Lindsay Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 (edited) Osmolkina was there and did a slightly underpowered Sleeping Beauty with Picone. Kondaurova and Zelensky were very entertaining in Scheherazade. Novikova and Kimin closed the night with a nice Don Q and Cojocaru and Kobborg did the suicide scene from Mayerling. But for me the (maybe surprising) standout was Iana Salenko and Marian Walters doing Grand Pas Classique. They have technique coming out of their ears, especially her, and a lovely stage persona together. A good night. The audience watching was as good as the show in fact - so many Romanov-style evening gowns it's as if the Revolution never happened.... Edited March 8, 2015 by Lindsay 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daisydance Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Osmolkina was there and did a slightly underpowered Sleeping Beauty with Picone. Kondaurova and Zelensky were very entertaining in Scheherazade. Novikova and Kimin closed the night with a nice Don Q and Cojocaru and Kobborg did the suicide scene from Mayerling. But for me the (maybe surprising) standout was Iana Salenko and Marian Walters doing Grand Pas Classique. They have technique coming out of their ears, especially her, and a lovely stage persona together. A good night. The audience watching was as good as the show in fact - so many Romanov-style evening gowns it's as if the Revolution never happened.... I agree about some of the audience's clothes - particularly amusing when seen later in the cloakroom putting on warm puffa jackets on top of gowns. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxDaveM Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Was at the rehearsal for the gala for 'Russian Ballet Icons' 10th anniversary show. Need to stress that most of the dancers were in practice clothes, or minimal costumes and not dancing full out (as the performance was only hours away). Here are a few pics from the afternoon: Grand Pas Classique - Iana Salenko and Marian Walter© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr Cinderella - Maia Makhateli and Artur Shesterikov© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr Don Quixote - Olesya Novikova and Kimin Kim© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr See more... Set from DanceTabs: Russian Ballet Icons GalaCourtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdallas Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 I went to this, had no idea what to expect. It was very strange! Very glamourous with l It's of cameras and ball gowns and an unusual (to me) crowd. Some lovely parts but I Didn't really like the "edited highlights" approach though it was amazing to see so many wonderful dancers "The swan of Tuonela" I thought very beautiful, though it was a shame it was danced to recorded music. I'd love to hear other thoughts...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintus Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 I was there in the Upper Circle, which meant the film segment was just a lot of headless dancers! Aside that and the idiot woman I had to tell to stop texting all through the first half, I thought it was great - I was expecting that format and it's then just a showcase to enjoy. I also enjoyed the Swan of Tuonela and I loved Osipova and Watson in Connectome - but then frankly I could watch Osipova dance the conga.. What else; nice to see Daria back on stage and Ekaterina Kondaurova inspired me to get back in the gym! Agree about the odd mix of people; the line of Mercedes S classes outside with blank faced cube shaped bodyguards might give a clue 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billboyd Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 I could watch Osipova dance the conga.. Me too! - she'd be great! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 (edited) This Gala was the usual collection of pieces which the participants were in a position to offer with the result that some did not really show well in such an environment. I didn’t buy one of the £10 programmes but I believe that the schedule was as follows: Sleeping Beauty pdd: Ekaterina Osmolkina/Guiseppe Picone Amoveo (Millepied): Dorothee Gilbert/Audric Bezard Scheherazade: Ekaterina Kondaurova/Igor Zelensky Winter Dreams pdd: Marianela Nunez/Thiago Soares Romeo and Juliet Balcony pdd: Federico Bonelli/Roberta Marquez Swan of Tuonela: Daria Makheteli/Kenneth Greve Grand Pas Classique: Yana Salenko/Marian Walter Mayerling final scene: Alina Cojocaru/Johan Kobborg/Alexander Campbell Connectome pdd (Marriott): Natalia Osipova/Edward Watson Nutcracker pdd: Daria Klimentova/Vadim Muntagirov Ballet 101: Xander Parish Cinderella pdd (Wheeldon?): Maia Makheteli/Artur Shesterikov [solo ?????] Don Q pdd: Olesya Novikova/Kimin Kim No doubt someone can fill in the gap and correct any false assumptions in my list. For me, the stand outs were