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Mariinsky Ballet: Swan Lake, London, August 2014


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Interestingly, in regard to Yekaterina Kondaurova, who is mentioned just above, I found this in the Balletco Archives, "Kirov Female dancers", so it must be true.

 

 "Ekatarina Kondaurova is a tall and gorgeous dancer. She has extra-long limbs and impeccable technique. Her style recalls the great Uliana Lopatkina."

 

Whoever said that, this is demonstrably not so. Yes, she is tall, she is gorgeous, but her technique has been one of her weaknesses for a long time. Her style is not very classical, her upper body not very Vaganova style, I can't even remotely see similarities with Lopatkina's classicism.

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I'm certain she will re-appear with vim in the near future.  It looks as if there are a goodly number of imminent openings at ABT with three female principals retiring next season and all female ranks loosening in hope ...  Who knows, the Bolshoi might well come a-knocking as they have for several other noted same in the recent past.   ... (That said to step into another enormous web after having just left one may not be the most prudent path.)  .....  No matter, I'm sure we will see her gifts again.  Hopefully this will, however, quell the recently fervent internet anxiety about her.  I, like Bruce Marriott, became most concerned for Stepanova's overall artistic health when faced with the same.  It must have been most trying.  It would have been for anyone.  I pray she can now gather her considerable resources and move on with a deservedly dignified calm.  

Edited by Bruce Wall
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Wasn't it you, Bruce, who less than two months ago was proclaiming

 

How wonderful of the Mariinsky Acting Director to give this young corps member an opportunity to dance Odette/Odile, Helena and the title character in such a richly historic undertaking during this important Company tour.  Stepanova is most fortunate.

 

 

while, factually, the exact opposite was true? Yulia quit as a complete wreck having been trampled and humiliated constantly for the last five years in the way that only somebody as shy and meek as her could suffer. As the things stand right now we will not be seeing her at all anywhere, on any stage that matters, despite her winning last Saturday the first European Taglioni Award as «The Best Female Young Dancer», awarded to her by a unanimous verdict of all the jurors, representing all the major European ‘ballet’ countries, including the jurors who nominated her rivals. Due to the ‘generosity’ of the man you were praising, her award was not even reported on the Mariinsky page for several days despite the fact that she earned the award and got the award as a Mariinsky ballerina and even now she is still a Mariinsky ballerina (a flood of complaints sent to Mariinsky from everywhere resulted that her name finally appeared).

Edited by assoluta
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For the poster identifying herself(?) as 'assoluta':  In the notation above you seem most concerned about the powers that be at the Mariinsky and  - entirely appropriately - their honouring Ms. Stepanova BY name vis a vis her receipt of the noted award.  Surely - with such fervent concerns - which I do understand - it is only fair that you should reveal your own identification in turn.  To do otherwise in my eyes, - and I would suspect a goodly number of others - borders on being hypocritical. .By this I don't mean to take a dig simply at your good self.  I so treasure BcoF, but one aspect I struggle with now is that where people make negative comments and then are not - forgive the term - man enough to own up to them by name, i.e., in their own legal person.  I now sincerely believe that there should be a BcoF constitutional ruling against such.  (I realise that there are major 'social media' sites that foster such practices but I was brought up to believe that two wrongs do not make a right and I would love it if BcoF might help lead in this aspect as it does in so many other ways.)  In some quarters - indeed the one within which I am proud to be professionally engaged - such behaviour might easily/well be deemed criminal.  

 

I am happy to stand by what I said as quoted.  I still believe any corps dancer would be overjoyed to have such opportunities.  The majority don't in my experience.

 

I am sure that we ALL wish Ms. Stepanova well in her further career, where'er that may take her.  Enough said.  

Edited by Bruce Wall
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I am happy to stand by what I said as quoted.  I still believe any corps dancer would be overjoyed to have such opportunities.  The majority don't in my experience.

 

Anybody who has known anything about Mariinsky or the Vaganova Academy in recent years knows that keeping Stepanova in corps de ballet for five years was precisely one of her many humiliations. She is 25 now, while when she was entering Mariinsky at the age of 20 she was expected to be on the fast track to become a Mariinsky principal.

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For the poster identifying herself(?) as 'assoluta':  In the notation above you seem most concerned about the powers that be at the Mariinsky and  - entirely appropriately - their honouring Ms. Stepanova BY name vis a vis her receipt of the noted award.  Surely - with such fervent concerns - which I do understand - it is only fair that you should reveal your own identification in turn.  To do otherwise in my eyes, - and I would suspect a goodly number of others - borders on being hypocritical. .By this I don't mean to take a dig simply at your good self.  I so treasure BcoF, but one aspect I struggle with now is that where people make negative comments and then are not - forgive the term - man enough to own up to them by name, i.e., in their own legal person.  I now sincerely believe that there should be a BcoF constitutional ruling against such.  (I realise that there are major 'social media' sites that foster such practices but I was brought up to believe that two wrongs do not make a right and I would love it if BcoF might help lead in this aspect as it does in so many other ways.)  In some quarters - indeed the one within which I am proud to be professionally engaged - such behaviour might easily/well be deemed criminal.  

 

I am happy to stand by what I said as quoted.  I still believe any corps dancer would be overjoyed to have such opportunities.  The majority don't in my experience.

 

I am sure that we ALL wish Ms. Stepanova well in her further career, where'er that may take her.  Enough said.  

 

Steady on there. Don’t lets invoke the law here. We do have a rule that says that ‘highly critical comments’ should be made in the author’s real name but it’s a matter of where you draw the line. There are a lot of users of this forum who wish to maintain their anonymity as they’re worried about making their children identifiable. That seems entirely reasonable.

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To me all these multiple posts regarding Stepanova are just the latest in a line of besotted fans (or perhaps the same fan) promoting certain Kirov dancers, I've read all this stuff before, it used to be about Obraztsova and before that Somova.  It's starting to become tedious and I have serious doubts it actually helps the dancers in question, in fact it could well backfire.

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To me all these multiple posts regarding Stepanova are just the latest in a line of besotted fans (or perhaps the same fan) promoting certain Kirov dancers, I've read all this stuff before, it used to be about Obraztsova and before that Somova.  It's starting to become tedious and I have serious doubts it actually helps the dancers in question, in fact it could well backfire.

 

Couldn't agree more.  At the end of the day, if Stepanova was so unhappy at Mariinsky this change is only for the best.  Both the theatre and the dancer will move on.

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