chiapuris

Round 3 Senior Division, 6-29-05 The results for the Senior division were to be announced at the theatre around 12:30 am, about half an hour ago. We were having dinner, so I don't know the results. My choices as top contenders are: Ekaterina Krysanova Eugenia Obraztsova Natalia Osipova Anastasia Matvienko Irina Kolesnikova Sun Xin Natalia Domrayeva Ekaterina Borchenko Denis Matvienko Yaroslav Salenko Victor Ischuk Tabyldy Doszhan Ivan Koslov Zhiwei Wang The biggest, longest applause of the evening belonged to Denis and Anastasia Matvienko in the Corsaire Act II pas de deux. The adagio was gorgeous, with beautiful supported pirouettes. Their variations were outstanding- they had it all. The applause for his variation was thunderous. Obraztsova danced the Bournonville 'Festival…' variation to no great applause, but her Sleeping Beauty Act III variation was well applauded. I thought she danced both of them beautifully. Osipova in the DQ pdd , made of the variation a very exciting dance. In the coda she started out with a series of double fouettes and then a series of singles with a perfect finish. Just before the end of the coda she came way off balance in an arabesque but it wasn't clear whether it was an error of the partner or not. Krysanova also finished the evening's program with a DQ pdd. She danced with great zest and a beautiful clarity of line. Her non-competing partner did not always give her the best support. Yaroslav Salenko seem to 'nail' his Corsaire variation; in his first variation, DQ, he performed double tours ending in arabesque, but alternating sides: one right, the next left, the next right… Outstanding dancing. Domrayeva and Ischuk were another couple who were sensational in a DQ pdd. Tomorrow the first gala.

For the record: In Post #47 I neglected to mention that in the Third Junior round, Vorontsova also danced a pdd, Nutcracker Act II, with a non-competing partner. Congratulations to all of them!

3rd Round, Junior Division, 6/28/05 Junior women (my lists, not in any order) Christina Shevchenko USA Marina Burtseva R Maria Vinogradova R Oksana Kardash R Alyona Samarskaya R Elena Kazakova R Chinara Alizade R Junior men Ivan Vasiliev Belarus Alexander Shpak Ukraine Zherlin Ndudi Ukraine Igor Motizov R Isaac Hernandez Mexico Matthias Dingman USA This evening was the Third round for the Junior division. Each competitor had two classical variations or, instead, one pdd. Two competitors selected pdd: Kazakova Corsair act II, and Alizade Swan Lake act III. Both had non-competing partners. The evening as a whole showed some cases of understandable stress and tension, so there little slips and hesitancies that showed some performers not at their very best. Others came through energized to a degree that showed them in superb form. Among these were Christine Shevchenko, Alexander Shpak [Actaeon and a wonderful Giselle act II variation], Ivan Vasiliev, Isaac Hernandez, and Zherlin Ndudi for his second variation. (His first was good and he received enormous applause [DQ] but his second [Actaeon] was right on ). Burtseva for her second dance performed a variation from Esmeralda act II -not the tambourine variation- but another with slow movements and bourees with parallel feet going backwards in long lines across the stage, that were greatly appreciated by the audience. The results are to be posted at midnight, local time. That's about now. PS I'll be glad to provide any details or specifics but there's just too much to write about.

dachnitsa: I finally posted my impressions of the 6-24-05 performance in a new post. Hope it's helpful to you.

