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Sergei Polunin - news and discussions - cont'd

Amelia

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Amelia

Amelia

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Sergei Polunin is delighted to announce full casting for Project Polunin’s SATORI,

which will play a limited season at the London Coliseum from 5 to 10 December 2017,

with a press night on Wednesday 6 December. 
http://www.theatre-news.com/news/UK/50244/Casting-announced-for-Project-Polunin-s-Satori?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

 

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penelopesimpson

penelopesimpson

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11 hours ago, Amelia said:

Sergei Polunin is delighted to announce full casting for Project Polunin’s SATORI,

which will play a limited season at the London Coliseum from 5 to 10 December 2017,

with a press night on Wednesday 6 December. 
http://www.theatre-news.com/news/UK/50244/Casting-announced-for-Project-Polunin-s-Satori?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

 

Oh, Joy!

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Amelia

Amelia

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1 hour ago, Geoff said:

Anyone got any views on the various pieces (not the one having a première, obviously)?

 

For me the most long wished for pieces will be from “Scriabiniana”, which I saw for the first time in the 1960s. Kasyan Goleizovsky always was inspired in his works by great music. In my view, he was the most innovative for his time and talented choreographer that the Bolshoi Ballet ever had. Sadly, only for a short period. Innovations in ballet were not encouraged officially in his time and favourable working conditions were provided not for him but for other choreographers. Here are some pieces by Goleizovsky:

Mazurka: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIBkI1_kPYE
Three Sentiments: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QndEtJqPhHo
A Poem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys3jQoFvpCQ
A Prelude with Kaleria Fedicheva & Valery Panov:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4twO-pc6_-Y

Three Preludes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb3EbE3RDnM

Edited by Amelia
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Bluebird

Bluebird

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The Coliseum website is now showing additional pieces for the matinée on Sunday December 10:

 

"On Sunday 10 December only, the programme will include the ground-breaking solo Take Me To Church, choreographed by Jade Hale Christofi, danced by Polunin, based on David LaChapelle’s video, which went viral in 2015.

Other ballets presented on Sunday 10 December include Christian Spuck’s Le Grand Pas de Deux, What Love Tells Me by John Neumeier, Memoria, Rhapsody Pas de Deux, Diana and Actaeon and Satori by Sergei Polunin."

 

https://londoncoliseum.org/whats-on/project-polunin/

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Geoff

Geoff

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On 15/11/2017 at 11:47, Amelia said:

 

For me the most long wished for pieces will be from “Scriabiniana”, which I saw for the first time in the 1960s.

 

3 hours ago, Bluebird said:

The Coliseum website is now showing additional pieces for the matinée on Sunday December 10:

 

"On Sunday 10 December only, the programme will include the ground-breaking solo Take Me To Church, choreographed by Jade Hale Christofi, danced by Polunin, based on David LaChapelle’s video, which went viral in 2015.

Other ballets presented on Sunday 10 December include Christian Spuck’s Le Grand Pas de Deux, What Love Tells Me by John Neumeier, Memoria, Rhapsody Pas de Deux, Diana and Actaeon and Satori by Sergei Polunin."

 

https://londoncoliseum.org/whats-on/project-polunin/

 

Many thanks Bluebird. So does this mean that matinee, which is when I have tickets for, won't include Scriabiniana, so liked by Amelia? We wait to see, I suppose.

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Amelia

Amelia

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13 minutes ago, Geoff said:

So does this mean that matinee, which is when I have tickets for, won't include Scriabiniana, so liked by Amelia? We wait to see, I suppose.

 

The Coliseum’s website still lists this programme:

 

            "Performances between 5-9 December feature First Solo, a new short ballet starring Sergei, and created by award-winning choreographer Andrey Kaydanovskiy; Scriabiniana, with backing by a full orchestra, is the London premiere of the most complete version of Kasyan Goleizovsky’s ballet suite; and we finish with the world premiere of Satori, choreographed by Sergei, directed by Gabriel Marcel del Vecchio and with an original score by multi-award-winning composer Lorenz Dangel.
On Sunday 10 December only, the programme will include the ground-breaking solo Take Me To Church, choreographed by Jade Hale Christofi, danced by Polunin, based on David LaChapelle’s video, which went viral in 2015.
             Other ballets presented on Sunday 10 December include Christian Spuck’s Le Grand Pas de Deux, What Love Tells Me by John Neumeier, Memoria, Rhapsody Pas de Deux, Diana and Actaeon and Satori by Sergei Polunin."

