Buddy

When a real life Mona Lisa stands in front of the painted one, I find it to be quite an experience. Something similar can be said about the ballet. When the artists actually become the Living work of art, it can really be quite an experience.

Choreographic style is very important. To some posters here, it’s extremely important, and I can certainly respect this. I personally like very much the Balanchine framework in all its aspects, from the more depthful probings of Jennifer Kronberg to the excitement and joy of the Delgado and Esty sisters. Still, I would like to attempt to clarify what I’ve been trying to say as it’s a slightly different perspective. For me, the company was indeed “fast, athletic and joyful,” as Mira stated it, in the Balanchine spirit, probably. But it was also it’s ability to move slightly from one style to another (Balanchine to Tharp, for instance) and do it so well that also impressed me. So what seems to me to be perhaps as important as a ‘choreographic’ (and cultural) style and identity, is to keep the “Joyful” and Free Spirit, the selective and sensitive Exploration and the across the board Excellence as alive as possible.

I don't know that much about SAB graduates, but 'Russian sphere' dancers who move elsewhere always remain 'Russian looking' to me, and that also means darn good. I still consider one of my favorites, Veronika Part (ABT, formerly 'Kirov-Mariinsky'), to be a Mariinsky dancer. Edward brought in Haiyan Wu from China and to me she was the company's Etherealist, probably because of her Chinese makeup and training. I loved her, feeling that she added a dreamlike dimension of refinement. Edward seemed to love her too at first, but she eventually moved on as did the remarkable Rolando Sarabia. There were a few major exoduses of dancers, for one reason or another, but the company did manage to keep it together and remain vibrant and outstanding. [last paragraph added later]

I still haven't bought any tickets, Waelsung, for the exact same reason. Although I'm sure that I would be happy with any casting and probably very pleasantly surprised by something unexpected, as I've alway been, it's a travel and financial commitment that I'm treating more carefully.

Thanks Mira for your added thoughts. My appreciation of the company certainly includes "style" and the fine Balanchine heritage, but it also includes something else. Something that, for me, is very special. What captivated me from the first was that the Miami City Ballet seemed like a collection of really nice kids from the neighborhood — youthful, likable, healthy, a breath of fresh air — And! — Wow! were they talented ! This is a combination that I really love, and keep as a standard for a performing arts group. The Esty sisters blasting across the stage in “In The Upper Room”. I was amazed! The way that the company morphed into highly proficient and riveting Broadway troupers in “Nightspot,” lead by the super charismatic and hugely talented Rolando Sarabia, I thought was great. Their lively take on Ballet Imperial (which won the hearts of audiences in Paris), as contrasted to the Mariinsky’s more dreamlike and very personal interpretation — both very different and I love them equally. They defied categorization and didn’t fit into a particular mold. This made them one of a kind and very special. *Lovable, Healthy and Amazingly Talented* This is what I think of and hope really continues. Added thought: In my previous post I said that I think that the company will continue to be a great one, although I’m not yet sure why. I haven’t been following this forum as closely as I did when Edward was there, but from what I have read here and in the press, the comments generally seem quite favorable and in the spirit of ‘the good old days.’ This is probably the reason.

I somewhat posed this question about a year ago. Over a decade I’ve become a dedicated Mariinsky follower, although at heart I’m not a ballet purist. I love ballet’s enchantment but I’m open as to how it’s accomplished. I am devoted to the Ethereality of what a company like the Mariinsky represents. I was also a lover of the Miami City Ballet when Edward was in charge and there’s quite a difference between it and the Mariinsky. I haven’t been able to see the company since, but hope to as soon as possible. I have to admit that Edward's leaving did effect my desire to make the special trips, rightly or wrongly. For me he was a huge part of the company’s magic. I’ve a strong feeling that the company will continue to be a great one, but I can’t really say why. Bart has attributed a lot of it’s excellence to Edward’s constant presence and insight. Artistically, something was being done very right when he was there and it was in a lot of different areas. One of the main things that impressed me was how distinct the dancers were -- And -- how extremely good they were. Someone made some very good choices in finding talent, nurturing it and determining how it should be presented. I have to attribute this to Edward. Style is one thing, but to me the Miami City Ballet is also something else. For me it represents excellence — and a Lovability. Stylistically it was a Balanchine stronghold, but in its own very personal and exciting way. It also ventured beyond, into Broadway, ‘rock n roll’, other fine choreographers, etc. It was it’s sense of exploration (within a Balanchine oriented framework), friendliness and it’s excellence that was one of a kind. If Lourde Lopez can somehow keep her hand on the pulse of that illusive, for me, to define *Something* then the company should remain great. I’m wishing the company the very best because I love it and I think that it has a chance, not only to offer more great art and entertainment with its Balanchine heritage, but also to be an important source of artistic growth. I also wouldn’t mind at all if Edward could somehow reconnect.

