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nakisfrance

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  1. The following article is my personal tribute to the incomparable Sylvie Guillem who on December 31st will perform her very last show as a dancer in Tokyo (with "Béjart's "Bolero"). Au revoir Sylvie: The ultimate dancer brings down the curtain on her own terms On December 29, 1984 after a memorable performance of “Swan Lake” at the Paris Opera, the great Rudolph Nureyev named an extraordinary 19-year-old into an étoile. Her name Sylvie Guillem. Nureyev’s instincts were as usually right. He may have been difficult at times, but he was also generous and had a true vision about the dance world, something cruelly missing in our days. Sylvie was the youngest dancer ever at the Paris Opera to accede to that highest honor and she also became the brightest star the ballet world has known. In two days on December 31st, she will give her final performance as a dancer in Tokyo with Béjart’s “Boléro”. It is she who decided to bring down the curtain on her own terms at this specific point of her career while she is still at the very top of her profession. The announcement of her retirement has made headlines around the world and for good reason. No other ballerina has marked the art of ballet like she did. She, like Baryshnikov, became the ultimate dancer, breathing new life into the classical repertoire and being equally mesmerizing in contemporary works. I did not have the chance to witness her miraculous beginnings at the Paris Opera in the eighties. It took me 11 years after her consecration as étoile to first see her on stage. It was at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris in 1995 and she was dancing Béjart’s (the first great master in Sylvie’s career) “Sissi”, “La Luna” and the “Bolero” as well as that breathtaking pas de deux of Forsythe’s “Herman Sherman”. Without the shadow of a doubt, I knew that I had experienced the same awe, the same wondrous amazement as the first audiences who discovered Sylvie at her beginnings in Paris. She was everything one secretly hopes to see on stage and so much more. It is not an easy task to explain her genius. I suppose it was the way she occupied and commanded the stage, a creature from another planet, yet so utterly human and so in rapport with her audience. Each muscle of her body, each fiber, each expression was telling us volumes about the character she was portraying and the woman as well. Exquisite grace and musicality, precision and yet so much freedom of movement, steely control and passion, brilliant, unforced technique always used with intelligence and good taste to serve the part and the choreographies. Such was the mastery of her craft that her art was and has always remained ideally invisible. And that charisma which cannot be explained or analyzed. Once she entered the stage nothing else in the world seemed to matter and she drew the audience to her like a magnet. A true, rare star who brought a much needed air of glamour and chic, but also excitement, emotion and modernity into the often dusty world of ballet. In retrospect, what is striking among other things about Sylvie is that she was a complete artist very early on in her career. Think of the celebrated “Raymonda” variation which we have watched countless times on youtube or video. I can think of no other ballerina who brought so much vitality to this piece, so much charm and beauty, such majestic presence and authority. Then watch the film of “Cinderella” in the Nureyev version. She masters the choreography to perfection, yet she also gives so much of herself to the part, she is equally at ease whether portraying Cinderella in rags, or radiating with glamour and grace during the ball scene. And she shows a brilliant clown-like sense of humor in her imitation of Chaplin in “The Kid” as well as a breathtaking assurance and elegance worthy of Fred Astaire in the subsequent tap dance variation. Sylvie had all the qualities which distinguished the very great ballerinas who preceded her, the masterful, heartfelt and intelligent approach towards characterization as well as a strong personality. But she was also a woman of our times with some special quality which made her a creature of the future as well. She was the past, the present and the future of ballet. The dance world would never be the same again after Sylvie and it was no wonder that like for Callas in opera, there was an era before Guillem and one after Guillem. This inevitably caused quite a stir and there were detractors. Some critics said that she was cold. This might be explained as Sylvie has said in interviews because she took away what she felt was superfluous in ballet and her critics simply did not recognize the gestures they used to see on stage. Less is more, and so much more effective. If she did not feel like doing a certain gesture which meant nothing to her, she would not do it. What Sylvie gave on stage