naomikage

I do think this year there's a very high percentage of dancers from ABT and NYCB, although the ticket prices are relatively high...

Here is the full list of the dancers

http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/1083151/6285ebbcbf/521507637/8c4bf0b241/

Sergei Filin will be a jury for YAGP finals this year, and also he will be at the curtain for the galas on April 10th and 11th.

Mr. Filin is expected to take a curtain call at the competition’s 15th anniversary gala on April 10 at the David H. Koch Theater, which will feature Olga Smirnova of the Bolshoi and Misty Copeland and other dancers from American Ballet Theater, among the performers. And Mr. Filin is scheduled to answer questions from the stage the following night, before a performance by several prominent dancers, including Sara Mearns of New York City Ballet, Herman Cornejo of the American Ballet Theater, and Alicia Graf Mack of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/16/a-year-after-acid-attack-bolshoi-director-to-visit-new-york/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

Casting for Bolshoi Ballet's Japan tour this November~December has been announced

I have seen this company in Vienna (Nureyev's DonQ) and in Tokyo (mixed program and Petit's The Bat)

Now it is under the directorship of Manuel Legris, the company's motivation and standard has been raised very high. Many dancers are Russian (including former Mariinsky dancers Olga Esina and Vladimir Shishov) and beautifully proportioned but Legris has brought more of a Frenche repetoire.

They do have very good soloists, especially the two Japanese Kiyoka Hashimoto and Masayu Kimoto (husband and wife). Shishov is very tall, handsome and a strong solid partner with elegance. Esina, if you had read comments on the Mariinsky forum you will see that there are different opinions on her but she is a very beautiful ballerina.

Their production is the Peter Wright one, which means the Lilac fairy is a mime role and doesn't dance much. But it is a lovely production.

And here is an interview with Froustey.

http://blogs.sfweekly.com/exhibitionist/2014/01/interview_with_new_san_francis.php

Here is the principal casting for Giselle.

http://www.sfballetblog.org/2014/01/principal-casting-sf-ballets-giselle-program-1/

Froustey is scheduled to dance two performances of Giselle, on the 26th and 29th of January.

Some participants of YAGP Gala "STARS OF TODAY MEET THE STARS OF TOMORROW"

The Tokyo Ballet will be performing Neumeier's Romeo and Juliet next month so I will be seeing it. Plus I saw it performed by Danish Royal Ballet on their Japan tour several years ago.

There are some trailers of this ballet on Hamburg Ballet's YouTube channel.

One of the key points of this ballet is that usually the main roles are played by very young dancers, last time I watched it, it was danced by dancers in the corps. And also, the friar Laurence is played by a young dancer, and taking poison is a result of their foolishness due to lack of experience in life.

Official site of the documentary film Tanaquil Le Clercq Afternoon of a Faun has launched: .

http://www.afternoonofafaun.com/

There is also a Facebook page and a Twitter account.

https://www.facebook.com/TannyFilm

https://twitter.com/TannyMovie

And will have its International Premiere at Berlinale - Berlin International Film Festival as part of the BERLINALE SPECIAL series.

Well it seems there are many opinions talking about the interpretation of Odette and I value other opinions. But I don't think Odette should look like Juliet IMHO. I didn't say that Odette must look like a bird and i meant a little negative expression about saying Alexandorova's Odette looked like a bird (or rather a bird of prey) though I adore her very much as a ballerina. Odette should be ethereal, subtle and lyrical.

There are dancers who are born to do this role such as Lopatkina, Zakharova and Tereshkina. And it is insulting to compare those with the Trocks. (Trocks is fine and good but not something to be talked about in this conversation)

My point is, a ballerina should not be denied the ballet solely due to "short limbs" as you say which is also up for debate in the case of Obraztsova, Cojocaru and others. Perhaps short as compared to the Polina Senionovas of the world. I would agree to that if that is what you mean. What I want to see in Swan Lake is whether the ballerina can tell a story or at least give a great take on even just one of the dual roles.

Have you seen the full Grigrovich Swan Lake? In this version, Odette is a puppet or a vision made by the Evil Genius and she leads the Prince to his death. It is very different from the Bourmeister version of Swan Lake performed at Stanislavsky which is much more theatrical. Dramatic ballerinas are suited for the Bourmeister version but the Grigrovich one does not require much of that quality. Also the Sergeiev version at the Mariinsky is not so dramatic.

What I require for Odette / Odile is that they should be ethereal as Odette, with Swan-like port de bras and long limbs like wings. Cojocaru was not renowned as Odette / Odile either, I heard from my British friends that she wasn't so good in that role. Swan Lake is simply not a dramatic ballet IMHO. I would see something MacMillan if I want to see drama.

I have seen Maria Alexandrova dance Odette/ Odile at Bolshoi live, and although she is not thin, she is quite tall and I agree much with volcanohunter's opinion, a very powerful and seducing Odile. The Grigorovich's Odile variation needs very strong technique and almost evil charisma, which Alexandrova posesses. (I do think her Odette is weaker than her Odile, although she does look very much like a bird with her athletic and eloquent arms)

But as Jayne pointed out, maybe Royal Ballet might give her opportunity.

