Drew

Forgot to say above that Smirnova was one of the least consumptive Giselles I have ever seen and that I really liked too -- it was part of what made Smirnova's performance seem as genuine and fresh as it did... (I don't know how much leeway Ratmansky is giving his performers and how much is his direction but I assume, from what he said in the interview, he gives at least some leeway.) Edited to add: And the backdrop for Act II! Especially the dark twisty tree branches along the top--but I think maybe every few minutes I will think of something else I "especially" loved about this production and performance...so I'll stop.

I feel as the others who have posted do. I thought this was fabulous. And with the all of the historical research that went into this production the whole thing had not a whiff of piety about it. (I like Ratmansky's Sleeping Beauty a lot--but it did have occasional whiffs of piety, at least at the performances I saw.) This Giselle felt like new. Every single moment seemed to have been given fresh attention -- every single moment made meaningful. Was there anything I didn't like about it?...I did think for a brief moment that when Giselle learns the truth, Albrecht is so remorseful immediately and Bathilde so kind it takes some of the sting out of that moment (at least as the scene was played by Belyakov and company today) and I sort of like the "sting" -- but I can accept this as a different interpretation when the whole is so convincingly presented. (Including, in my ballet-going experience, a surprisingly brutal at times Hans -- ie Hilarion.) Performance-wise, I thought Smirnova and Belyakov showed much more connection than they had in the broadcast of Raymonda (where Smirnova could not have looked less interested in him) and it was a balletic connection, their lines harmonized beautifully throughout which was especially wonderful -- and dramatically moving -- in the second act. I can't say Smirnova is ever likely to be one of my all-time favorite Giselles, but I did feel Belyakov and she were going full-throttle. Huge cheers from me. ( @cubanmiamiboy -- I think I asked on another thread what you thought of the diagonal at the end of Giselle's Act I solo; I had not thought to see that at the Bolshoi.) Anyway--I love this production.

I would love to see this! Alas...not this year...but I'm hoping next year and the in the meanwhile looking forward to reading about it.

@cubanmiamiboy did you catch the Bolshoi Giselle broadcast? In addition to the fugure, I thought you might have enjoyed seeing the straight diagonal of turns (instead of a circle of piques) at the end of Giselle's Act I solo....

The production also flattens the class distinctions of Act I (no contrast between peasants and nobles) and has an ending in which Siegfried survives having to live with his experience....Martins has a jester, but I find it rather different from the Soviet ones--his jester is the only one to add a dimension of meaning to the ballet and not just jumps. He also never insisted his Odile's dance the fouettes--some did, some didn't--I would guess that's the same today. I only find Kirkeby's designs hard to digest in Act I but it's an abstract design for the lake scenes and a very austere one in the ballroom scene. As I remember, too, some Balanchine choreography is kept in the lake scene--it's not "back to Ivanov." Back when I saw the production (over several seasons, but all some years ago) the company un-apologetically danced like NYCB, not like an American company trying to recreate a nineteenth-century classic or, for that matter, trying to recreate the rarefied style of the greatest European ballet companies. I think Kirkeby's designs should be viewed in that spirit and, though things may have changed. I suspect that's what you should prepare yourself for in the dancing too.

Wonderful photos...may be rest in peace.

I don’t want to over-rate the sophistication of 14-year olds, but this was partly my suspicion when I saw the photo (long before I knew Copeland had said a word about it and possibly before she had since my algorithms do feed me Russian ballet students from time to time). The young dancers didn’t seem merely excited about dancing in Bayadere (though they may also have been so —probably were)—the point of the photo seemed to be that their makeup was a giant hoot. And it is very hard for me to think that some of the hilarity that the photo projected did not include a touch—or more—of outright racism however little they may have understood the full implications of that racism. It is a little harder for me to say I think they knew there would be blowback—and obviously I don’t think they knew how bad it would be—but when I saw the photo, I at least wondered if it didn’t have a semi “trolling” motivation. I can’t know. My point is simply that I am not as confident as many posting above that the girls were posting entirely innocently. Do they deserve death threats? No. And...uh...Would I liked to be judged for the rest of my life on things I did and said at the age of 14? No—but I also wouldn’t deny what was wrong or stupid about them. I also know very well that the history of race and racism in Russia is very different than the history of race and racism in the United States. But I find claims that Russians therefore are not or can’t be racist to defy credibility or to be based on an extremely limited notion of what racism is. “Pushkin’s ancestor” or Russia’s lack of involvement in the transatlantic slave trade etc. —these are important but do not encompass a more complex history. As far as the ballet itself goes, it is worth remembering that Petipa was not Russian. On France and blackface people are welcome to read Fanon on French advertising or even google more recent controversies. And France of course was very much involved in the transatlantic slave trade and had slavery in its colonies through 1848. (If Copeland tried to ‘open a dialogue’ with the Bolshoi as suggested above, I think they would, at best, pay no attention to her. At best.)

A lovely rumination...yes, thanks to all. Including our founder -- who still posts from time to time! -- Alexandra Tomalonis....