Kondaurova, Bonelli, Salenko, Osipova, Muntagirov, Parish and Novikova. Osmolkina was, alas, hampered by her partner. Kim was flashy but seemed untidy. Klimentova offered an object lesson in how to ‘glisten’ on stage and it was lovely to see her dancing again. Edited March 9, 2015 by capybara 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barton22 Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Thanks, capybara. The Cinderella was Wheeldon and the following solo was from Bigonzetti's Cinque and was danced by Ekaterina Krysanova of the Bolshoi. My stand outs are pretty much the same as yours, less Parish and adding Salenko and Walter (who wouldn't be bad additions to the Royal Ballet's currently patchy principal roster). I have found Kim fantastic in the past but he really seemed off form on his turns last night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindsay Posted March 9, 2015 Author Share Posted March 9, 2015 Spot on Capybara. The Cinderella extract was from Wheeldon's version and the solo by Ekaterina Krysanova (in an amazing leather or rubber tutu) was "Solo from Cinque" to Vivaldi, choreographed by Mauro Bigonzetti. I agree that not all pieces showed well and the "Russian Icons" connection became very tenuous at times. At least Winter Dreams is set in Russia and Connectome had Osipova dancing, but Mayerling seemed a very random choice with no Russian connection at all and I'm not sure that final scene on its own fits well into a Gala in any case. I wondered whether they had visa difficulties, which would be understandable given the current political situation, which might explain the relative dearth of Bolshoi and Mariinsky dancers compared with previous years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Thank you barton22 and Lindsay. I cannot understand how I failed to recognise Ekaterina Krysanova as she is one of my Bolshoi favourites. Perhaps the costume got in the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindsay Posted March 9, 2015 Author Share Posted March 9, 2015 Agreed Barton. Walters and Muntagirov were the only men not "faking" their double tours and the partnering was very careful rather than spectacular all night (with the honourable exception of Osipova who threw herself at Watson with true abandon). I can see why Muntagirov and Klimentova opted for a version of the Nutcracker pdd with the difficult lifts and fish dives taken out, given that she has now effectively retired, but I was a bit disappointed to see the Sleeping Beauty pdd without most of the lifts - although looking at her partner I can see why Osmolkina may well have wanted to omit them...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 I wouldn't be surprised if Salenko is offered a contract by the RB. She has guested with the RB in two productions (in two consecutive seasons) and seems to have formed a very successful partnership with McRae. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barton22 Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 I wouldn't be surprised if Salenko is offered a contract by the RB. She has guested with the RB in two productions (in two consecutive seasons) and seems to have formed a very successful partnership with McRae. That was my thinking on her, but she isn't likely to come without Marian Walter and their children and so it would need to be a package deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindsay Posted March 9, 2015 Author Share Posted March 9, 2015 I'd be very happy if the RB signed both of them. On last night's evidence I was very impressed by him too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barton22 Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 I was a bit disappointed to see the Sleeping Beauty pdd without most of the lifts - although looking at her partner I can see why Osmolkina may well have wanted to omit them...... He did seem to be struggling and seemed a very odd choice of partner for her; shame she wasn't able to bring a partner from the Mariinsky. I assumed they were dancing the Mariinsky version of Beauty and while I don't know it well, this pdd is, I think, quite different in a number of respects from the Royal Ballet version and last night's performance didn't look very different to what I remember of the Mariinsky version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Wall Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 (edited) I wouldn't be surprised if Salenko is offered a contract by the RB. She has guested with the RB in two productions (in two consecutive seasons) and seems to have formed a very successful partnership with McRae. I'm not entirely convinced such a promotion would be on Mr. O'Hare's schedule - or indeed in his better interests. He has in the past said that he wasn't in any rush to stock principals - understandably so - and there is at least one young female dancer who is, I think, on a clear - and in my estimation deserved - path towards the RB