Catherine

I have nothing to add

No - I never said "not permitted" to be in the theatre. I said unlikely to be, because dancers (at any level) tend to not just "Hang out" if they're not involved -- they would go home for much needed rest. In the case of Makhalina and Nioradze they are both officially on the roster (payroll) but almost never perform, ie almost never are cast. I think the last time I saw Makhalina was in a short acting piece this past spring. I dont believe I saw Nioradze in all of 2011 or noticed her being cast. Edited to add: Just read Natalya's post above and agree with all of it - not sure about the final comment but the rest I agree with. Zelensky is a great example, he's listed as a principal but doesn't perform on the Mariinsky stage (hasn't in several years). It's like a symbolic ranking, not an active one - same with Nioradze and yes, she's in London most of the time.

The comment about Pavlenko was a low blow -it was made initially in one of the early Rosbalt articles around Nov. 25th ish, and just repeated in this one. It is clearly aimed at dismissing the issue as a personal gripe of hers, which could not be further from the truth. It demonstrates how dismissive the initial reaction was to this attempt -by a group of dancers not by Pavlenko herself- to rectify some problems. I dont get the idea the Soyuz is attacking the theatre, but it could be seen that way given how it has gone to press instead of being addressed internally... a snowball effect in a way...

Why the Minister hasn't replied yet-- unfortunately I don't know, and possibly the dancers do not know either. It sounds like with this most recent meeting the wagon wheels are beginning to turn, so hopefully the suggestion of the Dec 25th meeting means between now and then (20 days) something will be addressed or decided or at least a process begun. One would presume that time span will allow for meeting with the Minister (by Gergiev, or by the ProfSoyuz representatives). We can hope. As for the principals -- I venture a guess that time plays a part in two ways. First, since they typically dance less frequently than the rest of the troupe, if they're not guesting, they have perhaps fewer rehearsals (I"m not saying they do not rehearse - but the load and focus is different). Corps members can be on stage every night of the week in the MT, in both operas and ballets, learning the new order of steps in yet another opera (or ballet) or filling in for someone who is sick/injured, and that after a full day of rehearsals. Remember - there are no union rules there, so no required breaks, no cut off at 6 p.m. and so forth. Fewer rehearsals means they (principals) can leave the theatre when they're not obligated to be there. They also have fewer performances than someone in the corps (you will never see Lopatkina, for example, dance 6 nights in a row, it just doesn't happen at this point in her career). This results in two things: in the case of Nioradze and Makhalina -- still on the list of principals -- they may never even be in the theatre aside from class (and in some cases, not even ever for class) if they're not performing. For the "active" principals, they will be there fewer hours (perhaps but not necessarily) than some corps members. Also they have security of salary and rank and in most cases state titles...so the issues addressed in the list of Labor Code violations may not affect them to the same degree as it affects newer, younger dancers. They aren't competing for roles (they already have them) and they aren't trying to climb the ladder (they've already climbed). The other factor is the "don't rock the boat" approach which many dancers -- in fact most Russians who I know -- still adopt. The idea of confronting authority is not well established in those raised during the Soviet years. (Lopatkina for example, was directly coached by Dudinskaya, lets not forget) It makes even me nervous to think of signing a petition for better conditions when the history of the theatre is such that people who didnt' do what the authorities liked were ushered out of the theatre -- starting with Konstantin Sergeyev himself along with Dudinskaya. If you knew or saw that happen, or heard of it, would you really try to "improve" things? (Granted he wasnt trying to change the system but the authorities did not like him for a number of reasons and he was removed by them) It takes courage for certain, because this path of reform is not well established in Russian culture or history and certainly not in theatre administration either. There is a precedent for...disaster... and there are many who by nature in Russia wont feel comfortable going down that road.

