Petipa, Gorsky, Vaganova program
New York City Center. April 10, 2008

Act One
Le Corsaire
(Le Jardin anime and Pas de Deux a trois)
Marius Petipa

Medora: Victoria Tereshkina
Slave: Leonid Sarafanov
Conrade: Yevgeny Ivanchenko
Odalisques: Svetlana Ivanova, Yana Selina, Nadezhda Gonchar
Corps de Ballet

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Act Two
Diana and Acteon
(Pas de Deux)
Agrippina Vaganova after Marius Petipa

Ekagerina Osmolkina and Michail Lobukhin
Corps de Ballet

PAUSE

Don Quixote
(Grand Pas)
Alexander Gorsky (1902) after Marius Petipa

Kitri: Diana Vishneva
Basilio: Andrian Fadeev
Variation: Ekaterina Kondaurova
Corps de Ballet

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Act Three
La Bayadere
(The Kingdom of the the Shades)
Marius Petipa

Nikia: Alina Somova
Solor: Danila Korsuntsev
Three Shades: Elizaveta Cheprasova, Nadezhda Gonchar, Ekaterina Kondaurova
Corp de Ballet

April 10. The house was absolutely and totally packed and I kept wondering how people managed to make it on time, considering the disastrous situation with airlines this week. Thousands cancellations daily! My short flight was in the morning, but I made it just 10 minutes before the curtain went up at 7:30 pm. Needless to say hours spent at airports did nothing to prepare me for art appreciation. But as soon as I heard sounds of the orchestra tuning their instruments, ah!!! so sweet a sound, fatigue and frustration of the day evaporated at once.

Le Corsaire. The program started not with familiar Corsaire pas de deux, but with Le Jardin Anime – an enchanting piece of Petipa’s choreography in which small quick steps are followed by flowing arabesques and then back to playful petit pas – the infinite variety of form and transitions born in the head of one great choreographer. All three odalisques danced with imagination and attention to detail which is Kirov’s own. However, one of them, Svetlana Ivanova, impressed me the most with her great delicacy.

In Le Corsaire pas de deux a trois the virtuoso Sarafanov excited the public so much, that at times it was hard to hear the music. His boyish enjoyment with the power of his own body was shared by everyone in the audience, while Ivanchenko concentrated on partnering Victoria Tereshkina, who recently became the company’s principal. And what a better way to celebrate the event than with the role that suites Victoria to the spoiled perfection. Her lines were magnificent, so was work of the wrists with which she put emphasis at the end of a musical phrase. One could wish for a more pronounced ballon in her jetes, but why look for spots in the sun, for hers was truly a magnificent show. One moment stuck in my mind. It was at the end of a variation which ends in arabesque. The way she raised and balanced en pointe … – nor hurricane or earthquake could possibly move her an inch.

Tereshkina/Sarafanov

Act Two commenced with Diane and Acteaon very popular pas de deux, which is often performed at ballet competitions. Ekaterina Osmolkina and Mikhail Lobukhin (fine jumper!) did good enough of a job, but failed to capture my imagination. What bothered me the most is lack of musicality in Ekaterina’s otherwise excellent dancing. The costumes were very beautiful. Ekaterina wore a short tunic of deep pink with a tiny silver belt and silver shoulder straps. As for Mikhail, his role required or rather did not require much in the way of clothing, which afforded us a lucky opportunity to fully appreciate his magnificent physique.

After a brief pause, the audience enthusiastically cheered much loved Diana Vishneva who appeared in Don Quixote grand pas. When Diana and Andrian came on stage in their snow white costumes, I thought I was seeing a pair of Greek gods, or rather goddess and god, well, divinities anyway. This impression didn’t last long for Diana happened to have an off night. She faltered more than once in supported pirouettes and although later on in her variation she demonstrated great control executing double fouete turns holding a fan high above her head, I couldn’t get rid of an impression that perhaps she was tired. Andrian was elegant as ever, but it was Ekaterina Kondaurova (I am pretty sure it was her, although the playbill listed Osmolkina) who impressed me the most in her variation. Tall, Amazonian girl with red hair and beautiful proportions Ekaterina seized the moment and shined.

Kingdom of the Shades. Kirov magnificent shades from Petipa’s La Bayadere did not disappoint. Although downscaled and lacking the Himalayan ridge at the background explaining the origin of the white clad maidens, it just cannot not (wonder how many not’s I can put in one sentence) impress simply because it is such a great, perhaps the greatest piece of choreography. And when matched with the superb execution of Mariinsky’s corps de ballet, it spells MAGIC... even though, it gave just a glimpse to the full length ballet, which is a world in itself. Those who were able to catch its one week run at the Kennedy Center this winter, know exactly what I mean.