Sleeping Beauty Bolshoi 6/24/05 Aurora Anna Antonicheva Prince Desire Nikolai Tsiskaridze Lilac Fairy Maria Allash Carabosse Gennadiy Yanin Princess Florine Nina Kaptsova Bluebird Vyatcheslav Lopatin Fairies: Tenderness Nelli Kobakhidze Light-Heartedness Victoria Osipova Generosity Anna Rebetskaya Playfulness Daria Gurevich Courage Elena Andrienko Jewels: Diamond Anastasia Yatsenko Sapphire Irina Semirechenskaya Gold Olga Stebletsova Silver Alesya Boyko After I left the performance of Sleeping Beauty (6-24-05) I thought, “What a sunny production!”. Then I had to figure out what I meant. My thoughts on this is that it was 'sunny' because the performances of the leading parts cohered into visual tableaus that told the story effectively. Maria Allash as the Lilac Fairy embodied all the best human qualities as a fairy-tale being. She presided over the birth ceremonies with assurance and calm, expressed through her clean, focused style of moving. The variations of the Fairies seemed to me all outstanding. I can't single out one or two as better than any of the others. All deserve praise. In the coming-of-age party, Anna Antonicheva, as the sixteen year-old Aurora, used only the pure, unforced technical brilliance of her dancing to indicate the exuberance of a teenager at her birthday celebration. Gennadiy Yanin, as Carabosse- who embodies all the worse human qualities as an evil fairy, gave a fine, nuanced performance. I haven't enjoyed a Carabosse as much as when I lucked out last year when I saw the debut of Nikolay Tsiskaridze in the part. The concentrated menace and the lack of flamboyance in Yanin's interpretation gave it real theatrical power. I found his departure to the netherworld by descent through a trapdoor particularly effective. The appearance of Nikolay Tsiskaridze as the Prince in the hunting scene, I think, set the tone for the whole performance and made it a 'sunny' production. As he entered the stage he greeted the various personages on it, and was particularly courteous and solicitous to the lady he escorted. Then he did something I have never seen (or perhaps never noted) before. He walked, from downstage right to downstage left, acknowledging and greeting the audience in a charismatic gesture of inclusion. I found it a very effective and brilliant touch. He was like a good host. The wedding celebrations gave us the sparkling Diamond Fairy of Anastasia Yatsenko, and the brilliant trio of Semirechenskaya, Stebletsova and Boyko, brilliant both in the controlled grand jetes and the fast-as-light variation. Nina Kaptsova as Princess Florine, with her delicate line and her clean pirouettes complemented the Bluebird of buoyant Vyatcheslav Lopatin. The Grand Pas de Deux showed Tsiskaridze as an attentive partner and Antonicheva as an elegant bride. The Apotheosis ended a really joyous evening.

Marga, sorry for the identification errors. Mikhail and singing_medora, many thanks for the useful links.

26 June This was the second and final day of the 2nd Round, and it was a day packed with top-drawer dancing. The morning session had 19 competitors; I'm listing below some who caught my attention ....and kept it. 26 June Morning Session: Maria Seletskaya Ekaterina Alayeva Ludmilla Konovaleva Natalia Osipova Natalia Yershova Sun Xin Wang Zhiwei Christina Kretova Roman Artyushkin Mikhail Martinyuk Eugenia Obraztsova 26 June Evening Session: The session had 15 competitors. Alexander Buber Yaroslav Salenko Victoria Luchkina Matvienko Anastasia & Denis Borchenko Ekaterina & Piotr Irina Koleshnikova Natalia Domrayeva Victor Ischuk Ekaterina Kozachenko Natalia Matsak At the end of the evening session it was announced that the results for the 3rd Round would be announced in two hours-- which is about twenty minutes ago. Natalia you'll probably have the results before us. I may try a Russian paper. I can't imagine how they're going to cull from the second round because most of the dancers seem so strong and at the same time so unique. In the morning session Obraztsova was a standout, carving a niche for herself by being the only dancer to dance the variation from Lavrosky's Romeo and Juliette. For her contemporary piece she danced the variation (including an articulated gargouillade) from Balanchine's Tchaikovsky pdd. I thought she was sensational. Another (expected) sensation was Natalia Osipova, who was flawless in the Diana & Actaeon pdd. Ekaterina Alayeva (Estonia) was a hit with Balanchine's Sylvia pdd, and for her contemporary piece, danced Balanchine's The Man I Love from Who Cares. Another morning favorite were Sun Xin and Wang Zhiwei in Gsovsky's Grand Pas. In the evening, special mention goes to Alexander Buber, who danced for his classical piece Balanchine's Tarantella. There were two more Tarantellas as the contemporary selection. The Matvienkos, Anastasia and Denis, danced it and so did Natalia Domrayeva and Victor Ischuk. (For their classical, the last two dancers chose the pdd from Balanchine's Stars and Stripes.) Other evening pleasures included the DQ pdd of the Matvienkos, the Bayadere 3rd act pdd of the Borchenkos and the DQ with Koleshnikova and a non-competing partner. There was also a nice, if idiomatic, Fascinating Rhythm danced by Ekaterina Kozachenko. My next question is, how many prizes are there, and how do the judges decide between best and better? On to the 3rd round on the 28th.

