Buddy

I've mentioned Oxana Skorik's facial expression in Act IV of a Swan Lake video clip at the Dancer topic. It shows that she seems to enter an inner world where she's totally in charge and totally comfortable. She seems to have a powerful 'resource' there that is one the reasons that I think that she can handle any of the challenges that she's being offered. Also she seems more settled in, more confident and is displaying a beautiful subtlety. Added: It seems to be a poetically beautiful inner world as well.

Back to our discussion of Oxana Skorik for a moment, please. Mariinsky Ballet Acting Director, Yuri Fateyev, quite awhile ago said something to the effect that 'we really don't know how to handle her yet.' With Love, I would hope.

Helene, I think that by giving Oxana Skorik as many chances as possible, as soon as possible, will fire her drive and her amazing abilities, as is the case with Olga Smirnova at the Bolshoi. So far I think that this is proving to be true. Added: My reference is having seen her maybe seven times or more on stage in the last several years and the most recent video clips that I've been able to find.

Ditto

I agree absolutely with you about how good Anastasia Kolegova, Olesya Novikova and Yekaterina Osmolkina are. Anastasia Kolegova, I Adore ! Olesya Novikova, based on a Giselle video clip that I saw a few months ago, is dancing with a dreamlike beauty that's the most lovely that I've ever seen her perform. Ekaterina Osmolkina is on my not overly tall list of "Butterflies", not tall dancers that I think are great (along with Anastasia Kolegova). She also performed one of the most beautiful Giselles that I've ever seen. Like I said, I'd make them all Principals. I do think that Acting Director Yuri Fateyev has a very good eye for dancers that he has encouraged. I also feel that Olga Smirnova should have been grabbed up and directed to Stardom immediately (which is now the case at the Bolshoi) and all efforts should have been made to keep and advance Evgenia Obraztsova, but I don't know all that was involved. That he made Alina Somova a Principal as soon as he arrived and seems to now be championing Oxana Skorik and has just added Olga Esina to the Principal list, says a great deal for him in my opinion. Also the way that the Balanchine rep has become so impressive in the last few years, I would guess, largely has to be credited to him. Added: I also feel that Yuri Fateyev's bringing Xander Parish and Kim Kimin into the company has already shown that his stepping outside the box somewhat has been very rewarding. In addition, I think that Keenan Kampa will prove to be a fine choice. Sometimes it takes a while for things to fall into place and become apparent.

Why? Because she's that good. And she seems to have the full recognition and backing of the ballet's Artistic Director, Yuri Fateyev.

I suppose that we'll still be talking about Principals for awhile in this world, so I'll add my guess to the list. Next in line (and well deservedly so, not to the detraction of anyone else) -- Oxana Skorik.

Thanks very much, naomikage, for the video clip. I've only viewed the beginning of the 'dance for three' (the part highlighting the ballerina) once, which sets the ballerina standard for me in this work, and can only offer a first impression, although first impressions are sometimes the most meaningful. I would say that this gives a hint as to what Olga Esina is about. Videos, as welcome and invaluable as they are, sometimes don't tell the entire story. I've often seen videos that just didn't seem to capture what I'd just seen live. This video, I would say, gives a sense of how extremely good Olga Esina is. I'll probably watch it much more and find a lot more to love in it. I maintain that she is *Remarkable!*. Birdsall, all I can really say to your questions, is that the Mariinsky is top heavy with incredible talent. Not such a bad thing. To do justice to it all would be a task for the 'gods'. I think that the answer is to make *Everyone* a Principal. Added comment: Several minutes and several viewings (of the beginning) later, I'm *Loving* it more already. [some additional wording and clarification made]

I wrote this at another forum about Olga Esina's Swan Lake at this year's Mariinsky Festival. It might be the longest description that I wrote. I hope that it's appropriate to post here. Olga Esina "Swan Lake" Possibly The Most *Beautiful* Performance That I've Seen At This Year's Festival She Was Absolutely Lovely ! Her style is somewhat of a juxtaposing of **the Quietest, Yet Most Subtly Beautifully Dancing** with magnificent, flexibly stretched-out **Highlighting That Often Attains The Sublime** Her dancing contains large passages of quietness that are made absolutely compelling by their **Airy Fineness** She has other exceptional qualities, such as the focus of her characterization, the way that she makes wonderfully crafted and exciting transitions from one dance 'phrase' to the next and the curvilinear way that her limbs reach out to create the most beautiful of tracery images. She Is A Gem !

