aurora

Triple bills should be ideal for touring but somehow I don't see ABT touring 'the regions' and 'middle America' with an all-Shostakovich 3ple bill and filling seats, like it does in NYC...maybe SanFco or on an overseas tour. Would it play in Peoria? Hence, I'd be surprised not to see at least a 'short weekend run' of the Ratmansky-Shostakovich 3ple Bill at the MET in 2014. It was paid for & must be 'used' more than once (besides the pre-agreed runs in San Fco and Amsterdam). It may eventually pop-up in mussell's fabulous xtal ball for MET-2014.

But San Francisco Ballet co-produced it and will be performing it in SF in April 2014, so they won't want the competition. ABT definitely doesn't play cities like Peoria, but Chicago is a pretty sophisticated dance city now with visits from major companies. Isn't one big problem with the Trilogy its reliance on so many principal dancers? So few of the "guest artist" principals join that tour, it might be difficult to cast. I'm betting they'll show it at Met 2014 to get a little more mileage.

I agree that it has star turns for a lot of dancers, but remember, the second cast (which while not overall up to the quality of the first, was very good in my view) was populated by a very high number of soloists, and at least a few principals who do tour. There would have to be casting tweaks, but it does seem feasible to do without the guest principals. I hope they do (and that they do it at the Met again next year, I'd love to see it again!)

This is the second time I've seen Vishneva and Gomes dance R&J. Am I the only one who saw that something was wrong with Marcelo? His dancing was elegant as always, but his technique didn't wow me the way it has in the past. I got the impression he might be injured.

I got that impression too. During the balcony scene he danced very small and cautiously in his own solos. His partnering and acting were excellent, but I felt that his technique was significantly diminished compared to his prior performances of Romeo.

Oh no...I wish he should have not dance Ali in Le Corsaire.

I might be reading too much into those YouTubes of the curtain calls, but he did not seem as beaming and joyful as he usually does. We know he has had injuries in the past (he talks about them in some interviews). He has a lot of work ahead in the rest of this season -- three Swans (one with a new partner, Hee Seo, and one as purple Rothbart), two Sylvias, one Sleeping Beauty. Perhaps he's thinking ahead and trying not to exacerbate whatever the issue is now so he doesn't have to cancel.

I was there last night.

I think people are reading too much into it. He wasn't explosive, but its romeo, it isn't about WOW factor. Everything was danced beautifully, cleanly and elegantly with grace, emotion and confidence. I didn't see any evidence of greatly diminished technique.

And it is pretty rare for people to seem joyful after R&J--he seemed emotionally spent and adorably concerned with his partner.

Another factor is will these Ratmansky ballets have a life? Balanchine had a school and company as a laboratory. I'm not saying that Ratmansky is another Balanchine (he isn't) but will his works really live on? Will we be seeing his Firebird again any time soon? Will this trilogy have a life in ABT? It is doubtful. ABT is about the full length story ballets with guest artists and some rep thrown in here and there. The works he did at NYCB have a chance of staying in the rep more than the one's he's done at ABT.

While it was very limited run, I believe the very full house (especially considering this is a triple bill, which don't normally sell well at the Met) suggests that yes, it will, or should, have a life at ABT.

Here are some other examples of that (or variations on that) variation which Osipova did:

http://youtu.be/AdVfEXY-vD0

As you can see that last passage actually has several variants. I think Osipova does more turns there but given the variety of options on offer I don't see that as a problem.

NB: I just chose various versions, I don't mean to start a discussion on any of these dancers here; it was just to show people at a variety of companies doing the "alternate" variation.

From wikipedia:

"Jumping the shark is an idiom created by Jon Hein that was used to describe the moment in the evolution of a television show when it begins a decline in quality that is beyond recovery, which is usually a particular scene, episode, or aspect of a show in which the writers use some type of "gimmick" in a desperate attempt to keep viewers' interest.

