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BeauxArts

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  1. BeauxArts
    Alison - I thought it was an exercise in obfuscation and ducking the issue, but maybe something was lost in google translate?! I think Zelensky is conflicted/compromised on this issue for reasons which are well-rehearsed elsewhere on the board. Whose interests will he put first, I wonder, if it goes to the line?
  2. BeauxArts
    It would be an extraordinary coup for ENB or BRB to acquire the Ratmansky Bayadere, I saw Simkin and Anna Ol in the lead roles in November last year, and thought the entire performance and the production were splendid. Solor's role has been cut back from a choreographic perspective but he does have one fiendishly challenging solo (which Simkin danced brilliantly). I have to say - as with Bruce W above - for me the Ratmansky version is superior in pretty much all departments to the RB's version. The designs are wonderful. (And the parrots are still there....) (This comment probably does not belong on this thread!)
  3. BeauxArts
    The Munich Staatsballet have released this press statement on the current Polunin fiasco: https://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&prev=search&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=ru&sp=nmt4&u=https://www.staatsoper.de/presse/presseinformationen/presse-infos-ballett/mitteilung/news/presseerklaerung-nikolaus-bachler-und-igor-zelensky-zum-engagement-von-sergei-polunin.html%3Fno_cache%3D1%26cHash%3D917cd9cb4336b137063827a521d1d7ff&xid=17259,15700022,15700124,15700186,15700190,15700201,15700248&usg=ALkJrhg88Yy2RPOafYsmK8SH-jWKUB-7Pg They seem to be reserving their position until he is in Munich for the forthcoming performances of Raymonda, when they will have the chance to speak with him. But the performances go ahead.
  4. BeauxArts
    I think Zelensky was "the friend" the last time Polunin went off the rails post-RB departure, but Zelensky is-it would seem (CF: Crimea ballet school and theatre project inter alia) - aligned with Putin so is perhaps going to be conflicted on this issue. In any event, I am wondering if Zelensky will come under pressure at Munich to re-think Polunin's permanent guest status with that company. The POB invitation seems to me to have been wholly unjustified on artistic merits: if you had your choice of leading male dancers to invite to guest in Swan Lake would you seriously consider Polunin on artistic merit? He is surely a shadow of his former self as a classical ballet dancer. I am not sure the invitation reflects well on Dupont's own judgement in the first place. All in all, a sad sequence of events, and until Polunin withdraws from social media and addresses whatever is going on for him it seems likely to continue on its downwards trajectory... As to the tattoo: I think that he is seen covering up all of his earlier tattoos in the Dancer film when performing in Giselle, so I guess this is one more to be included!
  5. BeauxArts
    A very early contender for outstanding performance of the year - Jeffrey Cirio as Siegfried. I will be amazed (and delighted, of course!) if I see a more rounded, more technically accomplished performance this year in this role. He was excellent in every respect, and I especially appreciated his total commitment dramatically and as a partner. I fully agree with all of annamk's comments above about Alina, the company and the orchestra; they mirror my own feelings about the performance. Well done ENB.
  6. BeauxArts
    I was able to see this programme twice and found both performances to be an unalloyed pleasure. I have seen both of Yudes' performances as the Blue Boy and thought he was exceptional last night - really well-danced and musical. Winter Dreams: Morera and Hirano: I actually found Hirano to be more imposing both dance-wise and dramatically than on the first outing together before Christmas, but strangely I was not as moved last night as I had been by their first performance, although the stand-out on both occasions has been Morera - she is exceptional in this role. Very happy to see The Concert again - a lot of fun. What an excellent triple bill this has been.
  7. BeauxArts
    In no particular order: 1. Danii Simkin/Anna Ol - Ratmansky's Bayadere (Berlin); totally committed performances and spectacular dancing in a spectacular production. 2. Vladimir Shklyarov - Onegin, Spartacus and Des Grieux: a beautiful and multi-faceted dancer. 3.Laura Morera - Winter Dreams; a clever artist -less is more. 4.Alina Cojucaru - Sleeping Beauty; exquisite in every way, 5.Matthew Ball's debut in Mayerling - a bit of a white-knuckle ride but for me it was really impressive.
  8. BeauxArts
    Have sent you a PM
  9. BeauxArts
    Please may I have 27.2?
