vrsfanatic

Colorado Ballet is not the only Russian based company in the US, there also is Ballet Internationale in Indianapolis. Colorado is directed by Martin Fredmann and Jocelyn Labson. Both of their backgrounds are American, however Mr. Fredmann fully supports Vaganova training in his company classes as well as in the Academy of the CB. BI is directed by Eldar Aliev, former soloist with the Mariinsky, his staff and school are mainly Russians using the Vaganova syllabus for training purposes. Both repertoires are diverse however they use the Petipa classics as a base. As for the subject of arrogance of the Russians, there are many misunderstandings regarding the Russian and American attitudes towards ballet. It is quite odd for Russians, when they arrive in the US, to comprehend our "system" for the study of ballet, just as it is difficult for Westerners to understand the Vaganova "system" of training (although most of us feel quite knowledgable in this area and do not want to hear that we actually know very little about the subject). There are too many misconceptions on both sides of the ocean. The Russian ballet dancer is educated in all aspects of ballet from a very young age. So much of it becomes second nature to them, like brushing their teeth. They know what they see in the US, as we know what we see in the US. Could the posture/body language of Russian ballet dancers or the accent perhaps be misinterpreted? Could one misinterpret the employees of some of our foremost ballet companies/schools, whether dancers, administrators and artistic staff, as arrogant? Perhaps sometimes confidence can be misunderstood?

Don't forget the 3rd movement of Symphony in C, demi soloists. It has been years since I performed it or have even seen it, but I do remember being taught in the middle section that Balanchine had taken the form from American square dances. I remember forming a bridge with my partner and the other couple ran under our arms. Oh my! It has been too many years.

Irina Kolpakova went to ABT as a guest Ballet Mistress the final year of the Baryshnikov AD of ABT (1989?). She has been retained at ABT in some capacity or another ever since then. She also has been working in Indianapolis for some time as well. Her husband, V. Semyonov, has been at Ballet Internationale since 1995.

Thank you for this information about Dumchenko, I was worried she had shrunk after graduation!

Many college and high school programs are dancing Balanchine ballets in the US. I am not sure of any schools dancing the Balanchine Rep outside of the US, but maybe? For the most part it is the standard Rep...Barocco, Serenade, Divertimento 15, etc.

Locally I am not as concerned with casting, however if I travel to another city I am quite concerned with casting. There are simply some dancers I do not want to see in lead roles if I am only in a town for a short period of time. If I happen to be somewhere and decide to go to the ballet then fine, but if I actually pay to fly to a city and house myself to see a particular performance that is advertised to be a particular cast I hope and pray all the way that it will actually come to be. It is understood if casting is changed due to injury, but it is still disappointing.

There are so many it is hard to remember them all however even 32 years later, Pennsylvania Ballet on tour, Rider College, 1973, John Butler's After Eden, Alba Calzada and Lawrence Rhodes. I still, to this day can dream about that pas de deux. I wonder sometimes if I would still love it so much since I have not seen it performed in at least 20 years. It actually changed my perspective on what at that time was regional ballet. The next day I could not wait to call Pennsylvania Ballet to inquire about auditions. The next thing I knew I had past almost 9 years in Philadelphia.

Nikolai Tarasov, Agrippina Vaganova, Vera Kostrovitskaya, Nadezhda Bazarova, Varvara Mey, George Balanchine, Jurgen Schneider. It was a hard list to make. Six (one was my partner/husband) well known scholars of what is known today as the Vaganova Methodology. Mr. Balanchine is included to stir the soup so to speak. Maybe he could explain himself regarding the development of his program of teaching. I had originally included Enrico Cecchetti also, but then realized I could not be there to witness what I am sure would e a very lively discussion.

Thank you Mr. Haegeman. I did run a search on whatever search engine my carrier has. Next time I will be more thorough! To tell you the truth I could not remember who was opposite Zubkovskaya's class that graduation year. Was it not Evteyeva's first graduating class? I remember both classes in 5th year with Baltacheva and...who was that teacher. Sorry about the slip up in memory!

Thank you all for your information. The link is a great help.

I have lost track. What is happening in Frankfurt now? Who is the Director? Thanks for any updates.

