Jump to content
This Site Uses Cookies. If You Want to Disable Cookies, Please See Your Browser Documentation. ×

stinger784

Senior Member
  • Posts

    156
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by stinger784

  1. ...sigh.... I just don't know what to say after reading his letter. My eyes are filled with tears. Merde Fernando!
  2. For one, the video version that is filmed in a television studio is slightly off on certain things due to space management. It's better to watch the NYCB archival copies. When Sanda Jennings was here in Phoenix, we referred more to the archival footage even though it was newer than the version that is available for purchase on DVD.
  3. I believe my director, Ib Andersen, did a Brandenburg as well. But it was before my time here in AZ. However, the Bach piece he premiered last year was just so right. It was Bach's 1052. Men in purple and women in gold. It was a piece of music you could tell Ib loved for a very long and he was very proud of how it came out in the end.
  4. The excerpt from Play that we will be doing is the Schubert piece. See you guys there!
  5. I could be wrong but last I heard that Irek Mukhamedov is the acting director of the National Ballet of Greece.
  6. Hello, It is unfortunate to have to sit here and write an e-mail about a person that has meant a great deal to my life and career. Mme. Yelena Vinogradova passed away earlier today on June 26, 2008. I first entered the doors of the Kirov Academy in the summer of 1998. After my late father set up an audition for me with, Mme. V intently watched me with her clipboard as I tried my best to keep up in Mr. Morozov's ballet class. After a few combinations at barre, she swiped me from the class and took me upstairs and threw me into Mr. Kucheruk's class with the rest of the boys. Terrified as anyone would be, I tried my best to keep up. After a few combinations Mme. V left the class and took to her office to attend to business. After the class was finished I exited to find my mother holding an acceptance packet to attend the Kirov year round. Apparently Mme. V liked what she saw and I was in. That year was eye opening for me. Ballet had taken a completely different form after passing through the doors at 4301 Harewood Rd, NE. I was now an elite student, one of about 65 that was to receive the best training in the country under the watchful eye of Mme. V. I remember learning how to "reverance" any time I saw her in the hallway. On one occasion I must not have done it so well and I was on the receiving end of a Mme. V punch to the gullet. Never again did I bow incorrectly. She ruled with literally an iron fist, but behind all of it, she loved us all whether we knew it or not. Mme. V truly humbled me. She would not dare let me get a big head. She would give me a solo one show and put me in the corps the next. It was an ongoing process she had with me. Most of the stuff I performed at the Kirov were things that not many people did. I always felt like she had a special plan for me and would challenge me with repertoire that was not often seen. I loved everything she gave me. She slowly built me up in a very well thought out way. She did not give me stardom right away and I am grateful for that. She made me hungry for more even though I was not fully aware of it at the time. She really did help raise us all. We were living, eating, sleeping, working and dancing under her roof. She created our structure and hand picked our teachers and mentors to give us the knowledge for us to consume and for us to later pass the ingredients on to our own students and colleagues. Whether some of us like to admit it or not, Mme. V gave many of us our foundation and blessing to be ambassadors of some of the greatest training and ideologies in the world of ballet. She made us dancers and artists. Most of all, she made us respectful leaders in the world of ballet. In ballet we always talk about the superstars of our art. In this art, I will go on record to say Mme. V is the Mother of Russian Ballet of the United States. Her trademark voice that many of us imitate to this day will continue to bounce off the walls of the Kirov. Her high heeled boots will continue to be heard on the marble tiles of the lobby. Her silhouette will been stained on the brick at the back door stairwell. Mme. V, I miss you and love you. Thank you for helping shape my mind and body to be the dancer I am today. Love, ~Ian~
  7. AZ Native, I can't figure out who you are but I am guessing you take the adult classes in the morning. I have my eye on you with each review. I will figure it out. Thanks again to everyone for the kind words about the company! ~Ian~
  8. If you re-read above, I stated that Ross was Basilio and that Russell and I shared Espada. LOL!
  9. Ross Clarke Russell Clarke and I shared Espada. It was cool to see the Clarke boys in the same cast though.
  10. How about any ballets with any 80s rock music? Why do we continue to perform them in the 21st century?
  11. For me this is a very private issue. A lot of dancers have their own private wacky, to you, rituals that we do before the curtain goes up. I will let you in on one of my secrets. Before every run of a show when I first get into the theatre, I like to go out to the empty stage and look out into the empty audience. Think White Nights when Misha visits his old theatre and fools around on stage. It is something very soothing and comforting for me. That is just one of the few, cough cough, many things I do before the curtain goes up.
  12. I attended the Saturday matinee performance with my Mom. We were both equally moved by Juliet's performance and that was about it. The orchestra was definetly the supporting star during this show. Ulbritch woo-ed the crowd with his athleticism, but as far as adding to the story, it was just another guy jumping around. But his large thunderous applause was much warranted for his display of dance. I found the corps rather distracting during the ballroom scene. They acted as if it was an updated 21st century version of R+J rather than the time period it was from. Some were playing with their masks or noticably making noises or strange gestures that did not suit their character. Their was however one girl in the corps that knew how to use her eyes during the great waltz music that was rather captivating. Unfortunately I can not place her name. The fight scenes were, umm, interesting amongst the corps. I saw more goofing off and arm flailing than I would have liked to see. If these are two families at odds end with each other, it was no apparent at all. It looked like school children playing during recess. Romeo had his moments, but they were not consistent throughout the entire