Andre Yew

I saw the Tereshkina/Ivanchenko Don Q last night as well, but was not as taken with it. I've never seen the Kirov's Don Q before, and it struck me as the most straightforward, earnest Don Q, with none of the self-consciousness that you see with ABT, for example. The staging was also delightfully old-fashioned, with Russian-accented mime, acting, and character dancing, but infused with modern-day ballet technique, which fairly exploded in contrast when the whole ensemble started doing a big dance. Act 1 was full of these kinds of contrast. Also, what's up with the belly dancer in the wedding scene? Rather someone dressed as a belly dancer doing leftover choreography from La Bayadere. The two principals are excellent (forgetting a botched turn in the beginning of Act 1), but the corps was not great last night, especially in the dream sequence. Some heads and arms were askew, looking the wrong way or moving differently, but it was performed at a high level nevertheless. I wonder if the B team is here because they're opening in London next week. And Kondaurova can do no wrong. It's too bad we only saw her in Act 1 last night. It's funny to think back to when I last saw Tereshkina and Kondaurova together, and it was in NYC in In the middle. What a contrast tonight. Osmolkina was wonderful, too as we saw her in a small variation at the end. This is what Queen of the Dryads should have looked like, but didn't. Speaking of which ... Somova was grotesque as the Queen of the Dryads. She has a series of assisted jumps along the diagonal where her back leg goes to attitude. It went way too high, like over 180 degrees. There was no concept of line, only of how high she could get her leg up. She does look stronger, though, but her characters still have that vacant airhead look to them. Ponomarev's Don Q was excellent, done with subtlety and nobility. The music was played awfully fast, especially in Act 1. --Andre

Let me preface my comments by saying that I'm a big fan of LAB, and try to attend as many of their performances as possible, even though I'm over 100 miles away from most of their venues. I don't think the performance did ballet any favors. It wasn't well-performed, because the dancers looked a bit tentative, and underpowered. But more importantly, it was a sad, apologetic choice for showing ballet on national TV. Why not men in tights? Why not challenging music? Why not challenging choreography? If it were up to me, I'd have put on the Agon pas, but maybe that's why I'm not a TV producer. As it is, it really did not distinguish ballet from any of the other "routines" that appear on the show. If the choice of choreography danced is reflective of what ballet ADs think of the general level of their untapped audience, then it is a very sad day for ballet indeed. --Andre

Finally! Opus Arte are releasing a DVD of the Cojocaru/Kobborg Giselle: http://www.opusarte.com/pages/comingsoon.asp?offset=5 IMHO, it's one of the greatest modern Giselles. Now if only they'd release it on an HD format. Jewels is also listed as being released for BluRay. Hopefully, it won't have the blurry movement of the DVD. --Andre

Wow, great info straight from the horse's mouth. Thanks Eliza! Tangentially, it's interesting what foreign dance troupes buy with their own money when they're on tour in the US. I guess with the weak US dollar, US shopping is more attractive. This time around, the Kirov dancers were all looking for iPhones! Unfortunately, many stores were out of stock as they're clearing their shelves in anticipation of the new version. Electronic gadgets seem to be a popular thing in general. --Andre

Nope --- he gets the one-handed lift. Also, I've heard that the BluRay version is currently not in the pipeline. --Andre

I was just doing my weekly browsing of Opus Arte's website (opusarte.com), and noticed that the recent broadcast of the Royal Ballet's La Fille Mal Garde with Marianela Nunez and Carlos Acosta is due for release in June! I think Nunez plays this role to perfection, and Carlos wasn't too bad either. I hope this is just the first of many releases of the fine broadcasts they have: Giselle with Cojocaru/Kobborg, Sleeping Beauty with Kojocaru and Nunez's incredible Lilac Fairy, perhaps Darcey Bussell's awesome Song of the Earth. I also hope we can see these releases on Blu Ray. --Andre

