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Russian Seasons of the 21st Century


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The Coliseum last night welcomed Andris Liepa and the Dancers from several companies in Russia, Bolshoi, Mariinsky, Stanislavsky and Kremlin Ballets. Sadly the long awaited Cleopatra has had to be postponed due to injury to Ilse Liepa.  Andris Liepa promised hoped to bring it back next year. Also Nikolai Tsiskaridze is not due to appear until Thursday so the stars of the evening were Xander Parish, Yuliya Makhalina and Alaxandra Timofeyeva.  Here are some pictures from yesterday's general rehearsal.

 

 

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Yuliya Makhalina and Xander Parish in Le Spectre de la Rose 

 

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Alexandra Timofeyeva as The Firebird and Mikhail Lobukhin as Prince Ivan in The Firebird 
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Yuliya Makhalina - Zobeide and Xander Parish - Golden Slave in Scheherazade 

 

Mote picturs on www.johnrossballetgallery.co.uk

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 Sadly the long awaited Cleopatra has had to be postponed due to injury to Ilse Liepa.  Andris Liepa promised hoped to bring it back next year. Also Nikolai Tsiskaridze is not due to appear until Thursday 

It was very disappointing to learn about Ilse Liepa's injury. Cleopatra in that ballet is shown as she was presumably danced by Ida Rubinstein. Ilse did a lot of research, pained and worked hard on materialising her dream. It is very unfortunate that she had to withdraw from the performances.

Nikolai Tsiskaridze arrived at London last night because his appearance in 'Sheherazade' was originally scheduled only for Thursday and Friday but now this ballet is being shown at every performance.

 

Thank you very much, John, for your excellent photos.

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I saw Programme 2 tonight, Firebird and Shehezerade. I was a little underwhelmed by Firebird, though it was still interesting. I'm wondering how I would have felt about it with a good live orchestra, the sound system at the Coli never quite does it for me.

 

Sheherezerade was good fun. Tsiskaridze is definitely older than the last time I saw him, but the flamboyant stage presence is still working just fine and I'm quite happy that he showed up in the Russian Season (though his man-bra made of pure bling was somewhat distracting). Yulia Makhalina was great too, and I'm rather hoping that they'll both be performing again on Saturday, though wouldn't mind seeing Xander Parish in the role either.

 

Tsiskaridze got a pretty big applause (the theatre was a bit quiet overall) when he was announced, so it seems like the Bolshoi drama does not drag itself into the auditorium - hoping the same will be true for the Bolshoi season at the ROH.

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I enjoyed Tsiskaridze too, age has slowed him down a little but of course he was absolutely turbo charged in his youth, so can still whizz round a stage better than most.  Loved his pirouette a la seconde, super fast and totally on the spot.  It breaks my heart that we won't see him here with the Bolshoi particularly as Bayadere is one of his best roles.  Will be back to see him again tonight.

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I saw Programme 2 tonight, Firebird and Shehezerade. I was a little underwhelmed by Firebird, though it was still interesting. I'm wondering how I would have felt about it with a good live orchestra, the sound system at the Coli never quite does it for me.

 

Yulia Makhalina was great too, and I'm rather hoping that they'll both be performing again on Saturday, though wouldn't mind seeing Xander Parish in the role either.

 

I saw the programme earlier in the week, and liked Mikhail Lobukhin a lot as Prince Ivan, although the "monsters" overall didn't look very convincing, either in terms of their commitment to their roles (a lot of ineffectual waving their arms about, it seemed to me) or their costumes, which quite frankly looked like the sort of thing the average ballet mum might have run up for their child's dance school performance (and that may even be insulting to ballet mums :) ).  The costumes for the more important characters were rather better, thankfully.  I didn't appreciate the strobing, or the other loudly coloured bits of lighting, though.

