United in Dance: Segerstrom - November 11, 2022

[Buddy]

And some more.

Let me start once again by saying how much the evening touched my heart, from its soulful beauty and commitment to its outstanding artistry.

I probably have four favorite ballet works at the moment and three of them were performed beautifully here, The White Swan Adagio (Ivanov), The Swan (or Dying Swan) (Fokine) and After The Rain (Wheeldon). The forth would be the Act II Divertissement Duet from A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Balanchine).

From the number that I’ve seen, it appears almost impossible to perform a bad White Swan Adagio or Swan, yet I would guess that it takes a great deal of ability and I’ve been fortunate enough to see many very good ones. Normally I concentrate 100% on the White Swan ballerina in this duet, sometimes to the exclusion of anything that comes after for as long as possible. Tonight Chistine Shevchenco was outstanding. I’d seen her this summer in the entire work with ABT, but I think that I liked her even more this time. First of all, she seemed so committed. When she’s like that, she’s one of the best ballet ‘actresses’ that I’ve ever seen. This time she was indeed enchanting. Each exceptional White Swan that I’ve ever seen has brought something completely her own. Sometimes I have words to describe it. With Chistine Shevchenco I can only say that she had a certain strength of character and commitment that was captivating. I did sneak a couple looks at Xander. His facial expression was very supportive, in total harmony with what his partner was attempting, and his physical partnering seemed just fine as well. Together they may have been the Stars of the evening.

Svetlana Bednenko (formerly Mikhailovsky) was also very good in The Swan (or Dying Swan). In fact she was lovely and she was embraceable. I think that that description can  also extend to many of the other artists. Like some of the dancers, she also seemed to need to prove that she belonged to be there, because of the exceptional talent and recognition of some of the others. I think that she did that. In fact, I think that they all did.      

I feel the same about this work as I do about the White Swan Adagio. It must take a superior talent to perform, yet I, fortunately, don’t think that I’ve ever seen a bad one. I’ll now include Svetlana Bednenko in these successes. With both these roles, perhaps all, you have to commit yourself as completely as possible just for starters. Then you have to be exceptional — talented, beautiful, remarkable and captivating. Is that a lot to demand ?  Both these ballerinas did that.   

Andrea Laššáková and Adrian Blake Mitchell performed Christopher Wheeldon’s After The Rain. I usually feel that artists that come from the same culture relate more naturally. This would apply to Adrian Blake Mitchell from the United States and Christopher Wheeldon from England, who has also worked extensively in the US. I felt this once again in the comfortableness and understanding that Adrian Blake Mitchell had in his performance. He was artistically fine as well. Yet, Andrea Laššáková (Slovak Republic, formerly with the Mikhailovsky) handled it beautifully and convincingly. I do feel that dancers from the cultural background of the dancers that I saw yesterday can perform Western ‘lyrically beautiful works’ wonderfully. They don’t always have the same cultural understanding, but they can take it to a more purely artistic level and excel. I think that Andrea Laššáková did this.    

More from Xander Parish and others hopefully to be mentioned.

 

[Buddy]

This is part of the introduction to the evening’s program by Elizabeth Segerstrom, who with her late husband, Henry T. Segerstrom, created the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. I think that it’s well worth including. The program is a beautiful book that was offered free to the audience. It made up part of a wonderfully put together setting for this outstanding event. 

“Reunited in Dance — a collection of dancers united in their experience of having been displaced by the war, but united too in their shared heritage in perhaps the world’s preeminent dance culture — brings to Orange County more than their passion, their art and their dedication. They bring us a reminder that the arts can unite, heal and be a positive force in troubling times. This is the principle upon which Segerstrom Center for the Arts was founded.”

Also from the program book:

“Dance can represent the touch of history: how we react when history shifts violently, and how we respond — whether with further violence or with empathy and imagination.”

 

 

 

Edited November 14, 2022 by Buddy

[Drew]

Thank  you for sharing all this material...sounds like a very enjoyable and moving evening.

[Buddy]

You're welcome, Drew, and thank you very much for your thoughts.

Again this is something that I posted elsewhere but would like to post here as well:

I’ve read most of the beautifully and thoughtfully presented program book and it would appear, although I didn’t see it definitely stated, that the Segerstrom Center for the Arts does intend to be the home for a significant new classical dance company. For one thing, the general discussion chapter essentially outlines the history of European and Russian related classical dance with notable references to Sergei Diaghilev and with mention of the Segerstrom Center throughout the program, including the dancers comments, their profiles taking up about half of the program.

What for me was most evident during the evening performance was a heartfelt artistry of the highest quality.   

I think that what the Segerstrom Center wants all this to represent and stand for is expressed in the two quotes that I previously posted.

