Legwarmer

Could somebody explain her technical shortcomings in these clips to me? I'm interested in "schooling" my eye better for such a thing, but since there's nobody who can really teach me, I am quite lost... please?

I cannot really recall the policy for this board on this, but here's a link to some Sylphide videos: http://www.videobalet.net/ I have never seen any other Sylphide, only Aurelie Dupont on DVD - and of that, only a couple of minutes. I cannot really compare. But I have to say: Natalia Osipova really surprised me. She is incredibly light, and this role seems perfect for her since she's an effortless jumper. Wonderful. Her arms are exquisite, very soft and floating. I cannot judge much of the emotion, for that I would have needed some "closer" looks - but her gestures were not only with her hands, but with her whole body which accentuates their honesty. I really don't know what to think of her now - until now, I've always disliked her for her gymnastic aspects, for her plucked eyebrows that are barely still there and for her heavy mascara coat. I've never really taken her seriously. And while I always granted her stable technique I never thought her emotionally mature or talented. The role of Giselle still seems like a complete miscast to me because she put too many modern aspects into it - her technique, I mean - and her interpretation of the mad scene actually made me mad with anger at her for really spoiling it with running around too much and .. ugh. But La Sylphide? Natalia Osipova - I absolutely agree with you being very, very good for that role.

Oh boy, I meant this one and... ... I only now understood that you were talking about the students and not about the actual professional performers. (: Sorry.

You found Nadja Saidakova not convincing and un-professional? That surprises me a lot. Can you maybe explain?

That's another interesting point: would one prefer to have a few dancers who perform very, very often or rather a huge variety of dancers but therefore not see them often enough?

I wish I could see more of Bejart's pieces! I saw "Serait-ce la mort?" at the Malakhov & Friends Gala 2007, (you have to know that I usually hate modern choreographies) and I was deeply touched and very impressed. As to the internal politics: yes, how does it all function? What "type" of ballerina is liked at the POB? I know this is hard to answer, but I could imagine that the Bolshoi for example wouldn't exactly allow a non-super-skinny ballerina on stage, whereas the Royal Opera House has numerous dancers who don't look as though they were malnourished. What type of face is preferred? By the way, I just found this: http://www.danceviewtimes.com/2007/12/the-...acker.html#more ... and I am astonished. I cannot say anything about the dancers criticized, but I completely disagree with his view on Nurejev's choreography and the setting / costumes. To me, his choreography shows me a completely different interpretation of Tchaikovsky's music which is nicely fresh and new to me... I don't know, I disagree. ): But isn't this what ballet is there for? I wonder what type of Nutcracker Mr. Haegeman prefers.

Then again, what isn't there on the DVD (facial expression) can barely be there in the theater, can it? If a dancer doesn't smile honestly, you catch it on DVD and in the theater likewise.

Oh, cygneblanc, thanks for the explanation. That's the problem with being new to a board: sometimes, phrases or jokes can't be understood... now, tell your friends they all looked splendid. No, really, I saw the ladies and thought - "The POB most certainly knows how to chose beautiful ballerinas." So the Corps dancers can decide whether they want to dance classical repertoire or modern repertoire? Is this balanced or are too many dancers fond of modern works? Estelle, thanks a lot for giving me some insight. This is something one can barely find out over the Internet, you see? I'm very very interested in how this company "works", if you understand what I mean. I'd kill to have some 'behind the scenes' stories... Now, that truly is an error in the system. What does your new sujet status help when you cannot dance more solos? The Paris Opera Ballet seems to be a huge company, though...

Yes, if what she does concerns arts, I'm definitely in for it. I just thought she'd get to decide more general things.

Oh, I am so sorry! My eye is not taught enough to recognize new dancers. As I said, I am very new on the field of the POB and there are so many dancers! I could not possibly distinguish Myriam from Géraldine. Then again, their hair colour matched and well ... I'm sorry. I have to correct what I said: One of the Snow Flakes, Géraldine, must have been nervous and a bit thrown-off for replacing such a part and therefore looked very concentrated. They were rare, yes. But the Waltz of the Flowers had, in comparison, an astonishing amount of 'mistakes'. Wait, could you explain further on? Are you actually part of the troupe? Please forgive my lack of knowledge, I might seem very stupid to you... Oh, yay, now I feel intelligent for I've read about this on this board already, ha ha ha! No, really, doesn't their repertoire include many, many modern and off-pointe works this season? Then, my question is: could anybody explain what the Concours is about? I read (somewhere on this board) that the Corps is being ranked and that some are promoted. Is it official, meaning, is there an audience? What pieces are danced? Now, I have always wondered about that! Doesn't the Kirov have many principle dancers, too, who don't dance much anymore (Irma Nioradze)? I reckon it's the same with Staatsballett Berlin and Viara Natcheva / Bettina Thiel. Was the Nouvel An à l'Opéra Garnier danced by a POB Etoile, or was somebody invited, too?

