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Birdsall

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About Birdsall

  • Birthday 11/02/1967

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  • Location:
    Gainesville, FL USA
  • Interests
    Ballet, opera, yoga, dogs....
  1. If you view the "oriental" carpet arm dance as a distinctly Mariinsky moment it might not bother you (people in general, I mean). The Mariinsky (Vaganova trained) dancers are famous for their flowing "boneless" arms and the carpet dance shows this training off, in my opinion. I love watching how a dance can be made with just the arms. The puppet show is deleted when Vaganova students are not available. Even in summer during the White Nights Festival at the Mariinsky there is no puppet show because Vaganova students are on break. The puppet show is there when Vaganova is in session. Just saw Batoeva and Stepin in DQ today after arriving from Florida! Batoeva was a joy with playful balances!
  2. Ivanchenko does seem to have the attitude, "Why do a triple when a double is good enough!" I think he is used for someone like Kondaurova because she is tall and he is probably one of the few males who would be taller and can lift her easily. His partnering skills are still decent and he can help make the ballerina look good. But I agree with everyone.....by himself he is sort of phoning it in as if he is thinking, "Another Swan Lake....yawn....." and while dancing he is thinking, "What errands do I need to run tomorrow?" It's a shame, because you can tell he had a solid grounding in Vaganova method (his arms, partnering). I suspect he doesn't have a passion for what he does. He just does it. Parish tends to get good reviews, and I have no problem when he dances solos, but my major problem with him is that he slows down ballerinas on assisted turns, especially during paddle turns. The second he puts his hands on the ballerina to help her maintain her turns she comes to almost a halt. Just this past December Tereshkina was almost knocked off center during the paddle turns, and she is an excellent turner. She would have done better if he had NOT assisted her and she simply turned on her own. I have witnessed this happen every time he assists ballerinas, and the same ballerinas never slow down with other male partners during their turns. So this is a major problem, in my personal opinion. I hope he is better in London. I met him very briefly in the Mariinsky's lobby once and he is a very sweet person, so I hesitate to say anything negative, but this particular issue is a major problem.
  3. Thank you, Alison and Penelope! The Russian doctor at the hospital pushed my two front teeth back in place and wired them to the teeth on the side, and when I returned to the U.S. I had root canals (which are no big deal on the front teeth....you feel nothing) and then had Invisalign (invisible braces) to correct the misaligned teeth. The doctor pushed them back as best he could, but they were not right. So, it was costly. The doctors in the U.S. said the Russian doctor did the best thing he could have. I think the mugging could have happened anywhere in the world (London, New York, etc). so I personally do not think it was necessarily something that happened because I was in Russia. It was raining and very late at night (actually very early morning). The attacker took me down so professionally and somehow hit me just right to knock me out after taking me down. I am 6 feet and 190 lbs., so I never thoguht I would be a target. I knew my way around, and was rushing back to my hotel in the rain, so it wasn't like I was standing around lost like a tourist, but it is just one of those things. Despite that I love the city of St. Petersburg and plan to return eventually. It is a beautiful city once you get to know it. I thought it was nice on my first visit but not spectacular but each visit made me love it even more. It is the type of city that grows on you. And the gorgeous Mariinsky Theatre is like walking into a fairytale world. For anyone reading do not let my mugging keep you from going if you have never been. The Mariinsky Theatre is totally worth a trip there!!! The auditorium has a very beautiful warm glow to it (in contrast the Bolshoi is so bright and brash you feel like you need sunglasses).
  4. I am fairly new to this forum, but I have read on occasion, but I am in the US, so I am rarely on here. I am a huge Mariinsky fan, and I am planning on a trip to London to see them, because last time I was in St. Petersburg I got mugged and teeth bashed in so my partner and parents keep begging me not to return yet again. So I am seeing the Mariinsky in alternative locations temporarily because I promised not to go back for a couple of years. Lopatkina announced being out all season due to an injury (must be a major one). Just mentioning because someone asked above. I think assoluta is absolutely correct that Osmolkina/Stepin is the best Swan Lake cast. Unfortunately, I can not stay in London that long, so I will catch Osmolkina in the matinee without Stepin. In my opinion, if you choose only one performance of SL in London it should be one of the Osmolkina performances. She has probably the best flowing arms after Novikova (who is not going on this tour). The gorgeous flowing arms, in my personal opinion, are what make the Mariinsky "it" for most of us Mariinsky fans. Other companies are just as good from the waist down, but if very fluid, flowing spines and arms are your thing, the Mariinsky is the best. I am at a loss as to why the West loves Kondaurova so much. I think she can be very nice in soloist roles, but every time I have seen her in the U.S. or St. Petersburg she seems to have several minor mistakes that over time when it happens every time you see her, you get tired of it. I think she has an aristocratic "look" and that is something Westerners expect and now want in a Russian ballerina, and she is sometimes capable of a certain flowing quality, but for the most part I have always found her best in things like Carmen Suite or modern things or in a solo in Paquita (but not as the main ballerina). I guess taste is always subjective, and I plan to see her on this run and give her a try, because I had a ticket to see her in SL in Baden-Baden on Dec. 25 and had to give the ticket away to a friend's relative because I had been going back and forth from Baden-Baden and Mannheim and got too tired. So I plan to see Kondaurova, Osmolkina, Matvienko, Tereshkina, and Chebykina. I saw Tereshkina in SL in Baden-Baden, and I agree that she is mainly a technical ballerina, but I enjoyed her Odette better than I thought I would, and her Odile is always deliciously evil. When I saw Chebykina in SL in St. Petersburg I thought it was horrendous. For example, when Odile realizes Odette is in the window or mirror or whatever it is she gets a look on her face like, "Uh oh! The jig is up!" and she looked like Lucille Ball who just got caught by Desi Arnaz eating too much chocolate. I actually laughed out loud, BUT I am hoping she has been coached better, and I have heard she is dancing better, so I am willing to give her a second chance. But just in case I bought a cheap ticket to that particular performance. Anyway, those are my thoughts in case they help anyone in choosing. One last thought about Mariinsky ballerinas: I think Lopatkina has changed what people look for in a Mariinsky ballerina. They consider her ultra regal and sort of cold and expect Mariinsky ballerinas to be that way (diva-like), so since Kondaurova has a similar aura/look they like her. But the best Mariinsky ballerinas are the sweet, delicate, flowing creatures who seem like alien beings like flowing sea creatures who dance and make you smile. The best Mariinsky ballerinas are delightful, not cold or regal, in my personal opinion.
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