had meaning, truth, substance and beauty because it really sprang from her very depth and because she was a believer in what she was doing. A frustrated Vittoria Ottolenghi called her « The icy Divine » admiting that she could not « get » neither Guillem, neither Baryshnikov the two most admired dancers in the world. Without attempting an analysis of Ottolenghi’s arguments, by defining Sylvie as Divine, even an « icy » one, wasn’t she already expressing some secret, suppressed admiration that she refused to accept, simply because Guillem represented a different image of the ballerina than the one she was used to ? I also believe that her critics never forgave her independent spirit. “Too uncompromising” said the similarly frustrated Clement Crisp of “The Financial Times”. I suppose he, like others, preferred their ballerinas to be obedient little creatures and could not forgive Sylvie for being herself, supremely free and master of her own destiny. Guillem who could be the epitome of discipline and artistic integrity as far as her approach to her work was concerned but she could not be put under the scrutiny and dustiness of administrative institutions, otherwise she suffocated. She needed her freedom to make her own decisions and even occasionally her own mistakes. The art of dancing is an ephemeral one. Every day counts and Sylvie always knew that and had no time to waste. Seeing Guillem in a classical ballet like “Sleeping Beauty”, “Swan Lake” or “Don Quichotte” would be a true revelation. I remember her in “Sleeping Beauty” with such awe and emotion! She took the part of princess Aurora, so one dimensional in the hands and feet of other ballerinas and gave it meaning, beauty and complexity. The technique was astounding, yet so natural and unforced and so in tune with the character. I especially remember that divine variation of Aurora’s vision. This was not just dancing, it was pure poetry and grace in motion. If Beauty could find its ultimate expression it would be in this precise, ideal moment. All of a sudden, people like me and so many others, by no means dance purists, felt that these often-called “academic” ballets came beautifully to life and the audience was allowed to live a full-fledged theatrical experience. I also felt that strongly when I saw her unforgettable “Giselle” in Paris with Laurent Hilaire. Sylvie was not trying to be a romantic heroine. She was timeless, a complex, fully alive, generous creature who could be of any century. One had to see her mad scene to realize how an intelligent artist can make all the difference and infuse new life into a ballet. I never saw heartbreak so eloquently expressed. When Sylvie presented, some time after, her own memorable version of “Giselle”, she explained that she was inspired by Jacques Brel’s song “Orly” for that particular scene, when the heroine all of a sudden loses love. It was that abrupt, terrifying realization that love has gone forever which made her portrayal so moving and shattering. And I can still see her at the end of the second act, an exquisite spirit disappearing forever into her grave, yet that generous heart of Giselle and her undying love for Albrecht still shone through. When Sylvie left the Paris Opera she flourished as a guest at the Royal Ballet in London and one has to be grateful to the wonderful Anthony Dowell for his vision, patience and sensitivity to the needs of this one-of-a-kind artist, giving her all the freedom she needed. He also opened new artistic horizons for her and she expanded her repertory with works from MacMillan and Ashton. It was the witty Dowell who named her “Mademoiselle Non” and she accepted it with good humor. For it is a very nice tribute indeed to someone who always had the guts to say no when she felt that a choreography or a partner were not right for her and who simply wished to assume her own choices. A life without compromise. How many other examples can we single out of an uncompromising free spirit defying conventions in a world where compromise reigns? Sylvie could be highly critical when she did not like a choreographer, but she could also be equally enthusiastic and open when she admired someone, like besides Bejart, Mats Ek and William Forsythe. It was she who insisted and succeeded the entrance of Mats Ek into the Royal Ballet’s repertory. I remember clearly that moment when she starred in his “Carmen” at the Royal Ballet with Massimo Murru. She was a fiery, fearless, gutsy Carmen and she mastered to perfection the unique dance vocabulary of Mats. She had already marked our generation and subsequent ones when she first danced in the nineties two of his choreographies especially made for her “Smoke” and “Wet Woman”. There was humor, gravity, irony, passion and a strange sense of elegance in these works and Sylvie threw herself completely into this universe and made it her own. Forsythe was another master in her career and together they changed the rules of the game. No one danced his