News from Germany, Austria, Switzerland

[LinMM]

The article still says some pretty negative things about ballet though …so she is no doubt responding to some of those comments too. 

[Jan McNulty]

13 minutes ago, LinMM said:

The article still says some pretty negative things about ballet though …so she is no doubt responding to some of those comments too. 

 

Exactly Lin - the article, which is not written by an Arts correspondent - full of half facts and written for sensationalism!

 

Please let's not get to the stage where this long-standing thread has to be closed down too.

[LinMM]

I wasn’t meaning for it to turn into another major discussion which is why I said people could read what Lauretta said about it on her Facebook page if they wanted to. 
It was just of interest because a well known dancer had picked up on it. 

Best not to continue discussing the original article here though. 
If any problems my post about Lauretta can be removed rather than close the thread. 
 

[Angela]

10 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

full of half facts and written for sensationalism!

 

This is an experience I make in German-speaking newspapers too since recent years - idiots (forgive me) writing about things they have no idea of. It's presumptious, it's insolent, and it's devestating for ballet. All the more we need places like this forum where we can talk among people who love the art form and who understand its problems, its working and its glory. It's hard to react to sensationalism like that - best to ignore it? To write patiently corrections to the newspaper? I've been an avid newspaper reader for decades, but I slowly realise that there may be a future without adequate newspapers, without a culture section, an arts section, without paid critics who know their skills (and who can write). That's not a discussion for this thread, I know - I just wanted to let you know that it's even worse over here, some newspapers even start to do without theatre or dance reviews at all. Ballet only appears if there's a scandal. Sad times for the arts. And for the newspapers.

[Jan McNulty]

16 minutes ago, Angela said:

 

 but I slowly realise that there may be a future without adequate newspapers, without a culture section, an arts section, without paid critics who know their skills (and who can write). That's not a discussion for this thread, I know - I just wanted to let you know that it's even worse over here, some newspapers even start to do without theatre or dance reviews at all. Ballet only appears if there's a scandal. Sad times for the arts. And for the newspapers.

 

Thank goodness (doing the Links) for specialist online sites like Seeing Dance, Fjord Review, Dance for You Magazine (from Germany but has occasional English reviews), Critical Dance...  

[Angela]

I don't know if any other company has done this before, but here comes the official "End of season video" from Béjart Ballet Lausanne:

 

 

[Jan McNulty]

2 hours ago, Angela said:

I don't know if any other company has done this before, but here comes the official "End of season video" from Béjart Ballet Lausanne:

 

 

Thanks Angela, what a lovely idea.  

[Angela]

More news from Lausanne.

Béjart Ballet Lausanne hires a sports official: Giancarlo Sergi has been appointed General Manager by the Board of Trustees of the company, the post was newly created after the turmoil surrounding artistic director Gil Roman. “With extensive management and leadership experience in national and international sport, as well as a strong and unique ethical knowledge, Sergi has the human and professional qualities to take on the challenges that the ballet company has been facing for some time”, says Solange Peters, President of the Board of Trustees. Sergi will officially take up his post on September 1st, 2022, he was chosen from numerous candidates following a review process by an independent company specializing in the recruitment of business executives. He will work closely with artistic director Gil Roman, who has been criticized for his leadership style in the past. Sergi has spent most of his professional career in Swiss and international sport, since 2014 he has been Executive President of the Swiss Basketball Association, whose restructuring he has successfully managed. According to the Board of Trustees, Sergi qualifies for his skills in governance, budget management and human resources.

 

In May last year, problems emerged at the Ecole-Atelier Rudra Béjart Lausanne, the company's ballet school, which was also founded by Maurice Béjart. Shortly thereafter, its director Michel Gascard was fired and the school closed; it has not reopened since. The production manager of the ballet company was also dismissed in 2021 because of a lack of distance to employees and disrespect for women. Gil Roman, one of Maurice Béjart's favorite dancers, remains the company's artistic director and choreographer. Allegations against him, including humiliation, sexual harassment, cocaine use and nepotism, have been investigated and not upheld, there are no criminal proceedings against him.

