koshka

Russian shoes are notoriously hard and noisy, so it is likely just the shoes. Now hearing talking from backstage--that's the kind of noise that makes me crazy!

Couple of things... Leaving aside the question of whether Gergiev is a great artist, being a great artist (or, for that matter, technician in other fields) does not necessarily translate into being a great administrator, and, conversely, a great administrator need not be a great artist (technician). Heck, it doesn't even translate into being a good teacher. Natalia, it is interesting (and heartening) to hear that Russian parents are still eager for their children to become artists. Do you have any read on whether this is among those whose children live in the cities of the great schools and could thus be day students, or among those who would have to send their children to board at a relatively tender age? And is the situation with boys in dance less difficult there than here? Last, at some level Gergiev's talk reminds me of the (in)famous Romanian gymnastics coach Octavian Belu, who is often quoted before major competitions to the effect that his team is lazy, out of shape, etc etc. They usually go on to win or at least make a very respectable showing...

Just a thought. I wonder if the problem is the quality of the training or simply that schools like the Vaganova Academy no longer have the luxury of selecting from thousands of kids (or more???) whose parents are all perfectly happy to send them off to boarding school at age 10. In the Soviet era, it seems to me that parents were a lot more willing to send their kids off to the special schools (for arts, sports, etc) because these schools represented real opportunities that were otherwise mostly out of reach (e.g., the opportunity to travel). Now, as the world has opened up, Russian parents may be less willing to send their kids to these types of schools. Along the same lines, it could be that the tougher training methods of yesteryear are no longer acceptable.

For holders of US passports, Helsinki is actually a much easier destination--no onerous visa applications! Of course, Helsinki isn't St Petersburg... I would imagine that some performances will indeed occur at the Alexandrinsky, a delightful theater. Does anyone know how the stage and seating compare to the Mariinsky? And what about the Maly, or is that fully booked with its own company? Heck, I've even been to a student performance in the Philharmonic!

It's impractical. Most costumes are not easy to launder... Now, speaking of grooming, what makes me crazy is men with floppy hair (on their heads, I mean). Makes me want to endow a "haircut fund" or something.

So true. The pas de trois was just fabulous while the rest was good, but not fabulous IMO. Murphy's fouettes were odd: she started off at a stunning, blazing pace--triples every third or fourth turn and spot on--but in the second half traveled forward like crazy and barely seemed to be holding on.

Going tonight (Thursday) and also Sunday (and Saturday for Fokine)--yikes! (For Juliet: can't get the email link to work, but will be in my usual seat)

The Colon is fantastic, and the tours are just as good. I'm not normally very patient during tours, but this was one I was eager to go through a second time. The tour covers the "public" areas as well as the workshops and classrooms.

OK, I went to last night's performance and, overall, really enjoyed it. Some of the dancing and costuming was weird (e.g., the Seasons guys), but I loooooved the ball scene costumes (solid color, fitted dresses and black tights and pointe shoes for the ladies, something tuxedo-ish for the men). The prince was a bit garish in bright white. The backpack at the last part is just so weird and cheesy--it's almost like they forgot a piece of the costume and had to raid the dancers' locker room. Couldn't they come up with any better way of having the prince tote the shoe around? Also, I thought the reappearance of the hairdressers at the end was really odd. These dancers, though, are so beautiful that they look good even doing "ugly". Vishneva was terrific in every regard. So, on the question of my second ticket, I am somewhere between "wouldn't part with it for any amount of money" and "I'm throwing it away"--probably right about "If I hear of somebody who's dying to go and can't get/afford a ticket, I might share".

Re Vishneva I went to watch the master class today (very interesting) and noted that, for what it's worth, the handwritten cast list in the lobby showed Vishneva on for tomorrow. (Is that gossip? This was a public event and my only "in" was that I can read Russian.) Natalia-ouch-maybe I should be looking for a worthy recipient for my 2nd ticket (have 2 subscriptions since most companies do 2 different productions)...

Thank you so much. I haven't been to Paris since 2000, and the website has gotten _a lot_ better since then!

Thread mentioning the POB demonstration In the links for Dec 13, the second post has a link to a review of a POB school demonstration. It was not immediately clear from the article whether these school performances are a regular event for which tickets are sold or whether they are a more special or exclusive event. Does anybody know?

I saw the splat performance, and she really was pushing the envelope both before and after her early fall. Her willingness to go all out was really impressive. Any word, btw, on whether she will be in Washington in January.