I am impressed that you say Zakharova dosed her extension. This is another huge issue with flexible dancers of today, and I'm glad to hear that she caught this.

I have a question: Is Irina Golub really as good as Masha? I watched a Swan Lake DVD in which she was in a Pas de Trois with Ekaterina Osmolkina and she had an extreme class-like facial expression of concentration. There was no joy whatsoever. I am thinking about buying this DVD but am unsure. Then again, how much does Masha appear in this ballet? ...

Zakharova and Politics? Why does that seem wrong? I'm sorry, she might have wonderful views on what there is to "change in the world", but all the time she spends rehearsing and performing and being famous, I reckon she lacks the needed amount of time to really know the things going on in the world. When I saw her perform Giselle with the Bolshoi in April '06, the lady sitting next to me told me that I was very lucky to catch her with her 'original' company. She barely performs at home anymore, or so the lady said, and she's abroad a lot of times. She only dances as much in her hometown as her contract demands of her. I don't know what to think of it, though - on one hand an artist needs to get around, breathe the air of different theaters and cities to broaden their horizon, on the other hand - what do too many trips do to one's ego? And isn't this the general debate with Zakharova, or am I wrong?

31st December 2008. Casting: Clara - Svetlana Lunkina (invited) Drosselmeyer / Le Prince - Jérémie Bélingard Luisa - Géraldine Wiart Fritz - Mallory Gaudion Le Père - Vincent Cordier La Mère - Nathalie Aubin Le Grand-père - Stéphane Elizabé La Grand-mère - Cécile Sciaux Le Royaume des Neiges: Deux Flacons - Myriam Ould-Braham, Ludmilla Pagliero Danse Espagnole: Aurélia Bellet, Vanessa Legassy, Karine Villagrassa, Bruno Bouché, Vincent Chaillet, Axel Ibot Danse Arabe: Isabelle Ciaravola, Christophe Duquenne, Charlotte Ranson, Valentine Colasante, Marina Guizien Danse Russe: Natacha Gilles, Carole Maison, Christine Peltzer, Amandine Albisson, Yann Chailloux, Florimond Lorieux, Samuel Murez, Alexis Saramite Danse Chinoise: Josua Hoffalt, Yong-Geol Kim, Nicolas Paul Pastorale: Christelle Garnier, Ludmilla Pagliero, Bruno Bouché Maitres de ballet: Clotilde Vayer, Laurent Hilaire Direction Musicale: Kevin Rhodes // First of all, I only recently got around to informing myself on the Paris Opera Ballet. I watched some documentaries and was absolutely thrilled by Nurejev's work - beforehand, I had never thought them special. Well, that's what happens when you are "ignorant" (Latin for: lacking knowledge). I didn't know about the casting until I bought the programme and I was thrilled to see that Svetlana Lunkina was invited for Clara. Can anybody imagine my emotions - seeing the Nutcracker on New Year's Eve in Paris, with the best Corps de Ballet in the world, and one of the finest principals there are - from the Bolshoi - and such a dear and beautiful one as Lunkina? I have to admit I only admired pictures of her, but I found her casted as Clara an extremely good idea. She would match perfectly. And she did. Her stage presence is very interesting: she doesn't grab your eye aggressively, she invites you to watch her and captivates you... it seems that her artistry gently pours over your mind and your soul instead of violently shaking you (as was the case with Zakharova in Giselle, 2006). She was so young, so fresh, so naive. Her emotions were honest and not 'attached' to her face, she was very original (or so she seemed). Every second there was something going on about her, another emotion washing away the previous. It was wonderful. I sat there and stared at her with my mouth open, ha ha. Later on, in the Second Act, she was completely changed: she matured a well-proportioned amount, suddenly she was royal and set. Stable. I had always thought that Clara would have to smile throughout both acts, but I was so wrong! Svetlana Lunkina had a relaxed facial expression that showed how well she dominated herself, what a great princess she had become, ... I cannot find words for this miracle. Not for one second was she dull to look at, not a single negative thought crossed my mind. Her variations in the Second Act were technically brilliant, her Russian arms wonderful and her beautiful lines and feet to die for. But overall, it was 'put together'. Her whole presence would fit perfectly into the ballet. She took me with her on her voyage, she gently took me by my hand and brought me to her wonderland. What pleased me was that she wasn't too boney - I was used to the ribs being visible, as I saw with Zakharova, Saidakova and Semionova. As to Le Prince, I have to admit that I didn't pay much attention to him. Sometimes I'd look at him and see that there was, for my taste, proper admiration for Clara. He looked very... Spanish? Passionate? I don't know if I'd say he's put perfectly into this ballet, but the two of them definitely meshed very well. (And this is something I say rarely because to me, most male dancers aren't good actors) Their dancing was so synchronized! I have never seen such a technically perfect Pas de Deux. They were wonderful, just wonderful. Jérémie mastered the technically very demanding Nurejev choreography well as the steps seemed very complicated (and especially demanding in comparison to other choreographers. Nurejev does challange male dancers, and I appreciate this a lot). Overall, I believe he did well. The Madames of the First Act were all so beautiful; the French definitely know whom to place as Madames. The whole setting was beautiful; it was Csar Russia in its finest. It was not too small or too big and very home-y. It felt comfortable, warm and a perfect place for such a Christmas miracle to happen. The children were extremely 'real'. They fought and laughed and danced together, and I was surprised to see an expression of childish anger and roughness on the face of one little ballerina-in-the-making... the children made it all even more precious, even more real. It might be strange to say that the Nutcracker needs to be close to reality, but