abstract, yet substantial choreographies like Sylvie did with such energy, such fearlessness, glamour and chic. From the ground-breaking “In the middle”, as well as “Steptext”, “Herman Sherman” or most recently “Rearray” she explored all the corners of the dance vocabulary and became the standard and the ideal towards which most other dancers strive hopelessly to attain. During the years that followed, after my first introduction to Sylvie, I had numerous occasions to see her on stage, mostly between London and Paris, especially during her triumphant returns to the Paris Opera as well as to other theaters and dance festivals in Europe. One particularly memorable occasion was in 1998 when she returned to the Paris Opera as a guest for 3 ballets (Don Quichotte, Nureyev’s Romeo and Juliet and MacMillan’s Manon). Her Juliet was a truly Shakespearean creature. We could see before our very eyes this young girl growing into a formidable young, passionate woman, falling in love, defying the authority of her parents and society and meeting her death as a conscious choice, that of an uncompromising creature. And her partnership with Laurent HIlaire her Romeo was wondrous and magical! These two spoke with their breaths, with their eyes, their bodies. They made us believe in Romeo and Juliet not just as dancers who perform exceptionally well the steps of a choreography, but as human beings. In about 2h30 the audience had lived fully with them, loved, suffered, dreamed and knew all there is to know about life and death at once. And then came Manon as they say and like many others I felt that my life would never be the same again. One day someone should write a book or an extensive essay about Sylvie’s Manon, one of the towering artistic achievements of the stage world of all times. So complete was her immersion to this part that to my mind she makes no other Manon imaginable (despite some remarkable performances from other exceptional ballerinas). It is as if the character was created especially and exclusively for her, both as Abbé Prevost imagined her to be in the novel as well as in the MacMillan ballet. Sylvie has the deepest understanding of this character. Manon is not evil or over-calculating, or over dramatic as many other ballerinas portray her. She is a supremely free spirit, with no consciousness about what is moral or not, delightfully light and carefree. And this quality is also what makes her downfall all the more moving, for she finds herself trapped and fights hopelessly for her freedom and her love for De Grieux (which she fully realizes when it is too late). I remember my first Manon with Sylvie and Hilaire as they literally set the house on fire with their passionate portrayals. When Sylvie rose to dance Manon’s variation at the brothel scene, I instinctively knew, although I had never seen the ballet before that this was an exceptional, privileged moment. There was such lightness in her dancing, such glamour and precision and musicality as well as an unmistakable and truthful sense of portraying and growing within a character. Her death scene was heart wrenching with total freedom of movement and abandonment. We could feel her pain as well as her tragic destiny and at the same time we were in awe before this amazing, titanic creature defying death itself, with limbs and arms occupying space like some sort of huge wings in a desperate struggle for survival. Although doomed from the beginning, she fought valiantly for her life and her freedom with a most memorable tragic, epic grandeur. Even death would bow before this Beauty leaving her last breadth in the Louisiana swamps. In 2011, after several years of absence from the big opera houses in Europe Sylvie returned to Manon at La Scala with Massimo Murru as De Grieux. I remember clearly how nervous I and many other spectators felt before the performance thinking. Will she be up to this challenge? Not only she was up to it, but with Murru’s magical support she gave the performance of a lifetime. It was during Manon’s variation that an awestruck Italian spectator screamed out loud what every single member in the audience was thinking. “Divina”. The echo of that word will always be engraved in our memories for years to come, a reminder of witnessing true greatness on stage. What a befitting word to describe Sylvie and her art! Sylvie was also, as always, an expert in making an entrance as well as exit a stage and immediately suggesting what her character was thinking and feeling and its evolution as well. When she first came down from the carriage to greet her brother, she was full of innocent charm and liveliness. When she entered the brothel room in her long coat she was majestic and radiated beauty and sensuality. And when she made her appearance at the docks in the Louisiana, exhausted and worn out from the hardships of life, she was a tragic creature struck by destiny and the cruelty of men who had once adored her. This infinite sense of detail she brings to