“Reunited in Dance — a collection of dancers united in their experience of having been displaced by the war, but united too in their shared heritage in perhaps the world’s preeminent dance culture — brings to Orange County more than their passion, their art and their dedication. They bring us a reminder that the arts can unite, heal and be a positive force in troubling times. This is the principle upon which Segerstrom Center for the Arts was founded.”  --  (Elizabeth Segerstrom)

“Dance can represent the touch of history: how we react when history shifts violently, and how we respond — whether with further violence or with empathy and imagination.”  --  (Ian Kelly)

Another thing that I noticed during the evening was that there wasn’t necessarily a dominant Star performer. It was a company of uniformly fine artists. Indeed, Xander Parish is a remarkable artist and is central to all this and some of the others are very noteworthy, but it still seemed like an evening that belonged to everyone.

If I really wanted to imagine one possibility for the future, not based on any current facts, I could see a company of essentially equally outstanding artists, with Xander Parish being the guiding person and highly acknowledged artist. I could  see a company that could be a balance of purely classical and variations of this. I could see someone like Olga Smirnova interacting and contributing. And further off in the future, someone like the Mariinsky’s Kimin Kim, who in addition to his remarkable dance prowess is also developing an impressively artistic stage presence.

I think that there’s a great deal of hope and promise here.

 

 

Edited November 15, 2022 by Buddy

[Buddy]

This could go in so many directions. It could take on Diaghilev proportions and dimensions.

Still, I’m so glad to have seen it at its beginning, when it was just 18 from some of the world’s most beautiful dancers once again able to do what they love doing — creating beauty.

It’s a world of wonderful enchantment. It was a performance that touched me deeply with artistry and emotion. One that several days later I still want to keep on living.

Whatever direction it all goes I wish it much success.

 

 

Edited November 16, 2022 by Buddy

[Buddy]

And here’s what they have to say and some of what they look like.

https://www.ntd.com/ballet-dancers-who-fled-russia-reunite-in-california_881381.html

 

[Drew]

On 11/15/2022 at 4:12 PM, Buddy said:

If I really wanted to imagine one possibility for the future, not based on any current facts, I could see a company of essentially equally outstanding artists, with Xander Parish being the guiding person and highly acknowledged artist. I could  see a company that could be a balance of purely classical and variations of this. I could see someone like Olga Smirnova interacting and contributing. And further off in the future, someone like the Mariinsky’s Kimin Kim, who in addition to his remarkable dance prowess is also developing an impressively artistic stage presence.

I think that there’s a great deal of hope and promise here.

 

 

 Kim? I think he is one of the most fabulous male dancers I have ever seen and I date back to Bruhn (just barely), Nureyev, and Baryshnikov. But I can't agree that he belongs in this company. Or, rather, I find it a hard suggestion to swallow at this moment however hopeful one wants to be about the future.

Even as the dancers' at the Segerstrom have found their lives upended by the war, Kimin Kim has chosen to continue his career in Russia. I can understand his choice: he has lived there for at least a decade--he has even spoken of his Russian coaches as surrogate parents. When the war is over, when/if the Mariinsky resumes touring I will not refuse to see him dance again.  But I still question whether, even in this hypothetical future, Kim should be brought in to guest star in a company made up of dancers who have EITHER been forced by the war to scramble to have a ballet career at all--in some cases watching their homes and families suffer unspeakable violence OR, if not forced to do anything, have nonetheless made very different choices than Kim has made even though they do not have the same opportunities he would have were he to leave Russia.   I'm not inclined to condemn Kimin Kim for reasons already given, but I'm not inclined to imagine him as an appropriate headliner for the war's ballet-exiles either.

Of couse, it's not up to me! If the Segerstrom company becomes a permanent entity, then maybe the company's ecumenicism will extend to Kimin Kim and others like him. (Heck, they can invite Polunin if they like 🙃.) But I'd be mildly surprised and, I think, mildly disconcerted. 

Edited November 17, 2022 by Drew

[Drew]

12 hours ago, Buddy said:

And here’s what they have to say and some of what they look like.

https://www.ntd.com/ballet-dancers-who-fled-russia-reunite-in-california_881381.html

 

Love the shots of Shevshenko and Parish in Swan Lake....

[Buddy]

Hi, Drew.

Christine Shevchenko and Xander Parish were beautiful in their performance from Swan Lake.

In reference to your previous post, I started my train of thought by posting, “If I really wanted to imagine one possibility for the future.” Including Kimin Kim was intended to explore some of the ‘artistic possibilities.’ I did write, “further off in the future.”  As Diaghilev and Balanchine were open to extending their cultural horizons, so can I see someone like Kimin Kim perhaps representing the same thing. I see him developing at the moment as a very interesting synthesis of European (Mariinsky) classical dance technique with some fascinating elements of Far Eastern (perhaps Kabuki-like) expression. The Segerstrom Center for the Arts has a large mix of dance companies appearing including Far Eastern ones. California also has a noteworthy Asian-American population. From our reference point, Michelle Kwan might be one of its most relevant members.

