Prix Benois Nominations & Winners, 2018

[Angela]

http://benois.theatre.ru/english/massmedia/news/

[capybara]

Rather as expected, I'm afraid. Every year, the judges (whoever they might be) seem to nominate their 'own' dancers and that has, for me at least, the effect of diminishing the artists' undoubted achievements.

[toursenlair]

this is this year;s jury

Jury Benois de la Danse-2018

• Yuri Grigorovich – President.
• Eleonora Abbagnato – Etoile of the Paris Opera Ballet, Artistic Director of the Rome Opera Ballet.
• Boris Eifman – Artistic Director of St.Petersburg Eifman Ballet.
• Nona Esteves – Ex-Prima-ballerina, choreograph and coach of the Municipal Theatre of Rio de Janeiro.
• Nicolas Le Riche – Artistic Director of the Royal Swedish Ballet.
• David Mcallister – Artistic Director of the Australian Ballet.
• Tamara Rojo – Prima-ballerina and Artistic Director of the English National Ballet.
• Samuel Wuersten – Director of Holland-Dance Festival.

and nominees (to save going to the link)

19.04.2018

LIST OF NOMINEES BENOIS DE LA DANSE-2018

CHOREOGRAPHERS

DEBORAH COLKER – Dog Without Feather, Jorge Dű Peixe/ Berna Ceppas. Deborah Colker Company.

ALEXANDER EKMAN –Play, Mikael Karlsson.
Paris Opera Ballet.

MARCO GOECKE – Wir sagen uns Dunkles,Franz Schubert. Netherlands Dans Theater-2.

LAURENT HILAIRE/MICHAIL BARYSHNIKOV –Don Quixote, Ludvig Minkus. Rome Opera Ballet.

THIERRY MALANDAIN – Noah, Gioacchino Rossini. Malandain Ballet Biarriz.

JOHN NEUMEIER –Anna Karenina, Peter Tchaikovsky/Alfred Schnittke/Cat Stevens/Usuf Islam. Hamburg Ballet.

YURI POSSOKHOV – Nureev, Ilya Demutsky.
Bolshoi Theatre of Russia.

BALLERINAS

JURGITA DRONINA – The Title role, La Sylphide, H.Løvenskjold/A.Bournonville;
Juliet, Romeo and Juliet, S.Prokofiev/R.Nureyev.
English National Ballet.

AMANDA GOMES – The Title role, Esmeralda, C.Pugni/J.Perrot, M.Petipa, A.Petrov’s version.Kazan Opera Ballet.

DREW JACOBY – Pina Bausch,Café Műller, H.Pursell/ P.Bausch. Royal Ballet of Flanders.

AKO KONDO – Alice, Alice in Wonderland, J.Talbot/Ch.Wheeldon. The Australian Ballet.

SAE EUN PARK – The Leading part, Diamonds, P.Tchaikovsky/G.Balanchine. Paris Opera Ballet.

SVETLANA ZAKHAROVA – Anastasia, Ivan the Terrible,S.Prokofiev/Y. Grigorovich. Bolshoi Theatre of Russia.

DANCERS

DANIEL CAMARGO – Shostakovich,Chamber Symphony, D. Shostakovich/A.Ratmansky. Het National Ballet; Solor, La Bayadère, L.Minkus/M.Petipa. The Tokyo Ballet.

ISAAC HERNANDEZ – Basilio,Don Quixote, L.Minkus/L.Hilaire, M.Baryshnikov. Rome Opera Ballet; James, La Sylphide, H.Løvenskjold/A.Bournonville.
English National Ballet.

KEVIN JACKSON – Jack/Knave of Hearts, Alice in Wonderland, J.Talbot/Ch.Wheeldon. The Australian Ballet.

VLADISLAV LANTRATOV –The Title role, Nureev, I.Demutsky/Y.Possokhov. Bolshoi Theatre of Russia.

PABLO LEGASA – A Man, Herman Schmerman, T.Willems/W.Forsythe. Paris Opera Ballet

MARIJN RADEMAKER –Two and Only, M.Benjamin/W.Kuindersma. Het National Ballet.

MICHELE SATRIANO – Don Jose, Carmen, G.Bizet/R.Petit. Rome Opera Ballet.

COMPOSERS

ILYA DEMUTSKY – Nureev, choreography by Y.Possokhov. Bolshoi Theatre of Russia

JORGE DŰ PEIXE/BERNA CEPPAS–Dog Without Feather, choreography by D.Colker. Deborah Colker Company.

