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alexaa1a

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Posts posted by alexaa1a

  1. This will be Obraztsova's Bolshoi debut in the role, as she

    danced Terpsichore several years ago when she was still in the Mariinsky.

    I know that the Bolshoi Ballet site lists Obraztsova as dancing Terpsichore at Mariinsky and De Ballet site lists the same ballets as Bolshoi site. Obraztsova's personal site does not mention Apollo. I know that the Mariinsky Theatre video room has almost all their recent performances and they only have one Apollo with Obraztsova as Calliope, Muse of poetry, whose symbol is a tablet. Polyhymnia, Muse of mime, whose symbol is a mask was played by Novikova and Terpsichore, Muse of dance and song, whose symbol is a lyre and does the adagio with Apollo, for the leading ballerina role, was danced by Tatiana Tkachenko. It is possible that Obraztsova danced Terpsichore, but that is a role usually danced by taller ballerinas at Mariinsky and I suspect Obraztsova never danced it at Mariinsky. I do know 100% that she danced Calliope and that role is not listed anywhere. If I was a bettor, I would bet that her Bolshoi Terpsichore will be her first ever debut in that role..
  2. Also, selection for taller and skinnier females means selection for tall, cavalier-type male dancers,

    How successful are they in achieving this? I often read complaints about a lack of adequate partners. Therefore, one can question the benefits of selection.

    Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, selection is not what it was during communism. Many parents dreamed of their children dancing for the Kirov Ballet and obviously, many children felt the same way. The number of girls auditioning for the school has dropped and the number of boys has dropped substantially. Vaganova does not have as many students, particularly boys to choose from. There are still many girls trying out since many do get rejected, but sometimes, they do not not have enough boys audtioning, to make one full class, let alone two classes.

    The desire to have tall girls with skinny legs is almost forcing Vaganova to take tall boys, but not enough boys, tall or short, are auditioning. They can weed out the current undesirable, not anorexic, but super talented girls, to invite the talentless, skinny girls with long legs. However, there are not enough boys trying out to allow many rejections. Anyone attending the auditions will verify what I have stated. However, despite this problem, favoring taller girls, requires taller boys and the desire to have skinny boys is producing boys with serious partnering problems and more in need of strong healthy food. Healthy food is much better, but Vaganova does not consider much healthy eating in their diet plans which is basically, the less food eaten, the better it is.

    For those wondering why fewer girls and boys audition than in Soviet times, the answer is that under communism, there were few jobs that offered what the Kirov Ballet offered. Now there are so many well paying fields in business, that many parents think ballet is not financial rewarding enough.Probably the number of girls desiring to be ballerinas is the same, but more parents are opposed to ballet than during Soviet times. There will always be talented Russian ballet dancers. Look at all the great dancers born around World War II when so many children died, Komleva, Maximova, Sizova, Makarova, Bessmertnova, Sorokina, Soloviev., Nureyev was in another region, Vasiliev, Lavrovsky and Vladimirov. The talent is inside the Russians and Vaganova will continue to produce the wrtold's greatest dancers, but it is not easy now. however, around the time Vaganova died, the war had caused many deaths among the young and probably Vaganova ahd fewer dancers to choose from than today and look who came out in the late 1950s and 1960s.

  3. one of the most major roles (the female solo in Agon) has basically been owned by Wendy Whelan for, I don't know, as long as I've watched the NYCB. I mean I like Wendy as much as the next person, but I'd love to see another ballerina take a crack at the Agon duet.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agon_(ballet)

    According to this Wikipedia site, it only gives Agon casts for a fall tour in 2009 in Tokyo. It shows Wendy Whelan as first cast and Maria Kowroski as 2nd cast. So unless only first cast performed, I do not think Whelan had a monopoly. There is also a big difference between a company specializing in short ballets versus the Mariinsky Ballet that performs mainly full length ballets. No major classical company in the entire world, has only one Odette/Odile or only one Aurora or only one Giselle, etc.

