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Skorik


Birdsall

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Olga Smirnova is always pushing her boundaries to the extent that I sometimes don't recognize her in the same role from one performance to the next.

This is a very unusual quality. It reminded me of something Arlene Croce wrote about Suzanne Farrell,

Her performances are occasions for unique and unrepeatable happenings and have to be spoken of as one-time events: "The Dimaonds of Saturday Night Closing Weekend," "The Great Saratoga Chaconne." Recently I watched her give the minuet in Chaconne with a sly sforzando attack I'd never seen before, brightening each step like sunlight behind a cloud. At the next performance, I don't think I saw any sforzando, but the light was still there.

(Originally published in The New Yorker, July 23, 1979 and republished in Going to the Dance p.203)

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Olga Smirnova is always pushing her boundaries to the extent that I sometimes don't recognize her in the same role from one performance to the next.

This is a very unusual quality. It reminded me of something Arlene Croce wrote about Suzanne Farrell,

Her performances are occasions for unique and unrepeatable happenings and have to be spoken of as one-time events: "The Dimaonds of Saturday Night Closing Weekend," "The Great Saratoga Chaconne." Recently I watched her give the minuet in Chaconne with a sly sforzando attack I'd never seen before, brightening each step like sunlight behind a cloud. At the next performance, I don't think I saw any sforzando, but the light was still there.

(Originally published in The New Yorker, July 23, 1979 and republished in Going to the Dance p.203)

Clement Crisp:

"I saw superb performances by Suzanne Farrell, for whom a fascinated Balanchine made Diamonds. Smirnova’s radiance, the unaffected nobility of her manner and the charm of her means make the role hers. She creates something magical and it touches the spirit. Not since the earliest performances by Altynai Asylmuratova have I seen so luminous a debut. We have much to hope for."

http://www.ft.com/in...l#axzz2K8RzOIHP

My feeling, Helene, is that Olga Smirnova is very young and incredibly talented. Her learning curve must be amazing. She was an all "A" student, at least before she turned her total attention to ballet. As she gets into and learns her way through a role the results are exactly as exciting as we are describing. Others might be learning. She can create one-of-kind masterpieces within the same work during the process.

This brings up one other thought that I wanted to try to express here. It goes back to comparing Oxana Skorik with Olga Smirnova, a comparison that still interests me greatly because of their somewhat parallel and speed-of-light rising to stardom and because they come from a strong Mariinsky sphere. Olga Smirnova was a Vaganova (Mariinsky) school prodigy and Oxana Skorik may be the next Mariinsky 'flagship.'

My thought 'at this time' (because Olga Smirnova could be a 'different person' tomorrow), is that Olga Smirnova is more articulated. Her moves, her highlights, her characterization -- her amazing depth -- are generally more dramatic and expressive. This is where her 'genius' is the most apparent.

Contained within this is her Mariinsky fineness.

With Oxana Skorik, her Mariinsky fineness is very prominent.

Contrary to how I view Olga Smirnova, Oxana Skorik can then surround or add to her fineness a layer of powerful expression, physical and character wise, which once again I call 'genius'. It can be so powerful and apparent that it knocks you out of your chair. Maybe that's why I call this 'genius', because of the Wow factor, rather then giving similar credit to her equally remarkable refinement. Her other 'genius', which might be the case with Olga Smirnova as well, is what doesn't knock you out of your chair -- subtle 'genius.' This is something that I'm seeing more of. It's the restrained brilliance that might be barely noticeable.

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Maybe I could add one more comparison, that of Oxana Skorik and Alina Somova, to this discussion because they are both somewhat similar examples of young Mariinsky beauty.

I tend to like Alina Somova very much for the lovely sense of flow in her motion in addition to her many other excellent qualities. She also has the same basic fineness that I love so much in Oxana Skorik -- the beautiful highlighting and positioning as well as the highly graceful motion. I have to clarify my description of Alina Somova by first saying that there are a number of video clips on the internet that do not illustrate the *Consistency* of remarkable beauty that I've seen in *All* of ten or so Live performances. Also she seems to 'experiment' more recently in her Live performances as if not wishing to take the 'easy way' out even if doing so might produce a more remarkable result. Sometimes she's obviously brilliant. Other times she seems to carry things to a certain point and then as if to say, "See, I can do that," she moves onto try something else. As in the case of other artists, such as Svetlana Zakharova and Svetlana Lunkina, both of whom eventually accomplished this, in my opinion, I'm still waiting to experience the 'Ultimate(!)' performance that I know she is capable of. Let's see what her return brings. I know, based on what I've seen, that she is capable of remarkable beauty.

Based partially on video clip watching of recent performances, Oxana Skorik seems to be displaying a more contained beauty. In a spectrum I would say that she is essentially the most subtly refined, Alina Somova being slightly more expressive because of her flow and sometimes emphasis, but also highly refined, and Olga Smirnova (mentioned yesterday) being the most expressive along with her beautiful refinement.

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Buddy, I can relate to the fact of shielding a favorite ballerina from the generilized harshness-(I've been doing it for years with Alonso, which is even more complex given her egocentric personality and controversial political persona). One time I even received a PM from a poster asking me if we were related..happy.png So I can understand someone thinking of you being Fateyev. As for myself, at one point I wonder if you were Skorik herself! biggrin.png

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Skorik looks like a rabbit with those feathers.

They do both have beautiful lines ,and Askerov's variation is very clean, but neither of them has any energy or excitement! They're so calm and subdued as to be lethargic.

Skorik really had to fight for those fouettes (and they don't flow at all), but I'm glad she made it to the end.

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Performance from Moscow Ballet competition- great to see this variation, ....