"Leads" are what I hope she gets a lot more of. Thanks, Josette.

I haven’t been able to follow this discussion carefully but am a fascinated fan of Simone Messmer. Thanks, Quiggin, for your earlier insights about her at this topic. I did watch the 40 second practice view of her for Hummingbird in the video (starting at 2:00) posted at Program 7. As usual she stands out as someone special. Thanks everyone for your comments about her and I hope that she makes her mark as soon as possible. I’m in Europe and I would go to the Spoletto Festival (I dont’ think that I’ll be able to make Paris) just to see her. Maria Kochetkova would be another very compelling reason. Mathilde Froustey (although I’ve don’t recall ever seeing her on stage) would also be a very good reason, but I have to admit that my Fascination is with Simone at the moment. She’s just that special. Added thought: Quiggin you mentioned finding the right “place and persona” for Simone Messmer. Maybe that’s one of her attributes that directors should take a chance with. She can redefine things.

Still on the radar 30 April 2014 (Wed), 19:00 Ballet theatre of St. Petersburg Conservatoire [Russia] - Classical Ballet Gala Ballet: World Best Ballet Stars "You will have the unique opportunity to enjoy the skill of the dancers who have been awarded the prize "Benois de la Danse" - Oscar equivalent in the field of dance - Rolando Sarabia and his partner Venus Villa, soloist English National Ballet in London. One of the most popular editions of The New York Times has repeatedly compared the crowd favorite Rolando Sarabia with a young Mikhail Baryshnikov." http://www.balletandopera.com/classical_ballet/Gala_Ballet__dance_world_stars/info/sid=9Qi0o7c39y8fu89k2rR1&play_date_from=01-Apr-2014&play_date_to=30-Apr-2014&playbills=40049

I was very gratefully able to see almost every performance this year. Some Personal Highlights Some year’s there is a Festival performance that I consider among the best that I’ve ever seen. These have included Ulyana Lopatkina’s Swan Lake and both Alina Cojocaru and Svetlana Zakharova’s Giselle. Other performances perhaps of this level were Viktoria Tereshkina, Yekaterina Kondaurova, Gillian Murphy and Olga Esina's Swan Lake, all of Alina Cojocaru's other four full length classics and Yekaterina Kondaurova’s performance of all the leads in George Balanchine’s Jewels trilogy last year. This year there were Two unqualified ‘Greatest Performances’ — Alina Somova’s ’The Swan’ (Fokine) Diana Vishneva’s Woman In A Room (Carlson) Alina Somova ’The Swan’ (Fokine) — Subtly and Remarkably Original. Flawlessly Presented and Compellingly Poetic. La Bayadere — Beautifully performed and consistently fine throughout. The best I’ve seen her do until her ’Swan’ several days later. She also did very well the second night in Sylvia, with a total of two full length works and one shorter one, making her perhaps the star artist this year. Last year Yekaterina Kondaurova seemed to be performing almost every night, to the extent that I was calling the Festival (to myself) The Yekaterina Kondaurova International Ballet Festival. Diana Vishneva Woman In A Room (Carlson) — Probably the finest ‘modern’ dance performance that I’ve ever seen. Her use of everything from standing still to the finest of ballet motion could make it a model for the expanding of lyrically beautiful dance into the entire range of theatrical expression. Oxana Skorik Swan Lake — The best that I’ve seen her do. Magnificent ! Anastasia Kolegova Swan Lake — Precious and Charming ! A pure delight of a performance ! Hee Seo Giselle — Poetically beautiful in her presentation and technically fine and highly enjoyable in her dancing. Veronika Part Seven Sonatas (Ratmansky) — Once again she created her own world of beautiful dance and compelling enchantment as only she can do. She’s among my several favorite ballerinas in the world today and one of its greatest. It was wonderful to finally see her here and I hope that it will happen again often. Viktoria Tereshkina Sylvia (Ashton) — Wonderfully crafted with the fineness of each nuance. Kimin Kim La Bayadere, Infra (McGregor) and Concerto DSCH (Ratmanksy) — He can switch from classical to modern with ease and equal proficiency. He’s a one of a kind artistic phenomenon of the highest order ! Xander Parish Sylvia (Ashton) — He is Shakespearian in his presence and masculinely elegant in his motion. Alexander Sergeyev Symphony in C (Balanchine) — A finely crafted dancer with a subtle essence of nobility. There are, of course, so many more outstanding artists and performances that deserve mention. Once again, this was one of the finest overall Mariinsky Festivals that I’ve seen in ten years.

