Mashinka

A few critics had their worst night out a week or so ago and commented on it at the time. These two considered pieces appeared over the weekend. http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/columnists/david-lister/david-lister-when-audience-participation-resembles-sexual-harassment-2296160.html http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/2011/jun/12/shock-tactics-dance-sadlers-wells To be fair these performances came with a warning, but for the critics it was their job to go. I usually avoid anything with nudity on the grounds that such performances are more about exhibitionism than art, but this does amount to sexual harassment in my book and had I been accosted in that way I would very likely have retaliated.

A discussion of some dreadful evenings and I'm sure the posters here have been to a few. http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/theatreblog/2011/jun/10/worst-night-at-the-theatre

I'm so pleased you singled out Diana Cuni for praise Natalia, she is stunning in everything she does but in Bournonville she reigns supreme in my view. Lis Jeppesen's Viderick is adorable, I'm pleased she still dances the role. The Christian element is very important to the story: faith overcoming the machinations of the supernatural and providing comfort for Hilda. This is a serious omission in my view. And I'm horrified that they've altered the Act III pas de sept, it was as close to perfect as choreography gets.

The ‘misalignment of torsos’ that Natalia refers to are actually more of a problem in the Kirov than elsewhere, rather as if the dancers are encouraged to go for hyper extensions but with no one to show them how: hardly surprising when the current pedagogues wouldn’t have used the effect themselves. They are being taught this because of the demands of the current in vogue choreographers such as Forsythe and McGregor and it is becoming standard to train dancers in every conceivable style that they may have to perform in the course of their careers. Unfortunately too many now include these aberrations in classical works inducing what I call the ‘wince factor’. This stuff is actually dangerous physically and there is a likelihood the dancers will rebel when the physical damage that ensues becomes common knowledge when the crippling effects take hold. A very famous dance osteopath told me drily that she loved extreme technique as it ensures she is never out of work, sad but true.

The BBC must own a treasure chest of ballet footage stretching back to the 1930's. I was told it has never been released onto commercial DVD's because of problems with royalties. Does this particular release signal a change of heart? If so I hope it proves the opening of the floodgates.

I saw her in this role in Copenhagen at the last Bournonville Festival and she was sublime.

If in some quarters Obraztsova's range is considered limited, might that not be down to the Kirov failing to recognize the true scope of her talent? Obraztsova is well on the way to achieving the kind of international reputation that is the prerogative of the great ballerina and is now a much sought after addition to gala programmes throughout the world and is one of only two Kirov dancers to have appeared as a guest artist with the Royal Ballet, the other, Osmolkina, also suffers from lack of recognition within her own company; how odd that the two considered to have the ability to seamlessly adapt to an unfamiliar company are two of the least favoured at home. Obraztsova will be dancing again in London later this weekend, she is very popular here and I can guarantee that many of those in the audience will be there specifically to see her. Regarding Somova, I think the term mono-faceted would sum her up best.

I very much enjoyed reading GoCoyote!’s post and would like to make a couple of comments. Well, the wall to wall TV coverage threw out a few clues such as the panning across Hyde Park revealing fewer people than would attend the average concert events held there and my sister in law, a woman addicted to any kind of spectacle and with hopes of attending the Olympic Games next year, was surprised to get a very good view from The Mall as there were fewer spectators than she had imagined. Then there was the day’s holiday imposed on the country: Had there been no holiday Londoners would have found it well nigh impossible to get to work with so many of the major roads in the centre completely closed, but everywhere else it was more complicated with many people having to work or lose a day’s pay and many employers were concerned about losing a whole day’s business at a time when the recession is making small businesses struggle to survive, so not a decision unanimously applauded. One very positive thing came out of the event though: confirmation that the belief that the monarchy is ‘above politics’ is a myth. The guest list proved that and did in fact get a lot of publicity prior to the event. That heads of state such as Obama, Merkel, Sarkozy et al were excluded was explained away by the wedding not being a state occasion and the exclusions of former Labour premiers Blair and Brown were explained away by their not being knights of the garter, whereas the conservative ex PM’s that were invited were. The biggest embarrassment though was the dithering over the rescinding of the invitation to the Syrian Ambassador, which must have upset Prince Charles no end as he is said to be pals with Syrian President Assad who is half English and educated in the UK, never mind, there were plenty of other middle eastern dictators on display and I’m told the Saudis in particular have a habit of bestowing jewel-encrusted gifts on these occasions. The royals have a penchant for dodgy rich people though and Prince Andrew’s friendship with millionaire Jeffrey Epstein who has unfortunate sexual proclivities actually cleared the front pages of pre-wedding clap trap for several days in the run up to the event. To summarize: democratically elected UK leaders OUT. Loaded foreign dictators IN.