in order to bring the audience into heaven, "down to earth" is needed. Then again, the staging was not boring or normal in any way, it was still very special and beautiful. It was so warm... Nurejev is a genius... he definitely is. If I compare this setting to that of the Bolshoi's (2003, New Year's Eve performance with Nina Kaptsova), there is all the difference there could be. Moreover, the Grand-père was funny... the idea that an actually strict, classical ballet could be funny, amusing and classical at the same time completely skipped my mind. Now, I had huge estimations for Myriam but she disappointed me a lot. There was no expression of joy on her face but she seemed too neutral. The other dancer, Ludmilla Pagliero, was very dashing indeed. (But I have to say that the head piece wasn't exactly helping Myriam's beauty.) What I disliked is that you could distinguish those Corps dancers who loved dancing from those who were overly concentrated and not in the making of a fairy tale. Oh, the setting! Oh, it was so beautiful... what a fairy tale. I had never understood how ballet could create such a thing, I had always read about it and thought: "Why, I never had the feeling I was in a fairy tale!" But this time, I definitely have. Oh, the snow! Oh, these costumes! Oh, this setting! The First Act was over too soon, but the Second Act was extremely beautiful, too. The Waltz of the Flowers was very classic as to the setting and the costumes, but the choreography wasn't too stricly classic - it seemed to be the counterpart to all the gold. It was still classic, but the steps weren't what I was used to, and it was very original. Have I mentioned Nurejev being a genius? I'm afraid the Spanish Dance didn't move me; Géraldine Wiart lacked the needed passion for a dazzling Spanish performance. But overall, the choreography was beautiful and the costumes weren't the 'usual' red and black, but rather a bordeaux meshed with black... beautiful. The Arabian Dance! Dear God, it was... so different. I had never thought that one could even 'think' of such an original thing. Isabelle Ciaravola was ... I have no words. What a dancer. It was so amorous, so sensual and erotic in a subtle manner. The fact that it was all these things in a subtle manner actually makes it 'good' and not cheap or trashy or unsuited for such a ballet. How could two dancers have such a chemistry? How could they take me with them into 101 Arabian Nights, into a completely different setting and wonderland? How could they make me actually feel in this different world? They made me realise what it was all about, these Arabian Nights, and my heart opened up for such unexpected emotions... no, honestly. Isabelle is ... I will never forget these minutes. Never. The Russian Dance was very amusing and funny - a satire practically. I loved how, at the end of the Second Act, (I believe it was) Nathalie Aubin crossed herself and made this wonderful facial expression - rolling her eyes and crazily falling backwards into the arms of Vincent Cordier - I laughed. It was gorgeous. No, Nathalie had wonderful faces to pull and it was just amusing and nice to watch and funny. The Chinese Dance, I'm afraid, didn't really touch me except for the brilliant choreography (is it meant to express anything? I reckon, no). The Pastorale, in other stagings the Parisian Dance, was, I'm afraid, not as well rehearsed as the other dances. I believe Nurejev's love for two females dancing with a male is very challenging for these dancers and I have a lot of respect for those who can put up with the needed technical and musical skills - but Christelle and Ludmilla didn't exactly mesh. Corps: Wonderfully synchronized except for very few parts. Overall, the Snow Flakes were much better than the Waltz, but the Waltz didn't touch me as much because the dancers didn't seem to enjoy it - and they weren't as synchronized. I honestly cannot compare their performance to any other Corps because those live performances I can well remember captured my attention for the principal, Zakharova, for example - and when I saw the Royal Ballet, I was absolutely disappointed by the Corps' performance. I can only compare two DVDs, that of Swan Lake with the Kirov and with the POB - and the POB one is definitely more synchronized and dashing. One thing is extremely remarkable, though, and I had known this before but refused to accept it: the French aren't good jumpers. Nurejev loved grand jetes, he himself performed them well (DVDs), but maybe he himself refused to see that the school of the Opera doesn't teach enough technique in that area. I only saw one dancer with hands I didn't like. But: the second Svetlana Lunkina danced again, I saw a great difference between her arms and the POB ones and I have to say, hers are so much more beautiful. They were so soft, so wonderful. It was the same matter with the jetes. The male Corps was wonderfully synchronized, too, something MANY other companies completely lack. But on the other hand, they were all very noisy (especially when compared with Lunkina who was as light and silent as a feather). Sometimes, their landings' noise would fit in perfectly with the music, ha ha ha... Audience: Shocking! Not one flower for Lunkina, only a few "bravo"s and not a single audience member stood up while applauding. I felt so sorry for her, because in Moscow, people would get up and stay close to the orchestra pit until the very, very last curtain call and they would shout "bravo" for ages and send the ballerina many flowers. The French audience seemed very arrogant, I'm afraid, and not very thankful. In the end, it was the perfect performance, the perfect staging: A Corps technically thrilling, a very Russian and to-die-for ballerina, a Prince whom I didn't ignore (and that says something), a choreography that seemed fresh but classical at the same time, costumes that were too beautiful to be true, a stage that was decorated so wonderfully that I couldn't believe my eyes - ladies and gentlemen, and : a fairy tale. A fairy tale set in a very Russian era, a fairy tale so human that it took the whole audience with it.

