Buddy

Hi chiapuris, I've been cruising the internet and you are not the only one who enjoyed "The Golden Age".

leonid, I am in the process of rereading your comments about Diana Vishneva. I am extremely impressed with the detail of your analysis as well as the heart-felt sentiment. To go off topic for a minute would you care to discuss Ulyana Lopatkina, who is often considered the amazing contrast to Diana Vishneva or visa-versa. You might consider doing it here as a comparison or perhaps at the Ulyana Lopatkina topic a few doors away.

http://ballettalk.invisionzone.com/index.p...pic=20176&st=15

Also I noticed that you have omitted Galina Ulanova and others from your list. Is this because you never viewed them in person? I was a little confused by your statement that your opinion of Galina Ulanova changed after observing the Swan Lake pdd with Sergeyev on the video. Could you maybe clarify this. I only mention this here because this seems like a good place to catch your attention today. You might want to discuss it back where you originally mentioned it...

http://ballettalk.invisionzone.com/index.p...pic=22719&st=15

leonid, thank you very much again for your extremely well thought-out and beautifully written comments. Omshanti, you also have put a great deal of thought into your comments and they are very appreciated. Both of you have given me, for one, a great deal to think about and I am very grateful.

leonid, I do agree with you very much about the huge importance of the audience. I do think that commentators (critics?) and posters can help define what it is that audiences appreciate and this can add interest and enjoyment to the performances.

In regard to Diana I have a few more thoughts as usual--because there always seems to be something new about her to think about. This for me is one her very fascinating characteristics.

Her ability to amaze with her physical capabilities overwhelmed me from the start. Her ability to put herself into the character seems to keep improving. Her ability to handle 'subtleties'--for example, possibly one of the most ethereal sequences in ballet--the Act II of Giselle--seems to keep improving.

Her range of performance skills seems huge. Everytime that I watch her Giselle video performance (with Vladimir Malakhov doing an excellent dramatic portrayal) I tend to find some new aspect that is more than commendable. About a week ago I commented on how she resembled a beautiful reverberating wave. Now I watch the exact same sequence and it is the intensity of the character that is so impressive--a completely different aspect.

She always seems on the move. Performing so many different elements so well. It is sort of an adventure to watch her with almost complete surety that she will succeed--and succeed with beauty.

leonid, I was hoping that you would make a posting here. Omshanti, canbelto, chiapuris, papeetepatrick and everyone else, it is good to hear your opinions. That is what makes this all so interesting--all the different points of view. Just from myself, thank you all.

leonid, I really enjoy following your wealth of viewing background. In the topic-- "Dancers who may have been lacking in technique, but who still commanded the stage and captured the eye."--you said...

"It is through seeing dancers like Fonteyn, Chauvire, Kolpakova, Zubkovskaya, Osipenko, Sizova, Komleva, Plisetskaya, Struchkova, Maximova, Asyluratova, Lander, Samsova, Beriosova, Verdy, Schanne, Ananiashvili, Nadezhda Pavlova, Bessmertnova, Chenchikova, Evdokimova, Haydee, Seymour, Vishneva, that have set standards which I undoubtedly carry with me to performances and establish my expectation in all other dancers I see."

http://ballettalk.invisionzone.com/index.p...pic=22719&st=30

Since the only one of the currently active ballerinas that you have included for the moment in this illustrious list is Diana Vishneva, may I ask you what you like in particular about her.

She seems so far to have almost unanimously won over 'The Major Critics'.

In regard to Diana Vishneva, Marc ( Haegeman), if you are reading this, I definitely consider you one of the most highly regarded of 'Dance Commentators' (Critics?) and I know that you do not necessarily share the views of some of the others. I am just trying to say that your opinions are respected very highly.

(Italic's word and capital letters by me.)

That's why Gottlieb makes another living as an editor

Why doesn't my computer make those cute little smiling faces like your's does?----Cheers!

