Helene

Has the Mariinsky ballet shut down or stopped performing since the Mariinsky II was built? Of course not: the've used the studio that does exist and the Main theater's studios. Not providing 100% of all functions does not mean the M-II is not functional: it means it has specific functions that don't include rehearsal space for the ballet, just as PNB has a separate building, the Phelps Center, for the school and Company studios, and the Opera has its own rehearsal studios. No one would think of calling McCaw Hall non-functional because it lacked studio space. Why would a building be specced to accommodate a rare reno period? Not having space in the Mariinsky II does not mean no space. While I'd expect touring to increase -- the M-II could have a hundred ballet studios, but not be able to use them if they're in Paris or Berkeley -- in fact Dorofeeva doesn't believe this is so: she believes that the Mariinsky ballet will take over the school studios. Do you think the school will shut itself down during the renos, if the Maroinsky takes over the school studios during the reno? I find that highly unlikely, and I don't think it's a stretch that another space with high enough ceilings will be found either for the school or the company or to be shared by both and outfitted with barres and floors.

Is there any evidence that the opera complaining? Is it a non-functional building from their point of view?

When a project is started, there's a project sponsor, and if the project sponsor indicates that a certain group's requirements are out-of-scope, usually those requirements aren't discussed or their input sought. The head of the ballet company reports to Gergiev, and if Gergiev made it clear that the ballet was not to be consulted, the ballet would not be consulted. Mr. Baimuradov's boss possibly could have gone over Mr. Gergiev's head, but that only works if someone over Gergiev was ready to listen. I'm not saying that the reason for the lack of studio space for the ballet was corruption: from David Remnick's article on the Filin attack in The New Yorker, However, it is possible for the crooks to have the "scale to steal on a huge scale," and corruption alone could explain it, in that if corruption drains enough resources, and because the resources are constrained, scope suffers. I do think that the ballet's needs were not taken into consideration because they had whatever facilities existed in the Main theater and Gergiev was counting on using the school for the main company during the renovation of the building. A renovation of the Main theater did not just pop into someone's head recently. Dorofeeva did not say that Gergiev was planning the throw the ballet out onto the street: it's a question of being ousted from their premises because they're convenient to the ballet, which is generating the revenue. I'm sure Gergiev will find a barn to put them in. It will be interesting, because if they're taking in paying students, I'm not sure how happy the high-paying parents will feel about their children taking classes in the new barn, instead of the venerable old one.

There would be a lot more sympathy for Caliban if it were done chronologically, because you'd see Propero de-throned and set to sea, then landing with Miranda on the island and having Caliban help them and his thanks was to be enslaved.

Just a reminder for official sources only, which doesn't include other discussion boards.

The puppetmeister/control and struggle aspects between Prospero and Ariel/Caliban/Miranda should be catnip, though -- think of all those Drosselmeier/Marie/Prince impositions, and von Rothbart, and both Ashton and Balanchine told a complex story in "Midsummer." I'm not sure why "the Tempest" is so elusive. It also sounds like there are structural issues that repeat viewings won't "fix."

Dorofeevna seems to have taken the same approach to role that Iksanov did at the Bolshoi, which is to manage and let the Artistic Directors do their thing. As for acoustics, acousticians are brought in as partners in the project. The requirements of the musicians should be first and foremost in designing the pit and hall, or you get New York State Theater v.1 and Philharmonic Hall. Acoustics haven't been an issue at the Met, and I heard the house-opening Ring at the Four Seasons Center, where the acoustics were grand.

The exterior may leave little to be desired, but they knew what they were getting when they hired this firm just by looking at the Four Seasons Center and the rest of its portfolio. I don't see why anyone was surprised: planting a building in St. Petersburg, a very European city, is completely different than creating a building to blend into downtown Toronto. It was not a forward-looking building like the l'Opera Bastille, whatever one thinks of it, or like the Guggenheim: the Mariinsky got a building that could have blended into many North American downtowns. That's what Diamond and Schmitt Architects does: http://www.dsai.ca/ Are the theater employees of the Opera complaining? I don't know whether you mean all backstage employees or just the ballet backstage employees. Do you know what resource/time/scope limitations the architects were given? Do you know whether they were given firm, complete requirements, or if they had to adjust for change requests? Do you know if they came across structural or regulatory issues? Do you know if the building was constructed to spec? If the ballet wasn't consulted, then why would the architectural firm build something different from what was requested?

I saw "Bach Partita" when it first premiered, and I found it deadly. I've never seen "Gong," but from all of you descriptions, I don't think Mark Morris is your cup of tea. Are you going to tomorrow's matinee, too? It's with Part and Semionova.

