Andrei

Alexandra, you forget one little thing for a dancer - thinking . Andrei.

Estelle, You had mentioned that the same ballerina danced Bathilde and Mirtha in the same performance. Was it done on propose? Andrei.

Wow! I didn't turn on my computer yesterday, otherways I wiil be in this hot topic aldeady. eugene, I think your idea about cold war can be dissmissed. First of all, because we don't think about Balanchine as a foreigner. His name is Georgy Melitonovich Balanchivadze, his was born in St.Petersburg, he had our education, nis first choreographic expierences were made in Mariinsky and in the West he came as creative firmed person. Did he develop further? Of course. Did he change the main components of classical ballet? No. So, I don't see any problems here. Dale, corps de ballet in Mariinsky is really tough, they know their true value and you have to really to gain their respect during the work. And if you are lack of professionalism or showing some haughtiness (as was in Mrs.Fokine case) consequences will be pitiable. About the revolt. They didn't win because they didn't know what they want! They said to much touring, but it's impossible to survive without touring's money. To much Balanchine, but I know a lot of them eager to dance in new pieces, even Forsythe. To much given to youngsters, but they didn't think this is a wrong, when they got their first role in 18-19. So, I think everything goes to personal issue and this a very delicate matter, I believe. Andrei. P.S. Marc, I hope Zelensky will never be an Artistic Director of this company . [This message has been edited by Andrei (edited May 14, 2000).]

Thank you, Katharyn! I missed your reviews very much! Hope you will not be silent anymore. Andrei.

I'm very sorry, guys, but I didn't see her in my trip and shame on me I even don't how she looks like. But I promise to find more about Pavlenko next time, O.K.? Andrei. [This message has been edited by Andrei (edited May 06, 2000).]

