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Buddy

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Everything posted by Buddy

  1. 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/
  2. Buddy

    Yulia Stepanova

    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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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)
  7. 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
  8. Buddy

    Skorik

    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.
  9. Buddy

    Skorik

    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.
  10. Buddy

    Skorik

    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.
  11. Buddy

    Skorik

    A few more thoughts about the Legend of Love video posted above. Oxana Skorik Subtlety This is what I'm noticing more and more about Oxana Skorik. I've seen her perform with mind boggling bursts of expression. Now she is more quiet, more refined, perhaps the difference between Mozart (refined) and Bach (powerful). The depth, power, and range of interest are there, but they're tempered with sensitive intricacies of feeling. Naturalness This is also becoming more apparent in her expression and portrayal. She seems to be living her character. In doing so she knowingly fine tunes her emotions, thus the subtlety. She is real. Her dance extends and is integral with this. In this respect she looks comfortable and at home.
  12. Buddy

    Skorik

    Thanks, Plisskin. This is a great chance to see Oxana Skorik and Alina Somova together. For me, they have many remarkable parallels that can be studied and enjoyed here. After one viewing, Oxana Skorik's solo (at 35:00) is very compelling. For one thing, it shows in a very subtle way, her power and multi-dimensionality of portrayal. Again she goes deep inside herself and gives us something fascinating and completely her own. She reminds me of Veronika Part (ABT, formerly Mariinsky) is her ability to do this. Later in the video Alina Somova displays a similar depth and dimension. Their dancing is extremely fine. In one instance, Oxana Skorik just floats. Alina Somova puts her well known flexibility to use in such a poetically restrained and artistically beautiful manner. I look forward to watching all this more carefully. Having never seen this work before, after one complete viewing of the video, I have lots of thoughts. There is depth, invention and beauty with enough room for personal interpretation to make it something that I would like to become more familiar with.
  13. Buddy

