Buddy

I unfortunately won't have a chance to see any of these performances, but I do thank everyone for their reviews, which I'll try to catch up on. One comment by Director Sergei Filin in an article posted here the 28th sums up my feelings almost exactly about the current *Wonderfulness* of Svetlana Zakharova. I saw her most recently last March at the Mariinsky Festival performing "Giselle." This performance I consider possibly the best performance of *Anything* that I've ever seen ! “Sveta is a star of world ballet whom people will want to see again and again,” he says. “Especially now after the birth of her child she has changed a great deal. She became even warmer, more womanly, more transparent – more magical.” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/10207889/Dancing-in-defiance.html

"A [quick] interview with Hayley Stobo, the first Scottish dancer to graduate from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy." Nice story. Glad that she made it. Congratulations and the best of success. (posted at Ballet Alert !)

Thanks, Amelia. I'm really not that familiar with politics in Russia and I had a more optimistic first opinion. Hopefully some good will come of it all.

Added quote: "When will the process be complete, when could an agreement come into force? "It's down to the elementaries - there are time limits in which the theatre administration needs to come to the negotiating table, there are regulations that govern negotiations. People simply aren't good at using Russian law, and in fact the Labour Code actually allows for very good talks to be held. It is only necessary to observe the law scrupulously."

This looks like a very interesting and possibly hopeful report from Ismene Brown posted at BalletcoForum today. I'm just getting into it. "Alexander Pochinok, Minister for Labour from 2000-4 and now a Russian Federation Council member, is a prominent economist and a frequent advocate of more modern ideas of political understanding and free expression. "Pochinok’s main initiative, he says, was to introduce outside union experts to advise the Bolshoi performers union. He stresses in the interview that Russian employment law already exists to protect workers, and that workers need to know and use existing legislation better than they do. "He also says that a new works agreement at the Bolshoi would address problems nationwide in the theatres, which hints at a more strategic reason for the government to act. One surmises a new government-backed theatre practices agreement at the Bolshoi would affect the Mariinsky, where ballerina Daria Pavlenko has been at loggerheads with general director Valery Gergiev over what she has described as long-outdated working practices formulated in Soviet times." http://www.ismeneb.com/Blog/Entries/2013/6/29_Ex-Minister_helps_Bolshoi_tackle_its_woes.html

Thanks, Janet. Isn't she beautiful (especially in slow motion). Timeless. This video was actually posted by Maria Kochetkova (SFB). https://twitter.com/balletrusse/media/grid Whitey has this to say about Maria Kochetkova: "This girl is wonderful both as a dancer, and a human being. Totally charming." (I won't post link as it will bring up another video.)

Please delete. Typo problems.

Whitey [uK] recently announced he had reached his 6.5 millionth online play, which based on his unsigned status makes him one of the most popular underground artists in the world. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitey_(musician)

This might be a nice place to post a few comments that I just recalled from Alistair Macaulay. "Is it because she’s a good sport and sweetheart that Alina Cojocaru, the Romanian-born luminary of London’s Royal Ballet, has become a staple ingredient in these compare-and-contrast sessions? Last year Ballet Theater [American Ballet Theater (ABT)] offered Ms. Cojocaru and Natalia Osipova (Bolshoi Ballet) dancing Aurora in “The Sleeping Beauty” on the same day. This weekend it showcases Ms. Cojocaru and Diana Vishneva (Mariinsky Ballet) on successive nights in the title role of “Giselle.” " http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/25/arts/dance/american-ballet-theater-hosts-alina-cojocaru-review.html "Ms. Cojocaru, the most fragile and innocent of Giselles, is the one whose acting makes the ballet most emotionally piercing. At the climax of Act I’s festival of the vine, she merely turns her head to look at Albrecht, and yet it’s a great moment." http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/21/arts/dance/osipova-vishneva-and-cojocaru-3-giselles-at-ballet-theater.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Having a ticket to this one, I was saved by the inclusion of Maria Kochetkova in her place. Of course best wishes for a speedy recovery.

As I've written here before, she was the guest star of the Mariinsky for five of their Festivals in a row until her injury a few years ago. She made one more such appearance three years ago and may have stolen the entire Festival as Giselle. And that might not have been the only one. Not bad at all. I'll certainly miss seeing her and Johan at the Royal Ballet, but hope to see her in ABT's Swan Lake later this month. I really would like to add that she is one of the sweetest, most unassuming individuals that I've ever had the pleasure to talk to. I wish her and Johan all the best.

Correction to the above. It looks like things will be starting at 5pm UK (not 6pm) at least at Mezzo.