    Tiara's main complaint was not the lack of chances at principal roles, but lack of chances at soloist roles, which offer the opportunities for principal roles. Your statement on Agon applies to a prinicpal role,although not a full length ballet,and both dancers you named are principals, Whelan and Fairchild...

  4. Berkeley has the full cast information fro October Swan Lake as follows:

    Odette, Queen of the Swans/Odile, Odette's Double

    Yekaterina Kondaurova (10, 13 mat)

    Anastasia Kolegova (11, 14)

    Victoria Tereshkina (12)

    Alina Somova (13 eve)

    Prince Siegfried

    Danila Korsuntsev (10, 13 mat)

    Yevgeny Ivanchenko (11)

    Vladimir Schklyarov (12)

    Alexander Sergeev (13 eve)

    Maxim Zuzin (14)

    The Princess Regent, Siegfried's Mother

    Elena Bazhenova

    The Prince's Tutor

    Andrey Yakovlev (10, 12, 13 eve)

    Soslan Kulaev (11, 13 mat, 14)

    Friends of the Prince

    Maria Shirinkina, Nadezhda Batoeva, Alexander Popov (10)

    Ekaterina Ivannikova, Nadezhda Gonchar, Alexander Perish (11)

    Irina Golub, Nadezhda Gonchar, Alexander Popov (12, 13 eve)

    Ekaterina Ivannikova, Nadezhda Batoeva, Alexander Perish (13 mat)

    Irina Golub, Anastasia Nikitina, Alexander Perish (14)

    A Jester

    Vasily Tkachenko (10, 13 eve)

    Alexey Nedviga (12, 14)

    Ilya Petrov (11, 13 mat)

    Rothbart, an Evil Sorcerer

    Konstantin Zverev (10, 13 mat)

    Andrey Solovyov (11, 13 eve)

    Alexander Romanchikov (12, 14)

    Cygnets

    Irina Golub, Svetlana Ivanova, Elena Chmil, Maria Shirinkina

    Swans

    Keenan Kampa, Yuliana Chereshkevich, Victoria Brileva, Yulia Stepanova

    Two Swans

    Maria Shirinkina, Anastasia Nikitina (10, 11)

    Maria Shirinkina, Nadezhda Gonchar (12)

    Nadezhda Gonchar, Anastasia Nikitina (13 mat, 14)

    Irina Golub, Nadezhda Gonchar (13 eve)

    Prince's Brides

    Victoria Krasnokutskaya, Keenan Kampa, Ksenia Ostreykovskaya, Victoria Brileva, Alisa Sodoleva, Yuliana Chereshkevich

    Spanish Dance

    Anastasia Petushkova, Yulia Stepanova, Kamil Yangurazov, Karen Ionessian

    Neapolitan Dance

    Anna Lavrinenko, Ilya Petrov (10, 13 eve)

    Anna Lavrinenko, Vasily Tkachenko (12, 14)

    Anna Lavrinenko, Alexey Nedviga (11, 13 mat)

    Hungarian Dance

    Olga Belik, Boris Zhurilov

    Mazurka

    Lilia Lishchuk, Ksenia Dubrovina, Lyubov Kozharskaya, Irina Prokofieva, Alexander Beloborodov, Mikhail Degtyarev, Soslan Kulaev, Vadim Belyaev

  5. As has also been mentioned above, ballets such as La Fille Mal Gardee and Coppelia would enhance the Mariinsky repertoire

    The Mariinsky lost its Fille...? Wow...didn't know that. When did that happen...?

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_fille_mal_gard%C3%A9e

    This will answer your question and a reconstruction of the original Petipa is possible since the Sergeyev collection in Harvard, has all the information, as was used by Vikharev in Coppelia, Sleeping Beauty, La Bayadere and Raymonda. A reconstruction La Fille would be a great substitute for new dances at Mariinsky.

  6. The Mariinsky has been using 20th century stagings of Sleeping Beauty and Bayadere, but there are no classical ballets in the repertoire for soubrette type of ballerinas, that would have been perfect for Coppelia. There is no Coppelia and no La Fille Mal Gardee. There are many ballet lovers hoping to see reconstructed Sleeping Beauty and Bayadere in their life, but that is not likely now. However, Fateyev most likely was responsible for Coppelia going to Bolshoi, but maybe it was all Gergiev's decision.

