Buddy

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.

Hi, Natalia. Are Alina Somova and Yana Selina also still out because of maternity leave ?

I tend to do this a lot, ascballerina. ksk04, I think that beautiful, soft arms are alive and well at the Mariinsky. The video of Gabriella Komleva, to which ascballerina just referred, shows this beauty from not that long ago. The Ulyana Lopatkina video shows it at its most beautiful today. The Oxana Skorik video, "La Bayadere", from the thread from 'whence this one came', gives an idea of where one of the possible and remarkable 'flag ships' (Ms. Skorik) of the next generation is headed. (top of the page) http://balletalert.i...s/page__st__135 ksk04, regarding your mention of épaulement, Clement Crisp gives this lovely definition. "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." http://www.ft.com/in...l#axzz2K8RzOIHP This is from an article highly praising Olga Smirnova, part of the new generation. Diana Vishneva has called her the resolution of the historic or generational debate between the Mariinsky and the Bolshoi. What I see Olga Smirnova accomplishing is to combine the expansive beauty, expression and soul of the Bolshoi with the aesthetic delicacy, refinement and ethereality of the Mariinsky. Oxana Skorik (Mariinsky) who I think of in the same breath, for me, shows more of the pure Mariinsky, in her Essence.

Canbelto, I worship the Anna Pavlova video. I've watched it for almost ten years and I consider it possibly the ultimate statement of the art. She is probably another example of someone who transcends generational differences. In this regard I might also call attention to the Rolando Sarabia video. This is a man who probably rivals the great pre-Petipa virtuosos and also, based on live viewing, has a remarkable nobleness, gracefulness and charisma. All this put together once again crosses generations. Another thing that might be interesting across the generations and related to the very welcomed, apparent improvement in physical health considerations is the general atmosphere of a company. A very fine example of the positive effects of a relaxed, friendly environment and probably an essentially modern development might be the Miami City Ballet. We have posters here who are near experts on this company so they might want to comment. From my somewhat distant perception over the years, this company has produced dancers of the highest order in an environment seemingly as friendly and mutually supportive as one could hope for.

Nancy Reynolds (George Balanchine Foundation – Director of Research) "I always had a weak back. I went to Pilates also. These were both Balanchine’s recommendations, which shows that he was concerned with his dancers." http://dancetabs.com/2013/02/nancy-reynolds-george-balanchine-foundation-director-of-research/

Sandik, I wonder how much 'Russian sphere' dancers do this. Rolando Sarabia I guess this can be an example of generational difference and much more. This is somewhat of a promo, it seems, but it does give some more insight.

So great to see Rolando Sarabia again, Cristian. I've lost track of him completely. I thought that he could be one of the all time greats, and I told him so once, but…? I hope he's doing well. Lorna Feijoo -- and I thought that I was watching Viengsay Valdés. I was all set to tell you how I tracked her down in the halls of the Mariinsky to tell how her well I thought that she did. I think that she's precious, but that story has to wait for another time. Nice job, Lorna and Rolando. [added comment] Very interesting thoughts about costumes and everything, canbelto. [corrected the spelling of Rolando Sarabia's last name. Inexcusable ]

Canbelto, getting back to your original Gabriella Komleva and Yuri Soloviev video for a moment, in essence I think that artists like these two may transcend generational differences. In part I mean that they would be just as compelling on a stage today as they were back then. [second sentence added later]

Thanks, Helen. I was thinking of adding Diana Vishneva for comparison, but didn't want to overload the topic. Elisabeth Platel's version I've been watching for years. So let's bring Olga along as well.

Thanks canbelto. What a delight ! Haven't really had a chance to really get into the Cynthia Gregory and Fernando Bujones one yet.

Hi, Drew. One quick correction. It is "writer" who brings up the consideration of videos and I think has made some points that are well worth thinking about. Also I did not want to imply a competition between Oxana Skorik and Olga Smirnova, but rather a complimentary look at these two remarkable artists, whom I consider to be equal but beautifully different.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts on this one. Something that I'm enjoying very much is observing the somewhat parallel development of Oxana Skorik and Olga Smirnova (several years younger, I believe). Since Olga Smirnova , a Vaganova graduate, is now at the Bolshoi, it is less easy to discuss them together in a topic format, but I think that the comparisons are fascinating and will be fascinating to make as both these outstanding (in my opinion anyway) young artists progress to become stars at their respective companies. [Added comment -- You might enjoy watching the internet video clips of Olga Smirnova's beautiful handling of the "Grand Pas Classique". Here's one.]

I guess that folks can really see things differently sometimes, YID. I'm not sure what night you were there, but I think that you would agree that the audience response at the final curtain, especially at the last two of her performances with instant standing ovations, was quite impressive. I would add that at last year's Mariinsky Festival she performed the famous lakeside duet from "Swan Lake" at the final night Gala and for me it was possibly the best performance of the entire Festival. [Added comment. The official schedule for this year's Mariinsky Festival has just been posted. Some performances and some artists' names are still to be announced]. http://www.mariinsky...allet_fest_230/

Thank you for the Oxana Skorik video. From what I've seen going into 4 1/2 minutes (I'll come back to it later, as I'm somewhat busy) I think that she looks absolutely lovely and always has. I had the great pleasure of seeing her perform "Swan Lake" in October, 2012 (Costa Mesa) several times. In Essence I think that she is Extremely Beautiful and in expression she can be mind-bogglingly exciting.

