Matthew

I saw the Kirov in La Bayadere on opening night here in DC Tuesday. Divine. But in the 25 minutes before the curtain lifted, I wondered what the dancers were doing. I'm sure it differs from person to person, but would we see much scurrying about? Meditating or guided imagery? Cracking of jokes? Resting on chairs? Stretching muscles? Throwing up because of anxiety? All of the above? (A Washington Post preview article said the powers that be forbade any non-member backstage during the dance of the Shades.) So, just what is the general mood in the run-up moments before the start of the show?

First, let me note that I'm a first-day newbie, certainly no expert on ballet, and I've clumsily framed my question such that it probably invites misunderstanding and possible flaming. Please go easy on me, folks. My question is simple: Were we to observe several performances by the world's leading companies of 1908 and 2008, would we--underscore we--generally find today's performances far superior? I say yes. Today's athletes and dancers in general are superior in every way to their counterparts a century ago--better selection, better training, better conditioning, better coaching, better diet, and far more depth. That said, I understand that ballet is far more than athletics, and that discipline, interpretation, expression, sensitivity, etc. are key to the overall experience. I've seen several silent-film excerpts of ballet performances from the early 1920s--about 20 years AFTER my stated time frame. The projection speed was fine, but the movements seemed exaggerated, rather ungraceful, and less challenging and far less satisfying than what I've seen from the Kirov, Bolshoi, ABT, etc. These old movie clips seemed pulled from a local company, rather than from one of the world's leading companies (Paris). That said, maybe I saw the wrong footage. Asked another way: Were we to take the greatest dancers of 1908, and place them on today's stages, would they shine so brightly? And if we transported today's superstars to the stages of 1908, wouldn't the audiences be wowed by their virtuosity--or would their modern interpretations cause a disconnect? (My ignorance is really showing here.) My guess is that most ballet corps today are on average far better than a century ago, and the principals are leagues better than their distant old-time counterparts. Agree or disagree, and why?

A sublime performance by the entire company. Vishneva was indeed marvelous, as were Viktoria Terekshina and Andrian Fadeyev. The Dance of the Shades was mesmerizing. Each time the Kirov stages a production at the Kennedy Center, you can expect a first-rate show.