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2017 -- 2018 Season


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22 minutes ago, Buddy said:

Maria Iliushkina debuted her Variation Act I in Raymonda's Dream about a week ago. From video clips she looks like someone to keep an eye on. She's quite lovely. 

I’m interested in seeing how Illiushkina develops as well....

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How did you find out about her, if I can ask ?  😊

She seems to have some video recognition which is how I found her about two years ago. I've not seen her on stage.

Edited by Buddy
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32 minutes ago, Buddy said:

How did you find out about her, if I can ask ?  😊

She seems to have some video recognition which is how I found her about two years ago. I've not seen her on stage.

Same here--youtube channels in my case.

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As a followup to The Legend of Love live broadcast of April 5, discussed here, this was the next day. It has a lot of lovely dancing by Maria Shirinkina and a very brief but excellent section with Oxana Skorik (17:00)  Andrey Ermakov is featured.

Added comment: Andrey Ermakov's characterization is so different here from the day before, that I hardly recognize him. This one is fine, but the day before I thought was exceptional.

(posted by Andrey Ermakov)

 

Edited by Buddy
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In the ‘For What It’s Worth’ department.

In the classics often the beauty of the Corps de Ballet goes so unnoticed by me during any lead dancing. If my attention isn’t 100% on the lead ballerina, I feel that I’m missing the essence.

I really appreciate for instance how much importance George Balanchine gave to these dancers by letting them stand alone or interact with the leads.

Tonight for a brief segment towards the end of Oxana Skorik’s dancing (above video) I had the very unusual experience with a ‘classic’ of taking in this interaction. The corps de ballet women in the background have very statuesque, slowly and carefully timed, dramatic and clearly articulated moves. Thus it’s possible to completely focus on Oxana Skorik and still take in the very well defined background action. It’s all part of the same picture. In a painting, no problem. In something where all the parts are alive and one is totally featured in motion, not so easy. In this segment it all moved as one and reflected and played off what the other was doing.

Edited by Buddy
grammar correction
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As an example of what I mean about George Balanchine featuring everyone (above post) here’s a look at his Walpurgisnacht Ballet. Even the lead becomes part of the Corps de Ballet and doesn’t try to outshine the others. I’m not saying that there shouldn’t be absolute-center-of-attention stars — I wouldn’t want to live without them — but this is certainly a fine way of giving everyone some well deserved prominence.

This is the first officially posted example that I could fine

 

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Well, another one of  my ‘sunshine ballerinas’ has made a major artistic step. Renata Shakirova debuted last night as Aurora (The Sleeping Beauty). There are a couple video clips on the internet.

What delights and almost fascinates me is how delicately beautiful is her performance of the technically challenging (her strength and done very well) entrance dancing.

Next stop, hopefully, Swan Lake.

 

(thanks to Sophia at Dansomanie for finding all this)

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She posted this yesterday, Gnossie and Drew, on Instagram,

 

renata__shakirova As T.Udalenkova said,

today I passed the Ballerina exam☺️. The premiere of "Sleeping Beauty"

#mariinskytheatre #thesleepingbeauty #avrora #ballet #danceeveryday

 

(renata__shakirovaКак сказала Т.А.Удаленкова, сегодня я сдала экзамен на Балерину☺️ Премьера «Спящая Красавица» #mariinskytheatre #thesleepingbeauty #avrora #ballet #danceeveryday)

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bip7F7QANwp/?hl=en&taken-by=renata__shakirova

In any case i was very impressed with the loveliness (and proficiency, as usual) of her entry dancing as seen for several minutes only on video.

(There was some afterthought at Dansomanie that she may have danced this on tour before, but not at the Mariinsky, and it wasn’t announced on the Mariinsky program as being a debut. )

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There’s a video clip from a few days ago with Viktoria Tereshkina and Konstantin Zverev dancing a duet from Alexei Ratmansky’s Concerto DSCH. I have to say that I’ve never seen her look lovelier. For me, when she’s at her best overall she also has her loveliest facial expression. Konstantin Zverev is also someone that I like a lot. In the last few years he’s been getting many well deserved leads, but always in 'anything not classical.’

I’ve seen maybe six or more works by Alexei Ratmansky. The ones that I generally enjoy most are his original ones. He has a touch with the ‘hard to define.’ I’ve read reviews that often say ‘I’ll have to see this one several times more to decide.’ Most of the ones that I like, I like immediately, although I can’t necessarily describe them.

This duet from Concerto DSCH is like that. I notice new things each time that I watch it. I see that it’s so carefully structured like objects of art being displayed. There's no overt feeling of interaction. Yet Viktoria Tereshkina will look up at times with complete longing in her eyes. The sculpture that she becomes is classical in its isolated perfection yet reaches out at times as if embracing the heavens. Konstantin Zverev is always caringly attentive. Nothing more seems needed. I notice the interaction more than I usually do. The ballerina doesn't demand the complete attention that I usually feel. The group dancers are also entranced and entrancing. I’ve mainly seen dancers from ‘Russia’ performing his works and they appear to best understand and represent them.

