Amour

I'm seeing this same Bayadere cast on Monday June 1 because of Kim. When I saw him in London last August, I was just wowed. I saw him do the PDT in Act 1 of SL as well as the PDT in Concerto DSCH twice. He is a superb virtuosic dancer and has oodles of charisma. When he came flying out downstage with rapid fire chainee turns it was all I could do not to cheer (Londoners are very restrained). But I found him miscast in January, in DC, in Spectre de la Rose, because he was not androgynous enough. I've never seen him dance a full length ballet so we'll get to see how good his acting skills are. I'm excited to see what he'll dance at this YAGP final, on the 16th. Somehow, though, I'm sure he won't disappoint as Solor.I'm sure Gillian as Gamzatti will be terrific. I'm a bit on the fence about Semionova. She can be beautifully lyrical in slow adagio roles (much of which Bayadere is) or she can be so boring she puts you to sleep. This has happened since she joined ABT with much (appropriate) fanfare but, either because of bad coaching or some other thing I have been finding her progressively less interesting over the course of the last few years (the exception being if she's dancing Ratmansky).

You're not alone in liking Pictures at an Exhibition. I didn't love it the first time I saw it this past fall in NYC but 6 viewings later (I think 3 in the fall, 4 in the winter) I've really come to like it. Every time I see it some extra nuance springs out at me. I was very worried, in the winter, how it would survive without Wendy Whelan (who danced the woman in yellow, which I believe is the 3rd PDD section, The Old Castle). Interestingly, I liked it even better with Sterling Hyltin, who took Wendy's role (and much credit needs to go to partner Tyler Angle). It definitely is more interesting than any Justin Peck piece (at least all the ones he's done for NYCB).For me Martins' Symphonic Dances is a snooze and I think they placed it in the middle of the rep bill this winter season (makes it hard to duck out). I did very much like Everywhere We Go, although it wasn't performed in the fall or winter, here in NYC. The Steven's music is very upbeat and accessible which really helps the dance. I hope to see it again soon. ETA: I just found a program and didn't remember correctly. Symphonic Dances was first in a program that also had The Cage, Andantino and Cortège Hongrois.

I,too, am baffled. Tickets to see the Mariinsky SL (including Lopatkina, arguably the best O/O around right now) topped out around $155 at both BAM in January and the ROH last August and those were for orchestra and front mezzanine seats. Tickets to the Bolshoi's SL in NYC last July topped out at around $300 and again for the best seats in the house (and except for Smirnova, I believe all casts had leads who were principal dancers). Also, clapping at the first entrance or at the end of an Act is fine but at every entrance and exit the crowd going nuts?? DC regularly gets all the big companies (Boshoi, Mariinsky, ABT, NYCB) so it's not like they are a city that never gets an opportunity to see ballet (and some really excellent ballet, at that).

Phooey:( I went out of my way to get a ticket to see Lane do T&V. I hate the way Semionova does it (I've seen her do it twice). She just can't move fast.

I'm sorry it sounds like you're disappointed but NYCB is bringing its best dancers : Bouder. Tiler Peck, Vyette, Huxley, Kowrowski, Sara, Amar, De Luz. Just about everyone but Ulbricht. Also great rep.

A short (56 minute) documentary has been made about Merrill Ashley called "The Dance Goodbye". The film will focus in particular on the time when she decided to retire and was considering what to do next. It will be available at Amazon on May 12, 2015 but you can also pre-order it here. http://www.amazon.com/Dance-Goodbye-Merrill-Ashley/dp/B00U1U2SL8/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1427706239&sr=1-1&keywords=Merrill+ashley

The Primorsky region of Russia is a southern coastal region that also shares a border with China and North Korea. I believe the Primorsky Theatre is located in Vladivostok. The thinking is the Mariinsky wanted an Asian outpost.

Ismene Brown is reporting that Svetlana Lunkina is resigning from the Bolshoi, effective July 27,2015. http://www.ismeneb.com/Blog/Entries/2015/3/28_Lunkina_resigns_from_the_Bolshoi.html This is certainly not unexpected news, though I was surprised to read that the Bolshoi tried to fire her last summer. She will officially join the National Ballet of Canada so perhaps we in NYC can look forward to seeing her sometime soon:)

Thanks for your description of the evening, Birdsall! Hard to believe that Balanchine would be more avant garde than Peck but ballet audiences are not being asked to accept more adventurous choreography. I believe I was the only person I know who enjoyed the Mariinsky's "Young Choreographers" evening that was livestreamed. Until audiences get used to seeing new movement, they won't accept it. Given that, I'll be interested to see how the audience reacts to David Hallberg's "Legacy" evening.