SCENOGRAPHERS

GRINGO CARDIA – Dog Without Feather, J.Dű Peixe,B.Ceppas/ D.Colker.
Deborah Colker Company.

KIRILL SEREBRENNIKOV – Nureev, I.Demutsky/Y.Possokhov.
Bolshoi Theatre of Russia.

 

[MAB]

So one of the jury has her boyfriend among the nominees.  Words don't fail me at all but they're not for here.

[capybara]

The 2018 winners are as follows:

FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT
Natalia Makarova

CHOREOGRAPHERS 
Deborah Colker
Yuri Possokhov

BALLERINA
Sae Eun Park

DANCERS
Vladislav Lantratov
Isaac Hernandez

COMPOSER
Ilya Demutsky 

SCENOGRAPHER
Kirill Serebrennikov

[Sim]

On 19/04/2018 at 22:04, MAB said:

So one of the jury has her boyfriend among the nominees.  Words don't fail me at all but they're not for here.

And the boyfriend won.....

[alison]

Joint won.  And there are 8 jury members voting, presumably ...

[Sim]

Yes I know joint won, but still won.  Not 'presumably'....if you are on the jury, you vote.

[MellissaHuntsley]

...sigh...

[LinMM]

Am very  pleased with Natalia Makarova's win though!

[fromthebalcony]

4 minutes ago, LinMM said:

Am very  pleased with Natalia Makarova's win though!

Agreed!  

 

10 minutes ago, MellissaHuntsley said:

...sigh...

Once again, agreed. 

[Lizbie1]

I very much hope that the reduced noise on the subject of ENB means that things have been quietly resolved, BUT certain of these prizes do have a strong whiff of "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" about them.  I also think that "Caesar's wife must be above suspicion", though not always a reasonable or practical tenet to go by, is something which should be considered sound advice if you're in a public(ly funded) position.

[alison]

The Benois particularly, since the jury are all ADs or whatever of the nominees, aren't there?  There are vested interests everywhere, although some may be more vested than others.

[assoluta]

A leading ballet critic after the first day of Benois de la danse: "Modern choreography is no more saw it once, and enough, it became saw it, and regretted you did, saw it, and you wish it is erased from your memory."

[Angela]

8 hours ago, assoluta said:

"Modern choreography is no more saw it once, and enough, it became saw it, and regretted you did, saw it, and you wish it is erased from your memory."

And this is true for.... everything since the 80s? 🙄😡

[MrZee]

Many thanks to Alison for pointing out that jury members of a prestigious international competition like the Benois will have varying levels of professional and personal connections with contestants.  It is disheartening that some posters, presumably having no direct knowledge of the voting process under discussion, would lodge accusations of unethical behaviours.  Indeed, it is not uncommon for judges, to avoid conflict of interest allegations, to recuse themselves in the affected vote.  Absent first-hand, factual information on this year's Benois competition, is it fair to assert "if you are on the jury, you vote"?  Congratulations to ALL winners!!!

[Sim]

I don't think anyone here has 'lodged accusations of unethical behaviours.'    And if any jury members recuse themselves, this should be made known to avoid just such speculation.  

[bridiem]

20 minutes ago, Sim said:

I don't think anyone here has 'lodged accusations of unethical behaviours.'    And if any jury members recuse themselves, this should be made known to avoid just such speculation.  

 

Exactly - where there is a clear conflict of interests, it should be declared and the mechanism for dealing with it outlined. (I'm not talking about any particular individual/s here - it's a general and I would have thought obvious point if the prizes are to have any credibility.)

[LinMM]

I don't know the rules I'm afraid but perhaps the judges are automatically not allowed to vote for members of their own Company etc?? 

Im sure it's completely above board just hoping there's not a hint of Eurovision about it! 

[Angela]

2 hours ago, LinMM said:

I don't know the rules I'm afraid but perhaps the judges are automatically not allowed to vote for members of their own Company etc?? 

Check the history of the Prix Benois, there are ALWAYS directors in the jury whose dancers are nominated. This is how the Prix Benois works.

[fromthebalcony]

I was always under the impression that it was the jury themselves who nominated the dancers.  Videos are sent of each of the performances for which the dancer (and each choreographer)  is nominated, and the jury votes ahead of time.  The gala is just a show and award ceremony.  What I do not know is if the jury is permitted to vote for their own dancer.  

 

I was not familiar with Lantratov.  It turns out he is Alexandrova's significant other.  http://www.vaganovatoday.com/vladislav-lantratov-and-maria-alexandrova-bolshoi-power-couple

[capybara]

24 minutes ago, fromthebalcony said:

I was not familiar with Lantratov.  