If the Reunited for Dance Company does development into something substantial, it might remain completely ‘classical’ or it might be open to some ‘cross-pollination’ as were Diaghilev and Balanchine. Kimin Kim seemed to me to be a very interesting ‘subject for thought,’ but only one.  And yes, off in the future, I could see him as a member of the Reunited for Dance Company, especially as his artistry will probably improve with age and the company might consider expanding its artistic horizons.

[Buddy]

Reflecting back, my warmest feeling are with the women, as usual, but I did find the men to be uniformly impressive and sympathetic. Not one of the men really stood out as a superstar and somehow this worked fine for me. The gala format also evened things out. One of my strongest overall images remains how well the men carried themselves and the perfection of their motion. It’s  the result of years of classical training from one of the finest dance cultures in the world. They are trained to be noble and they are.

My individual imagery of the women isn’t as strong, but their presence dominates. The four lesser known, but highly elegant, women in The Selections from Paquita are still warmly recalled. I mentioned that one of them had a special loveliness. I think that she might have been Jasmine Sophie Henry (Australia, formerly with the Mariinsky), because she’s slightly shorter. Andrea Laššáková (Slovak Republic, formerly with the Mikhailovsky) comes to mind because of her lovely performance of Christopher Wheeldon’s After The Rain, with fine partnering and dancing from her real life partner, Adrian Blake Mitchell (U.S., formerly with the Mikhailovsky).

Svetlana Bednenko (Ukraine, formerly with the Mikhailovsky) did a beautiful The Swan (The Dying Swan). In 2019 the day before the Mariinsky Ballet Festival, I went to the Mikhailovsky and saw a performance of La Bayadere. I was in heaven, maybe literally. It may have been the highlight performance of that visit. Ever since I’ve watched for mention of the ballerina’s name. Not finding it, I eventually forgot it. Much to my pleasant surprise, although I sympathise deeply with her decision to leave and considered her an essential part of the Mikhailovsky — here she is !  So I wish her much success and happiness.

Christine Shevchenko and Xander Parish in The White Swan Adagio from Swan Lake were probably the highlight and she was extremely lovely in The Pas de Deux from Le Corsaire with a very fine performance by Jacopo Tissi.

I might also add that I did enjoy the choreography of Ilya Jivoy (Russia, formerly with the Mariinsky) and Xander Parish very much. I look forward to seeing more of their work.

Added: From the evening’s program I’d like to insert this quote from Xander Parish. It’s rather informative. All the others probably have similar feelings to relate.

“I knew I couldn’t stay, knowing what was happening and not do anything — or that, even worse, my staying might be taken as my complicity or support, as I’d always been ’the British dancer at the Mariinsky.’  So I’d become if I stayed, this propaganda poster boy, and I just couldn’t.”

My deepest feelings also have to go out to Xander Parish’s wife, Anastasia Demidova, (Russia, formerly with the Mariinsky) (and to similar partners) who agreed to this and to leaving her homeland.

I could go on and have something specially nice to say about everyone. I do hope that all goes as well and possible for all these exceptional artists.

 

 

 

Edited November 17, 2022 by Buddy

[Fraildove]

Buddy, would you mind giving your impressions of Joy Womack’s performance? I have heard from friends in Russia when she was first at the Bolshoi and then later at the Kremlin (an at the Moscow IBC 5 years ago 🫣) about their thoughts, but have not heard recently how she is doing. She is definitely a controversial figure but I think age has done wonders for her as far as what she says and what she keeps to herself. I’m curious how she is performing now.

Edited November 18, 2022 by Fraildove

[Buddy]

On 11/17/2022 at 8:18 PM, Fraildove said:

Buddy, would you mind giving your impressions of Joy Womack’s performance? I have heard from friends in Russia when she was first at the Bolshoi and then later at the Kremlin (an at the Moscow IBC 5 years ago 🫣) about their thoughts, but have not heard recently how she is doing. She is definitely a controversial figure but I think age has done wonders for her as far as what she says and what she keeps to herself. I’m curious how she is performing now.

Hi, Fraildove, and thanks very much for your interest.

