Amour

Hmm, per Tiler's public instagram, she's currently headed to Paris to see her husband. So ... it must be a quick trip if she has to be back by Friday.

Tiler retweeted my tweet about her subbing for Ashley on Friday so I know she's performing.

Glad you at least got a Sugarplum replacement you're happy with, Amour. They do not seem to be updating the casting sheets at all on-line. The only way to see the cast change is to go into the program where you buy a ticket for that date, and the casting pops up for that date. Enjoy!

Thanks so much, abatt! Yes, I'm so glad we got such a great replacement:)

Razor, the partial-view seats are about $38, depending on the balcony level, I think. You definitely miss part of the stage (if you want to see the Christmas tree grow, sit on the right side of the house), and some of the seats are awful, especially if you're short, but I've found it workable.

Actually, I think the price if the ticket depends on the cast. The tickets I got for the Lovette/Finlay Nutcracker were substantiallly less than the Bouder (now Tiler)/De Luz Nutcracker. The house is almost completely sold out for the latter and the available seats (in the 4th ring) are $71 -$91.

Ashley Bouder is now officially out of this Friday's (the 12th) Nutcracker but is being replaced by Tiler. I'm actually very excited to see Tiler but sorry for Ashley, as this means she must be injured.

Haglund's Heel (and abatt) have reported an additional program of "Chopin Dances" has been added on Jan. 25th at 3pm. As of now, there is no indication the casting will be any different from the previous night's performance.

As you may know, the casting is up for weeks one and two. The casting sheet has been updated online to indicate that Sara Mearns is replaced as Dew Drop for this week by Bouder. Mearns' twitter page indicates that she has been ill, but expects to return next week.

Bouder is going to have quite a busy weekend. She is dancing two Dew Drops and a Sugar Plum in the course of 3 days!

Ashley Bouder did not dance the Sugar Plum Fairy last night. The casting in the lobby still listed her name when I left, and the internet casting has not been updated either, so I guess there is a question mark over today's Dew Drop.[/

There is no clue from Ashley's Twitter page that she is either hurt or ill. As of last Wednesday, she announced she would be dancing Friday. Does anyone know if she danced Dew Drop?

She didn't dance Dewdrop on Sunday. Teresa Reichlen did.

Thanks, Kaysta for the info. I keep checking Ashley's Twitter page and she's been tweeting, sounding cheerful but saying nothing about dance. I hope she's ok, health wise, both for her sake and for the selfish reason that I got a hugely expensive Nut ticket for the 12th in order to see her, De Luz, Ulbricht & Peirera (as Marzipan). I'll be very disappointed if Ashley doesn't dance.

As you may know, the casting is up for weeks one and two. The casting sheet has been updated online to indicate that Sara Mearns is replaced as Dew Drop for this week by Bouder. Mearns' twitter page indicates that she has been ill, but expects to return next week.

Bouder is going to have quite a busy weekend. She is dancing two Dew Drops and a Sugar Plum in the course of 3 days!

Ashley Bouder did not dance the Sugar Plum Fairy last night. The casting in the lobby still listed her name when I left, and the internet casting has not been updated either, so I guess there is a question mark over today's Dew Drop.

There is no clue from Ashley's Twitter page that she is either hurt or ill. As of last Wednesday, she announced she would be dancing Friday. Does anyone know if she danced Dew Drop?

Oops, misread casting changes. Have 2 Tereshkina SLs and will definitely hold on to Jan. 21 Kondaurova (as long as that holds). My husband adores Tereshkina so will undoubtedly see both her SLs.

Unfortunately, with the rest of the casting up it looks like we won't be getting a Pavlenko Cinderella. We'll be getting an A. Matvienko/ Sergeev Cinders with Pavlenko as the stepmother. What a shame.

