Danielle
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Posts posted by Danielle
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Maria Bulanova debuted as KITRI today! Amazing!! Clips of her dancing in the link below.
(Others have shared her lightning-fast fouettes in their stories! She has the grace of a Mariinsky dancer but the energy of Natalya Osipova!)
https://www.instagram.com/p/C6mRZMpofeA/?igsh=cmsyMjR0MDZ3c2tj
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No Swan Lake?
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Masha has a new role! At least I believe it's a new one for her.
April 2 she will dance as Aegina in Spartacus!
https://www.mariinsky.ru/en/company/ballet_mt_women/bulanova/
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Congratulations to Renata! Well deserved!
Masha Bulanova needs to be promoted NEXT
https://www.instagram.com/p/C4Np8Y4NwGJ/?igsh=YmhmenV0cHJuYWQz
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On 10/23/2023 at 12:14 PM, ECat said:
Agreed Danielle! They have a wealth of talent at the second soloist level, many of whom are ripe for promotion. Not sure why they hired from outside.
I don't understand it either. Meanwhile, the Bolshoi is promoting young talents like Elya Sevenard to principal dancer. Maybe that's why more and more Vaganova grads are choosing Bolshoi.
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On 8/6/2023 at 2:00 PM, ECat said:
Hello fellow Ballet Lovers! The Mariinsky ballet website has a new dancer listed as a first soloist. https://www.mariinsky.ru/en/company/ballet/soloists/
Elena Svinko has joined and previously danced with the Mikhailovsky Ballet as a soloist and the Krasnoyarsk Ballet. https://www.mariinsky.ru/en/company/ballet/soloists/first_soloists/dancers1/svinko_elena1/ After watching a few Youtube videos of Elena, I see that she is a very talented dancer who has won numerous awards. While I do not want to detract from her excellent abilities, I wonder why management chose to hire her rather than promote from within. I have no doubt she will make an excellent addition, but there are several second soloists deserving of a promotion. Perhaps more promotions will be made soon.
I'm still amazed Maria Bulanova has not been promoted or even given new principal roles to dance.
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"Why I Love Maria Bulanova" by Ballet with Isabella. 🥰
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5 hours ago, ECat said:
@Danielle Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful interview!
Welcome! The author posted it on her website when a magazine apparently refused to publish it, figured people might want to read her story (especially her experiences being in the corps!).
I am still learning more about ballet so it was mind-blowing to learn that a dancer in the corps dances different parts in one production. That must be so tiring!
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I tried finding the thread for Maria but couldn't find it anymore. I tried all search terms pertaining to her and couldn't find her solo thread, so I apologise if creating a new topic for this is wrong!
But this is a wonderful interview with Maria by Vaganova Today, and I thought I'd share it with you. 🥰
https://www.vaganovatoday.com/interview-with-mariinsky-soloist-maria-iliushkina-june-2023/
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Maria Bulanova performed "Leningrad Symphony" with Andrei Ermakoff. Still waiting for her to debut in a new full-length principal role.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CsBYixTIpfF/?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
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Hi all!
I searched for a thread on Maria Bulanova but didn't find any, so I figured I'll start one!
Masha is one of my favorite Mariinsky dancers, and I believe she has a bright future ahead of her. She has such a big energy and dynamic dancing, I'm surprised she hasn't been promoted to First Soloist!
Anyway, recently she danced Odile at a gala with Nikita Korneev and she was amazing, as usual. I love what she did with the fouettes!
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A few snippets of the production posted on Tony Candeloro's Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/reel/CrJnV4xoiv-/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
I don't have the translation but we get to a few glimpses of the dancing. The first shot looks pretty cool!
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On 4/4/2023 at 3:46 PM, volcanohunter said:
I was going to write the same thing. Sergeev has been a first soloist for a looong time. For example, this interview, posted in 2017, describes him as a first soloist of the Mariinsky Theater.
I suppose this is the official announcement from the Mariinsky. https://www.instagram.com/p/CqsoZncNNfJ/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
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7 hours ago, Buddy said:
This is a lengthy article by Anna Gordeeva in the russian magazine ‘Musical Life.’ (Google translation from Russian). She states, “So, the artists [the Mariinsky dancers, probably] say that the same dances staged by Ratmansky and Candeloro look fundamentally different. The direction of the general movement is preserved, but not the type of pas itself.”
(thanks to Angela at BalletcoForum)
This is interesting added information, but nothing else is said on the subject. Only time can possibly determine the extent of its accuracy, along with the accuracy of the article that I mentioned in my previous post. Danielle, I haven’t found a link to that article. It was emailed to me.