A London royalist who rang LBC (a UK radio station with a right wing agenda) would not have agreed with that. She actually complained that the US had intentionally timed the raid to spoil the RW coverage because Americans are jealous of the British monarchy!

That's called propoganda.

Your comments give me an insight to your character Leonid, but I’ll leave that aside. Let’s concentrate not on my friends and family (not your business) but what I do for a living; I work for an organization that brings me into contact with the UK, and occasionally international, media on a pretty continuous basis. My job is to pass on information about the UK economy and I read and absorb the information I distribute, therefore I know rather more about the state of the UK economy than most. Though not strictly a workaholic, more a news junkie, when I’m at home I listen to news TV and radio, political debate programmes etc. often listening to interviews I’ve helped set up and during the day I also read all the non tabloids and a wide range of news web sites. I therefore consider myself fairly well informed on economic, social and political matters. News of the wedding obliterated everything else on the day and in political terms it may have been a day to ‘bury bad news’ always a fear on these occasions. That was my primary concern. Public opinion towards the monarchy is a hot topic right now and the media has rightly recorded the fact that support is largely waning for that institution with most importantly little or no support from the young with their belief that the monarchy enforces the class system that is endemic and much resented in British life. Those that are in support in the main consider a royal head of state preferable to some loathed politician in charge. Street parties, the activities we are supposed to indulge in to celebrate royal occasions, were in fact tiny in number and in the city of Glasgow there were no applications for any at all. The most worrying aspect of RW day was the ban on political demonstrations that had been planned by those outraged by the millions spent (or wasted) at a time when thousands are losing their jobs due to government cut backs. Try calling someone that has just lost their job and objects to displays of wealth and privilege a “sour puss” and see what reaction you get. It isn’t just Britain that is in a parlous state economically I know, Greece and Ireland are in a far worse place, but spending cuts being made here are draconian and will have serious consequences. The wedding, which was not a state occasion by the way, could have been conducted more appropriately at Windsor at far less expense. You probably have to go back to the 1950’s pre the ‘Angry Young Men’ to find the kind of cap doffing, forelock tugging “subjects” of Leonid’s imaginings. Modern Brits have changed a lot since then.

I’ve a feeling you’re in a minority there. As for assorted war records, a few of them have made themselves useful, but royal weddings and the like are still the modern day equivalent of bread and circuses. Very few Brits I know are happy to be considered as 'subjects' by the way: it is to most a derogatory and anachronistic term.

Mercifully the demise of the gent in the turban has cut short the saturation coverage of the RW in the UK media. What is regarded by the rest of the world as a first class spectacle is far less enjoyable to those of us paying for it through our taxes.

I think you are opening a real can of worms here Natalia, I’ve only braved two touring Russian ballet troupes this year, but over in the UK the experience is identical to yours with glossy brochures (a good money spinner) offering no real chance of identifying exactly who you saw dance. Of the two companies I saw recently, one had a good leading couple and one or two competent soloists and the other had a good male dancer; both had a very adequate female corps de ballet but rather poor male dancers. Interestingly one of those companies had been performing in Italy earlier and some friends of mine; both experienced ballet goers, were hugely enthusiastic about what they saw there but were very disappointed by the UK leg of their tour. Clearly there was a turn around in personnel with a low rent team sent on to Britain. Some of the impresarios involved in these tours are nothing more than pirates forcing dancers to criss-cross the country on coaches dancing one night stands for months on end, staying in basic hotels with barely a day off and not even paying the air fare home sending them back and forth to Russia by coach instead of by air: no wonder standards slip. Some people are making a lot of money out of this. Going off topic a little, it’s surprising just how many excellent dancers hail from Kazakhstan, watch out for the dancers from the Nureyev School in Ufa too as the graduates there are of a consistently high standard. Perm is also a hot spot of teaching excellence.

