Helene

Lewis Segal's review of the Opening Night performance of Sergeyev's Sleeping Beauty in Los Angeles struck me as a scathing indictment of the Sergeyev production: http://www.calendarlive.com/stage/cl-et-ki...stage-top-right A general discussion of the pros and cons of reconstructions took place on this thread. Aside from the political aspects of the selection of the Sergeyev version for this tour, which were discussed in the current thread and by Natalia in the Battling Beauties thread, can anyone who has seen both productions speak to Segal's assertion that the emotional intention of the ballet is missing from the Sergeyev version?

Extensive casting is up on the Cal Performances site: http://www.calperfs.berkeley.edu/presents/.../kirov_cast.php The Opening Night casting (Oct. 12) sounds identical to the LA Opening Night, which is discussed on this thread. The King Vladimir Ponomarev His Queen Elena Bazhenova Princess Aurora, their daughter Diana Vishneva (10/12; 10/15 E) Ekaterina Osmolkina (10/16 M) Alina Somova (10/14) Olesia Novikova (10/13 and replaces Irma Nioradze for 10/15 M) Prince Desire Igor Zelensky (10/12) Leonid Sarafanov (10/13; 10/16 M) Vladimir Shkliarov replaces Andrian Fadeev (10/14) Anton Korsakov (10/15 M) Andrian Fadeev replaces Igor Kolb (10/15 E) Bridegrooms of the Princess Alexander Kurkov, Maxim Chaschegorov replaces Ruben Bobovnikov, Dmitry Semionov, Vladimir Shkliarov Lilac Fairy Uliana Lopatkina (10/12; 10/15 E) Olga Esina (10/14) and replaces Irma Nioradze (10/16 M) Elena Vostrotina (10/15 M) and replaces Daria Pavlenko (10/13) Tendernees Fairy Ksenia Ostreykovskaya (10/12; 10/13) Daria Sukhorukova (10/14; 10/15; 10/16) Vivacity Fairy Tatiana Tkachenko Generosity Fairy Yulia Kasenkova Courage Fairy Yana Serebriakova Lightheartedness Fairy Yana Selina Diamond Fairy Viktoria Tereshkina (10/13; 10/15 E) Tatiana Tkachenko (10/15 M) Irina Golub (10/14; 10/16 M) Ekaterina Osmolkina (10/12) Sapphire Fairy Yana Serebriakova Gold Fairy Yulia Kasenkova Silver Fairy Daria Sukhorukova Carabosse Fairy Igor Petrov (10/12; 10/14; 10/15 E) Roman Skripkin (10/13; 10/15 M) Catalabutte Andrey Yakovlev Galifron Andrey Yakovlev Servant Islom Baymuradov Princess Florina Irina Golub (10/15 M) Yulia Bolshakova (10/12) Sofia Gumerova (10/13; 10/14) Ksenia Ostreykovskaya (10/16) and replaces Daria Pavlenko (10/15 E) The Blue Bird Anton Korsakov (10/12; 10/16) Vasily Scherbakov (10/13; 10/14) Dmitry Simeonov (10/15 E) Maxim Chaschegorov (10/15 M) The White Cat Yana Selina Puss in Boots Anton Lukovkin Little Red Riding Hood Elena Yushkovskaya replaces Yevgenia Obraztsova Wolf Nikolay Zubkovsky Maidservant Lira Khuslamova Huntsman Anton Lukovkin Maids of Honors Daria Sukhorukova, Yana Serebriakova, Ekaterina Kondaurova, Elena Vostrotina (10/13; 10/14; 10/16) Daria Sukhorukova, Yana Serebriakova, Ekaterina Kondaurova, Olga Esina (10/12; 10/15) Young Ladies Elena Yushkovskaya, Yevgenia Obraztsova, Yana Selina, Svetlana Ivanova Nereids Elena Vostrotina, Olga Esina NOTE: Casting is subject to change. Edited based on the casting insert in the Cal Arts/Berkeley Program on 12 October.

Please tell us what you think after you see the Company perform.

Question: given that this is American public tv and there seems to be a One-Ballet-a-Year quota, why not NYCB -- or a smaller company with a good Jewels in rep, like Miami (a la the Seattle Midsummer Night's Dream)? It took the BBC to get PNB's A Midsummer Night's Dream on TV and to DVD. The choice of Kirov and POB, could be a comment on how Balanchine is becoming "internationalized" (as if it hadn't been before, in smaller companies, like the Balanchine-affiliated company in Geneva) and/or how the standard is being upheld outside NYCB. What is a bit scary is that videos become iconic, and whatever is captured on film will be considered the way Balanchine ballets are supposed to be danced. From all of the reviews I've read of POB's and the Kirov's attempts so far, while there are some stellar and interesting individual performances, they are still foreign in style and approach, particularly in the corps work.

And here's the current schedule: Playdates Film Forum New York NY - Oct 26-Nov 8, 2005 Embarcadero Center San Francisco CA - Opens Nov 4 Shattuck Cinemas Berkeley CA - Opens Nov 11 E Street Cinema Washington DC - Opens Nov 11 Rafael Film Center San Rafael CA - Opens Nov 11 Camera Cinemas 7 San Jose CA - Opens Nov 11 Laemmle Music Hall Theatre Beverly Hills CA - Opens Nov 11 Edwards South Coast Village Santa Ana CA - Opens Nov 11 Century Centre Cinema Chicago IL - Opens Nov 18 Renaissance Place Cinema Highland Park IL - Opens Nov 18 Bethesda Row Cinema Bethesda MD - Opens Nov 18 Kendall Square Cinema Boston MA - Opens Nov 18 Harvard Exit Theatre Seattle WA - Opens Nov 18 Museum of Art Oklahoma City OK - Nov 25-27 Plaza de Oro Theatre Santa Barbara CA - Opens Dec 2 Broadway Center Cinemas Salt Lake City UT - Opens Dec 2 Tivoli Theatre St. Louis MO - Opens Jan 27, 2006 Midtown Art Cinema Atlanta GA - Opens Jan 27 Jacob Burns Film Center Pleasantville NY - Feb 3-9 Ken Cinema San Diego CA - Opens Feb 17 with many more playdates to be announced http://www.zeitgeistfilms.com/film.php?dir...mode=#playdates

No kidding -- when I'm 80, I want to look like Maria Tallchief. (I'd take looking like Maria Tallchief now...) Here's the link to the bios page, which also shows the side-by-side pictures: http://www.gellergoldfine.com/russes_dancers.html Paquita -- what a privilege to have seen Franklin and the directors. Thank you so much for sharing with us!