Giannina

"Kings of The Dance" with the ORIGINAL CAST of Angel Corella, Johan Kobborg, Ethan Stiefel, Nikolay Tsiskaridze. Giannina

Welcome to Ballet Talk for Dancers, Quiet; we're very glad you've found us. You will find all kinds of information and advice on the board; we look forward to being of service to you. You are to be commended for the support you are giving your daughter. Enjoy the board! Giannina

While we're at it ... I would have given anything to have seen Cope and Rojo in Mayerling. I know it's too late now with Cope retired but one can only hope they were taped and the tape was never released. Giannina

You asked to let you know what we'd like to see on DVD. I'd kill to see Wheeldon's "Within the Golden Hour". Saw it performed by SFBallet and that would be my first choice of companies. It can be included in any group of ballets of your choice. Giannina

I'm going to post a request on Ballet Videos .... etc. for you. Giannina

Oh, for goodness sake! Let me put it this way: it ain't no "Sleeping Beauty". The casting sheet said we saw Gabyshev as Onegin, Abashova as Tatyana, Fisher as Lensky, Povoroznyuk as Olga, and Volobuev as Colonel; the program book said otherwise. I'm glad I knew the story of Onegin because the synopsis consisted of quotes from Pushkin's novel and was hard for me to understand. My husband didn't pay much attention to it, but after the steamy first act he couldn't get to it fast enough! I've always liked Eifman, but with each ballet he makes it harder for me to do so. I thought this was the least balletic of his ballets that I've seen. It's not the fact that the women weren't on pointe, but I think because they weren't Eifman was freer to make movements that were ungainly, off balance, turned in as much as turned out, etc. His other ballets definitely have these qualities but always with a ballet basis. There were 2 acts and I found them as different as night and day. Act I was perked up by the Disco segment; great music (sounded like Thomas Neuman) and fun dancing. Lensky's murder was done to jazz music and the corps was boogying. At the moment when Onegin kills Lensky the audience broke into applause. Does that give you the impression that they didn't have a clue?! They behaved themselves perfectly except for that moment; guess all that pent up applause was too much for them to control. At the intermission I was tempted to go home but I just can't leave an Eifman ballet. And I was rewarded for staying; Act II was wonderful, not so much because there was more balletic dancing but because the choreography spoke volumes about the dramatic story. There was a ghost scene, and I think it was Lensky's ghost; whomever it was he was extremely scary and effective. The Colonel is blind, which I found interesting and which made for a very different final scene as his movements missed Onegin by inches. Tatyana's love for the Colonel isn't as well defined as it is in Cranko's ballet and I missed that. Hard for me to judge the dancing because it wasn't as balletic as I like but they seemed extremely accomplished to me. Besides being a dancer you have to be an actor for Eifman and they certainly were. The ghost/Lensky? had a look about him that made him more sinister than expected. All the other were very good. I wouldn't see this one again but I'm glad I saw it once. Giannina

Welcome to Ballet Talk, Wedgewes; we're very glad to meet you. And welcome to the wonderful world of ballet. You have started by watching some of the best ballets and best dancers in the world! There is a lot more out there for you, and you'll find lots of information on the board. Glad we've been able to assist you so far. Giannina

Vasiliev

There was a one-performance-only presentation of "Tour De Force" at Orange County Performing Arts Center tonight (May 21). It had its ups and downs. The audience was in a screaming frenzy almost throughout the performance and it was, as always, veeery distracting. Jeez! It was an evening of exerpts. Quite a bit of Eifman whose ballet company will dance for 3 nights this week. High points. Part one: 8 offerings. Anastasia Matvienko was lovely in the Grand Pas Classique solo. Natalia Osipova was brilliant in the 2nd Act pdd from Giselle; light as a feather and so in control that she actually appeared large. It's one of the finest, if not the finest, Act II's of Giselle I've ever seen. Got my first look at Leonid Sarafanov in Don Q pdd with Osipova. Such a cutie, and even tho he's a great dancer I think he'll eventually do even better. Part two: 6 offerings. This section was mostly modern or contemporary dance, which isn't my cup of tea. It started with Wheeldon's "For 4", and as it progressed I realized what a sweet dance it is. Having Sarafanov in it didn't hurt. Marie Alexandrova appeared in 3 ballets; she's a gorgeous woman with a sinewy body and excellent technique. Her 3rd appearance was in Eifman's "Russian Hamlet" and she acted up a storm; good for her. Anastasia and Denis Matvienko were in "Radio and Juliet. It' a quirky ballet but it was great fun watching them be quirky together, and Denis was a wonderful partner. Last but not least was Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev in "The Flames of Paris". Now I'm not much for big splashy male variations with the audience going bananas, but Vasiliev's first solo was something else again. I simply can't describe it but he was so good and so athletic (and balletic!) that he made me laugh in happiness; when he was done I was laughing out loud with joy, and I joined the audience in their thunderous cheers (well, I clapped loudly). It was an OK evening; I'm glad I went. Osipova's Giselle alone made the evening worth while. Saturday it's Eifman! Giannina