    Lopatkina has never danced the full length Aurora on any stage, so she may not like the reconstruction Petipa Sleeping Beauty, but she has never danced Aurora in the Sergeyev version. Does that mean that since Lopatkina refuses to dance Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, Gergiev will remove every Sleeping Beauty from the repertoire?

  7. Anyone who goes to a Mariinsky Ballet performance and buys a program, often will find the name of Sergei Vikharev, among the coaches for that evening's ballet performance. Vikharev was an exceptional male dancer for the Mariinsky, for many years. Since he is still coaching in the company, Mariinsky is clearly his home company..Under the director, who preceded Fateyev, Makhar Vaziev; Vikharev was allowed to restage Sleeping Beauty and Bayadere to the original Petipa version. Reconstruction Bayadere has never been danced under Fateyev and Fateyev has only allowed reconstruction Sleeping Beauty, once or twice..Fateyev hates reconstruction ballets, probably a sign that he dislikes all classics, and the reconstruction Bayadere and Sleeping Beauty by Vikharev, seem dead, like the morgue I said in an earlier response.

    Vikharev had to go to Bolshoi to stage his reconstruction Coppelia which would be highly desirable for the many soubrette type ballerinas at Mariinsky and would have been a great role for Obraztsova, who now will get to dance it at Bolshoi. Vikharev could not stage the reconstruction Raymonda at his home, but had to go to Italy and use a Mariinsky ballerina, Olesya Novikova, to dance the role of Raymonda. Even for those who prefer the Sergeyev version of Sleeping Beauty and Bayadere, there are many reasons to dance both versions and since Mariinsky has all the costumes and scenery for these reconstructions, there is no reason why they should not use it.

    Fateyev is a great Balanchine fan and almost everyone will agree with the greatness of Balanchine. However, the Mariinsky training is in the classical Petipa tradition and although Balanchine trained at what is now known as the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet, Vaganova, herself, began teaching the same year Balanchine graduated, so Vaganova trraining never affected Balanchine. Every time a Balanchine ballet or any other new ballet for Mariinsky is performed, the victim is always a classical ballet or one of the other Mariinsky beloved ballets, like Fountain of Bakhchisarai.These ballets are still performed, but the number of performances each year, gets smaller and smaller. As more Balanchine ( much better than the other new ones) enters and more Forsytthe, Wheeldon, Preljocaj and Ratmansky enters, there will be less classical performances at Mariinsky.

    Yes, Mariinsky will become a morgue of classical ballet, when it should be a museum of classical ballet, using the training that Vaganova taught and all the former Mariinsky dancers specialized in..

  8. Shirinkina only performed the final movement in Symphony in C on the final night gala of the International Mariinsky festival on April 1 plus on April 29 there was a gala for students where she danced the Vainonen Nutcracker pas with Fillip Stepin and she had no problems with balance.

    I would like you to clarify what you saw her dance in April since she danced one movement at the beginning and one pas at the end.

    I would correct you, as between April 23rd an May 3rd, i saw her

    Apr 27th-in Divertisment at Concert hall, Paquita - very not impressive,

    Gala for students Apr 29th noon - she danced the Vainonen Nutcracker - she Failed all balances, was very sloppy with turns and fell into Stepin once (I think it was landing on a knee) - i sat on the 7th row center orchestra no obstruction to the view.

    Jewels - she might have danced as well (I didn't buy that program, but 99% certain, as i saw Fateev congratulating her at stage door afterwards. She's a sweetest person and nice dancer who's been promoted too fast and too unjustifiable for her own good

    I forgot about April 27, which I saw, when she danced solo in Paquita, which has no balances and is very short. i also forgot about her Emeralds on the 28th, which I saw, which caused her no difficulty. I strongly disagree with your assessment of her balances in Nutcracker which I saw with my own eyes. Her turns were not sloppy, but Stepin does need much work in partnering pirouettes, so if you mean partnered pirouettes, it was his partnering deficiency. Can you clarify what you mean by her falling into Stepin.
  9. Casting has been posted. Thought I'd give this a pass, but the opening night cast (Shirinkina, Shklyarov, and Kondaurova) is tempting.