Once upon a time I found myself seated in a "gouvernement"'s lodge in Mariinsky theatre. To be precisely it was at April 11, 7:00 p.m. Even I was very pleased to have a such honor, it proved the things I knew a long time ago, that officials don't care about ballet at all - it was a worst place to watch the performance. Close to stage, on the left side, on the second floor over orchestra pit. At least, I can see a conductor's face. This night it was Victor Fedotov. The orchestra played very well, but I was told that Fedotov started to loose his memory and because he accustomed to conduct by heart this is a big problem, once he started a variation without a dancer on the stage, another time he waited 5 minutes for unexisted ballerina. Anyway I didn't notice anything wrong with him that night. Leading roles were danced by Veronika Part - Nikia, first appearance; Dmitry Simeonov - Solor, first appearance; Elvira Tarasova - Gamzatti, numerous appearances. I'm going to start with the best at that night - Elvira Tarasova. She did grow up a lot from the last time I saw her dance. Her footwork became much stronger and, so, she gained more jump and her technique became stable and solid. Now she is able don't think how to manage this or that movement and put all her thoughts into a character, what she did marvellously. We can see all transformation of a young woman from suspicion to jelousy, from humiliation to fury. Grand Pas in the second act was surerb. I can say, she even wouldn't need a basket with the snake, she did kill Nikia by execution of her variation only, driving in nails in Nikia's coffer with every movement! She really proved her rights to marry a noble warrior Solor. (To my disappointement, because I never saw such interpretation before, when I talk with her after performance, Elvira said she didn't make it on propose, she was just furious, because she was just told she is going to dance the same part tomorrow .) Now we are coming to my greatest discovery in ths trip to Russia. Dmitry Simeonov. Even his name sounds old fashion and noble in Russian and so his appearance. Slim, tall, intelligent! I didn't met him and I don't know about real life, but on the stage I can see some sparkling thoughts in his eyes. It's so rare! He know why he is here and what he is going to do. Light and huge jump, good turning, aristocratic presence and good actor, what can we wish to have more for a danseur noble? He was completely in love with Nikia and just too young to refuse the wedding proposal from Radja. Of course, he has a lot of things to do. His arms don't firm yet, in the third act he droped them too early during assemble by the circle, but this assemble were in the perfect fifth position by the way. I'm just praying he will not hurt himself during the next 2 years. Don't forget, he just came from the school and now he will have a tremendous load on his shoulders to learn a huge Mariinsky's repertoire when his body is still young and not firmed yet. I'm remembering myself, in the first year with the company, when I injured my ankle and didn't dance for 6 months because I was trying to dance in everyting. Veronika Part. Pitty, pitty, pitty ... The most beautiful ballerina I ever saw, in every aspect - lines, face, posture. But ... she is not dancing. I don't talk about technical abilities, it's good enough, except her hips need a right alignment and her right toe sickle sometimes (well, maybe just for me, I'm seating on the left side!). Most important, she doesn't feel the music. The dancer have to be inside of the music, it has to belong to her and, so, she can't give it to us for awakeing the right feeling in our souls. But she danced with the music using just rythmic's barres. And she is not an actress. Maybe because it was her first performance and she was very nervous but she didn't see anybody on the stage! Doesn't matter who is staying in front of her, Solor or Bramin, it was the same expression on her face, more or less smiling. And it was very difficult for all others to communicate with her, specially for Bramin - Vladimir Ponomarev, who started performance very well, but after couple scenes became artificial, well, if you don't have any answers to your action, you don't know what to do. From another dancers, who made a good impression on me, I have to mention Anton Korsakov, who danced Golden Idol with a good elevation and sharp arms and Natalya Sologub, who danced the variation with cabrioles in the Shades scene. It was the first time when I saw her and at once the image of Giselle came to my mind. Later I was told, yes, I was right, she is dancing this role and she is good in it. She has long limbs, pale skin and innocent look. Her beautiful arched toes are strong enough to handle(to feet? ) all technical difficulties and I think she has to have a very good future. And now about the best part of the show - the choreography. Oops! I forget corps de ballet, the best in the world, indeed! But they so match together that it's difficult to separate them apart. This version of "La Bayadere" was made in 1941 by Ponomarev (Jeannie, his is not relative to your favorite dancer Vladimir ) and Chabukiani. The latter one made duet for Solor ans Nikia in the first scene, variations for Solor in Grand pas, in The Shades and entrance there. Ponomarev was in charge to revive Petipa's choreography taking out, as was said in the program "some archaism and longnotes". I don't know about "longnotes" but I definetely missed the forth act with the wedding, trio of Solor, Gamzatti and Nikia and crashing of the palace. The story wasn't told to the end for me and I'm wondering if it's possible to revive the lost act. Back to current performance. Alexandra did mention one day that you have to see the same performance over and over again to understand it true value. Then more I see Petipa's works then more I love it. I never get tired of loking "The Sleeping Beauty" for example. The true choreographer show his talent to us through corps de ballet scenes, not variations. And "La Bayadere" has a plenty of them. First of all, it's Jampe - dance with veils in the second scene. Movements are so simple - little hops in attitude devan and derriere and tombe, repeated several times, but it shows us the woman's softness and obedience and it makes a great contrast with the next fighting scene between Gamzatti and Nikia. Jampe was danced very well with lovely soloists Ostreykovskaya and Selina. The same as Shades entrance. The most troubled part for every company - balance in ecarte position was executed perfectly, nobody even stir, arabesque could be done for couple more minutes, I believe, you know, when some girls are loosing the balance and starting to move the leg down to fast, no, here it was in the right time and with the right speed. And now come my favorite moment, when line by lines girls rise from their knees making pas de bourre up on the stage. It's so simple and so eternal, that I barely can hold my tears. The company now in the great shape. I know that a lot problems inside of the company, a lot of dissatisfied dancers, but being far away from their daily's routines gave me a great opportunity to look at it as a simple bystander and just enjoy the show, wich I did with great pleasure. Andrei.

Hello, everybody! I'm back and, unfortunately, I didn't see "Manon". But I read a lot of reviews and can say the common tone is negative. They don't like the choreography (good duets, but nothing between), corps de ballet's work (dancers complained me about lack of rehearsals) and very contradictory opinions about main performers (some pray Zacharova only, some Asylmuratova and so on...). About "Balanchean lineoleum"... It's not just "do the step" policy. When Mariinsky use marly floor on the stage they can't use traps wich were common place in ALL Petipa's ballets. "Giselle", "Bayadere" and, specially, "Sleeping Beauty" lost a lot of charm in productions because dancers can't disappear in the middle of the stage or make sudden appearance. And, certainly, all critics hate this new mode. Leigh, I don't know personally all those critics, but I know that Stolyarova has a good reputation and I can believe her. Meanwile, I saw "Bayadere" and "Raymonda" on this trip and if you are interesting I can make a short reviews, just give me some time to sleep, I'm still don't know where I am . Andrei.

