Drew

Will Canada get bronze? I believe the decision was not to award them bronze, but to give it to the Russians who were not disqualified as a team but simply lost Valieva's points. (If I remember correctly, then she performed the short program only.) I believe Canada may appeal...I had trouble getting a different link to work, but this gives some of the story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2024/01/30/kamila-valieva-international-skating-union-bronze-wrong-canada-olympics/72405900007/

I always found it an oddly memorable coincidence that the Russian Track and Field athlete who blew the whistle on the extensive doping in Russian Track and Field to the World Anti-Doping agency (including collusion of coaches) is...Yulia Stepanova. (I discovered this when doing searches for the Mariinsky-now-Bolshoi ballerina; stories about the 800-meter runner Yulia Stepanova kept coming up instead.) According to Wikipedia, she even wore a wire at one point and recorded conversations about doping. Her husband had worked for Russian Anti-doping agency and he was also involved in exposing the extent of the problem there.

The blood test is presumably the key evidence. For myself, I find it hard to believe that Valieva’s coach is not aware of every thing her star pupils do, down to every sip of water, though some plausible deniability may be built into the system. And proving that would be difficult unless Valieva were to turn on her coach which is not to be expected unless she and her family left Russia (as some Russian track and field athletes did). I feel compassion for Valieva as a victim of those around her who now only suffer INdirectly, but if she is going to compete as an elite athlete, she has to follow the same rules as everyone else. (If one thinks doping is no big deal, then one can advocate for not having those rules. To me it poisons the sport in all senses of the word. Literally a doping athlete can train longer and harder.) Valieva doubtless could have been a hugely successful figure skater without cheating, but could she have done exactly what we saw her do? We will never know because she did cheat and got caught cheating...We all likely suspect that others brought up in the same system may also be cheating and didn’t get caught, but a blood test can’t just be ignored. It is a very sad story.

Overall, I found Peck's interview, as I find her, compelling and fresh; I also don't expect leaders to start out of the gate knowing the best wording in every situation. She could, though, have worded things more generally--saying she wants to show off the dancers in new ways, surprise the audience etc. -which may be all she meant anyway! Yeah--it's a little anodyne; it's also respectful. And besides everything else you don't want to inadvertently risk encouraging the audience to look for faults. Opera singers have talked about the fact that if they are "transparent" about having a cold and then go on to sing 100 percent as well as usual, they STILL sometimes hear from an audience member about how the faults were noticeable and of course the cold spoiled things. To put this differently, the issue isn't transparency but professionalism. New York City Ballet is not presenting a workshop with this premier or a work in progress--and it is not trying to be the live equivalent of an extended reality TV show either. Of course the company is developing its dancers with every rehearsal and performance, but a safe atmosphere for that development does require that not every thing suitable for behind the scenes considerations belongs in the public sphere. One interview is not a big deal --Peck was largely very positive and I bet the dancers are delighted to be working with her. I hope the ballet is a success too!

Hello and welcome to Ballet Alert! I've seen that Royal Ballet Coppelia (on video) and agree that it is terrific and Nunez and Muntagirov amazing. Temperamentally the roles very much suit their sunny personalities. (I know they can do tragedy, too, but the comedy does seem to come naturally to them.) My favorite two productions--which are ones that I have seen live in the theater some years back--are the Bolshoi Vikharev production and the Balanchine/Danilova production for NYCB. One thing that made the Bolshoi so extraordinary to my eyes when I saw them dance the ballet over a decade ago was the quality of the character dancing in Act I. But I loved every aspect of that production--and have since enjoyed it on video. If you can find the video with Osipova as Swanlilda and Gennadi Yanin as Coppelius then that is the performance I would recommend over the later broadcast they did. (I enjoy the Balanchine/Danilova version too, and especially the grand finale which just builds and builds.) (Of course, one can't really compare video to live performances; but certainly I am very glad to have seen the Royal's production in any fashion.)

Thank you for letting us know.