    After seeing Shirinkina falling off balances, falling just falling, and not performing at Soloist level (when i went to indulge in watching Mariinsky ballets in St. Pete in April), I would STAY AWAY from seeing her in the principal roles (she's a good dancer, but not for the principal roles - however, we can't change Mr. Fateev "affectionate glasses" through which he sees Skorik & Shirinkina - alas....)

    If i go - my favorite cast would be Osmolkina (a very very very refined dancer (hope she fully recovers from her foot injury in spring), Sergeev and Gumerova. Seeing Kolb and Kondaurova will be very tempting too.

    Shirinkina only performed the final movement in Symphony in C on the final night gala of the International Mariinsky festival on April 1 plus on April 29 there was a gala for students where she danced the Vainonen Nutcracker pas with Fillip Stepin and she had no problems with balance.

    I would like you to clarify what you saw her dance in April since she danced one movement at the beginning and one pas at the end.

  10. Thanks Alexaa1a! I will check my programs once I'm back at home base in two months, but I'm fairly certain she did dance that piece at some point (perhaps it wasnt 2010 though). I have a clear vision of her in the adagio onstage. I may have been confusing it with Asaf Messerer’s “Melody” (Antonin Dvorzak) the piece she danced alongside Sergei Strelkov in 2011.

    At last yea's graduation performances, Olga Smirnova did not dance Melody, but between the 2nd and 3rd graduation performances, she and Strelkov, performed Melody in the June 23 Diana Vishneva gala, having danced Melody in May's Ulanova gala in London.
  11. 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.

    In 2009, Olga Smirnova danced an adagio with music byFranz Liszt.

    In 2010, Olga Smirnova danced the Grand Pas Classique pas de deux, music by Daniel Auber.

    In 2011, Olga Smrinova danced the adagio from Thais, music by Jules Massenet.

    In 2012, Ksenia Shevtsova danced the Briantsev adagio, known as Ghostly Ball, with music by Frederic Chopin.

    Olga Smrinova never danced at any graduation ceremony, the Briantsev adagio that Ksenia Shevtsova danced.

  12. Thank you for the information on the dancers. I kept wishing you would say it was not from Vaganova Academy at all! I still have not been able to get past the 1st piece. Hopefully it gets better.sad.png

    The first piece is the underwater kingdom scene from Little Humped Back Horse, restaged by Yuri Burlaka, ex Bolshoi artistic director.
  13. The YouTube video states June 20, 2011. Looking at the Mariinsky website for the month of June, 2011, http://www.mariinsky.ru/ru/playbill/playbill/?year=2011&month=6 , the only ballet performed on that day had these 4 leading ballerinas, Alina Somova, Viktoria Tereshkina, Ekaterina Osmolkina and Ekaterina Kondaurova. None of those two girls are any of these 4 ballerinas. If you look at that web address listed above, Vaganova performed on the 18th, 19th and 26th. Based on the ballets in the video, this was the second performance on June 19. Going from left to right on Helene's still from the video, they are Alexandra Somova, Alina's sister and a 2011 graduate from Ludmila Kovaleva's graduating class,which included Kristina Shapran and Olga Smirnova; Daniil Lopatin, who graduates this year and is a student of Gennadi Selyutsky and finally Ksenia Shevtsova, who graduates this year from Irina Sitnikova's graduating class.

  14. Skorik has already danced O/O in SL several times, even on tour in Brazil & maybe Italy last fall. There was a lackluster debut last spring/summer at the MT, with short-necked & stocky Timur Askerov as Siegfried. Much commented on in European fora; less so here. Management insists on pushing her & the partnership with Askerov, though.

    Novikova has danced Rubies but it has been a while.