principal rank from within. I should think O'Hare would like to promote within and I'm convinced it will come sooner than naught. McRae is valuable in that he can dance with a range of dancers as he has shown with the effective relationships he has thus far established with Osipova (ah, those Rubies), Lamb and, of course, Marquez. Surely Ms. Salenko's RB association has been in but one role in but one production with the RB. It was for this reason I thought she was brought back in for its revival. I do, of course, understand that there is/has been considerable upset in Berlin at the moment with the openings of the Duato regime. Hopefully things will settle for that Company and the family Walter with the passing of time. I found myself giggling at times last night over the 'Russian Icons' title. What I wonder would advertising standards - a body with whom so many in the commercial world have to struggle - make of it? There were, of course, three pieces by that great 'Russian Icon' - Kenneth MacMillan - and still more selections that were as far away from any semblance of Russian influence as one could possibly imagine. My heart sunk after that Sleeping Beauty car crash. Bless Osipova and Watson for coming as something of an oasis in their creative assurance. On the whole I thought previous years' 'Iconic' efforts had more to recommend them overall and were certainly better and more specifically focused from a programming perspective. You pays your money ... and you rolls your dice. You never know where you may land. Edited March 9, 2015 by Bruce Wall 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindsay Posted March 9, 2015 Author Share Posted March 9, 2015 Thanks barton22 - yes, a different version might well account for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angela Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 I wouldn't be surprised if Salenko is offered a contract by the RB. I heard something like that in Berlin yet, though I'm not sure if it's true. Marian Walter is a fine dancer, but he tends to be a bit slow and bland sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Q Fan Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 I've always liked Marian Walter and found him a fine dancer. I noticed him before Salenko. I agree with others a peculiar mix last night and most of it with little or no Russian connection. Mayerling was good but totally unrelated, however Alex Campbell was brilliant as Bratfish, lets hope Mayerling features in the new season! I think I enjoyed the classical pieces most. I'm on the train home so will post more later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Well, from the comments so far I'm not sorry that I didn't go last night. I'm not keen on galas anyway (although I might make an exception if it is for charity). I generally find that, shorn of their context and sets, the pdds are less satisfying than they would be as part of the whole ballet. Cobbled together partnerships often don't work well and, in the absence of any real oversight, the choreography may suffer as well. I appreciate that, living in London, it is easy for me to see many of these dancers but last night there was an over-representation of dancers based in London. I'd forgotten that Salenko and Walter are married. As I doubt that the RB would want to bring in another male principal it is perhaps unlikely that Salenko would accept an invitation, even if one was forthcoming. I am sure that there will be another home-grown female principal in the not too distant future but, imo, the RB needs another one now as the company has felt the need to bring in two guest principals this year, without reference to injuries, plus Anna T to cover for Osipova when she was injured. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beryl H Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 I really enjoyed this Gala, it gave me a chance to see dancers never seen before onstage, Ekaterina Osmolkina, Maia Makhateli, and Olesya Novikova, plus "old" favourites such as Johan Kobborg, Igor Zelensky and Kenneth Greve, in a very mixed programme, the only negative pieces for me were Ballet 101 for Xander Parish and Ekaterina Krysanova's Cirque solo but that was only to give her something to dance instead of Marco Spada as Dimitri Gudanov was injured, and I can always do without MacMillan's R and J, would rather have seen a different Russian version. Thrilled to get another chance to see Alina Cojocaru and Johan Kobborg in Mayerling plus Alexander Campbell as Bratfisch, that had to be the highlight for me, which was followed by another very moving pdd from Connectome with Edward Watson and Natalia Osipova which stood up very well out of context, Benjamin Millepied's Amoveo was good too, and I was interested to see Wheeldon's Cinderella pdd live on stage instead of on TV, it looked ten times better! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintus Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Glad you enjoyed it as I did too overall, though I too wasn't too keen on Krysanova's piece, not through any deficiency of hers but I didn't like the choreography of even the costume. Kondaurova was gorgeous as Scheherezade and I'll apologise here to my wife for going all slack jawed and googley eyed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mummykool Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Glad you enjoyed it as I did too overall, though I too wasn't too keen on Krysanova's piece, not through any deficiency of hers but I didn't like the choreography of even the costume. Kondaurova was gorgeous as Scheherezade and I'll apologise here to my wife for going all slack jawed and googley eyed... That's funny Quintus. She had exactly the same effect on my husband too! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barton22 Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Benjamin Millepied's Amoveo was good too I agree and liked it much more than I thought I would. More important for me was the chance to see Gilbert dance live, and I see I forgot to mention her above. I wish we had more chances to see POB dancers in London. Aside from a couple of guest appearances of Nicolas Le Riche in recent years I can't remember when we last got to see a Paris etoile dance in London. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Wow, yes, there were a couple (Martinez and Letestu, wasn't it?) who guested with ENB in Deane's Nutcracker - but *that* was two Nutcrackers ago now. When did POB bring Le Parc over? Just as well I didn't go yesterday after all, I think. I ended up fighting a migraine all evening, so probably wouldn't have appreciated it much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Wall Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 I agree and liked it much more than I thought I would. More important for me was the chance to see Gilbert dance live, and I see I forgot to mention her above. I wish we had more chances to see POB dancers in London. Aside from a couple of guest appearances of Nicolas Le Riche in recent years I can't remember when we last got to see a Paris etoile dance in London. Gilbert had danced in a previous 'Russian Icons' outing. Unlike this year, in past 'Icon' programmes dancers frequently did two selections which gave those London audience members who may not travel widely the chance to better appreciate significant points in the various artistry of those foreign entities who are not frequently seen in Britain. Didn't the POB open the lovely lyric theatre in the Lowry in 2000? I believe they did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Q Fan Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 LOL re the Kondaurova comments! She was rather wiggly - pity she did no pointe work I thought she was a bit wasted on Sheherezade I wonder if it was more to do with what Zelensky could manage?! As mentioned above in previous years the dancers have usually done 2 pieces which I prefer as you get to see more of them, I felt for a 10th anniversary it was distinctly lacking in really top Russian names - ie no Alexandrova, Lopatkina or Zakharova for example. The Nutcracker pdd seemed to garner the biggest applause and cheers of the night and well deserved it was too - I felt that in particular when Daria Klimentova danced the SPF solo she held the audience as you could hear a pin drop. It was lovely to see her dance with Vadim again. Salenko/Walter in Grand Pas Classique were lovely, Nunez/Soares in Winter Dreams pdd was beautiful and Makhateli/Shesterikov's Cinderella pdd was really lovely and a good preview for DNB's Cinderella run in July. I found the Swan of Tuonela a most unusual piece and did quite enjoy it. I can't say I enjoyed any of the other modern works - Amoveo and Connectome they left me stone cold. Any Balanchine work was conspicuous by its absence - surely Osipova and Watson could have danced a piece from Jewels - Rubies? Or even get Steven McRae in and she could have done the Tchaikovsky pdd from last week which was fabulous. I enjoyed seeing Ballet 101 again, albeit if the end had to be rejigged as Xander could not bring the mannequin with him for the ending due to flight security. The Mayerling piece was good but totally out of place, Alexander CampbelI was really good and kudos for him to dance with Alina and Johann! I enjoyed the Don Q gpdd which closed the night as well. It was a nice evening but it wasn't mind blowing. Someone mentioned last night at the Coli that Kings of the Dance are to return in July - anyone know if this rumour has any truth? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helpop Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 (edited) I have to say my heart sank at the beginning of last night's programme - I'm glad to see I wasn't alone in thinking the first performance (Sleeping Beauty PDD) was embarrassingly poor. Followed hot on the heels by the headless wonder video (from the balcony you just saw a lot of moving feet), it was a really disappointing start, to say the least! Thankfully, things improved from there and I really enjoyed the evening overall. Especially once I'd looked up a cast sheet on my phone during the interval - I find knowing who and what is performing makes a real difference to enjoying a gala. Charging £10 for a programme and not providing a free cast list looks like money-grubbing by the organisers, especially having charged £22 for a balcony ticket. Highlights for me: reunited Muntagirov & Klimentova; a wonderful performance of Grand Pas Classique; Ballet 101 with Xander Parrish (doesn't seem to have gone down well with balletcoforum, but I thought it was fun!) I also enjoyed Mayerling, although I think some of the audience were a bit bemused as to what was going on - it's perhaps not the most obvious gala piece. It was also great to catch Zelensky, in amazing shape at his age, although he did catch my eye a lot during the curtain call as he'd changed out of costume and looked really bored by the whole thing! Just edited to add that Cinderella by Christopher Wheeldon fell a bit flat - was ok but pretty bland, and got a lukewarm reaction from the audience. Milliepied's Amoveo also didn't seem to go down that well, but personally I found it quite enthralling. Edited March 9, 2015 by helpop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barton22 Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Ballet 101 with Xander Parrish (doesn't seem to have gone down well with balletcoforum, but I thought it was fun!) It was also great to catch Zelensky, in amazing shape at his age, although he did catch my eye a lot during the curtain call as he'd changed out of costume and looked really bored by the whole thing! I think Ballet 101 is fun the first time you see it (although it does drag a bit towards the end even then), but Xander has done it at least once before in London in recent years and its charm doesn't survive the first viewing in my experience! I agree that Zelensky was remarkably good for his age (I think he is 46 this year) and also given that, as far as I know, he isn't regularly dancing any more. I did wonder why Kondaurova didn't dance this piece with Xander, as he has danced the Golden Slave a number of times before, including in London (although those performances were not with the Mariinsky, he has danced it with them), and seems quite well suited to it in terms of both his dancing and physique (this and Apollo are the roles in which I think he has done particularly well with the Mariinsky). He would have been a much better choice for Scheherazade and then he needn't have done Ballet 101 (which was one of many pieces that had no obvious Russian connection - Gauthier is French Canadian and I think the piece was created in Stuttgart). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 I saw Parish do Ballet 101 at a gala at Sadler's Wells a couple of years ago and someone from the junior company of DNB danced it in the Linbury last year. I don't think that it would repay a third viewing. Is Parish dancing it at NB's upcoming 40th anniversary gala? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 I think Ballet 101 is fun the first time you see it (although it does drag a bit towards the end even then), but Xander has done it at least once before in London in recent years and its charm doesn't survive the first viewing in my experience! That's how I feel about it, too. "I did wonder why Kondaurova didn't dance this piece with Xander, as he has danced the Golden Slave a number of times before, including in London (although those performances were not with the Mariinsky, he has danced it with them), and seems quite well suited to it in terms of both his dancing and physique (this and Apollo are the roles in which I think he has done particularly well with the Mariinsky)." Good point. I thought he was surprisingly well suited to it, and I'd never thought I'd say that of any British dancer! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angela Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 Ballet 101 was made for a „Young Choreographers Evening“ of the Noverre Society at Stuttgart in 2006. It was Eric Gauthier’s second choreography, created by his friend Jason Reilly. The Noverre evenings are the annual choreography workshops at Stuttgart where big names like John Neumeier, William Forsythe oder Jiří Kylián made their first ballets. Not that Gauthier belongs in their league… Here's a video of the original, with the final scene (it somehow misses the point without it ): 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sian-Trenberth Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 Here's a look at the Russian Ballet Icons 2015 during rehearsal. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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