I totally agree about Pavlenko. I knew the class of both teachers, as usual only by first name. Thank you for clearing up whose class Sakharova was in. I still have never seen her although I read it all. Hopefully one day I will have the opportunity. Moscow is a bit out of reach at the moment. Well, now I am curious as to who you are. Hum, same time as me...we were only a few!

Natalia, I did not include Nureyev, Baryshnikov nor Zelinsky in the list because at the time, their countries were part of the Soviet Union. There would be a very long list of non-Russian dancers if we did a search, whose origins are not from what is today known as Russia. The entrance of Zakharova was at a time that the Ukraine was no longer part of Russia. There were many students from former Soviet block nations who found themselves in limbo as far as nationality and status at the school in 1993. I believe Sakharova entered the fall of 1995. She was not there in the winter of 1994 nor in the spring of 1995. I believe she graduated in the summer of 1996 in the class of Zubkovskaya, but that may not be correct. I ran a search but could not find any biographical information on her.

This is a most interesting article indeed and a situation that has taken years to get to this point. Having been a foreign teacher, who did attend two years of study at the Vaganova Academy, perhaps there may be a different look inside than the article discusses, although my experiences may differ from those of students now. There are good foreign students and there are good Russian students. Please note, according to country delineation, S. Sakharova is techinically a foreigner since she is a Ukrainian, not a Russian. Other foreigner are Ti Yon Ru, Korean, graduated 1995 after attending the school for 5 years, Islom Baimuradov, graduated 1994, an Austrian by birth on his mother's side and a Russian father. Islom attended Vaganova Academy the two final years of study. At the time I was in Russia, 1993-1995, the foreigners were not able to be official members of Mariinsky unless they 1) had Russian heritage or 2) if they married a Russian. The foreigners and other Russian graduates were members of various Russian companies, such as, St. Petersburg Ballet Theatre (Choreographic Miniatures), Maly Theatre, Stanoslovsky, and the Dolgushin company at the Conservatory. The majority of students at the school did not enter the Mariinsky Theatre. There are not enough openings on an annual basis. There are also, not so good foreign and Russian students alike. At the time I was in school, acceptance to the school was on an annual basis. The foreigners, for the most part did not come from the background of the Russians. It was a struggle for most. The high technical and physical demands, the increased hours of work, the struggle with language, the psychological differences in work ethic, the daily dealings with life, such as buying food, cleaning of apartments, dealing with a transportation system that did not work are a tremendous amount for a non-Russian to deal with. At that time, all foreigners either had completed their high school requirements in their country of origin or were completing their work through coorespondence. The Academy did not grant a high school diploma for academics to the foreigners. The level of foreign teachers was very high for those of us who attended on a daily basis. We all had to show that we had professional experience as a dancer/teacher for at least 10 years with well-known organizations and come equipped with references out the gazoo. Our examination process was as stringent as the Russian teachers. There were a few teachers who passed through shall we say...by this I mean, paid the $10,000.00 in tuition/living expenses, but did not attend the pedegogy discussions on a daily basis. There is one who came in three times a year, studied for two weeks and took exams and another who was never official enrolled, studied privately for two months and was given a certification. I do not know the ins and outs at all. I am only saying what I observed and know happened. There is very strict enrollment criteria for foreign students and teachers alike. There are no 12 year old foreign students at Vaganova Academy. There was a non-professional track level of classes being taught to Russian children at the school. It was never clear to me, what these classes were. I observed them on a few occasions and taught the youngest level of 6-8 year olds for six months. These were regularly scheduled classes that took place in the late afternoons. For the most part, the students were treated the same as the professional track students, however their proportions or physical potential were not correct for a career in ballet. These classes never progressed beyond a Russian intermediate level. Differing rules for foreign students, has more to do with money than talent. There have always been talented foreigners in Vaganova Academy. In the foreign student's office, the walls are filled with success photos of dancers and teachers alike. My late husband was a foreign student at GITIS and Vaganova Academy in the 1960s. There were quite a few German, Polish, Bulgarian, Czech, Chinese, Vietnamese, etc. All of these governments paid money to the Russian government to attend however the students were talented. There will always be some students more talented than others. How the Russian government will choose to deal in the future with tuition paying students remains to be seen. It is my hope that foreign students will be able to study in the school anyway possible. It can only raise the level of performing and teaching in the countries outside of Russia.

