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Bolshoi Ballet London Tour Summer 2019


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2 minutes ago, simonbfisher said:

I can't track down the booking dates for this Bolshoi season - can anyone point me in the right direction, please? There doesn't seem to be any mention of it on the ROH website, I don't think.

 

In the past the Bolshoi/Mariinsky season booking dates have been the same as those for the Summer ROH season. If you go to the following link, you'll find the dates for public booking as well as those for the various levels of Friends of CG.

http://www.roh.org.uk/seasons/2018-19/summer

Edited by Bluebird
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14 minutes ago, simonbfisher said:

Thank you, both! ...  I also remember a slightly earlier booking date for the last Bolshoi season than the various Friends/General dates on the ROH site. 

 

You might be thinking of the booking date for members of the Hochhauser mailing list (edit to add that this was referred to above by Lizbie1). This usually comes shortly before Public Booking.  I'm pretty sure there's never been a booking date which is earlier than that for the Friends' booking.

 

 

Edited by Bluebird
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Never expected to be disappointed in the program of a Bolshoi tour. This one is so boring having seen all of these a couple of times already. I don't like Spartacus, find Swan Lake a tad boring, so it's down to DQ or the Bright Stream - having seen Filin several times in both of them I find casting crucial - wonder if there are any clues who might be casted..... :rolleyes::(

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  • 4 weeks later...

Only 2 performances of Bright Stream, no matinees and mid week as well. Such a disappointing programme; only 4 ballets instead of the usual 5 and no 'new to London' ballets. I wonder if they're trying to save money on transporting sets/costumes etc. I would love to have seen Marco Spada, the Taming of the Shrew that was cancelled or even Esmerelda. Oh well it'll be a cheap summer and more to spend on RB performances!

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42 minutes ago, jmhopton said:

Only 2 performances of Bright Stream, no matinees and mid week as well. Such a disappointing programme; only 4 ballets instead of the usual 5 and no 'new to London' ballets. I wonder if they're trying to save money on transporting sets/costumes etc. I would love to have seen Marco Spada, the Taming of the Shrew that was cancelled or even Esmerelda. Oh well it'll be a cheap summer and more to spend on RB performances!

 

Joan, I agree with much of what you say - and am genuinely grateful for the two Ratmansky performances.  There is part of me that believes this will mark the end of an era of the semi-regular Russian visits that we had once become accustomed to for the foreseeable future.  The world and the Companies themselves have changed; some might say 'moved on'.  Xander Parish more or less suggested such in his last LBC interview.  We can (being of a certain vintage) at least keep our memories of a cherished past.  I only hope that someone takes a broader scope in terms of bringing a wider range of balletic influences to London but I fear the time for that audience/producer development has perhaps now passed as well.  So much now appears to turn inward within our cherished isle.  Still - speaking positively - there is, of course, so much to celebrate nationally.  Truly.  To get an accurate international balletic perspective it is I fear more important now than ever to travel.  The cinema broadcasts are, of course, an important but even now limited asset.  Those broadcasts themselves are only a drop in a diminishing (true) but still substantial world bucket.  

 

Edited by Bruce Wall
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14 hours ago, Bruce Wall said:

To get an accurate international balletic perspective it is I fear more important now than ever to travel. 

 

................... which, unfortunately, not everyone is able to do.

 

Travelling within the UK is important too if one is not to become overly focused on the RB. But, again, that is not possible for everyone.

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It would be disappointing if the Russians stopped coming or only brought Swan Lakes in future years but with the Bolshoi and SFB visiting this summer, a glorious (well, I assume they will be) run of ENB Swans and Manons coming up and scheduled London residences for Ballet Black, ENB, BRB, NB and other visitors at Sadlers, I don't feel I'd have much time to squish in performances outside of London even if I had a larger budget. 

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11 hours ago, capybara said:

 

................... which, unfortunately, not everyone is able to do.

 

Travelling within the UK is important too if one is not to become overly focused on the RB. But, again, that is not possible for everyone.

 

I hear you, Capybara.   I am fortunate myself to be able to travel for work.  

