fillebiengardee

8 minutes ago, Sim said:

Yes....she executed a backbend whilst on her knees, lost her balance and rolled over onto the floor.  

 

This was a very awkward moment, to be sure, but thankfully wasn't a crash and there was no injury.  However, I felt she rallied strongly and was on form in Acts 2 and 3.  By the end, she really seemed to enjoy herself and she received a lot of applause.   I suspect that having an early setback can be a relief to a dancer in a very exposed role: they think the worst is behind them and they can only improve from here; also the audience is now more on their side.

 

I did enjoy this performance, but it wasn't as dazzling as the previous night's and I don't think Rodkin was in his element.  I just don't see him as a humorous person, whereas Motta Soarer, Ivan Vasiliev, Carlos Acosta are funny and like messing about on stage.  Rodkin is better in straight-faced roles, like Spartak.

 

I like this production and this series a lot.  I think I have seen the best (Osipova/Vasiliev), which made everyone laugh out loud and catch their breath, but Ekaterina Krysanova and Motta Soares were very, very special and the production is fast moving and has lots of highlights.  The costumes are very rich and characteristic and the dream sequence is extremely pretty.  I'm guessing that a lot of the pantomime involving Don Q (especially the new travelling theatre that Scheherezade mentions above) must be episodes from the novel to bring the whole production a bit closer to source material but I haven't read up on this yet.

 

Fabulous and super-confident Kitri from Ekaterina Krysanova - she really appeared to enjoy herself and her lovely, elegant partner last night.  I agree with Anna MK above: the fouetté's were dazzle dazzle and I usually don't look forward to them because of the risk and circus factor but Krysanova is such a virtuoso, you can relax and get a real thrill out of her: even though she has such long legs, they're always so precise and so speedy. I also loved her understated and very musical Dulcinella variation in Act 3 - really filling out the phrases with her arabesque.  

 

All the Spanish and Flamenco ladies' dancing was superb too - stylish and indulgent as well as frosty and controlled.

 

I'm also looking forward to Yulia Stepanova tonight because I love her saucy act and she's so, so beautiful.

After grumbling about Swan Lake, I want to endorse Bright Stream which I saw tonight (Wednesday) and encourage anyone who can to see it tomorrow.  There's a lot of pantomime, but I smiled all the way through and found it quite charming.  It's a bit like a Shakespeare comedy - but with great music, dancing and nicer costumes.  The 'jokes' are just as cheesy: a man pretending to be a woman never gets old. The company seemed to be very happy too and it was quite snappy.  Always leave them wanting more!

 

It was such a relief!  I have seen it in the cinema but it didn't make such an impression on me as this.  The set was beautiful and well-lit and the costumes for the corps were distinctive and charming - lots of differentiation which would mean more to a soviet/Russian audience but was generally very pretty.  

 

The dancing was outstanding.  I love E Krysanova - to me, she's the Marianela Nunes of the Bolshoi - technically perfect and effortless but also incredibly versatile and I would say a bit more dramatically sophisticated.  I would see her in anything and she looked gorgeous on stage with her long limbs and virtuosity in the 'boy' scenes.  I was really pleased, too, to see Denis Savin who I think is the best male dancer at the Bolshoi, also an elegant and easy dancer who plays character roles with a huge range, here a lecherous accordion player.  I don't know if he ever wanted to be a prince, but ballet dancers don't get to pick and choose very much and he is always brilliant whenever I've seen him.

 

Thanks to Chris G who posted the interview with Daria Khoklova in which she explained the feeling of the Russian audience to this rose-coloured view of the collective farm.  She was perfect and played beautifully off Ekaterina K.  

 

Lastly, Ruslan Svortsov kept a tight grip on the audience in his scenes - you can look on Youtube if you can't see the show in London.

 

 

I also just got back from the performance mentioned above and agree with DanJL.  I love Stepanova anyway but was impressed at how nuanced her presentation of the white swan was - showing the frustration of being trapped, (although why she is trapped is never explained) and giving a fairly wild, precarious, full-on performance.  She was excellent as Aegina too last week.

 

On the whole, I'm really shocked this Swan Lake production is still going - the story makes no sense to me, and I have read the programme notes.  I find the jester getting in the way all the time very annoying, although tonight's Georgy Gusev was virtuosic. I mainly hate the supposed 'Evil Genius' whose awkward gestures and pointless interference can be difficult to tune out.  However, I managed to more successfully tonight.  What a thankless part - presumably, Grigorovich wanted more male roles in the show.  I also think that the Liam Scarlett version has borrowed too much from this and I preferred the Dowell RB production.

 

The settings are so drab too - everything gloomy, broad brush, greenish grey with no romance.  I don't see the appeal of the Grigorovich/Virsaladze pieces really, they seem very flawed - apart from that they must be cheap to put on (or too expensive to re-stage).

 

Anyway, I'm looking forward to the cheery soviet Bright Stream and Don Q for a bit of light relief.  

 

 

Anna was given several principal parts last season and, I am very sorry to say that, practically in every one of them there was a serious problem. These are not  the things to be discussed in public so I will not say anything beyond this. Vaziev in full knowledge of the potential problem gave Anna another chance, a debut in "Giselle" in late Spring, and his decision was met left-and-right by a lot of skepticism, speaking politely. And there was a problem indeed. In London Anna performed the roles ideally suited to her current capabilities. Another thing is that when one sees Anna regularly, her strong acting and playing towards the audience quickly starts to feel as over-acting and not particularly subtle, and becomes wearisome as a result, this a complaint I frequently hear from seasoned ballet lovers in Moscow.

 

I was referring only to the London season.

