mohnurka

I don't think anyone has mentioned Ekaterina Maksimova and Nadezhda Pavlova - who had absolutely beautiful feet and used them beautifully as well!

Anisimov dances Albrecht.

There are two videos that I know of - Moiseyev Ballet (by Kultur) and Moiseyev Dance Company: A Gala Evening (by View Video).

It's actually Fah-ROOH (the last h is the same sound as in 'hello'). As for Maximova -- Ye-kah-te-REE-nah Mak-SEE-moh-vah

I think Vorontsova is currently coaching at the Mariinsky. There is a small scene from a rehearsal in which she is coaching in "The Sacred Stage."

A bit off topic, but... Is the Giselle with Guillem available anywhere?

Mezentseva and Zaklinsky (with Terekhova as Myrtha, and Selyutskiy as Hilarion) on DVD. Their interpretation was the most dramatically accurate in my opinion. The dancing is beautiful and mesmerizing...

As for filming the Sleeping Beauty reconstruction -- there is a little bit of it on the film "Sacred Stage," with Ayupova and Korsakov. There are snippets of prologue, act I, and part of act II. Not too much, but still nice for those of us who have not seen it before!

From what I was told, there was a lot of celebration. I hope that eventually it would be somehow accessible (either from TV recording, or on official video). I actually pulled out the two tapes that I have of the company and watched them. Wonderful! And though a bit late, Happy Birthday!

In the film "Sacred Stage," Ayupova is shown in part of the new Sleeping Beauty (2003).

If I'm not mistaken, Gennady Selyutskiy also coaches.

I'm with you, Silvy! I'd just add Plisetskaya (though I haven't seen her live).

Yes! And a key thing about the Trocks is that their parodies are intelligent. Had they been just "making faces" it would have been totally stupid. But they love 'true' ballet, understand it, and just highlight some of its more entertaining moments. In my opinion, Swan Lake was one of their less interesting parodies -- it has good parts, but some of it is a bit harsh, which I find unnecessary.

Having watched Zakharova's Pharaoh's Daughter, I must say that she is an excellent turner!

One of the reasons that it might be difficult to teach the TRUE 'Vaganova,' is because the students are chosen at 10 years old and train for 8 years. In many US schools, the situation is different.

Ballet Babe 820, this seems to be more of a question for the sister site of this one: Ballet Talk for Dancers. Check it out .

In Swan Lake, the first time Siegfried meets Odette, there is a passage that sends me out of this world... A lot of places in Giselle, too...

A bit of a side note, but... Vorontsova is a corps member on many videos . You can see her next to Lezhnina in 'The Stone Flower.' Ivanova is shown as a student on 'Backstage at the Kirov.' And while Dudinskaya seemed to be encouraging, she wasn't quite pleased (if you don't know Russian, Dudinskaya was asking Ivanova to explain what exactly she did (not show, but explain)). Ivanova is in rehearsal in 'Leningrad Legend,' for the 3rd shade variation (as done by the Kirov) of Bayadere. Kolpakova was not pleased!

Yes, Solor, you're right. Sorry, I was thinking of Swan Lake with Mezentseva. Pankova dances the pas de trois with Ayupova there. Re: why she left the Kirov: why did Lezhnina leave, Shapchits, Terekhova for a while, others that we might not know of? I'm sure it wasn't completely her decision, as the Kirov is certainly among the world's top theaters. Dancers wouldn't want to leave without a reason. Perhaps she didn't have enough opportunities to dance major roles, perhaps there were other reasons... Read the interview with Lezhnina by Haegeman, it's gives a bit of insight (not saying that was the case with Pankova, I don't know).

Just a few thoughts... I do enjoy watching Ivanova a lot, and she stands out to me. However, think about the Kirov: how many great dancers do they have? Maaaany! And, as much as I hate to say this, you can't make every good dancer a principal. Another reason why Ivanova might not be a principal: not all dancers are suited to the most widely performed roles out there; ie not all dancers are nearly "universal." So, the more universal dancers will get more roles to perform, and are more likely to be principals (though, of course, that isn't the only qualification for being a principal). Also, you wonder how can a dancer be in a company for so many years and not be a principal. Have you seen 'Children of Theatre Street'? Elena Vorontsova, who was the top dancer of her class has danced corps de ballet and soloist roles (on video -- perhaps she has danced lead roles too?). However, she was not a principal, despite being the company for 20 years.

OK, here goes a list of where Pankova is on video: -Kirov's Corsaire. -She rehearses (with Kolpakova and Makarova) and then dances a variation from Paquita in 'Leningrad Legend.' -Pas de trois in Paquita on 'Kirov Classics.' -She's also the 'orange' fairy (Violente?) in the Sleeping Beauty with Lezhnina. -One of two flower girls in the Kirov's Don Quixote. -She's in the pas de trois in Swan Lake with Mezentseva. [Edited to fix error]

Yes, I think that's it. However, the video is FAR from classical ballet.

She also performes some modernish ballet that's on video after leaving the Kirov. I don't remember what the video was called...maybe Black Cake??

Pankova has not been dancing with the Kirov for about 10 years. I do not have a lot of information, but I did ask about her on BT a while ago. Here's the link. Pankova's husband is still listed on the Bavarian State Ballet's website. (here). On this discussion board, it is mentioned that Pankova danced Giselle in 2001 (here). You could also try searching online, maybe Google will turn something up.

Where could this video of Esmeralda be found? In stores in Russia? Online? (Our video player is able to play PAL).