naomikage

I could not see the performance (I live in Tokyo) but reading the enthusiastic reports on the Stella Abrera Giselle is now bringing me into tears. So glad she was phenomenal in the role and all the love balletomanes here have shown her is so touching. Her longtime development and hard work has been given a chance at last.

Now I hope she has more opportunities this season and a promotion, so that we can see her in a lead role in ABT's next Japan tour.

It will be released on DVD/Blu-ray

http://www.roh.org.uk/news/la-fille-mal-gardee-starring-natalia-osipova-and-steven-mcrae-to-be-released-on-dvd-and-blu-ray

I wish they had rather released a performance by a more experienced Ashton dancer but it seems they are releasing everything Osipova because it sells.

News of promotion:

Timur Askerov and Kimin Kim have been both promoted to Principal Soloists of the Mariinsky Ballet

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=821855754516285 (Mariinsky's official Facebook)

it is already on the company's roster

http://www.mariinsky.ru/en/company/ballet/troupe/

Also, Sofia Ivanova-Skoblikova had been promoted second soloist.

In an interview on Dance Europe, Millepied mentions as following.

"I think the quality of how classical ballets are danced are significant words. I think how we create new ballets with the classical vocabulary is important . I will keep some of Nureyev and some will be replaced by new productions, and I think it's significant for the dancers to try some new things and for the audiences to see some new ballets."

Also he mentioned this.

"I want to invite some guest artists for next year and I'm going to invite the best that I can find. Because I think it's only going to make the dancers here feel excited to even more part of this company. There are a few phenomenal dancers who deserve to come here and dance. "

Well, Millepied has said that he wants the POB to be more like ABT . . .

Holy s**t where on earth did he say that, in an interview? What a shame.

Casting for Manon is online and Aurelie Dupont/ Roberto Bolle have 5 dates, along with Benjamin Pech as Monsieur GM and Karl Paquette as the jailer on the day of Dupont's farewell.

https://www.operadeparis.fr/saison-2014-2015/ballet/l-histoire-de-manon-kenneth-macmillan

Yes, it is in the far east region of Russia, Vladiostok as Amour wrote. In fact it is quite close to Japan, only 2 hours 40 minutes flight from Tokyo.

So there are currently 4 Japanese soloists in the company.

One thing I noticed was that the current director of the company is Andrei Ivanov, former first soloist of the Mariinsky, and he was a brilliant character dancer specializing in the role of the Jester in Swan Lake. It seems he has been appointed very recently.

sorry I posted a duplicate so please delete this

Laura Hequet was a premier danseuse, she was promoted after the competition last November, it was a big news as she was sidelined by injury for long.

And Mathilde Froustey wrote a very touching congratulations on her blog when Laura got promoted as premier as they were classmates at the POB school and considered rivals for a long time.

It is terrible that the lecturer spoke of Ratmansky as a second rate dancer. Although (as well as Malakhov) he was not admitted to Bolshoi Ballet, he was a brilliant dancer at Kiev Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet and Royal Winnipeg Ballet, especially fabulous in Bournonville. Many of his footage can be easily found on YouTube and his performances were broadcasted often on Japanese TV. He was trained by the legendary teacher Pytor Pestov at Bolshoi Academy. The dancers at Bolshoi have often said his experience as a great dancer was helpful to work with them as he can show them the movements.

His dancing in La Sylphide and Tarantella on YouTube are really on of the best, this remark really makes the lecturer sound silly. She must not have even bothered to google his name.

Importing more guest dancers here is a very very bad idea and I wouldn't like to see another inferior import as mentioned above.

At least there is Joseph Gorak and Alexandre Hammoudi who have been dancing principal roles, they should consider grooming them, they have potential and it would be good to motivate in-house talent. It seems Hammoudi was quite good in the Costa Mesa Sleeping Beauty so why not let him dance the role at the MET?

Very interesting conversation in this topic. Of course I am a big fan of Marcelo, I also saw him dance Solor with Diana Vishneva in 2012 at the World Ballet Festival and they were superb, such amazing partnership. I think he did the saut de basques but that looked great too.

I also loved the Vishneva and Igor Kolb partnership at the Mariinsky because they both have strong character and the two fits in so well as though they were each other's lost half.

So I am very sad that Vishneva (and Kolb) are not coming to the Mariinsky Japan tour in November-December, when they are expecting to do Jewels, Legend of Love, Romeo and Juliet and Swan Lake. I was expecting Vishneva's Juliet. Maybe that is another sign that she will not be doing much full lengths.