    Elianam was talking about Skorik Swan as the Dying Swan which is probably a debut, unless she has done it in one of the many Concert Hall small performances. Novikova last danced Rubies on June 19, 2011, Denis Matvienko gala.
  15. The Mariinsky Ballet should try to get more cameras into the Theatre. POB, the Bolshoi, La Scala and the Royal (for example, last June's O2 Arena "Romeo & Juliet" run), have gotten proactive - reaching out to a global audience, collaborating with Ballet in Cinema, and airing live simulcasts. They've all outdistanced the Mariinsky here. I don't even want to get into the Bolshoi, La Scala, and even Tokyo's embracing of the Petipa reconstructions. Vikharev's Harvard notes have been welcomed everywhere except the Theatre where Petipa's ballets premiered. The Mariinsky Ballet is being left behind in this regard. It would be better for them to consider taking advantage of projects like this, rather than releasing dvds of mediocre performances from past seasons, or touring +90 days of two night - one week stands worldwide.

    Cygnet's last paragraph comment was great.

  16. It does not work for me and I have tried it many time sin both Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. It says loading then stops and has writing in Chinese which I cannot read. I tried it on a 2nd computer and also nothing. It never showed any length other than 0 minutes 0 seconds. What did you do to see even one second of the video? please go into detail sinc eI get nothing and I have very fast internet connection speed.

    The writing simply says that it had trouble downloading the content from the server. It may be that downloads are restricted by country, or that something in your browser (such as extensions blocking ads) may be interfering with streaming. Thanks to mumwang for uploading some of the content to Youtube.

    Thank you for your logical explanation

  17. It worked for me too. I especially love Wang Qimin as Carmen; she may be tiny but she has loads of character! :) Thanks for posting, mumwang.

    It does not work for me and I have tried it many time sin both Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. It says loading then stops and has writing in Chinese which I cannot read. I tried it on a 2nd computer and also nothing. It never showed any length other than 0 minutes 0 seconds. What did you do to see even one second of the video? please go into detail sinc eI get nothing and I have very fast internet connection speed.

  18. Please just wait, from 02:20, the documentary start. Or, use mouse press on the button, move to any point you wish, the button will not go with the mouse, but give 3 seconds, it will jumpt to where the mouse stop. Hope it help.

    06:34 D.Q.PDD Zhan Xinlu/Ma Xiaodong

    16:33 La Dame aux Camelias PDD Yuan Yuan Tan/Edvin Revazov

    26:17 Black Swan PDD Maria Seletskaja/Stanislav Jermakov

    38:57 Carmen PDD Wang Qimin/Li Jun

    48:03 Grand Pas Classique PDD Olga Smirnova/Semyon Chudin

    It only says loading and then stops. It never allows me to move the counter past 0 minutes 0 seconds.

    Please try to click on the site from your first message and see what it does. It does nothing for me.

  19. This is the CCTV video of 1st Beijing International Ballet and Choreography Competition closing ceremony(except) At the 48.03 mark Olga Smirnova, current boshoi soloist and Semun Chudin are seen in Grand Pas Classique. The video also incudes Yuan Yuan Tan in Lady of the Camilieas.

    http://yue.cntv.cn/nettv/yinyue/special/C27612/classpage/video/20110926/100061.shtml

    The video shows a few seconds of advertisement signs and no ballet. How do you play the ballet video?

  20. I didn't really know where to put this, I'm sorry if it's in the wrong place.

    I came across

    today. In the description it says 'Настя Заклинская', Nastya Zaklinskaya. Could this be the daughter of Altynai Asylmuratova and her husband Konstantin Zaklinsky?

    I know I have read somewhere that she had a daughter that is studying at the Vaganova Academy..

    Unfortunately the video's not very sharp and it's not really possible to see who's who, but still nice to get a glimpse.

    So, could anyone maybe confirm this?

    Thank you :flowers:

    If you give me specific details how to add attach a photograph on BA, I can place her photograph on BA, but I once spent hours on a different photo and failed

    Her face resemblance to mom is astonishing.

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