Alexander Godunov, unique and unforgettable

[Meliss]

Lyudmila Semenyaka, the Bolshoi Ballet star: "In this generation, which Sasha represented, he had no equal".

Alan M. Kriegsman, a dance critic:" Godunov seemed as far as ever from giving any hint of the deeper emotional and symbolic import of his role. His playing to the audience and posing for applause may be remnants of his Bolshoi Ballet days. Perhaps the stereotyped look of his acting -- what opera buffs call the "clutch-and-stagger" school -- can be ascribed to the same source. Whatever the reasons, his portrayal still seemed callow whenever it wasn't just mechanical".

Vladimir Sedov, a theatre director: "Godunov possessed an exceptional texture, unique natural characteristics: unusually tall, unusually slender, handsome, perfectly proportioned, like an antique sculpture. In short, a born dancer. The lightness of his huge leap, as if suspended in the air, brilliant virtuoso rotation, soft and dynamic, expressiveness of gesture, beauty of lines, completeness of form, graphic poses, in a word, phenomenal mastery of his body — unconditionally put Godunov among the first dancers."

Nikolai Tsiskaridze, the premiere of the Bolshoi Ballet in 1992-2013, Rector of the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet: "Videos have already appeared during my studies, and as I was a particularly gifted student, they showed me all the new items on the sly. There were few recordings with Godunov, but they were amazing.  At that time, I heard a lot of gossip about competition with a classmate and childhood "friend", another ballet genius, Mikhail Baryshnikov...  And yet I had never seen such a handsome man as Godunov on the ballet stage".

Tom Shales, Washington Post: "Ballet star and Russian defector Alexander Godunov is strikingly dull and uncharismatic". 

 

Isn't it strange to have diametrically opposite opinions about the same dancer?

[Helene]

It would not be any more strange if those critics had seen those same performances as NYC audiences did at ABT.  In Godunov’s case, the writers saw a dancer in a different cultural context in a different company in a different country.

It is not strange at all that different people, critics and audience, censored or not, have different opinions about the same dancer.  The only time any opinions matter is if the writer has influence with decision-makers.
 

 

[Meliss]

19 hours ago, Helene said:

It would not be any more strange if those critics had seen those same performances as NYC audiences did at ABT.  In Godunov’s case, the writers saw a dancer in a different cultural context in a different company in a different country.

It is not strange at all that different people, critics and audience, censored or not, have different opinions about the same dancer.  The only time any opinions matter is if the writer has influence with decision-makers.
 

 

It is not strange when the differences are not so global, but when a ballet professional says the dancer had no equal and was a genius and yet another professional writes that the dancer was dull and sloppy... I just can't understand it.

[Helene]

This is a link to Godunov’s NYT obituary written by critic Jennifer Dunning:

https://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/19/obituaries/alexander-godunov-dancer-and-film-actor-dies-at-45.html?unlocked_article_code=1.100.z6ip.s-8q4Dqo5NKC&smid=url-share
 

There are two things in it that I think are pertinent to why Western critics seeing him at ABT would have been seeing a different dancer than Soviet critics and Cynthia Gregory, who saw him on tour 1973 — where Clive Barnes called him “flamboyant and promising,” and Anna Kisselgoff raved about him in Don Q — and wished he’d defect to be her partner:

 

 

Quote

For a time, soon after joining Ballet Theater, Mr. Godunov had disappointed some critics and audiences by attempting to tone down his natural flamboyance.

and (emphasis mine)

Quote

Always a stubborn individualist, Mr. Godunov was marked as a troublemaker and potential defector on his return from the 1973 tour because of his outspoken admiration for American culture. After a 1974 tour with Miss Plisetskaya, he was not allowed to leave the Soviet Union again until 1979 and rarely danced during that period.

“Flamboyant” was the quality Barnes emphasized about him in the 1974 tour with Plitsetskaya, and Barnes thought she’d found a great partner.
 

If he was holding back the qualities that made him appealing — he wasn’t going to win the better technique discussion, at least not in American compared to Baryshnikov — and he wasn’t on stage in the Soviet Union for five-six years, then he would have been a different dancer. 