performance. I disagree with your assessment of the balcony scene. I felt this was the strongest and most pure scene of the whole ballet. I did not find anything awkward about it at all. Then again it is a matter of taste. Soto was... Well let's just say waiving your finger in the air many times rather quickly does not tell me you are mad. Maybe it would work for Fritz in The Nutcracker, but I need more during R+J. Kistler was good. Not much to say about her. Attendance was great. Very few empty seats. It was a sea of heads judging from my 3rd row seat. The orchestra really did outshine much of the dancing and the conductor was well received during his bow. I enjoyed watching him conduct without a baton but rather his hands dancing and moving melodically to Prokofiev's score. I actually enjoyed the simplicity of the sets and costumes. It was like watching the Jets and the Sharks. It was easy to understand who was who and what family they were with. The Sweeney Todd like set made smooth transitions from scene to scene and kept the ballet moving like a film. Again, a matter of taste. I tried really hard to like this production but only found the music and Juliet to do anything for me. And that was enough in itself.
  13. From what I heard, he is out of the hospital along with the two other women that were also in the car.
  14. Hello All, Ian here from Ballet AZ. Let me put this all to rest. The version we performed was a la Erik Bruhn. There is a wonderful DVD of it with Bruhn/Fracci/Marks that you can watch if you would like to see the mime. Many people have a problem with this DVD but it is the only one, IMO, that truly is emotionally artistic. Anyways... The audience responded very well to the show as they always do. Since I was only in the first act, I got to hear many comments from the audience as they left and they were extremely impressed with everything. So Mr. Nilsen has an opinion like everyone else. We can all agree to disagree. I am glad he said what he said because it caused such a debate as to whether classical ballet is relevant anymore. I, of course, think it is, but he may like other things and that is fine. But to say that the story is not relevant anymore, that is what I have a problem with and everyone has already stated their thoughts on this already with which I agree. BTW, our rep program coming up in April is two weekends of two different programs. So we are actually doing 6 programs this year! Slowly but surely we are getting there!!! www.myspace.com/balletarizona Thanks guys!
  15. Sometimes it is the only thing that gets us through a season of The Nutcracker. Talking happens all the time. During those long stretches you need something to occupy your time when you have done a show over 200 times in your professional career. So a ballet that a dancer dreads doing becomes more of an experience each time one does it. I wish I could tell you what we talk about, but that would take away from the mystery of the theatre.
  16. Well thanks for your help. I guess I may just have to be content and listen to the music while watching the ballet itself. Thanks for the website plug. ~Ian~
  17. Thank you my good friend Jos. Much appreciated! Does he happen to name each selection of music or does he leave it at that?
  18. I am well aware that there are many recordings of Sergei Eisenstein film Ivan the Terrible by Sergei Prokofiev. However, Yuri Grigorovich's ballet Ivan the Terrible uses different orchestrations of the score and does not have the singers. Is there a recording in circulation of the ballet version? I have many versions of Spartacus but cannot find his other most famous work of Ivan the Terrible. Any Help? Thanks, ~Ian~
  19. I KNOW!!! http://a683.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/image...5bac60b30ca.jpg Photo By Rosalie O'Connor. Here is a look at me from Conservatoriette and for those to get an idea of how the piece looked.
  20. Well Helene what I can tell you about my legs and the fast movement, is that it took a while for me learn how to move that fast. Being Russian trained at the Kirov DC, it has been quite the adjustment coming to a Balanchine company. But it is a challenge that I am thoroughly enjoying. I have always wanted to do Bournonville and I am so happy I am getting my chance. (How did you know I was 6 feet tall?) Of the blonde women in Tharp, either Kendra Mitchell (had the long solo at the end of the ballet) or Karen Wojtowicz (the one who was tossed into the air by Michael Cook). In Conservatoriette, I believe it was downstage right you were talking about in the company not the children, it may have been Heather Haar. She was the blonde in my line if that's who you were referring to...
  21. Hi Helene, Thanks for a "real" review as we know local papers tend to miss the point. Lisbet was replaced by Tzu-Chia Haung in the evening performance. And I do not think Robert was onstage for Conservatoriette in the matinee or evening. He did however dance Flower Festival in the evening. Thanks, ~Ian Poulis~ Ballet Arizona
  22. Thanks AZN. I think I may now have figured out who you are, but still am not 100% sure. That costume has really been quite the challenge. I have become very close with it wearing it for sometimes almost an hour at a time and learning how to manipulate a 60lbs. plus costume hasn't been easy. Again thanks for your continued support... FYI... It's Poulis not Poulos. ;) I get that all the time. LOL~
  23. Arizona Native I would like to thank you on your perspective of our show and I hope to see you at future performances. Hopefully I will be able to meet you at one of our shows one day! (I am Ian and was the taller male of the Spanish Dancers.)
  24. This is an odd question, but I was always fascinated by the shoes Misha wore in this movie. There were no noticable emblems on them, but eh flexibilty he had to move in them was really cool and I always wanted a pair. Granted it is 20 years later, but does anyone know what brand these shoes are and it if possible to still get them? Anyways... I was delighted to see a Behind The Scenes look at the move to answer many of those questions as to how they filmed the movie without being in Russia. IMDB provided some information years prior to the DVD release about using Lisbon, but as to how they obtained the footage of of then Soviet Russia was interesting. I also liked the small tribute they paid to Mr. Gregory Hines. Of course I wanted more. But I also got TAP in the mail today from Netflix, and after perusing the EXTRAS, I think they will do a better job on paying an homage to him. Or a more complete look at him, not to take anything away from the White Nights tribute. But yeah, those shoes...
×
×
  • Create New...