After several weeks of speculation, the Primorsky has become an arm for the Mariinsky. The announcement from the company is here: The Primorsky State Opera and Ballet Theatre opened on 18 October 2013. Its opening marked seventy-five years since the formation of the Primorsky Region. The company, created for the start of the first theatre season, is one of the newest in Russia. The opera and ballet companies, chorus and orchestra of the Primorsky Theatre feature performers from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Bulgaria, Romania, the USA, Brazil, South Korea and Japan. The theatres opera company was formed following competitive auditions and consists of prize-winners at All-Russian and international competitions who have significant experience of performing at the most prestigious concert venues in Russia, the CIS and abroad. The theatres repertoire includes productions of Eugene Onegin, Aleko, I pagliacci, Carmen, Boris Godunov, The Tale of Tsar Saltan and Thaïs. It is unclear how much influence the Mariinsky will have, other than in guiding the rep. With the opening of the second Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg they've had their hand full, looking for extra dancers. BTW, just wanted to remind people that Joseph Phillips, late of ABT, is now at the Primorsky.

Unlike U.S. venues (in which tickets sales sales are generally finall), the Royal Opera House allows you to return tickets, which they then try to resell. If they are successful (99% of the time) you get all your money back. It also means new tickets to "sold out" shows are constantly becoming available. Last August we went to London to see the Mariinsky. On the one hand, a Stepanova SL that I had tickets to had the casting changed to Skorik. I returned my tickets, which the ROH resold and I got all my money back. On the other side of things, there was a rep program that was sold out that I really wanted to see. Starting at 10am on the day of the performance I called the box office. I immediately got 1 ticket, that had been returned. Within an hour, we got a 2nd ticket for my husband. I would like to add that the ROH ticket agents were extremely gracious, accommodating and helpful in this process. There are also no extra fees involved, despite all the handling. U.S. venues should really think about adopting this practice.

In case anyone is interested, the Mariinsky tweeted me that the lead dancers in the piece, Elementarium (performed by Vaganova students), were Vera Segova and Adrian Mitchell. The two dancers in Smekalov's Who is My Shadow were not Vaganova students but Americans, Kenedy Kallis and Austen Acevedo.

Just a reminder that Mark Morris' L'Allegro, il Penseroso will be shown on PBS tonight at 9pm. My love for Morris has ebbed and flowed over the years. I'm looking forward to this broadcast to see what I think now.

I'm sure Sarah Kaufman was pleased she got these ballerinas to dish about ABT but the article made me feel terrible for Paloma. As abatt said in another thread, no need for Kevin to bash the woman! And what a terrible way to end a 24 year career - with the AD badmouthing you. I would have preferred Paloma's grievance not be aired publicly and spoil her farewell. On the other hand, I think Reyes has a grievance that is so widely held among higher ranked company members it is worth airing (not dancing enough) because ABT is just going to continue to hemorrhage dancers until they fix that.

Back to Olga, she isn't scheduled to dance at ABT until June 5, still more than 2 months away. That does give her some time. But not a huge amount. And her not having danced since late Oct. (and not scheduled for April) is not a good sign. If Olga can't do Bayadere, another possible replacement occurred to me - Kristina Shapran of the Mariinsky. Kristina and Olga were the 2 top Vaganova graduates in 2011 and they both performed Nikya (on alternate nights) in their graduation performance. Since Kimin Kim is already at ABT that week (and he and Kristina have danced together), I suppose that's a possible pairing. It also turns out Shapran, Kim and Parrish are the dancers representing the Mariinsky at YAGP this year. However both Kim and Shapran are still soloists; Chudin and Obraztsova are principals. Thus,the more likely scenario, as I said in an earlier post, is Chudin comes and dances with Obraztsova (who will already be here rehearsing R&J). But I will miss the great warmth and chemistry (and artistry) that Chudin and Smirnova share.