Somewhat similarly to @Helene I managed to list my "bests" above and then leave out THE best individual dancer performances I saw this year--perhaps evidence of my not-so-unconscious partisanship for the Mariinsky since what I left out were Bolshoi performances I saw in London. Best: and probably the single most exciting male performance I saw all year (Kim notwithstanding) would be Belyakov's Crassus for the opening Spartacus of the Bolshoi's London season. "Best" performance in the sense of most complete artistically of those I saw all year would be the Zakharova-Rodkin Swan Lake also in London. Their romantic chemistry and Zakharova's flowing, organic movement...actually made this the best overall Swan Lake performance I have seen since seeing Lopatkina with the Mariinsky in 2013. And this, despite the fact that I do not care for Grigorovich's production...at all. (Unfortunately, I can't say youtube video of the broadcast performance Zakharova and Rodkin gave of Swan Lake ca 4 years ago, remotely captures what I saw--or felt I saw--this year.) I haven't seen a lot of Zakharova live in the theater, especially in the last decade, and this was the most memorable performance I have seen from her by some measure -- even if I managed to forget to include it in my earlier post 😳.

Very sad to learn this news....Her work staging Balanchine is a wonderful legacy .... May she rest in peace or, rather, dance in joy ...

I'll stick with ballet in my list. That said, I didn't see a lot of ballet this year and expect next year to be the same--that's my "worst"-- Best: Claudia Schreier's premier with Atlanta Ballet, "First Impulse," choreographed to a wonderfully chosen score by Eino Tamburg. I suppose I'll have to see it again before I feel more confident of my "first judgement," but on one viewing I found this a terrific new neo-classical ballet and hope it's a harbinger of more to come from Schreier. Mariinsky's visits to D.C. are always a delight to me when I'm able to see them; this year they came twice, though not bringing quite such stunning fare as in some years. Still, they were wonderful and highlights included the flush of new talent the company put on display both in Corsaire and in Paquita. Among the performances by at least slightly more experienced dancers, "bests" included Shakirova as the villainess Carducha in Paquita and Kim's extraordinary Ali in Corsaire.

May he rest in peace...

Often with premiers the casting comes out a little later ...

Like @cubanmiamiboy --at least as he felt in 2012-- I'm not crazy about Odile's variation, at least in the "traditional" versions I've seen, though the historical provenance issue is not what keeps me from loving it. I almost never find anyone genuinely beautiful in it--even in an "evil" way. It vaguely seems to me that Guillem made an impression on me in it, and maybe one or two others, but basically I find it overly fussy--which I think is my way of responding to what he described as its coming across as overly mechanical or academic. I do find it impressive when someone brings a bit of speed to the variation, but I doubt it will ever be a favorite.

Thank you for your review @The Traveling Ballerina . If people have the time and/or interest, then I would love to hear in more detail from everyone what their thoughts were, positive and negative, about the production and the dancers.... (I wrote about the production in some detail on this site last year when it premiered. I found it more ingenious than magical, though I still enjoyed the performance I saw a lot. I'm also on record as a huge fan of Airi Igarashi--Nikolas Gaifullin, too, but how one reacts to him in this ballet might entirely depend on one's reaction to the production. I think that's a little less true of Igarashi in her role as the grown-up/dream Marie.) Edited to add that I just saw that @YouOverThere gave a review on another thread discussing the company's Nutcracker venue.

Thanks for this detailed report. I would love to be able to see this production.

Thank you @nanushka for posting! I would have missed this entirely otherwise....

I saw a post referring to this on twitter and didn't know what to make of it. It's a strange story (at least as told in the NY Post), but missing any careful context through which one might make sense of it. Anyway, I hope Evdokimova is resting in peace...She is certainly still remembered by many ballet lovers.

That strikes me as well --wish he had done one or two of these already ...but here's hoping!

I am sorry your ankle is worsening. I have chronic ankle problems that have developed partly from ignoring an earlier ankle injury in its nascent stages (it was a repetitive stress injury). For what it's worth--perhaps not much--my experience is that the only thing that abets healing is rest, rest, rest, rest, and more rest. (Which unfortunately led to a bit of weight gain in my case, though I eventually lost most of it again.) My 2-3 worst ankle injuries --which were all primarily soft tissue, repetitive stress injuries--needed something approaching a year of babying to get better. And attempts to "strengthen" with exercises often led to setbacks and re-injury. I am sure there is some sweet spot that I missed--where you can rest it, but still do some gentle strengthening exercises--but basically, however much time I (or anyone else) thought my ankle needed to get better...it needed at least twice that. Over the years, I have found that wearing shoes designed for people on their feet all day--nurses for example--has helped to keep the chronic problems mostly -- but not entirely -- under control. However, it does mean that to match the shoes I usually dress very dully... Anyway, I trust your problems will be deal with more efficiently than mine, and I wish you luck. And thank for your very interesting writing...

I look forward to reading your thoughts on the performance!

Sad news for lovers of ballet and ABT....though not entirely surprising. People often mention Abrera's Lilac Fairy....one of my favorite Abrera performances was her Princess Florine in Ratmansky's (Petipa's) Sleeping Beauty -- The performance I attended, I found her dancing in that role and in that production about as close to perfection as it's possible to get.

In D.C. Svetlana Ivanova looked beautiful as one of the coryphees in the Grand Pas of Paquita as well. She was paired with another very fair dancer and they also timed/coordinated their movements together very well. (Likely Ivanova would be beautiful in one or two of the Paquita variations, but in any case I am glad the Mariinsky has such quality dancers in the ensembles)

Absolutely!

An extraordinary figure in the history of ballet--with a great legacy. May she rest in peace.