And what about the “bad girl of Mariinsky” who wears false nails and dyes her hair platinum blonde? I saw Alina Somova when she was very good, just good and not so good. But never have I seen her as confident as last night. Perhaps much of the credit should be given to Danila Korsuntsev, who is a more accomplished partner than a flamboyant Sarafanof, with whom she appeared at the Kennedy Center in the role of Nikia. The way Danila cared for Alina, more like an older brother than a lover, was very endearing. She sailed through the difficult piece without a glitch and with what I suppose is greater maturity and sensitivity. Couple of words about much debated extensions. The way Somova executed them last night were just fine with me. Her working leg slowly unfolded from the toe through the soft knee and into the … well, not quite 180, but perhaps 170 degrees. Her jetes are what I consider the lightest and softest in the industry were equally impressive. Gone is her coltishness, Ballerina has arrived.

by Octavia. April 11
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Much Ado About Nothing

Few words on the outrage among balletomanes caused by Kirov reviews that belong to the pen of Alastair Macaulay of The New York Times, which also have been reprinted in St. Petersburg Times In fact the commotion gives both the reviewer and the reviews credit that neither of them warrants. They don’t deserve such attention simply because they are see-thru to the point of being silly.

Despite what Mr. Macaulay prints, the tour is a success and all the performances are being played to full houses. Maestro Gergiev is a shrewd businessman who knows how to play global game very very well. Apart from current three week engagement in New York City and meaty multi-year contract with the Kennedy Center in the nation’s capital, the maestro is planning a prolonged Fall engagement covering several states, as we speak. This of course would make theater lovers very happy, but wait… where does it leave ABT, SFB, NYCB et el? You do the math.

Fortunately for Kirov Mr. Macaulay is not a maestro and he certainly not the maestro. And while Gergiev plays the game aggressively, Mr. Macaulay is simply an incompetent player.


...........................................................................................Yours truly

Fokine, Lander program
New York City Center. April 11, 2008

Act One
Chopiniana
Ekaterina Osmolkina, Yulia Bolshakova, Yana Selina

Act Two
Le Spectre de la Rose
Yana Selina, Igor Kolb

PAUSE

The Dying Swan
Uliana Lopatkina

Act Three
Etudes
Alina Somova, Leonid Sarafanov, Andrian Fadeev

April 11. Fokine, Lander.

I must admit that I don’t particular care for Fokine’s chorography. Chopiniana is very pretty but empty, The Dying Swan is too familiar and Le Spectre ...not much dancing there. And yet I enjoyed the evening tremendously and thanks to wonderful male dancing. Those who say that Kirov men are not as strong as women – let their tongues be cut out!

Chopeniana. Evgeny Ivanchenko who lead the pack of lithe Kirov female dancers gave me lot of pleasure to watch. There’s certain warmth radiating from him, gentility if you will. Nice body and a kind face, not to mention the impeccable Kirov elegance. Everything he did was polished, yet it didn’t carry a stamp of cold perfection. Ekaterina Osmolkina was very good in the Waltz No. 2. I came to believe that Romantic style suites the quality of her dancing where no strong emphasis need to be placed, so she kind of let her body flow with the music. Yulia Bolshakova who some balletomanes promoted (at least in their minds) to status of someone to watch for, puzzled me a great deal. Either it was not her who danced as one of the four bayaderes in Washington DC or she miraculously gained quite a few pounds in a matter of two months. I remember her being almost painfully thin as Florine in the Sleeping Beauty of 2005. Well, this is no more and I must admit that this alone prevented me from appreciating her talents to a greater degree.

Le Spectre de la Rose. I enjoyed watching Yana Selina very much. Her strong features are easy to remember. She is always at the head of the procession of Shades in Kirov’s Bayadere and I even remember her as a young girl in one of Kirov's gala recordings, dancing the number from the Nutcracker with another girl and a boy. Igor Kolb was a fine rose - loved his costume!

If anybody could revive The Dying Swan for me it is only Lopatkina. Wonder how many times had she danced this piece? Hundreds, thousands? Yet it was clear that once again she put her soul into it. The audience sensed it and awarded her with prolonged ovation.