Here are some places to try on the internet for tonight's Mariinsky II Opening Gala. Mezzo and Mezzo Live HD (6 pm UK) Perviy Kanal (Russian) Arte Live Web Mariinsky TV and Mariinsky FM Here's who's performing. http://www.mariinsky...013/5/2/3_2000/ (thanks to Sophia at Dansomanie for posting this)

A few more thoughts. Rent seems to be a major expense in St. Petersburg and the one issue that I know of that Valery Gergiev has commented on is that the Mariinsky does provide a lot of housing (free?). I was also assuming that the new Mariinsky II theatre, which is considered very fine facility wise would also provide the dancers with a much better physical environment. There does now seem to be the possibility, from first glance, that these facilities are oriented to the opera and orchestra. The arrangement of working hours and work loads does seem to be a serious issue, that may have existed since the beginning of the Mariinsky a few hundred years ago. A bit of an editorial for a moment. There are some who may believe that 'depriving' sometimes leads to greater artistic accomplishment. There might be some truth in this, but I don't think that it has to be that way. Many great artists didn't have to struggle, at least for decent living and working conditions. In the world of ballet I can cite one company anyway that I'm somewhat familiar with, the Miami City Ballet, considered by many, including myself, to be one of the finest in the world, that seems to have one the friendliest and more comfortable working environments that I've been able to casually observe. Again, here's Tamara Rojo's quote: "I always thought I would see that the art comes first and therefore these decisions have to be made. Then you meet the person and the art cannot come first, because a person is much more important." (last edit was typo corrections)

One thing to remember is that the wage scale can be much lower in Russia along with the cost of many things compared to the West. I'm not an expert on this by any means, but this is my understanding. Still, the wages quoted here seem quite modest. Added later: Here is one list of European wage scales to give us an idea. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_in_Europe_by_monthly_average_wage

This is in regard to Ismene Brown's resurrection of Daria Pavlenko's interview from last December about working conditions at the Mariinsky (posted here today). http://www.ismeneb.com/ismeneb.com/Blog/Entries/2013/4/28_The_price_of_a_Swan_in_the_Mariinsky_pay_structure.html Acknowledging that things can often be more complicated than they seem and that there are probably at least two sides to any debate, I would still like to post this quote. I've been posting it all over the internet recently, and this seems like one more good place to do so. Tamara Rojo had this to say after taking over the ENB. "I always thought I would see that the art comes first and therefore these decisions have to be made. Then you meet the person and the art cannot come first, because a person is much more important." http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/dec/30/tamara-rojo-ballet-dancer If Daria Pavlenko's concerns are as meaningful as they would seem then hopefully a satisfactory agreement for everyone involved would be a much desired outcome.The art form contains immense beauty which gives many of us a great deal of happiness. It would add greatly to my enjoyment, for one, to feel that everyone who gives us this pleasure is as happy and healthy as possible in doing so.

capybara, I totally agree with you about the La Bayadere performances. Oxana Skorik went on to be technically flawless at the Gala, dancing the very demanding Grand pas classique with perfect single, single developé(?)(leg straight out to the side), double, fouette spins. The Gala was magnificent as was all the Festival that I saw. I was only unable to see the beginning Diana Vishneva performances. At the Gala Vadim danced in the pas de deux from The Sleeping Beauty with Yekaterina Osmolkina. She was Absolutely Lovely(!) and he was a fine and sympathetic partner.

Svetlana Zakhavora "Giselle" XIII Mariinsky Festival **** Her Performance Tonight Was Possibly The Best Performance That I've Ever Seen ****

Thank you !

Can I offer my wish list on this one? Oxana Skorik (Mariinsky).

The official schedule for this year's Mariinsky Festival has just been posted. http://www.mariinsky.ru/en/playbill/festivale/fest_2012_2013/ballet_fest_230/

Translation from russian by Catherine Pawlick. "Yet another article, some info duplicative as is the case with many of these." Novosty 22 April 2013, 00:28 http://news.mail.ru/...ciety/11687333/ "Sergei Filin's eyes healing unevenly but doctors hope for the best. "And most importantly - he can see. "The progress is positive. "The doctors promise that the his face will not be disfigured. "He's eating, sleeping, meeting guests. He's a man with a sense of humor, quite active. He's a good man," the doctors smile." http://www.ballet-da...=36624&start=15

A sport jacket is probably fine, even a nice sweater or shirt. Most folks try to be somewhat dressy, but the company principals (women and men) in their second level box to the right of the stage wear blue jeans and shirts a lot, so if you do the same someone might think that you're principals.

Total aside. I saw Xander perform both times at the Costa Mesa, California, Mariinsky "Swan Lakes", as one of the three prince's friends, and he was a major highlight of the entire series. I think that he will have a brilliant future at the Mariinsky. He is also a perfect gentleman. A real UK ambassador of good will to Russia, I would think.

I've had the head in front of me experience too, Don Q Fan, but only a very few times in eight years. It's never ruined a performance for me. I'm somewhat tall, so I tend to slouch down in my seat a bit as a possible courtesy to the person behind me, but I don't worry about it and I've never noticed anyone changing seats behind me. It probably wouldn't hurt if the floor was sloped and the seats staggered, but that's not the case. I just get a little more agile in my viewing. I pretend that I'm a dancer. By the way, in my opinion, the Hermitage Museum of Art is a must ! I can get particularly attached to the Rembrandt's at times. Besides being a genius, the man had soul. There's all sorts of great stuff there to fit any mood that you might be in and it can compliment any performances that you see beautifully.