Obraztsova has not danced Odette/Odile in Mariinsky as she has not got the physique for that role. she did that in Stanislavsky and I saw that performance on YouTube but she was simply not good in that. Her limbs are short and her fouettés were not good then.

Sorry this press release is in German, but Hamburg Ballet has announced the guesting of Aina Cojocaru this season.

http://www.hamburgballett.de/presse/131009_alina_cojocaru.pdf

She calls Hamburg Ballet "her second home" in this release. I think she hasn't even danced 23 times in her recent years at RB.

I am not sure yet but Neumeier will be creating a new full length "Tatiana" based on Pushkin's Evgeni Onegin this season so Cojocaru might be in the creation.

Cojocaru is announced to be performing 23 times at Hamburg Ballet this season, so she is like a permanent guest there. Neumeier created the role of Julie in Liliom for her, and she has participated in their tour to Brisbane last summer too.

Last minute cast changes for the Sleeping Beauty due to be shown at cinemas

http://www.operadeparis.fr/blogopera/la-belle-au-bois-dormant-en-direct-au-cinema

The leads will be Myriam Ould Braham and Mathias Heymann.

It has been announced that RB will be touring Chicago, DC and NYC June 2015

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/chi-auditorium-theatre-125-anniversary,0,480967.column

The Royal Ballet will present Carlos Acosta's production of “Don Quixote," a triple bill of Wayne McGregor's “The Art of Fugue,” Christopher Wheeldon's “Aeternum," and a still-in-progress piece from choreographer Liam Scarlett, which will premiere at the Royal Opera House in London in Feb. 2015. The Auditorium will be part of a three-city, 2015 tour of the United States that also includes the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., and the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York.

it seems there are performances of Bolshoi at Saratoga Springs

http://www.saratogian.com/general-news/20131204/bolshoi-ballet-tickets-available-for-the-holidays

online availability beginning at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 10, at spac.org

This is not available in iTunes in Japan, but it is already released in DVD here. I bought one today.

http://www.fairynet.co.jp/SHOP/4560219322936.html

does that say 4410 yen, Naomi? Or about $44? That's pretty pricy by N American DVD standards. However, maybe I will pick one up when I am in Tokyo in February!

Sorry for the belated reply. Yes, it is 4410 yen, and it is 44 dollars. This DVD is more expensive than other DVDs here. Well, see you in Tokyo in February Katherine, I will go to that performance you are coming!

Stuttgart Ballet Principal Dancer Sue Jin Kang has been appointed Artistic Director of the Korean National Ballet Company, which is one of the biggest ballet companies in Asia and the oldest one in South Korea. She will take up her position as of January 2014.

http://www.stuttgart-ballet.de/home/

She will still be dancing for the Stuttgart Ballet until 2016.

This is not available in iTunes in Japan, but it is already released in DVD here. I bought one today.

http://www.fairynet.co.jp/SHOP/4560219322936.html

And also Isabelle Ciaravola gives her last performance with POB in Japan in that tour too.

annamk, I like Vasiliev and think his Spartacus is fabulous but that was disappointing. Wonder how Osipova will dance Juliet at Royal Ballet the home of MacMillan.

Interesting point annamk. But the flip side is that sometimes dancers take too many liberties or make individual interpretive choices which do not comport with the copyrighted choreography. As an example, one of the things that the NY Times previously mentioned regarding Osipova's first performance at ABT of Juliet in the MacMillan version is that she changed the choreography. I disliked some of Osipova's choices as Juliet because I thought that she was sometimes superimposing her own choices instead of following the copyrighted choreography. She turned it from a drama into a melodrama, and in my opinion, sometimes made it a less compelling ballet. (This is a general comment, and does not relate to Cojocaru.)

Slightly off the topic, but Osipova and Vasiliev danced MacMillan R&J in Japan with La Scala this September, and the horror was that at the latter half of the balcony scene, where Romeo lifts Juliet on his knees, Vasiliev stood up while lifting Osipova. That was a disgrace to the choreography.

Some changes were added to the cast and here's the update.

http://nycb2013.jp/dl/casting_en.pdf

So Kowroski did not dance Swan Lake and Richlen replaced her, she was beautiful too. But we were lucky enough to see Ashley Bouder in 4T with such sparkle.

I enjoyed the performance very much. The Monday performance was completely sold out and other dates were also 99% full. The company looked very strong and seemed much better than they came 4 years ago. The women were brilliant.

Today there were 2 performances so it must have been tough for the dancers but especially Symphony in C was brilliant, Megan Fairchild, Sara Mearns,Erica Pereira and Tyler Peck, the female leads were so gorgeous and musically wonderful. Also 5 curtain calls to the Symphony in C cast on Wednesday, which is the first in the company's history.