Exactly. There is more news this morning, I can barely keep up with it. I will add the latest articles and try to translate/summarize. First a meeting between the dancers and the company took place -- announced 20 minutes before the actual meeting, therefore attendance was limited, in which Gergiev spoke to the troupe. He said he would try to find housing for the dancers. The Rosbalt article suggests that while that is a great thing, the dancers were hoping for a concrete solution to the labour issues (and probably not just housing) That article is here: http://www.rosbalt.r...tion_ref_map=[] It suggests that Gergiev promised to meet the artists again on Dec. 25th by which point, sources say, an answer from Moscow should be available to the dancers. "As you recall, the ProfSoyuz of the ballet troupe of the Mariinsky turned to the Minister of Culture of the RF Vladimir Medinsky with a request to check the financial activity of the institution and the observance of legislation by the Mariinsky administration. [...]Gergiev later announced that the artists' concerns were understandable but not supported by any official dialogue "Even on the level of the ProfSoyuz, there has been no concrete conversation. Daria Pavlenko and a couple of dancers came to see me. Ten years ago Pavlenko was among those whose names were celebrated inside the Mariinsky Theatre. Today it's difficult to speak kof her with such certainty. Maybe her lesser employment today compared to those years disturbs her," Gergiev said. Then Gergiev says that the majority of the artists' concerns is linked with not having a place to live [Note: opinion not fact] And then he says that needs to be discussed not by means of a letter but with the governor/president. I dont handle that." Pavlenko pointed out that Gergiev had not addressed a single point in the letter they sent to the Culture Minister. :http://www.rosbalt.r...tion_ref_map=[] The other article I think I posted previously as it's date is rather old but I repost - as it mentions the $500/mo starting salary for corps members: http://www.rosbalt.r...13/1057766.html

Yes obviously the principals are at another level. But to differentiate between first soloist second soloist and coryphee, when they often all interchange the same roles -- my point was that this is given more focus in the West than it is there. As soon as a dancer achieves "principal" status -- and obtains a title of state (honored artist, for example) there are a slew of additional awards and privileges that come with it -- that is a fact and that sets them apart greatly from the others in the company/companies in question. Honored artists, or People's Artists, for example, receive monetary awards. Those are not just state honors, there is financial compensation involved as well. No, Fateyev is not the only one who decides individual salary levels or rankings. I never wrote that he was. He and others in the company don't pay much attention to the website though.

(I share your "bravi" to the courage of Dasha and Dmitry for addressing this in such a black hole of communication. While it should not threaten their internal standing, that nonetheless is always a risk...) I would not split hairs over categorization in ranking. Inside the company, there are only two salary rates: soloist and everyone else. Then within those categories salaries are individualized. There is more discussion in the West, than in Petersburg, about what rank a given dancer has -- "is she in the corps? Is she a first soloist? Is she a coryphee?" Internally that is not such an issue as it is here -- and as I think I noted before and others have also noticed, the Western program rankings on some tours may bear no relationship to the dancer's actual ranking inside the company. When I interviewed Fateyev this June, he said Kampa had been hired as a coryphee. But she's listed as a Principal or soloist on tour and a corps de ballet member on the website -- none of that matters really except how she's viewed internally by him in comparison to the other dancers (which also dictates salary levels at least for the Russians) as that will also determine what roles she's given, if they give her a personal pedagogue (none, as of October, that I"m aware of) and so forth. In any case this issue with the labor code violations began well before Kampa joined the company and before Kimin was promoted... As Pavlenko pointed out, the Law was created in 1986 and that country no longer exists, therefore the law should be updated as a start. Regarding foreign sponsors, Ardani as I understand doesn't sponsor the company -- they just arrange the appearances. (I speak of, for example, the annual Kennedy Ctr stop, or this year's West Coast tour). Others may sponsor individual productions (new premieres) or tours, such as Mr. Takahashi. I haven't seen the the Kings of the Dance written programs -- if it's true what you say Natalya then yes, that's a mutual working relationship between Fateyev and Ardani for that program.

It was suggested to me to post this again here to open up discussion. In short this issue has been going on since May of 2012 and has heated up considerably in the Russian press in the past 3 weeks. Daria Pavlenko and Dmitry Piikhachev, as representatives of the dancer's union, met with Gergiev in May this year (just after the troupe appointed Daria to that position) to address issues of casting, salary, repertoire, etc. The issues were not addressed and subsequently three dancers (Pavlenko, Piikhachev and one other) sent an open letter (that was published in the newspaper) to the Minister of Culture requesting he address a list of Labor Code violations. That prompted a series of articles in the press, and also a *press release* response to the letter. Pavlenko then emphasized that she was asking the Ministry of Culture to look into the violations before addressing them internally with the Theatre's administration. Here is the latest English language summary which skips over about 90% of what has happened (it's hard to summarize it all in one article) but the crux of it is here: http://sptimes.ru/in...story_id=36603 I have maintained a log of the previous articles/ publications on this issue here: http://www.ballet-da...hp?f=31&t=36477

Helene, yes, "warmth" is a great adjective, completely agree :-)

One of Ksenia's family members posted a video of her Nov. 11th performance at the Hermitage Theatre in the pas from "The Nutcracker" >The quality of the film is quite good and offers a clear glimpse of her great talents:

yes

HI Tiara, I was there too and I don't recall now off hand (for that particular set of performances) if there were cameras or not. If there are, they're only ever where you mentioned, or else ahead of row 13 (exit row) in the orchestra, in that mini aisle before those side doors. Only in rare cases can they film backstage (ie standing in wings) I dont think for graduation perfces....