Were these live animals or animal-dancers? I remember in Giselle this fall there was a real live dog. The dog was fine, as dogs go, but I found it distracting and couldn't help thinking, "OK, who donated a big pile of money to WB to get this dog into the show?"

I think it's pretty rare for a Nut to run much more than 2 hours... I hear that the "Mirlitons" are 4 cardinals and a cat. I'm looking forward to your report.

I have a friend passing through Tokyo next week, so I am going to make an effort to get the dvd mentioned by Naoko. I have a query in to the shop in Tokyo but no answer yet. Does anyone know if the dvd they have (at Naoko's link above) is a longer or more complete version of the 4-part "Les enfants de la danse" than is shown on the POB Coppelia DVD, which I already have?

....thinking thinking I am pretty sure I saw Novikova a couple of weeks ago but must check my programs... ...thinking thinking can I possibly schedule a trip....

I went last night. My front row seat was practically on the stage--as in, one could use the ledge at the very front of the stage as a convenient program-holding shelf (!). I liked it very much, though I though Rasta Thomas's acting was a bit "thin" at times. Michelle Jiminez's mad scene was spectacular, and more than enough to make up for some other furrowed-brow overacting moments. Overall the company looked very sharp to me. The peasant pdd couple (Laura Urguelles and ???) was terrific. The hunting scene featured a dog, who also paraded through the lobby at intermission. I will admit thinking, as the dog entered, "OK, did somebody offer to give WB a humongous donation if their dog could be in the show?"

I like the idea of having them see the shoes, and think most kids would like to see slippers as well as pointe shoes. Of course, getting everyone as close as possible is also good. All that said, I took my 4-yo niece to warmup class (NOT designed for an audience) before a performance last year, and my sister reported later that she found the class just as fascinating as the performance. Of course, during the class she did have the benefit of my commentary (e.g., 'Look at the girl in blue. See how beautiful her arm/leg/head is?')

FWIW, my then-almost-4-year-old niece barely made it through last year's local winter performance (one short work + abbreviated Act I + Act II) and was extremely squirmy at the end. She did much better at the spring performance. Sooooo, much does depend on your particular toddler. As for the Kennedy Center itself, there are many children at most matinees and, better yet, the place is huuuuuuge, so there are lots of places to escape _to_ with a child who has gone around the bend. I'll be at the Sun matinee.

[stayed too long]Saw him dance (DonQ, in St Petersburg) just last week and, sadly, must agree.

Those floors are bouncy and carpeted, so turns are tough but jumps are much easier. BTW some gymnasts (including Courtney Kupets) wear a rhythmic gymnastics shoe on their turning foot.

There is definitely lots of scary dance stuff, though they have my sympathy for turns b/c that floor carpet is not an easy surface. The whole Ukrainian team has more grace than most though--it has to do with their training program. (Of course only Kozich, the European AA champion, was shown on US TV, but the others have lovely form as well.) You can see this at club-level meets in the US too--some gyms have ballet as part of the training program and some don't. It is obvious right away.

sylphide is quite right that, once there, being in St Petersburg is a delight and largely hassle-free. I enthusiastically recommend it and remember fondly all of my visits there, even the ones where luggage got lost and parasites attacked my stomach. It's the getting there that's a bother--arranging for a Russian visa typically takes about a month and costs about $100-200 for US citizens (not sure about EU) when all is said and done--photos, mailing, processing, etc. AND one must have prepaid hotel reservations, which is fine if you need a hotel but bothersome and expensive if you don't. (Private visit visas are possible but entail another layer of bother and expense on the part of hosts plus about the same cost for the traveler.) Ticket purchases _can_ also be problematic. St Petersburg still has 2-tier pricing for foreigners and locals at certain theaters, which means that in principle one cannot just cruise by the corner ticket kiosk and see what's available. Sometimes they will refuse to sell the tickets to foreigners at all, and other times the ticket-takers at the theater will inform you that you need to go somewhere and pay extra. Of course, if you go directly to the theater, it's no fuss at all and online purchases are possible. It's just a lot more bothersome than, say, flying to Paris for a week. I would go to St Pete a lot more often if the logistical arrangements were easier, and since St Pete is such a gem, it saddens me that the obstacles exist. Maybe in another ten years they won't.

The Bolshoi and Kirov/Mariinsky now have their fall schedules up online--no need to beg their office by email. :-) Sadly, it remains a hassle to travel to Russia as an independent tourist. :-(