[FionaM]

https://www.ardmediathek.de/sendung/dance-around-the-world-mit-eric-gauthier/Y3JpZDovL3N3ci5kZS9zZGIvc3RJZC8xNDQ3
 

A link to three ballet/ dance programmes hosted and produced by Eric Gauthier for German TV covering companies and dancers with interviews of directors and dancers, plus clips.  The three uploaded so far cover St Petersburg, Tel Aviv and the Netherlands.

 

Eric is a former soloist from Stuttgart Ballet and is a choreographer, composer, runs his own company Gauthier Dance, amongst many other dance projects.  From what I see he is doing a lot to widen awareness of dance.  Read more at his bio https://www.theaterhaus.com/theaterhaus/index.php?id=1,2,324

 

You many know him from his gala piece ‘Ballet 101’ performed by Xander Parish and Vladimir Shklyarov amongst others.  He also created a similar piece ‘Ballet ABC’ for Johan Kobborg. 

[Angela]

Thanks, Fiona! The St. Petersburg episode was filmed in autumn 2021, when the ballet world was still wide open 😢

Gauthier talks to Xander Parish, Yuri Fateyev, Nikolai Tsiskaridze and Boris Eifman, lots of footage from the Mariinsky (Tereshkina, Ilya Jivoi, May Nagahisa etc.) and from the Vaganova Academy.

In the Netherlands, Gauthier spoke to Victor Caixeta, Hans van Manen, Jiri Kylián, Emily Molnar, Samuel Wuersten and many others, clips from Het Nationale, the NDT, Scapino, Introdans etc.

The documentaries are in German language.

[Sabine0308]

Eric Gautier is doing A LOT to bring dance/ballet among the masses.  His enthusiasm and cool attitude for dance is contagious, and I wish there would be more people like him, and help building a bridge between classical and modern dance, so that more young people get interested in dance, and dance in theatres in particular.  I hope this documentary helps. 

 

I just watched the part about St. Petersburg and teared up, having bittersweet memories from 2019. Eric is right, who knows if/when we can return. I hope, hope, hope soon.

 

BTW the interview with Boris Eifman was heartwarming, whereas with Tsiskaridze...OMG. I understand why Gautier didn't make ANY comment afterwards.

🙈

I hope the docu is not geoblocked, I think it's interesting for everyone. 

Edited August 9, 2022 by Sabine0308

[Tiara]

On 09/08/2022 at 22:25, Sabine0308 said:

Eric Gautier is doing A LOT to bring dance/ballet among the masses.  His enthusiasm and cool attitude for dance is contagious, and I wish there would be more people like him, and help building a bridge between classical and modern dance, so that more young people get interested in dance, and dance in theatres in particular.  I hope this documentary helps. 

 

I just watched the part about St. Petersburg and teared up, having bittersweet memories from 2019. Eric is right, who knows if/when we can return. I hope, hope, hope soon.

 

BTW the interview with Boris Eifman was heartwarming, whereas with Tsiskaridze...OMG. I understand why Gautier didn't make ANY comment afterwards.

🙈

I hope the docu is not geoblocked, I think it's interesting for everyone. 

Sabine, me too - teared up watching the St Petersburg section.  Have been multiple times a year for so long to see my favourite ballet company, but 2019 was the last time.  So lovely to see all that footage.  I will be back as soon as I can - but ... when?  I just hope and pray that soon it will be safe to return.  

[Naomi M]

LIZI AVSAJANISHVILI (former Mariinsky Ballet) has joined as corps de ballet at Staatsballett Berlin. 
https://www.staatsballett-berlin.de/ensemble/lizi-avsajanishvili/469

 

also her Instagram profile

https://instagram.com/lizzkaavs?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

 

[Estreiiita]

Wonderful news! I plan a trip to Berlin on the 18th of September to see both the day and evening performances of " Giselle", I hope to see Lizi Avsajanishvili there amongst other dancers and maybe Evelina Godunova as well; I also adore Yana Salenko and Polina Semionova but I believe they are engaged somewhere else (probably some Gala).