I didn't know if others were aware but did not see a posting about this. This summer while I was in Petersburg Emil Faski informed me of this competition which he was at the time working for as a choreographer for one of the pairs of dancers. The competition features couples from the Mariinsky, Bolshoi, Perm, Stanislavsky and Ekaterinburg ballet theatres, and each in both classical and new modern works. The competition is broadcast every Sunday night in Russia and the full "episodes" from each week can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/user/nicolezly Also, as I noted elsewhere: Of note, in Episode 3, Alexei Miroshnichenko created the piece for the Perm couple -- for those who remember, he first performed at the Mariinsky, became balletmaster there predominantly rehearsing Forsythe works and then shifting to his own choreography before moving to Perm several years ago, where his career is continuing quite successfully. (He showed up briefly at the Mariinsky last season for the Festival). In this episode he has choreographed a charming version of a ballet we never see in the West, "The Tale of the Buffoon" to music by Prokofiev. The Perm couple dances first in this episode. More information about it can be found here: http://www.allmusic.... ... 0002367368 For those who haven't seen these dancers dance live, or side by side (ie in the same evening) it is interesting to watch, as are the new works by Russian choreographers.

Just wanted to answer Birdsall's question. No, the theatre is not looking for another director for the ballet troupe, nor will they. In fact, Vasiev's position was "Zavedushi" (head) of the ballet troupe, as was Vinogradov's. Fateyev's is "deputy head" but an interim or deputy director can be present for a very long "interim" and that is what everyone expects to happen. I was surprised at the Berkeley performances how much clout the American audiences give to the printed programs. In this case, the printed literature (at least at the Berkeley stop - I haven't seen LA or DC programs so cannot comment on those) should not be taken as bible. In the case of Berkeley's programs, the list of 'Principals' bears no relation to the actual ranking of the dancers in the Mariinsky. Rather the rankings were listed in order to back up the casting decisions, not the other way around. Example: we have Kolegova and Skorik listed as principals alongside Sergeyev and Zuizin. Inside the Mariinsky they are all soloists of various levels. Perhaps a fine distinction but a difference nonetheless. Further, alllll of the men are listed as Coryphees, and all the other women as Soloists. Make of it what you will. To boot, Konstantin Sergeyev's position was also never "artistic director', although I'm sure tour programs listed him as such. So, technically speaking the company has not had an "artistic director" that I am aware of (at least not according to official files - again, tour programs may be written differently for easier understanding by the foreign public). Gergiev wields the power and decides who, under him will "run" the ballet. His subordinates in any case answer to him and that point is one that shouldn't be overlooked.

Hi - just wanted to pop over since the MT is now in Berkeley and we are indulging in the beauty here...)) On the topic of partners, just wanted to chime in. I think it's probably already been discussed, but if not, I believe there is a shared opinion that Shklyarov's strengths lie in his solo dancing, especially in bravura roles, rather than in partnership/lifts. I've seen him emote a great deal in some romantic roles (Giselle/Romeo) but he shines best as an individual dancer in any given ballet (except perhaps Romeo with his wife Shirinkina). So that applies to Swan Lake and these tour stops as well. I think part of the problem here with the last minute casting run-around is truly the lack of tall/strong men for these taller ballerinas...Korsuntsev is the most reliable but he's 38 and let's hope he will still be able to perform for many years and wont be given (or accept) mandatory retirement soon (as he's already at the 20 yr mark). Ivanchenko, well that has been discussed. So the shorter men can be fantastic performers on their own, but when you have the basketball team (as Lopatkina lovingly referred to the administration's categorization of her generation) of ladies, you need the tall(er) men, and right now the crop coming up the ranks still has a few years to go before they get there.

