Andrei

vrsfanatic, I always agree with you and you have my "permisson" to use my name whenever you want . You definetely didn't spent in waste your time in St Petersburg!

Victoria, in Russia the word epaulement itself, used very rare, we are prefer to say criose, efface or ecarte. And epaulement has just one meaning, the body should not be facing the mirror.

Päivi, I don't know, how epaulement can help to jump higher. Lighter, with easeness, may be ...

Päivi, epaulement is position, not movement

Arabesque is another position, which has nothing to do with epaulement. And , yes, the forth arabesque in Vaganova sistem allow you to twist your shoulders.

When I said, bent in your shoulderblades, I meant to draw the line in the low part of shoulderblades and bent your body over there.

No, Päivi, you are wrong. The dancer can't "twist" his shoulders. He can bent in his shoulderblades and turn or lean his head, but hips and shoulders shoud be in one line.

Alexandra, do you have a glove's departement in your store? I'd like to have some, that could hold the proper finegrs position, so we can see classical ballet hands, but not shovels.

Ed, it's not difficult to rehearse with a new partner, you need just couple rehearsals to adjust technical problems, if you have any. What scares everybody, it's to jump on the stage without any rehearsals at all.

Excuse me, Estelle, Legris did "Suite od dances" with Oxana Moroz sitting on the stage and playing cello solo.

Nicolas, I didn't see the last year gala, but the program of this one looked to me very well balanced. Not too long, not too short, with different styles between numbers, but dancers were with equal abilities.

I forgot to mention Igor Zelensky. It was his first appearance after two surgery operations on his back. He didn't make any lifts in pas de deux and I saw how careful he was in everything he was doing. But he still has his enormous forceless jump and I wish him fast recovery.

I didn't see "Pirlipat", so I have nothing to say.

But I saw Kowrosky and I have absolutely another opinion. Actually, it's included all appearance of guest stars in St. Petersburg's (first I wrote Russians, but changed) classical ballets. Tsiskaridze in "Bayadere", Letestu and Bart in "Raymonda", Kowrosky in "Swan Lake" were hopeless and looked as foreign bodies comparing to Mariinsky corps de ballet.

It was a big surprise for me with Kowrosky, the ballerina, which I like very much. Weak pas de bourres, "hooked-shape" arms, terrible white tutu with exposed, excuse me, buttocks, artificial acting with no much difference between Odette and Odile. We had some applaudes after white adagio, but much less after variation and complete silence after coda.

Manuel Legris made my day in the gala dancing in Rolan Petit's "Carmen' with Vishneva. The right person in the right place made this old choreography fresh, like it was made yesterday. Compare to his elegance, Visneva was incredible vulgar, which made a great match and worked very well for this duet.

From another hand, Legris didn't save Robbins "Other dances", which looked dated in this evening, the same as MacMillan "Romeo".

The last act of "Raymonda" looks like a very good piece for such events, of course, with good soloists. I said already I don't like Letestu and Bart in Nureev's version of variations.

If Tsiskaridze could exchange places with Pavlenko, may be we will have better performance that night. Not she, who was cold and powerful, not he, who was hysterical and clumsy, suited well for their roles.

I saw the premiere of the old/new "Bayadere" year ago. I didn't make any comments that time, because the performance was very raw- costumes weren't ready, dancers didn't know where to go, the machinery didn't work well. Now everything is working fine, but my impression is even worse. Boring, dated performance, which proved to me that all reconstructions of "original" choreography has to be stopped immediately. All great choreographers, Petipa and Balanchine included, did change choreography, costumes, even music with every new staging of their (and not their) ballets, adapting it to the new time, new artists. The current version of "Giselle" in Mariinsky doesn't have even one (!) scene similar to the first production in Paris. So what, go back to "original' and forget all brilliant innovation, which made this ballet still alive? I don't think so.

I'm agree with Jeannie's review. This couple remind me of Grisi and Perrot themself. (O.K. I'm not so old, but I can guess . Light, innocent girl and mature, technically incomparable men. Even physical futures of both couples the same.

Hi, guys, I'm back to US and can make some comments about performances of this festival.

I saw Ratmansky's Cinderella for the first time and my impression was, in general, positive. I saw the work of a very intelligent, musical choreographer, who showed to me a lot of new ideas with interpretation of a very difficult music. It was very interesting for me to follow the developement of charaters, specially in Natalya Sologub's dancing. She reminds me of young Natalya Makarova, who throw herself in the role complitely, allowing the character leads the motion.

The poor thigs (back to Ratmansky), that he, probably, didn't have the time to finish his work, so, some scenes, frankly careless. This is a crime, to use one of the best corps de ballet in the world in such way. Movements are primitive and, what's worse, it's a mixture of styles. I didn't get the final adagio of leading couple also. By all previous structure it has to be some break-through to another dimension, but Ratmansky repeated things, founded before.

I really wish to Ratmansky to stop dancing complitely and concentrate on only one thing - the choreography.

Mel, it was said by Ulanova ....

