Ostrich

Does Nikolai Tsiskaridze seem to have recovered entirely from his horrific injury and operation? Of course, it may be hard to judge from seeing him in Pharao's Daughter, as he doesn't really do anything in the way of grand leaps. And by the way, I also consider the underwater scene to be a gem of a piece of choreography. But that huge snake...

Well, seeing that it's Halloween, I'd go as the Queen of the Willis, of course!

Am I allowed to post questions about ballet technique and teaching in this forum, or must I register in the Ballet Talk for Dancers forum? I basically want to know how good pilates is for ballet student and whether it is worth spending time on pilates when there are only a very limied number of lessons available for students every week. I also have questions about teaching boys, such as what the best age is for starting their training and how many ballet lessons they should have a week (and how long). However, I'll wait to find out whether I am out of bounds or not before I post more questions.

Who played the part of the sultan? My connection was never good enough for me to be able to recognise his face, but what I could see of his dancing looked superb! And that Odette in the short clip they showed during the interval - I would love to know who she was. Was anyone able to see the whole broadcast without interruption? I would be interested to know. Are there any movie clips of the Bolshoi available online?

This is torture! I get one or two exquisite movements, then it all breaks up! I think the problem is that the "pautina.smil" file has a speed of only 50kbps, which is far too slow for my computer! Are these programs always broadcast via this type of file?

I'm trying to find this broadcast - I clicked on the broadcast link, but all I get is a small .smil which my Windows Media Player cannot open. What else can I do to try and view this broadcast?

Paquita, you were interested in Friedemann Vogel's performance of Prince Florimund in South African Ballet Theater's Sleeping Beauty. I saw his opening performance today. Well, I thought it a terrible shame the prince dances so little. His movement quality is exquisitely lyrical and his youthful personality is captivating. At first I was a bit taken aback by his extremely youthful appearance. He looked 18, but "matured" towards the end of the performance. However, he endeared himself to the audience very quickly. The radiance and joy that comes across to the audience when he dances is very catching! He wasn't physically ideally suited to his partner, South African ballerina Angela Malan. Although she is not really too tall for him, she appears so due to her long, almost bony limbs. However, as far as personality went they were charming together. Stuttgart Ballet is very lucky to have such a talented young principal. How old is he really? As I said, he looks very young indeed and I wondered whether he just appears so or whether he is really still extremely young.

In addition to Ulanova, I also want to add Nikolai Tsiskaridze to the list of most musical dancers. In the cases of both these dancers, I get the impression that the music is flowing through them, or even emanating from them, rather than that they are dancing to the music. In Ulanova's case, however, I'm judging purely from video performances. It's interesting to note that Tsiskaridze was a pupil of Ulanova. I wouldn't have thought this type of musicality is teachable, but maybe it is ?!?

Thank you, I certainly will let you know about his performance in Sleeping Beauty. Interestingly enough, we've had Guillaume Cote as a guest artist here twice already as well, but I missed him.

South African Ballet Theater is delighted and so am I. However, since I don't know much about this dancer, I would like some information from those who do, especially regarding his dancing style. In one critical review I read, he was described as "princely", so he seems a good choice for the lead in Sleeping Beauty.

Reading the topic Ballet in Operas made me think about the opposite: how many ballets are there in which opera is included? Personally, I can only think of Mayerling. Are there any others?

I don't collect signed pointe shoes, but I did keep a costume jewel that popped off Maria Alexandrova's tutu while she danced the Le Corsair pas de deux. It lay in a dangerous spot, so when she took her bow, she picked it up and flicked it off the stage, almost into my lap (I was sitting very close to the stage - second row from the front, on the orchestra pit, as a matter of fact)!

I believe part of the problem with black dancers reaching professional level is that they generally have extremely flat feet which (for the women) makes pointe work very difficult. Speaking from a South African point of view, I am often surprised at how little interest black people still show in ballet, despite genuine and ongoing effort on the part of companies like the South African Ballet Theater and Ballet Theater African to train and incorporate them. It is a pity, because most of them are very gifted in movement, rhythm and dance.

I never saw her personally, but a family member of mine who saw her in the role of Aurora maintains that she was unforgettable - a born princess. IncidentallyI have always admired photos of her immensely.