I believe the Trust (or any copyright holder) also has to make reasonable efforts to protect its property, otherwise they could lose their rights to it if someone challenges them. Sort of like, "You didn't care about those videos then, why do you care now?" --Andre

Of course, but I think you can say this for any company even POB and Mariinsky. I found the Mariinsky's Symphony in C to be not that good, and I don't want to know what they'd do to Ashton's La Fille Mal Garde. I'm not sure what ABT does well. In SoCal, their productions seem to live and die by the principal couple. I've seen them in mixed rep and story ballets, classical and contemporary work, and while there are moments of stunning brilliance (Kent/Carreno in the white swan pas from their opening night gala in LA a few years ago), they don't live up to their exalted billing (America's ballet company?) and elevated ticket prices out here. It goes beyond the messy corps, too, as the company seems to have no style. I gladly attended every single NYCB performance when they visited us for two weeks a couple of years ago, and would do it again, and I generally do the same for the Kirov. But when ABT comes out, I only see one performance and only because I feel obligated to give them one more try. --Andre

FYI, I just posted some info in the videos section about finding Kondaurova/Tereshkina's In the middle on Youtube: http://ballettalk.invisionzone.com/index.p...st&p=225354 --Andre

That Kirov performance is not my favorite SiC because it's like molasses. My favorite's the Royal Ballet's from the 90s with Yoshida, Bussell, Benjamin, and Bull. I know Leigh hates the RB's take on it, but I can't get over how synergistic the English port de bras and epaulement, as well as their own brand of attack, are with this kind of Balanchine. Speaking of Kirov videos on YouTube, in relation to the general high regard for Kondaurova in the Kirov's recent NYC residency, there's a bunch of videos of Kondaurova and Tereshkina dancing Forsythe's In the middle somewhat elevated. You have to search for "dance with forsythe". There are two videos, and they also link to Kondaurova's Steptext (incorrectly labeled as something with Bach's cello sonata). The video is very fuzzy, but you can tell who's who. Some of her special movement quality is lost on the video, but you can get an idea of it. --Andre

Leigh came up with the blond analogy --- I'm just riffing on it. I disagree with you about SFB, but perhaps that's because I just saw them do Eden/Eden, which suits their strengths and hides their weaknesses better than the classical rep. They have more stylistic unity than almost any other American company except maybe NYCB, but that's not saying much I suppose. I also just saw ABT do Swan Lake in Los Angeles. It was pretty awful --- except for Hallberg, they were all on cruise control, and the corps were literally all over the place. Judging from the comments here, they must have some kind of Jekyll and Hyde syndrome when they're on tour. The Perm Ballet's performance the following week was so much better. At this point, I'm not sure any American company can do justice to the classical rep. --Andre

It was really nice to see lots of BTers there, too. I'm just sorry we couldn't have spent more time together as everyone had so much to say. The Balanchine program was pretty good, and very beautiful in that Kirovian way for many parts. The stuff that was best were things that suited them: Serenade and Ballet Imperial. They looked a little goofy and awkward in Rubies, as they were trying too hard to do many of the non-classical moves --- the hip swings, the flexed feet, etc. They didn't look all too comfortable with it --- I think I even prefer LAB's for the main roles! Serenade was pretty slow, and some people were complaining about that, but it was really beautiful. The Dark Angel (Kondaurova) and Russian girl (Osmolkina) were amazing --- it was basically their show. Somova was the waltz girl, and she was OK if a bit airheaded: too bubbly and too many smiles, and basically too blond. If you can imagine Legally Blond as a ballet, you'd have her pinned. The corps was amazing, and the quality of the movement really brings something to Serenade. Same comments for Ballet Imperial. We got Tereshkina as the main girl and Osmolkina was the soloist. Very beautiful corps work and arms and back. It was often breathtaking especially the adagio parts. Kondaurova was the tall girl for Rubies, but we had a last minute sub for Vishneva with Novikova because Vishneva apparently tweaked her foot. This was not announced to the audience until after the intermission, though it was known before the show started. Lots of disappointment and some booing --- not the best way to treat your audience, I think. I didn't mind as I've never seen Novikova in a big role before. She did a fine job, even if it was a bit anonymous. Strong corps and technique, but it was kind of awkward all around. Kondaurova vamped quite a bit, which I liked, but other people didn't. I had never seen the tall girl have a relationship with the main girl until last night. Lots of ballet celebrities there last night (Martins, Kistler, Hallberg, etc.). Half of NYCB must have been there --- I have to give props to the Kirov for bringing Balanchine to New York, and I think they showed them a thing or two about how it could be performed, even if it's totally different than American interpretations. That stage is tiny: dancers were upstaging each other and ocassionally bumping into each other. --Andre