The light haired dancer in the Pas de Trois is Yekaterina Osmolkina and the other is Irina Golub, I believe. But you're right, Yekaterina would make a brilliant Aurora!

Do you really prefer Nurejev's choreography? I loved his Corps work, but the Pas de Deux danced by Odette and Prince Siegfried were so disappointing - I definitely prefer the "traditional" choreography in those parts.

Oh, thank you very much for this hint! I find it wonderful that there are more and more "up to date" DVDs of ballets. Unfortunately, I really dislike Golub who will dance the female lead on this DVD... might I buy it anyway to see the rest of it? Hmmh...

Casting Odette / Odile - Ulyana Lopatkina Prince Siegfried - Danila Korsuntsev The Queen - Alexandra Gronskaya Tutor - Pyotr Stasiunas Jester - Andrei Ivanov Rothbart - Ilya Kuznetsov Prince's friends - Irina Golub / Yekaterina Osmolkina / Anton Korsakov Little Swans - Yevgeniya Obraztsova / Svetlana Ivanova / Irina Golub / Olesya Novikova Big Swans - Alina Somova / Viktoria Tereshkina / Yekaterina Osmolkina / Tatiana Tkachenko Two Swans - Xenia Ostreikovskaya / Daria Sukhorukova Spanish Dance - Ketevan Papava / Elena Bazhenova / Islom Baimuradov / Andrei Merkuriev Neapolitan Dance - Yana Selina / Maxim Khrebtov Hungarian Dance - Polina Rassadina / Artem Yachmennikov Mazurka - Galina Rakhmanova / Viktoria Kutepova / Marianna Pavlova / Yulia Slivkina / Andrei Yakovlev / Dmitry Sharapov / Alexander Klimov / Karen Ioannisyan My thoughts First Act The staging is somewhat not for my taste; what is that brick wall doing at the back of the sage? Prince's friends: Yekaterina Osmolkina and Irina Golub Yekaterina has a dashing stage presence. Her smile is huge and honest, overall she is lovely. She has a strong technique and great musicality. Gorgeous Kirov arms and legs! Her jumps are very light and her movements are fluid. She reminds me a lot of a mixture of Mariane Joly and Iana Salenko from Staatsballett Berlin. Irina, on the other hand, seems to be less fluid and has exactly two facial expressions to show: the first would be a half-smile stuck to her face as though it were glued to it - eyes aren't in tune with it - and the second one is a concentrated expression most students show in class. Sometimes, there's even fear hidden behind her smile. Irina lacks the needed technique for the sequence of arabesques in her solo and her foot work isn't as convincing as Yekaterina's is. Apparently, she does not quite master the stage as well as Yekaterina does and the combination of the two of them makes me doubt the casting skills of the Kirov. Their partner, Anton, was -not- in tune with the music at all, this poor boy! Jester, danced by Andrei Ivanov, has a very stable technique and brilliant turns with a perfect balance at the end. As to the Corps: they are basically the same height and their faces look very similar, which is fabulous to such a Corps Nazi as I am. They do all have Kirov arms and legs - and let us be honest, no other school than the Vaganova Academy seems to "produce" such bodies. I cannot quite explain it - their legs look sleek, no bulk at all, yet there are well defined calves and great lines. Their feet are highly-arched and their pointes look like a second glove on their feet. No Odette in the 1st Act? Second Act The staging isn't ... swan - lake enough to me. Although the Kirov does have some beautiful not-too-fake swans swimming around in the background. Rothbart (Ilya Kuznetsov) is amazingly aggressive! I have never seen such an evil Rothbart... it gives a real twist to the whole story. Before, I never regarded him as an object of evil, but rather as .. a counterpart to the good. Ilya is VERY evil. Gorgeous. Perfect technique, very, very evil. Fabulous. He can only be feared. Even his eyes blink in a daunting, intimidating way. Suddenly, without a scary Rothbart Swan Lake doesn't make sense anymore. Odette... Uliana enters the stage and immediately conquers it. There is no breath left for any other thought but of her beauty. She is not a dancer who tries to imitate a swan - she is the first swan I've seen. Her arms are wings, her legs carry her across the stage as though she would float. Uliana is extremely vulnerable, and as she bows down in front of Rothbart the audience gets a grasp of how he controls her. When the Prince, Danila Korsuntsev (have not mentioned him yet due to a lack of being special), comes closer to her and touches her to life, Uliana opens up a little. Corps? The right line is perfectly fine - the left line is not 'in line'. The overall choreography (Konstantin Surgeyev, 1950) is sometimes very Corps-unfriendly because some lines the Corps simply cannot form perfectly. Of course 15 swans can't stand exactly one right after the other, and any tendus and port de bras changes lead to the thought - 'they should have rehearsed this longer'... one Corps dancer always looked up and down when she stood in her frozen position which irritated me a lot. The arabesque hops, though, they master perfectly. Same height, same time - my eyes had a good meal with that one. Odette's adagio had no sky-high extensions to her ears but a nice height that was enough for adagio work, and ... she had such a calm expression as though she already knew what her destiny would be, but that she would endure all the pain nevertheless for such moments of love. Before Uliana, I thought I had seen adagio work, or at least a vulnerable Odette that equals what is written about the character: somebody out of this world who cannot be reached. I thought I had seen it in Zakharova's interpretation, but now I realise: there are no slower and more graceful, careful turns than those of Uliana. There is no Odette in this world who is so 'far from it', not to be reached by anything as worldly as the rest of the characters. The Prince can only fail, for he reaches for the moon. Yes... Uliana's Odette finally shows me what this ballet is about. I searched for this in all other ballerinas but failed to find it. Ladies and gentlemen... here it is. The perfect Odette. She is a swan, she is elegant and she is pure. Then there's the disappointment. The Kirov apparently can put together a nice Corps with dancers of the same height, but when it comes to the Little Swans they fail brutally. The very left dancer is the smallest, the very right one (Olesia Novikova) the biggest. Their footwork is technically brilliant although their legs are of different physique. But what are their heads doing? Did their coaches sleep? What, could they have 15 Corps dancers get their arabesque to the same height, but not four swans turn their heads at the same time? Big Swans. Somova. A matter to be discussed for itself. This ballerina manages to not fully dance out her adagio; all the other swans lean down 'completely' and she doesn't. Expressionless, her emotions are disappointing. Her tan tears all my attention away from the other swans who are truly beautiful. Then, we have Odette again. Uliana makes even strange jumps look light and gorgeous, and her attitude is stunning: the way she extends her leg makes me want to cry. After her very adagio turns across the stage (solo), the Corps performs brilliant work and uses the space extremely well. But what do I see at the end pose when Uliana stands on Danila's bent leg? Is he holding her on her tutu? Ha ha ha... Bows. Are there bows after every single Act? How distracting. Wow, a Corps dancer shots an evil look at one of the four swans. Evil, evil. Corps dancers, keep your eyes down, you ruin all the magic with your thoughts of envy and jealousy. Third Act What a horrible setting. What are those brown colours about? Are we here in the ballet Sleeping Beauty when everyone's in a coma? I am most certainly not, and this brown-ish stage hurts my eyes and my taste. Can't the Kirov invest in something more royal? This is THE classical ballet. The Queen appears. Is that a handbag? No, it's a fen. I had hoped for her First-Act-expression-lack to fade away but no, there it is again. I am under the impression that the dancer recently had some botox work done and therefore cannot use her face according to her character. She is neither cold, nor demanding, nor royal. At least some costumes are less arm-puffy than in the First Act. The Princess' costumes are gorgeous, but some of the dancers aren't really 'there'. They appear to be somewhere within themselves instead of out-going an plain gorgeous as they should be. There he is, evil Rothbart. Yes, yes... wonderful. The Spanish dance is dazzling! No red costumes and yet it is very very Spanish. Rrrr. The woman in the light costume pleases me more, she has something of the dashing Catherine Zeta-Jones temperament. Why is Rothbart sitting next to the Queen? Oh, a very beautiful Yana Selina in the Neapolitan dance! Even more stunning is Polina Rassadina as the Hungarian dancer. She's so witty... so proud... she would make the best Odile. Now there is what I had waited for... Odile. Is she dashing enough? Is she evil? Does she ridicule Odette with her imitation? No - she doesn't. Uliana cannot quite nail what Odile is supposed to be. Is she not capable of the