Les Etudes. This undoubtedly was the highlight of the evening. I believe the music score, composed by Karl Cerni was intended from the start as an aid for practicing musicians. Danish choreographer Harold Lander adapted it to illustrate several stages in a life of a dancer – from first plies and exercises at the bar, to whimsical interpretation of balletic styles performed by two men and a lead ballerina. Everything is done in tongue-in-cheek manner, so for once both dancers and the audience could relax from observing restraint of perfect classical form and let their hair down, so to speak. Well, as one can guess, "la fille mal gardee de Mariinsky", Alina Somova was totally in her element. Although a bit wobbly in her first supported pirouette (for some reason many were sort of wobbly in the beginning … rough night, ha? ), she flirted and sparkled like a gem that undoubtedly she is, despite of all the “corrective criticism" that she is getting. Although this hundred pounds of Russian loveliness gave men in the audience something to dream about, I was drowning in the pool of testosterone liberally flowing from stage. Free from partnering constraints for the most part, male corps de ballet member leapt and turned with abandonment. Andrian Fadeev flight onto the stage in his white poet’s shirt reminded me of his appearance as Romeo. To me he is still the best Romeo ever! Somova and Fadeev seemed to enjoy dancing together very much. But none enjoyed his entrachats and battues more than Leonid Sarafanov. It was clear from his boyish face that Leonid was having time of his life. And the strangest thing ... the more energy he expanded, the more he was getting back. It was as he was competing with himself, charging and re-charging after each pirouette and sky high jete.

And when the threesome (Somova, Fadeev and Sarafanov) was taking a bow at the end, they looked radiantly happy and illegally handsome.

... And so, while Alastair Macaulay continues to sulk by his lonesome, New Yorkers and visitors are having a whale of a good time at the City Center! BRAVO!!

by Octavia. April 12
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April 11. Fokine, Lander.

Uliana Lopatkina in The Dying Swan

..........................The Illegally handsome threesome

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Andrian Fadeev... Alina Somova... Leonid Sarafanov

April 12. Fokine, Lander.

Since 2005 disastrous matinee performance of The Sleeping Beauty in which dancers were sleeping on stage along with the Beauty, I decided to avoid matinee shows all together on principle – let them wake up first. But I was so impressed with Let Etudes the night before, that I was willing to pay the price even to see walking dead in it. I didn’t regret it, even though the temperature was a few degrees lower than the night before. On Saturday much awaited Olesia Novikova took the lead and it was if I was seeing yes, same ballet but separated by decades in time. While Somova’s interpretation was utterly modern and with the touch of clever irony of the whole ballet world, Olesia, ever faithful to classicism, depicted a real Romantic ballerina. I could swear I was seeing La Sylphide on stage and not the whimsical comment on the role.

In the tutu’d portion of the ballet she was a touch too careful, perhaps still recovering from the recent injury which kept her from appearing during most of the NYC engagement. Olesia’s partners were Leonad Sarafanov who appeared in the same role the night before and Vladimir Shklyarov who is making wide strides as a soloist of the company. Although not quite at the point where he can abandon any thought of technique, the way Leonid does, still, he is very strong and expressive dancer and I am looking forward to seeing him in many other roles, which undoubtedly are in store for him. Redhead Ekaterina Kondaurova who danced in the corps caught my eye with her elegant manner of dancing and so did Svetlana Ivanova the night before.

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Vladimir Schklyarov...Olesia Novikova...Leonid Sarafanov

Few words about other offerings of the matinee. Very popular Diana Vishneva made a spirited swan even in her dying hour and Anton Korsuntsev amazing plastique made him a good candidate for the role of the Rose. I also liked Anton's overall costume of deep velvety maroon with one shoulder bared a la Apollo.

Closing comments on the 2nd week of the tour.

It saw packed houses, enthusiastic audiences who cheered and clapped with abandonment.

Because it was held at the city center and not at the Lincoln Center, it introduced Kirov ballet to more diverse audiences which is great.

My personal FAVe remains Les Etudes of the night of the 11th. Dancers set audience on fire. It was amazing to watch the way the parties on both sides of the orchestra pit totally and I mean *totally* gave themselves up to sheer enjoyment of dance. THANK YOU KIROV!


by Octavia. April 14
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NY CITY CENTER flyers

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PLAYBILL

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Kirov orchestra was not a mere icing on the cake, but the integral part of the tour. It was particularly evident in the spectacular performance of Les Etudes where the dancers and the orchestra were truly one. In Bayadere the first violin was especially eloquent and I was somewhat upset when at the end of adagio enthusiastic applauds buried its final mourns.

Few words about NY City Center which hosts current Kirov tour.

This rather curious domed structure was originally built as a shrine to some secret brotherhood. In the 40-s the building was converted to the center for the performing arts. At one time it housed NYCB and saw the greats like Mikhail Baryshnikov and Sir Laurence Olivier perform on its stage. Now the Center is devoted to dance more than anything else. Youth America ballet competition and Fall Dance festival take place at the City Center. Admission price varies widely anywhere from $25 to $150 to accommodate people from all walks of life.

by Octavia. April 15
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