Irina Kolesnikova Giselle

[canbelto]

Irina Kolesnikova's website indicates that a commercial performance of her Giselle has been released in the UK. Has anyone seen the performance? Thoughts? My only experience with Kolesnikova is a youtube video of her dancing the White Swan pdd where her hand touches the floor in the final penchee.

[Natalia]

Canbelto, I just received my 'goodie package' from the ROH, including this DVD. I'll post impressions after seeing it tonight.

Kolesnikova is a puzzlement to me. An example of a totally-overhyped dancer. She's a solid-but-uninspiring Vaganova graduate of the late '90s who was not invited to the Kirov-Mariinsky and who, under normal circumstances, would have found her niche as a good corps or demi-solo dancer with a provincial troupe. Instead she hit the 'unwarranted jackpot' of -- what is she called? -- "prima ballerina assoluta in excelsis" (or something like that) in the 6th-best ballet company in the city of St. Petersburg. Even after the initial tours to the UK, the coffee-table book, the hype...she entered the 2001 Moscow International Ballet competition...in which she failed to earn any sort of prize. I was there for that competition and, I believe, she did not even make the final round. But the hyping continued.

Sorry if this sounds cruel but I believe that the blame is with her hyping machine. She WOULD be just fine as a tall corps dancer or demi-soloist. However, since she is hyped as 'assoluta-whatever,' she seems to be over-compensating for her deficiencies by adopting an diva-ish in-your-face attack, resulting in the painful penches and other moves to which canbelto alludes. Let's see how Kolesnikova's Giselle fares, in tonight's viewing. Like Donald Trump, I'm willing to give everyone a 2nd (or 3rd) chance.

p.s. Despite the diva-moves of Kolesnikova's Odette/Odile, the St. Petrsburg Ballet Theater's DVD of 'Swan Lake' that was filmed in South Africa is pretty good. The Tatchkine-led company has a number of good soloists and bright-and-lovely designs. (Hey, they're mostly Vaganova Academy grads!) The filming is very good - sharp and clear, with minimal jarring edits. So I would expect that the ensemble-dancing and technical aspects of the Giselle -- also filmed in South Africa -- will be just as good.

[Mashinka]

Having seen her a number of times during her tours of the UK, I have to say that I find her superior to many of the dancers of a similar age currently dancing at the Maryinsky. As for her height I would class her as medium, no more than about five foot six. I also dislike the penchee on that clip, but generally speaking she has more taste than to over extend.

The Tatchkine-led company has a number of good soloists and bright-and-lovely designs. (Hey, they're mostly Vaganova Academy grads!)

Apart from their unfortunate Sleeping Beauty, the productions are very good and they are the only touring company I know of with a version of La Bayadere. A number of the dancers are from Vag Acad but a fair number graduated from the Rudolf Nureyev School in Ufa including the exquisite Sabina Yapparova who has now returned to Russia. This is no dead end company as former members have gone on to join the Maryinsky and English National Ballet.

[Natalia]

After having watched the new 'Giselle' DVD by the St. Petersburg Ballet Theatre, I have to admit that it is one of the finest commercially-filmed 'Giselles' around!

Most importantly, Irina Kolesnikova danced beautifully, with elegant restraint, improving on her Swan Lake DVD. While her sharp features and glaring countenance (looking a bit like Alla Mikhalchenko, ex-prima of the Bolshoi...more a Gamzatti than a Nikiya) don't make her the angelic, coy village girl that we expect in Act I, she becomes an appropriately ethereal spectre in Act II. My, what eloquent arms and hands this dancer possesses! Her technique was spot-on, although I wonder why she altered the Act I solo (for example, the initial arabesque-penchees remain on pointe, rather than roll down to the flat-foot, as is normally the case).