6/25/05 I've just come back from the first session of the 2nd Round and what a great evening it was! Some thirty-five dancers participated in pdd or solos with an intermission between the end of the classical selections and the contemporary selections (about 5 1/4 hrs). Here are 15 dancers that I singled out in the order they performed: Elena Kazakova Jherlin Ndudi Ivan Vasiliev Igor Motisov Alexander Shpak Matthias Dingman Chinara Alizade Isaac Hernandez Anna Tikhomirova Ekaterina Khanyukova Oksana Kardash Natalia Vorontsova Christine Shevchenko Ilia Bolotov Ekaterina Krysanova All except Krysanova are in the Junior division. Krysanova was listed last and gave what seemed to me a flawless performance in the Black Swan pdd. There were other flawless performances, I thought, such as those of Shevchenko, Hernandez, Vasiliev, and Ndudi. Some of the contemporary pieces were outstanding: Ndudi and Denis Cherevychko in a Hans van Manen piece, Dingman in Syrtaki from M Bejart's Greek Dances, Vasiliev in a Poklitaru piece to Saint Saens The Swan, Krysanova in an exotic piece as a snake and a Snake Charmer. More later.

After this morning's session on choreography, the choreography results appear this eve. at 6:00 pm (it's 3:12 pm right now). Here's some choreographers who impressed me: (I've starred the one I think are choice) Zhukoff, Mikhail Poland *Fiorucci, Laura Venezuela *Krichmarev, Vyecheslav R Parfyonov, Maxim R Barragan, Elloy Mexico Yachmenyova, Marianna *Tikhomirova, Maria R Sayfretdinova, Rezeda R Morihiro, Ivata Japan *Vyskoubenko, Youry R To Singing Medora : I'll respond a few days later--actually after the Competition is over-- when I have seen them dance again!

Natalia, my take on Vladimir Kuklachev is that the judges did the correct thing for a cogent reason: there was no standard by which to judge what he 'did'. The audience was very much for him, in large part because he was such a relief with his non-chalant spirit and his antic (difficult, unique, but antic) leaps and twists in the air and not knowing what he would do next. In the 'classical' Acteon, there were sudden leaps and then bizarre poses that the audience really found refreshing --especially after the repetetive nature of seeing any number of short, coherent, totally organized series of movements, sometimes repeated more than two or three times (Don Quixote, Male variation XXX, Don Quixote Male variation, yyy, Don Quixote Male variation, zzz). Then comes this force of nature named Vladimir Kuklachev. How do you give points? Especially when his contemporary piece was more like a physical comedian's 'act'. I wish I had counted the times he ran off stage while the audience was howling about what he had just done. To give an example: for his whamo finale he turned facing one wing (and I thought he's not going to do that?) and fell straight as a board flat on his back. Now how does a ballet judge deal with that? What Kuklachev was doing reminded us of the french ice skater Phillipe??? who has a free-spirit attitude and his back summersaults, but who also skates very well. My opinion is that Mr Kuklachev did not dance very well, because what he did is not comparable to what the other contestants did, at least by the standards of ballet.

For the record i want to list by day of competing the dancers that impressed me. (Haven't seen the results for 2nd round) First Day Ivan Vasiliev Belarus Matthis Dingman USA Anna Tikhomirova R Oksana Karash R Zherlin Ndudi Ukraine Igor Motizov R Isaak Hernandez Mexico Secoond Day Alexandra Dorofeyeva Alexander Shpak Alyona Samraskaya Maria Vinogradova Anastasia Gubanova Christine Shevshenko (sensational in her contemporary piece by Benjamin Millepied) Anastasia Sheptifratz Andrei Pisarev Natalya Yershova Natalia Vorontsova Mikhail Martynyuk Sun Xin Wang Zhi Wei Tabledy Doszhan Alexander Buber Natalia, The non-contest choreographies so far, have been 'better' than the contest entries. The contemporary piece of the Phillipine dancers (Faustino & ?), Shevshenko's Millepied's Paganini piece were really good. So was Poklitaru's --also a non-contest piece. More later.