Thank you so much for this!!! Do you know what she means by, "the direction of the general movement was preserved"?
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3 hours ago, volcanohunter said:
I was going to write the same thing. Sergeev has been a first soloist for a looong time. For example, this interview, posted in 2017, describes him as a first soloist of the Mariinsky Theater.
Oh my bad, thought he was recently promoted based on the Instagram post. He's a wonderful dancer!
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2 hours ago, Buddy said:
Thank you very much, Roberta, and thank you, Danielle.
From the few glimpses that I get, Maria Khoreva, like Maria Iliushkina and Viktoria Tereshkina, has made a very sincere commitment.
I would like to inject one other thought. A very respected and knowledgable commentator (I believe) has suggested that after what Alexei Ratmansky put into this production anyone could have come along and successfully finished it, using his exact choreography or not. This may or may not be true. There may be a lot of soul searching to be conducted before this production is ever put into moral and historical perspective. I will inject a personal thought that also may or may not be correct. Perhaps somehow this all is reflected in the performers (and others involved), who also may or may not have had to look deep within themselves.
Do you mind linking the article or video to the commentator? I'd love to know more.
I'm sure that Alexei Ratmansky invested a LOT in this production. I regret that we'll never see his full vision come to life! He's an incredibly talented choreographer and his love for his country is so inspiring and admirable. I wish this war never happened, and hope a peaceful solution is found soon.
Side note, I was born and raised in a developing country that has good relations with both the US and Russia. Our ballet company has a Russian AD right now, but so far only one full-length classical ballet has been produced.
From my understanding, Tony and Juan have been studying the original choreography for some time now, and it appears they put a lot of their own heart and soul into the production. It's hard to know the truth until we hear more from the people involved. I know Yuri has said none of Alexei's choreography has remained, but who knows. The Mariinsky should have given Alexei and his team more credit, while letting Tony and Juan's work shine through.
But regardless, I'll enjoy whatever bits and pieces of this production I can find. The dancing is so lovely and the costumes and set design are to die for. I haven't seen the whole thing but I think I enjoy this more than the Bolshoi's.
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5 hours ago, Helene said:
In the photo, the top row of men are Konstantin Zverev and Evan Kapiten (google translate off the Russian page) / Even Capitaine (English page). The bottom row of men are (Y)evgeni Konovalov, whose account it is and who is being congratulated in the comments, and Alexander Sergeyev.
Thank you so much! 💓 Fingers crossed for Masha B. to be promoted soon!
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Hi all!
It seems like there have been a few promotions this year! Evgeny Konovalov and one of my favorite male dancers, Alexander Sergeev, have been promoted to First Soloists. There are two other male dancers that were promoted with them, but I can't read Russian and I unfortunately do not know their names! However you can find it in the link below.
Aaron Oh, who graduated from Vaganova alongside Misha Bark and Markus Juusela (both have left the Mariinsky), has been promoted to coryphee. I bet it won't be long til he becomes a Second Soloist, since he is dancing so much.
The Mariinsky website seems to have been updated with the new promotions!
Unfortunately, Masha Bulanova remains a Second Soloist, and is still stuck dancing the same roles over and over again. (She danced The Fountain a few days ago, I believe.)
Instagram announcement: https://www.instagram.com/p/CqlQtkUI1vZ/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
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On 4/2/2023 at 2:01 PM, Buddy said:
What a happy coincidence, Roberta, that I mentioned the Italian charm that I feel in this production, and looking at your ‘bio’ you have a house in Rome.
I continue to enthuse over the loveliness of the Aspiccia-Nile duet performed separately by Maria Iliushkina and Viktoria Tereshkina. I search for anything of Maria Khoreva dancing this, but nothing yet. At her site she discusses the ballet with some video glimpses included. It’s somewhat hard to judge her performance from these. Hopefully she will post some more.
She says one interesting thing that somewhat follows up on my idea that researching the past can lead to better ideas for the future. This reconstruction requires the dancers to also be dramatic actors/actresses at all times, presumably reflecting the style of that time. It certainly shows and is very effective in Mari Iliushkina and Viktoria Tereshkina’s presentations. As a related thought, one of the fine abilities that Ginger Rogers was known to have that enabled her to so effectively compliment the amazing dancing of Fred Astaire, was that she could act extremely well while she danced. Maria Khoreva has noted this enriching element in “The Pharaoh’s Daughter” production and says that it’s something that she hopes to add to her overall technique. Maybe other dancers and choreographers will do the same.
