Cygnet

This is an irretrievable loss. Alla was an impecable ballerina. Madame Sizova, rest in peace.

The 2015 Golden Mask nominations for the 2013-2014 season were announced in Moscow. The Golden Mask honors the best in Russian theatre, from live drama to puppetry. Notably, in recent years the ballet category was combined with modern dance nominations. A new category, "contemporary dance" has been introduced for the first time. Once again, in opera and ballet production categories, Moscow companies led by the Bolshoi and Stanislavsky Theatres, in addition to provincial theatres, dominated the nominations. http://eng.goldenmask.ru/gm.php?id=123

Nina Timofeeva was truly one of a kind and she will be sorely missed. May she rest in peace.

Thanks Sasark for your wonderful review!

Mark your calendars and check your timezones. On October 1, (or September 30 depending where you are ), Youtube will stream a 9 hour behind the scenes marathon featuring, Australian Ballet, the Bolshoi, the Royal Ballet, National Ballet of Canada and San Francisco Ballet. The broadcast will start in Melbourne, then it will relay in succession to Moscow, London, Toronto and end in San Francisco. The global webcast will feature classes, rehearsals, and the dancers' working day in each company. At the Bolshoi, rehearsals of Grigorvich's "Legend of Love," and Maillot's "The Taming of the Shrew" will be shown. http://www.sfballet.org/worldballetday?gclid=CL6BzLjA68ACFYhefgodKYEAYQ

I just learned the sad news that Joan Rivers has passed away. May she rest in peace. My deepest sympathy to her daughter Melissa and the entire family at this difficult time.

Olga has been awarded the 2014 Leonide Massine Award, in Positano, Italy, for "Best Dancer of the Year on the International Stage." The award presentation will take place on September 6. Brava Olga! . http://bolshoinews.com/2014-09-02.Bolshoi%20Newsletter.pdf

As a child, my first live performance was the Royal Ballet's "The Sleeping Beauty" at Covent Garden. The cast: Lesley Collier as Aurora, Marguerite Porter as the Lilac Fairy, Anthony Dowell as Prince Florimund, Jennifer Penney & Wayne Eagling as the Bluebirds, and Monica Mason as Carabosse.

Thanks Lidewij for the clip!

This is wonderful news! Brava Aurelie!

Here's Vladimir Malakhov en pointe "a la Sylvie Guillem" Gzovsky's "Grand Pas Classique." http://www.networkdance.com/album/view_wallmedia.php?pid=264&media_type=3&media_id=79393

"We took the best of the French school, with its grace and lightness, the best of the Italian school with its power, strength and expression, and fused them with "duzha," our soul. Pyotr Gusev (1904-1987)

The 2014 Benois winners have been announced. Congratulations to all the laureates! http://benois.theatre.ru/english/massmedia/news/

Two reviews are in: Sarah Kaufman: http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/bolshoi-ballets-uncommonly-intimate-giselle-at-the-kennedy-center/2014/05/21/8a2fc9e0-e0f8-11e3-8dcc-d6b7fede081a_story.html Alastair Macaulay: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/22/arts/dance/the-bolshoi-ballets-giselle-in-washington.html?_r=1

Oh yes...ITA with you. That "R & J" was inexplicable.

I saw it last Friday evening on PBS; and watched it again. I agree that this is something that probably translates better IRL theatre, and not on screen. I think the best work he's ever done is his version of Prokofiev's "Cinderella" set during WW2 during the blitz in London. I can understand the critical pushback. Although I'm a traditionalist, I do respect his work. I think that his "Sleeping Beauty" is a hybrid of "True Blood," "Downton Abbey," and "Game of Thrones," set to a soundtrack that Balanchine declared was, "...the greatest score ever written for ballet." That said, Bourne's vision is equally valid as any other choreographer's, and it's a good thing to look at new concepts of old works. Nacho Duato's version for the Mikhailovsky Ballet isn't traditional either, even though the heroine and the corps de ballet remained en pointe. I remember several years ago, Clement Crisp asked the question ,"... what will (Bourne) do when he runs out of the classics and their scores?" Has Bourne attempted to answer that question? Can, (will) Bourne create his own original work outside the frame of established masterpieces?

She is an absolutely beautiful bride! Congratulations to Genichka and Andrei !

Tatyana Baganova choreographed the Bolshoi's "Rite of Spring."