 

I saw Xander Parish dancing the Golden Slave (something I never expected to be saying, I must admit!), and was surprisingly impressed by him.  Okay, he doesn't have the flamboyance, ego and what have you of certain dancers who've danced the role in the past (not that that's necessarily a bad thing in my book :) ), but I loved the way he could barely tear his eyes (and hands, where appropriate) away from Zobeide, and his portrayal was very focussed and intense (the use of those eyes again!) - a legacy of his Royal Ballet training?  In addition, he's certainly got the stature/physique to cope with the role (when the possibility of Ivan Vasiliev dancing the role was mentioned earlier, I really wasn't convinced I could see him in it).  If he is on again tomorrow, I'd be happy to see him.  I agree, though, with the comments that the production isn't all it could be.

 

Edit: Actually, I think John's picture above is a pretty good illustration of my comments.

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I slipped in to see the beginning of the second programme on the Wednesday matinee.  Xander Parish (after having seen in him in his two roles on the opening night) suddenly found his stride and was here best suited to the Chopiniana (or Les Sylphides).  He has, of course, his glorious Ivor Novello profile and long, lyrical line which is lovely.  That his placement is, as Ashton used to put it, 'buttery' is a shame.  I had thought him much more focused and precise in Gautier's 'Ballet 101' in Alina's gala but I may well have been mistaken.  You can always see the potential in him certainly but I keep wanting to bring it into focus.  I keep thinking of Baryishnikov in the role of the poet and how he made through the dance the narrative instantly come alive.  Here, that particular tension was missing.  It was as if it was being taught in a classroom exhibition; somewhat caught in its own aspect.  I had been a little late (rather on purpose I fear) and had missed Liepa's stichk - having heard more than enough the night before.  I timed it perfectly in fact.  I entered the dress circle just as the recorded music sounded.  I said I would stand at the back and the kind usher said: 'Don't worry.  There are lots of seats'.  I sat down ... and was only TRULY amazed when the lights came up to reveal a total of FIVE PEOPLE (including myself) sitting in the whole of the Dress Circle.  That surprised me more than anything else I must confess.

 

Last night I dropped in to see the Music Hall routine that was the Makhalina / Tsiskaridze vulgarity in Scheherazade.  This performance deserved to be on a variety bill such as the Coliseum used to offer.  That there was no apology here was in fact its charm.  Suddenly the muddied recorded music - for ONCE - was made to seem appropriate.  The Tsiskaridze clack was out in its now sadly limited force - and yet even then it didn't prevent waves of red being in evidence throughout the building.  These two now suit each other gloriously.  Both now are on par in terms of their dancing skills in this piece.  They both are past masters at the nashing of teeth and exotic eye upping.  Part of the delight for me at least (as opposed to the first performance of this piece's outing I saw with Parish who was far more subdued) was the response of some of the corps to the flagrantly bejeweled goings on.  Indeed there was one harem lad who just couldn't help himself.  At several key moments he just stared on in abject amusement.  It was obvious he'd never quite seen anything like this.  Dear boy.  His smile - as it happens - was even broader than Tsiskaridze's - and God knows that takes SOME doing.  Mind you, the lad wasn't acting; he was merely laughing in response.  His had a sincerity that was otherwise missing in the performance.  I found it very touching during the curtain call(s) to witness him attempt to restrain himself once 'the great one' had dashed on.  He managed to do this by biting his lip.  Even then it curled unsteadily.  Then, all of a sudden the company was called forward yet again by their 'guest master' and this lad made the mistake of turning and looking at the lady to his right.  They both cracked up - indeed exploded in grins - and from that point forward he was simply lost to ANY restraint.  When Tsiskaridze turned around YET again, he simply averted his head in total embarrassment.  I knew how he felt.  Unwittingly perhaps, they proved the highlight for me.  We had laughed together.  Bless them.   Mark Thompson may deservedly have given the opening programme including Scheherazade one star, but this curtain call upped the appreciation factor for me at that particular juncture.  The producer could, I think, count himself lucky on THAT score.  Very lucky indeed. 

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As you have been rather rude about Tsiskaridze before, may I ask why you bothered to see someone you so very clearly detest?  Other than being able to make peurile remarks about him on this forum that is.  And by the way, I thought it was the rule to put a full name to a post that is overly critical, though perhaps you escape that rule by dint of your post being malicious rather than critical.