A question: is there any chance that Vishneva may develop into one of those ballet dancers who -- like Pavlova, Nureyev, and Barishnikov -- create so much excitement that they expand the culture's interest in, and audience for, serious ballet? That would indeed be something worth getting excited about.

bart, another response to your question. Robert Gottlieb in discussing Diana Vishneva's ABT performance of "Romeo and Juliet"----Possibly 'The Quote'(!) Of The Last Four Hundred Years!!----"When Someone Dances At This Level, You're Simply Grateful To Be In The Presence Of Such Mastery--To [Heck] With Juliet!" (Smile) (Italic's word and capital letters by me.)

http://www.newyorkobserver.com/20060724/20...ttliebdance.asp

I could be wrong, but I believe that she is often refered to as "Divine Diana" in Russia. [Added Later---The only Russian word that I can find for "divine" does not start with a "D". Maybe it's English speaking Russians who do this?? I'll try and check it out.]

Yes, I could be absolutely wrong! I'll keep looking.

http://www.pointemagazine.com/backissues/may04/diana.shtml

Buddy,

If you want to blow your mind, try to catch a performance of the Kirov's Jewels with Diana in Rubies, and Uliana in Diamonds. You can certainly sit through Emeralds for that.

--Andre

Andre----Have Done!----D'Accord! (Totally Agree!). Cheers!

But where do you get your DVD's, especially Diana's?

jps, the Diana Gislle video as far as I know can only be bought by someone in Japan. A friend from Japan telephoned her neice in Japan, who bought it there and sent it to us. There is a company on the internet using only Japanese that has it, but as far as I can tell will not sent it outside Japan. Diana Vishneva on her site has said several times that the video can only be obtained in Japan. If I find out otherwise I will post it. I generally get my other videos from Amazon.

I do follow the ballet internet from Russia somewhat (relying mostly on loose computer translations.) It is usually quite favorable to Diana. Her Swan Lake devides opinion the most at the moment. I have been to the last two Mariinsky winter festivals and audience response to Diana is always very enthusiastic, but generally these are enthusiastic audiences probably made up of a lot of folks from outside Russia. The only performers that I remember the Mariinsky adding extra chairs for are Ulyana Lopatkina (both times) and Nikolai Tsiskaridze. There was one other performance that I can't recall. It might have been this year's final Gala, where she did appear along with many others. This year it must be remembered that she was unable to perform her evening (Ondine) because she was ill.

Still when push comes to shove I think the public in Russian is firmly with her. When it was rumored that she might join the Bolshoi, there were internet appeals for her to stay in St. Petersburg. The folks in Moscow seemed just as enthusiastic that she was performing there. I could be wrong, but I believe that she is often refered to as "Divine Diana" in Russia. [Added Later---The only Russian word that I can find for "divine" does not start with a "D". Maybe it's English speaking Russians who do this?? I'll try and check it out.] There seems little doubt in my mind that she is extremely popular in Russia.

[Added a few minutes later. As far as worldwide poularity is concerned, Diana had a small picture of herself on the cover of the New York Times a year ago when she performed with the ABT.]

A question: is there any chance that Vishneva may develop into one of those ballet dancers who -- like Pavlova, Nureyev, and Barishnikov -- create so much excitement that they expand the culture's interest in, and audience for, serious ballet? That would indeed be something worth getting excited about.

bart, very good question. We'll see. She seems so far to have almost unanimously won over 'The Major Critics'. As a member of the public I have planned cross country trips to coincide with her performances. I would also do the same to see Ulyana Lopatkina. Other possibilities would be a Kirov series, maybe the Bolshoi, maybe Alina Cojocaru and maybe Daria Pavlenko. There are not any other peformers of any kind that I have done or would do this for.

I wrote my current post before I discovered this Topic. Could I please enter it and hopefully add some new thoughts.

I had read for several years how wonderful she is. I saw her first at her own Gala at the St. Petersburg Winter Festival 2005. I thought she displayed some brilliant elements. I saw her twice again as the Lilac Fairy about a half year later in the US. I liked her even more, but I couldn't really say why. There was hardly any dancing for her to do. She just seemed to fit the role. A subtle command of something. Again the elements were wonderful, but as I said in an old discussion..."I am still waiting for an entire package. I dream of that."

This year at the St. Petersburg Winter Festival. "I'm Speechless", entered my vocabulary. She performed her Swan Lake.