Does Cinders have a lot of jumping? Matvienko (in London) was a terrific jumper and also great with fouettes. And I love Sergeev. He did the best Apollo (original version) I think I've ever seen. Given her age and the face she's a union rep, it doesn't surprise me that they downgraded Pavelenko. Then again, we may very well see more casting changes as January approaches (for the Mariinsky, nothing is set ever, really).

If London is any way to judge, Mariinsky casting could switch again. You don't really know who you'll get until about 1 day before! I'm sad Korsuntsev isn't coming and I have (again) to see Ivanchenko with Lopatkina. I also now have 2 Kondaurova SLs because I got the then TBA Jan. 21. I'll probably try to unload that date sooner towards the performance because I don't like Askerov. As for Skorik (iKNEW she would come) she's worth a look, not nearly the horror certain YT posters led me to believe. But if the Jan. 22 date is your only SL, I'd advise exchanging for another cast (also Parish is good but not THAT good. They should have given Kim a Siegfried instead).

Just wanted to say that excerpts from the SAB workshop will be broadcast on PBS Great Performances on Dec. 12, 2014 at 9pm.

Does anyone have experience with standing room during Nutcracker? How often does it happen that they sell out and open standing room? I'm trying to find a way to go that's easy on the budget.

I don't know but you can probably find out by calling the Koch (212-496-0600).

Sarafanov did that same sequence today. Or at least he started to.

I could not disagree more with the Macaulay comment this week about Russian ballet no longer producing any exciting dancing.

Some audience members seemed to forget that they are no longer in Russia and could not stop talking

A couple of points.

1. I'm glad Sarafanov did (or started) to do that more difficult sequence that he did in the 2006 video and hope that he did it with the same panache. That is the dancer I was hoping to see with the Mikhailovsky and, at least on the dramatic front, I was very disappointed. I was surprised at how bad his acting was in Giselle. I didn't see Sarafanov in Cavalry Halt but Prelude was a silly waste of his talents.

2. I don't think that Macauley said that Russia is not producing exciting dancing but that it's not producing exciting choreography. I haven't seen any of Smekalov's work (he's with the Mariinsky as both a dancer and choreographer) but based on what the Bolshoi and Mikhailovsky brought to the Koch, I'd have to agree.

3. I, too, sat next to some rude Russians who not only talked but kept taking pictures with their IPhone during the dancing (and I mean dancing not curtain calls). Unlike a regular camera, the IPhone lights up the whole screen for photos and it was very distracting. When I told them it wasn't allowed, they just ignored me (I was going to complain to an usher at intermission but they weren't in their seats then) I can only imagine what a free for all it must be in Russian houses.

I Special shout out to the wonderful street dancer, Soboleva.

Soboleva was terrific! What a flexible back and charisma. I'd like to see her as Kitri.

Thanks. I am going tonight. Needed to know the running time because it is "fast track" week on my subway line. For those of you who don't live in NYC, that's when they take away your subway service after 10 PM because they are purportedly doing track improvement work..

Don't worry about leaving without seeing Prelude. You aren't missing anything (at least anything good).

Just a brief description of Duato's Prelude from what I remember (it was not a memorable piece). A corps of female dancers come out in long fluffy white skirts and come forward and back on the stage. Then Sarafanov enters in a beige baggy unitard and proceeds to (deliberately turned in) flex and uncurl his back and do other "modern dance" type of movements that to me (trained as a modern dancer) looked pretty ridiculous and made no use of his talents. This scene shifts and we got an extended PDD from a couple, both dressed in black (she in just a leotard and tights). They were later joined by two other couples, dressed the same way who did PDDs. This section I found palatable and I can't understand why Sarafanov wasn't used in this section. Thankfully, this was an extended section of the piece and parts were quite lovely. Then we end with the same scene as the beginning but with Sarafanov rolling around on the floor, ending with him half hanging off the stage.

I found this piece much too long, incomprehensible and kind of dated. I think it's a great idea for the Mikhailovsky to go back to its roots and dance experimental or new choreography but good God get a choreographer with some talent. I'd love to see Ratmansky do a piece for the Mikhailovsky; I'm sure they can afford him.