.Tachkin's company is a bit of an exception to the mediocre rule as they tour with an orchestra and appear at venues like the London Coliseum and the Theatre des Champs Elysees in Paris, but the UK is plagued by tacky touring groups such as the Siberian Ballet and Moscow La Classique to name but the two I've seen this year, though to be fair the former company had a decent orchestra and an acceptable leading couple whereas La Classique's Coppelia featured a Swanilda who found performing just too much trouble and never even attempted the fish dive at the end of the pas de deux. I question the value of these companies in the long run, my first sight of ballet as a child was in a provincial theatre seeing the likes of Alicia Markova but if I had first seen either of the companies I've just mentioned I'm pretty sure I would have been put off ballet for life.

Just like Richard Gere in American Gigolo!

An article about how we dress to go to the theatre: http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/theatreblog/2011/mar/31/theatre-dress-up-audience It's usually straight from the office for me I'm afraid, but does anyone still dress up?

I'm indebted to a Russian friend who enlightened me about his unfortunate young dancer: Maria Danilova (b St Petersburg, 1793, d St Petersburg, 20 Jan. 1810). Russian dancer. She studied at the Imperial Theatre School in St Petersburg where she was considered exceptionally talented particularly by Didelot who cast her in several of his ballets while she was still at school. She danced partly on pointe and at 15 she scored a notable triumph in Les Amours de Vénus et d'Adonis ou La vengeance de Mars, partnered by Duport with whom she had an unhappy love affair. This was considered to have undermined her delicate constitution, since she died of consumption aged 17.

I can think of few dancers less suited to the role of Romeo than Ivan Vasiliev. Mercutio perhaps but not Romeo.

Other big names include the following: Alessio Carbone, Dorothée Gilbert, Dmitry Gudanov, Ekaterina Krysanova, Svetlana Lunkina, Vladimir Malakhov, Andrei Merkuriev and Vadim Muntagirov. Vladimir Malakhov has very rarely appeared in London at all so this will be a rare opportunity to see him live.

This story is clearly going to run and there is a half page feature in today’s Guardian with what they allege to be even more revelations about the Bolshoi. The article is dominated by a large picture of Volochkova, who is accusing the company of all manner of wrong doing (her picture doesn’t appear on line). http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2011/mar/22/bolshoi-rocked-by-scandal?INTCMP=SRCH Volockova is such an attention seeker that it’s hard to take anything she says very seriously, though what is being said about the awarding of building contracts may well be true. Obviously the Yanin business was very unfortunate and has put the company in the paper for all the wrong reasons but the Bolshoi operates on the very highest level and after the problems of a decade or so ago it has been onwards and upwards with no looking back. But how strange it is that the otherwise stable Bolshoi is in the line of fire whereas the scandals at the declining Kirov, and there are many, somehow remain under wraps. I am desperately, desperately sorry for Gennady Yanin and would love to know what piece of scum sank so low as to attack him in such a disgraceful manner. I sincerely hope he will be able to put all this behind him and take his rightful place in the upper echelons of the ballet world even if that means that he has to leave Russia.

I find it astonishing that neither Obraztsova nor Osipova has yet danced Odette/Odile. They are two of Russia's best and I thought everyone was awaiting their debuts with baited breath.

You’re asking the how long is a piece of string question. No one can say how many are involved, but I’ve witnessed an incident myself and every dancer has a story to tell on this score. The claque’s an odious bunch and apparently very active in Moscow, although some things I’ve been told sound far fetched I’ve no reason to believe they aren’t true Check out the Russian forums and you’ll discover just how unsavoury the sentiments are and thoughts can sometimes turn into actions, ergo an unwanted director can expect a rough ride.

Worth mentioning that the new Bolshoi Director, Yan Godovsky, dances the 'Marseillaise' on this recording.

The incidents I referred to are factual and reported in the press at the time. Towards the end of Grigorovich's tenure there were demonstrations against him both inside and outside the theatre (reported on the BBC World Service). Audience antics are rivalled by on stage incidents; remember the public sacking of Gediminas Taranda? Remember Irek Mukhamedov seriously assaulting a member of the public? These things are well documented. I myself had a run-in with a member of the Bolshoi claque a few years back, though admittedly that was at the opera, so I have personal experience that things are not all sweetness and light there as you suggest. In Russia it seems to me quite a number of people indulge in these 'acts of barbarism' as you call them. Facts are facts and wishing otherwise won't change them