Welcome to Ballet Talk, 3minuteswest; it's wonderful to have you with us. Your experience in, and knowledge of, ballet will be a great asset for us. We eagerly look forward to having you share in our discussions. Giannina

Welcome to Ballet Talk, Gary EC; nice to have you with us. We all share your love of ballet, and you'll find all kinds of information here. We look forward to having you share in our discussions. Giannina

Welcome to Ballet Talk, rebecca0327; we're glad to have you with us. This site is for ballet fans and we discuss all aspects of ballet. We have a sister site for ballet students; it's Ballet Talk for Dancers and it can be accessed at the upper right hand corner of this page. I think you will find this site most helpful as it offers advice and encouragement for dancers, parents of dancers, teachers, etc. If you register there we'd like to have you use your same name so that we know who you are. Good luck! Giannina

Welcome to Ballet Talk, afds; it's good to have you with us. We all share your love of ballet and we hope you'll enjoy sharing in our discussions. Please write reviews of the wonderful ballets you'll be attending; we have web site for all the ballet companies. Giannina

At just about every ballet performance I've attended there's been an announcement forbidding flash photos; I've found that people really do follow the rule. Bows between acts and the ballet's end were OK for flash. The only exception was when I saw The Bolshoi when they were performing in their tiny temporary theater while their actual theater was being renovated; no announcements were made forbidding flash photos and the flashes abounded, including from my camera. Loved it!!! Giannina

Wow! Giannina

Welcome to Ballet Talk, Marisa; we're glad to have you with us. Ballet teachers are our treasure; we thank you for passing on the art. By now you know the board covers just about every aspect of ballet. With your background you might also be interested in our sister site, Ballet Talk for Dancers, directed to students, teachers, parents of students, etc. You can access it in the upper right hand corner of this page. If you register on BT4D we ask that you use your same name so that we know who you are. Enjoy one or both boards. Giannina

Welcome to Ballet Talk, John, and welcome to the world of ballet. We're very glad you've found our site and we thank you for your complements. You will find tons of information on just about every aspect of ballet, and every member shares your love of ballet. Enjoy! Giannina

Thank you for the information, Duffster. It was extremely interesting. Odd how one career leads to another. We hope you enjoy using the board; there is a wealth of information here, plus people who share your love of ballet. Giannina, another computer kindergartener

Welcome to Ballet Talk, duffster; it's nice to have you with us. On this Welcome forum we like to get to know a bit about our new members, i.e. what is your connection to ballet, how long have you followed ballet, plus anything else you'd like to tell us. We hope you enjoy sharing in our discussions. Giannina

I was for Langella, not only because I thought his performance was THE performance of the year but because, after an impressive career, this could be his last/only chance for the Oscar. Given the script he had to work with (tapes forcryingoutloud) he elevated it to the sublime in spite of the fact that he's as far removed, physically, from Nixon as is humanly possible. I do like Penn, and if Langella couldn't win Penn was my choice; he is a remarkable actor. Sigh! Giannina

Welcome to Ballet Talk, Snowbound; we're very happy to have you with us. Like you, we all love ballet on this site and we look forward to having you share in our discussions. Don't know if you're aware of the fact that we have a sister site for dance students and their families: Ballet Talk for Dancers which is accessible at the upper right hand corner of this page. Should you become a member there we'd like to have you use your same name so that we can recognize you. And thanks for the support you give your DD. Giannina

I remember seeing Carolyn George in classes and performances when she was with San Francisco Ballet. I think her husband's discription of her as "an American filly" fits her perfectly; you couldn't miss her. May she rest in peace. Giannina

Nope! Giannina

What a great topic! I find R&J one of the most painful stories, and the ballet does not fail to show the tragedy. I can distract myself from the story by concentrating on the dancing until I get to Juliet's sleeping potient; from then on it's very difficult. There was a TV series called "Ballerina", done by Makarova, which showed a death scene from R&J with Fracci and Iancu, if I'm not mistaken. It is almost unspeakable. So I don't think it's altogether you; this is an unbearable story. I'm 73 and have felt this way for a loooong time. Giannina

Welcome to Ballet Talk, Lorenzo; we're very glad to have you with us. How lovely that you pursue your love of ballet with lessons and studies. We hope you continue to enjoy both. In regards to your question. We do not get much traffic on this forum since it's for welcoming new members. You'll get more viewers if you post your question on the Ballet History and Music forum. I'm a computer ditz so I don't know how to "cut" and "paste" that portion of this entry; otherwise I'd do it for you. I have faith that we'll be able to answer all your questions, and we look forward to sharing discussions with you. Giannina