 

As for the unprofessional corps members, sadly indiscipline is the Kremlin Ballet's hallmark which I've witnessed before when watching this company regardless of who was dancing.

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 I had  stand at the back and the kind usher said: 'Don't worry.  There are lots of seats'.  I sat down ... and was only TRULY amazed when the lights came up to reveal a total of FIVE PEOPLE (including myself) sitting in the whole of the Dress Circle.  That surprised me more than anything else I must confess.

 

 

 

I'd been considering booking for this performance and, when I tried to book online, it appeared that only the stalls were being sold.  No other option was provided.  At this time, (a few days before the performance), the stalls were virtually sold out so they maybe opened the dress circle at the last minute?

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I remember seeing the pdd from Scheherazade at the gala for Maya Plisetskaya a few years ago.  I can't remember the ballerina but the Golden Slave was Ruzimatov.  Never having seen him before but aware, of course, of his reputation, I was expecting a real treat but sadly my reaction was similar to the corps member who caught Meunier's eye.  I've never seen such appalling over-acting in my life before or since!  And that costume! I really couldn't believe it and kept thinking 'are they serious?'  I guess that's the way the choreographer/director likes it but it just reminded me of a commercial for Turkish Delight.

 

Perhaps I just don't appreciate the old Bolshoi style?  I thought Spartacus was over the top too, even with Vasiliev and Maximova 40 odd years ago.

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As you have been rather rude about Tsiskaridze before, may I ask why you bothered to see someone you so very clearly detest?  Other than being able to make peurile remarks about him on this forum that is.  And by the way, I thought it was the rule to put a full name to a post that is overly critical, though perhaps you escape that rule by dint of your post being malicious rather than critical.

 

As for the unprofessional corps members, sadly indiscipline is the Kremlin Ballet's hallmark which I've witnessed before when watching this company regardless of who was dancing.

 

Dear MAB, I am sorry if you took my words in a fashion other than they were meant.  I certainly wasn't attempting to be rude and CERTAINLY don't 'detest' Tsiskaridze.  His performance - as I thought I made clear - was hugely appropriate to the surroundings.  It did, as I think I suggested, provide joy..  In fact I am rather taken back at your response.  I thought I had made myself clear.  I did, in fact, enjoy this piece more than any other I'd seen in the so called 'Russian Seasons' this time round. Please know that I send you naught but good wishes when you attend the performance for a second time tonight.  I can, SINCERELY, see the attraction.  I, myself, will have to content myself I fear with Renee Flemming in Capriccio.  Fingers crossed it will be as fulfilling in its OWN way.  I send naught but all good wishes to you, MAB. 

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Is Isabelle Fokine credited with the production of Sheherazade?will be intersting to see what she has done to Petrushka at ENB .I remember Panov as Petrushka doing split jumps and a pirouette a la seconde in the cell scene at the Coliseum in the mid 70's (again most inapropriate)

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I'm looking forward to seeing Carlos Acosta and Marienela Nunez dance the pdd from Sheherazade in two week's time at the Coliseum.

 

The Isabelle Fokine and Andris Liepa reconstructions of Firebird and Sheherazade are in the repertoire of the Mariinsky, I like the designs for Firebird, especially the epilogue where the city of domes appears on a moving backcloth, couldn't see any of that from mid Balcony on Tuesday, did it happen?

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Quote:


“… his man-bra made of pure bling was somewhat distracting”.


 


Sorry, Coated, it was Bakst’s fault that you were distracted. It was him who overdecorated the Golden Slave’s costume. In addition to this “bra” and “bling” he designed a sort of flouncing rah-rah around the Golden Slave’s waist. This kind of costume was worn by both Nijinsky and Fokine himself. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nijinsky_in_Scheherazade2.jpg?uselang=ru


 


When the ballet was reconstructed, this detail has been omitted because nobody wanted to look bulky around the waist. Tsiskaridze pursuaded the dress-makers to follow Bakst’s design to the minute detail and even was sewing on “pearls’ and ‘gems’ himself.