Yes, I know, I speak of the June 23 gala because I was there - I saw it and reviewed it. *sigh*

Thanks Alexaa1a! I will check my programs once I'm back at home, but I have a clear vision of her in the adagio onstage; it's possible this visual is instead from the Lizst piece thoughfrom 09. In ANY case, Shevtsova was not quite as fluid and lyrical in the Briantsev as one wanted her to be.

[Edit function isn't working so I have to finish that comment here] I rememer seeing Zhiganshina at the Mikhailovsky Grand Prix in November 2010 and she was lovely in the Adolf Adams' Pas de deux. It would have been wonderful to have seen her again this year and compare the progress, so here is to hoping she's just out temporarily.

There is an increasing trend for this "last three years of Vaganova" going on now. Keenan Kampa, who is now with the Mariinsky company, is the first American to be invited to join. She trained in Virginia until age 18 and then attended Vaganova for 3 years. After 2 yrs with Boston now she's here in Petersburg (as of June 2012). I just interviewed her for a US publication and she will tour to California with the company this fall. The current international division student, Isabella McGuire Mays, is also at the Academy. I dont know her age, but am guessing she may also have been around 18 when joining the Academy. These are different cases though, than the Russian-born-and-trained dancers (Zhiganshina) who transfer into Vaganova from Perm, Kiev, or Jacobson's school.

p.s. Natalia -- Ksenia Shevtsova was fine in the Briantsev piece (which Smirnova danced 2 yrs ago for graduation) but ... I kept seeing Smirnova there so it was hard to not compare. That was the only piece she appeared in today, sadly. Ksenia Zhiganshina was not listed anywhere in the program either today or on the 17th. Altynai and Konstantin's daughter has one year left, but she appeared in the Duato pieces both dates ....

As you can see after the turns that finish at 0:40, he...well, I have no words. I just came from the final performance, in which Ernest did the Talisman pas de deux with Arina Varentseva. He stole the show -- not just in that piece but the entire 3-hour performance. He gave us the same centered turns, the same jumps that soar. I was wishing he'd had a stronger partner because while Varentseva is beautiful, when she started to move there was something lacking (and a tendency to heft her shoulder and lift the leg in second from her back muscles, yikes, rather than the leg muscle. Which meant a shortened neck, which cut off the line...need I go on...) The other real gem was the British intern, Isabella McGuire Mays (her name may be misspelled since I had the Russian program, so i'm transliterating back into what I presume is the English version of her name). Perfect physique, utter control over long limbs, supple high arches, and so much maturity in her presentation and musicality. Very lovely. Since I'm here, I'll finish off my comments/thoughts: others to watch - -Sofia Ivanova-Skoblikova (one year left to go, a student of the much beloved Veronika Ivanova) in the Fairy Doll along with Ilya Boikov and Stanislav Arseniyev (the two boys are Silutsky's graduates this year). -Also of the short-perky-cute suite was Alina Yasenko (M. Vasilieva pedagogue) and Serik Nakispekov (Silutsky) in the Harlequinade pas de deux. Nakispekov looks of Asian descent, ie darker hair/coloring, so he may be from Southern Russia. I dont know his heritage, but he had more energy than he could contain within himself, and the result was an explosion in his jumps turns that suited his character quite well. It was a pleasure to watch. -Anton Cheyda, a veritable crowd-pleaser in the initial entrance from the "Girl and the Hooligan"-- one of my all-time favorite ballets, revealed visible dramatic talent in this short excerpt. It is not an easy piece to pull off for someone as young as Cheyda is, for the "tough street guy" mentality is the antithesis of the upbringing inside the halls of the Academy, but he did a fine job, and that music is so infectious…

Natalia!! (!!) I only now saw this thread. I was in DC that weekend, saw the Saturday matinee and Giselle that evening, was very very impressed with Riho's performance of Giselle! Had I only seen this thread or connected the dots, I could have seen you!

Natalia (you likely already know this) - Krebtov has been performing repetiteur work since as far back as 2006 or 07 at least. I think the website just reflects his full time transition, but he's been doing it for a while now.

The festival begins tonight with Roland Petit's "Jeune Homme", followed by Prodigal Son and Ballet Imperial. It is looking like the highlight of this festival will be the evening dedicated to Gennady Silutsky, featuring various divertissements (including the Butterfly or "Babochka" pas) on March 29th.

Just a note - yesterday's press release confirmed that Balanchine's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" will be performed here as part of the White Nights Festival for three performances in June. So, the ballet was not lost, but it would have been nice to see it during the festival.