It Might Have Been Somewhere Beyond Perfect. All I'd care to say now is that in my mind I would already place her in the pantheon with Galina Ulanova and Maya Plisetskaya. I can't really describe right now what makes Galina Ulanova and Maya Plisetskaya so great for me, but I would say that what makes Uliana Lopatkina great and distinct from these two Wonders is...****Refinement****

If the video of her Swan Lake, which may be released sometime this year, shows her the same as I saw her, I think that my extremely high esteem for her will be confirmed. Possibly the reason so many of the 'Not-Diana Vishneva' current 'Russian-And-Alina-Cojocaru' ballerinas are not discussed here more at the moment is that they are not seen in the US very often. Hopefully the temporary closing of the Mariinsky and Bolshoi Theaters will change this. Hopefully Uliana and Diana will be seen in the US this Autumn doing Swan Lake, etc.

Would anyone like to add some new thoughts about Uliana Lopatkina. Maybe someone would like to start or revive topics about some of the other 'Russian-And-Alina Cojocaru' current ballerinas.

For a long time I had been feeling that I had come to ballet too late—too late to see Gelsey Kirkland, Suzanne Farrell, Margot Fonteyn, Anna Pavlova. But that night in Berkeley I felt I had finally seen one of those once-in-a-generation dancers.

jps, I have also felt the same as you once again. I pretty much felt that the 'Greats' ended in the 50s with Galina Ulanova and Maya Plisetskaya with Natalia Makarova and Altnai Asylmuratova doing admirably in the meantime. I love the way I can finally throw these mega-syllable names around without rushing for my DVD covers. I once told a friend that the reason they have such long names must be because they are so incredibly talented. Would you agree? jps and nysusan, may I please go off topic for a moment and "With The Greatest Of Pleasure Announce The Arrival Of"...Uliana Lopatkina and Alina Cojocaru...along with Svetlana Zakharova and Daria Pavlenko...along with...Zhana Ayupova, Svetlana Lunkina, Maria Alexandrova, Veronika Part, Natalia Osipova...and off into the horizon.

My mind is actually beginning to be allowed (in all honesty) to think Galina Ulanova and Maya Plisetskaya when I view some of the current wonders. I don't think that I am alone. Anna Pavlova--well maybe not this time. All I am trying to say is that I think that 'Diana' is absolutely wonderful and should be discussed to the limit until she comes to town again---but 'Happily, Happily, Happily' look who else we have as well! I hope one day to see equally long topics on at least several of these other artists.

I close again with the salutation suggested by our wonderful bard, drb..."Long Live The Daughters Of St. Petersburg!" and all the other historic cities from whence they come and all the wonderful folks here, who keep them alive in our mind. Thank you all!

But on the second night, when Diana appeared, it's as if an electrical current went through the house. The entire company's dancing became more elegant, stronger, more beautiful, as if to reflect hers.

jps, I felt the exact same way with the Cinderella performances. The two nights that she performed everyone seemed to perform better and I saw all the performances.

I have just found out today, July 13, is Diana's Birthday. I Wish Her All The Best!

... Still her claim to immortality as I have mentioned before, for me, is her performance in Ratmansky's Cinderella

This is a very interesting thread, but then Vishneva is a very interesting dancer, to say the least! Buddy, I wonder if you could elaborate a little on why you felt hat Cinderella is Vishneva's best role. I haven’t seen the Ratmansy version but having seen the Ashton and the Kudela I'm having trouble picturing this role being anyone's best

nysusan, thank you for your very interesting comments.In regard to your question above, I was thinking after I posted it that someone might wonder "Why? Being relatively new to ballet I don't really know technical descriptive terms that might make the picture much clearer in your mind, so I will try and use enthusiasm instead.

What immediately comes to mind were the 'Overhead Lifts'. Call it "athleticism", "pyrotechnics", etc., but just for starters. It was as if Igor Kolb (seemingly very good for this sort of thing) was throwing her all over the place and she was just breezing through it!

No Physical Challenge Seemed Too Great! The physical control and the way she would throw herself into each challenge was amazing and 'Flawlessly Executed' to my eyes. But lets remember that this is ballet and not a gymnastic event. I Can't Possibly Just Call It Great Athleticism And Leave It At That.