That sounds like a plan. It'll be good to see you again, and meet everyone else, too. I'll be wearing a gray suit, pink shirt, and a dark tie with white dots, perhaps looking a little lost. --Andre

Kondaurova's hair looked red to me last night, too. It was telling the difference between Novikova and Tereshkina that had me scratching my head for a while. Helene, I also noticed that the dancers were dancing In the middle with quite a bit more energy and daring to go off-balance a lot more, though Kondaurova was fantastic in Steptext. It was Osmolkina who was dancing her solo when the lights went out. BTW, if anyone's attending the Friday Balanchine, I'd love to say hi and put some faces to screennames. Is there a spot in the lobby where people usually gather? I'm flying home Saturday morning, so that will be my only chance to say hi. --Andre

If you replace "Russian" with "New Yorker" and "Kirov" with "NYCB", that story would still be true. --Andre

I just saw the Thursday night Forsythe program. I'd never seen Kondaurova before, but holy moly! What a dancer! No matter what she's doing, she just grabs the stage. Perhaps it's the ease with which she can move her body into all of those Forsythian contortions or how expressive she makes every gesture, but whatever it is, she has the IT factor. Every time she exited the stage, I couldn't wait for her to get back on again. I can't wait to see her tomorrow in the Balanchine program. It was interesting seeing the Kirov dance Forsythe too. They bring a legato, continuous quality to the work that sometimes work, and sometimes doesn't work for this choreography. But how they can express their gloriously long lines even in this work. The first time Kondaurova just stretched her arms out in the beginning of Steptext was like putting the audience on alert. I also loved Yana Selina in Approximate Sonata, and Victoria Tereshkina more than held her own against Kondaurova in In the middle, dancing the Sylvie Guillem role. Both Kondaurova and Tereshkina were really going for it in In the middle. Vertiginous fell flat for me, which is curious because I would think that the dancers would be most at home in a work that's the closest to the classical rep they're going to get from Forsythe. It wasn't for the want of technique, but rather contrast in energy level. Everything seemed up all the time, and there wasn't a contrast in the phrasing. I was also pleasantly surprised to see a slightly larger body amongst all those skinny girls. Elena Sheshina however had plenty of technique and expressiveness, and it didn't really matter what size she is. It's also my first time in NYC, and I was half gawking at all these famous ballet celebrities (like Sofiane Sylve) who were in attendance! --Andre

There are some ballet DVDs that have multichannel sound. Some of the HD releases (in BluRay) even have multichannel PCM without any lossy encoding (ie. Dolby Digital or DTS). But most of their sound quality is about average. The only DVD that stands out in my mind for its audio quality and musical quality is the TDK Giselle with Zakharova/Bolle. I have never heard that score played any better or with more expression than on that DVD. From your list, of the ones I've seen, I'd say the Royal Ballet Nutcracker (with Cojocaru/Putrov) is probably the best, though the score is played exceedingly slowly. --Andre

I agree that the recent Royal Ballet production with Alina Cojocaru is the one to wait for. Marianela Nunez as the Lilac Fairy is absolutely astounding in her variation. There are bits and pieces of this (Rose Adagio and the Lilac Fairy) on YouTube if you want a preview. --Andre

This will be a very welcome Giselle. The chemistry between the two is unmatched, and their technique is just superb. It's a really great production all around. My personal hope is that it will come out in some HD format as well. --Andre

