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Amelia

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    Nina Timofeeva/Timofeyeva

    in Performances seen & general discussions

    Posted · Edited by Amelia
    Added more recordings.

    Nina Timofeeva was a participant in the very first tour of Bolshoi Ballet in London in 1956, after she had just been transferred from the Kirov/Mariinsky Theatre.
    The best Swan of the Bolshoi Ballet Maya Plisetskaya was restricted to travel abroad for political reasons: her father was shot during Stalin's "purges".
    So Nina danced "Swan Lake" in London. She was a remarkable ballerina with a very strong technique. The best Aegina in "Spartacus". I have seen her on stage more than once.
    You can see her in the pas de deux from "La Bayadère" with Mikhail Lavrovsky:

     

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    Ballet in Paris, 2023 - 2024

    in Ballet / Dance news & information

    Posted

    19 hours ago, FionaE said:

    My memory of the Matthew Bourne R&J was that it was set in an institution / prison for young adults.  It’s not explained why.  There wasn’t any portrayal of madness.  

     

    The marketing for the summer 2023 tour says:

    “Confined against their will by a society that seeks to divide, our two young lovers must follow their hearts as they risk everything to be together. “

     

    True, this is a citation from 'The Guardian'.
    In 2019, some reviewers used different descriptions:
    - "Designs suggest an asylum or sanitorium of sorts, a place where white-uniformed disturbed people are locked up..."
    - "An alternative adaptation of 'Romeo & Juliet' set in a mental hospital called 'Verona Institute’…"
    - "Verona Institute, populated by teenagers who are strictly policed by guards and medics.  controlled through medication and punishment…"
    - "Romeo meets Juliet in a brutal ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’-style psychiatric hospital-cum-borstal…"

    Ballet in Paris, 2023 - 2024

    in Ballet / Dance news & information

    Posted

    5 hours ago, Lizbie1 said:

    On a recent trip to Paris I saw a new opera production set in a mental hospital. Some members of the chorus had been directed to portray "simple"/"mad" people in a way that I thought was almost parodic and grossly insensitive. I was astonished that it had been allowed on stage.

    I don't know if there's a different level of so-called sensitivity in Paris (or whether it's just that fashionable directors get a free pass, there or more widely - artistic freedom?) but to me this was far more offensive than anything in Fille.

     

    A few years ago Matthew Bourne produced his alternative adaptation of "Romeo and Juliet" set in a mental hospital called 'Verona Institute’. Unless I missed something, I don’t remember any critical remarks against this choice of place where the actions of this ballet unfold. It means for me that the choreographer covered this point thoughtfully, with tact, and the inhabitants of that institution did not become a target for sneers from the audience. However, I wouldn’t like to see what you, Lizbie1, saw in Paris and described as "almost parodic and grossly insensitive” portrayal of mental patients. I wonder how the audience reacted to this? 
    Where the not very bright Alain is concerned I don’t feel that this character provokes an unpleasant reaction and sneers. On the contrary, when sensitively performed, without exaggeration, he elicits warm feelings and is no less lovable character than the leading 'heroes'.

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    'The Glory of the Bolshoi Ballet'

    in Performances seen & general discussions

    Posted

    It is interesting to compare different productions of ballets with the same title and the same music. While I was waiting for my first “Cinderella” in the current block, I remembered the very first “Cinderella”, which I saw at Bolshoi in 1948 with a very young Raissa Struchkova.
    After "Romeo and Juliet" was staged at the Leningrad Kirov (Mariinsky) Theatre, Prokofiev, who was greatly impressed by Galina Ulanova’s Juliet, decided to write a ballet especially for her and chose Cinderella. However, due to theatrical political shenanigans, on the opening night in Moscow in November 1945, the dashing and daring virtuoso Olga Lepeshinskaya danced the leading role. Later Ulanova danced and also Marina Semyonova. In order to see each ballerina Prokofiev came to performances 3 times and every time watched one act only.
    Much later, in 1960, a ballet film "The Crystal Slipper" was made on the base of this production, with Raissa Struchkova who was now 12 years older and her raven-black hair were made blond. Prince was Gennady Ledyakh, the Spring - Katya Maximova and the Summer - Elena Ryabinkina.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIo1bdJLPZc
     

     