  10. BeauxArts
    That is true for all of his cinematic ventures to date (other than Dancer, of course). He has certainly extracted the maximum from these appearances though, in terms of media exposure.
  11. BeauxArts
    Hello I would like to take this please.
  12. BeauxArts
    Thanks Daisy!
  13. BeauxArts
    Hello Daisy I would like to take the performance tickets please.
  14. BeauxArts
    Polunin has given an interview recently in which he says that he intends to rent a flat in Moscow and to start en educational programme in schools to teach ballet in a ‘positive way’. He compèred a gala this Summer in the Crimea, arranged by Zelensky and attended by Putin, and there is a big project afoot to build a ballet school and performing arts centre there: I am sure all these events, including the tattoo, are entirely unconnected ...😉
  15. BeauxArts
    Good for you! It is an even bigger part for Nikiya than in the RB version - she carries the entire drama and has alot of dancing. I really enjoyed it and hope you do too!
  16. BeauxArts
    That should be Akane (or Takada) (of course!)
  17. BeauxArts
    Last night: I thought the dancing in S in C was effervescent - it was a really enjoyable performance. Infra made for fascinating viewing (for me, at least) but I found the young cast did not pack the emotional punch that I had experienced when I last saw it danced by the Mariinsky. Also, I was not sure that the all dancers had really mastered the particular choreographic idiom, although I agree that Akada was completely compelling. Last and very much least, for me, was the US: I think that this is a facile work, far too derivative, and not helped by the music (composed by numbers?) or designs (ill-conceived). It is a sign that something is awry , surely, when the spoken extracts are more effective than the dance content.. I think that it was a wasted opportunity, and reflects serious errors of judgment by a number of people involved (not on the stage). I absolve the dancers because they danced with full commitment but I don't think that anyone could salvage this vapid piece.
  18. BeauxArts
    Corrales made a very strong debut as Solor. I thought he handled the task with aplomb and intelligence: he paced himself well as there is a lot of partnering to get through. He is a fine partener for such a young dancer - no problèm with the supported pirouettes or lifts: he was attentive to both leading ladies. Technically he is of course very strong - spectacular pirouettes in particular. But his virtuosity was at the service of the role rarher than vice versa. My personal reservation is that I am not keen on his line, but there is no doubt that Mr Corrales is a real star in the making. The corps were excellent in the Shades Act.
  19. BeauxArts
    Thank you Floss: very illuminating. I shall watch the performance on Saturday with even more interest.
  20. BeauxArts
    I am seeing this production on Saturday (10th): Anna Ol and Daniil Simkin leading the cast - am really looking forward to it, especially after reading your thoughts, Vanartus!
  21. BeauxArts
    An excellent debut by Matthew Ball. He navigated the longueurs of the first scenes cautiously but the final pdd in Act 1 was impressive. However, he really started to ratchet up the intensity in Act 2, brilliantly aided by Melissa Hamilton who I thought contributed magnificently to their passionate folie à deux.. by Act 3 it was absolutely gripping and they danced to the death with I think nearly all the auditorium in their dramatic thrall. This was - in my opinion - a really well danced and superbly acted debut by Mr Ball. He should be very proud.
  22. BeauxArts
    He certainly was pre-injury - was that during the Filin tenure? He was in Russia in July - I think - to dance Giselle with the Mariinsky and made a visit to the Bolshoi while he was there - maybe the invitation was made at that point.
  23. BeauxArts
    I believe that the last time the Bolshoi performed La Bayadere in London was in August 2013? Since then attitudes towards this issue in the performing arts in many Western countries have surely changed (see for example only "non-traditional casting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color-blind_casting)? I simply observe that it was - for me - now in 2018 disconcerting to see the children in blackface. Would an English company use it without some reflection on whether it is appropriate in today's culture, I wonder?
  24. BeauxArts
    The US site Balletalert has a long thread about this issue, and refers to it as “black!face” I saw the Bolshoi perform La Bayadere at La Scala just over a week ago, and indeed the child performers appeared in “black face”. To say that it was disconcerting - at least for me - would be an understatement. But it did not seem to provoke any discomfort in the wider audience - or none that was noticeable. However, I cannot see that the company will be able to replicate this in their London performances - unless they wish to court serious controversy to the detriment of their performances.
  25. BeauxArts
    Bruce - I am assuming she will be invited to dance in Jewels.. scheduled for later this year.
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