Amelia

An evening with the stars of Midnight Express at Freed of London: Wednesday, 20 March 2013 http://www.dancing-times.co.uk/news/item/1164-an-evening-with-the-stars-of-midnight-express-at-freed-of-london

I don't usually enjoy fims with violent scenes, which is quite a fashion now. I find some 'rough' scenes in ballet not very much to my taste. However, I bought a ticket for 'Midnight Express' as early as I could for three reasons: Polunin, Zelensky, Eagling.

Clarissa, You wrote after quoting Farfallina’s request for translation of an article, so the reader will expect to see it. However, apart from mentioning ‘three warnings’, your posting is not a translation of that article at all. There was nothing in the article about ‘serious acid burns’ or Tsiskaridze ‘saying that it is him, who should be the Bolshoi Theatre director’ or his claims that he is not given ‘a freedom of speech’ or ‘Mr. Iksanov mainly was not happy with his words about Filin's burns’. It is true that ‘Mr.Tsiskaridze is a very famous artist’ but the article mentioned neither this no that ‘nobody would dismiss him’. If all this are your own speculations, I cannot see why they should be linked to the article provided by Farfallina? If they come from another source, a link could be welcome. Edited for correcting layout.

Yesterday and today senior citizens could exchange their cheaper tickets (£15) for the Balcony to much better seats like Upper Circle, Row C, without paying extra money. To my surprise, I discovered that not everyone working at the Box Office was aware of this offer. So it took a few minutes to find the person who allowed the exchange. edited for typo

On the 16th of December last year Irina Perren gave birth to a baby daughter.

Olga Smirnova's interview in The Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/9952435/Olga-Smirnova-dancing-in-the-dark.html

Two Mikhailovsky's Giselles are compared in The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2013/mar/25/mikhailovsky-ballet-london-season-giselle

TELEGRAPH PRIORITY BOOKING: The Bolshoi will be at the Royal Opera House, London WC2, from July 29-Aug 17. Telegraph Subscriber Privilege Card holders have priority booking from Monday until April 8. To book, ring 020 7304 4000 and quote ‘Telegraph subscriber’ and your subscriber number. Check box-office times before calling. Public booking opens on April 9: 020 7304 4000; roh.org.uk/bolshoi

Ten extracts from 'Mayerling' with Sergei Polunun at Stanislavsky Thetare in Moscow: http://www.youtube.com/user/fiordililia

The News in Moscow inform about the opening night of 'Mayerling' at Stanislavsky Theatre tonight, in fact, right now. There are some scenes here from the dress rehearsal after which Polunin, as he admitted, was shaking at the knees. http://player.rutv.ru/index/iframe/video_cid/75185

The media’s phraseology about events in Moscow, like ‘Is the Bolshoi Doomed?’, is becoming crazier and crazier. Those who doubt that Russians have a sense of humour could read a new joke in a paper yesterday: “The Bolshoi arrived at Chicago to begin a tour. The horror-stricken Chicago mafia fled the city.”

I am sorry that I cannot find enough time to except against several strange, in my view, statements, which appeared on this page, and will confine myself to one particular piece of misinformation, which was quoted above. It gives the link to a statement in a well-known tabloid, which shines as a prime example of inaccuracy in reporting. Under the headline “Bolshoi dismissed Nikolai Tsiskaridze” the reporter claimed that the idea of his dismissal belonged to Grigorovich. And to prove his own claim he cited the words of the press secretary: ‘Grigorovich’s request was dictated by the specifics of the Bolshoi’s continued operation after the reconstruction. The management considered Grigorovich’s request to be important taking into account the need to return all major productions to the main stage’. Why should Tsiskaridze be dismissed in this context? What the reporter missed to mention is that the press secretary never claimed that Grigorovich referred toTsiskaridze. His request concerned another person. After the Bolshoi’s reconstruction, Grigorovich was asked to oversee the transfer of his major works, like Spartacus, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, etc., to the main stage. He agreed, of course, but asked the Bolshoi to employ as his assistant the former dancer and repetiteur the 76-y-o Regina Nikiforova. The Bolshoi’s management readily agreed and for enabling them to employ Nikiforova full-time swiftly dismissed two half-time repetiteurs, Tsiskaridze and Godovsky. Why on Earth would Grigorovich requested to dismiss Tsiskaridze who gives class in good faith every day and rehearses with his pupils? The very idea of Grigorovich requesting Tsiskaridze’s dismissal will make laugh anyone who knows about their good relationship. It was the management who found that personnel solution. Where the paper’s report is concerned one can only keep guessing whether it was a kind of journalistic manipulation or may be the reporter didn’t bother to listen properly. In any case the false claim became another sensation and, as we can see, continues to be quoted even in foreign forums.

Exactly, Alison. His wishful thinking. That is why I posted it here. But it looks that he genuinely believes in this.

http://rg.ru/2013/03/20/teatr.html Some Russian publications informed their readers of the new wave of rumours that ballet lovers in England are prepared to boycot the forthcoming Bolshoi’s performances at Covent Garden in July-August for being allegedly indignant with the barbaric methods of solving ‘industrial disputes’ in the celebrated theatre. Some journalists asked the distinguished critic Clement Crisp to comment on these rumours. His reply was long and contained such words: ‘We loved the Bolshoi since 1956, when it first arrived in London for the tour, which did so much for relationship of Soviet Russia with the rest of the world that no any politicians could do... And no one, I assure you, none of the English ballet lovers intends to change their attitude to the theatre because of the problems experienced by famous troupe today… … Many have already booked tickets for the upcoming tour…”

What an excellent news! Nikolai Gustavovich Legat did deserve it! It is No.46 in Colet Gardens, isn't it? Thank you, Bruce, for this information. He was buried in Tunbridge Wells: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSsr=481&GSvcid=14409&GRid=32471259& The last para added.

