirnova’s long awaited performance of  the Alexei Ratmansky interpretation of Giselle that took place December 19. It includes all of her appearance in Act II.

It’s most interesting for what she does and for a view of what Alexei Ratmansky has conceived. It’s as fine a performance as I’ve seen her give. As usual she’s in total command of her dramatic presence and her exceptional dancing. Her theatrically (acting) is as fine as there is on a ballet stage. Her nuancing and her depth of portrayal are exceptional. Within the boundaries set by Alexei Ratmansky (she has stated that he was on top of every detail) she still internalises and makes her character compelling, intricate and personal.

The Ratmansky interpretation is a more dramatic and very animated one. The moves are larger and faster, most noticeable in the Willis who are almost running at times. It’s a definite contrast to the usual Mariinsky dreaminess. I would guess that it’s something that would work very well at the Bolshoi, but would also have a worthwhile place at the Mariinsky, where both versions could be presented. Maria Bulanova, a favorite of mine for her vibrance, does a fine change of direction as a very formidable Myrtha. I didn’t recognise her. I didn’t recognise Igor Kolb either with his fine dramatic approach to Hans.

I, as usual, continue to like the traditional, more dreamlike and lyrical, Mariinsky manner, but the more dramatic one also has a great attraction. This is where the Bolshoi excels. It’s pretty much a matter of personal preference.

One of the artistic elements that I most like is the well defined sculpture.

Vladimir Shklyarov as Albrecht complements Olga Smirnova very well with his physical, yet airy Mariinsky prowess.

 

 

I was a little confused by this. Smirnova made a guest appearance with the Mariinsky, dancing with Shklyarov, and a chunk of that performance got posted on youtube dated December 19--if that is the footage you are discussing, then I agree with you that there is some beautiful dancing--but that was the Mariinsky's production, not Ratmansky's "historically informed" production for the Bolshoi...It's possible Smirnova's dancing was still being influenced by her work with Ratmansky, and perhaps that is what you meant (?) -- but it has, for example, a very different ending to the ballet than the Ratmansky production (which was broadcast). 

I did see the broadcast of the Ratmansky production when it was first done and found it very worthwhile and enjoyable viewing. And quite a bit of that has turned up on youtube as well -- her Albrecht for that production/performance was Belyakov.

Oh dear. That's distressing to read. I suppose there may be personnel issues affecting the new production (including backstage staff) that don't affect Nutcracker but who knows? I certainly hope ticket sales aren't the deciding factor. It's such a great score and, as noted above, I have been very curious how that production turn out as well as how it is received.

In the U.S. it sometimes feels as if any ballet title that isn't ultra-familiar has no chance...

Congratulations to her. I don't know the Boston Ballet dancers and went to look for some footage of Fentroy on youtube. There is very little and all of it of dates way back--but what there is does show her a beautiful dancer. (It would be great to see something more recent.) Here she is in a video posted in 2018 rehearsing Forsythe's Pas/Parts and talking about her work on it.

On 12/14/2021 at 5:55 PM, BalanchineFan said:

Who is the best SPF that you've seen? This year or any year? Balanchine's Nutcracker only. Someone mentioned Jenifer Ringer in another thread. Just wondering... 

I don't remember who danced it when I first came to NYC in the 70's/80's as I wasn't partial to Balanchine's Nutcracker then. I preferred Gelsey Kirkland as Clara in Baryshnikov's version. I think Sterling Hyltin, Lauren Lovette and Sara Mearns have lead the pack in my opinion, but Maria, Megan and Tiler have also been excellent. It's hard for me to pick one, as you see.

...

I'm not a huge Nutcracker fan and the only production I ever went to night after night (the seasons when I could) was Baryshnikov's when ABT performed it in D.C.  And that was almost exclusively because of Kirkland's Clara which remains one of my greatest ballet-going memories. The video, lovely as it is, doesn't begin to capture the wonder of her performance and, in fact, I believe it was shot before she had ever danced the ballet on stage. Moreover her Clara was full of subtle variations from performance to performance even when dancing with the same partner. And she danced it with a few different partners including Dowell and Cragun. But  I don't think of her as dancing the Sugar Plum Fairy--I think of her as dancing Clara.

SPF? I'm the person who wrote that their favorite Sugar Plum Fairy was Jenifer Ringer.  I do have mixed feelings about Balanchine's Nutcracker even now in part because of the placement of the SPF variation at the very beginning of the second act which, to me, undermines some of its magical impact. It's as if Odile came on at the beginning of Swan Lake Act III before the ball was even underway and performed 32 fouettes there and then. (I exaggerate...a little...to explain my feelings.)

I haven't seen any of the current NYCB SPFs -- the one I would most like to see I think is Hyltin, but I doubt it's in the cards. On film/video--I've always loved the footage of Larissa Lezhnina dancing the SPF variation in the Kirov's production. I would LOVE to have seen her dance the role.

What a great photo! May she rest in peace.

May she rest in peace....

2 hours ago, Chballetfan said:

 

- Laracey would be my first choice, but in her absence,

Absence? I'm puzzled...Her posts on Instagram show her dancing in Nutcracker. (Actually I was hoping to read about some of these performances.)

Welcome--and thanks for telling your story. It's great you have been able to choreograph in recent years in addition to everything else! You have probably seen this site has a number of ballet history discussions...