 

That said I often feel - for this current moment at any rate - that you can often travel abroad to continental Europe for less than you can sometimes take a train up north in the UK.  Moreover, sometimes the balletic ticket/seat prices themselves are also less expensive.  Sometimes considerably so.   As with everything else it is a matter of priorities and we all, as a matter of course, have our own individual thresholds.  Thank heavens.  

 

Edited by Bruce Wall
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10 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said:

There are a few casting intentions in the ROH Friends magazine just out:

 

Spartacus: Denis Rodkin

Swan Lake: Svetlana Zakharova, Alexander Volchkov

Don Q: Olga Smirnova

Bright Stream: Irina Yatsenko, Denis Savin

 

I read this as being the dancers in the pictures but they will doubtless feature,  as you say.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On ‎31‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 12:06, Lizbie1 said:

There are a few casting intentions in the ROH Friends magazine just out:

 

Spartacus: Denis Rodkin

Swan Lake: Svetlana Zakharova, Alexander Volchkov

Don Q: Olga Smirnova

Bright Stream: Irina Yatsenko, Denis Savin

 

What about Lantratov, Chudin, Ovcharenko and Tikhomirova? They're the ones I want to see. I would like to see  Ovcharenko and Tikhomirova especially in Bright Stream and Don Q. I'm surprised Tikhomirova is still only a First Soloist and not a Leading Soloist. I also want to see Andre Mercuriev even though he's now only listed as 'Working under contract' which presumably mean he's some sort of guest artist.

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A friend sent me a clip of Ovcharenko doing one of the short solos from Sleeping Beauty which I thought was pretty stunning and included a move I don't seem to have seen before where he holds his legs almost parallel in the air. I'll try and copy the link.

 

https://youtu.be/iuUhYx6vHx8

 

hope this is OK.

Edited by jmhopton
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26 minutes ago, Beryl H said:

Wonderful dancer, I've never seen that move before either.

 

I agree that he looks good - but isn''t this his 'take' on a single frappe where most dancers do a double one?

I might have got the name of the move totally wrong. 

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3 hours ago, jmhopton said:

... included a move I don't seem to have seen before where he holds his legs almost parallel in the air.

 

The Bolshoi dancers do it. Nikolai Tsiskaridze used to do it:

 

 

Edited by Amelia
Tried but failed to find the option for the link.
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I always thought working under contract at the Bolshoi is for all dancers ...like the corps or recently joined Dancers who have not yet been offered a permanent contract.

working under contract means has to be renewed so there is no real security in the Company at this level.

i suppose a guest artist might be in a similar position.

(JM Hoptons comment above!) 

 

Cabrioles to die for in the clips!! Frappées are an exercise usually done only at the barre (supposedly  in preparation for beats) where the foot beats around the ankle and then strikes the floor extending into a tendu. In the barre exercise the beating action comes from the knee and the thigh is not supposed to move.

 

However to be honest I've never felt frappées at the barre are that helpful to practise for big beats.... as then it's the action of the thighs( not the feet) beating which is important. It's a nice exercise to do though! 

 

Edited by LinMM
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On 12/01/2019 at 20:57, Amelia said:

 

The Bolshoi dancers do it. Nikolai Tsiskaridze used to do it:

 

 

Well, that is all very spectacular and I'm sure it's amazingly difficult, but...

I found it completely unappealling and more suited to a circus.  Reminds me of ice dancers who are really jumping machines where there is little poise or elegance of movement between the jumps.  Give me Edward Watson and all the other RB dancers any day.

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Well cabriole is quite a normal step in ballet...it's not that unusual! The step is learned around Grade 7 in ballet which is not even quite at Advanced level.

However executed with that degree of excellence it can be quite an advanced step! 

Im sure Ed Watson can execute cabrioles pretty well too if required! 

Also I wouldn't describe this dancer as having little poise or elegance of movement between jumps as some of the skaters you refer to.

Edited by LinMM
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That's interesting- the cabriole is just a standard jump but in these 2 clips they are doing a high single and not a double (which I think is what is usually in this variation). I found a clip of Chudin in the variation and he also does the high single. But equally I've seen Tissi do it as a double and DS has not particularly been instructed to do cabrioles 'Bolshoi style' (and he was taught by Tsiskaridze) so maybe there's variation even at the Bolshoi...

 

I personally think Ovcharenko looks incredibly elegant in this variation....

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