Still being fascinated by Act IV of the Swan Lake video clip posted above, it is her characterization, or should I simply say, facial expression, that continues to captivate me. Once again, it certainly shows her going inside herself, deeply inside herself. She seems to have found her identity there and she holds fast to it, no matter what is happening on the stage, either really or theatrically. From deep within she is still able to to involve herself completely in the world around her and react feelingly, meaningfully and appropriately. It's perhaps subtle, but not necessarily if you focus on it. It blends very well with the dreamlike beauty of her dance motion and dance expression. I find it to be, again fascinating, totally her own, meaningful, and poetically very beautiful. Added: It's starting at 26:30 that this is most noticeable to me. Also I don't feel any ego involvement, any sense of "how do I look?"

You are absolutely correct, Birdsall. I didn't know this and overlooked it when posting the news. Olga Esina apparently did dance with the Mariinsky for a year or two before going to the Vienna State Ballet. From the Mariinsky site again: Olga Esina "Graduated from the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet in 2004. Was invited to join the Mariinsky Ballet the same year, and has appeared at the Mariinsky Theatre as Odette-Odile (Swan Lake; choreography by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, revised version by Konstantin Sergeyev), Calliope (Apollo; choreography by George Balanchine), the Queen of the Dryads (Don Quixote; choreography by Alexander Gorsky) and the Lilac Fairy (The Sleeping Beauty; choreography by Marius Petipa, revised version by Konstantin Sergeyev)." http://www.mariinsky.ru/en/company/ballet/principals_dancers/baleriny/esina1/ As for why the Mariinsky has made her a Guest Principal, not being one of the "famous brand names," she does have Mariinsky roots and they also have apparently found out how * Really Great She Really Is ! *. Maybe she grew, maybe she was just overlooked. The Mariinsky has so much amazing talent that this can happen. Added: The site says that she "has appeared at the Mariinsky Theatre as Odette-Odile (Swan Lake....". Based on the secondary roles that they also list, I'm assuming that they mean this year's guest appearance at the Mariinsky Festival.

Thanks also, Birdsall, for your reviews and your description of the city at another topic. Now it's Official ! Olga Esina -- Guest Principal. Brava ! http://www.mariinsky.ru/en/company/ballet/troupe/ (This news was unofficially posted by Catherine Pawlick at Critical Dance several days ago with a recent confirmation alert at the Mariinka forum) I was really hoping that something like this would happen. For those who don't know, she is a Vaganova (Mariinsky school, more or less) graduate. She has been a First Soloist with the Vienna State Ballet since 2006. I've felt, since the first time that I saw her several years ago at a benefit gala, that she belongs at the Mariinsky. I think that she is one of the most beautiful dancers today, and although I still feel that Svetlana Zakharova's Giselle at this year's Festival was possibly the finest performance of *Anything* that I've ever seen, Olga Esina's Swan Lake was possibly the Festival's *Most Beautiful*. Added: This news was apparently officially posted in russian before Catherine Pawlick's post of Aug. 4 (making her report official), but I didn't see it at the Mariinsky's english language site.

I've changed this post as I feel it might affect her privacy. It did involve watching her as she left Lincoln Center in New York City after her wonderful June "Swan Lake" performance. These lyrics seemed to say it all and will probably remain in my memory for quite awhile. There is a Rose in Spanish Harlem A Rose that Grows in Spanish Harlem With Eyes as Bright as Gold That Reach Down in My Soul I'll Have to Beg Your Pardon (lyrics are a modified version of the Ben E. King song)

In the 'For what it's worth' Department. I just finished another viewing, of many, many, of Oxana Skorik's Act IV Swan Lake, and the comment that I make time after time.... " Absolutely Incredible ! "

In regard to the visual art's influence on George Balanchine I found this. "One of the things for which he was always grateful to Diaghilev was that the latter took some pains to develop Balanchine's knowledge and appreciation of painting…..For Diaghilev himself, paintings were not merely a pleasure but a passion, a necessity. When he stood before a picture, he seemed to be not just looking at it but imbibing it. "He [balanchine] grew especially fond of Perugino." (page 77, "Balanchine: A Biography" by Bernard Taper) http://books.google.com/books?id=fztBS9mc-Q8C&pg=PA77&lpg=PA77&dq=balanchine+painting&source=bl&ots=mVZKY494w0&sig=nG9ujUZYw4a5XH2fHXYQfiZOJgw&hl=en&sa=X&ei=0Tf9Uf_DO6PjiALO94DAAQ&ved=0CHkQ6AEwDg#v=onepage&q=balanchine%20painting&f=false Here's the Perugino ceiling that the story on page 78 refers to. http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/p/perugino/stanza/index.html Here's another Perugino in the Sistine Chapel. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Entrega_de_las_llaves_a_San_Pedro_(Perugino).jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pietro_Perugino [correction made to the Perugino ceiling paintings] [Added] This is considered one of Perugino's finer works. ("In the painting, the figures' sweet angelic air is as characteristic of Perugino's idealised world as the graceful landscape with its feathery trees.") http://www.wga.hu/html_m/p/perugino/saints/certosa.html (clicking on the images will sometimes produce a larger image)

