naomikage

Has anyone seen Julie perform "Manon"? I really can't imagine her in the rag doll scene at the end. She is scheduled to perform it in Japan.

Yes I have, it was 2007 and she danced with Jose Manuel Carreno. She was fine but thought not the best role for her.

might be a little off-topic but ABT will be performing Manon in the 2014 Feb-March Japan Tour.

The cast is already online.

http://www.japanarts.co.jp/abt2014/english.html

Svetlana Lunkina will be dancing Don Quixote grand pas de deux in National Ballet of Canada's Gala June 12th.

http://national.ball....htm#repertoire

Obituary of Frederic Franklin on Washington Post. Such a great loss to the ballet world...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/frederic-franklin-ballet-dancer-coach-and-director-dies-at-98/2013/05/05/9b69f642-0e3a-11e1-a560-dfb7ccea65aa_story.html?wprss=rss_obituaries

As long as she doesn't phone in her performances, I don't think she owes anything more to anyone except her partners. ABT is full of itinerant dancers, and there have been Principals whose performances have dwindled over the years.

She's taking advantage of opportunities offered, and I don't see an issue with this. If she were to leave ABT after her current contract ends, that's her choice. ABT invested nothing in her training.

I couldn't find the source right now but I read somewhere that Alessandra Ferri coached her when Osipova danced MacMillan's Juliet. That might have been an investment.

Oh, here is the source,

http://www.danceviewtimes.com/2010/07/out-and-about-abt-6197102010.html

and yes, Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty is also coming to Los Angeles!

http://www.centerthe...leeping-Beauty/

November 21th to December 1st Ahmason Theatre at the Music Centre

DVD/Blu-ray recording of Royal Ballet Romeo and Juliet, starring Lauren Cuthbertson and Federico Bonelli will be released in February 25 at Amazon uk by Opus Arte

http://www.amazon.co.../dp/B00B8X51HU/

Romeo Federico Bonelli

Juliet Lauren Cuthbertson

Mercutio Alexander Campbell

Tybalt Bennet Gartside

Benvolio Dawid Trzensimiech

Paris Valery Hristov

Lord Capulet Christopher Saunders

Lady Capulet Christina Arestis

Escalus Prince of Verona Gary Avis

Orchestra of the Royal Opera House

Conductor Barry Wordsworth

Choreography Kenneth MacMillan

Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, March 2012

An English article of this dreadful incident.

http://www.theartsdesk.com/dance/bolshoi-ballet-chief-attacked-acid-his-sight-threatened

God help Filin!

Uliana Lopatkina, one and only.

Right now, the best we have for the Mariinsky reconstruction of "Sleeping Beauty" is Act III with Obrastzova on the "New Year's Eve in St. Petersburg" DVD.

I think it is not Obrastzova but Osmolkina on the "New Year's Eve in St. Petersburg" DVD.

Kim Kimin is now listed as First Soloist on the English roaster. http://www.mariinsky.ru/en/company/ballet/first_soloists/dancers2/kimin/

I don't think Simkin was wonderful in Don Quixote, as he still could not handle the fish dive in the Grand pas de deux of Don Quixote, I haven't seen any Basilo that could not take his hands from Kitri at the fish dive. I have seen him in a full Don Quixote 3 times and many more in a gala (the latest this summer) but no, his partnering has not improved.

Well he is very good in solos though. I went to his gala Intensio in Tokyo but I had the impression he hasn't much proceeded in artistry, although he has the pyro-techniques and the charm.

Well I have not seen Skorik's performances in Japan so it might not be proper to say anything about her in Mariinsky's Japan tour, but judging from my numerous friends who attended her performance and blog entries and Twitter, it seems her Nikiya and Swan Lake O/O was not bad at all. At least, the only mistake she made was that she fell once during her entrance in Swan Lake second act (which was not a dancing scene) and heard that her fouettes were okay. At least, no one was saying that her Odette/Odile and Nikiya was terrible as far as I know. (and I know a lot of balletomanes in Japan who went to see her) and they are saying that Somova was worse (it was of 3 years ago though)

Anyway, I will see her in the gala on Sunday and judge by seeing it.

Here's the link to the Mariinsky Taipei Tour. It does say that Kondaurova will be doing three O/Os.

http://www.mna.com.tw/2012/events.asp?eventID=40

And this is the link for their Cinderella, Novikova two performances and Shirinkina one.

http://www.mna.com.tw/2012/events.asp?eventID=41

Kondaurova is dancing a lot in Japan, two Gamzattis and one Nikiya, one Odette/Odile. Hope she won't get injured. And at the Mariinsky Theatre, Kolegova is crammed with a lot of performances.