This is article from "St.Petersburg Times". #557, Friday, April 7, 2000 ARTS + FEATURES dancers grapple with manon by Slava Gepner and Galina Stolyarova photo by Natasha Razina The story of Manon Lescaut presents quite a departure from a traditional ballet plot, a fact recognized in particular by choreographer Kenneth MacMillan, who premiered his interpretation of Abbe Prevost's novel in 1974 at London's Covent Garden. The controversial main female character still inspires ballerinas throughout the world, with the Mariinsky Theater soloists being no exception. Last Thursday, the Mariinsky began a series of four premieres. The program concluded an active period of preparation for Kenneth MacMillan's "Manon," set to the music of Jules Massenet. The audiences were given a chance to compare as many incarnations of Manon as they could survive. Altynai Asylmuratova, Diana Vishnyova, Svetlana Zakharova and Yulia Makhalina demonstrated their Manons one after another. Kenneth MacMillan, once considered alongside Frederic Ashton as the mainstream of English classical ballet, is mostly famous for his duets and beautiful upholds. His style demands a high level of technical preparation and maximum engagement from the dancers with regard to their performing roles. MacMillan's choreography - a whimsical juxtaposition of ballet art and psychological drama - was inspired by the balletmaster's desire to explore human nature. Sometimes he found his topics in classical literature, which is the case with "Manon." And that is probably why the theatricality and the dancers full engagement means so much to him. "Manon" represents the so-called choreodramatic direction of 20th century ballet well familiar to the Russian audience, a tradition popular in the 60's and still present today in the choreographic work of Boris Eifman. Both the duos of Asylmuratova and Zelensky, Vishnyova and Ilya Kuznetsov, were bright and convincing. The ballerinas approached their roles in different ways, however. The evolution of Manon's amoral nature, which was what most interested McMillan in the story, Asylmuratova revealed to the fullest, to the smallest nuances. Her Manon survives a dramatic transformation on stage, from a naive girl to a great self-confident beauty who knows all about life, to a tormented, imprisoned prostitute. She also demonstrated the qualities of a skilful manipulator, along with perhaps more intelligence and will than Prevost might have desired. Zelensky appears as an excellent "second fiddle" in the duo, showing more timidity in his character than strength. While rail-thin Asylmuratova demonstrates refinement and a stunning precision of gesture as well as the remarkable intuition she has always been famous for, Vishnyova's character has other strengths. Bursting with energy and spark, her coquettish Manon is also impressive, though being of a different, more spontaneous, nature. Though appearing a femme fatale, she doesn't seem to suffer much over the paths she chooses. Vishnyova showed high professionalism and yet again proved her extreme flexibility in the modern repertoire. She embodied fully the title Manon, following her destiny to the end in a thoroughly convincing performance which touched the audience with its emotional depth. She had a fantastic stage presence, at times as intensive as the famous adagio from the second act and the final tragic scene. It seems that Vishnyova is a most sensitive and highly professional young ballerina, an encouraging sign for the future of the Mariinsky ballet. Perhaps most enigmatic was the Mariinsky's decision to put Zakharova forward as Manon. "Sleeping beauty" personified, the reserved and ice-bound dancer lacks the artistic potential to allow her to perform an emotional, hypersensitive, tormented and unpredictable woman. Unfortunately, however, not all the corps de ballet was able to enter deeply into the atmosphere of the roles, and sometimes their performance was perilously close to overacting. The courtesans did not appear to be courtesans, while the beggars were reminiscent more of poor bourgeoisie. At times the plot may have been difficult to follow without any prior knowledge of the story. But dramatic plot is a fundamental factor in MacMillan's style. The Mariinsky Theater is showing much goodwill to bring more contemporary choreography on its stage. There is hope that it will eventually - let us hope, soon enough - open the way for really modern productions, such as those by Mats Eck or William Forsyth, for instance. This would show that Mariinsky can be not only a museum for the brilliant choreography of Petipa, but also a center for contemporary productions, in line with such theaters as London's Covent Garden or the Paris Opera. There are always things to be criticized in any performance, but that does not change the fact that the premiere of "Manon" was on the whole a success, and highly recommended. I'm flying to Russia today and hope I'll see it myself. Andrei. [This message has been edited by Andrei (edited April 08, 2000).]

Ed, It had started not in Russia but in France, when after every variation public was free to express yourself by applause, if she likes it or by rotten tomatos, which came from Italian Opera, as you know. Public could demand to repeat variation or even to throw out a bad dancer. Ballerinas commanded conductor what to do, when to start and when to finish variation and this tradition still alive in some companies! By the way, I think about bows as very complicated art form. How long I have to bow, how low I have to bent, specifically to whom I have to make gestures, what's my relation with partners and so on and so on ... Another things, if you go from the stage to early, when the wave of applause is still up, public is going to miss the begining of the next piece and you can ruin other person performance. I had standing ovation in my life and it's very important to feel auditorium and manipulate them. The best public in Italy. They have American openness, French taste, German loudness, Japanese togetherness . Russian public is very cold or let's say perky. Andrei.