In its initial usage, it referred to the point in a television program's history when the program had outlived its freshness and viewers had begun to feel that the show's writers were out of new ideas, often after great effort was made to revive interest in the show by the writers, producers, or network.

The usage of "jump the shark" has subsequently broadened beyond television, indicating the moment when a brand, design, or creative effort's evolution loses the essential qualities that initially defined its success and declines, ultimately, into irrelevance."

It is derived from a Happy Days episode where the Fonze literally jumped a shark.

Regarding Osipova's changing of the variation mentioned by Classic Ballet:

They apparently gave her the liberty to opt to do the Bolshoi variation as opposed to the one traditional in the west.

She threw in one extra turn, but it wasn't like she made up her own variation willy-nilly because she is a star.

She used an established alternate variation.

And I am fairly sure ABT has given guest artists, at least, the privilege to do such a thing before.

There are certainly precedents for this. Tereshkina does a rarely seen alternate variation in the Vision scene.

I thought she was very engaged with the rest of the cast, but I saw last night's performance not Saturday.

Hee Seo was fantastic in Symphony in C - 2nd movement in DC -- which is considered a "technically difficult' role, angelica.

And conversely, Maria Kowrowski, while often lovely, does *not* seem to have the requisite bravura skills for Kitri. This isn't a criticism of her, it just wouldn't show off her strengths and would expose her weaknesses.

Really I thought most of the looks were embarrassing. Madonna worked it. So did Christina Ricci, who looked amazing. There were a few other nice ones.

This is the only photo of January Jones where she doesn't look atrocious. It is not good though. And none of my punk or goth acquaintances would own it.

I didn't know AOL really existed as a thing people used any more...

Unshapely or bulky muscles, or short, squat muscular bodies, or an unpleasant facial feature or personality type, are not aesthetically pleasing to all. Neither is a sloppy landing after a quadruple pirouette.

No judgment calls here. I would imagine "an unpleasant facial feature or personality type" isn't pleasing to many. Though I'm not sure how aesthetics come into personality types.

It's not a requirement to love the city where you work. My brother is not "at home" in Chicago, but his company is based there, and he still loves his job. Not every European feels comfortable in NY (most Americans prefer to visit and then leave, just as Miss Osipova is choosing).

I have no issue with Osipova's choices, but is it necessary to do the NY vs the rest of the US debate here? It's hard not to find some really choice words in return.

According to the ABT performance calendar, Part's partner for her Don Q will be Whiteside instead of Stearns on Wed matinee, 5/29.

Hooray!!!

Encouraging news about Ananiashvili... McKenzie has to balance recruiting top talent for the Met season (as abatt noted) with the issue of NYC tourists attending Met performances. I don't know how much of the audience is from out-of-town, but I seem to meet a lot of people (like me) who plan a trip or two in the summer to take in as much as possible. If it's a choice between ABT in June and Royal in July...tough call. Then again, perhaps the out-of-towners are such a small part of the audience that it won't matter to ABT's ticket sales.

Given how infrequently the Royal has been coming to the US of late, I'm not sure they need the extra draw of Osipova on the tour to make it a selling point. It would be a must see event anyway. And since people in the vicinity can see Osipova with ABT any year now, I'd personally rather get a chance to see their other dancers (esp nunez, but even cojocaru, who, while dancing with ABT, does so much less).

I mean of course Osipova is a draw. But I think they would be a big draw no matter what. More so than the Mik (large russian pop. notwithstanding)

I recall reading an interview w. McKenzie in which he mentions that the non competes do not merely prohibit appearances that overlap with the Met season, but also extends for 3 months before and 3 months after the Met season. I'm not sure when the non competes at ABT came into existence. Of course, ABT could always agree to waive enforcement of the non compete, but that puts dancers at the benevolent whim of ABT management. Certain dancers like O/V have enough bargaining power to say I'm not signing any such contract. If you want me to dance with your company, remove the clause.

Ah that is good to know.