Wow, I am really sorry if my slightly off-hand criticism of Stepanova helped to start this argument. It might be worth remembering that most of what we post in this forum is personal opinion, and although we all have sensible reasons for our opinions, they are mostly based on personal taste and personal perception. As capybara pointed out, many of us are poor hapless Brits, who are reliant on Bolshoi tours, YouTube and DVDs for information.

 

fillebiengardee - Thank you for the videos! (And I love your story about Tikhomirova's Gamzatti! She definitely dominated as the Spanish Princess in Swan Lake and the Street Dancer in Don Quixote this summer, so I confess I'm not surprised that she had a similar effect in Bayadere.) I actually did really enjoy Stepanova's Nikiya (a role I can be picky about, as that solo is one of my favourites) so thank you for sharing. It seems like she just wasn't at her best in London. My policy tends to be not to write off a dancer at first glance, as I've had many changes of opinion over the years. Most people have good and bad moments and good and bad roles. 

 

I quite agree - I also think that we have inexplicable biases and preferences - I know I can be a bit all-or-nothing in my reactions and have my favourites, but then along comes a revelatory performance from someone I'd pretty much dismissed which makes me realise again exactly what you said (I don't want to give names in a negative context).

That's a very good description of Tikhomirova; she has an excellent stage presence. It's true that I haven't seen Stepanova in a lot of things, and it can be easy to get the wrong impression of a dancer if they happen to be having a bad night. What roles in particular would you recommend I look at?

 

I think she's very musical and engaging in this Russian Dance from Swan Lake:

 

and in this clip she's making love to the examiners in a very confident way for a young student:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOwvvVhM98w

 

 - I love her very detailed interpretation of Nikiya here, very far from just 'sad'

 

There are 5 clips of her as Aegina in Spartacus as well where she's very funny and vampish - the choreography can be a bit 'Strictly'

 

I haven't seen her dance Gamzatti, but I have a strong memory of Anna Tikhomirova in that role a few years ago at Covent Garden - she overwhelmed poor Nikiya and the audience and I have just had to look up the rest of the cast as I had completely forgotten who I'd booked for in the first place.  I don't think Anna had any leading roles in the season just past and really feel for her as she had many performances that were memorable.  She and Ovcharenko took Yulia Stepanova and Rodkin's parts in the ballet in Flammes de Paris and were brilliant - even though I was a bit disappointed to miss Yulia.

 

I fell for Yulia S as the Firebird two or three years ago when with the Mariinsky in London - she was brilliant and imposing but no clips on youtube.

 

I hope you enjoy some of these - I've had a nice time reviewing them, I must say.

Thanks for the info, Lexy. To be honest, I'm really disappointed about Stepanova's promotion over dancers like Tikhomirova. When I saw her in London in July, I thought she was wooden and had almost a 'heavy' quality on stage, despite being a very slender girl. 

 

I agree with you about Tikhomirova - she is very commanding and seems to dance everyone else off the stage whatever role she's in - but I am really delighted about Stepanova too. Not nagging you at all, but I love Stepanova especially in character dances and 'oriental' roles - little clips of which can be found on Youtube.  I think she's very musical, alluring and confident but I don't think she was at her very best in London - I'm not mad on the extra-thin look.

Welcome to the forum, fillebiengardee!  What was the "drunken" dance to which you allude?

 

Thank you - Lexy has quoted it below from Youtube, with Maria Alexandrova - I learn that it is a horn, not a bottle.

That's "La Petite Corsaire", one of my favorite bits.   It's a horn she's holding, though, not a bottle. 

 

Thank you - she seems to be really enjoying blowing a horn - a lot more fun than waving from a balcony.

....or this one? (i.e. what fillebiengardée referred to as the 'drunken dance') - around 35 seconds into this extract

 

 

Yes - this is it - thanks for identifying it.  I thought she was suitably light and soubrettish for this dance.  I think she's a wonderful character dancer and actress who can also turn on the allure and glamour as well as refinement.  I thought she was a brilliant firebird a couple of years ago when she was with the Mariinsky.  I love a ballerina with a pointed nose, chin, square shoulders - I think Yulia's very expressive with her torso and head, epaulement and spine.  I am really pleased to have seen her this tour and for me, very exciting, along with Krysanova and Tikhomirova, who have been flawless and imposing in all their many roles.

Happy to end my Bolshoi season on the high that today's matinee turned out to be. Corsaire is only about the dancing and this afternoon the company were on top form turning in a far sharper performance than that of Thursday. Most notable was ex Mariinsky dancer Yulia Stepanova making her debut as Medora. Although she had some untidy finishes in her early variations she was soon on a roll and it was hard to believe this was her first performance in the role. She has a beautiful port de bras and already commands the stage like a grand ballerina in the best Russian tradition. Her Act 2 Jardin Anime variations were nigh on faultless. Her Conrad, Rodkin has great elevation, lightness and elegance. This afternoon his variations were much tidier than I have seen from him in other roles. His partnering is strong and effortless. A huge bravo to the corps in Jardin Anime, after 3 weeks here they must be exhausted but they were absolutely stunning. 

 

I totally agree with you, annamk - I loved Yulia Stepanova's witty, confident and precise characterisation - the way she handled the silly 'drunken' dance was very funny and I also thought that her rapport with Denis Rodkin was a highlight - better than in Swan Lake the previous week.  

 

Her stamina too - she did improve as the show went on - and she's a very beautiful woman.  Adore! This performance just flew by and everyone involved was just glorious.  I didn't see Ekaterina Krysanova's Medora, but I agree with other posters about her versatility and intelligence - she's illuminated every role this season.