I cannot believe that Skorik is exposing herself like this, in a major int'l ballet competition. I wonder how they're doing - made it to the finals? This is the competition won by the likes of Obraztsova and Schklyarov, in recent years (solo category). Maybe Skorik/Askerov are in the duets category and there are few entries?

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They are through to the second round, which I think begins tomorrow. They danced together so I assume they are competing as a duo?

Speaking of Obraztsova, there is a little section on her trip to Moscow competition with some footage and her reflections on her recent monologue about herself on Youtube. It now has English subtitles for those of us who have very poor Russian!

Edit: Definitely competing as duo- http://moscowballetcompetition.com/en/node/28 has updated standings and categories.

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"Swan Lake" Acts III and IV with Timur Askerov from May 17.

Quite Wonderful !

Act IV Odette starts at 22:00

Added:

Someone at the very end yells out "Spasiba!" ("Thank You!" in russian), which I've never heard at a ballet performance before. Totally justified.

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I watched the first 25 minutes. Ms Skorik gave a fair performance, quite solumn in expression, there wasn't anything particularly glittering, evil, or different to her Odile compared to her Odette that followed. I do think she is posing less, and moving through the steps better.

Gergiev's boast that the Mariinsky will now give 1000 performances annually compared to Bolshoi's 500 - I have to wonder why they are not using the still healthy Julia Makhalina. I would go see her as O/O in a heartbeat. Even if she lacks the technical mastery she had at 22, I still think she would do better than some of young things that Fateev is shoving on stage without adequate coaching time or seasoning in the corps.

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I agree with much of your sentiment about Julia Makhalina, Jayne. I saw her perform a duet at the Mariinsky last year, and although some of the highly physical demands were challenging, I thought that she looked More Beautiful overall than in any of her famous video performances that I've seen.


I've been watching Oxana Skorik's Act IV Odette dancing almost continuously since I posted it. Act IV, if we and they can 'finesse' the demise of Rothbart, brings back the artistic spell created by the famous Act II duet, which, for me, is possibly the essence of Swan Lake (and perhaps all of ballet) as an artistic experience.


Oxana Skorik gives a subtle but new and highly compelling nuancing to her characterization of both her Odette and Odile. Especially in her Act IV Odette, what Yuri Fateyev, Acting Director of the Mariinsky Ballet, has been quoted here as saying, seems most evident.


"In addition, she has depth, she has an internal world."


Also with her Act IV Odette (and beautiful Act III Odile duet)she dances with a refined and airy Loveliness that is as Beautiful as I've ever seen.
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It seems to me that the right place for her at the moment is to be 3rd or 4th night for each rep, slow down her debuts, and stop giving her soubrette roles (no more Kitri, please no Swahilda, etc). If the pressure is off and she is relaxed, then the mistakes go away, and her good qualities can shine through. I suppose no one truly comes out of the box as a finished performer, and even Zakharova's first O/O was not as fine as the one she gives 12-15 years later.

Now, if only the Mariinsky could get Vishneva to give more performances at home!

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Still being fascinated by Act IV of the Swan Lake video clip posted above, it is her characterization, or should I simply say, facial expression, that continues to captivate me. Once again, it certainly shows her going inside herself, deeply inside herself. She seems to have found her identity there and she holds fast to it, no matter what is happening on the stage, either really or theatrically. From deep within she is still able to to involve herself completely in the world around her and react feelingly, meaningfully and appropriately. It's perhaps subtle, but not necessarily if you focus on it.


It blends very well with the dreamlike beauty of her dance motion and dance expression. I find it to be, again fascinating, totally her own, meaningful, and poetically very beautiful.


Added:

It's starting at 26:30 that this is most noticeable to me.


Also I don't feel any ego involvement, any sense of "how do I look?"

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I'm still very much following the parallel development of Oxana Skorik and Olga Smirnova (now at the Bolshoi). Above is posted a video clip of Oxana Skorik's Act IV Odette from Swan Lake (starting at about 22:00). For me, it's as fine a video statement of her beauty as I've yet found.

Here is one of Olga Smirnova which, from what I've viewed on the internet, shows her at her Vaganova finest with qualities that I cherish.

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This is a review that I posted elsewhere of Oxana Skorik's two "Swan Lake" performances two weeks ago in Naples, Italy.

This is from the only press review (GBOPERA Magazine) that I've seen of the performances.

"An Odette / Odile technically flawless, beautiful long lines, sustained, even more deserving of praise for having been danced with delicate lyricism suited to the role, especially in the "White" Pas de deux, the end of which unleashed a veritable ovation, supported even by the members of the orchestra! The most difficult parts were carried out smoothly and with poetic ease, thanks to the fine use of the arms, real swan wings. Refined and sober, she appeared perfect in the role of Odette…."

(translated from italian. thanks to NEOPHYTE at Dansomanie for posting this)

http://www.gbopera.it/2013/09/il-lago-d ... di-napoli/

" ….[an ovation] supported even by the members of the orchestra! "

If this is true than I'm indeed impressed.

I saw both of her performances and they were outstanding. I agree with what this reviewer has written. I do have to add one fact. In neither performance of the Act II White Swan duet were the two overhead lifts performed. This possibly was a partnering issue. Oxana Skorik, at least on point, is taller than Vladimir Shklyarov (her partner in both performances), and someone may have chosen not to include them, because of difficulty. (I did once see an entire series of Mariinsky Swan Lakes where almost everyone omitted these lifts, although this is not usually done) In an internet video of Swan Lake, danced with Timur Askerov, she performs all the lifts in the entire ballet with confidence and immense beauty. These two lifts were the only elements in both performances that she omitted that I noticed. Although there was at times a sign of tenseness, all the other technical challenges were handled flawlessly.

I continue to feel that she has the ability to be one of the finest ballerinas of our times. Perhaps she already is.

Correction made:

Vladimir Shklyarov was her partner.

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