Alexei Ratmansky seems able to get immersed in the inner dimensions of human essence and almost indefinably make them wonderful statements of artistic imagery that touch the deepest of feelings and awareness.

Edited by Buddy
some rewording
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Just a few words more about the performance that I mentioned in my previous post.

I’ve watched the video maybe ten times and I think that it’s absolutely lovely, both for its choreography and performance. The theme certainly is Love and predominantly its dignity.

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The Buddys

It’s a beautiful Spring day for the giddys. Or is it actually Summer, which would make it seeming like Spring very consistent with the giddys — or the Buddys.

The Buddys are an award the just fell out of the sky for no particular reason at no particular time and of no particular significance except for the exceptionally exceptional beauty of its winners.

This award goes to the * Most Beautiful Dancers in The World Today * — * this moment * there are Four * Most Beautiful Dancers in The World Today * who, because of frame of reference, Spring giddiness perhaps, idea of beauty and alignment of the stars, all come from the Mariinsky.

Oxana Skoirik — Perhaps the most beautifully moving creature in the world.

Alina Somova — Perhaps the equal of Oxana Skorik, except that she appears less and confuses the picture by being so exceptional in so many different ways.

Alyona Kovalyova — Also perhaps the Mariinsky’s (ie World’s) most beautiful dancer, except that she’s doing it at the Bolshoi.

Maria Iliushkina — Recipient of this year’s Emerging Enchanting Golden Butterfly Award for A Young Goddess.

 

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A discussion of the Mariinsky’s young and very talented in-house choreographer, Maxim Petrov,

http://balletalert.invisionzone.com/topic/43787-bach-to-broadway/?tab=comments#comment-400222

has brought this to mind.

Viktoria Brilyova

Coryphee — Not forgotten

https://www.mariinsky.ru/en/company/ballet/coryphees/coryphees_woman/brilyova1

In one of his very first works, “Cinema,” and certainly one of his best and most charming, she is featured alongside Andrei Yermakov. She’s brilliantly delightful. Hopefully there is a place at the Mariinsky to feature her again (and again), she really deserves it.

 

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I can’t agree with you about Tereshkina. (And I’m also not sure everyone agrees that Raymonda has to be “delicate.”  Nureyev once said Raymonda was a “bitch” — in any case she is not simply Aurora 2.0.)

I don’t think Tereshkina dances like a “delicate” Princess OR a “bitch” — In D.C., in October, I found her a great classical ballerina who brought tremendous plasticity, musicality, and authority to Nikiya. I don’t think video always captures the nuances of her dancing or the intensity of her stage presence which were also very evident when I finally saw her dance a classical ballerina role live. Raymonda is a different role from Nikiya, but all those qualities matter to it. I would be happy to see Tereshkina’s Raymonda. 

I believe dancers can be miscast...but I don’t believe there is only one way to dance great ballets. For my taste, that would be swinging the pendulum too far in the other direction. 

Edited by Drew
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Terioshkina is a magnificent Raymonda...the current best a the Mariinsky with the possible exception of Novikova, who has already been filmed in the lovely Vikharev recon. at La Scala. Hence, I’m delighted that Terioshkina will now be professionally filmed in this ballet. 

As for the Mariinsky’s representatives in the tv competition...”no comment” as Gnossie says. 

Edited by CharlieH
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The greatest affront is having Gergiev conducting. He doesn't know how to conduct ballet, he never knows the choreography, and he makes life impossible for dancers by giving them ridiculous tempi. However unfortunate the casting may be (Xander Parish? :wallbash:), Gergiev makes it that much worse. But if the Mariinsky is okay with its dancers looking bad on international TV because of the unqualified conductor... :dunno:

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10 hours ago, Gnossie said:

Arte is airing a live performance of Raymonda on Monday 28 May starting at 16:00 London time (19:00 Petersburg time). Terioshkina as Raymonda and Xander Parish as Jean de Brienne. Gergiev conducting.

After looking for it for quite some time (not shown on Arte TV programs for today) found it on Arte Concert France website. The German website is not streaming this so it will most probably be restricted to France :

https://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/082954-000-A/raymonda-de-marius-petipa-au-theatre-mariinsky/

Edited by mnacenani
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On ‎5‎/‎20‎/‎2018 at 8:55 AM, mnacenani said:

Albrecht can be blonde but Jizel never !!  👎

Giselle was made specifically for a certain Carlotta Grisi, who became an icon of Romantic ballet and up to this day remains an unsurpassed Giselle. She was blonde and had blue eyes. There are many witnesses in French sources, I select one in English,

Quote

Mademoiselle Carlotta Grisi is a most lovely and loveable blonde ; her soft blue eyes are delightfully expressive

(The New Monthly Magazine (London), 1847, p.338)

This is perfectly in line with the fact that the tale about the "wilis" is Western Slavic in origin. Heinrich Heine who inspired Théophile Gautier, the author of the libretto, both were great poets, places it somewhere in Silesia. The word "wilis" is the German plural or Western slavic "wil", "wila", which means a ghostly creature, often with connotations of madness, into which maiden girls turned after their untimely deaths.

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