Azulynn

There are clips of the competition on Youtube, if anyone is interested, but I'm not sure a link is allowed...

Angelina Vorontsova (Gold, Bolshoi Academy graduate) looks particularly lovely, and I wonder why the Bolshoi didn't hire her, if she is indeed with the Stanislavsky. Hopefully we will hear of her again at some point.

Maxim Zyuzin did not actually compete, according to various Russian posting boards, because the competition ruled that at almost 27 (the age limit is seemingly 27) he wouldn't be allowed to. He still danced as the non-competing partner of Anastasia Nikitina. Results of Round II are available again on some boards, but only the Junior ones are on the competition's website (in Russian). Will post the Senior ones if there is an official source...

It is also said that Yuri Smelakov won the choreography competition for "Parting", the duet he created for Evgenia Obraztsova and Vladimir Shklyarov and which he danced with Obraztsova during the competition.

You're not expected to tip at the Paris Opera, because the ushers are fully paid employees (not sure it was always the case though, but that's the current situation). I don't think I have ever seen anyone do so, actually, although it's not forbidden. A tip is only expected at private venues such as the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, where usher positions are either unpaid or almost unpaid, but in such a case you usually find signs to warn you inside the theatre.

Enjoy La Fille !

Yes, rg, "petit rats" means both male and female pupils - there is no difference. I don't know if it has changed over the years though.

(Why did Obraztsova just do retires/passes instead of the hops on pointe? Her variation, though technically clean, was VERY easy compared to others I've seen.)

4mrdncr, I think it is now more or less a standard version at the Mariinsky. In Baden-Baden in December, both Novikova and Somova performed retires/passes as well. I agree the hops would probably fit her better, but I wonder if they really have a choice in this case ? Anyone knows ? I'm not familiar with the "history" of the different versions.

Doesn't Evgenia Obraztsova work with Ninel Kurgapkina, or does she happen to have two coaches ?

I witnessed Ashley Bouder's debut in Theme & Variations in Paris last September, so there's probably no reason she won't dance it in New York...

Bolshoilover, there is no way to know which performance(s) he will dance. Most likely it won't be the premiere, because he's not an Etoile. The Paris Opera Ballet has several Solors, and will probably bring something like four or five casts for 12 performances - I know it's frustrating, but there's nothing to do but wait.

Karl Paquette is more likely to be in Australia, as he has danced both Solor and the Golden Idol in the last run of Bayadère (2006). Last time around he wasn't cast in either La fille mal gardée or Proust (scheduled in Paris in late May-early June). Bear in mind though that this might change this year, that he could be cast in both Proust and Bayadère in Australia, etc... It is almost impossible to predict any casting information as of now.

Edit : I forgot Letestu. She doesn't dance either Proust or La fille mal gardée, and is more than unlikely to debut in the latter given her height. Unless injury or something else prevents, she will probably be in Australia. She is one of the company's leading Nikiyas.

I would have thought she might debut in Romeo & Juliet, as she expressed the desire to dance the ballet somewhere while still young (the Bolshoi doesn't have it in repertoire). Maybe in 2010, if she becomes a regular ?

It was filmed in early 2007, so I guess Opus Arte had a contract with the POB before the ROH took control. The leads were originally supposed to be Aurélie Dupont and Hervé Moreau, but he got injured. Such a shame the 1980s Cinderella VHS (featuring Sylvie Guillem and Nureyev himself as the producer) wasn't released instead...

Thank you all for your suggestions, they're very much appreciated.

Rg, I didn't add Denby to the list since I've already ordered the book, but I look forward to reading him. Thanks again for taking the time to answer - I hope others will feel free to add their thoughts as well.

Hello all,

I'm looking for books dealing with dance criticism, both theory and actual reviews' anthologies, but as I need to order them from abroad (there's little to be found on the subject in France) I'm not sure what books to get first. This is partly for scholarly purposes, so I'd be very grateful if anyone could point out to the most important publications in the area, the ones that would be recommended reading for a dance criticism course (for instance).

About Arlene Croce : has anyone read Dance Criticism of Arlene Croce : Articulating a Vision of Artistry, 1973-1987, by Marc Raymond Strauss ? What did you think ?

Also I see her earlier anthologies (Afterimages, Going to the dance...) are out of print on Amazon - is it worth getting used copies ? I'm not sure how much of them is left out in Writing in the Dark.

