Naomi M

I've seen a few wonderful YouTube clips of the R&J at La Scala with Alessandra Ferri and Angel Corella which I think is also a DVD release. Has anyone seen this one and is it as good as the Ferri/Eagling one?

Speaking about the leads Ferri and Corella it is a wonderful one. La Scala dancers are weaker but it is okay. The Georgiadis sets are beautiful and the quality of the film is good so I will recommend this too. Ferri is still very youthful. 

Well that is not a nice comment to say about a replacement....It has been a last minute replacement and I believe the Scala is doing the best they can do. Injuries and sickness does happen because dancers are human beings. 

Anyway Zakharova is dancing and as Janet says this might be a star in the making. 

Slightly off topic but Polunin will be partnering Zakharova in Bolshoi's live relay Giselle, and the performance will be made into DVD.

http://bolshoi.ru/about/press/articles/2015/3425/(Russian) 

Naomi, it would be lovely if we could say hello either during the interval or after the performance! Do you think that might be possible?

Sure, I will look for you. I am not sure I will be in time at the beginning of the intermission but I will try! 

If you have any questions about Japan or anything please ask me. 

NBoC's press release on their website does still mention ABT. But I guess their distributed press release might have deleted ABT mention.

http://national.ballet.ca/Media-Room/News/World-Ballet-Day-LIVE-Returns-with-23-hour-Live-St

Thank you so much, Naomi. This is really something to look forward to! I'm very grateful for this information. Will you also be there for the performance on the 26th?

 

And Alison, yes - it looks as if we shall be very lucky! 

Yes I plan to come to the performance. However I will also be going to an All Tudor Performance at another company in the afternoon so I am not sure I can be in time for the beginning of the performance. I will try! 

 

"newer" being a relative term!

 

newer works such as Tudor's Leaves are Fading

 

 

Well "Leaves are fading" is not a new work but at least a little newer than Petipa

As for east coast US companies, also ABT, Boston and Houston are joining with pre recorded footage.

Simonbfisher you are coming to see Evgenia Obraztsova at NBA Ballet?

Here is the official website of the company.

http://www.nbaballet.org/ 

Unfortunately only in Japanese.

The artistic director is Koichi Kubo who was a former principal at Colorado Ballet and a medalist at Moscow International Competition. The repertoire is mainly 19th century classics but Kubo has been bringing newer works such as Tudor's Leaves are Fading and Great Galloping Gottschalk by Lynn Tyler Corbett, and Wheeldon's Midsummer Night's Dream. They also host a major ballet competition in Japan.

The level of the dancers are quite high but some of the male dancers are a little short in height, such as Evgenia's partner this time. Yasumasa Omori, who studied at the Bolshoi Academy and danced in an Ukraine company. She had previously danced Kitri in 2009 here. 

Don't forget Mao's Last Dancer! Featuring Chi Cao of BRB 

Here is the trailer of Bolshoi Babylon for Japanese audiences.

Guerin / Legris were just mesmerizing, I think their performance were one of the very best ones at this festival, the only ones that were equally great were Swan Lake by Lopatkina and Korsunstev, No Mans Land by Cojocaru/Kobborg, Sylvia by Azzoni/Riabko. 

Guerin and Legris performed the Farewell Waltz by Patrick de Bana at Program A, and it was a touching, beautiful performance seeming to reflect on the lives of the two former Etoiles.  And Program B was Roland Petit's The Bat, Legris could dance like a dancer in his 30's, beautiful crisp turns and swift chaines. Guerin's legs on pointe were so beautiful, unbelievable she had been retired for more than 10 years, you can have a glimpse of her in costume on her lovely Instagram photo with Lopatkina. https://instagram.com/p/6KoM9HC1dS/

I was the one posted at BA I attended the performance on the first day and will come again tomorrow. It is true that Osiel Gouneo brought the house down with his incredible but very controlled pirouettes, such a great gain for ENB and UK ballet fans. I might add more impressions later. 