Alexandra, let's I help you with female emploi. Aurora is ingenue, which mean naive, clear girl. For me the best ballerina suited for this role was Kolpakova, with her porcelain statue and purest technique(it's not about virtuoso, but clearness of execution). Kitri is subrette, which mean active, attractive girl, who can deffence herself, if necessary. Back to male, Ali is demicharacter classique, taking in mind that we have and demicharacter character like Mercutio in "Romeo". I'm agree with Alexandra's pnysical definition but it can be vary. A lot of things depend on individuality of the dancer. Soloviev was just a little bit higher than Baryshnikov, but he was dancer noble and hero(usually they substitute each other) and Baryshnikov was demicharacter classique or lover. One more thing. Everything I said, it's just mine opinion. Don't blame all Russians for my possible mistakes . Andrei.

In Russia we have 2 different schools with different styles - Moscow and St.Petersburg. They were different 200 years ago and thanks God they are still different. Ulanova is product of St.Petersburg school but she danced most part of her life in Moscow by Stalin's order. Because of this and because of her talent she stay aside from typical Soviet balerina. But model for Russian Swans was not even she, but Marina Semenova, another Vaganova's pupil who danced in Moscow also. I didn't see her dance, only her walk downstairs in Swan's costume and it was unbelievable gorgeous. Makarova and Nureev after moving to West had changed dramatically. They gained freedom, not political, but movement's freedom and freedom of expression but they lost very important thing the same time - the taste. I'm not saying they became worst, no, they developed themselves in beautiful dancers but they weren't Russian dancers anymore. Emploi is bringing the right relation between characters inside of one ballet. Alexandra is absolutely right - even the form of nose is very important. I'm not closing the door for any experiments in casting, but if you changed one person, you have to change all others as well, to find a right proportion in differences between them. It's really difficult if you have performances in the row with formed cast year by year. Andrei.

By the way, how was her performamce? I don't think now Artistic directors care less about emploi then decades ago, but today their artistic decision have to compromise with politics and money more often. Andrei.

Sorry, guys, I'm jumping in a little bit late. It's not any special Soviet casting in emploi. It came from French theatre and it has the same category: tragic, comic, hero, lover, fool. Alexandra was absolutely right, not Baryshnikov, not Soloviev feet well in one of these categories and so they had a troubles to find they own repertoire. By the way, Baryshnikov could dance anything he wanted in time of his defection, but he was smart enough not asking for Siegfrid. The same as Lezhnina never asked Odette. It's not old school, it's just smart people. Andrei.

Cargill, in St.Petersburg we have a Theatrical Square with Mariinsky Theatre and Conservatory on it. The real name of The Theatre Street(where Vaganova School) is The Street of Zodchy Rossi, who builded all this complex. And, unfortunately, not any streets with dancers or choreographers names on it in St.Petersburg, but a lot of composeres, so, opera lovers again won! Andrei.

Estelle, it's terrible when you have to switch stages every performance, you need as minimum couple rehearsals to adjust to new conditions. This is why I don't recommend to go to the first performance of any European company in America, they really don't understand what they are doing. Plus they need another three days for time adjustment or we will see crowling flies on the stage. Andrei.

I don't know, I'd like some beer after show ... Andrei.

Alexandra, first of all, Stalingrad was never occupated. It was demolished to the ground, but didn't surrender. The same as Leningrad wasn't occupated, but blokaded. And during blokade Kirov Theatre was evacuated to Novosibirsk. Vaganova school was evacuated to Perm, northern city, where from that time we have a very good ballet school with one of the best women teacher of present time - Ludmila Saharova - among her pupils were Nadezhda Pavlova, Olga Tchenchikova, Lubov Kunakova. Theatrical life in Leningrad under blokade was still alive. The Theatre of Musical Comedy (Operetta) gave regular performances evan in the winter, without a heat in the house and Grand Hall of Filarmony gave occasional concerts also. Andrei.

I'm agree with Alexandra about millenium person - Lois XIV and century person - Diagilev. Ballet of the century and, so, the choreographer of the century for me is tandem of Nijinsky and Diagilev, who produced "L'apres-midi d'un faune", the first modern ballet, where everything was new - movements, music, costumes, story. They turned all ballet world upside down, it was absolutely unpredictable from the leading male dancer refuse to jump or make any technical difficulties to the detriment of artistic impression. Only so brave man as Diagilev could make it happened, even it needed 100 rehearsals for 12 minutes piece. But it showed to Fokine that he had a right thougts about reformes in classical ballet and it showed to Balanchine how he can listen to the music. Cargill, "Sleeping Beauty" was made in XIX century and it's a real crown of all XIX c. ballets with the best ballet composer - Tchaikovsky and the best choreographer of the century - Petipa, IMO. Continue this line, I think the best XX c. composer is Stravinsky and the best choreographer all the same Balanchine! Well, I'm still thinking the most important performance of the century was "L'aptres-midi d'un faune". Andrei.