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mohnurka

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Posts posted by mohnurka

  1. I think part of the fun with watching the Trocks is that their humor yields great rewards, the more you know about ballet.  On the surface, it's going to be funny, but the more you know about what they're parodying (sp?), the funnier it gets. 

    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.

  2. I have two Russian teachers. One is 94 and the other is about 50. We are doing true Vaganova.

    The methodology works for me, in my school setting in the US, but it is very specialized and may be difficult to implement in some circumstances in the US. If and when implemented correctly, IMHO, it creates wonderful dancers, but any method of training is only as good as the teacher teaching it.

    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.

  3. A bit of a side note, but... Vorontsova is a corps member on many videos :D. 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!

  4. 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).

  5. 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.

  6. 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]

  7. 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.

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