The balletic 'Grace' with which she accomplished all this was truly amazing to me. I was thinking last night as I was watching her "Giselle" video (a nightly ritual these days), that she seems to have an 'Ethereal Safety Net' when she 'Soars Into Space'. It's Beautiful What She Does----Very, Very Beautiful!!!! I might describe this aspect of her Ratmansky's Cinderella as... Pyrotechnics As Might Be Performed By An ** Angel ** ' 'Stage Presence'----My eyes hardly ever left her, even when she was sitting in the furthest corner of the stage during someone else's performance. I saw two other fine ballerinas perform the same ballet and they were very good, but it wasn't the same. I saw her perform it twice----equally good both times. Total Control.

I saw her perform the Pas De Deux a year-and-a-half later and it was just as good. For me. "It Is Just One Of Those Super Special Things." I Never Expected To Ever See Anything Like It And I Don't Expect To See Anything Like It Again----Except By Her.

Have any productions of any ballets been performed as the mirror image.

Great idea, DefJef!

I did see a performance once, two nights in a row. where the lead dancer did a huge show stopping jump in one direction and the next night did it equally well in the other direction. The rest of the ballet stayed the same both nights.

canbelto, I did see the same performance that you did. I also have the video from Japan, which can only be obtained by someone in Japan. This is a real shame. I actually e-mailed Diana Vishneva at her site asking her to try and get the video released worldwide.

In any case I have watched this video a lot, especially from the Act II Grand Pas De Deux on to the end. It is even a sort of lulliby for me at bedtime. The problem there is that it keeps me awake at early hours thinking about it. Also as an excellent contrast and perhaps my favorite video until the arrival of this one (now I have two 'perhaps favorites') is the Makarova-Baryshnikov "Giselle". (This VCR is 'out of print'(?) ), but can be purchased on the internet for a lot of money. I paid about $60 a few years ago. Not bad at the time.

"In any case I have watched this video a lot" (Diana V version)...and I will have to study your description of what you saw word for word, but...

first viewing of what you wrote seems Absolutely "Right On". Thanks.

Sorry, Buddy.

When a dancer turns, the head remains front, the eyes focused on a specific point, until the rest of the body is halfway around. Then the head snaps front, ahead of body, eyes returning to that point, until the dancer is halfway through the next rotation. This is true in most turning steps (pique, chaine, pirouette, emboite), unless the body is in arabesque or attitude position.

By contrast, don't skaters keep their chins directly over their sternums until they've stopped turning?

I should have caught that before. You are absolutely right in the direction of your question. Skaters do 'not' as far as I've noticed focus on one point when spinning. I've wondered why? I'll ask. I will have to look up the word sternum to answer the rest of your question.

Of possible interest is that a skater like Irina Sluitskaya (spelling?) does an amazing double spin with one foot held over head, then switching to do the same on the other foot. Her transition from one foot to the other for the second spin is done with minimal entry gliding. I have to say that I used to watch all the figure skating that I could. Now I skate, but my real viewing passion is what I call "Lyrical Dance" (essentially ballet at the moment). Thus I can't give you details about the 'pros' like I used to be able to.

My instructor. . . always asks me . . . why dancers spin to the right (Clock-Wise).

I can't explain why most dancers find right-turning easier. I always assumed that skaters turned to the left because when they rotate their jumps to the left, they land on their right (usually stronger) leg. I'm not sure the coordination is the same for skaters and dancers. For example, skaters don't spot, do they?

carbro, I'm not sure exactly what "spot" means in dancing. In figure skating the skaters do skate in a circular direction onto a spot from which they begin the actual spin, hopefully not moving from that spot. This is done on the front tip of the blade. Sonya Hennie (spelling (?) ) did spins using the length of her blade, which one famous commentator (I forget who) thought was quite an accomplishment.

I cannot recall ever seeing a figure skater starting a spin from a stand-still position. (Wrong! I do it myself, but only in practice. Also my instructor wants me to 'swing' my arms into the revolution.)

This might be getting a little closer to why figure skaters go left and dancers go right.

Figure skaters may have to put a lot more turning energy into moves like spins and jumps because of multi-revolution, triple-quad demands, these days. This might explain why Angel Carrella with his mega-spins likes the left. Thus other parts of the body come into play leading back to the throwing of a ball example that I mentioned. Maybe? Maybe? I still would like to think a lot more about this.

It seems like you, Andre and I are doing the mid-night shift tonight. I wish us all a good night's sleep.