evil, I wonder? Her white swan imitation is too close to Odette, it doesn't have any of the witty taste to it which would spice it up and put sense into it. And here goes my mind to ponder about the costumes since Uliana's performance lacks something: why can't there be white tights and white pointes? Why not? Where to use white tights and white pointes if not in Swan Lake? What's wrong with the costume designers? This is distracting! Really! Poor Prince, poor Jester. Nice turns, but no 4th position but rather... a tendu backwards. Danila is a bad jumper, his upper body jerks into the air in his jétés. The other jumps seem fine, though. Odile's fouettés are not high or clean enough, but I am very pleased with Uliana's musicality so that is perfectly fine with me. As Rothbart tears her away from the Prince, her expression immediately changes which I find very intelligent. Suddenly, she becomes attentive and he really is her master. When Danila finds out about his outrageous mistake, the tragedy is missing. He does play a bit with some half-sad facial expressions but in the end, it's not half as heart-throbbing as it should be. And these bows after every Act are getting on my nerves by now. Blech-botox-Queen can't seem to smile with her whole face, but Uliana has gorgeous calves. To die for. Fourth Act The setting is different from the Second Act, but I don't know if I like it any better. Somova appears again, and although her make-up is quite the same as every girls', she manages to look a bit trashy. Her tan definitely singles her out and I find it highly distracting. Is there no body make-up? The choreography's head moves I find distracting as well, couldn't the girls rely on their port de bras? And - why are there black swans? Ah, there's a swan solo. Who is that? A second swan solo. Really bad landings. Uliana appears again. The music is very dramatic, and I am eagerly waiting for her to impress me even more than in the Second Act. I am highly disappointed. The needed tragedy, the drama is completely missing. The music carries on without her, she is too calm. It panics and she doesn't. Rothbart enters and the Corps immediately reacts. Wonderful! He has power over all of them, which I have never seen. The prince comes closer to Uliana, and at least now I get a tad bit of emotion out of her. 'Don't touch me,' she seems to breathe, and she cannot leave the Prince as well as she can't endure his presence. There we go, the music changes and there is a to-and-fro between Odette, Rothbart and the Prince. Odette and the Prince kiss a last time (again, Uliana, where's your emotion? Why are you so calm?), and what should I think of those lips touching?! She gives Rothbart an evil look - which certainly gives a twist to it, but isn't carried on well enough because Odette lies down and dies. Or: seems to die. To my bigger disappointment, the Prince rips off Rothbart's wings and Rothbart dies. A happy ending, for Odette 'comes to life again' or 'stops being unconscious', please excuse this irony, but - where is the real drama? What was Odette's evil look about when SHE couldn't do anything but die? It doesn't fit into the picture to me. The ending doesn't please me in any way. Had it all been more dramatic, I could have lived with it, but Uliana's performance was anticlimatic and I had hoped for some justice. No. Overall thoughts The Kirov should really think about their staging, the lightening isn't beautiful in the Swan Lake Acts and not royal in 1st and 3rd Act. Some costumes should be worked on, for ... they are too puffy at the arms and too much overall. The colours are too brown, ... nevertheless, they have some dashing dancers. Their Corps is wonderful (at times), and these Kirov legs and port de bras ... *sigh* Uliana has a wonderful 2nd Act Odette; yet, for the 3rd Act, I found Zakharova much more witty and convincing. The last Act was a complete disaster to me. What is it with the Kirov? I recently watched the POB's Swan Lake DVD with Agnes Letestu; I disliked Letestu's interpretation of Odette, but overall, the POB Corps had a better choreography - it was more friendly because it was more easy to make it all look synchronal. Is the POB's Corps really better trained than the Kirov one? I had always, always thought that the Russians had the better Corps. Some parts are really astonishing, but overall, the POB seemed... better. I disliked the POB's costumes, too, but their whole staging was more beautiful (although Nurejev's choreography for the solos were horrible, in huge contrast to the really good Corps choreographies).