 


I enjoyed Tsiskaridze-Makhalina’s duet, together with the audience. It was the best reception and applause from the start of the season. Not to mention the large crowd that was keeping the Golden Slave by the stage door for about 15 minutes demanding autographs and permission to be photographed with him, which he smilingly obliged.


 


I remember Clement Crisp writing: “this mad old ballet is a turnip ghost in other hands, but when danced with such imaginative bravura, such sexual allure, it goes beyond hilarious kitsch to become theatrical art of the most intoxicating kind... Tsiskaridze, as much in love with his audience as with Zobeide, produced marvels of pantherine leaps and crouching consumed-by-desire falls, and tore the place apart. It may not be Fokine, but who cares?”


 


The dancer will be 40 this year, not so skinny as he was some years ago, but danced this role with the same abundance. Oh, poor us, “vulgarity” lovers.

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Thanks so Amelia for your insightful note and the link.  I wonder what particular production of Scheherazade Clement Crisp was reviewing in that lovely quote you noted.  There was no question that Mr. Tsiskaridze offered much entertainment value last night.  No doubt at all.  Nothing to be ashamed of there.  However, just to put it into a certain context, Mr. Crisp in Wednesday's Financial Times wrote of the current offering as seen at its opening: :

 

'My long experience of this repertory in honourable stagings made me feel pretty cross, not least with the interpolation of a later and fatuous duet in Scheherazade.'  

 

Grateful for your kind advice when you are best able.

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I imagine Mr Crisp first saw Tsiskaridze as the Golden Slave when he danced it with the Kirov here in London.  There is no contadiction in C.C.'s views it was a turnip when he first saw NT in it even though he clearly loved his performance, and he still thinks much the same singling out the surplus-to-requirements pas de deux.  He is right on both counts.

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I'd been considering booking for this performance and, when I tried to book online, it appeared that only the stalls were being sold.  No other option was provided.  At this time, (a few days before the performance), the stalls were virtually sold out so they maybe opened the dress circle at the last minute?

Only stalls seats were ever on sale it was only late comers who were put in the Dress Circle so as not to disturb the rest of us who were in time.  A lady turned up after the interval next to me and told me she had been late and had been put in the DC.  To be honest I'd rather have been in the DC myself, however, as there was no big head in front of me the stalls were OK this time!

 

I enjoyed the special matinee - Chopiniana was very nice and it was lovely to see Xander parish.  I also enjoyed the very colourful Firebird, though quite why the ballerina had Elvis style side burns painted on her face I'll never know!  For £22.50 not a bad afternoon's entertainment.

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Quote:


“… just to put it into a certain context, Mr. Crisp in Wednesday's Financial Times wrote of the current offering as seen at its opening.”


 


Right, it was about the opening. Tsiskaridze danced this time only on 18 and 19 July. So, if Mr. Crisp wrote in Financial Times on Wednesday, i.e. 17 July, it was not about Tsiskaridze’s performance. 


 


Quote:


“I wonder what particular production of Scheherazade Clement Crisp was reviewing in that lovely quote you noted.“


 


That was 11 years ago, at the Mariinsky Festival 2002, and I have been there when the roof was nearly blown off by the thunderous applause. Below is the full extract from the longer review.


 


"Financial Times", UK, 13 March 2002 By Clement Crisp


 


East and west, Fokine is best


 


Heaven, and the ghost of Mikhail Fokine, knows what all this has to do with the original Scheherazade, but these artists blazed with lust, and generated enough passion to show that though this mad old ballet is a turnip ghost in other hands, when danced with such imaginative bravura, such sexual allure, it goes beyond hilarious kitsch to become theatrical art of the most intoxicating kind.

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Thank you, Amelia, for the diligence of your most kind reply.  It is keenly appreciated.  I did, as it happened, know it was not NT dancing on the 16th (the performance being reviewed) as I was there myself ... as well as on the 18th.  I was in this instance just wondering if the quote had been about the same 'production'.  You have made that answer clear in the geographical context of your response.  Again, thanks. 

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As stated in our Community guidelines, for copyright reasons we do not allow quoting from other sources of more than a few lines and we have therefore cut Amelia's quote from the Clement Crisp article from 2002. The original article does not seem to be online but it is quoted elsewhere.