Exciting all around! It would be great to read your impressions of the performance --

No snow here but somewhat bitter and unusual cold for the region (Southeastern United States) -- and our multiplex was so empty I told my husband I felt like we were in a slasher movie. But there were about half a dozen people attending the Broadcast. Prior to the pandemic, in the same multiplex the Bolshoi broadcasts of well known classics with their biggest stars might get about two dozen people, but for slightly less familiar repertory, like Hero of Our time or even Golden Age, 6-8 was par for the course. A shame because I emphatically agree that it is vastly more pleasurable to see ballet on a movie screen than to watch it on a television or computer screen (even large ones). This conversation reminds me that the first ballet I remember seeing was on a movie screen--Kirov Sleeping Beauty. (My mom took me. I was blown away.)

Sounds wonderful. I, too, would love to hear your thoughts about the performances if/as you have the chance.

So sorry @Abatt for your frustration. I admit I was initially a little puzzled by the words "waste of time" as I very much enjoyed the broadcast. Mr. Drew and I didn't think it looked like HD, and now that I've checked I see it doesn't seem to have been advertised as HD. HD would certainly be better visually, but other than that and the overly busy camera work during the big corps de ballet sequences in Act II, no complaints from me. I enjoyed the production--full of admirable details -- children and elderly villagers in Act I and more of a built up village reflected in the set too, Giselle expecting to join with the peasant pas to entertain the nobles only to be stopped by her mother etc. The bits of added classical dancing in Act I didn't seem to me to break the drama. The production is by Rachel Beaujean --I'm already a fan of hers from the wonderful Raymonda she staged -- and Ricardo Bustamente, a name old-school ABT fans will recognize. I enjoyed the dancing of the corps and especially of the soloists throughout--does anyone know who danced Moyna? (I assume Moyna: I mean the first of the two Wili soloists); I'm curious about several other featured dancers as well but haven't been able to find a full cast list. I very much enjoyed the principals as well. Perhaps I could wish the Myrtha had a more supple back. Tissi seems vastly improved from when I saw him live five years ago--as I expected him to be--and his dancing and long lines melded beautifully with Smirnova's dancing and long lines. (And overhead lifts always look extra special with a tall male dancer--at least to me they do.) Though I'm going largely on video evidence--and a number of live Swan Lakes from earlier in her career--I continue to think Giselle is Smirnova's best 19th-century role: In Act I you can see her becoming more and more comfortable with Loys/Albrecht until the sudden break of the mad scene and she brings a compulsive quality to her ghostly dancing in Act II that's especially effective in reminding one that she is no longer human. And Potskhishvili certainly delivered as Hilarion! With his slightly stockier build and intense emotionalism--and, of course, dancing choreography that doesn't call for Albrecht-like refinement or tight fifth positions--Potskhishvili looked more like the Bolshoi dancers of yore than the former Bolshoi principles did. (As most people reading this know, Smirnova and Tissi were outside transplants to the Bolshoi. But in any case the company itself has long since morphed from the days it wowed with sheer physicality and charisma. But I'm old enough that that is still what I think when I think "Bolshoi.") Mr. Drew enjoys high quality ballet but still made something of a sacrifice in missing out on part of today's play-off games to go with me to the broadcast and his reaction to the whole thing was that he liked Tissi and very much liked Smirnova, but that the obviously most exciting dancer of the performance was "the first suitor" (i.e. Hilarion). He has only seen Giselle a handful of times and not for some years; I completely forgot to go over the story with him--and no Synopsis was included as part of the broadcast: I mean just a short text playing over the overture or some such. The Bolshoi broadcasts used to do that and I encourage Pathé or whoever is in charge of such things to restore that in future. Anyway, bravo to "the first suitor." But I admired and enjoyed the whole thing. Bravo to the Dutch National Ballet.

