Rosa

What sad news!

I'm pretty sure tha tAlexandra played one of the child Ponchinelles (I'm sure I botched that spelling) in the NYCB version of Nutcracker (yes, the one with MacCauley Kulkin).

According to the credits Alexandra danced a Candy Cane.

I enjoyed reading about her rise at the Royal Ballet and wish her the best.

Thanks, Dale. If Terioshkina and Gomes perform the Manon pdd with the same intensity as they displayed at the recent Mariinsky Festival gala, then NYC is in for one heckuva treat. It's also great to see two other Mariinsky dancers in the line-up -- 'Big Red' Kondaurova and Schklyarov.

According to the YAGP site Gomes won't be performing; and only Kondaurova will be representing the Mariinsky.

http://yagp.org/gala/index.html

Has Sarah danced Gulnare before?

Just finished Reading Dance: A Gathering of Memoirs, Reportage, Criticism, Profiles, Interviews, and Some Uncategorizable Extras. A very very fascinating book. I found particularly interesting the sections on Ashton's ballets, Balanchine's ballets, Massine, and the movies. The Paul Taylor interview in the extras was quite amusing.

James Wolcott joins the celebration.

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/wolcott/2...-pined-for.html

I just fell off my chair. Woweeee!!!!!

Seriously, I almost fainted. YAHOO!!!!! Many congratulations Veronika!!!!

Very sad news. The clips of Evdokimova in La Sylphide were beautiful.

Found this trailer promoting the Royal Ballet's Swan Lake which will be showing at cinemas on May 24th:

The TBA slots for Myrtha on June 10 matinee and June 13 are now Messmer!

Could someone familiar with the US performances inform me as to what other roles she gets cast in at ABT as there was no biog details (or pic) of her in the rubbish programme that was for sale. She must do Aurora surely?

Part did dance Aurora when ABT's new "Sleeping Beauty" premiered in 2007, but last season she only was cast as Lilac Fairy. Other roles she has done includes Nikiya, Mercedes and the Queen of the Driads, Myrta, the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Snow Queen, Raymonda, and an Odalisque in "Le Corsaire." She will make her debut as the Sylph in "La Sylphide" this spring.

Here is her bio at the ABT website: http://abt.org/dancers/detail.asp?Dancer_ID=43

...I just noticed she is only credited with having danced a Shade in "La Bayadère" at ABT. Why isn't Nikiya listed?

Thank you very much for the report on Osmolkina's performances in RB's "Swan Lake," leonid! I'm very happy for her.

How did you like Wiles, Hallberg, and Gomes, Jane?

ABT opened in London last night. Any reports?

So did the Tereshkina- Gomes Manon which was in one word hot hot HOT.

Truly a performance of technical wizardry and personal chemistry serving the expression of emotional outpouring and spontaneity.

Is there any hope someday Tereshkina and Gomes will do a full-length ballet? They were amazing together in the PDD!

Thank you chiapuris and Natalia for all the wonderful reports of the festival!! They made me feel like I was there.

Portions of the Vishneva/Gomes Giselle is already on youtube as well as their Manon. Funny, I thought I had already posted this but cannot find it. Enjoy!

Some of Don Q too!

As well as some of the divertissment from the gala!

Thank you for the detailed reports, Marga. Looking forward to hearing about the contemporary repertoire.

So glad Marcelo "The Magnificent" Gomes' Mariinsky debut was a success!

Congratulations Mrozewski, Lobsanova, and Stearns!

I've only seen clips from last nights PDD, and it appeared as though Valdes had an off-night and was out-classed by Sarafanov. She seemed to be trying too hard and although her triples in the coda were nice, she failed to finish the fouettes with her typical multiple pirouette. Also, I though it was very awkward when she tried for the double turns a la seconde into the penche, while Sarafanov tried to catch her after one rotation. I thought she looked rather stiff in her variation as well. Sarafanov looked brilliant, especially in his variation. I think Valdes is a very entertaining dancer, but I am surprised that she isn't getting more negative reviews for being tasteless considering the lashing Somova typical receives.

While Valdes' flashiness isn't totally to my taste, it suited Don Quixote. I thought she was quite good in the clips from last night -- nice balances and fouettes. It seemed to me the over the top-ness was toned down a bit, compared to other clips of Valdes doing this PDD. (Perhaps some nerves?) Sarafanov looked brilliant. He and Valdes appeared a well matched pair.

Oh, and thank you for the wonderful reports, Natalia and chiapuris!!

Disorder in and around Giselle's head?  

I much prefer the Fracci method.  I hate it when the hair becomes the star of the last third of Act I. We first see Giselle in a tight, neat, little bun.  But at her last entrance, the bun is a little looser.  Then there's the whole production of undoing it so that the hair falls.  Too much unnecessary stage fuss distracting from the action, to my mind.  

I agree, Carbro. I remember seeing one Giselle who throughout the whole mad scene kept brushing her long hair out of her face. She was going mad, oblivious of "Loys", her mother, friends and strangers, yet very much aware of her hair being in the way and needing to be pushed back. In my opinion it took away from her performance. My preference: hair up, or the wonderful Fracci method, or having the hair part way down.

How much is the effect of Giselle's hair being down during the mad scene lessened when she wears it down throughout Act 1 (Vishneva, Cojocaru, Seymour (on the video with Nureyev))?

Thank you very much for the heads up, volcanohunter! I've been curious about Dowell's production and the Nunez/Soares partnership. Looking forward to the chance to see both.

Beautiful roundtable! Four very different Giselles... Thank you, Marga!

"Tour de Force: A Gala Dance Spectacular" at Orange County Performing Arts Center. May 21, 2009.

Nikolay Tsiskaridze

Maria Alexandrova

Natalia Osipova

Ivan Vasiliev

(Bolshoi Ballet)

Diana Vishneva

Leonid Sarafanov

Denis Matvienko

Anastassia Matvienko

(Mariinsky Ballet)

Johan Kobborg

Alina Cojocaru

(Royal Ballet)

Bernice Coppieters

Chris Roelandt

(Ballet Monte Carlo)

Silvia Azzoni ***

Carsten Yung

(Hamburg ballet)

Gennady Saveliev

(American Ballet Theatre)

Desmond Richardson

(Complexions)

Vladimir Malakhov

(Berlin Staatsballet)

Guillaume Cote

Heather Ogden

(National Ballet of Canada)

Soloists and Corps-de-Ballet of the Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg

http://www.ardani.com/projects-tdforce.php

International Stars Gala:

I. WHO CARES?

Igor Zelensky, Elena Lytkina, Natalia Yershova, Anna Zharova and artists of the Novosibirsk State Opera and Ballet Theatre

II. DIVERTISSEMENT

Ulyana Lopatkina, Diana Vishneva, Viktoria Tereshkina, Yevgenia Obraztsova, Angel Corella, Marcelo Gomes, Vladimir Malakhov, Leonid Sarafanov, Ivan Kozlov, Mikhail Lobukhin

III. THEME AND VARIATIONS

Alina Somova, Vladimir Shklyarov and artists of the Mariinsky Ballet

http://www.mariinsky.ru/en/playbill/playbi...09/3/22/1_1900/