Here are Katharine's quotes again. "All, absolutely all, Indian art-works I have seen from ancient times, use the turn-out. And not only do they use the turn out: they use épaulement, and even academic figures like the attitude, in ways virtually identical to Western classical dance." (katharine kantner) ( Katharine also makes the statement which was then debated, "Western classical dance, to the best of my knowledge, descends quite directly from technical and artistic experiments carried out on the Indian sub-continent something like three thousand years ago.") http://balletalert.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/2837-what-if-anything-is-western-about-classical-ballet/?hl=contrapposto#entry21573 This sculpture shows beautiful contrapposto/epaulement and musicality but it's much later, 10th century a.d. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:KarnatakaApsara.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_art Here's more 'old' art from India (the works are undated) which gives some insight into the actuality of this art. There is turnout, for one thing, but not everywhere. http://www.tuttartpitturasculturapoesiamusica.com/2010/10/ancient-indian.html In any case the idea that much of Western 'classical' dance may have it's roots in the East and India is very interesting. What importance the visual arts played in this is of possible interest also. Added comment: There is no reason why this discussion of the interrelationship of the visual arts and dance has to be limited to Western culture. http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/culture/dance.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_traditional_dance http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_dance

Thanks so much, Quiggin, for the wealth of information you've offered. It'll take me awhile to think about it all. Could you possibly clarify your above quote? What "original thought" of mine are you referring to? The quote "Contrapposto was…."? Can you tell us some more about what makes Poussin's painting so important to us? I recall in one of the video documentaries that George Balanchine said that Sergei Diaghilev told him to go to art museums and almost in the same breath said that he owed everything in his development to Sergei Diaghilev. Can anyone explain why art was so important to him and possibly give some specific examples of what works of art or areas of art might have greatly influenced him?

And back to Art /Contrapposto and Dance/ Epaulement. From a very interesting topic here from quite awhile ago -- "What, if anything, is Western about classical ballet?" "All, absolutely all, Indian art-works I have seen from ancient times, use the turn-out. And not only do they use the turn out: they use épaulement, and even academic figures like the attitude, in ways virtually identical to Western classical dance." (katharine kantner) ( Katherine also makes the statement which was then debated, "Western classical dance, to the best of my knowledge, descends quite directly from technical and artistic experiments carried out on the Indian sub-continent something like three thousand years ago.") http://balletalert.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/2837-what-if-anything-is-western-about-classical-ballet/?hl=contrapposto#entry21573 Another idea that I can't historically locate for the moment is the concept in visual art (sculpture) that the work should be beautiful from every angle. I would have to guess that Dance got there first.

A thought about artistic pursuit. A work of art may well go beyond the artist's intent and even the artist her or himself. It becomes part of the 'public domain' where it is given additional or new significance, perhaps even a new identity.

Thanks again Quiggin and Pherank for the very interesting discussion. These are a few quotes that caught my attention. Thanks, Pherank, for the Diaghilev's Ballet Russes designs. I really like MIro's Romeo and Juliet plan. I'll try to look at all the illustrations more carefully.

Thanks everyone for today's very interesting discussion of 'modernism.' I've been away for much of the day but will try to catch up. I'm still focused on * Contrapposto * "Contrapposto was an extremely important sculptural development for it is the first time in Western art [ Greece, around 5th century b.c.] that the human body is used to express a psychological disposition." http://en.wikipedia....ki/Contrapposto It also seems to take a single image, such as a painted human figure, and give it the force and significance of an entire event. Dance, such as ballet, can be a string of such images giving it a much greater range. Sandro Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" remains of great interest to me. A Still image, Venus, dances. http://en.wikipedia....ct_-_edited.jpg (This can also bring Michelangelo to mind and his perhaps abstract awareness and sensitivity that predates and anticipates Pablo Picasso by 400 years. All these artists could make the still image 'move,' maybe even dance). Sandro Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" is classically and architecturally focused on Venus, but it's also musical. It feels like ballet to me. Focus seems to be directed to her eyes, perhaps to remain, which seems very classical, but her hair flowing off to our right seems to be a possible release from this. It keeps the eye moving or dancing. I guess you can make what you want from a piece of art, but for the moment I'm getting a musical dance sensation from this still figure that does not seem unrelated in its lovely refinement to such ballet highlights as the famous Act II duet from Swan Lake.