Oh dear! That is a problem...I will say that if one has the stomach for it, then turn-backs are often the best seats in the house. (As indeed are many of the handicapped seats released at last minute.) I used to have the stomach for it, but I have to admit not anymore --certainly not when I'm traveling to a different city for a performance. Anyway, wishing you good luck with the tickets!

That's very good news--

I had missed this review of Lunkina in Onegin...what a compelling performer she sounds in all your descriptions.

I well remember the days when, as @Helene wrote, "you couldn't see from any seat in City Center" [my italics]--but even after that problem was addressed the sight-lines and comfort of the theater never seemed to me to compare with the State Theater (aka Koch). (And, of course, if you are short , then there are always bad seats in the house unless there is more or less an arena style of seating which most opera/ballet venues don't favor--at least not in the U.S. and certainly not older theaters.) And I had been imagining the backstage area is better for a large dance company at the Koch....is that not so? I do agree that portions of ABT's repertory would look better at City Center--though probably not their full length works except possibly the Marston Jane Eyre, which I haven't yet seen. But until/unless ABT builds its own theater. I think it unlikely they are going to find an ideal solution to any of their problems let alone have a chance of success with their Nutcracker running up against NYCB's. Does Jeff Bezos like ballet? I fear not. So they will keep improvising...

Yes, a very interesting article..thanks @abatt for posting. Perhaps Cojocaru and those around her are hoping to interest a New York producer? I was pleased by her commitment to ballet too, though the bits of Natalia Horecna's choreography available on youtube suggest a more contemporary/eclectic choreographer than a genuinely classical or even neoclassical one. Still I would be very happy if I had a chance to see this--or a chance to see Cojocaru do pretty much anything.

Whenever I see Yuan Yuan Tan on video, I am painfully reminded how much I would love to have seen her dance live! A great ballerina--

What a nice legacy to have left behind!

May she rest in peace: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/07/obituaries/joan-acocella-dead.html

The Baryshnikov Nutcracker was danced in New York City, but not at Christmas--it was not competing with any other Nutcrackers. It was part of the Met spring season when Baryshnikov was directing the company.

So happy Bavarian State Ballet decided to broadcast this -- and to do it on youtube which meant I could access it on a larger screen.

For the reasons you give, the conservative approach to programming, casting, and marketing seems sensible. (For myself, I've enjoyed video of several Dutch National Ballet principals a lot, but I'm happy to have the chance to see Smirnova and Tissi. And. after seeing the clips, I'm quite looking forward to Giorgi Potskhishvili's Hilarion on the large screen. I know he was recently promoted to principal and he seems to be taking the opportunity to show why.)

This sounds quite enjoyable...

Sad news--I remember his posts and had not known anything about him other than what I read here. May he rest in peace.

I think I'm an outlier...

Speaking of movie-Felicia--she was very explicit she didn't expect Bernstein to be anyone other than he was and she understood that this approach to their marriage would only work if it wasn't done as any kind of "sacrifice" on her part. But the movie then shows her in what seemed to me various passive-aggressive moments that made crystal clear she was bothered by his choices, and even showed her oh-so-subtly playing the martyr . This may be humanly understandable, but to me the character (as written) seemed arrogant and dishonest (to herself if no-one else) for thinking she had the key to living with Lenny when very obviously she didn't. I felt somewhat vindicated--and more sympathetic towards the character-- when late in the film, during a lunch at the Plaza or some such, Felicia herself says these two things: that she had been "arrogant" for thinking she didn't need Lenny's attention the way everyone else around him did and then adds ruefully something like "so who is dishonest?" I think one thing that kept me from responding more generously to the character in the early part of the film, is that I felt the movie was trying to hector me into falling in love with her (I mentioned her entrance in the earlier post). Anyway, it's just an odd quirk of how I responded. I did find the later parts of the movie pretty compelling and was happy we got a chunk of Mahler. (Had it been more of a movie about Bernstein's career as "maestro" it would have been interesting to fit in something about how he helped to make Mahler a mainstay of concert halls--with Mahler also another ambivalently Jewish figure. But that would be a different movie...)