Quite frankly, given the Mik's recent problems and now dancing with both ABT and Royal, I'd be most nervous if I was them. I know it says she is staying there, but things can always change.

And lets not forget, for one of the foreign stars, she has been quite active with ABT, participating in tours, etc. which has not been the case with many (see for ex. Vishneva)

Well, it could mean that the Royal might give her "La Fille Mal Gardee", and then perhaps it might be able to transfer to the Met for a Summer run here. One can hope. ABT has a few others who could also do the role on Osipova's "night off"

Lincoln Center Festival has hosted major international companies in previous summers (alas, not this year) and could plausibly sponsor a visit by Royal in future years. The issue will be the fine print in Osipova's non-compete clause with ABT. The Mikhailovsky wanted to play the State Theater during the final weeks of the ABT season in 2012. If Royal came in late July, would ABT permit her to perform with them? Stay tuned...

As long as it wasn't overlapping, I don't see why not.

As the Royal isn't scheduled to come at the moment, and who knows what the future will bring, this is what I would consider borrowing trouble.

But I would note, that one of the past visitors to Lincoln Center was the Bolshoi when Ananiashvili was still dancing with them, and was with ABT.

She performed with the Bolshoi on that tour.

Is she still going to dance with ABT as well?

The article cited in the other thread on this subject would seem to imply so (it says she currently dances with both the mik and ABT).

No, it's merely meant to indicate the dates of the Japan performances, because the dates were not included in Kbarber's post. Hallberg has provided his fans in Japan with an explanation for his cancellation of those performances, and there is absolutely no reason to doubt the truthfulness of his explanation. He acted in a very classy manner by expressing his regrets to his fans.

Also, Onegin is a full evening ballet, and Hallberg is still listed for 2 performances of that ballet during Week 1 of the ABT Met season.

Thanks for the explanation. He usually does express his regret. He's nice and does care about his fans.

I feel bad for him missing Japan. He has talked before about how much he enjoys performing there.

Good catch on the Onegins. I posted before my coffee had kicked in. Oops!

I think its a less physically strenuous role than Don Q, not sure about Corsaire. I am not really very familiar with it. But it certainly does raise interesting questions. As it is his foot that is injured, provided there aren't many jumps maybe he is remaining hopeful?

The Japan performances are for April 17-20.

Is this meant to imply that it isn't injury that had him pull out of the performances in New York, as they are a month later?

It at least confirms that as of mid April, his injury is still, sadly, a problem.

Since he is listed in short works (just not full lengths) for the met season, which are scattered around the 2 pieces he pulled out of (Don Q and Corsaire), and indeed is still listed for the full lengths later in the season, what is your theory for this if not that he has pulled out due to injury?

Yes, that is indeed Hallberg in the photo.

Part of the frustration here is that the ABT fans only get to see Hallberg for a potential maximum of 8 weeks during the Met season. He has become too famous to bother with the ABT fall rep weeks in New York. He was not cast in either Syliva or Sleeping Beauty (the final 2 weeks of the ABT Met season). I presume this was because of his desire to perform w. the Bolshoi, since he has performed SB at ABT many times. (I think he has also done Sylvia at ABT.) Now we're learning that he's chopping out an additional 2 weeks of his ABT season for undisclosed reasons.

I think you are being a bit premature in your supposition that this is not due to injury.

In that interview he talks about the injuries (plural) he has been trying to recover from, which have sidelined him for much longer than expected. That, combined with the tweet of breathebreathebreathe etc. coming at the same time he suddenly vanishes from a bunch of performances at ABT and does NOT show up in the Bolshoi London casting, leads me to suspect that he has further injured himself/is not recovering as he should.

Here is a link referencing the reality docum in the works (try not to gag too much!):

http://washingtonwes...nan-kampa-story

Corps members' bios are shown only when they appear in soloist roles, shown in the playbill section. So here is Kampa's bio, with Glam Shot:

http://www.mariinsky..._mt_women/kampa

Compare with the normal bio that everybody else in the company has, in this case another corps member who occasionally performs solo roles, Alisa Sodoleva, we see the normal portrait:

http://www.mariinsky...women/sodoleva/

Damning indeed!!!!!!!!