her characters over the years, the limitless capacity of always wanting to do better, is also something constant with Sylvie. If you saw a performance of Manon, Sleeping Beauty or Juliet, or Marguerite, the next one, or the following ones would never be the same. She always strove to add more dimension to her parts and kept astonishing and challenging her audience. Her last Marguerite with Murru in Athens during Christmas 2013 was an unforgettable experience. I had already seen her first Marguerite in London with Nicolas Le Riche in the parts tailor made for Nureyev and Fonteyn. Wisely, she never attempted to portray Marguerite as Margot did. There was nothing too worldly or Grande-dame like in her portrayal. She quite simply became Marguerite Gautier, the young courtesan of the 19th century who loves and dies for love. When she last played Marguerite in Athens her understanding of the character grew even deeper. With Massimo Murru she elevated her into the ultimate ideal of a noble soul sacrificing herself to the alter of love. There was such heartbreak in her performance, such beauty, such wonderful detail of emotion and warmth and pain in her final reunion and embrace with Armand during the death scene. Sylvie’s Marguerite was as much a creature of flesh and blood as well as a magnificent, generous soul exquisitely evaporating into the air as she left her last breath in Murru’s desperate arms. Sylvie always puts the very maximum to her work. She also chose her dance partners with great care. How could a Juliet or a Manon, a Giselle or a Marguerite click and come to life if they do not find their match in their Romeo, De Grieux , Albrecht and Armand? This is why her dance partnerships over the years with Laurent Hilaire, Jonathan Cope, Nicolas Le Riche and Massimo Murru were privileged and had some very special magic. And the same could be said of her fruitful collaborations with contemporary choreographers and dancers like Russel Maliphant or Akram Khan. She always established a constructive dialogue with her partners on stage and that dialogue managed to reach out and touch the audience. Sylvie’s symbiotic relationship with her audience is to my mind the very essence of what makes a truly great artist. We all have such fond memories of Sylvie transfixed with emotion and joy taking endless bows after a performance, genuinely astonished by the love of the audience she is so rightfully receiving. No studied diva poses but a genuine, touching humility instead lighting up her whole being and a privileged intimate moment between her and her audience. I still encounter or talk to people from Italy, the US, Greece, Japan, Spain who say with such awe: “I saw her in Manon at la Scala in 2011” and how that changed their lives with the same emotion with let us say, audience members recalling having seen Maria Callas in the Visconti production of “La Traviata” in 1955 at La Scala. How many times can we say that a dancer, a singer or an actor we saw on stage literally made a difference in our lives? Before seeing Sylvie on stage, I never, ever thought that this could be possible in ballet, but she did that in a most profound, exciting way. I remember waiting for her with a friend after the first of her farewell performances with “Life in Progress” in Lyon during the festival “Les Nuits de Fourvière” last summer. There was this woman next to us who spoke rather loudly and who did not seem to know a thing about dancing. But it didn’t matter. She was eagerly waiting to see Sylvie after the show simply to tell her how she was deeply moved by her as a woman after having seen her in Mats Ek’s “Bye”. This is the essence of dancing, of all theatrical forms as a matter of fact, make a difference in one’s life, the ability to touch an audience, and to tell each member something which they will carry with them after the show, some emotion, some joy, some sadness as well and magic. Thanks to Sylvie’s presence, the lives of so many spectators around the world became infinitely happier and exciting and this in itself is possibly the greatest achievement any artist can strive for. She leaves the stage which has been her home for decades, the dance stage at any rate, with an incomparable legacy, such diversity in her repertory and risky choices that no other dancer could match. We may regret for not having seen her dance for Pina Bausch, perhaps some more Balanchine choreographies or for not realizing her life-long dream of portraying Cranco’s Tatiana. And I would have loved to see her in her mature years in Agnes de Mille’s “Fall River Legend” a part she had danced magnificently according to those who saw her many years ago. And how I longed to see another collaboration with that genius named Robert Lepage! They had already explored brilliantly the androgynous side of human nature, the almost invisible boundaries in sexuality one seldom sees on stage in their unjustly underestimated “Eonnagata”. One could only dream what they could achieve