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Last night I dropped in to see the Music Hall routine that was the Makhalina / Tsiskaridze vulgarity in Scheherazade.  This performance deserved to be on a variety bill such as the Coliseum used to offer.  That there was no apology here was in fact its charm.  Suddenly the muddied recorded music - for ONCE - was made to seem appropriate.  The Tsiskaridze clack was out in its now sadly limited force - and yet even then it didn't prevent waves of red being in evidence throughout the building.  These two now suit each other gloriously.  Both now are on par in terms of their dancing skills in this piece.  They both are past masters at the nashing of teeth and exotic eye upping.  Part of the delight for me at least (as opposed to the first performance of this piece's outing I saw with Parish who was far more subdued) was the response of some of the corps to the flagrantly bejeweled goings on.  Indeed there was one harem lad who just couldn't help himself.  At several key moments he just stared on in abject amusement.  It was obvious he'd never quite seen anything like this.  Dear boy.  His smile - as it happens - was even broader than Tsiskaridze's - and God knows that takes SOME doing.  Mind you, the lad wasn't acting; he was merely laughing in response.  His had a sincerity that was otherwise missing in the performance.  I found it very touching during the curtain call(s) to witness him attempt to restrain himself once 'the great one' had dashed on.  He managed to do this by biting his lip.  Even then it curled unsteadily.  Then, all of a sudden the company was called forward yet again by their 'guest master' and this lad made the mistake of turning and looking at the lady to his right.  They both cracked up - indeed exploded in grins - and from that point forward he was simply lost to ANY restraint.  When Tsiskaridze turned around YET again, he simply averted his head in total embarrassment.  I knew how he felt.  Unwittingly perhaps, they proved the highlight for me.  We had laughed together.  Bless them.   Mark Thompson may deservedly have given the opening programme including Scheherazade one star, but this curtain call upped the appreciation factor for me at that particular juncture.  The producer could, I think, count himself lucky on THAT score.  Very lucky indeed.

Not being in any particular claque I loved this - such a vivid recording of what happened. I've certainly seen it happen at other times as well with some previously wonderful and amazing dancer pushing it all shamefacedly too far. Close and very loyal fans love it - the rest smile through gritted teeth. It's a wonderful thing to see a great dancer time things well and fade with dignity and grace.

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Just wanted to say that a friend of mine had an extra ticket for this afternoon's RUSSIAN SEASONS performance - PROGRAMME 3 - and it was BY FAR the BEST of the lot as far as I was concerned.  The reason for this - with a deafening Andy Murray effect rattling in my ear e'en now- could be spelled in but two words blessedly easy for the British Ear:  XANDER PARISH.  Let's hear it for the home team I say.  Perish he CERTAINLY didn't.  What a difference a few performances makes.  The focus of his long, lyrical placement was sharpened to a point where you could see it glisten in CHOPINIANA.  Here our gentle Poet, one richly fragrant in his own Novello charm, ruled with a partering rod of crystaline finesse and blossoming confidence.  Bravo Xander, say I.  Keep up the excellent work.

 