That's good, thanks for the info. (: Is the French Nutcracker good?

Oh my God, I am so nervous about this that I cannot grasp the meaning of the article the way I'd want to! My family got tickets for 31st Dec '07, the "New Year" performance of the Nutcracker. They were really expensive, and we've been looking forward to seeing the POB for quite some time. Does this all mean that it's possible there might not be a performance? Or a performance with no setting and half the Corps missing?

So it has nothing to do with a dancer's expressions? One can be a lyrical dancer, but boring to watch?

What an interesting thread! I have been wondering the same thing for quite some time now, but I was too afraid to post, since you are all so smart... (: I thought you might think me stupid for asking. Now, I feel very... confused. Many things were said, numerous topics were discussed, but have we come to an answer? I guess there is no such thing as an "answer" to debates, but I hoped I'd have more on my hands after reading these (very informative) three pages.

I don't know if this has been said already, but Polina Semionova and her brother Dmitri Semionov, who joined this season, are both principal dancers with Staatsballett Berlin.

That's nice of you to say! I already introduced myself, but that's ages ago. I was told to go to "Ballet Talk for Dancers", but I appreciate this board so much more, because you seem so sophisticated and sure of your opinions, so experienced that discussions are much more worthy being read. No offense to the other board, though! @ Waelsung: If you see Iana Salenko or Beatrice Knop, you can consider yourself incredibly lucky, also with Nadja Saidakova. I saw all those three dancers, and they are in-cre-dible... honestly.

*shy look around the corner for her fourth post* Everybody seems to be excited about Alice's Wonderland. The ads for this production seem to indicate that it is off pointe, and from what I've heard, it seems that there are several dancers performing the role "Alice", they are dressed and coiffured identically so that one leaves the stage on the right side, and the other comes to stage from the left side. This forces the audience to wonder which Alice went where, so that it is confusing and therefore ... I don't know, interesting? I am very glad, though, that Malakhov decided to stage "Onegin" again. It is a wonderful ballet, and it's a pity that so few companies perform it these days. I wish I could go to Berlin and see it... and I cannot get hold of a DVD, so lousy youtube videos have to do it for me. I wonder: why doesn't the SB have their own board under "European Ballet Companies"? It's a big company with 90 dancers, they tour to Japan, etc., so they're quite... important.