Thalictum

Jaffe is something adminstrative at ABT -- liaison to the Board, something like that. Her six figure salary was recently posted somewhere and caused a certain amount of raised eyebrows. If people consider this gossip, I apologize.

Tatiana Serova, a soloist who rarely tours, was in Washington, but WHAT DID SHE DANCE?

Alexandra, re: your Swan Lake review, the Big Swans seemed to be: Gonchar, Tkhachenko, Iosifidi and Kondaurova.

Sorry -- in your earlier post you'd said a friend had told you it was Scherbakov at the first Sologub-Sarafanov performance, which was Thursday. But maybe Loboukhin danced that performance and then the Saturday matinee was his second.

Sunday afternoon the pas de trois was sheer delight. The girls were Golub and Tkhachenko. The boy was Scherbakov, who also danced it at Saturday night's performance (with Gonchar and Osmolkina). He was spectacular both times, with unsurpassed elevation and ballon. At the Sunday matinee Scherbakov and Zelensky were standard bearers for male classical dancing, Kirov style: exquisitely polished, devoid of flash, overkill and gimmicks. At Saturday's matinee, Mikhail Lobukhin, who graduated in 2002, danced the pas de trois with Golub and Tkhachenko. He was a little rough but definitely promising. Alexandra had said it was also Scherbakov for Thursday night's performance (first Sologub/Sarafanov performace]. I wasn't there. Zelensky was much more expressive and involved than the last time I saw him dance Siegfried in 2000 with Part. Sarafanov is much too immature for Siegfried. Odette/Odile would seem not to be Sologub's role at all, but it is hard to gauge her potentials in this performance because Sarafanov's partnering was adequate at best; I sat close to the stage and during the White pas de deux it was clear she was in places in and out of lifts she never intended to be. Some of Sarafanov's variation was gorgeous, but he was turned in in the grand saute a la seconde and sometimes his landings were needlessly violent. On the other hand, he was calmer and less overstated than he had been as Solor. This time his arabesques were 90 degrees, whereas in Bayadere he was hiking everything to around 150. The corps was magnificent, the male corps considerably better than even a few years ago, while the women are the gold standard for classical ensembles today, in my opinion. I thought this was Gumerova's best White Act ever, and Korsuntsev was dignified, stalwart, and even technically impressive. Pavlenko is not as tall as one usually pictures Odette/Odile, but she was eloquent and beautiful. Alexandra Iosifidi in the Big Swans made me want to see her dancing the lead, but she is even taller than Gumerova and it might be hard to find the right partner.

This is written Friday evening, so I don't know who dances tonight, but At every Swan Lake so far, Scherbakov has danced the pas de trois, as well as the Spanish dance alongside Baimuradov. Korsakov injured his back in Russia two weeks ago and isn't here at all, although listed in the program. The opening night pas de trois girls were Golub and Tkhachenko. Since then Gonchar and Selina may also have danced. Zhelonkina is not here. A friend told me the opening night pas de trois was the best she has ever seen, so I am eager to see them this weekend.

Yes, Leceica, Meunier and Part together were almost the best solo Shades cast I've ever seen. I heard that Meunier was wonderful dancing the Snowflake Queen in ABT's Nutcracker earlier this month.

Bayadere looked wonderful. The 1920s Detroit Opera House, originally a movie palace, was restored in front of the proscenium and completely rebuilt behind it in the 1990s and now has an enormous stage, almost as big as the Met in NY.

Only La Bayadere; that's all they did there.

Perhaps somewhere between "rivalry," and "antipathy," given the comments about the two companies I've heard made by their respective counterparts. And the Soviet government was overt in its favoritism towards Moscow institutions, in terms of funding, etc. There is no point in arguing, but as I said before, when the Kirov was in Detroit artistically they were near the top of their game. Not every soloist was equally good, but the overall standard was extraordinarily high. Marc, if you had to sit through the performances we see in America by native companies, you would appreciate the difference all the more! I wasn't in London so I can't comment on what went on there. Most of the reviews suggested that they were in disarray and they well might have been. Certainly the touring schedule is grueling.

There is a long-standing cultural antipathy between the two cities -- and the two ballet companies.

These are all valid points, but 1) Moscow critics have a long history of trashing the Kirov. 2) I was in Detroit, and the performances were on the whole fabulous.

Komleva also coaches Yana Selina, and recently has been working with Tatiana Amosova. She also coached Veronica Part when Part first joined the company in 1996.

Priceless images -- please keep them coming!

OK, an outrage --relatively, artistically speaking!

Yes, SusanB, I will.

Drew, Alexandra, and Carbro, I couldn't agree with you more. And Carbro, a little cynicism is not a bad thing! The Met casting has now been posted on balletalert.com, and it is an outrage that Part is not dancing Raymonda. I saw a Russian TV special on her in which she danced the scarf variation and she was of course divine in it. Part's teacher Inna Zubkovskaya, was herself a great Raymonda and worked with Part on the role before Zubkovskaya's death in 2001. The realpolitik behind Part and Meunier's shameful undercasting is the leadership role hijacked by some of ABT's senior performing personnel.

A new biography of Osipenko will appear sometime in the near future in Russia.

And I apologize because when I went back to the article the sentence mentions only "Chavrov," so it was an easy mistake to make; earlier it mentions Chavrov the younger as a friend of Soloviev's with whom Soloviev discussed his future in ballet. Chavrov's father was gone by then, I believe.

No, the BR article states that it was Sasha Chavrov, the son of Boris Chavrov, who discovered the body.

Anyway, I don't think Scouts Honor and Mr. Nice Guy traits last too long after anyone assumes directorship. But McKenzie probably is not able to shout down the senior ABT performing personnel who in all likelihood do not want Part and Meunier on stage.

Besides height, size of bones, as well as proportions, weight distribution all play a role. Murphy was in streamlined shape last season but Stiefel still had to strain sometimes to lift her.

There is no illness or injury problem with Part or Meunier so far as I have been able to ascertain. They are said to be overweight, which may be true by some criteria, but a) the best way to stay overweight is not to dance and b) there are many danseurs around the world who would have no trouble lifting them. I only saw Meunier in the Elder Sister's costume, so I don't know exactly what shape she's in, but re: Part in the Harrison, if this be overweight, it is a gorgeous alternative to the extremely spare silhouette favored by many other ABT leads. I see Murphy as anything but an ideal partner for Stiefel, although he partnered her heroically at the Met last season.

And will Veronica Part or Monique Meunier be allowed to dazzle us in Farrell's role in Mozartiana, as their talent would seem to dictate?

They're not up through the ranks ABT, but Part and Meunier are world-class ballerinas -- they could outclass most of the other principals on the roster --- in my humble opinion. They have star quality in spades.