Hi Andre,

We meet again from earlier Diana "discussion" days. Good to have you back! Cheers!

I also saw Diana Vishneva's "Giselle" with Vladimir Malakhov. I was "Mind Boggled" as usual. ("Mind Boggled" means I liked it.) Still her claim to immortality as I have mentioned before, for me, is her performance in Ratmansky's Cinderella. I've seen this performance 2 1/10 times. (The 1/10 was the pas de deux performed at the Mariinsky Winter Festival Gala this year. All performances were equally spectacular in my opinion. Below is my lifting of my previous posting at the ABT Giselle topic.

In the New Yorker Joan Acocella discusses Diana Vishneva's "Giselle". Ms. Acocella has some rather different ideas about the nature of the character than I do, but I definitely share her sentiments about Diana Vishneva's abilities. Two quotes below.

"Diana Vishneva, a principal dancer at the Kirov Ballet and at American Ballet Theatre, once told Francis Mason, of Ballet Review, that in any ballet she always tried to find “a particular thing that allows me to know what I am doing with the role, not just to do it beautifully.” She needed, she said, to find her own “secret.”

"Her versatility is huge. So is her scale. She has the hundred-and-eighty-degree extension that ballerinas, worldwide, now cultivate, but she uses it for dance purposes—to carve the air, broaden the arc—rather than for the merely visual purpose, so strange and fundamentally vulgar, of raising the foot to the ear. Also, she has the celebrated Kirov back. When she turns around, you can see all the movement emanating from the lumbar spine. But you don’t have to see it. Always, you can feel that generator working, and this gives the movement force and unity, which read as spiritual qualities—the body as soul."

http://www.newyorker.com/printables/critic...710crda_dancing

In a frenzy of excitement I have to rush to include this here without even finishing an extremely interesting article.

The article is by John Percival describing the Bolshoi's first appearance in London.

http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/theatre...icle1168606.ece

He couldn't describe better my feeling about "Ulanova Magic", based only on seeing a few videos and looking through a picture book about her.

"On opening night we were to see the famed Galina Ulanova for the first time, dancing Juliet. She was already nearly 47, and off stage looked rather dowdy, but in this role (and again as Giselle during the season) she looked truly a young teenager.

"If you think I'm exaggerating, consider Antoinette Sibley's description of the Royal Ballet attending the Bolshoi's stage rehearsal after their own performance in south London. They arrived while Raissa Struchkova was doing the balcony duet:

"and then at the end this little old lady in the stalls got up, short greyish hair and wrapped in layers of wool - we all thought she was the ballet mistress. She went up on the balcony and said something to Yuri Faier, the amazing blind conductor. And then she took off her woollies and in front of our very eyes, no makeup, no costume, no help from theatrical aids whatsoever,

" She Became 14 Years Old. I've Never Seen Any Magic Like That In My Entire Life."

(I added the capital letters above.)

If you want to see what she really looked like when she was young, see her performance of the White Swan Pas De Deux on The Glory of The Kirov video. It and she are quite amazing.

An interesting aside. The Uliana picture book "Days With Ulanova"(??) was actually done by my first cousin, Albert Eugine Kahn. I can remember my aunt showing it to me when I was about 14. I couldn't have been less interested. Until recently I thought it was about Anna Pavlova. (I'm only a recent ballet "Lover".) I showed the book last year to my figure skating instructor from the Soviet Union, who had seen Ulanova often on television, etc. When she zeroed in on a picture of Ulanova's husband, her reaction was like, "Who Could This Possibly Be?" I sensed her feeling about pictures of the off stage Ulanova, herself, must have been exactly the same.

Most people turn better to the right (I believe he's a right turner, too, isn't he?), and it's good to be reminded that even Angel is human. I don't think it's too uncommon for dancers to select the side they turn to, especially for solos. Choreographers and stagers often make changes to accommodate dancers' strengths, too. Last month, it was interesting to see on which side of the stage each Bluebird started his solo for the Royal Ballet performances of Sleeping Beauty.

--Andre

Andre, just to have some fun here, let's remember that folks in the UK and some other countries drive on the left side of the road. Racing events, if I'm not mistaken go left, counter-clockwise.

Andre, carbro, thanks for the additional thoughts. I'd like to spend some time mulling this over. This might be good input for a New Topic.