 

So I still hope to enjoy "Scriabiniana" on the 5th. You can, Geoff, buy tickets for any date from 5th to 9th. Don't miss Goleizovsky. Apart from "Narcissus" he is usually not performed here. So worth of seeing.

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Coated

Coated

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They just released a few balcony front row tickets for the Sun matinee, they definitely weren't there when I checked last week. Couldn't resist and now get to see both programmes . I'm rather curious to see how Take me to Church looks on a large stage presumably without the rather nice video set (I'll be a little disappointed to watch a roof instead of Polunin).

 

Does anyone have an educated guess on how long the Sun performance will be? 2 1/2 hours? 

 

 

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bridiem

bridiem

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1 hour ago, capybara said:

Another interview: http://the-talks.com/interview/sergei-polunin/

 

If this has been his entire experience/understanding of the ballet world, no wonder he feels so negative about it. But what seems strange /sad to me is that he doesn't seem to be able to acknowledge all the wonderful, creative, mature artists (who also went through ballet training and work in companies) with whom he has worked - i.e. his experience/understanding is not universal, even if no doubt some of his concerns are shared to varying degrees by other dancers.

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Sharon

Sharon

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As I read this latest interview it was with the knowledge that it was basically a repeat of what he's said before. I'd love to ask Polunin does he really believe many people can afford to buy a flat in London? So dancers can't, but who can? Dancers are not so special that they are entitled to more money than say a nurse. Polunin says dancers are motivated by the love of dance but so are teachers, nurses, etc. As in most professions it's normally those at the top who are financially better off. And no it's not always right, I'm thinking of CEO's who get millions in bonuses while those who do the ground work, the work that keeps the companies going get very little financial increases. But that happens everywhere - not just to dancers.

Further he says that he's enjoying acting because they create something 'together'  Wouldn't that rather depend on the production and the director? It certainly did when I performed. Also doesn't that happen in dance? I've certainly read enough biographies & interviews by dancers who worked with Ashton and MacMillan who have all stated they were able to contribute to the creative process. He also states that he enjoys acting/filming because the audience is near and not 'far away' - that he is not ' alone, all by yourself'. Is he serious? Far away?? God!  I am going to stop now and just remind myself not to bother reading anymore of his interviews.

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Mummykool

Mummykool

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Am I right in thinking that he said in a recent interview  that he had grown up a lot? Really? Sounds to me like the rantings of the same old spoilt kid that has a long way to go.

Such a shame, he had such phenomenal potential........

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loveclassics

loveclassics

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On 05/03/2018 at 17:48, Sharon said:

  I am going to stop now and just remind myself not to bother reading anymore of his interviews.

I couldn't agree with you more.  Claiming that dancers like Fonteyn and Dowell were not aware of the differences in national styles (e.g. the difference from the English and Russian style) shows such ignorance.  I can't imagine why anyone would want to read any more of his pronouncements.  Do spoilt brats ever grow up?

 

Linda

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Amelia

Amelia

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Marguerite and Armand with Nina Ananashvilli (then aged 52) and Sergei Polunin (from the Stanislavski Ballet in Nov. 2015). Not a recent news but worthy watching.

 

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penelopesimpson

penelopesimpson

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On 06/03/2018 at 21:54, loveclassics said:

I couldn't agree with you more.  Claiming that dancers like Fonteyn and Dowell were not aware of the differences in national styles (e.g. the difference from the English and Russian style) shows such ignorance.  I can't imagine why anyone would want to read any more of his pronouncements.  Do spoilt brats ever grow up?

 

Linda

I think the answer is, yes, they do grow up but usually way beyond an age when it is possible to put new-found wisdom into everyday life.  I cannot imagine Polunin will change any time soon.  He continually rejects any sort of structured life or discipline which real artistes find essential and, at the same time, has an adoring fan club who treat his every word as if it is pure gold.  I expect that he will continue to flit from one thing to another until both his talent and his 'bad guy' image are past their sell-by date.

 

Frankly, I no longer care because the likelihood of him dancing again in the way that I so admired is pretty much nil so he might as well enjoy himself playing the star.  However, like others, I would prefer him to stop criticising those dancers who had the backbone and integrity to put in the hard work necessary for true talent to shine.

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Ivy Lin

Ivy Lin

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I take a gentler view on Polunin's interview. IIRC wouldn't this be around the time he and Natalia Osipova broke up? He sounds bitter towards the world of ballet but that's typical of someone not very mature who has just endured a very public break-up with one of ballet's superstars. It sounds like a real "that's her world, this is my world" sulking. Which as I said isn't mature but in matters of the heart ... He did have her name tattooed on his fingers.