I would also be grateful for opinions on the following books, since I can't buy everything either :

• What is dance ? Readings in Theory and Criticism
  
• Moving Words : Re-Writing Dance, edited by Gay Morris
  
• Researching Dance : Evolving Modes of Inquiry, edited by Sandra Horton Fraleigh and Penelope Hanstein
  
• Twenty-eight Artists and Two Saints, by Joan Acocella
  
• Deborah Jewitt's two collections of reviews, both out of print
  
• Understanding dance, by Graham McFee
  
• Ann Daly's Critical Gestures
  

I'm basically interested in dance criticism over the last century, but I still need to figure out what I want to focus on, so any ideas and comments would be very welcome. Any publications dealing with the very (evolving) status of art criticism and that would be mandatory reading in English ?

Thank you very much in advance !

Papeetepatrick, the POB piece would be closer to the book I think. It features most secondary characters (Edgar, Isabelle, Hindley, Nelly, Joseph and both children : "Cathy" and Linton), and some of them have received first-rate performances over the years - Jean-Guillaume Bart retired last year as Edgar, and Wilfried Romoli used to dance Hindley. The ballet is quite dark overall, and the story flows rather well, although the design is a minimalist one. One of the most interesting twists is the reference to romantic ballet in the second half, when Catherine comes back as a ghost and is surrounded by the female corps de ballet in modern white dresses, playing tormented spirits.

Actually, Mel, in French (originally the word is French) a woman would be a repetitrice.

(Edit : even better : répétiteur and répétitrice, complete with accents !)

Helene, the short, dark-haired woman you noticed dancing a solo in Artifact Suite is Eléonore Guérineau. You're right, her physique is atypical for the POB, but you can see why they hired her anyway - her dancing is quite something !

I'm sorry I wasn't in Paris during your trip, but this diary was such a wonderful read. Thank you !

I don't know, Natalia. With Vaziev apparently about to depart, there may be changes very soon in the Mariinsky policy - and after all, she's just been promoted to First Soloist. She also has a very specific repertoire in Saint-Petersburg, which she may not find elsewhere (Ondine, Flora, now Carnaval, notwithstanding Juliet, Giselle, Cinderella...). Could it be that her coach at the theatre doesn't have as much influence as some others', as far as touring is concerned ? It's all very sad, especially since she belongs to a kind of ballerinas that's becoming rather rare nowadays, along the path of Lezhnina or Zhelonkina.

Catherine, we're right on time, as the promotions we're talking about have just been made official on the Mariinsky website (although for those below Principal level, still only on the Russian version). Here they are :

Principals :

Viktoria Tereshkina

Evgeny Ivanchenko

First Soloists :

Olesya Novikova

Yevgenia Obraztsova

Alina Somova

Irina Golub

Vladimir Shklyarov

Nikita Scheglov

Second Soloists :

Yulia Bolchakova

Maxim Zyuzin

Anton Pimonov

Alexander Sergeyev

Coryphees :

Ekaterina Ivannikova

Daria Vasnetsova

Anna Lavrinenko

Anastasia Petushkova

Maria Shirinkina

Diana Smirnova

Andrei Ermakov

Alexeï Nedviga

Alexeï Timofeyev

Grigory Popov

Filipp Stepin

I hope I haven't forgotten anyone. Well done to them all anyway !

Natalia, I believe (from reading Russian boards, and only through a rough translation, sadly) several promotions occurred during last month's Mariinsky Festival in Saint-Petersburg. Posters were discussing the promotion of Tereshkina and Ivanchenko to principals, and of several other dancers (including Somova, Obraztsova, Novikova, Shklyakov...) to first soloists. The company's website doesn't seem up to date though.

Wuthering Heights has already been recorded (with Nicolas Le Riche, Marie-Agnès Gillot, Jean-Guillaume Bart) and shown a few times on French TV. I'm hoping for a DVD release too, but it has already been several years and no word about it...

I don't know about Caligula - I believe there aren't any plans to record it this year though. Maybe the next revival ?

Nanarina, none of the POB performances you mention have been recorded for posterity, so it's unlikely we see them on DVD soon. There is however plans to film La Dame aux Camélias during its upcoming run in Paris (June/July), but the DVD is supposed to feature Agnès Letestu and Hervé Moreau.

Natalia, For Four is a piece Wheeldon originally choreographed for Kings of Dance, if I remember well, and it seems to be entering the Mariinsky repertoire (perhaps re-tailored for 4 Russian dancers).

Natalia, Alina Somova has actually made her debut as Kitri in 2007 (in the spring/summer, if I'm not mistaken). I think we had a thread referring to it at the time.

The DVD was announced last year when it was broadcast on French TV, but since then there's been no news of this release. It shouldn't be too long though, if the other POB DVDs are any indication (for instance "Proust", the Roland Petit ballet, was filmed last spring and has just been released).

Legwarmer, I'm afraid you're making some very quick statements about the POB dancers ; Myriam Ould-Braham was actually replaced in this performance by Géraldine Wiart (although it was unannounced) as one of the two Snowflakes, as a regular balletgoer stated on a French forum.