Thank you so much for the information regarding the funeral. The obituary is published in the NY Times today, but I do not know how to do the link. Correction/editions to the obituary...Victor grew up in Cedar Grove, New Jersey where his mother still resides. His "other ballet teachers" in NJ before SAB (one year) were Fred Danieli and the staff of the School of the Garden State Ballet.

I will check for you late this evening or tomorrow. The list is long for ballet in the summer in Japan, but I do not know much for May. Kyoto is worth the visit without a doubt!

If my memory serves me well, Victor was 19 or 20 in 1973. The years have passed so quickly, it just seems like yesterday. Victor was a very talented young man, with a burning desire to dance as a very young man. Ford Foundation Scholarship in the early years of the award, before he went to SAB full-time.

A dear friend was lost today. May he find peace.

Yuri Soloviev without a doubt.

I do see Miami City Ballet quite often in all Southeast Florida locations, although I do not attend Nutcracker. I found that generally the production on Saturday, January 22 was not of a high level. The sets, designed by Arnold Abramson for ABT, took up too much space on the stage, leaving the dancers very little space to dance. The costumes in general, by Patricia Zipprodt, where okay until the 3rd Act the costumes for Dawn, Prayer and "Spinner". These costumes in general where much too long and full. The dancers looked like they were performing in their nightgowns. In the 1st Act Mikhail Nikitine as the (Burgermeister) Burgomaster walked well and filled the stage. Marc Spielberger was an entertaining Dr. Coppelius. Truely, my image of this role is formed by having watched the memorable Stanley Holden, night after night. I did enjoy Mr. Speilberger. The Mazurka and Czardas were not danced with expressivity and I frankly found the choreography, lackluster. I am not convinced these dances were very close to the "after Arthur Saint-Leon", as billed, but I am not well versed in the original Saint-Leon choreography. I am however, well versed in mazurka and czardas. The 2nd Act was quite tedious. With the omission of two dolls, the music dragged on. Watching Swanilda, dance all of that music took away from the story and the idea that this was a toy shop. I unfortunately, missed the speach by Ms. Lopez explaining why she omitted two dolls, so I was left wondering until friends asked me about it at intermission. I viewed the first two acts from very high upstairs, the highest level, but moved downstairs to the orchestra for the 3rd Act. I was very surprised to find that I enjoyed the view upstairs much more. As for the dancing, without excitement and classical style. Except for I. Garcia-Rodriguez, M. Nikitine and M. Speilberger, I am not convinced the company was comfortable with this ballet. Expressions were too contemporary and character dances were not well done. The lighting, by John Hall was beautifully done. Coppelia is not a heavy weight ballet by any means, however it does require character and style. This company performed this 1870 classic as if they were having lunch on Lincoln Road. Not exactly the style in which it was meant to be seen. Sorry, I do wish I had enjoyed it more. Maybe program 3 and 4 will be more to my liking?

I know this is not the forum, however this statement is not exactly true. It is a complicated issue which could be interesting for Ballet Talk for Dancers though. Vaganova ideology is also a system of teaching that aims to have the dancers "picture their steps in lines of continuous movement".

I was at the Kravitz Center Saturday, January 22 evening performance. Although I try not to say anything less than positive about performance, I would have to say this performance was one that sent me running out the doors when the curtain came down. Unfortuantely, I was disappointed in the production as a whole.

Bravo Joseph! Believe me, I should have checked with you last year for this same information! What headaches we had for our production of Corsaire...you shall be hearing from me in the future for musical knowledge! "Get ready, cause here I come..." :jump:

I have just skimmed through the ABT Corsaire. J. Kent does not do an Act III variation that follows Corella. Perhaps you mean Act II? The variation in Act II is standard from the Gusev/Sergeyev version done by Mariinsky/Kirov. Perhaps you could buy that DVD and make a CD from that? The music you are looking for does not exist on CD in a danceable tempo. Sorry.

A few months ago there was a discussion about a new book on movement. I remember that it was a photography/coffee table type book. I am sorry I do not recall the author nor the title. Of course here it is the holiday season and I cannot recall the title. Anyone out there remember?