together in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”! But no time for regrets. Sylvie’s career is complete and extraordinary and she has good reason to be proud of her achievements. Sylvie never took anything for granted. She approached the choreographies she danced with total commitment and artistic integrity, with passion and intelligence and she always deeply respected her audience. And she kept alive that wondrous curiosity of hers, always exploring new paths, taking risks. Even for her farewell tour, she did just that. No nostalgic pas de deux from classical ballet, no old favorites to please the audience but new works (with the exception of “Bye”). She was a force of nature in A. Khan’s marvelous “Techne”, a fascinating dialogue of Sylvie the woman with nature. And she was a joy to watch in a wonderful pas de deux by Maliphant, expertly exploring space and light with Emanuela Montanari as her partner. During this year when she announced her retirement and during numerous performances with her latest show “A Life in progress” we all have shed many tears in the theaters, at the stage doors waiting to greet her and even secretly once returning home. The dance world and the world stage will never, ever be the same again after December 31st of this year and the void she is leaving behind her is an abyssal one. From now on, we just have to learn to live with that void even if it is not an easy task. In the years to come, like some characters in Proust’s novels we will rely on our memories to recapture and relive the glory of her dancing and the extraordinary sensations and emotions she has left us through her stage performances. These will make the burden of her absence less unbearable and they can still give us much happiness as time goes by. Sylvie has always been an unpredictable creature, which is part of her charm and she will most certainly keep on amazing us and herself as well with that new chapter of her life which is opening soon. She can enjoy more fully the simple pleasures of life. She also has many worthy causes which are close to her heart for the defense of the environment and animal welfare (among others, she is an ardent supporter of the marine conservation organization Sea Shepherd and the seed foundation Association Kokopelli for the protection of planetary biodiversity, medicinal plants and the production of organic seeds) and I sincerely wish her all the very best in the future. In two days, as she prepares to take her final bow as a dancer, we also bow before her with love and respect for allowing us to share a bit of her divinity, for allowing us to live a thousand lives each time she entered the skin of Manon, Juliet, Giselle, Marguerite, Carmen or princess Aurora and so many other choreographies. And that light, as radiant as her smile, emanating from her whole being which has lit up all the stages around the world she has graced will always cast away the shadows of darkness and mediocrity which may surround us in the years to come. by Nakis IOANNIDES,
  2. Those who were unable to see Sylvie Guillem's farewell shows in England, France or elsewhere, there will be an added performance of "Life in Progress" on October 29th in Milan, Italy at Teatro Arcimboldi. Tickets are on sale with ticketone. http://teatroarcimboldi.it/event.php?id=533
  3. Luckily for those of us who had tickets the performances of "Sacred Monsters" did take place on Friday and Saturday, the final ever of this wonderful show and they were utterly moving, utterly funny, utterly enchanting. Hard to say goodbye to these "Sacred Monsters" which have accompanied us for 8 years now since their creation. It is true now that with the announcement of Sylvie's retirement in 2015 tickets for her performances go really, really fast so if you have a chance to get a ticket to attend any of her upcoming performances do not hesitate. Here are some of the confirmed dates for her farewell tour in 2015. March 31 2015 Teatro Communale Luciano Pavarotti in Modena Italy. April 4th Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome, Italy. May 26th to May 30th at Sadler's which as you have noticed are already sold out but still you can always check for returns. June 3rd and June 4th Athens Festival in Greece Moscow Chekhov Festival on June 23rd , 24th ,25th , 26th 2015 Festival "Les Nuits de Fourvière" Lyon, France from June 29th to JUly 2nd Genova in Italy July 5th Teatro Carlo Fenice Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris from Septrember 17th to September 20th About getting tickets. For Modena box office opens on January 7th. For Genova I believe it is December 10th. For Lyon it will be around March 16 or 17 you have to check the website of the Festival. For Moscow I believe box office is already open. For the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris usually the announce their program on April 8th and then you have instructions for box office. I think usually it is around the end of June.