Yesterday the program and artists for David Hallberg's "Legacy" program were announced. http://www.davidhkochtheater.com/moreinfoYAGP.html An interesting lineup of artists and, with the exception of Marco Spada, all U.S. Premieres. Hopefully, should be interesting.

At David Hallberg's gala "Legacy" in April, Obraztsova will be dancing with Chudin. I have a feeling that that's the pairing we will see at ABT and that unfortunately Smirnova will be out.

I'm curious how they treated Baryshnikov? He remade ABT much more so than McKenzie. Any mention of Ferri, Bocca, Jaffe or McKerrow?

Silas Farley and Peter Walker, both in NYCB's corps, have done the choreography for the last 2 SAB summer Intensives. And I always see Silas working the NYCB crowd at intermissions on nights he doesn't dance. I suppose they could be considered "emerging" choreographers.I also have to give a lot of credit to the Mariinsky for devoting resources, time and money to not only presenting an evening of young choreographers, but livestreaming the performance worldwide. Out of 8 ballets, only 2 used students (though IMO 1 of these was the best piece), the rest used all ranks of the Mariinsky dancers including principals (Shklyarov in Orpheus).. Several of the ballets (especially Smekalov's Orpheus) had very elaborate production and costume values so this was not a cheap evening to produce. Whether you liked or hated the pieces, I think it was important they had the evening, especially during their International Ballet Festival. As long as these events continue to happen, ballet will be a vibrant art form.

Also while not from Asia, Georgina Pazcoguin definitely has some Asian blood. I am friendly with Anthony Huxley's mom and she (and her mother, who I met) seem to be Indonesian or Philippino. There are also a few more corps women who look at least partially Asian. Finally, one of the 3 little Maries in Nutcracker this year (and her Fritz) are Asian. I dont remember the girl's name (Fritz was performed, I believe,by a boy named Sawyer Reo) but I don't think it sounded especially East Asian. You can't judge based solely on names.

Perhaps not everyone but I would think all principals. True, Robert was on the roster for years and didn't dance (who know why, though) and then one season was gone. I would also add that Julie became a beloved dancer late in her career. In her prime (early to mid '90's) we still had Ferri, McKerrow, Jaffee, Yeagar and possibly Cynthia Harvey. Julie paled in comparison, was considered a "cold" dancer, and generally didn't get good reviews. It's only since that whole generation has long gone that people have grown so fond of Julie.

Just to add to these, I'm under the impression that Irina Dvorovenko left because Kevin was giving her almost nothing to dance (although she got a farewell). He's a few years older but Robert Hill left the roster with no farewell.

I don't know if anyone else watched this Mariinsky livestream but I did ( I'm on my second viewing). What a pleasure to watch Mariinsky dancers in new works. Not every piece is a masterpiece but many were very good. And how wonderful to see high production values (sets, costumes, lighting and live music) for young choreographers. Plus almost every piece is danced by the Mariinsky. Yermakov, Osmolkina, Shklyarov, Bondareva and more. What a treat! My favorite piece was actually the one leotard ballet with only Vaganova students. I believe this was the piece Elementarium ( the pieces are not performed in the order on the program). 'Expertly performed, the music really fits the dance and reminded me of some Balanchine's leotard ballets. The 2 leads were fantastic. Ready for export to NYCB IMO. My second favorite was Smekalov's Orpheus in the Underworld. This ballet (led by Shklyarov and Bondareva) has lots of acting plus elaborate sets and costumes. It's quite sophisticated and though not entirely successful looks less like a "Young Choreographers" work than a work by an established choreographer. I encourage everyone to see this. It's still up, playing on a loop at the Mariinsky.tv site.

This the archived link. It starts at the beginning with clips of Tereshkina when she was a child in Nutcracker. http://mariinsky.tv/n/e I still need to see The Legend of Love but the rest of the performances were terrific. Amazingly, after getting all her flowers and applause, Tereshkina looked really moved to tears. Very touching. BTW, since I kept getting the numbers wrong before in D.C., does anyone know who performed the "Lezhnina" variation in Paquita? Just couldn't place her. ETA: neither this url nor whatever is looping through Mariinsky.tv has Legend of Love on it. Oh well, my bad for not knowing this was starting at 12:30pm.