Wow, how is he doing all those entrechats without almost any plié? Ouch! I actually think Sarafanov's (I saw Tuesday and Thursday) were more impressive because the beats were cleaner and he jumped higher. Still, Sarafanov was a lifeless actor.

Here's a brief clip that someone was able to take of Vasiliev and Bondareva in Flames at the Koch.

I just came back from Tuesday night's rep program. What a difference a day or two of rest can make. Vasiliev was cast in the lead role as Peter and he was funny, charming and got through most of the difficult parts quite well. Is he still a little sloppy? Yes, his beats are weak and his tours not always upright. But his jumps are still great and he really pours himself into a role and tries to give the audience their money's worth. I found him exciting to watch and that counts for a lot.

Vorontsova played the lead role as Maria while Semyonova was the secondary lead as Teresa. I actually found Semyonova more interesting to watch, though a comparison is difficult because Vorontsova's role was far more difficult and on pointe (Semyonova was in character shoes). Vorontsova got through all the steps fine but, as would see in the next piece - Class Concert - a lot of lower ranked dancers probably could have done just as well. I just don't see why Vorontsova is a principal. To me she looks like a sturdy corps dancer who can handle some solos. I'm afraid the notoriety of her boyfriend and his allegations about Filin are what propelled her into her position.

As for the piece, it is very slight (hard to believe it's Petipa) but has some charming moments. Most of the dancing is character dancing and the dancer in green (I think it was Tsal) excelled. But really nothing I need to see again.

The next piece was Class Concert, which I love. They, of course, start with young kids who, btw, were almost all from NY (and NOT SAB) trained at Gelsey's school, the Ellison school,Brighton Ballet, Greenwich Ballet and a few from the Vaganova. (I found it very funny that Suki Schorer was at the performance) they were great and adorable.

Then come the adults and things start getting first just harder and then virtuosic. Most of the company seemed to dance as big grand jetes, tours, one handed lifting of girls and all manner of virtuosity become the choreography. Soboleva, Osipova, Vorontsova, Lebedev, Sarafanov and Vadiliev all danced. As might be expected the bravura dancers gave it everything they had. Vasiliev gave us incredible jumps, leaps and turns, sometimes a little messy (those chainees) but often not. Poor Sarafanov had the bad luck to jump right before Vasiliev and he could not at all match (in elevation or tour angles) Vasiliev's bravura. Still I find this piece a joy to watch.

It's getting late so I will leave my review of Duato's Prelude for later. Suffice it to say, putting Sarafanov in a baggy, beige unitard and having him dance the "modern dance" section of a piece that had plenty of ballet seems ill considered and a waste of Sarafanov's talents.

This is a clip of Vadiliev and Bondareva doing Flames with the Mikhailovsky in July 2013. He's actually pretty good. What happened now?

Season 2 of city.ballet. started over 1 week ago. I enjoyed season 2 even more than season 1. At only 5-8 minutes per episode (and only 12 episodes) it's easy to binge watch. There is 1 episode on the corps, 1 on Troy Schumacher starting to choreograph, 1 profile of Ashley, 1 of Sara & 1 of Chase Finlay. There is an episode on romances within the company that focuses on Chase and Lauren Lovette (thank God it wasn't Tiler and Robbie). The episode I liked best was called the Veterans and had interviews with Maria K, Andy Vyette and even Ashley (they showed Wendy but didn't interview her)about what it was like to be in your mid-late 30's and still dancing with NYCB. Anyway, I enjoyed the series very much and would recommend it, especially since it's not a big investment of time.

Perren performs many leading roles. In winter 2014–2015, the Mikhailovsky Theatre goes on tour to Japan.