Bujones in his book wrote that Godunov was one of the Soviets who was hired by Baryshnikov, but I don’t understand that timing: Godunov defected in 1979 during the Bolshoi tour, which was in the summer 1979, when critic Anna Kisselgoff listed him among the dancers yet to be seen.  The article announcing his defection was published on August 24, 1979.According to the obit, he was hired three months later by ABT.  Lucia  Chase wasn’t pushed out until 1980, and Baryshnikov was still dancing with NYCB at the time.

I hadn’t remembered that the Kozlovs defected later on the same tour, for them in LA.  They later danced with NYCB.

 

According to this article by John Gruen with extensive quotes for Godunov, he was sidelined in Russia, but he was also dancing with ABT before Baryshnikov became director, which meant he was hired by Chase under different circumstances than he would find himself under Baryshnikov.  

I suspect that if he had defected first and had spent time under Chase establishing a partnership with Gregory adjusting to ABT and settling into life in the US, to be followed by Baryshnikov, then it would have been a different discussion, a comparison of Bolshoi vs. Kirov style and who preferred what, rather than how he was Not Baryshnikov.  

Edited Sunday at 09:21 PM by Helene
Fixed some links

[Meliss]

2 hours ago, Helene said:

This is a link to Godunov’s NYT obituary written by critic Jennifer Dunning:

https://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/19/obituaries/alexander-godunov-dancer-and-film-actor-dies-at-45.html?unlocked_article_code=1.100.z6ip.s-8q4Dqo5NKC&smid=url-share
 

There are two things in it that I think are pertinent to why Western critics seeing him at ABT would have been seeing a different dancer than Soviet critics and Cynthia Gregory, who saw him on tour 1973 — where Clive Barnes called him “flamboyant and promising,” and Anna Kisselgoff raved about him in Don Q — and wished he’d defect to be her partner:

and (emphasis mine)

“Flamboyant” was the quality Barnes emphasized about him in the 1974 tour with Plitsetskaya, and Barnes thought she’d found a great partner.
 

If he was holding back the qualities that made him appealing — he wasn’t going to win the better technique discussion, at least not in American compared to Baryshnikov — and he wasn’t on stage in the Soviet Union for five-six years, then he would have been a different dancer. 

Dear Helene, thank you very much for your opinion as well as your links. It would be also nice to read the mentioned article by A. Kisselgoff about DQ (the link is for Barnes). The article by Dunning was quite nice (when Godunov was alive her articles were not always that nice).

It is not quite true that Godunov rarely danced during the last 5-6 years in Russia. May be, only in the first half of 1979 - he danced once a month. But he was also learning a new part  (Tibald in Romeo and Juliet) at that time. He was really stunning in it.

The beginning of his work in the USA was difficult for him for many reasons. It's a pity most critics just found fault with him and nobody encouraged him.

2 hours ago, Helene said:

 

Bujones in his book wrote that Godunov was one of the Soviets who was hired by Baryshnikov, but I don’t understand that timing: Godunov defected in 1979 during the Bolshoi tour, which was in the summer 1979, when critic Anna Kisselgoff listed him among the dancers yet to be seen.  The article announcing his defection was published on August 24, 1979.According to the obit, he was hired three months later by ABT.  Lucia  Chase wasn’t pushed out until 1980, and Baryshnikov was still dancing with NYCB at the time.

Bujones was mistaken. It was Lucia  Chase who signed the first contract with Godunov, and the second one too.

2 hours ago, Helene said:

I suspect that if he had defected first and had spent time under Chase establishing a partnership with Gregory adjusting to ABT and settling into life in the US, to be followed by Baryshnikov, then it would have been a different discussion, a comparison of Bolshoi vs. Kirov style and who preferred what, rather than how he was Not Baryshnikov.  

That's how it was. But Baryshnikov was always Kirov style when he danced classical ballets. And it's great Alexander was not Baryshnikov. By the way, Michael called Godunov "a wonderful dancer" in one of his interviews and never criticised him.

[Helene]

8 minutes ago, Meliss said:

It would be also nice to read the mentioned article by A. Kisselgoff about DQ (the link is for Barnes). The article by Dunning was quite nice (when Godunov was alive her articles were not always that nice).

