Buddy

Bingham, I would have agreed with this. I saw him perform several times with the Miami City Ballet and my feeling was that he could be one of the greatest male dancers ever ! He had Charisma, nobility, adaptability and a fineness of dance that I felt made him Extra Special. After he left MCB I thought that ABT would be a perfect place for him. A home company like this might have been a place to focus and be focused on, eventually to be acknowledged as one of the all-time greats. If as Cristian is now suggesting, he might actually like "the circuit environment" then fine. If he's happy there then I'm happy for him and he and us may still have the opportunity to enjoy greatness as well. As Tamara Rojo expressed in one of her many interviews after taking over ENB, she went into the job thinking that it was all about dance and quickly concluded that it was much more about the wellbeing of the humans who were doing the dancing. Footnote (added later) : This is Tamara Rojo's actual quote: "I always thought I would see that the art comes first and therefore these decisions have to be made. Then you meet the person and the art cannot come first, because a person is much more important." http://www.guardian....o-ballet-dancer

Agreed, Birdsall. I think that the man is remarkably talented !

Old news is sometimes really good news. Just rented this 2003 'classic' from Amazon instant internet play and it's a gem ! Paticularly touched by Alexandra Ansanelli.

From Amazon. Go through the procedure enabling you to buy the dvd and it will offer you the option of renting it for immediate viewing on the internet for three days at $4 total. It's now a little different for some reason. When you get to the page where you can purchase the video look at the horizontal list of choices near top of page starting with "Movies & TV". Go right and click on "Amazon Instant Videos", then enter "Giselle Bolshoi" in "Search" box at top of page and this should give you the option to rent. Only a few videos seem rentable.

From Amazon. Go through the procedure enabling you to buy the dvd and it will offer you the option of renting it for immediate viewing on the internet for three days at $4 total.

Great for residents too, Birdsall. I might yet have to move to St. Petersburg because of this possibility.

Interesting picture, Helene. Thank you. More intangible qualities, such as the effects of glass, reflections in the glass, lighting, etc., can have a great influence on the successful appearance of a modern building. [spelling correction]

Birdsall, I certainly can understand how you might feel about the "ultra serious" expression that she maintains through much of the video that I've been watching anyway, from her Act II entrance to the ending. For me, I've tried to watch every second of what her face is doing and the slightest nuance can take on the greatest meaning. Again I have to remember that this is a video and not the live performance. She has been performing "Giselle" for about ten years that I know of, and why she chose this particular interpretation for a performance that she might assume will be an historic document of her career is extremely interesting. I think that this performance is all about subtleties and nuances and you really have to hang in there with every aspect of what she is doing. It's a gorgeous poetic effort overall, in my opinion, with a great deal of warmth and sensitivity to be found with a very careful viewing. At the curtain call she eventually loosens up somewhat. At her curtains calls that I've seen she shows herself to be extremely warm and grateful for the enthusiastic receptions that she's always given. It's all part of a bigger picture, perhaps. [spelling and typo correction made later]

I just rented the dvd of "Giselle" with Svetlana Lunkina and Dmitry Gudanov and have only watched from the entry of Giselle in the second Act several times. What a *Gorgeous* performance Svetlana Lunkina gives ! A very fine performance from Dmitry Gudanov as well. I'll probably be buying this dvd as soon as possible.

"Simone Messmer" -- I don't get to see ABT nearly as much as I would like so any good news about this Remarkable young artist is greatly appreciated. Added comment: As for *Veronika(!)* -- Sail on Sailor ! -- Full Speed Ahead !

This apparently was the building that the new Mariinsky II theatre replaced. The Culture Palace of the First Five Year Plan -- a Soviet creation from 1930. You can see a picture of it here with a brief history. http://cultureru.com...mbrists-street/ There is also a two story facade from an old, more classic building attached to the canal front of the new theatre. I'll try to track that down and add it to this post as a footnote. In regard to restoring the old theatre, I believe that a partial restoration was done awhile ago. The new restoration may be a good idea for safety and practical reasons, but this is only a guess. In my years of attending the Festival I've never seen any indications of structural problems, but I've never been in the apparently massive part of the building behind the stage. I would also certainly hope that nothing is changed in the basic nature and appearance of the building and probably won't be. Of the restored historic buildings that I've seen in and around St. Petersburg, the artistic quality and authentic appearance of the restorations have been of the highest order. Footnote: The old building front attached to the canal front of the new theatre is apparently a fragment from the Litovsky Market. http://smirnoff-98.livejournal.com/pics/catalog/791/180194 "The Palace of Culture named for the First Five Year Plan, a decent piece of constructivist architecture subsequently remodeled in the Stalin classical style, was demolished along with the last surviving remnants of Giacomo Quarenghi's [famous classical St. Petersburg architect] Litovsky Market from the 1780s, to make way for the still-unbuilt second stage of the Mariinsky Theater." http://www.rferl.org/content/The_Death_Of_St_Petersburg/1797348.html

Very glad to hear this about Keenan. From recent video clip viewings I've seen some beautiful airy qualities that I've not noticed before. In addition to her other fine potential these might make her much more of a recognizable Mariinsky artist than I previously believed.