Bart, there really isn't much I can say about this review, not having been there. I will add, though, as I mentioned at the other thread, that I saw Liam Scarlette's "Viscera" at least twice when it debuted in West Palm Beach and liked it very much. I do agree totally with his final statement. "It’s always a delight to revisit the company; these dancers flood the auditorium with warmth, finesse and pride in their work." [Added comment: "Manhandling" of the women would indeed be disagreeable to me as well. Having not seen this work, I can't really comment on it here. I will say that I've seen instances or resemblances of it in Balanchine, Robbins and Tharp and am always very uncomfortable when it happens.]

Birdsall, I tend to agree with your general point of view and it's certainly worth thinking about. I personally liked Liam Scarlett's first work here, “Viscera,” very much and would have loved to have seen this one. I'm also one who enjoyed the debut of Twyla Tharp's "Night Spot" very much. I thought that the dancers showed an excitement and proficiency that was different from their norm and worthy of some of the finest references to Broadway. They burned up the stage, hopefully had a lot of fun doing it and were darn good. On the other hand, I hope that they keep their Balanchine rep as alive and well as is possible because they are great at it.

Glad to read your enthusiastic reviews, bart and Birdsall. Bart, I'm also very glad to hear Patricia Delgado and Leigh-Ann Esty's names favorably mentioned as their sisters (Jeanette Delgado and Sara Esty) tend to get a great deal of the attention. I've always liked Patricia Delgado for her refined manner and Leigh-Ann Esty remains, lovingly, one of the twins that often knocked me over as the speed of light team in such works as Twyla Tharp's "In The Upper Room" and "Night Spot."

The possibly universal acclaim of Liam Scarlett's "Viscera" in London last week (read the reviews everywhere) should be another testimonial to the vision of Edward Villella, the man who commissioned it.

I have to say that I saw Benjamin Millepied's Without at this year's Mariinsky Festival and liked it a lot. As I recall it also got a very warm audience response.

Yes, that would be really nice, Jack.

This new article about the future of the MCB seems very encouraging. I can only wish the MCB all the best of successes. I personally have made detour stops on almost all my latest returns to Europe from California primarily to see the company. With all the back and forth I still have a great fondness for Edward. I've chatted with him, I've attended many of his pre-performance talks and I tend to believe Bart who at his level headed best at fairness to all sides still feels that MCB is what it is because of Edward. I saw a bunch of the now famous Paris performances and the event that I probably enjoyed the most was one of the open rehearsals. It was attended in the main theater by a large audience. I think that Edward won many hearts with his artistic sincerity and his expression of love for his dancers and his art. He seemed like a loving father and the dancers seemed to be having the time of their lives ! There has been some citing of possible 'personality variables' in Edward. There are indeed at least two sides to any debate, it seems. Still I think that Edward should never be forgotten and that he should always remain a proud and integral part of the company in spirit, memory and hopefully even in future participation. I remember at the beginning of the turnover someone proposed a statue of Edward. This would seem like a fine gesture. Finally not ever be forgotten are the amazing dancers who have 'rolled with the punches' over the years. They have remained among the very best in the world. Again, I hope that the company enjoys a wonderful future, but never forgets the man who probably made it all possible.

The 2008 video now has over * 43 Million! * 'look-ins' !

Great News ! Félicitations !

I've watch the entire program over four times now. I could probably write a book full of comments. One thing that just becomes more noticeable each time that I see the MCB is how human they are and spontaneous they seem, how expansively warm and 'lovable' they are. And yet they are so totally right on as professionals and accomplished artists. An amazing and wonderful combination. One mention about "Square Dance" and its lead male dancer, Renan Cerdeiro . I like very much his solo. I believe that George Balanchine added this in his revision and for me it shows an interesting maturity in his vision. There is some of the technical brilliance that permeates the entire "Square Dance," in this case two tricky variety of spins, but what is possibly more compelling is the reliance on pure expression. I think a lot can be made of this. It could point out another powerful direction for dance into the future. Once again, in my mind, George Balanchine was reaching beyond. I also saw the company in Paris last summer, many months after this was filmed. Renan Cerdeiro had by then developed even more depth and sensitivity -- very, very noticeable. On more thought, since Edward Villella is about to retire. I hope that he at least plans to continue contributing to the company and/or the artistic world in some major fashion. In Paris, at his customary question and answer session, he responded to a question about how he selects his dancers. He replied with the rather unexpected and candidly heart touching answer that his first criteria is how Nice the dancers are, because it is essential that everyone should get along with each other as well as possible. It certainly shows in the performances and what a fine testimonial it is to the fine work that he and the company have accomplished.