Moscow City Ballet - UK Tour - Winter 2014/15

[Fiz]

I have not seen a live ballet for about five years and I am so glad we got to see MCB. They compare very well with major British companies. The Von Rothbart was absolutely outstanding. He was slim, tall and young. He was terrifying and an amazing dancer. Our Odette was excellent but frighteningly thin. It wasn't just me that thought so. The corps were young, bright and lovely dancers. I am so pleased we managed to go.

[nottsballetlover]

Made it! I feel like death but I am determined to enjoy this!

Glad you made it to Swan Lake Fiz and enjoyed it!

 

I was at MCB's matinee of Swan Lake on Sunday and really enjoyed it too. Odette/Odile was danced very well by Liliya Oreykhova. Frankly the Jester, Benno and Rothbart get to dance considerably more than the prince in this production and all 3 were fine dancers, particularly the virtuoso jester. In a low budget small scale version of Swan Lake such as this, designed for smaller theatres, the jester part really does liven up proceedings, especially in Act 1! The swan corps were very synchronized and the orchestra was great. Beautiful costumes offset the minimal scenery. Particularly clever costume when Odile makes her initial entrance at the ball in Act 3 wearing a split black and white tutu and depending which way she was facing the audience, she switched characters between Odette/Odile. She then comes on to do the Black Swan ppd in all black tutu - great fouettes! So, a thoroughly enjoyable performance. 

 

Moscow City Ballet, to paraphrase a famous lager advert, reaches parts of the UK that other ballet companies don't reach! Their gruelling touring schedule must be arduous for the dancers but they seemed fresh and enthusiastic throughout both Nottingham shows I saw. Such excellent value ticket price at £31 for a top seat. Most importantly, they pretty much filled the 2000+ capacity Nottingham Concert Hall for every show and judging by conversations around me, lots of the audience were seeing these classical ballets for the first time. 

[sonik1965]

great review nicola would have loved to have seen swanlake but as u say it was pretty much sold out other then a few back row seats in the gods

[Fiz]

I counted 31 fouettes, Notts, but I might have missed one turn! I thought the Jester and Benno were better than Siegfried quite honestly, I was very amused by the Jester's honest admission of how shattered he was after one virtuoso variation and his demand for more applause in our evening performance. I am very tempted to book for the Scunthorpe performance of Giselle but we are seeing the Reduced Shakespeare Company next month and it is my daughter's amateur but almost professional show Guys and Dolls the month after that although she says she doesn't want us to come as the dancing she is doing is too raunchy for parental viewing!

[sonik1965]

I counted 31 fouettes, Notts, but I might have missed one turn! I thought the Jester and Benno were better than Siegfried quite honestly, I was very amused by the Jester's honest admission of how shattered he was after one virtuoso variation and his demand for more applause in our evening performance. I am very tempted to book for the Scunthorpe performance of Giselle but we are seeing the Reduced Shakespeare Company next month and it is my daughter's amateur but almost professional show Guys and Dolls the month after that although she says she doesn't want us to come as the dancing she is doing is too raunchy for parental viewing!

never seen guys & dolls sure it can not be that bad unless thay have updated it

[FrankH]

I'm so glad that the MCB have impressed some of the more knowledgeable members of this forum.

 

Having already seen them in Wimbledon and Croydon (twice at each venue) before Christmas, and thoroughly enjoyed their performances, I saw them perform both "Giselle" and "Swan Lake" at the Richmond Theatre in January. Again I found the occasions highly rewarding. I was going to post about that, but as a newcomer to ballet appreciation I wondered if I hadn't already overpraised them after the Wimbledon and Croydon performances. Then there was a rather snooty review of the company which I read via "dance links", where the reviewer was in effect damning with faint praise. While stating that she wished them well, the reviewer was dismissive of the choreography, and especially rude about Talgat Kozhabaev, whose main quality, according to her, was his size! Well, even I can tell that he's not in the very top league of the world's best male dancers, but he seemed to me to be quite adequate, and, like all the dancers, played his part with winning enthusiasm. This doesn't seem to me to be a company just going through the motions to make money. In any case, as the thread on "How much do ballet dancers earn?" in the "Doing Dance" section of this forum reveals only too well, ballet dancers are paid very little considering the talent, dedication, and sheer energy they have to put into their profession. There are many many far easier ways of making a living.

 

I've now seen them six times, performing four different ballets, and would not hesitate to see them again if the opportunity arose.

[FrankH]

Something else I ought to mention, considering the thread on "Audience Behaviour".

 

At all six performances I attended, at the three different venues, the behaviour of the audience - or at least the part around me I could see - was impeccable.

[sarahw]

Frank

I am also a relatively new ballet watcher. I think your reviews are totally valid. These touring companies are often more accessible financially and geographically and are important in attracting new audiences to ballet.