On one hand, “it looks” and “it seems”; on the other hand, there are strong accusations of T. in doing his best to spread misinformation and hatred. Can it be proved that this is misinformation and hatred? The Russian media has a field day now and the papers are full of contradicting articles and statements. Therefore, Marissa, I cannot even ask you, as MAB once did, to give a link.

Moscow, 18 Mar, RIA Novosti news agency. The metropolitan police had not received any statements from the artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet Sergei Filin about threats against him from the Principal of the ballet company Nikolai Tsiskaridze. RIA Novosti was informed of this on Monday by the press-service of the General Directorate of security for Moscow. РИА Новости http://ria.ru/incidents/20130318/927785714.html#13636002979583&message=resize&relto=register&action=addClass&value=registration#ixzz2NuJWrFHd

Svetlana Lunkina visits Princeton. From Facebook taken at Princeton University, with pictures of her masterclass: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151593911955774.1073741826.18058830773&type=1&buffer_share=8f8f8&utm_source=buffer It looks less and less probable that we will see her in Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Bayadere and Diamonds this summer. What an unfortunate and sad loss, definitely for me! Just want to beg: Svetlana, please come.

A press conference in Aachen 2 days ago - German doctors hopeful Bolshoi's ballet chief will recover enough eyesight to work again. There are some pictures there too: http://www.newser.com/article/da51k2v01/german-doctors-hopeful-bolshois-ballet-chief-will-recover-enough-eyesight-to-work-again.html

News about Osipova-Vasiliev's performance in Melbourne: http://www.behindballet.com/our-russian-guest-stars/

Quote: Definitely staying away - to indicate my opposition to Putin's regime that allows such lawless tyranny to flourish. Sorry, I’m of a different opinion. Following this logic hundreds of hard-working dancers and other workers of the Bolshoi Theatre are supposed to be boycotted as not worthy of continuing their professional life and earning an honest livelihood - because of the horrendous crime committed by 1 or 3 people and now, additionally, because of Putin’s regime. Dreadful crimes do happen. Political regimes can be monstrous. But why to pick on a ballet company and make it pay for crimes of others? There was a protest march today here in London, starting in the Holloway Road, Islington, about … we can read in papers what it was about. Whatever happened there I am sure that the protesters didn’t call to stay away from the performances of the top ballet company in London.

Congratulations to you, Nottsballetlover and Sim, for buying your tickets. I have to confess that I bought my tickets, all standing, for every single performance and it has not been a tough decision for me to make. How can I miss seeing those gorgeous soloists and excellent corps! I pray for Sergei Filin’s recovery but this dramatic event cannot stop me loving ballet, and the Bolshoi Ballet in particular. Yes, Sergei is the Artistic Director and there are over 200 dancers in his company. How can it help the recovery of Sergei’s health and spirit if ballet lovers start to hesitate about buying tickets for the Bolshoi’s performances? Sorry, The Bolshoi’s dancers are as strong as ever. That was them who were paying tribute to classics at the Coliseum last Sunday: La fille du pharaoh, Les Sylphides and Diamonds (in all fairness, the Danes did good pdd too). I am personally looking forward to the Bolshoi’s season with excitement. Of course it would be wonderful to see ‘Le Corsaire’, ‘La fille du pharaoh’, ‘Esmeralda’, ‘Coppelia’, ‘Raymonda’ and ‘The Lost Illusions’ as well. But perhaps some of them will come here in 2015!

http://ruvr.co.uk/2013_03_12/Bolshoi-ballerinas-express-sadness-at-Filin-attack/ Bolshoi ballerinas express sadness at Filin attack. Ballerinas Ekaterina Krysanova and Evgenia Obraztsova and also Dmitry Gruzdev and Wayne Eagling interviewed during a break in rehearsals for a ballet gala at the Coliseum in London on 10.03.13. Plus some additional information from Moscow. Edited for typo, as usual.

Quote: "From his earliest performances, Polunin was electrifying. His childhood training as a gymnast had not only developed his natural plasticity but also instilled in him a hankering for risk, which he indulges in breathtaking eruptions of virtuosity. In Polunin's dancing, the Russian-male bravura is never an end in itself, and is always tempered by an English finesse: freeze the frames on YouTube and the transitions between steps are paradigms of perfection though they retain a resolutely masculine vulnerability." This quote is taken from CR Fashion Book magazine: http://vk.com/photo-48675996_300420085 The link also offers a good pastime at weekend - to see 236 photographs of Polunin, spanning his performances, rehearsals and life events from London to Moscow to Novisibirsk. Fascinating.

A wonderful news! Ivan Vasiliev at last felt strong enough to make his début at La Scala yesterday in the role of Quasimodo in Roland Petit’s bal­let Notre-Dame de Paris. It was highly successful: http://www.gramilano.com/2013/03/ivan-vasiliev-drives-milan-wild-in-his-la-scala-debut/?fb_source=pubv1