I saw the Sunday matinee, and agree mostly with what Laura Bleiberg writes in the OC Register, except I thought Rhoden's piece was derivative. Pendleton's was probably the best piece of the show, and disarmingly effacing --- you only saw Vishneva's feet and arms for the first part! This is definitely not a conventional vanity piece, and kudos to her for that. I thought FLOW was also the only piece to really show her personality. Most of it was something you'd see in a Momix show, but the middle piece with Vishneva on a reflective ramp was something that really showed her off physically and artistically. Rhoden's piece looked like warmed-over Forsythe from his "In the middle, somewhat elevated" phase: bare, open stage and wings, loud musique concrete-type percussion, same style of costumes (and even an anticipated uncostuming ---- I purposely said to myself that someone's going to take off some clothes at the beginning, and sure enough, 10 minutes later ...), and choreography that uses off-balanced pointework and exaggerated flexibility. If he had a curtain that dropped to the floor, it would have been a perfect copy. Except that it wasn't, and was a bad aping that really lacks the energy or density of movement that builds excitement like Forsythe can do. I also thought Desmond Richardson outdanced Vishneva in the Rhoden piece, which isn't surprising since Rhoden and Richardson work together in Complexions. Richardson's movements were more fascinating to look at, and looked more authentic. Vishneva was doing a good job, but a bit out of her element. Nevertheless, it was very brave of her to tackle three very difference pieces, and failure is often the price of pushing the envelope. I hope this doesn't discourage her, and the capacity audience seemed to love it. --Andre

The framing and production direction looks very much like normal DVDs shot in widescreen. There are closeups and there are far shots that show the whole stage, except on HD, you can actually recognize many faces in the far shots! The music so far seems to be well-synced. --Andre

Rereading this sentence, it sounds confusing: they look the same, but they may not look the same? Current BD and HD-DVD releases look the same. BD has the potential to look better in the future, but it's not clear whether it will give an appreciably better picture. I believe Opus Arte is also maxing out their video bandwidth, along with the audio, for the BD Swan Lake release. --Andre

I second carbro's sentiments given recent announcements at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show that put the future of HD-DVD in doubt. Now is a good time to wait. In the meantime, it looks like Opus Arte has committed to bringing out Blu-Ray (AKA BD) versions of their HD releases, with the PNB performance of Balanchine's Midsummer Night's Dream just released on Blu-Ray. As far as visual quality goes, BD and HD-DVD are the same. BD has more storage capability, so it can hold longer movies, or higher-quality movies, or higher quality soundtracks. I wouldn't worry about this advantage for now as it's mostly important to audiophiles. The Opus Arte BD releases are going to take advantage of this, and have higher quality soundtracks than their HD-DVD counterparts, but the differences are vanishingly small unless you have a very nice audio system. BD is the more unfinished format right now --- there are a couple of technical updates for it around the corner that may render current players obsolete --- whereas HD-DVD is basically done. I'd say that you would see the most benefit from a large, high-resolution (eg. 50- or 60-inch 1080p) screen, but the results can be appreciated on a smaller screen as well. An old CRT tube won't gain you any advantage because its resolution is the same as a DVD. You'll need at least 720p to see any difference from normal DVD. --Andre

I think we have to be careful about ballet videos, because we are watching a stage production through the eyes of a video camera and director. Things that read well in a theater can come across goofy or exaggerated in a TV closeup. I think we had a similar discussion about Laetitia Pujol's expressions in Emeralds on the POD video of Jewels. It's like watching a stage play on TV. FWIW, I've seen Irina Golub on-stage dancing Gamzatti, and there was certainly no end of expression in her dancing and acting. --Andre

I don't know if the pirouettes were left out because of the dancers' abilities, but I know the two girls were finalists in YAGP, so they must have pretty decent technique including turns. Choreography is often changed to better suit the dancer sometimes due to their abilities, and other times due to injury. --Andre