Go for the Fred Astaire effect, sandik, when he was filmed dancing on the ceiling (or so it seemed). She can be that enchanting anyway. I've just had a chance to watch several minutes of the video, as I'm in the middle of traveling, but as beautiful as the clip appears, to see her live on stage was way beyond even this. There were many wonderful performances that night, but for me, one of the greatest that I've seen ever was Alina Somova's The Dying Swan. She did things that I've never seen her do quite like this before and it was Magnificent !

It's indeed from the closing gala, Drew, and was "very beautiful," as was Oxana Skorik, the best I've ever seen her.

I can't tell you anything about this, mussel, but I attended both nights and thought the performances to be excellent. Viktoria Tereshkina was especially fine and received a great response from the audience along with a string of curtain calls. Night two was also very successful with Xander Parish performing brilliantly and Alina Somova using her flexibility and magnificent long limbs to best advantage to reinforce the work's sense of otherworldly beauty. Added: Maybe this can help you, mussel. Rough Google translation: “Valery Fateev and. about. Head of the Kirov Ballet, choreographer, coach: "All modified: costumes, scenery largely correspond to sketches, because we used a more expensive fabrics for suits, brighter painting. You will see this in the second and in the third act. The performance was quite beautiful. I think it will be fabulous. " (Валерий Фатеев, и. о. заведующего балетной труппой Мариинского театра, балетмейстер-репетитор: «Все доработано: и костюмы, и декорации во многом соответствуют эскизам, поскольку использовались более дорогие ткани для пошива костюмов, более яркая живопись. Вы увидите это и во втором, и в третьем акте. Спектакль получился достаточно красивый. Думаю, он будет сказочный».) Подробнее на НТВ.Ru: http://www.ntv.ru/novosti/883718/#ixzz2y3HOQTTt (thanks to Sophia at Dansomanie for finding this)

Excuse me for a second, Amy. This a brief reference to Maria Alexandrova, whom I recall from years ago being a voice for moderation and mutual respect at the Bolshoi. "The ballet representative is the prima ballerina Maria Alexandrova, whom her colleagues want to be chairman, and who is reported to be an effective and consensual communicator with performers and teachers, and fearless in approaching the management." In regard to fiddleback's mention of the Mariinsky, maybe this can influence some resolution there also, The last time I checked, Daria Pavlenko was representing the dancers.

“A progress report on the labour agreement being drawn up in the Bolshoi Theatre….indicates that it will be ready within the next three weeks or so. “Bolshoi ballerina Marianna Ryzhkina tells Izvestia that work on the new agreement has been going slowly but carefully, as Urin has been listening to the dancers’ complaints and suggestions, Not all have been dealt with as the dancers proposed, but she says, “When it comes down to it, we are listening to each other.” http://www.ismeneb.com/Blog/Entries/2014/3/19_Warmer_times_ahead_for_Bolshoi_dancers.html (thanks to Balletco for this post)

I’ve not found any more news. Has anyone else? While searching I did find this Pointe Magazine reference from probably awhile ago. It does share one of my hopes for the production. “There are many reasons to be excited about this musical, not the least of which is that Wheeldon has been casting serious ballet dancers for its upcoming workshop.” Pointe has also posted a very short video clip from the movie that shows how powerfully beautiful some of the dancing is as well as how important it is to the scope of ballet related artistry. http://www.pointemagazine.com/blogs/christopher-wheeldon/wheeldons-american-paris An added curiosity: When the video clips ends, on my internet format, a choice of nine more videos is shown. The second one down on the left is a 23 minute video of the dancing with the actual Gershwin American In Paris score superimposed by the video author. Only part of the score was apparently used for the dancing. I’ve just looked at the beginning, but it might be of interest to others. And: As for further casting ideas Leslie Caron (Wow!) http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Leslie_Caron-publicity.JPG and http://www.mariinsky.ru/en/company/ballet/first_soloists/dancers1/kolegova/

I've now watched the famous Odette duet posted above by artsong perhaps 15 times, initially out of admiration for the portrayal by her partner, Xander Parish, and I've come to appreciate her more and more. I think that she is extremely beautiful here. I almost always focus completely on the ballerina in this duet. For the first time in years my attention is shared with both. I think that they have found a very good balance of mutual support and interaction.