Natalia, I think the Skorik instead of Lopatkina casting is a typo. Another typo is that in the Japanese version of the changed distribution it says Evseeva will be dancing Diana & Acteon.

Some more changes to the Mariinsky Japan tour following the injury of Osmolkina.

http://japanarts.co....012/english.htm

(well it is a mistake that Skorik is dancing Paquita in the Gala, in the Japanese version Lopatkina will be dancing Paquita)

Skorik replaces Osmolkina in Swan Lake November 29th, that means she will be dancing O/O three times in Japan. Elena Evseeva replaces Osmolkina as Gamzatti in La Bayadere. And Diana Vishneva will not be dancing in the Gala because of her schedule.

Marcelo did dance Basilio in Japan last summer, as a last minute replacement to Angel Corella and he was fantastic in the role, he had the charm and the bravura and in fact this role fit him perfectly.

I will have to inform you that Oxana Skorik as a replacement to Somova will be debuting as Nikiya in Mariinsky's Japan tour.

http://japanarts.co.jp/mariinsky_ballet2012/english.htm

Also, Ekaterina Osmolkina will be dancing O/O which is good news.

For your information, Enfants du Paradis was broadcasted in June in Japan, and Caligula will be broadcasted in October too.

It's nice to hear from you, naomikage

I hope a video of Merkuriev makes its way to YouTube

There is a photo of Merkuriev in Raymonda tutu and Gomes as Nikiya on Diana Vishneva's official Facebook.

I was there for this "Funny Gala" at the World Ballet Festival.

Other attractions were, Onegin with Marcelo Gomes and Marijn Rademaker as Tatiana, Maria Eichwald as Onegin, Raymonda 3rd act variation by Andrei Merkuriev (he was fabulous on pointe), Nikiya 2nd act death scene solo by Marcelo Gomes which was very beautiful and at the same time funny, Manon 2nd act solo by Vladimir Malakhov, Bayadere Manu dance by Joshua Hoffalt, Mathieu Ganio and Friedemann Vogel, Kitri 1st act variation by Ivan Vasiliev.

It was so difficult to get tickets for this gala because of this but everything was well prepared and was hilarious.

Is there any real chance ABT can perform A Month in the Country? I've always wanted ABT to perform that ballet, but from what I understand Anthony Dowell own the rights to the ballet, and so far he has only allowed The Royal Ballet to perform it. Has things change on that account?

The Tokyo Ballet has also performed A Month in the Country with Sylvie Guillem and Massimo Murru last year.

I watched "Only When I Dance" and "The Dancer" today. I was disappointed by "The Dancer", finding that it lacked any depth. I thought "OWID" was one of the best dance movies that I have seen.

Questions:

1. In "OWID", Irlan Silva danced a piece called, "Nijinsky", in which the dancer commits suicide. I have not read about his life ending that way. Is the choreographer making some kind of suggestion about institutionalization being a form of suicide, or is suicide only a satisfactory ending from a dramatic, literary, or plot viewpoint? Who choreographed this piece and who has performed it?

2. Does anyone have any update on Mr. Silva's career? His biography is not on the abt.org website anymore, although his picture remains.

1. The piece "Nijinsky" is choreographed by John Neumeier, and this is a solo part of the full-evening piece. This work was premiered in 2000 at Hamburg Ballet and Nijinsky was danced by Jiri Bubenicek. This piece has been performed in Hamburg Ballet's tour and is a popular piece, using Schostakovich's Symphony No.11 and Scheherazade. This solo is just an expression of Nijinsky's madness and not a suicide.

http://www.hamburgballett.de/e/rep/nijinsky.htm

2. According to Dance Magazine, Irlan Silva has joined the Boston Ballet from 2011–12 season

http://dancemagazine.com/issues/January-2009/Comings--Goings

Matt Golding - to Corella Ballet (first soloist) 2008, then Het National Ballet (I think principal now?)2010

Matthew Golding is now a principal with the Dutch National Ballet, his recent Don Quixote choreographed by Alexei Ratmansky is now on DVD. He guested in Tokyo Ballet's La Bayadere in April and he was terrific, good technique, fine partnering, tall and long limbed. He might have grown to a principal candidate in ABT but he chose to dance major roles earlier, he said in an interview. ABT has lost a major talent.

The film was already released here in Japan, so I saw it, and it was eye-candy fore ballet fans. The film actually begins with quite a long sequence of the legendary Rite of Spring premiere at the Chatlet, choreography not the Nijinsky reconstruction by Hodson but a nice tribute to the Nijinsky one, and Diaghlev, Nijinskyand Massine, Misia Sert appearing in the sequence.

The decors and designs of the film are dazzlingly glamorous, and very interesting. Think the relationship between Chanel and Stranvinsky in this film is mostly fiction, but anyway I liked this.