FYI to naomikage: I saw Manuel Legris dance Solor twice in La Bayadere in May of 2001, when he was 36 1/2. He was wonderful.

Thank you. I assume he would be wonderful even then. I might have misunderstood, he was in his late 30's when he said so.

I have seen 4 of Marcelo Gomes's performances in Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake last September and I think he was brilliant in the role, absolutely fabulous and did not show any signs of weariness till the end.

But I see different qualities required in Solor in La Bayadere, so I understand that role might be too demanding if you want to show the audience the very best of yourself. I think Solor is much more difficult than Bourne's Swan, as this is a classical Petipa ballet and you have to have strict perfection as a classical dancer and in Bourne you don't have to be that strict, that is not a classical ballet anyway. (I love that work and have seen it more than 50 times)

Especially the Chabukiani variation in the Kingdom of the Shades coda needs perfection with that double assembles and bravura. I also read in a interview that both Manuel Legris and Laurent Hilaire decided to retire from this role when they were 35 years old because they thought they could not have that quality when they were in their 20's, although I am sure they could still perform that role.

I respect Marcelo's decision as well because, I am sure he could still do the role which would look perfect to the audience's eye but he might not be satisfied with the results he sees by himself compared from his younger days.

David Hallberg is still on his way to recovery from injuries and will not be dancing at this MET season.

http://nyti.ms/1DV2VNP

Kristina Shapran stars in Diamonds, opening night. Yeah!!! I hope that this very early casting holds.

Yes! I am much looking forward for her in Diamonds.

It is a little sad that we are not having Vishneva this time. Also, no Kolb nor Ivanchenko.

For those interested, here is the casting for Mariinsky Japan Tour Nov-Dec 2015

Tokyo

Jewels　11/26
Emeralds Shrinkina, Sergeyev, Brilyova, Belyakov.
Rubies Batoeva, Kim, Kondaurova
Diamonds, Shapran, Askerov.

Legend of Love

11/27　Lopatkina, Somova, Yermakov, Smekalov
11/28　Tereshkina, Shirinkina, Shyklyarov, Zverev

Romeo & Juliet

11/30 Somova, Shklyarov
12/1 Tereshikina, Parish
12/2 Shapran, Askerov

Swan Lake
12/4 Somova & Kim,
12/5 Skorik & Parish,
12/5 Lopatkina & Korsutsev,
12/6 Kondaurova & Askerov

There are some performances outside Tokyo but the cast is not announced yet.

Well New York City Ballet will be performing in Paris in 2016

http://www.lesetesdeladanse.com/

It is insane that they are going to do 2 Justin Peck's works.

Millepied does not seem to try to value the French ballet legacy. Such a shame.

You can see rehearsal photos of Osipova and Golding on (Royal Ballet's) Andrej Supenski's Instagram

http://instagram.com/dancersdiary/

They have announced Vorontsova's withdrawal is not injury-related, just the theatre needs her in St. Petersberg.

here is a clip of glimpses of the opening gala. (Russian TV)

I will be at Giselle (Soboleva, Lebedev) and Swan Lake (Perren and Lebedev)

The company posted a trailer on this production.

Did you all think that Smirnova's variation at the Mariinsky was good? I thought that part was a disaster. I have seen her several times in galas as the White Swan and she was very lyrical and good so I was shocked to see that clip, very heavy, en dehours problem, lack of 5th position no fluidity and so on. Perhaps she was nervous because it was not the Grigrovich variation she was accustomed to.

Although she is very beautiful, talented and a good actress and has that lovely warmth, sometimes I could see she has that en dehours problem, her standing feet is tacked in which is annoying.

There is a DVD released of Ashton's Les Patineurs by the Royal Ballet.

http://www.roh.org.uk/products/ashton-les-patineurs-divertissements-scenes-de-ballet-dvd-the-royal-ballet

And I agree that blue boy role will suit Simkin a lot. In the DVD, Steven McRae plays the role marvelously.

But they should have told us in advance that the program will be geo-blocked.

The ushers at Bayeriche Staatsoper in Munich are also very strict about taking pictures. They don't allow people to take pictures of the interior of the opera house during intermissions and are quite rude.

And no theatre in Japan allows taking pictures at curtain calls, they are really strict about that so no one dares to take any.