This was the first time that I’ve seen Joy Womack on stage. She did fine from my point of view, but I think that they all did. If you want a truly technical evaluation I probably can’t help you that much. My general impression was that her style was slightly looser and more ’showy,’ but only very slightly. It was what you might associate with the more colorful side of her image, but only if you were familiar with her. Again I have to say that this was a very slight and subtle difference. What I did notice and have expressed here throughout is that there was a uniform ‘Russian classical’ fineness to all the dancers, reflecting their years of training and performing, and I could certainly see this in her. I would guess that as she performs more, she’ll mature more artistically and her ‘Russian classical’ fineness will make her a distinctively fine performer, especially in a Western world environment. She already has some of the slightly looser Western and American look, which she’s probably always had. Most likely it will happen somewhat to all these artists. But once again, I’ll say that I think that she did just fine and fit in perfectly with the overall level of high quality.

If I could mention one other thing while I’m here. Yesterday I referred to a possible Eastern world influence that could enter into the vocabulary of these artists and I mentioned Kimin Kim. I’m thinking in terms of the more highly refined element in Eastern classical dance. This might not be as strange as it might seem. Yuri Grigorovich used some of it. He is an admirer and collector of Far Eastern art and the very distinctive hand positioning, a highly praised part of his masterpiece, «The Legend of Love», for instance, would seem to be taken directly from Eastern dance forms.

* And there was her (Joy Womack’s) rather impressive looking set of fouettés, which I might have mentioned, that included maybe five or six doubles. Nobody else did anything like that.

 

 

Edited November 18, 2022 by Buddy

[Buddy]

No real news, but not unexpected after only two weeks.

I have to believe that the momentum is in force. Besides what I’ve mentioned before, the performance was officially dedicated to Judy Morr, one of highest placed members of the Center’s staff.

“Morr, who holds the title of executive vice president of the center, spent 16 years at [Washington DC's] Kennedy Center before being recruited to Orange County in 1985. She directed the center’s dance programming since its inaugural International Dance Series in 1986 and has fostered relationships with many world-renowned dance companies.

“ABT’s artistic director, Kevin McKenzie, once noted that “Judy has been single-handedly responsible for curating a world-renowned international dance program of the highest quality, presenting more than 1,000 dance performances to more than 2 million audience members.”

“My [Judy Morr’s] life is fulfilled, still fulfilled, when something good comes along and I can help make it happen. I can help make it possible for somebody to do their best. I don’t care how many hours I have to sit at the desk and figure out the money part, because ultimately I get to go into that theater and see something that absolutely fills my heart and soul.”

https://www.ocregister.com/2019/04/26/women-of-coast-2019-judy-morr/

It was the Center that approached Xander Parish to put this together, through Chris Minev, now working for the Center and Executive Producer of the performance, who’s had years of involvement with the Mariinsky and its international touring program. Xander Parish has made this a full commitment for almost a half year in addition to being a leading member of The Norwegian Ballet.

“More than this, he is passionate about the responsibility, at this historic moment, to ensure the traditions not only flourish, along with the redirected careers of his contemporaries, and also help, as maybe only art can, to help heal once peace comes.”    (from the performance program)

And I continue to like to imagine what might happen. From a purely artistic point of view, at the moment this group of eighteen dancers is one of the finest links outside of Russia to that world of classical dance artistry. Having just left, it will probably represent that art form as closely as possible. But time could change things. Outside artistic influences will enter. Xander Parish and Ilya Jivoy also seem capable of adding new, quality material and direction. Then it’s possible that within five years cultural exchanges will resume between Russia and the Western countries. If that happens the company may decide to go in a more hybrid direction. With the support that I hope is being, and seems being, offered them for a major program this could be a very high quality and artistically significant event.

For now, I look forward to seeing them all again on stage as soon as possible.

 

 

Edited November 24, 2022 by Buddy

[Buddy]

I’ve not heard anything new, but I keep checking every day. Perhaps after the holiday season we’ll hear some more.

This is an article from November 22 that just appeared on the internet. It does give some more personal insights.

“When war separates people, arts reunite them. That was the goal celebrated last Saturday in Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California, where dancers impacted by the war in Ukraine danced together for the first time since the invasion, on February 24th.

““If I had stayed in the Mariinsky Ballet, it would mean things were fine but they weren’t, even if I love my mentors and colleagues there. It’s sad when politics has that kind of effect on art”, says Xander. “It was very hard for every dancer. We are all against the war, but at the same time, we are all grateful to Russia for all it taught us in arts.

“Although Reunited in Dance was designed to be a one-night celebration, dancers were so excited with the project and happy with the long and warm applause of the audience that some of them have plans to join again soon. Parish, for instance, is thinking about forming a ballet company that embraces talents in exile. He explained why. “I believe that the spirit of that place, what we know, what we learned, who we became and who we are, can be preserved, and can be reunited.”,

https://www.fairobserver.com/culture/reunited-by-art-and-against-the-war-in-ukraine/

[Buddy]

From a few weeks ago, here’s some behind the scenes with a few nice glimpses of dress rehearsals, etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fvERfi_n2Q

 

Edited December 16, 2022 by Buddy