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 June 23 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?

[Meliss]

We can reed in Britannica:

 "Following a series of guest appearances with other companies, a tour with an ensemble he put together, and his own television show, Godunov: The World to Dance In (1983–84), Godunov embarked acting career". https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alexander-Godunov

I don't know anything about this TV show. Do you?

[Meliss]

From an article in Christian Science Monitor about Godunov (February, 1983):

"He is especially complimentary about his experience dancing with Alvin Ailey, Ballanchine's New York City Ballet, and Paul Taylor".

I know about his work with Ailey and Jamison. He danced some Balanchine ballets, but I thought it was in ABT. And I don't know anything about his work with Paul Taylor. Does anyone have any information about this? I will be very grateful for clarification.

[FauxPas]

There was a VHS copy of the Godunov documentary at the New York Public Library.  It seems to be streaming on Medici for those (in Europe) who can access that channel:

https://www.medici.tv/en/documentaries/godunov-the-world-to-dance-in

My impression is that Godunov never managed to challenge or equal Baryshnikov's superstardom.  His drinking (he died in 1995 of hepatitis caused by alcoholism which was published as his cause of death) would have impacted his work both as dancer and later, actor.

His relationship with Jacqueline Bisset was strained by his drinking and ended.  She said in an interview that Godunov basically turned from a star dancer into an unemployed actor.

Edited July 10 by FauxPas

[Helene]

Medici.tv is accessible without a VPN in North America; I have a subscription and was able to see part of the live Manon (ballet) from LaScala earlier in the week (available on demand for the next six months).  It, like the Godunov doc, is premium (paid) content.  They may show a short premium before prompting for a login and/or subscription sign-up. They do have free content as well.

@volcanohunter has been kind enough to post when there are new ballet offerings on Medici.tv as well as on other platforms, including YouTube, like the Pinocchio from Warsaw on Operavision via YouTube.

 

[Meliss]

3 hours ago, FauxPas said:

There was a VHS copy of the Godunov documentary at the New York Public Library.  It seems to be streaming on Medici for those (in Europe) who can access that channel:

 

Thank you. This wonderful documentary is also available on YouTube.

3 hours ago, FauxPas said:

My impression is that Godunov never managed to challenge or equal Baryshnikov's superstardom. 

Many ballet professionals and critics in different countries gave the highest assessment to Godunov's dance. The audience has always been delighted with his performances. The fact that he did not do as much of his advertising as Baryshnikov does not mean that he was worse.

 

3 hours ago, FauxPas said:

His relationship with Jacqueline Bisset was strained by his drinking and ended.  She said in an interview that Godunov basically turned from a star dancer into an unemployed actor.

It would be nice to read this. Can you give me a link? Even after parting with him, Jacqueline considered him a close person and even asked for his help when working on a new film role (she played an opera singer. I can clarify the title of the film, if it is interesting).

 

Edited July 10 by Meliss

[Meliss]

3 hours ago, FauxPas said:

His drinking (he died in 1995 of hepatitis caused by alcoholism which was published as his cause of death) would have impacted his work both as dancer and later, actor.

The cause of his death is unknown and what the doctor wrote on the death certificate had not been confirmed by any studies. He could have died, say, of a heart attack, but the doctor and the executor did not want to bother.

Edited July 10 by Meliss

[Meliss]

3 hours ago, Helene said:

the Godunov doc, is premium (paid) content.  

 

This wonderful documentary can be viewed for free here:

https://vk.com/im?msgid=138589&sel=82493942&z=video156436801_456239063%2Fecc6554435bd09bd17

Edited July 10 by Meliss

[FauxPas]

21 minutes ago, Meliss said:

It would be nice to read this. Can you give me a link? Even after parting with him, Jacqueline considered him a close person and even asked for his help when working on a new film role (she played an opera singer. I can clarify the title of the film, if it is interesting).

 

The quote from Bisset was from an article that was published around the time of his death at age 45.  His alcoholism and his cause of death from hepatitis secondary to alcohol abuse are extensively documented.

This is an article from 1991 with interviews from Godunov describing his difficulties in obtaining work as an actor - he had broken up with Bisset in 1988 three years before this was written:

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-09-08-ca-2707-story.html

This article has quotes from his publicist who said that he was drinking a bottle of vodka a day:

https://ew.com/article/2000/05/19/alexander-godunov-remembered/

The cause of death being from hepatitis secondary to alcoholism has not been refuted and is widely reported by the press.  Reports of suicide and AIDS were refuted.

https://entertainment.ie/movies/movie-news/whatever-happened-to-alexander-godunov-236771/

[Meliss]

1 minute ago, FauxPas said:

The quote from Bisset was from an article that was published around the time of his death at age 45. 

Apparently, this is the "yellow press". Jacqueline would never allow herself to speak disrespectfully of the man she loved.

4 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

His alcoholism and his cause of death from hepatitis secondary to alcohol abuse are extensively documented.