The conspiracy theories, in absence of more information from the police, are running rampant. I have a hard time keeping track of them. But I feel badly for Mr. Tsiskaridze that his apartment was burgled. I've had it happen, and the feeling of insecurity doesn't ever go away if you continue to live there.

But according to Ilya's translation, one of the few solid pieces of information we have is that he was NOT burlged.

And while it may have been true for you that you were forever after insecure in your home after being burgled, it is not a foregone conclusion.

My family's apartment was burgled when I was quite small (someone forced entry and robbed us at night, while we were at home) and after a few small security upgrades, amazingly, we all managed to live there quite happily, some to this day, without feeling insecure or scared.

We can feel relieved for him that his apartment wasn't entered, but maybe we should save the sympathy for those who were actually attacked.

Deleting my post (for some reason the more recent posts on the thread hadn't shown up and mine was mere repetition)

She also has made choices, whether or not they should hurt her or not are debatable, but linking herself to a coach who consistently and openly delights in antagonizes the management and seems to be using her as a pawn in this can really not endear her to management. That may not be fair but I don't see that it is surprising.

She has 'linked' herself to Tsiskaridze because he has a reputation as an outstanding teacher, inspirational in fact. I was told by an official at the Bolshoi school that part of his popularity is due to the fact he incorporates some of the methods he observed in Paris, having sat in on one of his classes I can attest to the fact that he stretches the dancers and enthuses them at the same time. Persecuting this fine teacher and his pupils will do the company more harm than good in the long run.

All I said is that it can't endear her to them. Especially when they are demanding (in their own words!) leading roles for her.

As Natalia has pointed out it doesn't seem that up to this point she has been persecuted. In fact she has been given quite nice roles if not the starring roles she wanted. But quite on the level for a talented dancer of her age in this company at this point in time.

Except from within her camp, and in the fact Filin did not accede to their demands and give her O-O now, I fail to see how her career has been thwarted up to this point, when she has been given decent roles and is only 21. As others said previously, if she really thinks she deserves better roles at this moment perhaps she needs to go elsewhere as many people, in many companies have been forced to do. Or she could have a bit of patience.

I am NOT condoning any kind of acid attack on anyone, but perhaps when Filin resumes the helm of the Bolshoi he ought to also re-evaluate his own management strategies. It's not easy dealing with 200 very ambitious egos I'm sure, but it also seems like his style of management escalated, rather than de-escalated conflict. With Vorontsova instead of telling her she was fat she could have told her she needed additional coaching. Or (and this is something Balanchine used to do when a dancer insisted on a role) he could have given her one token performance and seen whether or not it was a success.

He did apparently tell her that she needed additional coaching, although there is debate as to how that was taken--her camp saying she was being punished for sticking with Tsiskardize. His camp saying she needed female coaching in addition.

I am also not clear that there is any real evidence he really did say she was too fat, or if this is conjecture (I know it has been said, but is it fact that Filin said it to her...or is this other people justifying after the fact).

Furthermore I don't see that it is good management to give in to what was clearly a demand for a role by a 20/21 year old dancer that you haven't deemed ready for the role. That is not how it generally works in any company. He has a lot of dancers to cast, as you note, and to give her the role would mean not giving it to someone else...someone he did think was deserving of it at this time. She is still young and does have time.

She also has made choices, whether or not they should hurt her or not are debatable, but linking herself to a coach who consistently and openly delights in antagonizes the management and seems to be using her as a pawn in this can really not endear her to management. That may not be fair but I don't see that it is surprising.

An article discussing the possible motives and complex interpersonal issues of the case (at least as they appear at this stage):

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/07/arts/dance/ballerina-may-be-at-center-of-bolshoi-acid-attack.html?hpw