The Cape Town City Ballet and South African Ballet Theater (Johannesburg/Pretoria) do not announce any casting beforehand, but a cast list of the principal dancers is available on request. I always make use of this, but it seems that it isn't very important to many people. I do find however, that the more seriously interested people are in ballet as such, the more interest they will take in whom they are going to see. I know, for example, that there are several balletomanes amongst my acqaintences who boycott all performances by a particular ballerina, not out of any personal dislike for her, but because she is like icing: all sweetness with no nutritional value.

Another vote for La Fille Mal Gardee. It has all the Ashton charm and humour, together with some of his most lovely choreography.

I find that there are a number of great dancers whose artistic qualities and technical capabilities don't come across well on photos, whereas others can be captured well on photographs. Of course, this depends partly on how good the photographer is, but I have never, for example, seen a photo which truly shows the exceptional quality of Carla Fracci's dancing. Also, I used to think Makarova an awful dancer before I saw her on video, because she always looks angular and ungraceful on photos, whereas in movement she is very flowing. Dancers who in my opinion don't photograph well: Carla Fracci Natalia Makarova Vladimir Vasiliev Andris Liepa Dancers who do photograph well: Margot Fonteyn Anthony Dowell Erik Bruhn Nikolai Tsiskaridze Vladimir Malakov What is your list?

Coming back to the original topic of dancers with the best techmique, I would like to nominate Valentina Kozlova for beauty of line and execution. Artistically I did find her a bit lacking, however.

Taking this topic a step further, which ballet would you nominate as the most taxing for both leads together? That makes quite a few of those already mentioned fall away, Sleeping Beauty, Firebird, Spartacus and La Bayadere, for instance. Personally, I vote for: 1) Don Quixote 2) Giselle 3) Swan Lake

Has anyone seen Northern Ballet Theatre's La Traviata performance? The same ballet will be staged later this year by our local company. As I have never seen this work before, I would appreciate information about what type of ballet it is and whether it is worth seeing. And if anyone saw Desire Samai dancing the lead role, please let me know what she was like. I knew her well and watched her regularly while she was principal dancer at Cape Town City Ballet.

I know this is a dumb question, but where I live it rarely gets cold enough to wear a coat at all - what are these coat checks for?

Nikolai Tsiskaridze!!! I'll never forget the gasps that ran through the audience when he took off! Irek Mukhamedov. I never saw him live, but found his jumps very impressive on the videos Spartacus, Nutcracker and The Golden Age. It's not so much the height, but the attack whith which he jumps that impresses me. And also in defence of tall ballerinas: I have a tall friend who dances with the South African Ballet Theatre and who is super-flexible and can outjump all the women of the company and most of the men too! Besides, isn't Alexandrova on the tall side?

I'm so far gone that if I can't visualise ballet (or some form of dance) to a piece of music, I usually, as a consequence, don't like the music!

I'm not sure why you consider the styles of Guillem and Tsiskaridze to be at odds, as he has made guest appearances with the Paris Opera Ballet with great success and both understands and appreciates French style. Because of his height he is invariably paired with taller dancers and in Paris he danced with Marie-Agnes Gillot. I have seen him dance with Inna Petrova, Maria Allash, Svetlana Lunkina, Anastasia Volochkova and Anna Antonicheva at the Bolshoi and Irma Nioradze and Diana Vishneva at the Kirov. I liked him particularly with Elena Kniazkova when they guested in London with the Chisinau Ballet. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thank you for your reply, Mashinka. The reason why I said that I think Tsiskaridze and Guillem are not suited is because I feel that Guillem's style is too reserved for him - not "Bolshoi" enough, if you know what I mean. Not that I criticize her - I admire her dancing a lot. However, as Ballet lovers points out, often great partnerships work because of the differences, rather than the similarities, between the partners.

In her autobiography, Darcy Bussel praises Jonathan Cope very much as a partner. She points out that a partner has to be not only physically but also emotionally well suited to you, which Cope apparently was. She disliked working with partners who let their own nerves show and needed someone to reassure her, at least in her younger years. Maybe she feels differently now. I think she makes a good point and I would imagine that dancers who are well matched in temparament are more likely to wok well together than those who are physically suitable to each other but not emotionally.