MaggiM

If it was unflattering is a matter of taste (I don't agree), but fact is, other dancers, including Nurejev and Barishnikov, didn't wear the original overall, as can be easily seen in YouTube. I saw even professional critics mention the costum "problem", they forgot what they have seen? For surely they saw? It was as if ENB or Ivan Vasiliev were guilty of major heresy, while it was Roland Petit who either approved or decided - there is a video where the choreographer himself is splattering paint on his Ivan Vasiliev's jeans. Small flaws like this, coming from professionals... makes you wonder! Bringing guests means all involved can exchange experience and knowledge, the more different their backgrounds, the more interesting and enriching it can be. It's not just a ticket selling strategy, and there is no implicit low evaluation of the house artists - if anything, it's just the opposite: you don't bring an outsider, if you think s/he will put your own group to shame. Today we have a guest in our company, tomorrow our artists guest somewhere else. So let's enjoy excellence in diversity: it's good for the artists, it's good for us.

Excessive bends, twists, manhandling and weird positions to which female dancers are subjected by some choreographers are disturbing to me, too. They don't look just "aesthetically unpleasant", they look and are agressive, and usually out of context. Maybe these choreographers don't hate women - I don't know the first thing about their private selves - but it looks anyway like they hate. This issue has been raised by other reviewers, more than once, here and in the press. Maybe it was time to be more emphatic, as Ms. Weybie was. I'm grateful.------------------------------------------------ Trying to evade a scold by blaming someone else is mean and imature. ------------------------------------------------ So there were problems at rehearsals, tells us Mr.Couchman, complaining bitterly that dancers showed no respect working with him. And the other way round? Does he respect them? Permeating his libel is the notion that dancers should be like sponges: inert material that must absorb "an artist's particular vision and style, if they like them or not". It seems only the choreographer is an artist! Indeed, true artistry in dancers, according to this professional, comes down to put all their physical resources at the choreographer's disposal. He wants dancing machines, just clever enough to perfectly understand what is asked of them. If he has any regard for their feelings, opinions, ideas, doubts, discomfort, personal expression, individual talent, well... he forgot to mention. In fact, it looks more like he sees all that as a damn nuisance.Human Seasons needs this kind of dancer to become a work of art, he says. Well...

What an absurd notion If they are willing to spend resources on surveys, they could try to understand audiences, instead. Who they are, why they come, what do they expect, what they would like to happen, what they miss. It would give a richer feedback (beyond ticket sales) on the "eyes and ears of time", badly needed nowadays, imho, in the scenic arts.

For me it seems this is becoming a trend. Maybe because of increased "quality control" on correct lines and/or clean feet/positions before and after a movement? I don't know. You can easily take nice pictures of many moments, but what happens in-between, the actual dancing movement, receives less attention, is made with less grace, meaning and intensity than it deserved. I have an annoyingly ease to notice, as for me it is a major flaw Of course, when I say it happens more often doesn't mean I find all dancers (or their coachers!!!) "guilty". But anyway more common now, even in principals. Sad.

I'm learning so much! And your comments, Floss, seem to me amazingly pertinent and clearheaded. I thank you too.

In the premiere run of new DQ, in February, my impression was exactly the same as yours, and felt like a kind of culmination of a trend that had begun long before that. Vaziev was not yet AD, so it was not his fault, but does he like what he has now? Hard to say. Time will tell.

Thank you, Sheherezade, I was trying to write along exactly the same lines, but you did it beautifully.

Janet, I'm Brazilian, live all the way down in the South, very far from the big cities where all that is important about Ballet happens. Unfortunately, most of my contact with Ballet is virtual, with the exception of maybe two months a year when I am "based" in Germany - my opportunity to see live performances in Europe. I'm a keen reader of reviews and ballet forums, to keep me informed and learning, and to help me choose what I will try to see the next time... I'm grateful for the information and knowledge I find here! I saw Solo For Two in London, 2014, the reason why I'm interested in this Triple Bill. Osipova and Polunin have made some unusual professional decisions lately, I was wondering about their health and priorities, and curious about developments in her contemporary work. As in Solo For Two, I see totally divergent opinions, and it is not always easy to figure out the premises of each writer to understand why. But some comments... I cannot believe, for example, that it was under-rehearsed. I'm not doubting the writer's impression, it's just that both Osipova and Polunin are great, experienced dancers, and have been preparing this show for months! Solo For Two was prepared in a single month, and I could see nothing that needed more rehearsal, not the slightest hesitation or blurred movement - but I also had accepted that well known steps might not be performed in a classical way, and must be seen in the context of a different aesthetic and intention. The choreographers were Osipova's choice in both occasions, and if in Solo For Two Cherkaoui and Naharin made versions of existing pieces, you never know what will come out when it is a new work. Choreographers are human, may be more or less inspired. It is very frustrating, however, if the outcome is not up to the dancers' potential, as several reviews imply. For them and for us. Expectations were very, very high, both times, all expected some miracle to happen. Not reasonable, and an extra weight for anyone who is venturing in new ways.

Thank you! I have been following the forum for some time now, I like the debates! However, since English is not my native language, I don't understand some expressions... and sometimes they are important. I hope not to bother you very often with this kind of question.

Hahaha, ok! thank you.

I don't get it, what do you mean?