2017/2018 season

[Mashinka]

11 hours ago, Buddy said:

She went on to set the standard for this work. 

Preposterous.  Did you never see Ananiashvili or Gracheva in the role?

[Buddy]

I just viewed a video clip of Ksenia Zhiganshina in the Congo River solo. She has an airy delightfulness and beauty that I really enjoy and appreciate.

(thanks to Sophia at Dansomanie for finding it)

Mashinka, I’ve not seen Nina Ananiashvili or Nadezhda Gracheva  in this, but I imagine that they’d be excellent. I have seen several other ballerinas and for me Svetlana Zakharova was ideal. Svetlana Lunkina, as her performance progressed, showed remarkable beauty. I now feel that Olga Smirnova may have inherited the crown or is certainly in the process of doing so.

Added:  Looking back at an older video clip it seems that Ksenia Zhiganshina may have slightly lost weight since then and is also reaching out more with her arm gestures which give her a new linear fineness.

Edited August 5, 2018 by Buddy
typo correction and "Added" and a slight word clarification

[Buddy]

Just some musing aloud.

In ballet in general and in this work, especially the ultracharming underwater scenes, I wish there were a way to capture more of the precious background activity. This would include the reclining children, their slightly older counterparts, the two delightful nymphs(?) sitting on either side of Neptune in their absolutely silly looking (and absolutely charming) wigs casting a spell like no other without moving for a second (only Russian ballet, perhaps the Bolshoi in particular, can do this).

I’m normally glued to the lead ballerina. That’s about all I can effectively take in. Yet I wish she might ‘relax’ for a moment and let the background take over for a few seconds. George Balanchine seemed to understand this as he would have his leads threading through the other dancers and even becoming part of them.

I’m not complaining and I wouldn’t change a thing in the wonderful works that I see, but it might be something interesting to consider in some yet to be created works.

Edited August 5, 2018 by Buddy

[mnacenani]

3 hours ago, Buddy said:

In ballet in general and in this work, especially the ultracharming underwater scenes, I wish there were a way to capture more of the precious background activity

Dear Buddy after 3½ years of seeing ballet at the Bolshoy I have come to the irrevocable conclusion that classical ballet, as staged by the Bolshoy, loses at least half its impact if not seen on location. Pharaoh's Daughter thought beautiful to see has zero dramatic value, imo it's just a grand divertissement with the silliest of story lines, but inevitably there is great loss of detail when captured for tv : having to do close ups leaves much of the stage out of sight. And in ballets with a workable story line one does not see some important details : in Corsaire there is so much characterisation all around which tv shots do not capture, in Bayaderka one usually does not get to see the Rajah having a word with Aya and/or Gamzatti recoil and step down when Nikiya is bitten .... one can go on and on. Take Bolshoy's Coppelia :  I saw three casts in April and also the cinecast in June :  the cinecast in no way had the impact of the real thing : close-ups kill the richly cast, richly characterised, exquisitely detailed classical ballets staged by the Bolshoy. But if they were to show the full stage then again detail would be lost as everyone would look like ants scurrying around. (For me ballet is a high drama form as you know, others may have a different take).

[Buddy]

Hi Mnacenani.

I'm personally delighted with the pure entertainment aspect of this work. I'm glad that different things work for you.

I've seen the Bolshoi numerous times, but the finest was several performances in their actual theater. I'm not sure if this is always the case but the response was both knowing and electric.

By the way, I mentioned that I was charmed by the children in the underwater scene. At a closer look they seem to be regular 'chorus' members but with amazingly childlike expression at times.

I normally have theater glasses glued to the lead ballerina. That's why I like the idea of more interaction, so I that I can appreciate the entirety.

Added: Mister Rogers of the children’s show was in Russia years ago. He said that one of the things that he liked very much was, that with all the apparent hardship that they’ve historically endured, they still had a sense of whimsy. He saw this most in the historic buildings. I tend to notice this also in the ballets. Wigs and props are examples. It all combines naturally into wonderful, human cultural expression and artistry.

 

 

 

Edited August 5, 2018 by Buddy
"Added" added

[Laurent]

Quote

I have come to the irrevocable conclusion that classical ballet, as staged by the Bolshoy, loses at least half its impact if not seen on location. Pharaoh's Daughter thought beautiful to see has zero dramatic value, imo it's just a grand divertissement with the silliest of story lines,

You may revise your conviction that La fille du pharaon "has zero dramatic value" when you see it danced by the right artists.

[Fleurdelis]

On 8/5/2018 at 7:24 AM, Laurent said:

Does so well what ? In other variations Smirnova displayed the same defects she has been always afflicted with, her hands defying all attempts to conform to the canons of classical dance. If this is going to stay, she will never be a great classical ballerina.

She already is one and has been for some time. A true jewel with some of the most beautiful arms and hands in classical ballet. Probably equaled only by Lopatkina. That is, to those who know a thing or two about classical ballet. Starting with the great upkeepers of the tradition such as Pierre Lacotte himself.

[Laurent]

Quote

A true jewel with some of the most beautiful arms and hands in classical ballet. Probably equaled only by Lopatkina. That is, to those who know a thing or two about classical ballet.

Apparently, those who think otherwise (this includes the named dancer herself, her closest friends, ballet pedagogues of the most respected ballet schools, etc.) must be hopelessly ignorant ballet dummies.

A quick reality check (for the one who knows a thing, or maybe even, two):

https://l450v.alamy.com/450v/f30trr/moscow-russia-27th-sep-2015-bolshoi-ballet-leading-dancer-olga-smirnova-f30trr.jpg

https://images.bwwstatic.com/upload10/417716/tn-500_grand00158959.jpg

Edited September 7, 2018 by Laurent