volcanohunter

The quote comes from a police report that was read aloud, at the request of Dmitrichenko, in court on the day Filin testified. Since we don't have access to transcripts of the police interviews, we don't know on what basis they reached these conclusions. The report speculates on three possible suspects or, perhaps, "persons of interest," so presumably it predates Dmitrichenko's arrest by some time. I expect that in the event of an attack, it would be usual to investigate any professional, financial or personal elements in the victim's life that might have factored into the crime. We don't have access to the exact text of the police report either, so we're relying on the reporters who were in court to record the text. Words to that effect were also reported in other sources, though with less precision. Nearly all reports picked up on Smirnova's name. The LA Times also mentioned Malandina, though it spelled her name incorrectly, and a Maria Alexandrovna, which presumably refers to Filin's wife. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-sergei-filin-bolshoi-20131106,0,5574978,full.story#axzz2kyEpq8Qv So it's safe to say that a text to that effect was read aloud in court, though we're relying on the shorthand skills of the reporters for the details.

I'm finding it a little difficult to retrieve articles going back to March, but among the reports about Dmitrichenko's interrogations, which were being leaked right, left and center, there was information that he had taken his concerns about Filin's alleged financial wrongdoing to Oleg Miskovets, a deputy general director of the Bolshoi Theater, on January 16, and the latter asked him to prepare a detailed report, but the investigation never went any further because of the attack, which took place the following day. http://izvestia.ru/news/546345

That's obvious enough, but I would hope that when court documents or testimony are quoted, they are reproduced accurately.

What has never made sense to me is Dmitrichenko taking his stack of evidence to the administration of the Bolshoi Theater on January 16, the day before the attack. These issues feature in the police report that is part of the official case. In it the police was theorizing on motives for the attack and its possible perpetrators. If anyone finds this aspect of the case distasteful, please skip over the remainder of this post. http://izvestia.ru/news/560219

I don't doubt that Womack's experience could prompt young American dancers who dreamed of studying at one of the big Russian schools to rethink their ambitions. Or at least their parents will think twice before forking over tens of thousands.

Her allegations are arguably directed at the company as a whole and not at Filin in particular. The only accusation directed at Filin is that he refused to give her the time of day. That's hardly defamation. Urin reacted with much more composure than Filin's attorney. If Womack goes to the authorities with accusations of corruption, Urin will take them very seriously. If she doesn't, he seems inclined to ignore them.

Perhaps, but Brazilians Mariana Gomes and Bruna Gaglianone Cantanhede are very active members of the Bolshoi's corps.

In the NYT story Womack is quoted as saying “The problem is that I wasn’t even being put into the corps de ballet...I had spent a year waiting." In Anna Rebetskaya's Facebook post (since removed, but quoted in Moskovskiy komsomolets) she puts the blame for this on Womack herself: "You don't remember why they couldn't even put you in the corps de ballet? You really think that you don't have a problem remembering choreography?"

Vladimir Urin, meanwhile, has stated that Womack ought to take her allegations of corruption to law enforcement and promised that the Bolshoi Theater would cooperate with any investigation. He acknowledges that there were some irregularities with her contracts and that her salary was not always paid on time, which he blames on red tape associated with the fact that she is a foreign national. He also says the money was withheld from her salary because she had not formally established that she was a tax resident of the United States. Urin says he's sorry her career at the Bolshoi did not work out and hopes that she will fare better with her new company. http://news.mail.ru/inregions/moscow/90/culture/15630807/

Perhaps the threat of legal action is intended to dissuade anyone inclined to corroborate Womack’s allegations. But I think it is heavy-handed and unlikely to make the story “go away” any faster. That genie is already out of the bottle.

Yes, Sergei Filin's lawyer Tatiana Stukalova says he reserves the right to take Womack to court.

Where the unofficial tours are concerned, she says she was told her participation would help her down the line. Her suspicions about not being paid what she was owed stem from the fact that a third of her Bolshoi pay was deducted as income tax despite the fact that the Russian equivalent of a Social Security Number was never issued to her. As for being an American, Womack seems to think that it had a great deal to do with the way she was treated. The article puts it this way, though it doesn't quote her directly: "Oh, she's an American; she must have money. Why doesn't she pay, or why doesn't she find herself a sponsor?" She didn't say that $10,000 was demanded of every dancer. Perhaps there is a sliding scale of corruption within the company.