Just a quick note from Moscow after reading Natalia's detailed and complete reports of the Competition from Washington. I am awed! Many thanks Natalia! Third day: the big impression is Osipova's Flames of Paris pdd in the morning, (your report is right on: her contemporary was somewhat ragged )- a couple of fubbed lifts-- although she looked great in black tights. In the afternoon the Corsaire II act pdd of Ekaterina Krysanova with a non- participating partner was excellent. Moreover her tango to Piazzolla with an excellent non-particip.partner was spectacular. Other dancers of today that impressed me: Ekaterina and Piotr Borchenko R Anastasia and Denis Matvienko Ukraine Natalya Matsak Ukraine Kim Sol Fi South Korea Artiom Alifanov R Nikolai Chevychelov R My notes say Ekaterina Kolesnikova had strong and secure fouettes but no other positive comments. Haven't sorted me second day notes.... yet. The sessions have been long--hardly time for dinner. Tomorrow no competition. So we're seeing Sleeping Beauty.

I experienced a sudden switch in aesthetic universes, when after a performance of the NYCBallet on the 17th of June, I landed in Moscow and saw a performance of the Bolshoi on the 20th of June. The performance was for the opening of the Xth International Ballet Competition, and the ballet was the Bolshoi/Grigorovich production of Bayadere. Unlike the Mariinsky old-new productions, both of which have four acts, the Grigorovich version essentially ends after the Shades scene, with only a brief final scene where the temple tumbles down and Solor is left in the ruins exhausted or perhaps dead, but with no resolution of his redemption concerning the issues of eternity and long-term partners. The evening had a star-laden cast led by Svetlana Zakharova as Nikia, Maria Alexandrova as Gamzatti, and Igor Zelensky of the Mariinsky as Solor (a last-minute change since Andrey Uvarov was listed in the printed program). Zakharova, with the multitude of her physical gifts, certainly enjoys well-deserved popularity. To me it seemed that she repeatedly during the evening marred the flow of a dance phrase by forcing an already high extension, just a bit higher. This was particularly unfortunate in the Shades act, during her lifts with Zelensky. My complaint may be wrong-headed, because others applauded the extra effort and its results. Zelensky made a virile figure of Solor while dancing, but in the mime scenes appeared a mystery as to what was going on in his mind about decisions on life-partners. I guess this is a comment that the mime scenes (and they do remain in the Grigorovich production) are trimmed to the detriment of following the plot and its development. The scene, for instance, with Gamzatti and Nikia facing each other is not as compelling when both appear to be helpless victims. In the Grigorovich production it seems that the father of Gamzatti decides for Gamzatti (and for Solor) their marriage plans and also gives the order for 'getting rid' of Nikia. In the Mariinsky new-old productions, Gamzatti seems to have a bigger role in the eventual fate and demise of Nikia. The different emphasis makes the G-N mime scene lose interest. Alexandrova was in fine form in the 2nd act wedding variations, where her buoyant jumps elicited likely the loudest applause of the evening. (And there was lots of applause the whole evening) The Bolshoi corps de ballet, in the shades scene, embodied the expressiveness of classical dancing at its best. The clarity of detail, with thirty two dancers creating the illusion of an organic whole, was riveting. For me the heart of the ballet lies in the center of the shades scene: with the three variations. (Are the three variations truly Petipa's? Anyone know the chain of custody?) Ekaterina Krysanova danced the first variation with total attention- which is to say every step was there at its fullest, and moreover was danced with zest. To me, she stands in a superb company, as an artist alone. [i just found out she will be competing in the Senior division of the Xth Competition. I hope my view of her art will be confirmed]. The second variation was beautifully detailed but I don't know who danced it. Shipulina is listed in the program but the dancer did not look like Shipulina. The third variation of Nelli Kobakhidze was delicate and sharp, which is to say as outstanding as the other two. Curtain calls were long affairs with rhythmic clapping, and with lots of flowers for Zakharova. Lots.

To Renata: Isaak Hernandez competed on Monday; I thought his 'modern' piece was very good. Natalia, You were quite right to point out Zherlin Ndudi of the Ukraine. His 'modern' piece to Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight of the Bumblebee was fresh and sensational. Of the list from the Bolshoi school and company, we've only seen so far Anna Tikhomirova and Chinara Alizade. [The first day they didn't circulate programs with participants' listing, so I had to make notes from the announcements -in the dark.] Other Americans who've already competed are: (today's morning session 6/22) Yana Feldman and Christine Shevchenko.

Just a quick note: Yes, Alexandra, Matthias Dingman did compete already. We saw him perform in the morning session today (6/21) of the first round. He danced a variation from Coppelia, and then, later, his 'modern' entry which I liked a lot. The jury is as Natalia reported. Semenyanka has replaced Assylmuratova. Jude is not here yet. I spotted George Zoritch (for those with long memories) at the Bayadere performance, and he was at both sessions today. I'm trying to send a brief report on yesterday's Bayadere but my web connection here is very slow.