How can this be known? And where is the logic at all? If he had been diagnosed with alcoholism, he would have stopped drinking and started treatment. If he had alcoholism, he would not be able to do ballet exercises for an hour every day in Ryabushinskaya's studio. If he had alcoholism, his family, with whom he communicated in Riga a month before his death, would have noticed it. If he had alcoholism, would he, in your opinion, have played one of the main roles in the film "The Zone"? His closest friends of that time, with whom he constantly communicated, Alla Khaniashvili and Vitaly Artyushkin, former dancers of the Bolshoi Theater, when asked if he drank, replied - he drank like all of us. Were they alcoholics too, in your opinion? Khaniashvili is now the director of The Debbie Allen Dance Academy in Los Angeles.

17 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

This article has quotes from his publicist who said that he was drinking a bottle of vodka a day:

Why not two bottles?) Rodkin didn't say a single good word about him - how can you believe her? The girl is clearly offended that Alexander chose another one over her.

[Meliss]

38 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

This is an article from 1991 with interviews from Godunov describing his difficulties in obtaining work as an actor

I can't resist quoting from this article: 

"Shriver adds that she and Medann have watched in horror as Godunov tossed aside lucrative parts in recent years. She said Godunov receives between 10 and 12 “high-profile” movie offers per year".

I think no one would refuse such "difficulties"!

[Helene]

He could not get the parts he wanted: he was turning down parts he didn't want. That's a choice.

The LA Times is not a yellow journalism publication. 

High assessment of someone's talent is not the same thing as superstardom in the arts.  It's a rare thing, and Baryshnikov didn't need to advertise:  his defection story, which sold lots of newspapers, his starring role in Gelsey Kirkland's controversial memoir, Dancing from My Grave, which got her an interview on 60 Minutes, a show with huge ratings --  the people who were interested in making movies with him, the TV producers who still had budget and interest in dance who featured him as a headliner, newspapers and magazines that made money off of articles written about him, including his relationship and child with Jessica Lange and the rest of his relationships, true or imagined, the Kennedy Center which made him an Honoree, the Benoix de la Danse people.  He not only was asked to become Artistic Director at ABT: he tried to resign and the Board refused his resignation, which is hardly advertising yourself.  And, of course, his dancing. 

Except for the actual defecting and dancing, it was other people who advertised for him, and the momentum didn't stop.

As far as his drinking was concerned, it was well documented by many people who knew Godunov over the years, and his doctor knew he was an alcoholic from personal experience.  There are lots of people who do highly physical work, like dancers, who are functioning alcoholics, drug users, and sufferers from eating disorders, and others who cope with other chronic diseases, including depression and suicidal thoughts, and still manage to perform at top level.  You wouldn't think that a malnourished ballerina could hold her leg up next to her head, but plenty do until they no longer can.  They are outliers with whom it often catches up with them and comes crashing down.  (Or they crash their car.)   It's remarkable how much he accomplished, given his addiction, but he was hardly the only dancer to achieve the highest levels while suffering from addiction or other illness.

Again, people are entitled to their own opinions, generous or not, but not to their own facts.

[Mashinka]

Surely an autopsy would have determined the exact cause of death.

[Helene]

The state would need a reason to ask for one and they found none, since it's by no means automatic, especially since the doctor who signed the death certificate was his personal physician and knew his health history.  Whether the person who was his legal representative could have asked for a private autopsy or have gotten a judge to force the state to do one, would depend on the laws of California and, possibly, the county he lived in 1995.

Unless he was murdered, It wouldn't have mattered much what the mechanism was when he was a chronic alcoholic, just as many AIDS patients died of the mechanisms of pneumonia or Karposi Sarcoma, an opportunistic cancer.  Or the many mechanisms by which many people with Covid-19 died.  It doesn't change what triggered or made the person vulnerable to the mechanism. 

[On Pointe]

8 hours ago, Meliss said:

How can this be known? And where is the logic at all? If he had been diagnosed with alcoholism, he would have stopped drinking and started treatment. If he had alcoholism, he would not be able to do ballet exercises for an hour every day in Ryabushinskaya's studio. If he had alcoholism, his family, with whom he communicated in Riga a month before his death, would have noticed it. If he had alcoholism, would he, in your opinion, have played one of the main roles in the film "The Zone"? His closest friends of that time, with whom he constantly communicated, Alla Khaniashvili and Vitaly Artyushkin, former dancers of the Bolshoi Theater, when asked if he drank, replied - he drank like all of us. Were they alcoholics too, in your opinion? Khaniashvili is now the director of The Debbie Allen Dance Academy in Los Angeles.

As the death of Amy Winehouse sadly illustrated,  stopping drinking can be deadly for an alcoholic.  It is a complex disease.  If Godunov had realized that he was addicted and tried to quit,  he may have hastened his death.  As it was,  it appears that hepatitis is what took him out,  complicated by alcoholism.  It may be unfair or inaccurate,  but Russians have a reputation for being heavy drinkers.  What is considered average consumption in Russia might be considered problematic elsewhere.  And of course there are individual tolerances.

 

[Meliss]

7 hours ago, Mashinka said:

Surely an autopsy would have determined the exact cause of death.

How right you are! There are a lot of questions to his executor. She rescheduled the scheduled cremation time from 8 a.m. to 5 a.m.! 5 a.m.!! What for? So that no one could see him? She actually deceived everyone by not bothering to tell anyone about the change in cremation time. Why, why?