I mixed up my links and will fix them in my post.  Here's the link to Kisselgoff's article:

https://www.nytimes.com/1973/07/06/archives/dance-younger-bolshoi-star-shines-godunov-talent-seen-in-quixote.html?unlocked_article_code=1.100.oxT5.8vwP5lHs3iiB&smid=url-share

9 minutes ago, Meliss said:

It is not quite true that Godunov rarely danced during the last 5-6 years in Russia. May be, only in the first half of 1979 - he danced once a month. But he was also learning a new part  (Tibald in Romeo and Juliet) at that time. He was really stunning in it.

They were his own words, from the Gruen article from 1982:

Quote

Mr. Godunov claims that for him, leaving Russia was imperative ''...But during my last five years in Moscow, I was very unhappy. I was considered a star and people complimented me and considered me the best partner of Maya Plissetskaya. In actuality, I did not dance all that much, and I felt myself fading from the life of the theater. At one point, I had a big fight with Yuri Grigorovitch, the director of the Bolshoi, and after that I became something of a persona non grata. I wanted to dance more, but wasn't given the chance. There were months and months when I would go crazy for lack of performances. I began to doubt my value as a dancer - I lost heart. I would take daily class and have the occasional performance, but finally I felt I was being pushed down, and I was frustrated and furious. When I learned the Bolshoi would be coming to America, I considered it a miracle to have been included in the tour. It was my chance for freedom.''

The once/month comment was from another article or interview, not Dunning's interpretation.  If I can find it, I'll link to it.

For premium members of medici.tv, the documentary "Alexander Godunov, The World To Dance In" is available in their library.

[Meliss]

10 hours ago, Helene said:

I mixed up my links and will fix them in my post.  Here's the link to Kisselgoff's article:

https://www.nytimes.com/1973/07/06/archives/dance-younger-bolshoi-star-shines-godunov-talent-seen-in-quixote.html?unlocked_article_code=1.100.oxT5.8vwP5lHs3iiB&smid=url-share

They were his own words, from the Gruen article from 1982:

The once/month comment was from another article or interview, not Dunning's interpretation.  If I can find it, I'll link to it.

For premium members of medici.tv, the documentary "Alexander Godunov, The World To Dance In" is available in their library.

Thank you very much.

"There were months and months when I would go crazy for lack of performances. I began to doubt my value as a dancer - I lost heart. I would take daily class and have the occasional performance, but finally I felt I was being pushed down, and I was frustrated and furious". - yes, it's true, but it doesn't refer to 5-6 years, just to the first half of 1979. In other years he danced a lot, but in the same ballets. He wanted new ones, but Grigorovich did not give him new parts. Godunov does not mention the reason for their conflict. The fact was Grigorovich was dissatisfied with the work of the outstanding ballet teacher Ermolaev, who made small changes to Grigorovich's choreography. The chief choreographer ordered all Ermolaev's students to go to other teachers. Everyone obeyed, except Godunov. He had the courage not to betray his teacher.

As for the film "Alexander Godunov, The World To Dance In", it is also available on YouTube. I have watched it many times, it's great.

[Helene]

I will emphasize our “official news” policy: quotes, writings, interviews by and of, public-facing social media posts (including replies), blog posts, etc. must be from ballet professionals or mainstream media and books.  

We can read non-professionals — as well as the professionals who post here — if they join and post here themselves.  

A simple principle is: if dancer A posts a comment under their name/handle on YouTube, Facebook, an arts site, then it can be quoted and discussed.  If civilian B posts a comment in the same places, no matter how knowledgeable, then it cannot.

[Meliss]

1.

by Croce, Arlene

 Publication date 1979

"Godunov had shown the most impressive development under Grigorovich’s direction. He is, at twenty-nine, a fine example of a modern-day Bolshoi premier". 

2.

by Croce, Arlene

 Publication date 1982

"Alexander Godunov has style, too — old-Bolshoi style. With his carefully sculpted pageboy, his low necklines, and his massive, girlish legs, Godunov is like one of those oddly virile pantywaists in Russian ballet films of the thirties and forties — the ones who wore heeled shoes and bloomers. Godunov isn’t narcissistic; he’s a big, blond anachronism, and he has, as Albrecht, none of the dramatic power I would have expected after seeing him in the Bolshoi repertory".

First of all, I would like to find out: was Godunov a modern dancer or an anachronism? Or was he a modern anachronism? Or was there something wrong with him? Or was there something wrong with someone else?

And the second question is even more interesting - what's wrong with his legs? 

 

[Meliss]

Are his legs supposed to be just like that?