  Oh, just checked the website - they have already put the cast : Ksenija Ovsyanik and Yana Salenko will dance Giselle, so I'm really looking forward to it!

Edited August 19, 2022 by Estreiiita
Additional information

[capybara]

Ksenia Ovsyanick is a really beautiful Giselle.

[Silver Capricorn]

3 hours ago, Estreiiita said:

Wonderful news! I plan a trip to Berlin on the 18th of September to see both the day and evening performances of " Giselle", I hope to see Lizi Avsajanishvili there amongst other dancers and maybe Evelina Godunova as well; I also adore Yana Salenko and Polina Semionova but I believe they are engaged somewhere else (probably some Gala).

  Oh, just checked the website - they have already put the cast : Ksenija Ovsyanik and Yana Salenko will dance Giselle, so I'm really looking forward to it!

Thank you very much for the tip, I have now bought a ticket for Giselle on 14/10 with Evelina Godunova and Daniil Simkin. I'm really looking forward to a trip to Berlin!

[Angela]

The annual critics’ survey in the German magazine "tanz" ended without a best dancer, best choreographer or even best new piece this year – too different, too widely spread were the nominations by 25 critics (mostly from Germany, Austria and Switzerland). But there are four companies that were mentioned several times, for best company, best production, best choreography or best streaming. They earned the title “Highlights of the season”: Gauthier Dance at Stuttgart, Zurich Ballet, Vienna State Ballet and NDT, the latter especially for the quality and regularity of its streaming during the pandemic.

 

Among the dancers that were nominated are Davide Dato, Marcos Menha, Hyo-Jung Kang - Vienna State Ballet; Ida Praetorius, Alexandr Trusch - Hamburg Ballet; David Moore, Henrik Erikson, Mackenzie Brown, Shaked Heller - Stuttgart Ballet; Shori Yamamoto, Bruna Andrade - Gauthier Dance, Stuttgart; Marcos Vinicius Da Silva - Leipzig Ballet;

Iana Salenko, Dinu Tamazlacaru, Olaf Kollmannsperger - Berlin State Ballet; William Moore, Michelle Willems, Jan Casier - Zurich Ballet; Shale Wagman, Ksenia Ryzhkova – Bavarian State Ballet; Olga Smirnova, Het Nationale Ballet; Alessandra Ferri; Orazio Di Bella, Ballett am Rhein.

[Sim]

No wonder they couldn’t choose, with such an amazing array of dancers nominated!  

[Sabine0308]

Well...no doubt about Shale here (ahem😀) but Olaf Kollmansperger? He was great in the Dawson piece "Citizen nowhere", but hasn't impressed me elsewhere. Well but still, congratulations to all nominees.

[Angela]

1 hour ago, Sabine0308 said:

He was great in the Dawson piece "Citizen nowhere",

 

Yes, that's the piece that was mentioned.

 

2 hours ago, Sim said:

No wonder they couldn’t choose, with such an amazing array of dancers nominated!  

 

20 years ago, all important dance critics were at the premieres in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich or Stuttgart, now they mostly  stays at their home towns - not only because of the pandemic, but because newspapers don't cover travel costs any more. It's easier in Great Britain, where a huge part of the dance scene is in London. Well, tempi passati.

[capybara]

9 hours ago, Angela said:

 

Yes, that's the piece that was mentioned.

 

 

20 years ago, all important dance critics were at the premieres in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich or Stuttgart, now they mostly  stays at their home towns - not only because of the pandemic, but because newspapers don't cover travel costs any more. It's easier in Great Britain, where a huge part of the dance scene is in London. Well, tempi passati.