I thought the M-II had warm-up studios, but I may have mis-read that. I think the school thinks that it will be squeezed out this time, giving the increased demands of the ballet. It won't be a co-mingling. I'm guessing that in any case, some private money could be found to find space to create temporary studios for either the company or school, but for the students, it's important for them to be in the historic studios, with all of the history, the portaits, and the ghosts to instill a sense of continuity.

Supposedly the Marrinsky II ballet studios were skimped on. I'm not sure about the opera facilities. It's also a very different situation from the '60's and '70's, no? Fewer ballets to rehearse, fewer tours, not being the cash cow to fund the opera on a slave-driver schedule.

That explains Tsiskaridze's position that teachers who've started the year should finish the year. By next summer, maybe he thinks they'll like the way he's running things and the staff he's chosen, and if he decides, the deputies he re-hires. It also means the voters will have nothing to say about it if Dorofeeva's prediction comes true and Gergiev takes over the studios for the Mariinsky during the main theater reno. Dorofeeva has started a new job with the Mikhailovsky already. It's not surprising she was removed from the Vaganova site.

And: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151804075228952&set=a.439537898951.224264.21358443951&type=1 https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151803686003952&set=a.439537898951.224264.21358443951&type=1 https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151804014423952&set=a.439537898951.224264.21358443951&type=1 https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151785047473952&set=a.439537898951.224264.21358443951&type=1

I hope your Halloween has been just as exciting as you wanted it to be. From PNB: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151804061068952&set=a.439537898951.224264.21358443951&type=1

She worked with Ratmansky at Royal Danish Ballet where she was from 15-17 and did "Nutcracker" with PA Ballet at 14, living in an apartment. That's a crazy amount of professional experience, not to mention the extensive Balanchine coaching and performance history she had until then.

How could they be entitled to vote if they've been fired?

Many thanks for posting this interview. Van Patten has had an unusual range of experience, including having worked with Ratmansky at the beginning of his career and with Wheeldon and Morris throughout their work with San Francisco Ballet. It's a fascinating read.

Please discuss any professional reviews in the "Writings about Ballet" forum.

Appointment as in nomination? Then, that sounds like a sentence Orwell could have written. If it means approved appointment, then if they don't approve he would have nothing to say about their contracts, unless the next approved Rector was a puppet. If they don't succeed in blocking his approval, then he could retaliate by refusing to renew their contracts. Right.

I didn't realize the staff would have to agree to his appointment. I thought they were stuck with whatever the Culture Ministry/government decided to do.

They're an interesting pairing. Often Imler is paired with Porretta or Bold.

Many thanks for the heads up -- I skimmed by it on the medici tv listing without knowing what it was and had forgotten about it.

I think the "BBC Code" version -- the option to see all of the formatting options -- is based on Microsoft Word, which means it has a mind of its own when it comes to formatting. The "typewriter" option is more like the old, great Word Perfect, where you could click F3 "Reveal Codes" and control the formatting. The indent feature is another that makes me want to tear my hear out: now matter where the cursor is or what's highlighted, it will indent the post from the beginning. I have to click the little light switch icon and delete the "indent" tags (both [ open ] and [ /close ] for the part that shouldn't be indented. I'm sure some of this is browser-specific: for example, I've been able to do what kfw describes in other browsers (or maybe an older version of Firefox for Mac, but it's not working for me with an old Mac and the Firefox for Mac latest version.

From Gia Kourlas' http://www.timeout.com/newyork/dance/sarah.van.patten-talks-about-san-francisco-ballet?pageNumber=1 with Sarah van Patten in "Time Out New York" linked by pherank in the Sarah Van Patten thread in the "Dancers" forum: Time Out New York: How did he direct your Cinderella? Sarah Van Patten: Because it’s a joint production with Dutch National, he choreographed parts on us and parts on them, so both of the companies could really feel like it was their own. I did a lot of the creating of Edwina, but I was also in the studio a lot for Cinderella. I got to be there for the evolution of both parts. What was great—especially for me—was to really have the severe character differences and to really hear the background of his thought process on the different characters. For every step—every kind of movement or gesture—he’ll talk it out: “This is what’s going through your head.” He’d have a whole conversation going during a variation or during a scene, and that’s what made the process really enjoyable, especially for a part like Edwina, where you’re being comedic and loud with all of these big movements. And the same for Cinderella. He really talked through a lot of the choreography; that makes the story feel real. I don’t know if that makes sense.

Maybe it was like Casa Mila in Barcelona: yikes in the photos, but you have to be there.