The 2014 Golden Mask winners were announced Friday 4/18/14: http://eng.goldenmask.ru/gm.php?id=121 The Bolshoi Theatre, Yekaterinburg Opera and Ballet Theatre, and the Mikhailovsky Theatre in Petersburg dominated in the ballet and opera categories. BALLET/ CONTEMPORARY DANCE ballet/best production SALIERI VARIATIONS, Opera and Ballet Theatre, Yekaterinburg contemporary dance/best production THE RITE OF SPRING, Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow best conductor Pavel KLINICHEV - CANTUS ARCTICUS, Opera and Ballet Theatre, Yekaterinburg best balletmaster/best choreographer Vyacheslav SAMODUROV - SALIERI VARIATIONS, Opera and Ballet Theatre, Yekaterinburg best actress Elena VOROBYOVA - SALIERI VARIATIONS, Opera and Ballet Theatre, Yekaterinburg best actor Vladimir VARNAVA - PASSENGER, Vladimir Varnava and Maxim Didenko Joint Project, St. Petersburg DRAMA best large scale production INTRIGUE AND LOVE, Maly Drama Theatre - Theatre of Europe, St. Petersburg best small scale production VASSA, Vedogon-Theatre, Zelinograd best director Rimas TUMINAS - EUGENE ONEGIN, Vakhtangov Theatre, Moscow best actress Alexandra URSULYAK (Shen The, Shui Ta) – THE GOOD PERSON OF SZECHWAM, Pushkin Theatre, Moscow best actor Alexei VERTKOV (Venichka) – MOSCOW-PETUSHKI, Studio of Theatre Arts, Moscow best supporting actor/actress Era ZIGANSHINA (Grandmother) – ZERO LITURGY, Alexandrinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg best designer Alexander BOROVSKIY - INTRIGUE AND LOVE, Maly Drama Theatre - Theatre of Europe, St. Petersburg best costume designer Maria DANILOVA - EUGENE ONEGIN, Vakhtangov Theatre, Moscow best light designer Denis SOLNTSEV - ONEGIN, Krasny Fakel, Novosibirsk PUPPETRY best production KILL KAROL, Puppet House, Penza best director Boris KONSTANTINOV - CARMEN, Puppet Theatre Teremok, Vologda best designer Viktor NIKONENKO - KILL KAROL, Puppet House, Penza best actor Andrei NECHAEV, Dmitriy CHERNOV, Alexei SOKOLOV, Khalisya BOGDANOVA (Old señora) - THE OLD SEIGNEUR AND…, Obraztsov Theatre, Moscow Drama and Puppet Theatre Jury`s Special Award ONEGIN, Krasny Fakel, Novosibirsk Yury Butusov, productions of THE GOOD PERSON OF SZECHWAM, Pushkin Theatre, Moscow and MACBETH. CINEMA, Lensoviet Theatre, St. Petersburg OPERA best production EUGENE ONEGIN, Mikhailovsky Theatre, St. Petersburg best conductor Jan LATHAM-KOENIG - TRISTAN UND ISOLDE, Novaya Opera, Moscow best director Andriy ZHOLDAK - EUGENE ONEGIN, Mikhailovsky Theatre, St. Petersburg best actress Venera GIMADIEVA (Amina) – LA SONNAMBULA, Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow best actor Maxim MIRONOV (Lindoro) – L'ITALIANA IN ALGERI, Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theatre, Moscow OPERETTA/MUSICAL best production THE LITTLE MERMAID, Stage Entertainment, Moscow best conductor Ainars RUBIKIS - MASS, Opera and Ballet Theatre, Novosibirsk best director not awarded best actress Manana GOGITIDZE (Ursula) – THE LITTLE MERMAID, Stage Entertainment, Moscow best actor Dmitry SUSLOV (Celebrant/Prayer) – MASS, Opera and Ballet Theatre, Novosibirsk BEST COMPOSER Vladimir KOBEKIN - KHOLSTOMER, Chamber Musical Theatre, Moscow MUSICAL THEATRE/BEST DESIGNER Alexander SHISHKIN - THE RITE OF SPRING, Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow MUSICAL THEATRE/BEST COSTUME DESIGNER Antony McDONALD - L’ENFANT ET LES SORTILÈGES, Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow MUSICAL THEATRE/BEST LIGHT DESIGNER AJ WEISSBARD - EUGENE ONEGIN, Mikhailovsky Theatre, St. Petersburg Musical Theatre Jury`s Special Award Maxim Yemelyanychev (hammer clavier) LE NOZZE DI FIGARO, Opera and Ballet Theatre, Perm; Pokiza Kurbonasenova, Adzham Chakoboev, Abdulmamad Bekmamadov, authors and performers, Akyn-opera, Teatr.doc, Moscow Sergei Nevsky (composer), Klaus Luhnstedt (librettist) and creative team of FRANCIS, Operagroup, Moscow INNOVATION DISTANT VICINITY, Playwright and Directors Centre, Moscow CRITICS AWARD AN IDEAL HUSBAND, Moscow Art Theatre CONTRIBUTION TO THEATRE ART – Oleg Basilashvili CONTRIBUTION TO THEATRE ART – Galina Volchek CONTRIBUTION TO THEATRE ART – Mark Zakharov CONTRIBUTION TO THEATRE ART – Eri Klas CONTRIBUTION TO THEATRE ART – Anna Kuzmina CONTRIBUTION TO THEATRE ART – Georgy Obukhov CONTRIBUTION TO THEATRE ART – Nina Urgant CONTRIBUTION TO THEATRE ART – Klarina Shadko SUPPORT OF RUSSIAN THEATRE ART – Academservice SUPPORT OF RUSSIAN THEATRE ART – Sergei Chebotaryov, Deputy Head of Administration, Tambov region BEST FOREIGN PRODUCTION PRESENTED IN RUSSIA IN 2013 – The Man Outside, Thalia Theatre, Hamburg, Germany