However - after a colourful diversion provided by the entertaining POLOTVIAN DANCES from Borodin's opera Prince Igor - it was the SCHEHERAZADE that Parish TRULY TRANSFORMED.  It was unrecognizable (at least for me) from the two previous performances I witnessed of this piece on this particular junket by the Kremlin Ballet.  I have always found myself tangling with 'the turnip' I fear ... only this time the turnip tasted far sweeter.  Bless the enhanced sound levels/quality - that had sounded oh, so, SO muddy at the opening on Tuesday.  Here they were as clear as the story telling was gripping.  (And I NEVER imagined I would say that about SCHEHERAZADE).  The colourful mannerisms that had attractively distanced Yulia Makhalina's other performances where here gracefully embedded into a dedicated portrait that welcomed all, including the audience, within it's rich mix. Those bejeweled stares and smiles were now clearly centred, not fixed.   'Why?' you might quite rightly ask?  The key was most definitely PARISH.  His WAS a GOLDEN slave personified.  He didn't require ANY additional outward bling.  This was a slave consumed within his mistress' eyebrow; a muscle-rippling Valentino-like or Raymond Navarro entity that any self-respecting mistress would long to harbour.  He was totally subservient to sensual delights of her - and to HER ALONE.  No other body - be it audience or ego - came between Parish's graceful passion and his mistress.  This was a slave who did not know how to manhandle.  This was a slave whose sensual caresses were refined with a generosity of loving pride and embodied within the enormous luxury of his dance.  All was delivered through the apex of his all all-consuming passion.  For him there WAS no one else on stage but Zobeide.  When this slave's death came it was - at least for him - almost accidental.  He merely dropped once sluiced by Shahriar.  No grimace; no hurling.  It was immediate.  One instinctively felt he was still in his own reverie somewhere. Certainly he was in ours.  You could completely understand why Zobeide had snatched those keys from Shahriar (a fine performance by Igor Pivorovich now permitted the full dramatic fix it rightfully deserved within the triumvirate) to unlock a door that unleashed both her and consequently our own understandable zeal.  The friend I was with - who I had seen the same piece with on Thursday evening - turned to me and said:  'Now that was totally riveting'.  It WAS.  Suddenly the curtain calls told a tale different from the one Bruce kindly quoted me writing about above.  These were so much more relaxed.  Nothing was forced - be it smiles or bows.  When Parish understandably presented Makhalina  he proudly stepped back and applauded her.  Rightly so.  As he did so several lads in the corps - including the Russian I spoke of in that previous paragraph I authored  - turned towards Parish and applauded HIM in respect.  Catching it out of the corner of his eye, Parish bashfully smiled and looked down.  The respect here both heard and seen was for him as for all palpable.  Nothing more needed to be demanded; nothing more shown.  We knew from his smile that he had heard our 'thank you' and that his job had been well done.

 

I have no idea if Parish had a 'big crowd' awaiting him at the stage door awaiting autographs and/or pictures.  I'm fairly sure there would not have been a Sue Barker standing there with a microphone in front of a capacity throng.  To my mind it doesn't matter.   I pray, however, that Parish left that door with a 'big smile' in his heart.  He richly deserves it and surely THAT'S the lasting memory we ALL can share WITH him.  .  

 

Bless you, Xander.  I am SO pleased I had this opportunity to watch you grow in a very short space of time ... and, indeed, an opportunity to share these few words with all my friends at Balletcoforum.  Thank you ALL for your patience; thank you for your kind and respectful understanding.  I continue to learn much from your kind largess.  I am enriched.  Bless you.

Edited by Meunier
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Bruce, I think you and I were getting at the same thing, even if my version was a little less ... embellished ... than your own :)

 

Seriously, though, I think Parish has been an absolute stalwart of the season.  What was he originally cast to dance?  Two Spectres, two Les Sylphides (or was it three?)?  And yet he's added four Golden Slaves to that - in a version which I would have thought was more taxing than the original - and been in all but about 15 minutes in each of 2 triple bills today.  Kudos to him.  Andris Liepa said tonight that he only started working with Parish on the Golden Slave at the beginning of the year, so I don't know whether he's got any more performances under his belt that we don't know about, because Tuesday night certainly didn't feel like a debut.

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Meunier, where did you sit this afternoon? I was in the upper circle this evening, and the sound was really bad. Perhaps they adjusted it but didnt check all areas of the auditorium.

 

I took 2 ballet-virgins to the performance tonight, and lived in fear that I might put them off ballet for life. To my relief the one who was more or less dragged along involuntarily to the performance turned around after the first half and said in a rather surprised voice "I actually like this". They were not too fond of Chopiniana (too uneven, not in synch), quite liked Schehezerade and thought the Polotvian dances were the best part the triple bill, partially because they liked the music best (I got bitter complaints about the sound quality).

 

Mr Parish is certainly all about elegant lines, and whilst I wouldn't sell my soul for a ticket to watch him at the Mariinsky, I'd make an effort to get a ticket if he were to perform in London.