Meanwhile please enjoy the official curtain call video

Simon Acri has a Twitter account and he mentions that he is currently injured.

It was because of this film that Svetlana Lunkina's husband Vladislav Moskalev was threatened by the co-producer Vladimir Vinokur (who is the father of Bolshoi Ballet's soloist Anastasia Vinokur) and her family had to escape to Canada. 

No mean to put down Bolle, he is a fabulous dancer of splendid physique and a great partner, he is a superstar and a really great dancer, I admire him but the only thing common between Nureyev and him is that they are great dancers and that is it.

Nureyev was a bad boy and a rebellion. And he had possessed Eastern exoticism too. Bolle is too grandeur and I can never imagine him acting like a bad boy. I thought that idea was a big joke, the last one I could imagine in this role.

Of course I know the episode that Nureyev spotted Bolle in his youth and asked him to play the role of Tadgio in Death in Venice, which didn't happen.

According to Ballet Alert forum, it seems Ospipova was able to dance Kitri in Chicago and showed no signs of injury. Good.

I wasn't criticizing either BA or their posters, many of whom are excellent, and I do accept the idea that peoples assessment,of dancers can vary.   What I am critical of is a concerted campaign against certain dancers, and in this instance Osipova, right across the internet.

 

I'm not talking about cups of tea I'm talking about cups of poison.

 I don't think there is a campaign against Osipova there, she is a controversial dancer so not all ballet fans prefer her, especially when it comes to Swan Lake. It is certainly not poison.

Well I think our opinions and tastes differ so, we must respect each others opinions and try not to criticize other fans (or other forums) views. That hostile attitude towards other forums is not nice. 

We all have our cup of teas.  

Really?!  I'd assumed he'd retired by now - the last time I noticed his name in the casting was some years ago, and he was doing Dr. Coppelius, IIRC.

　Cassidy recently did Conrad in K-Ballet's Le Corsaire and I saw that performance, he was still great as a classical dancer.

I wonder if Eifman Ballet will be touring Japan one day, it has been so long since they came here. 

Eifman's Anna Karenina is in the repertoire of National Ballet of Japan (and some dancers from the company guested), and that was very popular here. Hope the company will come here in the not so far future! 

Not only a complete Jewel by POB, also a complete Jewels by the Mariinsky. There seems to be some problems with the filming of POB Jewels, and the movements are very blurry, very distracting although the performance was good so I could only manage to watch it once.

The Mariinsky Jewels recording has some very odd camera angles but at least the filming quality is better and Lopatkina in Diamonds is such a treat. 

Recently, a series of Balanchine New York City Ballet in Montreal has been issued and it is a 1950s recording where you can see such amazing dancers there such as Maria Tallchief, Tanaquil Le Clercq, Jacques d'Amboise, Diana Adams, Arthur Mitchell, Violette Verdy

Can anyone tell me about the Ballets de Monte-Carlo and the R&J at Coliseum. Has anyone seen them?

They have just been in Japan for their tour performing Maillot's LAC (Swan Lake). Le Ballet de Monte-Carlo is fabulous, most dancers are very tall and gorgeous, some are from classical companies such as Pacific North West Ballet, and they are both good in classic technique and dramatic expression. I strongly recommend to see them. 

As for Maillot's R & J, it is very modern but a beautiful production and as mentioned above, danced by quite many companies such as Pacific North West Ballet, Northern Ballet, National Ballet of Korea. 

According to the Dansomanie forum, in the Mariinsky Festival program, Fateyev mentioned that they will be performing at the Paris Opera in January 2017. 

You can queue inside at the box office on the day of performance for returns (mainly from hotels and travel agents). I've done this twice and managed to get good seats. You may have to queue for a few hours so bring a good book!!

One of my friends managed to get an amphitheatre ticket for Nicolas Le Riche's farewell performance by queuing from 5:00am on the day of the performance. (well she could return home after buying the ticket to have some sleep before the performance)