  4. Being inspirational to other dancers, pushing the boundaries of the body language, as well as having a certain aura and impact on the public is important in my opinion in what makes a great dancer. The historical context and importance of a dancer is also important this is why, Pavlova would be justly included in such lists. If I were to make such a list (I would include ballerinas starting from the twentieth century since we do have some records of their art as well) would be besides Anna Pavlova: Sylvie Guillem, Maya Plisetskaya, Margot Fonteyn, Gelsey Kirkland, Carla Fracci, Yvette Chauviré, Alessandra Ferri, Natalia Makarova, Noëla Pontois, Ghislaine Thesmar, Alicia Alonso. Now, If I were to make my own personal list of my 12 favorite ballerinas (included are the ones I could see live on stage and/or in recorded performances) would be the following: Sylvie Guillem, Maya Plisetskaya, Margot Fonteyn, Carla Fracci, Gelsey Kirkland, Lucia Lacarra, Alessandra Ferri, Isabelle Guérin, Ghislaine Thesmar, Ulyana Lopatkina, Diana Vishneva, Monique Loudières.
  5. This is an interesting topic and naturally any list of any field (actors, singers etc) would be subjective. Not so long ago I remember a list of the greatest actors of all time and no1 was Judy Dench who of course is extraordinary but it was focused on british actors and even in that respect was not complete ( the great Peggy Ascroft was not on the list for example). To go back to this list, I would say several criteria could be taken into account. The appeal of a ballerina, popularity, versatility, charisma and influence. There are some dancers who have reshaped the language of dancing and the very image of female dancers. Two names which come to mind are Sylvie Guillem and Plissetkaya (the latter unfortunatly not included on the list). So the influential dancer, whether male or female is important in my opinion in shaping such a list. Today when asked many dancers (confirmed) or even aspiring ones around the world whom they considere as a model the answer usually is Guillem for female dancers and Baryshnikov for male dancers. And if I were to make a list of great male dancers Baryshnikov, Nureyev and Vassiliev would definitely be there). With regards to this list, no objection at all (to the contrary) to the inclusion of Fonteyn since she did have that mythical status of a great international ballerina with huge appeal. And thinking about some of the very great ballerinas of the last century some of the names which immediately come to my mind are also Kirkland, Carla Fracci, Yvette Chauviré and Makharova. These I would include over let us say Osipova (who still has a long way to go) and even the wonderful Rojo or Cojocaru.