 

Bit of amused giggling at curtain call tonight when it looked like Yulia Makhalina was pushing Xander Parish backwards out of her way (assume it was an accidental tangle when she was walking backwards and he was still walking forwards - they did look a bit tired this evening, but then there was a lot of unexpected additional Shehezerade)

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Meunier, where did you sit this afternoon?   

 

 

This afternoon we were in the stalls, Row F, centre aisle seats on the left hand side (F28 and 29 if memory serves).   I'm not surprised that the sound varied throughout.  The company had an orchestra the last time they were here in 2011 during which they also presented Shehezarde.  (I checked in the reviews.) 

 

I'm so pleased that I saw the programme this afternoon as Parish and Makhalina seemed wholly refreshed.  Certainly I can understand why Parish would be a mite tired tonight.  That was only to be expected.  

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The tiredness started to show a bit towards the end of the performance, but it I don't think it was very noticeable apart from an ickle stumble. But yes, if someone is doing 2 performances a day the first one might have a little more sparkle.

 

Interesting to hear that they did have an orchestra last time - it didn't even occur to me that it might be canned music when I booked for this and the lack of orchestra was a bit of a surprise to me.

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A few more pics to look at for everyone.

 

9328986245_153e9ab44f_z.jpg
Scheherazade - Yuliya Makhalina, Xander Parish
© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr


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Spectre de la Rose - Yuliya Makhalina, Xander Parish
© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr


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Firebird - Mikhail Lobukhin, Alexandra Timofeyeva
© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr



See more...

Set from DanceTabs - Russian Seasons
Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr

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I'm glad I went to last night's performance, it was so much more enjoyable than the opening night although the dancers themselves have been excellent, everyone smiled more and after sincere apologies for the lack of Cleopatra, Andris Liepa relaxed and was asking us if we were enjoying ourselves and picking out his Mum in the audience!

 

Sadly the Balcony was closed and I was in the Upper Circle, okay seat as I was able to play the musical chairs game that seems a part of the Coliseum now, the sound though was much worse than from the Balcony, although Scherezade was better quality.

 

Mikhail Martynyuk was good in the Polovtsian Dances, but I would like to add to the congratulations for Xander Parish, and Yulia Makhalina, don't know what the Season would have done without them!

 

The Ballets Russes continue with Petrushka next week, funny thing to be watching in a heatwave though.

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 Andris Liepa said tonight that he only started working with Parish on the Golden Slave at the beginning of the year, so I don't know whether he's got any more performances under his belt that we don't know about, because Tuesday night certainly didn't feel like a debut.

 

There are clips on You Tube of Xander's Golden Slave with the Mariinsky (with Sophia Gumerova). They were posted in March of this year but the date of the performance is not given. I seem to remember that we're not supposed to post You Tube links but the clips can be found by searching for ballet2013's uploads.

Edited by Bluebird
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Bluebird, I think they must be from the March 14th performance in Abu Dhabi. Xander posts the dates of all his performances, and the role danced, on his website here http://www.xanderparish.com/calendar.php.  That looks like the only time he has performed the role with the Mariinsky.  I assume that Andris Liepa must have worked on the role with him for his Mariinsky performance, given that he wasn't due to be performing in London until Cleopatre was cancelled.

 

Looks like he has also danced "Scheherezade pdd" at a gala in Kazakhstan on April 19th.

 

I thought he was great in both Chopiniana and as the Golden Slave and was by a long way the highlight of this week's performances.  He was definitely a little tired in Scheherezade last night, as others have said; but then he was dancing four principal roles in one day and the matinee was on the late side, allowing for very little rest in between his afternoon Golden Slave and his evening Chopiniana.  It was still a pretty thrilling performance and made my hair stand on end a couple of times.

 

I hope we get to see more of him in the UK.

 

Given the roles he gets, it is a bit perplexing that he remains a Coryphee.

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Ah, thanks, both of you.  So not the first time, but hasn't (or hadn't) done many performances.

 

And yes, I'm a bit surprised he's still a Coryphée - I'd thought he was a Soloist already, but then possibly I misunderstand the Mariinsky hierarchy.

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