The 2014 Benois nominations have been announced: http://benois.theatre.ru/english/massmedia/news/ The Jury: Yuri Grigorovich – President; Beverly d’Anne – The Head of the Dance Department of the State of New York’s Art Council (1991-2011); Carla Fracci – Star of the Italian Ballet; Gabriela Komleva – Ballet Mistress of the Mariinsky Theatre, professor of the St. Petersburg’s Conservatory; Ana Laguna – International Star, coach, teacher; Agnes Letestu – Etoile of the Paris Opera Ballet, coach, costume designer; Madeleine Onne – Artistic Director of the Hong Kong Ballet. The Nominees CHOREOGRAPHERS: PATRICK DE BANA (Vienna State Ballet), ALEXEY RATMANSKY (American Ballet Theatre), MAURICIO WAINROT (Ballet Contemporaneo del Teatro San-Martin, Buenos Aires); BALLERINAS: ASHLEY BOUDER (New York City Ballet), LAURA HECQUET (National Paris Opera), MARIKO KIDA (Royal Swedish Ballet), NADIA MUSIKA (Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires), POLINA SEMIONOVA (American Ballet Theatre), VICTORIA TERESHKINA (Mariinsky Theatre), LIU YU YAO (The Hong Kong Ballet); DANCERS: TIMUR ASKEROV (Mariinsky Theatre), AUDRIC BEZARD (National Paris Opera), HERMAN CORNEJO (American Ballet Theatre), CLAUDIO COVIELLO (La Scala), NIKLAS EK (Royal Swedish Ballet), SHEN JIE (The Hong Kong Ballet), JUAN PABLO LEDO (Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires). Congratulations to all the nominees!

I know that in some companies, dancers have sent each other flowers, for various accomplishments. I thought that was particularly sweet. (I originally thought you were just referring to tossing flowers over the pit at the end of the performance, which has the added possibility of a tulip on the head...) I think at the Mariinsky you are supposed to give the flowers to an usher or the backstage area (drop off) and tell them (or have a card) who is to receive it. I don't think it is allowed to bring the flowers into the auditorium and toss them at the Mariinsky. Maybe it was allowed at one time, but I don't think it usually happens now, but I could be wrong. Rules are meant to be broken! LOL ..." You're right; the current procedure is to give flowers with cards attached to a backstage usher and he/she will present it to the performer. In Soviet times, you could do this and you could toss them onto the stage, (sometimes during a performance), and at curtain calls. I remember one "Giselle" from that era with Galina Mezentseva. After her Act 1 solo, someone tossed a large bouquet (as in armful) of daisies at her feet.

Grigorovich is considered to be the 'Grand Master Choreographer of Soviet Ballet' (my words); so yes, he is still very popular. He was Bolshoi Artistic Director and Choreographer-in-Chief from 1964 - 1995. The Moscow International Ballet competition was established by him in 1969, and that's just one of the competitions where he's a jurist. He was and is still revered and influential, and I daresay will be long after he's gone. The Mariinsky reveres the memory of Konstantin Sergeyev and they haven't altered, or removed any of his Petipa productions. The Bolshoi will (probably) do the same with Grigorovich's Petipa redactions and repertory. For example, Filin wanted to mount the 1899 reconstruction of the Bolshoi premiere of "Sleeping Beauty" in 2011 to celebrate the reopening of the Theatre. The management reproduced Grigorovich's 1973 production with "new" designs by the same team that brought us La Scala's and POB's current designs. Grigororvich's work received the highest State honors. For me, he always seemed more of a stage producer (i.e.Broadway), than a choreographer of steps. I think he was the most successful at combining ideology with acrobatics and bombastic effects, more than his Soviet contemporaries. IMO all of these elements came together in "Spartacus" and to a lesser extent, "Ivan the Terrible."

Congratulations to Xander; well done and well deserved!

This will be her debut as a guest artist with RDB .

The clips are online: Zakharova & Revazov: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RafefXyt34 Obraztsova & Lantrantov: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqiWanssaI0&feature=youtu.be Smirnova & Ovrachenko: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdDv0LPpDK8