Tall and handsome Dmitri Akulinin is a perfect Count Albrecht (just like his Prince Siegfried in the Swan Lake DVD). Stately Julia Petrova displayed a wonderful jump as Myrtha. The Peasant pdd was a delight in the hands & feet of Sabina Yapparova and Andrei Yakhnuk. The corps is simply exquisite -- a pared-down Mariinsky (9 Wilis on each side; total of 18, instead of the usual 24 or 32). Nonetheless, it's all about the quality, not the quantity. This company has quality in droves, which we in the US don't really expect from what is basically a 'touring company.' As was the case with 'Swan Lake,' the sets and costumes for the SPBT's 'Giselle' are luxurious and bright (but not too bright in Act II), while maintaining high taste.

As with the earlier 'Swan Lake' DVD, the filming is excellent -- crisp and clear, edited in an intelligent manner, with minimal close-ups or 'jumping around' from close-ups to middle or far distances. Just right.

I was impressed!

[Tahor]

I am delighted Natalia that you have seen the light!

Irina is one of the finest classical Ballerinas in the world today, and as someone who has watched her endlessly on UK tours, I can say that without doubt she deserves the status of Prima. Of course all the hype is marketing to sell dvds and performance tickets - that is just commercial reality, the company is run as a business. But behind all that hype there is a glorious artistic talent fully deserving of the title. Quite frankly, the earlier comments that she would be a good corps dancer are an insult, and anyone that has actually seen her dance on stage that knows anything about ballet would not think such a thing. You have a very high standard for a corps dancer if you really believe that, which would put most dancers in the world out of a job.

For all those that have seen her, she really is a great Prima Ballerina, a true artist, the best Odette-Odile there is right now. It was the loss of the main companies that they did not take her.

[Natalia]

I respect your opinions, Tahor, but I would never think of Kolesnikova as a Prima or anything close to it. But she danced a mighty-fine Giselle A2 on that DVD!

[wildaboutballet]

I am delighted Natalia that you have seen the light!

Irina is one of the finest classical Ballerinas in the world today, and as someone who has watched her endlessly on UK tours, I can say that without doubt she deserves the status of Prima. Of course all the hype is marketing to sell dvds and performance tickets - that is just commercial reality, the company is run as a business. But behind all that hype there is a glorious artistic talent fully deserving of the title. Quite frankly, the earlier comments that she would be a good corps dancer are an insult, and anyone that has actually seen her dance on stage that knows anything about ballet would not think such a thing. You have a very high standard for a corps dancer if you really believe that, which would put most dancers in the world out of a job.

For all those that have seen her, she really is a great Prima Ballerina, a true artist, the best Odette-Odile there is right now. It was the loss of the main companies that they did not take her.

I must agree with you Tahor. I never understand why our fellow 'dancenetters' wish to insult our choice of the dancers who we admire. They could be more kind and maybe introduce us to dancers who they like. I have seen Irina Kolesnikova on many UK tours and she deserves all the acclaim and recognition she receives. Thousands of people in the UK agree with me. And in this case I don’t think the writer has seen an Irina performance. I am a great fan and belong to IK club on the Irina Kolesnikova site, and I can tell you that Irina was not an entrant in the Moscow 2001 competition. But I am only a humble fan - I don’t live in Washington, and will probably never visit a Moscow dance competition. I am deeply grateful that there is an Irina website, book and dvds, all of which give me and others the greatest pleasure and allow us to have a souvenir and to re-live the performances of this beautiful dancer. If all these things are “hype” then I say give me more, more, more!

PS Natalia I must agree with you, the new 'Giselle' DVD by the St. Petersburg Ballet Theatre, it is one of the finest commercially-filmed 'Giselles' around and, as you say, Irina Kolesnikova danced beautifully

[loveballett]

Irina Kolesnikova's website indicates that a commercial performance of her Giselle has been released in the UK. Has anyone seen the performance? Thoughts? My only experience with Kolesnikova is a youtube video of her dancing the White Swan pdd where her hand touches the floor in the final penchee.

[/quote

you may like to know there is a new dvd release with Kolesnikova as Clara It is great and even better is that i bought a programme / brochure when I saw the company in Brighton and received a free dvd with excerpts of Giselle, Lac and Nutcracker