Mary Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 Arthur Pita's Dream within a Dream was tremendous fun so his name is certainly a lure.The programme is quite a mixture isn't it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Posted May 29, 2014 Share Posted May 29, 2014 Final Details - hopefully... NATALIA OSIPOVA & IVAN VASILIEV in SOLO FOR TWO 6th – 9th August 2014, London Coliseum The world’s most celebrated dancing partners, Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev are re-united for this summer’s hottest ticket, at the London Coliseum, Wednesday 6th – Saturday 9th August in producer Sergei Danilian’s presentation of SOLO FOR TWO. The pair will dance three exciting, diverse pieces, all London premieres, commissioned by the Segerstrom Center for the Arts and Ardani Artists. The evening opens with extracts of Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s Mea Culpa, set to music by Heinrich Schütz and accompanied by l'Ensemble Akadêmia from France, conducted by Françoise Lasserre which explores the world that our ancestors and roots have bequeathed to us. This is followed by Passo by Ohad Naharin, artistic director of Batsheva Dance Company, danced to the British electronic music duo Autechre and English traditional folk music. The evening concludes with Facada by Arthur Pita, adapted specially for Natalia and Ivan, from his original piece God’s Garden. Original music and traditional fado will be played live by Frank Moon. Natalia Osipova graduated from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in 2004 and joined the Bolshoi Ballet the same year, ultimately reaching the position of Principal Dancer. She has been a guest artist with the Mariinsky Ballet, Teatro alla Scala, Paris Opéra Ballet, American Ballet Theatre and Zurich Ballet and is currently a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet and American Ballet Theatre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Macmillan Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 So just the pair of them? Nobody else at all on stage? Or have I missed something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Wall Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 A little more detailed information about the appearance in NYC. It would be grand to see Patricia Neary in London as well. Solo for Two will begin with an extract from MEA CULPA, a full-length ballet by the award-winning Belgian choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. The music is by Heinrich Schu?tz and will be performed live by a chamber ensemble conducted by Franc?oise Lasserre. Next is PASSO, choreographed by Ohad Naharin, artistic director of Batsheva Dance Company, danced to the British electronic music duo Autechre (Sean Booth and Rob Brown) and English traditional folk music. The evening concludes with FACADA by Portuguese choreographer Arthur Pita, performed to live music by Frank Moon, Phil King and traditional Portuguese fado played by Frank Moon. FACADA has been adapted for Solo for Two from Pita's God's Garden. Osipova and Vasiliev will portray the roles of The Bride and The Groom, respectively, and former New York City Ballet star Patricia Neary will be the Lady in Black. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mallinson Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 …but NY is next March. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Wall Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 …but NY is next March. Yes, but it is exactly the same programme --- or at least as far as I can tell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beryl H Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 Guess what, the Balcony is now open, tickets £15 - £29. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 Hmm, a realisation that balletlovers were being given short shrift, or a sneaky marketing ploy? Thanks for spotting that, Beryl, because I wouldn't have looked again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Macmillan Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Today's Times 2 supplement carries a 2-page feature by Debra Craine on Arthur Pita working with Vasiliev and Osipova on Facada for this show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amelia Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 (edited) The programme is becoming clearer now. Catching Up With Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev: http://www.wwd.com/eye/people/catching-up-with-natalia-osipova-and-ivan-vasiliev-7804458 BALLET SUPERSTARS GO GAGA: http://wendyperron.com/ballet-superstars-go-gaga/ Edited July 18, 2014 by Amelia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amelia Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Natalia Osipova, Ivan Vasiliev bring 'Solo for Two' to Segerstrom A preview in “Los Angeles Times”: http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-80825691/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amelia Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 Many pictures of Osipova & Vasiliev rehearsing with Arthur Pita: http://www.theballetbag.com/2014/07/23/natalia-osipova-ivan-vasiliev-arthur-pita-rehearsal/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Wall Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 (edited) Interesting to read some of the initial responses from the SOLO FOR TWO programme as it has just now been launched at the Segerstom Auditorium in California. One said: This was awful (just back from today's matinee). If you are determined to see it in NY or