    Kathryn Morgan

    I do too. As the young girl in Ives, Songs she was one of the most naturally lovely dancers that I've seen.
  14. Thanks, nysusan, for your review. The Odette that I saw Olga Esina perform at last year's Mariinsky Festival was slightly different from her two last autumn in Naples, Italy. I would say her Naples performances were somewhat more animated, expressively vibrant and vey secure. Her Festival performance, which I really liked, was very 'artistic' and lovely. As for using "her upper body in a softer, more sculptural way," at the Festival I wouldn't necessarily say "more" than the others, but differently. She was indeed soft and sculptural. In the slower passages, she had a way of slowing things down almost to a suspension, yet compacting so much feeling and interest into this. Also she would punctuate this with dramatic reaches and positioning, that made a very effective contrast. Whenever this seemed liked it might get too loose, she would return it to a beautifully controlled and refined 'softness.' I've probably discussed this more completely under her name in the "Dancers" topic. Also glad that you liked Anastasia Kolegova. Like Birdsall, I personally prize her 'understatement,' because it allows her delightful and lovable natural self to shine through. I like Timur Askerov. Among other things he seems to be a very secure and sympathetic partner. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.
  15. Back to Olga Esina for a moment. I've seen her five times, three of them were Swan Lakes, and she's been Extremely Beautiful, solid and vibrant. Last autumn in Naples, Italy, she danced Swan Lake twice, with only a one day break, and she was perhaps even more exciting and full of energy the second time. She was a breathe of fresh air !
  16. I think that these brief thoughts are appropriate and hopefully in the spirit of the wonderful art that is being seen this week in Washington DC. Sarah Kaufman, in her recent review, starts out by citing the current 'real life concerns' in the Russian ballet world and then summarizes by saying: "What a relief that the art prevails." I, on the other hand, recalled what Tamara Rojo said awhile back in regard to being the new artistic director of the English Nation Ballet. She said that she always felt that the art came first but now she feels that the Welfare of the humans performing the art comes first. How to reconcile these two perhaps contradictory points of view ? I think that if you see the art as the human expression of a higher ideal, even a personally liberating and perhaps even transcending power, then, in fact, the art and the wellbeing of the humans performing the art can become the same thing, a very good thing. This is not to negate the importance of the basic welfare of the artists. Hopefully the 'Houses' of Bolshoi and Mariinsky-Vaganova will manage to deal with matters that seem to need some necessary attention and come somewhat closer to the ideals expressed in their artistry. The artists, above all, seem to be compelled by a higher ideal. This is for the good of everyone. So I, for one, if I were fortunate enough the be in Washington DC, would want to enjoy these great performances as much as possible. They are what, for many of us, lift us above so many daily concerns, adding joy and value to our lives, hopefully encouraging as healthy and inspiring a real world condition as possible. So once again, thanks, everyone, for passing on your thoughts about these performances which I hope, overall, are a most joyful and inspiring experience.
  17. Thanks, Natalia, for your thoughts about last night and for alerting us to this very fine, poetic and sensitively supportive review from Sarah Kaufman that I'd like to reread much more carefully. Birdsall, I share your admiration and 'love' for Anastasia Kolegova. She's a Sweetheart ! In addition, she's an excellently and beautifully competent dancer, who has subtly captured my respect and my heart. Tonight, Olga !
  18. I believe that Makharova is her Celtic name.
  19. So sorry to hear about Keenan's hip surgery, amiaow. I hope that she has a speedy and very successful recovery. In regard to the overhead lifts, at the last nine Mariinsky Festivals I believe that they've always been performed by both home and guest artists (including the one Festival when Swan Lake was performed six times!). This is my only knowledge of what might happen on the home stage. I was at one Chicago string, 2006, and only one of the three ballerinas did them. I got a feeing that they were taking it easy on that tour. Alina Somova did them in London in 2011. As I recall one ballerina did them in one out of three performances while the other two did them both times in Costa Mesa, 2013. In Naples, Italy last autumn, I believe two of the three ballerinas omitted them. My guess is that it's more likely to occur in places that aren't familiar with the Mariinsky. I don't mean to imply that they lower their standards overall, because from what I've seen they don't. This is the only major technical challenge that I've noticed omitted. Is that more than you ever wanted to know about this? Just trying to keep the ball rolling until we start hearing about the next performance. Added comment: Rock the house, Anastasia !
  20. I saw Alina Somova at the stage door several years ago in London after performing a long Swan Lake and she was exactly the same in real life (and extremely nice and attentive to those wishing autographs and conversation.)
  21. I've had the great pleasure of seeing only fine live performances by Alina Somova over the years. Not to ignore the rest of your post, Ashley, but of all her qualities, your choice of words, "so very exquisite", is what keeps me glued to her. I hope that she shines brighter and brighter in this regard. I group her with Ulyana Lopatkina, Oxana Skorik, Olga Esina and others at the Mariinsky because of their long-lined, airy and dreamlike beauty. I'm so glad that so many enjoyed her performance and there should be very fine ones as well from Anastasia Kolegova and Olga Esina.
  22. There is a video clip that I just found of Alina Somova and Alexander Sergeyev in Cinderella ("золушка" -- Алина Сомова). Although Anastasia Matvienko (with Alexander Sergeyev) is listed at the Mariinsky site for that evening (November 14, 2013) it looks like Alina Somova may have appeared instead. Of all the video clips that I've seen of Alina Somova, the one of her Cinderella from a couple years ago is perhaps the most enchanting. For one thing, there are several very beautiful duets. In the current clip, Alina Somova has returned from maternity leave. Her dancing is lovely and like Svetlana Zakharova, when she returned, Alina Somova has a lovely maturity of expression. Hopefully this will be evident in tonight's Swan Lake and those attending will be witnessing a most beautiful performance.
  23. Hi, bart. I do agree with you. I'm not nearly as acquainted with closer to the source (American) companies as some others here, but I thoroughly enjoy the Mariinsky interpretations of George Balanchine. They add a lyrical poetry that I find wonderful. At last year's Mariinksy Festival, Ekaterina Kondaurova performed all the leads in Jewels. I was *Astounded* by the brilliance of her interpretation. It was equal in 'American style' acting prowess to anything that I've seen on the US stage or screen. Such things can happen ! When I find a video clip (usually a duet) on the internet that I really like I may watch it a hundred times. I'm into about 30 viewings of Olga Smirnova's Diamonds. This is a signature work for her. She's been at it for about three years and it grows more compelling and beautiful with each new performance. I truly look forward to her Swan Lake, which she's only worked on for about a year, as it progresses. She's also debuting Sleeping Beauty in about a week. In the paragraph that you mentioned from Alistair Macauly, he wrote about her performance of Diamonds: "She doesn’t just have the long limbs and neck of the ballet ideal, she also moves those legs with *startlingly fluency* and generosity of style. She has natural grandeur and a *stage persona* that compellingly suggests both remoteness and drama." [my *s] Alway looking for better ways to describe her, I agree with this totally. She also transcends categorization.
  24. As a possible clarification, California, I wasn't interested in the package and simply inquired when single performance tickets could be purchased. The point I meant to add to your post was that Nonmembers could buy these tickets probably within a week after Members, "the beginning of April." I also would like to see Svetlana Lunkina as much as possible. She is such a beautiful dancer. Perhaps this is a fine opportunity for folks in Canada where she is now performing. I hope she finds a worthy place somewhere. Back at the Bolshoi would be just fine if she would be happy there.
  25. Thanks, California. Some more information. I just called also. If you want to buy individual tickets (not the member package) members will have to wait until the end of March and nonmembers until the beginning of April.
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