 

Ah - the fact that critics are seeing very few companies does serve to explain what appear to be strange choices. But, if they have no wider comparators, that isn't surprising.

[Sabine0308]

18 hours ago, Angela said:

 

Yes, that's the piece that was mentioned.

@Angela can you tell please for which piece Shale Wagman was nominated? Maybe with Ksenia for "Coppelia"?

[Angela]

He was nominated by Vesna Mlakar from the Münchner Abendzeitung with these words:

"Shale Wagman (Bayerisches Staatsballett): technisch brillant und auch darstellerisch ein vereinnahmender Wirbelwind – dabei erst 21. Ksenia Ryzhkova (Bayerisches Staatsballett) für das ungemein eigene emotionale Flair, mit dem sie jeder Rolle wunderbare innere Strahlkraft und charakterlich Präsenz wie Natürlichkeit verleiht"

"Shale Wagman (Bavarian State Ballet): technically brilliant and also an absorbing whirlwind as an actor – and only 21 years old. Ksenia Ryzhkova (Bavarian State Ballet) for her very unique emotional flair, with which she gives each role a wonderful inner radiance and character presence as well as naturalness."

[Sabine0308]

Dankeschön!!

[Angela]

Some background about Igor Zelensky and Putin's daughter:

the article in Russian

English translation by Google

[Angela]

An interim leadership team was announced today for Zurich Dance Academy, where there had been allegations in June against the management team concerning abuse of power, humiliation and a climate of fear. During the ongoing investigation, a team of five members takes over the management of Zurich Dance Academy (Tanzakademie Zürich). In the team are Prof. Jason Beechey, director of the Palucca University of Dance Dresden, and Samuel Wuersten, artistic director of Contemporary Dance at Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), operations manager Sandra Nussberger, Àkos Sebestyén as the teachers‘ representative and Kristina Trolle as quality manager. The members will ensure the continuity of school operations, encourage an open interaction with the teachers, and put a stronger emphasis on implementing the regulations and standards of the ZHdK, the management of the University announced.

[Angela]

Every year Ballet Dortmund opens the season with an International Ballet Gala. On Saturday, September 10, 2022, and Sunday, September 11, 2022, ballet director Xin Peng Wang has invited Herman Cornejo and Skylar Brandt from ABT, they perform the Tchaikovsky Pas de deux. Osiel Gouneo from Bavarian State Ballet will dance with international guest artist Maria Kochetkova. They also announce Alina Cojocaru and Lucia Lacarra, Sebastian Kloborg from Denmark, Canadian dancer Evan McKie, Iratxe Ansa and from the Portuguese National Ballet in Lisbon Igor Bacovich, Filipa de Castro and Carlo Pinillos, as well as (still unknown) dancers from Paris Opera Ballet in a a choreography by Crystal Pite. Ballet Dortmund rounds off the program with excerpts from Xin Peng Wang's "Faust I" and "II" as well as "Tchaikovsky".

 

[Jan McNulty]

That sounds rather enticing Angela.

[Sabine0308]

8 hours ago, Angela said:

An interim leadership team was announced today for Zurich Dance Academy, where there had been allegations in June against the management team concerning abuse of power, humiliation and a climate of fear. During the ongoing investigation, a team of five members takes over the management of Zurich Dance Academy (Tanzakademie Zürich). In the team are Prof. Jason Beechey, director of the Palucca University of Dance Dresden, and Samuel Wuersten, artistic director of Contemporary Dance at Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), operations manager Sandra Nussberger, Àkos Sebestyén as the teachers‘ representative and Kristina Trolle as quality manager. The members will ensure the continuity of school operations, encourage an open interaction with the teachers, and put a stronger emphasis on implementing the regulations and standards of the ZHdK, the management of the University announced.

What happened to Steffi Scherzer and Oliver Matz?

[Angela]

1 hour ago, Sabine0308 said:

What happened to Steffi Scherzer and Oliver Matz?