London just to see Osipova/Vasiliev, I wouldn't pay more than $15-20 for a ticket (and that is pushing it immensely). I didn't think Ardani productions could get worse than Reflections, but this really takes the cake. Just for the record, there were about 45-50 minutes of dance in total. No piece was immune to the muted-colored underwear-as-costume trend. Having "agreed" to this as a subscriber when the program originally included the Kingdom of the Shades, I would really like some of my money back from Segerstrom. Another (the only other one thus far) concurred: I'm with ksk04. Just got back from the Sat. night performance and I'm thunderstruck. We don't get a chance to see these dancers, also Vishneva when she came a while back, so we go to these performances looking forward to seeing their classical abilities and we get this instead. (Just for the record the cheapest Coliseum ticket is £15 and that is $8.88 in the current dollar equivalent.) As with EVERYTHING, carpe diem ... oh, and 'to each his/her own'. For those who have already bought tickets (like me!!) here is a far more detail and - dare I say it - happier review. Edited July 27, 2014 by Bruce Wall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Wall Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 (edited) Ooops, Divided when I should have multiplied .... (Never was great at maths) ....As has been kindly pointed out to me by another Forum member: £15=US $25 .... and that's above the author of the first item's suggested barrier. Obviously we purchase at our own risk. There are no guarantees in this life for anyone ... just more than a few surprises. Edited July 27, 2014 by Bruce Wall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAB Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 Despite my initial enthusiasm for this programme if it really is no more than 50 minutes of performance I think I shall give it a miss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Wall Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 The person who posted the first item above has added more detail. It follows: The umbrella of contemporary dance is really abused by Ardani in presenting these shows. I have seen modern dance and modern ballet, and contemporary dance and contemporary ballet, that I like. This is not that. Just a bit more in brief: "Mercy" joins the hundreds of revolutionary works to explore domestic violence through dance. The piece begins with Vasiliev beating Osipova in silence. The music then comes in (which featured live singers, a small blessing) and is operatic in nature and then shifts to Indian Classical music with a local male vocalist. There is a "pas de deux" of the beating, a "solo" for Vasiliev, and then another "pas de deux" with their relationship mended. My boyfriend commented that most of it looked like yoga. I agree. "Passeo" begins with noise and a lot of posing and preening. Then English traditional music kicks in (Greensleeves, I kid you not). There is a lot of really silly choreography including a sequence where Vasiliev and Osipova crouch down, walk like ducks with their hands folded up their chests like birds (imagine it over the chorus to Greensleeves), and then right themselves and beat their chests. There was a lot of flummoxed laughter around me. Both of these are a maximum of 10 minutes or so, I believe. Empty stages. Dark lighting. "Facada" is the only coherent piece. It's explained as being a possible back story to Myrtha from Giselle. There is live music as well in the form of a Portuguese-flavored guitarist (who plays a viola or violin at one point and a drum) who also plays during the preceding intermission. There is also a set (wow!) in the loose form with some potted plants and watering components. Osipova and The Lady in Black (played by Gay Storm) prep for the wedding (Osipova has a little real dancing for about 40 seconds); as Osipova stands with Vasiliev to say the vows, he looks nervous and screams and literally runs out of the auditorium via a side door. Osipova, comforted by Storm, cries buckets of tears (for about 5 minutes, not overestimating this) which are then used to water the plants. All the buckets are hung off of her arms and she walks around the stage despondently in heels multiple times. End scene. Vasiliev enters and does a solo (actual dancing again) and removes his tux so that he is down to his underwear. He struggles with a bow tie and gets a knife to cut if off. Osipova walks on and tells us "Faca in Portuguese means knife." Then she comes back on a puts a new bow tie on his (I guess the Chippendale's look is in?). She has a dream sequence where they are on their honeymoon. She then burns her bridal dress and gets down to her underwear as well (what a surprise). She then squishes or squeezes him to death??? The mode of death is not clear. She and Storm then put a table over Vasiliev's body and Osipova does a dance on top of the table and then walks away. I mean the fact I can even actually write about a plot is a considerable step up from the rest of the show, I do agree. If this were on a different bill, it might be more palatable but it's still not ready for prime time or the ticket prices they are charging for this type of event. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toursenlair Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 Ooops, Divided when I should have multiplied .... (Never was great at maths) .... As has been kindly pointed out to me by another Forum member: £15=US $25 .... and that's above the author of the first item's suggested barrier. Obviously we purchase at our own risk. There are no guarantees in this life for anyone ... just more than a few surprises. Bruce we here on this side of the Atlantic only wish the exchange rate worked the way you did it the first time! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 Just to point out that the comments pasted by B2 above have been taken from postings on the Ballet Alert forum. I think it would be advisable not to copy comments wholesale. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Wall Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 Just to point out that the comments pasted by B2 above have been taken from postings on the Ballet Alert forum. I think it would be advisable not to copy comments wholesale. Point taken, Janet. Much thanks for your kind advice. BW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 I had really considered splurging on this but I think I have changed my mind. Thanks B2 for bringing the comments to our attention in the first place. Certainly I have loved works I have seen by Cherkaoui and Pita but less than an hour of dance at Coli prices plus trainfare and overnight stay would be unnecessarily extravagant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mummykool Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Judging by this review, it looks well worth the trip. I'm glad I've got a ticket! http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Review link Excluding the ticket price, it would cost me £80 on the train plus a hotel. That is way too extravagant even for me for an hour of performance plus intervals. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Not MORE domestic violence- (I see Carlos has also been treating us to same) ...and as for waddling around like ducks-..and as for Greensleeves... well- no thanks, I shall dust off my old Don Quixote dvd and watch that at home on the sofa with a glass of wine and a family size bar of fruit and nut instead. Thanks a lot for saving me the money and disappointment! where would we be without ballet forum. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buddy Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 I saw this performance yesterday, and in its favor, at times, it did show Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev to be extremely fine dramatic talents as well as highly adaptable and remarkably accomplished dance artists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Review link Excluding the ticket price, it would cost me £80 on the train plus a hotel. That is way too extravagant even for me for an hour of performance plus intervals. And that was pretty much my reasoning for not going to see the recent BRB triple bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Wall Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 , and in its favor, at times, Oh, dear .... 'at times' .... does sound a mite 'potentially troubling' .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Wall Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 (edited) Oh, dear .... 'at times' .... does sound a mite 'potentially troubling' .... especially when those moments - at their proverbial times - are selected from without but 50 minutes of dance. Oh, dear, I seem to have quoted myself. It appears I can - at times - be a true nuisance. If some kind moderator should trip across this item, post no. 60 could well do with 'rubbishing'. Edited July 28, 2014 by Bruce Wall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Q Fan Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 Maybe N&I should have thrown in a bit of classical mixed in like the GPDD from Don Q! I have a ticket and I am not holding my breath I'll probably hate it being modern anyway but I wanted to see the pair together again. Maybe a trip to see them with the Mikhailovsky in November in New York would be better - lucky New Yorkers!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toursenlair Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 Maybe N&I should have thrown in a bit of classical mixed in like the GPDD from Don Q! I have a ticket and I am not holding my breath I'll probably hate it being modern anyway but I wanted to see the pair together again. Maybe a trip to see them with the Mikhailovsky in November in New York would be better - lucky New Yorkers!! I don't think there's any guarantee they're both dancing in NY with the Mikhailovsky as Osipova is scheduled for some RB performances at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Wall Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 That's been fixed as of today, Katherine. Osopova's RB dates have been altered to suit. :-) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Q Fan Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 There is always an element of uncertainty given the very nature of ballet so there never is really a guarantee any dancer will actually dance on a given day if we are being realistic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amelia Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 Full house and ovations for 'Solo for Two' in Moscow. A clip from the Russian News gives some idea of the choreography: http://tvkultura.ru/article/show/article_id/115245 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 Thanks Amelia, it does look interesting ... If it had been coming to Liverpool, The Lowry or Birminingham I would definitely go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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