My annual dose of NYCB watching came (so far) to one performance, (Fri 6/17) with a program of interesting music and SUPERB dancing. So glad I could see it! The only Balanchine was the Tchaikovsky PDD. But what a cast! Alexandra Ansanelli and Damian Woetzel are, in my book, the best cast I have seen. (OK. now that Verdy isn't dancing). It was an exemplary performance; sparkling, unmannered and crystal clear. The other piece outstandingly danced was L Taylor-Corbett's Chiaroscuro, which had the ideal cast. The men, J Soto, J Fayette, T Gold were all in the original NYCB cast (1994) and the women, J. Somogui, P van Kipnis and M Weese, were altogether such vivid 'people' on stage. The work new to me was P Martin's Morgen (2001) to songs of Richard Strauss. D Kistler,J Taylor, J Ringer, J Angle, N Martins and J Soto were three couples who ended up with different partners from the ones they started with. It was exquisitely danced and partnered by all three couples and the soprano, Jessica James sang passionately. The last work was Wheeldon's Carnival of the Animals. The costumes are witty; but the work for me looks like the John Lithgow Show. Lithgow narrated and danced en travesti a myopic elephant.

Thanks for your help coda. It's a great cast ....and with Kaptsova as Florine, and Nelli Kobakhidze too!

I've bought tickets for the June 24 performance, but the Bolshoi website has cast lists for all the June Sleeping Bs., except for the 24th. Can anyone help?

Thanks Natalia, for your Festival reviews which provide an informative comparative perspective and, moreover, give us a "you are there" impression.

Posters are intended to entice: customers, buyers, audiences. What is the artist of the Festival poster showing us? Is there contempt in the green overpaint? Is there contempt in the defacing of the lithograph of Bournonville? Will it sell tickets?

I finally managed to book tickets for the Xth International Ballet Competition in Moscow by telephone. I found numbers for the cash departments of the Bolshoi Theater and the Moscow Musical Society on the web page of the International Ballet Competition, by selecting from the menu 'The Schedule of Competition'. [Cash departments means just that: cash only] They're holding my tickets until the morning of the 20th, when I'm going (with cash) to pick them up. The numbers are: +7 (095) 251-05-01 and +7 (095) 248-34-94. I dialed the first one which is for The Moscow Musical Society. A kind lady from the office next door translated for me. Maybe in the Bolshoi cash box (the second number) they have English speakers. On July 1 there is a Gala evening at the big theater with the competition laureates. That makes a total of 15 tickets for all the rounds and sessions of the competition

Thanks Carbro for bringing up the thread on negotiating for tickets. I appreciate your help. I had contributed to that thread with my experience with buying tickets for the Bolshoi last June, which I found easy and safe and fair-- without the huge markups hotels charge for their ticket services. What I can't find out is what box office, besides the tourist tour agencies, sells Competition (14 sessions) tickets.

Can anyone (on Moscow side) suggest ways (other than the tour agency organizing group tours) to buy tickets for the Competition June 20-30, that (I think) takes place at the small stage-New Hall- of the Bolshoi Theatre? The Bolshoi calender for June lists the fourteen sessions but you can't click on them to order tickets as can be done for the ballets and operas. An email to the Bolshoi was answered with an automatic message that said in effect to order the tickets on the Bolshoi web site. I would like to do that, but I can't. The tickets through the tour group seem overpriced: opening night $220 per ticket, closing night $250 per ticket. I'd appreciate any suggestions. Tomorrow very early, I'll try calling the box office.

Thanks for all the reviews Natalia! Your vivid and loving Don Q review gave me a palpable sense of being there. (Last time: 2003 Festival) Your sensibility and sharing are really appreciated.

My experience with buying tickets for the Bolshoi through their website (June 2004) was that it was easy in that the site offered a seating chart for the specific performance and with the unsold seats shown for selection. Another thing: opera tickets were extremely reasonable [we saw Mazeppa, a Tchaikovsky opera not performed at home] and ballet tickets quite high [$65 for Bayadere, Spartacus, and $75 per ticket for Sleeping Beauty]. At seat selection for each performance the prices for different seats were given. Picking up the tickets at the box office on arrival was also a quick and easy process.