 

I have no idea. They both would have retired this year or next year in any case. I hope they receive the appreciation that they have earned as dancers in Berlin, I loved to see them dance.

[sillysally]

There have been many articles in the Swiss press...

It is not clear if they are receiving "appreciation" for their dancing careers, but there are many former students who are willing to comment on their first hand experience of their careers as educators......

bodyshaming, culture of fear, eating disorders, monthly weigh-ins, "the barre for losers" and the "barre for winners" and so on...

 

apologies for german language but a quick google translate will give you the picture of what has been reported and investigated

 

https://www.nau.ch/news/schweiz/missstande-an-tanzakademie-zurich-grosser-als-angenommen-66204032

 

https://magazin.nzz.ch/nzz-am-sonntag/kultur/skandal-an-der-tanz-akademie-zuerich-fuenf-betroffene-erzaehlen-ld.1689510?reduced=true

 

https://www.zueritoday.ch/zuerich/schuelerinnen-der-tanzakademie-zuerich-berichten-von-qualen-und-demuetigungen-146706776

[Sabine0308]

From a similar situation with Staatliche Ballettschule Berlin, I am now very careful and sceptical about such accusations. The Media here have been very quick with prejudgment and put a lot of fire in this situation. In the end, after almost 3 years of investigation, hearings and expert groups and trials, both leaders left the court untouched and were supposed to get their jobs back (never happened though). It's too difficult for me to translate the juridical details, sorry. However, not a single student, active, retired or dancing as a professional already, ever made a statement in court against them. 

If students/former students of the Zürich Academy make such a statement in court or similar institution, then this will be very different from Berlin. For me, speaking to media is not the same, and I don’t trust the media. Jumping on the train of sensation is their business these days.

Edited September 6, 2022 by Sabine0308

[Angela]

16 minutes ago, Sabine0308 said:

From a similar situation with Staatliche Ballettschule Berlin, I am now very careful and sceptical about such accusations. The Media here have been very quick with prejudgment and put a lot of fire in this situation. In the end, after almost 3 years of investigation, hearings and expert groups and trials, both leaders left the court untouched and were supposed to get their jobs back (never happened though). It's too difficult for me to translate the juridical details, sorry. However, not a single student, active, retired or dancing as a professional already, ever made a statement in court against them. 

If students/former students of the Zürich Academy make such a statement in court or similar institution, then this will be very different from Berlin. For me, speaking to media is not the same, and I don’t trust the media. Jumping on the train of sensation is their business these days.

 

Yes, yes, yes and yes.

 

Ballet education is in grave danger in Switzerland right now - the Rudra Béjart School at Lausanne is closed for the same kind of accusations, and after the newspaper articles about the Zurich Tanzakademie, there were very quickly statements as to whether ballet was still needed at all - from people who have no idea about this art and have obviously never seen a piece, but are allowed to express themselves in major newspapers like "Die Zeit", where the first article about the accusations was printed. It's the same problem as in Berlin: very few of those who bring these accusations forward have an idea of how ballet training and ballet education really work - how hard it is for every student, how many of them won't succeed, but also how blessed and happy these are who dance on a stage. It is very difficult to bring nuanced explanations in a newspaper, when spectacular accusations and scandals are more likely to be featured in the headlines these days.

 

I don't know what Cathy Marston plans for Zurich ballet are when she takes over in 2023, but it may well happen that there is no big classical company left in Switzerland when Christian Spuck leaves. He had Ratmansky's Swan Lake and Patrice Bart's Giselle, he works with pointe shoes in his own choreography, but already his adaptations of the classics were modern, without the traditional steps, like his Sleeping Beauty or his Nutcracker. Switzerland may end up without a company that can do the classics in a traditional way - so why bother to have a classical ballet education at Zurich. I'm not sure if there will be enough people left to fight for a ballet education at Zurich after accusations like that.