Le Corsaire

Jan. 08 Ekaterina Borchenko, Farukh Ruzimatov and Leonid Sarafanov

Jan. 09 Irina Perren, Farukh Ruzimatov and Victor Lebedevquote]

Wow! Ruzimatov is still dancing? He's 51 years old! I hope some (Naomi) reports back about this. That's quite a record.

One thing I noticed about the Mikhailovsky is how diverse the company is compared the the Mariinsky.

It's very different from the Mariinsky, with their army of girls who look like they've all been selected to fit a certain aesthetic.

The difference I notice is not sizes or looks but training. The Mikhailovsky takes dancers from all over: Bolshoi, Vaganova, there is one American and they don't all dance alike. I actually find that a bit bothersome. I think ABT (which also takes dancers from everywhere) does a better job of having the corps dance as one better than the Mikhailovsky.

As for Vasiliev, having come from Saturdat night's performance, I was shocked at how really sloppy his technique has gotten. Much worse than the last time I saw him with ABT a little over a year ago. As canbelto said, if he gets anywhere near vertical he's doing well. Those tours are looking worse than James Whiteside's. He needs to get himself into a steady class or have one coach who travels with him. Right now he has incredible stage presence and can still pull off those barrel turns (though not as extreme in their angles) and land without falling over. But given the deterioration of his technique in just a year, that is not a good omen for the future. Right now he is young and presumably healthy (uninjured) enough to set things right. I just hope he has the sense and discipline to do so.

It does not sound like the partnership between Osipova & Sarafanov has gained anything since the 3D screening of their Giselle a few years back. Anyone who saw them then and now notice any differences?

I saw that performance (and it has now been released on a Japanese DVD you can buy from hmv in Japan) and no it has not improved. I saw both Tuesday and Thursday night and they were basically the same performance. Zero chemistry between Osipova and Sarafanov. I sat in two different places (1st ring Tuesday, Orchestra Thursday). It looks to me like it's Sarafanov. Osipova acts, uses her face and gestures to the max, looks S right in the eye. He, OTOH, barely gestures and looks in her direction but never right in the eye. Tonight, in Act 1 it looked liked he simply didn't care or was bored. Whatever it was, it's not acceptable when you are paying $100 a ticket.

I thought tonight's Act 2 was better than Tuesday. For the most part, Osipova was more expressive, more pliancy in her torso and arms and looked more weightless when partnered. But when she jumps up and down in place, she couldn't resist going higher and higher to the point where at the end she looks like she's jumping on a trampoline. This is simply not my vision of a wili. As YID said, this not the Olympics. With all the talk in the last few years about how dancers are athletes, I think some have forgotten they are artists first and their athleticism should serve their artistry. Whether it is the athleticism of Osipova or the hyper limbed poses of a Zakharova or a Somova, ballet is being pushed in new but not necessarily better directions. In any case, I felt some progress on that front from a Osipova tonight. I'm sure it's hard for her to restrain herself in a Romantic ballet but I hope she is trying. And certainly there is no better place than the Royal Ballet to learn drama/dance. She is smart and I hope she gains these dramatic skills sooner rather than later.

Again, Sarafanov is a mystery. In Act 1 he underacts to the point of looking bored or not caring. In Act 2 the partnering was smoother and he looked slightly (but really slightly) more involved. Of course, he comes magically to life with those 32 (or more) entrechats sixes. And they are very impressive, with him jumping higher and higher until he collapses. But that alone does not make a character fully rounded. I think he needs to take some more acting/mime classes. And he's got to learn to use those skills whether he likes his partner or not (It looks to that he doesn't like Osipova).

So overall some great moments in what otherwise is a disappointing production.

I was wondering why Soboleva did not get the flowers at curtain. Are flowers sent by the house?

The second act was as close to an ideal as I can imagine, true to the spirit of Romanticism, and the dancing was

extraordinary, the characterizations utterly convincing. I was surprised esp. after the Bolshoi, that the house was far from being sold out and

felt a little sorry for the dancers - would love to see them as guests at ABT

Osipova did not get flowers either. I was very surprised.