No, I don't think so either.

Womack says she does not wish to pursue the matter further. "I want to forget all about it, like a bad dream."

Joy Womack has left the company. In a newspaper interview she said she was told that in order to perform on the Bolshoi stage she would need to find an influential sponsor to advocate on her behalf and that she would have to pay $10,000 in order to get a solo part. She also says she was not paid all she was owed, and that she received nothing for participating in unofficial Bolshoi tours, but that she had done so because she desperately wanted to perform. She has now joined the Kremlin Ballet. Sergei Filin was unavailable for comment because he has returned to Germany for treatment. His wife Maria Prorvich, his sister, Elena Filina, Ruslan Pronin and Galina Stepanenko declined to comment. However, Marina Kondratieva says that Womack was slow to learn choreography, and that this was the source of her problems. http://izvestia.ru/news/560562

Congratulations to the dancers! Silvermash, could you elaborate on the note issued by the POB about the jury being unable to agree on a second-place candidate for promotion to sujet? Has this happened before? http://www.operadeparis.fr/actualites/Resultats-du-concours-du-ballet-artistes-femmes-janv-2014

In fairness to Kultura, I've since watched the piece, and it offered no assessment whatever of the ballet or the performances. It could not have, since the segment was prepared in advance and began airing at 10 am Moscow time. Just the standard background information, dress rehearsal footage and sound bites from the dress rehearsal, about the challenges of playing characters who are both aristocrats and bandits. Because, of course, aristocrats never steal. http://tvkultura.ru/video/show/brand_id/19725/episode_id/694119/video_id/694119

How could they be reporting on great triumphs before the performance was over? Kultura's evening news program went on air 30 minutes after the performance began.

Like 'earn' or 'urn.' You can listen to her say it on this video. Hopefully the link will open to the "photo booth interviews" clip. http://on.aol.com/show/cityballet-517887470/clip/517957279

I think he could have said something along the lines of: "If success within the Bolshoi Ballet were dependent on a dancer's personal relationship with me, my wife would be a prima ballerina by now. But she remains a member of the corps de ballet, as she was before I became director. What decides casting is a dancer's ability and suitability for a part." That way he could have avoided the strange, self-deprecating reference to his sexual prowess. It's not as though he weren't aware that a question on the subject would be asked.

As to the allegations about the casting couch, Izvestia quoted Filin directly. I have to confess I found his choice of words unnecessarily crass. http://izvestia.ru/news/56027

Congratulations!

Now the Ministry of Culture is establishing an advisory council on "choreographic art and education." It is to be organized by the Moscow Ballet School's Marina Leonova, and she would like it to include Ulyana Lopatkina and Maria Alexandrova. Its members are to be active dancers and artistic directors of ballet companies and schools--no fans, managers or journalists. On the whole Leonova believes that Russian ballet schools pay too much attention to general education, stating that prospective employers are interested in dancing ability and not "an A in physics." Leonova was informed of her new assignment a half hour before the press conference announcing the council's creation. The ministry says that it understands the importance of making decisions openly and transparently to prevent misunderstanding. The ministry is now saying that Asylmuratova had initially declined to work with Tsiskaridze, at which point the alternate candidacy of Lopatkina was proposed. However after "long discussions" it was decided that all Vaganova vice rectors would remain at their posts for the present. The ministry's secretary Grigory Ivliev said: "When we began to look deeper into the situation, we saw that combining work at the Academy with work as an active ballerina would be fairly difficult...Therefore, the matter of the candidacy of Ulyana Lopatkina will be decided after the election [of the rector], when all the details will be clear." http://izvestia.ru/news/560184

Filin testified today and denied Dmitrichenko's accusations, including those about alleged sexual impropriety. In court Filin said he cannot forgive anyone involved in the attack on him. Prior to leaving for Germany he gave several interviews on Russian television in which he stated that he had forgiven his attackers. http://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/197178/bolshoi-ballet-chief-to-testify-in-acid-attack-trial/

Michel Kelemenis' version of A Midsummer Night's Dream, performed by the Ballet of the Grand Théâtre de Genève, is available for viewing on demand. http://liveweb.arte.tv/fr/video/Le_Songe_d_une_nuit_d_ete_au_Grand_Theatre_de_Geneve/