Thanks for your review and your subsequent comments, Bart. A few more quick thoughts about Maria Shirinkina. I think that some posters here can remember first seeing her in NYC about six years ago. Like myself we all were taken by her lovely manner. For me, she had a beautiful Evgenia Obraztsova resemblance and such a sincere desire to do the best that she possibly could. She was lovable. In the last two years or so she has become, in my mind, a mature, perfected artist. I have to stretch my memory for a moment. Several years ago I saw the Mariinsky perform In The Night, probably in London, and Evgenia Obraztsova tore into a high energy and extremely effective interpretation. Maybe a year later, I saw Maria Shirinkina perform the same part. She shared the stage with some of the Mariinsky superstars and her performance was very 'low key' in their presence and in my recollections of Evgenia Obraztsova. Yet the *gentle loveliness* of it remains strongly in my memory. By the way, she is also quite capable of high energy attack when it's appropriate. This year at the Mariinsky Festival she performed in two George Balanchine works, Apollo and A Midsummer Night's Dream (the wonderful Act II Divertissement duet) and she was absolutely Beautiful. She was also, without a doubt, a totally mature artist capable of taking on most anything. Thus her apparent success with Raymonda comes as no surprise. I've been to nine Mariinsky Festivals in a row and I've had the great pleasure of being able to attend the last eight gala receptions. At the last two I've tried to express what I've just written to Maria Shirinkina in my very limited russian. I think that I partially succeeded this year. I know that off stage discussions of the artists are not encouraged here, but in light of some of the current behind the scenes news I would at least like to say that I've had very brief discussions with many of the artists (primarily Mariinsky, but also Bolshoi) and they've invariably shown the artists to be some of the most humble and loveliest individuals that I've ever had the pleasure to speak with.

Bart, I've been doing a bit of traveling myself and I'm just beginning to catch up. Anastasia Kolegova -- I saw her twice in October performing Swan Lake and I have to agree that she 'is' terrific ! Maria Shirinkina -- She continues to surprise me each performance with her artistic growth. I'm very glad that you enjoyed her as much as you did. She has a wonderful gracefulness that is so her own and so beautiful. She is adaptable and she puts her own lovely stamp on everything that she does. I greatly look forward to seeing as much of her as possible.

Tonight Olga Esina Was An Absolute Gem In "Swan Lake" ! The quiet, yet subtle, airy fineness of her dancing along with often sublime, outreaching highlighting made her performance perhaps the most *Beautiful* that I've seen at this year's Festival.

And tonight Ekaterina Kondaurova was the Tall Girl ! She Is Not To Be Believed This Year ! Welcome To The Ekaterina Kondaurova International Dance Festival !

Yes, she was.

She was Incredible ! I really wish that I could tell you more about this amazing Festival season, but I just don't have the time at present.

Svetlana Zakhavora "Giselle" **** Her Performance Tonight Was Possibly The Best Performance That I've Ever Seen ****

Anybody else think that the Billy Elliot Coal Miners Dance last night was Absolutely Cool ?!

She probably will. Have a great trip.

Having seen Keenan Kampa perform live with the Mariinsky and having seen subsequent video clips I have a somewhat positive point of view. She may not be what one expects from a Mariinsky dancer at this point in time, but she does have definite qualities. She is simply different from your average Mariinsky dancer in the same way perhaps that a typical Balanchine dancer, not known for elegant port de bras (arm carriage), etc., would be different. I see Xander Parish in somewhat the same light. I don't know if he will ever be a typical Mariinsky dancer, but in the last two years he has shown an elegance and nobility of style that, in my mind, is equal to any of the male Mariinsky dancers. Keenan Kampa can display an outstanding excitement of character among the other Mariinsky artists. I've seen her do it. She also has a technical prowess that can be impressive. She is perhaps a "Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court." She is different and may remain so, but she can offer a contrast of qualities that could blend in beautifully. This is just my point of view and I'm not insistent on it because I haven't seen enough of her, but some well respected folks at the Mariinsky have, and they chose her to join the company and to do what she is now doing. Time will tell. I, for one, am wishing her as much success as possible. [Added later. In the video, Amour is Elena Chmil.]

This is a brief video showing the architects' intent. This is the original prize winning 'golden shell' proposal by another architect that was replaced by the current design. http://www.arcspace....e-mariinsky-ii/ The concept of the 'golden shell' design has fascinated me since I first saw it and I could discuss it for hours. I thought that it could have been be a wonderful artistic statement but I can sympathize with both sides of the debate about it regarding compatibility and practicality. It was selected by such jury members as "Mikhail Piotrovsky, director of the State Hermitage Museum, who rivals Mr. Gergiev as St. Petersburg’s leading cultural luminary." (NY Times article above) It was replaced by the current design, apparently for practical reasons. The inside of the new theater should be very attractive, comfortable and well functioning based on what I've read about the architectural firm from Canada. Whatever my personal feelings, I've been watching the new theater go up so long that is has become sort of an old friend. [Added comment: I want to thank Catherine Pawlick, who first posted elsewhere the link to the photos shown at the top of this page.]

Hi, Jayne. Although the plot line doesn't necessarily apply to dance, the inclusion of choreography, for me, does have a lot of significance. Not only are the ladies fine actresses, but they do quite commendably as dancers. The choreography is often very interesting. It can be commentary on the art form and it can be highly inventive. For instance, last Monday's show began with a very respectable ballet performance, containing a very clever, ongoing verbal dialogue between several of the lead dancers. I don't think that I've ever seen this before.

This season is just going into it's forth performance. It's the first time that I've watched it. I think that it's charming so far and has some interesting takes on dancing. For me, like "Glee", you have to look into every corner for one liner visuals as well as verbal ones. Like "Glee" I also have to watch it at least twice to understand what they're saying, although my daughter has been hinting for at least 30 years that I should go to an ear doctor.