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    A new production of The Pharaoh's Daughter

    in Ballet / Dance news & information

    Posted · Edited by Amelia
    economised layout

    I scraped together as much dancing as I could.
    Ekaterina Kondaurova talks about pantomime {Mariinsky's website):  https://vk.com/video-130074765_456241155
    Maria Shirinkina as Ramsea {including Monkey):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqPL0EitbEQ
    Maria Ilyushkina as Aspiccia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnp1rc7UTcA
    Curtain calls with Maria Khoreva & Philipp Stepin:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxPE3S1pX-4
     
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    'The Glory of the Bolshoi Ballet'

    in Performances seen & general discussions

    Posted · Edited by Amelia
    changed layout

    I came across the film about Ludmila Semenyaka made in 1979, which I haven’t seen before, and was captivated by it. It contains 6 scenes from ballets, mainly duets: Legend of Love, Swan Lake, Spartacus, Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty. The ballerina sparkles there with her technique, temperament and physical perfection. There are no commentaries in the film, and only in 2-3 sequences you can hear the tweeting voice of Lyudmila, telling about her roles and about her teacher, Galina Ulanova. The scenes from the performances are interspersed with clips of Ulanova coaching Lyudmila for Giselle. In my view, it is a treasure, an echo of the "golden age" of Bolshoi Ballet.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbTvGqKh3Lc&t=25s

     
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    A new production of The Pharaoh's Daughter

    in Ballet / Dance news & information

    Posted

    17 hours ago, jmhopton said:

    Isn't it a lion in Pharaohs Daughter? The hero saves the Egyptian Princess from this lion ...

     

    Among the amusing theatrical incidents, there was one that happened at the opening night of "The Pharaoh's Daughter." Petipa explained to a super, who impersonated the lion, how, after being shot, he should jump off the bridge into the Nile. 
    When this moment came during the performance and a shot rang out, the "lion" hurriedly crossed himself from right to left and jumped down. The audience erupted in laughter: an Orthodox lion in Ancient Egypt!

    • Like 9

    Vaganova Academy news

    in Ballet / Dance news & information

    Posted · Edited by Amelia
    a link added

    The graduation concert was 8 months ago. During the autumn and winter months the Academy was preparing for the annual block of “Nutcrackers”. They claim that their version is based on the original, first production at Mariinsky Theatre in 1892. In December 2022, it was shown in Moscow, on the huge stage of the Kremlin Palace: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TtgXdwp08I
    To answer your question, Jeannette, I am not aware of any announcements about the graduation concert in June ’23 but I saw on the Academy’s website that now they are preparing to commemorate several anniversaries associated with the name of the choreographer Fyodor Lopukhov, including 50 years since his death (1886-1973). Lydia Lopokova, by the way, was his younger sister.
    In his honor, students of the Academy are preparing a concert to be held on 17 March at the Hermitage Theatre. It will show: Part 1 of his Dance Symphony, choreographic miniatures from the "Pictures at an Exhibition" cycle and other pieces. The choreography is revived by his grandson Fyodor Lopukhov Jr., also a graduate of our Academy.
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    Vaganova Academy news

    in Ballet / Dance news & information

    Posted · Edited by Amelia
    Corrected the month.

    If you haven’t seen it yet, please, enjoy it now in a very good quality.

           Vaganova Academy graduation concert in Moscow, June 2022.
    Part 1 — Gioconda, by Petipa /?/ 
    Flower Festival in Genzano, by Bournonville
    The Classic Symphony, by L.Lavrovsky
    Part 2 — Raymonda, Act 3, by Grigorovich
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    Glazunov - Les Ruses d’Amour / The Trial of Damis?

    in Performances seen & general discussions

    Posted

    "Les Ruses d'Amour" / "Trial of Damis”

    The choreographer and author of the restoration Stanislav Belyaevsky said the return of the performance became possible thanks to a joint project of the State Hermitage Museum, Yuri Berestov and the Ayra Company.

    The performance of 21 Dec 2020 at The Hermitage Theater can be watched here:

    https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=%D1%81%D0%BB%D1%83%D0%B6%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BA%D0%B0+%D0%B3%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%B6%D0%B0+%D0%B8%D1%81%D0%BF%D1%8B%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5+%D0%B4%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%81%D0%B0&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:29550e46,vid:HAjbtglQwis

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