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fromthebalcony

fromthebalcony

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On March 5, 2018 at 12:48, Sharon said:

As I read this latest interview it was with the knowledge that it was basically a repeat of what he's said before. I'd love to ask Polunin does he really believe many people can afford to buy a flat in London? So dancers can't, but who can? Dancers are not so special that they are entitled to more money than say a nurse. Polunin says dancers are motivated by the love of dance but so are teachers, nurses, etc. As in most professions it's normally those at the top who are financially better off. And no it's not always right, I'm thinking of CEO's who get millions in bonuses while those who do the ground work, the work that keeps the companies going get very little financial increases. But that happens everywhere - not just to dancers.

Further he says that he's enjoying acting because they create something 'together'  Wouldn't that rather depend on the production and the director? It certainly did when I performed. Also doesn't that happen in dance? I've certainly read enough biographies & interviews by dancers who worked with Ashton and MacMillan who have all stated they were able to contribute to the creative process. He also states that he enjoys acting/filming because the audience is near and not 'far away' - that he is not ' alone, all by yourself'. Is he serious? Far away?? God!  I am going to stop now and just remind myself not to bother reading anymore of his interviews.

The one thing I will say in his defense (and I have not defended him in the past) in terms of dancers and their inability to afford a flat.  The difference:  Dancers normally train from the time they are very young.  For the most part, they give up their normal pre-teen and teenage years to study ballet.  Some train far from their homes.  Summers, at least in the U.S., are spent training at summer intensives 6-8 hours a day (or more).  Many do not attend normal functions in which teenagers take part.  Nurses and teachers, etc. don't start training until they go to university.  Parents of dancers invest as much or more than a university education in order for their child to dance professionally (at least in the U.S. and especially for women.)  Additionally, the dancer's career ends much sooner than that of a nurse or a teacher - 20-25 years earlier.  Dancers must then go on to another career, whether that entails going back to school (or taking university classes while dancing), or entering the realm of teaching, coaching, or arts management.  So, I do understand the frustration he expresses.  

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penelopesimpson

penelopesimpson

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1 hour ago, fromthebalcony said:

The one thing I will say in his defense (and I have not defended him in the past) in terms of dancers and their inability to afford a flat.  The difference:  Dancers normally train from the time they are very young.  For the most part, they give up their normal pre-teen and teenage years to study ballet.  Some train far from their homes.  Summers, at least in the U.S., are spent training at summer intensives 6-8 hours a day (or more).  Many do not attend normal functions in which teenagers take part.  Nurses and teachers, etc. don't start training until they go to university.  Parents of dancers invest as much or more than a university education in order for their child to dance professionally (at least in the U.S. and especially for women.)  Additionally, the dancer's career ends much sooner than that of a nurse or a teacher - 20-25 years earlier.  Dancers must then go on to another career, whether that entails going back to school (or taking university classes while dancing), or entering the realm of teaching, coaching, or arts management.  So, I do understand the frustration he expresses.  

Factually,  it is hard to disagree with your post.  But...does one really decided to be a ballet dancer on the basis of whether or not you can afford a flat in London?

 

The same would apply to many of the professions, doctors, barristers, etc.  Yes, affording accommodation in a world capital is a pretty big ask, but... it surely comes down to whether you want to dance or not?

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fromthebalcony

fromthebalcony

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36 minutes ago, penelopesimpson said:

Factually,  it is hard to disagree with your post.  But...does one really decided to be a ballet dancer on the basis of whether or not you can afford a flat in London?

 

The same would apply to many of the professions, doctors, barristers, etc.  Yes, affording accommodation in a world capital is a pretty big ask, but... it surely comes down to whether you want to dance or not?

No, obviously not.  My point was that I do empathize with him. Again, dancers give up much of their lives to dance for a living, and it is sad they cannot afford to live where they work.  There have been plenty of threads here on dancers' salaries.  For some, it is difficult to even make ends meet.  I do not agree with much that Polunin has to say, but I understand this lament.  

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penelopesimpson

penelopesimpson

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2 hours ago, fromthebalcony said:

No, obviously not.  My point was that I do empathize with him. Again, dancers give up much of their lives to dance for a living, and it is sad they cannot afford to live where they work.  There have been plenty of threads here on dancers' salaries.  For some, it is difficult to even make ends meet.  I do not agree with much that Polunin has to say, but I understand this lament.  

Agreed.  The trouble is that with him lamenting is on repeat play...

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