Danielle, if you’re reading this, I think that the very expressive Maria Bulanova, who you’d like to see perform this role, would be a very good choice for the same reason.
I'm reading the previous posts, I really love the insight and knowledge I get from everyone here. 🥰
Buddy, Masha B. is my absolute favorite and I do hope that she gets bigger roles soon. I do believe she'll make a great Nikiya and Aspicia, but so far she has been relegated to secondary roles. 😞
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23 hours ago, Buddy said:
I’m guessing from the picture that it’s the Act II Palace Dance (Grand pas d'action), Danielle.
Again in regard to the entire production, one of the most valuable things that can come from historic research would be using it to create something even better for the future. One instance that I’ve noticed here is the use of mime in the dancing. This is something that I don’t recall seeing before. It exists in Aspiccia’s interaction with the ’Neptune’ of the Nile, the underwater scene. It may exist in other parts of the ballet as well. Especially performed by Maria Iliushkina, it is new and very beautiful. It might also be an element that will enter more classical ballet interpretations in the future and add another touch of beauty. Also the use of the differently nuanced dance style that appears here could be an incentive to add more stylistic variety and interest. It seems to be quite successful in this performance.
I never thought I'd fine mime interesting...if it happens too much in a ballet it can get really boring. But Maria Iliushkina is such a mesmerising dancer that I can watch her facial expressions and graceful arms all day long. Well, maybe not all day, but definitely in a 3 hour production with some beautiful dancing thrown in!
It appears that Oksana Skorik is going to dance Aspicia on May 1, with Alexndra Khiteeva as Ramze. I love them both, but again, wishing Masha Bulanova would get a bigger role! I feel like the Mariinsky doesn't know what to do with her.
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6 hours ago, Buddy said:
Hi Danielle,
My favorite dances are the Act II Palace Dance (Grand pas d'action) and the Underwater Dance. Also I like the Fisherman’s Wedding Dance. I may try to say why at another time. In the Pierre Lacotte version the Underwater Dance is definitely my favorite. It’s so beautiful.
The video that you posted has been removed for copyright reasons and you didn’t name it. Could you tell me what it is ?
Aww they took it down! I loved watching it!
Not sure what the name of the dance is, but it's the one depicted on this picture: https://www.mariinsky.ru/en/playbill/playbill/2023/3/26/2_1200/
Do you happen to know what it's called?
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1 hour ago, Buddy said:
I just watched this myself, Danielle, and feel much the same. I believe that she’s pantomiming the rowing down the Nile to the fisherman’s village. I can’t imagine anyone making this bit of pure mime more enchanting. There’s also a clip of her dancing at the fisherman’s village that you might enjoy for all its participants.
The more I watch all the video clips, the more fascinated I become. I look forward to seeing the entire work. There’re so many different things happening. For one, there’re ‘dated looking’ pieces that you think will fall on their face because they look so ’silly’ yet manage somehow to redeem themselves brilliantly.
Mariinsky just announced they are going to perform the ballet in late April and May 1, maybe Oksana Skorik will be part of the new cast. I think she can also be enchanting in this role, pantomime and all. I really wish Masha will dance Aspicia, but I doubt it.
Which is your favorite dance in the ballet so far?
This has got to be my favorite (for now). Yes so many things are happening but I can't help it, I find it so enjoyable.
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1 hour ago, Buddy said:
Thank you, Danielle. This is an interesting posting by Maria Khoreva.
The production is perhaps as Maria Iliushkina says and illustrates in her beautifully expressive performance, “….an interesting synthesis, a kind of dialogue of epochs.” To the extent that it can retrieve history, it has one value. To the extent that it can establish a “dialogue of epochs” it may have another very important value, that of creating “a synthesis” that can enrich the future look of ‘classical ballet’ by combining the best of two worlds.
I just watched a minutes-long clip of Maria Iliushkina doing pantomime for Pharaoh's Daughter. I didn't think I'd care much for it but found myself entranced with her expressions and arm/hand movements. Ended up watching the entire thing! It was absolutely mesmerising. The audience cheered, so I imagine they loved it too!
She reminds me of a young Ulyana, who also had graceful, mesmerising arms.
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4 hours ago, Helene said:
YouTube links are fine, as long as they are public, not private.
Thank you so much!!
Here is the link to Maria Khoreva's YouTube video about the production of The Pharaoh's Daughter:
Mariinsky 2023-2024
in Kirov-Mariinsky Ballet
Posted
I love that Maria Bulanova got to dance Aegina recently!