Does Sandro Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" dance ? Do you get any dance sensation anywhere ? So far, I do somewhat from the figure of Venus, herself, as my eyes move along the lines and implied forms. It becomes sort of a musical voyage. Her left arm is possibly one of the most musically flowing and intriguing parts of the painting. http://en.wikipedia....ct_-_edited.jpg Further thought: Continued viewing does seem to keep the focus of the entire painting on Venus, herself, and on the musicality contained there. It would have been interesting to have seen this spread through the entire painting as I've sensed, for instance, in certain Chinese landscape paintings.

Thanks, dirac. The title of this topic, "The Dancing Painting," probably implies going in the other direction -- how does dance influence visual works of art. My initial reference to dancing lines in Sandro Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" is an example. I would really like to explore this as well. Also things like Sergei Diaghilev's interest in "the mechanistic energies of futurist art" could be fascinating. It might be a back and forth sort of discussion here. I would love to hear anyone's ideas about Anything in regard to the Interplay of the visual arts and dance and related aspects of the performing arts.

Thanks, pherank. I'll try to look at this more carefully. Something similar that comes to mind, although it's not dance, is Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet movie (1968). I'm not a big movie goer, but it was the first movie or major theatrical production that I saw, and remains primary in my mind, that captured (perhaps literally) in costuming and sets the actual art of the time, in this case the Italian renaissance. http://images4.fanpop.com/image/photos/24200000/Romeo-and-Juliet-1968-1968-romeo-and-juliet-by-franco-zeffirelli-24279854-325-307.jpg http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.finearttouch.com/images/Mantegna_mantua_court_.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.finearttouch.com/Ludovico_Gonzaga,_The_Court_of_Mantua.html&h=749&w=933&sz=277&tbnid=pLadX0js5GqUbM:&tbnh=94&tbnw=117&zoom=1&usg=__yHUWaxuqwGmKMQV4cSusMvCe_qc=&docid=cuYCJq3uTViRdM&sa=X&ei=B-D2UfnhDeXmiwLynoBo&ved=0CEoQ9QEwBA&dur=371 In regard to works of art's contribution to dance here's another important one. Contrapposto and Epaulement "Contrapposto was an extremely important sculptural development for it is the first time in Western art that the human body is used to express a psychological disposition." "The balanced, harmonious pose of the Kritios Boy ["first statue that we have that uses contrapposto", around 5th century BC] suggests a calm and relaxed state of mind, an evenness of temperament that is part of the ideal of man represented. From this point onwards Greek sculptors went on to explore how the body could convey the whole range of human experience…." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contrapposto "In ballet, épaulement denotes the dancer's ability to turn, bend and shape the placing of the trunk, shoulders, arms, neck and head to produce the subtlest contrasts and oppositions. In Italian art it is contrapposto, and this is what gives life, veracity and power to a drawn or sculpted position. In classical ballet it turns the academic pose into the beautiful, the fascinating." (Clement Crisp) http://www.ft.com/in...l#axzz2K8RzOIHP

I agree with much of your sentiment about Julia Makhalina, Jayne. I saw her perform a duet at the Mariinsky last year, and although some of the highly physical demands were challenging, I thought that she looked More Beautiful overall than in any of her famous video performances that I've seen. I've been watching Oxana Skorik's Act IV Odette dancing almost continuously since I posted it. Act IV, if we and they can 'finesse' the demise of Rothbart, brings back the artistic spell created by the famous Act II duet, which, for me, is possibly the essence of Swan Lake (and perhaps all of ballet) as an artistic experience. Oxana Skorik gives a subtle but new and highly compelling nuancing to her characterization of both her Odette and Odile. Especially in her Act IV Odette, what Yuri Fateyev, Acting Director of the Mariinsky Ballet, has been quoted here as saying, seems most evident. "In addition, she has depth, she has an internal world." Also with her Act IV Odette (and beautiful Act III Odile duet)she dances with a refined and airy Loveliness that is as Beautiful as I've ever seen.