 

Lantratov is a terrific dancer, as, of course, is Hernandez. There have been joint winners before - e.g. Muntagirov and Lendorf.

 

The June edition of Dance Europe carries an interview with Alexandrova in which her relationship with Lantratov is discussed. Coincidentally, she was rehearsing with ENB at the time of the ceremony/gala on Tuesday (5th).

[MAB]

On ‎07‎/‎06‎/‎2018 at 09:03, MrZee said:

  It is disheartening that some posters, presumably having no direct knowledge of the voting process under discussion, would lodge accusations of unethical behaviours.  Indeed, it is not uncommon for judges, to avoid conflict of interest allegations, to recuse themselves in the affected vote.  Absent first-hand, factual information on this year's Benois competition, is it fair to assert "if you are on the jury, you vote"? 

 

Occasionally jurors on ballet competitions do spill the beans.  The late Alexander Grant once gave a talk where he touched on his own experience as a juror, on that occasion all nominees were Russians with links to all other jurors, Mr Grant was less than impressed and put forward a video of a French dancer that had particularly impressed him.  So superior was his choice, that she won. 

 

On ‎07‎/‎06‎/‎2018 at 13:52, fromthebalcony said:

I was not familiar with Lantratov.  It turns out he is Alexandrova's significant other.

 

So?  Alexandrova wasn't a juror, what is the relevance of mentioning her relationship with Lantratov? 

 

Can we deduce from the joint award that Lantratov was the true winner and the other a sop to the juror who clearly nominated him?

[fromthebalcony]

16 minutes ago, MAB said:

 

Occasionally jurors on ballet competitions do spill the beans.  The late Alexander Grant once gave a talk where he touched on his own experience as a juror, on that occasion all nominees were Russians with links to all other jurors, Mr Grant was less than impressed and put forward a video of a French dancer that had particularly impressed him.  So superior was his choice, that she won. 

 

 

So?  Alexandrova wasn't a juror, what is the relevance of mentioning her relationship with Lantratov? 

 

Can we deduce from the joint award that Lantratov was the true winner and the other a sop to the juror who clearly nominated him?

I mentioned it because I am fully aware of Alexandrova as a dancer, that's all.  I had not heard of him, not that I am all that familiar with all of the Bolshoi dancers.  Nothing else intended.

[annamicro]

8 hours ago, MAB said:

Can we deduce from the joint award that Lantratov was the true winner and the other a sop to the juror who clearly nominated him?

 Joint awards are quite common: Tamara Rojo herself won it joint to Silvia Azzoni in one of the few occasions when the prize was given to two really outstanding artists.

Unfortunately in too many editions I had the suspect that the prize has become an exchange of favours between directors (two of them especially) and I have lost most of my interest in it.

An addtion: Hernandez was primarily nominated for his Don Q with Opera di Roma, whose director was in the jury too. This company has had very unexpected nominations in the last few years.

Edited June 12, 2018 by annamicro
addtion

[Angela]

14 minutes ago, annamicro said:

Unfortunately in too many editions I had the suspect that the prize has become an exchange of favours between directors (two of them especially) and I have lost most of my interest in it.

 

And still they promote it as the "Oscar of ballet" every year, and the media blindly believe them.

[Legseleven]

It seems to be very similar to the Oscars then!

[alison]

11 hours ago, MAB said:

Can we deduce from the joint award that Lantratov was the true winner and the other a sop to the juror who clearly nominated him?

 

I'm sure you could.  Just as you could presumably deduce that Hernandez was the true winner and the other a sop to the juror who clearly nominated him.

 

The usual reason for joint awards is of course that the jury finds two candidates equally worthy.

[MAB]

2 hours ago, alison said:

I'm sure you could.  Just as you could presumably deduce that Hernandez was the true winner and the other a sop to the juror who clearly nominated him.

 

Whoever nominated Lantratov wasn't in a relationship with him.

[bangorballetboy]

MAB, do you know that Hernandez was nominated by someone in a relationship with him?  Maybe you should tell Ms Rojo about it...  😉

[Angela]

5 hours ago, Legseleven said:

It seems to be very similar to the Oscars then!

 

At the Oscars you have a jury of 7000 people, that's a tiny bit more than at the Prix Benois.

[alison]

So many?!

[Angela]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Awards#Nomination

 

It's even 8000, but only 5000 seem to vote, says Wikipedia. In any case more than with the "Oscars of the ballet world".