Gali Abaydulov is the choreographer in the movie. The museum was closed for two days only to make it happen. The first day they rehearsed, the secon - shot. They have to stop twice. The first time it was cameraman mistakes, the second time the artist forgot his line.

The next piece was by Jorma Elo's "SHARP side of DARK". I found it so empty and so pretentious (starting with the title) that in the end I broke into a 3-minutes speach, when my son said that he likes this piece more then Morris's.

First of all, I hate when the choreography begins without music. It's mean that the music is not important for the choreographer, if he can go in and out of the music when he wants.

Second, the style "anything I want" which remind me of a big salad's bowl with a lot of dressing in it, so you can't really taste vegetables. Modern and classical movements, turn out and turn in, flexed toes and pointed brought together without inner connection, this torture of dancers (to do uncomfortable things, pushing physical abilities of your own body) is going on for the sake of the choreographer's will only. But his will leads to nowere, the choreography didn't stay in your memory, what I can remember now, it's just curving backs of men and women.

Of course, we don't have any differencies in the choreography for men or women, we don't have any connection between dancers in duets. Even so great couple as Thrussel and Ponomarenko couldn't solve the problem, because their freedom and flexibility of movements used by Elo mechanically, duet doesn't have any sense!

The same as lighting. Constructions go up and down, sometimes follow dancers, sometimes not. It shows us possibility of the light, again, for the sake of the light only.

For me it was really boring. I felt like somebody sitting near to me knoking in my head :"You see, this is modern, you have to appreciate it." No way. I don't like when the choreographer treats dancers as pawns in his game with his own dark side (dark means unexplored here) and cover the lack of imagination with modern clothes.

But after the intermission we saw "In the middle, somewhat elevated" by William Forsythe and it was a great relieve.

To my shame, it was the first piece by Forsythe, that I saw alive. What can I say. He is a choreographer! He is bringing back emotions to ballet's world. I see the direct connection between Petipa, Fokine and Forsythe. But instead of Fokine, who tried to escape the iron gait of Petipa's classical creations, Forsythe goes to it with open arms. His work (at least this one) is absolutely classical in approach of balance, pointe work and air technique. He doesn't fight with gravitation as modern choreographers but uses it to fly. This is a choreography for dancers and they love it, it goes after physical ability of human body and not against it and more important, Forsythe shows us the major reason of any person who started to dance - to express their emotions. Only here Forsythe uses a reverse direction - the piece begins absolutely cold, but soon characters jump out of dancers, complexity of solo variations and contrapunct of corps de ballet force the protagonist couple simplify their movements and burst out a very primitive human feeling - a sexual desire. Sounds vulgar? Not at all, this is Ballet!

I attended Saturday night performance and wasn't entusiastic as much as the crowd around me. Or beter say, in front of me. I was sitting in the orchestra in row W and very few people were behind me. The balcony didn't gather much people either.

If I'll write a review on this production, probably I could call it "Dangerous games with bodies". I think choreographers should not play with dancer's flexibility without a clear picture in their mind, why they are doing such things, is it fit an idea, is it connecterd with the music?

Marc Morris's "Maelstrom" is very well crafted work. The structure, movements, the musicality are fantastic. He shows different choreographic decisions for the same musical theme, then combines them and separates again. He has a great feeling of the space, when dancers appear on the stage from nowere and unpredictable, almost dissolve in the air, when they go out. He uses neoclassical Killyan's style, with a lot of sliding, twisted torso, falling poses, the repetition of combinations with the delay of every next dancer and it didn't bother me at all, I'd like both of them, Killyan and Morris. He made a great ending in every part, except ... the last one. So, I was a little bit disappointed, what were all this efforts for? I can blame dancers for the bad impression, because in the climax of women's releve on pointe Poliana Ribiero missed the order and, actually, when all couples have to dance in unison (which is not so often in this balet!) they didn't do it well. Another puzzle for me was a flexed foot on the major musical theme. It came just once, without any developpments late and i didn't get it. Why? To remind everybody that he is modern choreographer?

Sorry, has to run, I'll finish late.

Pavlenko and Zaharova.

The previous post was deleted by moderator. no more personal issues, please.

Thank you.

Lillianna, can you tell what music was used for "Alice"?

Thank you.

Interesting, BalletNut, why did you put choreographers in this order, starting with Petipa?

Nope. Sorry, became a real Mainer. I will check with my next trip to Russia.

Nope. Sorry, became a real Mainer. I will check with my next trip to Russia.

Got it, thanks Leigh.

Got it, thanks Leigh.

The article said, it was George Balanchine's music, composed specialy for this women, when he was already in America.

Leigh, "romance" is the form of Russian songs with accompaniment by keyboard or gitare. I doubt that Balanchine did make jokes about it.

The article said, it was George Balanchine's music, composed specialy for this women, when he was already in America.

Leigh, "romance" is the form of Russian songs with accompaniment by keyboard or gitare. I doubt that Balanchine did make jokes about it.