I continue to watch the video clip of the Act I Odette duet with Yulia Stepanova and am enjoying it very much. For one who normally focuses 110% on the lead ballerina to the exclusion of almost everyone else, especially in this famous duet, this performance is quite different for me. There is a partnership here. Xander has to be careful not to overwhelm the delicacy of his ballerina and she has to be worthy of this. For me, so far in my viewing, they are able to strike a beautiful balance.

Here are some very interesting and sympathetic accounts of Xander's day to day life at the Mariinsky, published from his diary. http://www.opendemocracy.net/od-russia/xander-parish/diary-of-dancer Having never seen him perform a full length lead his 'acting prowess' and power of expression come as quite a revelation. "Now, I get the chance to put my theory into practice: a story ballet is about the development of emotion and character; wonderful technique is lovely to see, but it's the emotion of a piece that does it for me." Added thought: This might be in part a reflection of his Royal Ballet (London) training, stemming from England's great theatrical heritage. It certainly shows in former Royal Ballet principals, such as the amazingly expressive Alina Cojocaru and the very realistic Tamara Rojo.

I interrupt my second video viewing of the Yulia Stepanova/Xander Parish Swan Lake debut with A Very Important Announcement ! Xander Parish I'm Stoked ! I don't think that I've ever seen a male ballet Portrayal the likes of this one. I somewhat joked elsewhere that there is Shakespeare in this man. Now I'm serious about it. There Is ! Let's see where this all leads to. I'm referring specifically to the Act I Odette Duet posted by artsong that can be seen at the Dancer topic -- Yulia Stepenova (bottom of page). I'm also very impressed with Yulia Stepanova's Odette. Some beautifully composed lines, for one thing. http://balletalert.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/37737-yulia-stepanova/ Xander will also be debuting Sylvia with Alina Somova in several weeks at this year's Festival. Added comment: He's also a darn nice person….and Class ! on stage and off.

Almost all casting now posted. Click on each evening for a more complete listing. Oxana Skorik gets one of the Swan Lakes. Brava! She was beautiful doing the Act I Odette duet at the Gala two years ago. Lots of other good stuff as well. http://www.mariinsky.ru/en/playbill/festivale/fest_2013_2014/ballet_fest_231/ (thanks to ElenaK at Dansomanie for discovering the additional info at each event)

A quick look back at the man probably most identified with skate/dance/artistry -- John Curry. http://www.theguardian.com/news/2014/feb/09/john-curry-winter-olympics-ice-skating "“If Fred Astaire could skate,” Ms. Starbuck said, “that’s how he would love to skate.” "But Curry’s legacy doesn’t have to be a memory. It feels like a transitional moment in figure skating. While rules in competition haven’t destroyed all performances — there is always an anomaly like the South Korean skater Kim Yu-na, whose etherealness goes beyond checking off points on a scorecard — the sport has overshadowed the art. Ensemble groups like Ms. North’s Ice Theater may be the best hope for the future simply because they recall what skating has the potential to be: dancing on air." http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/31/arts/dance/the-glories-of-ice-shows-recalled-at-dance-on-camera.html?_r=2

If you want to make a side by side comparison of what I've mentioned in the post above, 1:30:00 into the video might be a good place. I've been watching the Legend of Love video quite closely and it continues to be highly interesting. Oxana Skorik seems to evolve in posted videos. Perhaps she's 'maturing' or 'settling in'. For me, it's a subtle transformation, but a revealing and fascinating one, which is why I continue to comment here. I've noticed another basic facet in her stage persona, echoed in the beauty of her dance. There is an essential 'Niceness' to it. No matter how intense her character, Giselle in the 'mad' scene or Mekhmeneh Bahnu (Legend of Love), she seems to rein it in. She commits herself to someone that she can personally identify with, a very nice, perhaps innocent, young woman. Her characters are very interestingly and distinctly, but subtly, constructed. I think that it's brilliant and touching and reflects in the loveliness of her overall performance. I'll continue to watch for this and see if my perception is somewhat correct and meaningful.

Since we are here could I please mention one other quality in the Legend of Love video. Alina Somova in this performance seems a bit more expansive with long lines, which I really like. Oxana Skorik, who is also very capable of this, is less expansive but has such a beautifully lyrical motion in this containment.

In quick reference to Alina Somova, several years ago at a Mariinsky Festival, I saw an elderly lady, who looked like she could barely afford the ticket, with tears in her eyes after Alina Somova had performed. I totally sympathized with her appreciation and will probably not forget her. Added thought: In similar regard to Oxana Skorik, sometimes something more than the perfection of the performance can come into play.