  6. Sylvie Guillem appeared during Christmas time at Megaron Mousikis in Athens in what may be qualified a true Greek marathon. Seven performances of "Sacred Monsters" with matinees on Saturday and Sunday plus the night performances followed closely by six performances of "Marguerite et Armand". The experience was overwhelming. "Sacred Monsters" her collaboration with A. Khan remains as fresh and wonderful as ever, so full of wit, charm, intelligence, beauty, humour and sensuality. Two dancers from totally different horizons unite their forces driven quite simply by those qualities all great artists have in common. Curiosity, passion, quest for perfection and generosity towards the audience. These elements contribute in creating a choreography which is atypical and unusual (this is meant as a compliment) and is both intelligent and popular for the audience. Sylvie even in the most contemporary context retains the grace and beauty of the utlimate ballerina, but she has the genius to adapt to different styles and the meeting between ballet and kathak is a happy one. "Marguerite and Armand" was preceded by "Etudes" a wonderful, inventive choreography by Harald Lander. It was beautifully danced by the Tokyo Ballet perfectly tuned, with great ease, elegance and a perfect sens of coordination. And then from virtuosity to pure emotion. As we know Guillem was the first to have "dared" touch "Marguerite and Armand" after the mythican couple Nureyev and Fonteyn d made it its own for decades. When she first presented it at the Royal Ballet she was partnered by the marvellous Nicolas Le Riche. In Athens it was Massimo Murru of La Scala who accompagnied her. It was a match made in heaven. In about 35 or so minutes all the intensity, the passion, the beauty of Marguerite and Armand was present. Each tiny gesture counted, every facial expression accompagnied the movement and seemed a natural extension of it. What is striking is how beautifully Sylvie's Marguerite has matured. She has preserved that wonderufl youthful and glittering quality of hers that makes her so appealing in parts like Manon or Juliet, but she has added this certain quality of knowing all too well the superficial demimonde into which the Lady of the Camelias is living. So her first gaze at Massimo Murru strikes like a thunder and her abandon and joy in the scene in the country are contagious. This Marguerite knows all too well that happiness like this is not detsined to last forever so she wants to live it as fully as possible. Isn't this a perfect metaphor: Marguerite clinging to each moment of happiness since she never knows what tomorrow brings and a ballerina, any ballerina for that matter clinging with utter intensity to her art, since the future can be so uncertain for dancers (in the case of Guillem she is at the top of her profession for more than three decades so she could be among the exceptions). Olivier Chanut portrayed Armand's father with dignity and authority and had a true rapport with Guillem who elevated the scene into great heights of dramatic intensity. As for her farewell with Armand, it was pure emotion. And that raw emotion, the struggle of a powerful loving soul with an ailing body of the dying courtesan who becomes a frantic, fragile, girl as she is reunited with her Armand, were hertbreaking. As always, Sylvie's work en pointes was exemplary and utterly beautiful and as expressive as ever. And the pas de deux with Murru show two artists at the top of their powers and artistic maturity who really know how to create emotion for the audience. "Marguerite et Armand" was masterfully accompanied on the piano (Franz Liszt's B minor piano sonata) by Davide Cabassi. Here is a report on Greek television for the opening night of "Marguerite et Armand" with some extracts: http://www.megatv.com/megagegonota/summary.asp?catid=27386&subid=2&pubid=32796782
  7. It appears, when I tried to access, that there is a paid subscription in order to have access on the articles which was not the case before.
  8. Also forgot to mention that the during the Christmas Gala at Megaron Mousikis in Athens, besides the two shows mentioned above with Sylvie, the Tokyo Ballet will also be presenting a special version of “The Sleeping Beauty” from December 25th to December 30th. For more information here: http://www.megaron.gr/default.asp?pid=5&la=2&evID=1556 And since we are talking about Athens during Christmas time, two other wonderful dancers, Lucia Lacarra and Marlon Dino will be gracing the stage in Athens on December 25th and December 26th (evening performances) with “The Nutcracker” by the Latvian National Opera Ballet at the Badmington Theater in Athens: http://www-en.elculture.gr/theater/kariothraustis-lnob-712170
  9. Thank you Janet for welcoming to this forum. Will be back soon hopefully with more news or exchanges on other topics.
  10. Sylvie Guillem will be offering two different facets of her immense talent at Megaron Concert Hall in Athens (Megaron Mousikis) around Christmas time: « Sacred Monsters » with A. Khan from December 19th to December 23rd http://www.megaron.gr/default.asp?la=2&pid=5&evID=1542 And right after that “Marguerite et Armand” by Ashton partnered by Massimo Murru and the Tokyo Ballet from December 25th to December 30th http://www.megaron.gr/default.asp?pid=5&la=2&evID=1551
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