Geoff Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 Here's a snapshot of the programme (hope readable enough). There was an extra piece in the second half, not listed here. Does anyone know about this (it got the beginnings of boos, at least where I was sitting)? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 Couldn't make this Gala this year but looks a great line up and would have particularly liked to see Artem Ovcharenko dance. why do you think there was booing? I imagine it's rare at this sort of Gala! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 Looking forward eagerly to hearing more about the evening....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Wall Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 Don't have much time ... in fact any really ... but will quickly say that the highlights FOR ME in this effectively run gala were Wegrzyn. Let's start there. (Well, he was first out.) Let's type it in capital letters: WEGRZYN. Blissful he was with Magri in the Coppelia. Such placement. Kim - last out - and who was as ever consistent in his stylistic inconsistencies - should immediately sign up for a master class in that artistry - and partnering - with this extraordinary young man. Poor Krysanova virtually had to dance that Corsaire adagio by herself. (The audience wildly applauded a pirouette Kim fell out of during his Ali solo after having entirely collapsed on stage during the last of a trio of jumps. T'is a simple lesson I fear. If you don't finish your steps you'll never be prepared to deliver the following ones. Still the audience wildly responds as ever to his circus leap. That leap alone I grant is notable. What would they do if they could have seen Baryishnikov ENTIRELY conquer this same? The roof might I fear have have been in danger of collapsing. Still, no need for that concern here. Wegrzyn - on the extreme OTHER hand and without hesitation - was artistry personified. He defined good taste. We KNEW we were in great hands with him. Bernal was simply searing in the physical maturity he brought to bear in The Swan and Hayward enchanted in the Giselle segment - but so much has been written about that hereabouts I won't go on. Suffice it to stay It was a thrill to see her on this broader stage. She made the air about her sing. (The ENB Philharmonic dazzled in its richness of its tone throughout. So refreshing to again hear the full blooded Adam orchestration.) Tereshkina and Shklyarov were potent in the sultry stays of the Legend of Love pdd - for my money Grigorovich's best ballet. Would that Tereshkina had danced the Black Swan pdd with Shklyarov as well (much as those of us in London have oft had a chance to see) for sadly - on this occasion - Parish ... erm ... perished. It was a decidedly off night for him. Still, that happens. Was most sad that Novikova did not appear as I have been a fan. Still, that said it was lovely to again see Tikhomirova and Ovcharenko back on stage together now as a married couple. (So loved all of those Mistrals they gave us in Flames during the last Bolshoi visit). They did not disappoint in the La Sylphide, even if it looked a mite strange here out of context and their costumes certainly were mightily wayward in their pantomime domain. Enjoyed Kondaurova and Belyakov in the the world premiere of A Flashback by (new to me), Ilya Zhivoy ... but could have done without much of the (seemingly under-rehearsed) rigours of the MacKay brothers' Warrior of Light although admired the stealth of an unaccredited stint by the Royal Ballet's very own Fernando Montano. Alexandrova and Lantratov are - as ever - delectable together and it is simply glorious to be able to watch her husband her considerable resources at this the culmination of her career - and especially after that horrific mid-air collision which many of us painfully forced to witness at the ROH. (And, yes, the band played on.) The potency of their ardour - together and apart - was here most keenly etched in the Nureyev/Fonteyn adagio from Nureyev. I have always admired the musical sway of Possokhov's construct in his many works for SFB and here you can see - or at least taste - the fruits of his own boosting chrysalis. I look forward to sampling the entire feast embedded in this reportedly controversial reveal when it appears - as rumoured - in the Bolshoi's 2019 sojourn at the (newly 'opened up'???) ROH. Hope this gives some sense of the evening. Again it was slickly produced ... and congratulations to the producers to running more or less to time. No mean feat in such circumstances. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 (edited) Just as a matter of interest, below is a comparison of the original list of ‘runners’ with those who danced last night. Maria Alexandrova (Bolshoi Theatre), Roman Belyakov (Mariinsky Theatre), Sergio Bernal (Ballet Nacional de España), Audric Bezard (Ballet de l’Opéra de Paris), Federico Bonelli (The Royal Ballet), Maria Eichwald (Stuttgart Ballet), Dorothée Gilbert (Ballet de l’Opéra de Paris), David Hallberg (ABT/The Royal Ballet), Francesca Hayward (The Royal Ballet), Maria Sascha Khan, Nadia Khan (Teatro dell’Opera di Roma), Kim Kimin (Mariinsky Theatre), Ekaterina Kondaurova (Mariinsky Theatre), Vladislav Lantratov (Bolshoi Theatre), Julian McKay (Mikhailovsky Theatre) – came on but did not dance, Nicholas McKay, Olesya Novikova (Mariinsky Theatre), Natalia Osipova (The Royal Ballet), Artem Ovcharenko (Bolshoi Theatre), Xander Parish (Mariinsky Theatre), Guiseppe Picone (Teatro di San Carlo), Dmitry Semionov (Semperoper Dresden Ballett), Polina Semionova (Staatsballett Berlin), Anna Tikhomirova (Bolshoi Theatre), Jacopo Tissi (Bolshoi Theatre), Stanislaw Wegrzyn (The Royal Ballet) and Mayara Magri replacing Sae Maeda (The Royal Ballet) Additional dancers were: Claudia D’Antonio (Teatro Partenopeo/Teatro di San Carlo) Fernando Montano (Royal Ballet) – replacing Julian Mackay Ekaterina Krysanove (Bolshoi) Victoria Tereshkina (Mariinsky) – who also replaced Osipova in The Legend of Love pas de deux I could not identify the dancers in the additional, unnamed piece referred to by Geoff (above) and it is possible that they were among those not shown in bold in my list. I don’t think that anyone needed to feel short-changed by the absences as Tereshkina and Krysanova were stunning, as was Kimin Kim. The Royal Ballet's Apprentice Stanislaw Wegrzyn gave notice that he is a talent to watch. However, I have to say, reluctantly, that the contributions from The Royal Ballet did not register as strongly as I wanted them to, nor did that of Xander Parish. Edited February 26, 2018 by capybara 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mummykool Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 (edited) 3 hours ago, Geoff said: There was an extra piece in the second half, not listed here. Does anyone know about this (it got the beginnings of boos, at least where I was sitting)? Not to my knowledge Geoff. The programme matched what we saw and there wasn't any booing near us. Have to say we were rather underwhelmed by the evening and were surprised by the wild cheering for some pretty much standard (and some notably sub-standard) performances. A lot looked under-rehearsed to my jaundiced eye, and Bruce has succinctly said it all regarding Kimin Kim! Having said that, it is always a pleasure to see Maria Alexandrova's wide smile and she certainly got a deservedly warm reception. In fact, the 'Margeurite and Armand' adagio from 'Nureyev' was definitely the highlight of our evening. Edited February 26, 2018 by Mummykool punctuation 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeauxArts Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 Hello - this is my debut on this interesting and lively forum! Thank you for accepting me as a member! I am sorry I missed this gala: what I am surprised to learn is that Vladimir Shklyarov made it from Munich where he danced at 11 am yesterday morning in Petrushka, to London in time to appear in the Legend of Love pa de deus (maybe originally to have been danced with Osipova?)! Impressive! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 As Geoff posted a copy of the schedule, it seemed an ideal place to branch this off into a "Performances" discussion - thanks, Geoff And welcome to the forum, BeauxArts: that is indeed impressive to hear about Shklyarov! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 2 hours ago, capybara said: Just as a matter of interest, below is a comparison of the original list of ‘runners’ with those who danced last night. That's actually pretty impressive by the usual standards of this gala, isn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeauxArts Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 Thank you, Alison! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAB Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 2 hours ago, Bruce Wall said: Kim fell out of during his Ali solo after having entirely collapsed on stage during the last of a trio of jumps. He very clearly slipped he absolutely did not collapse. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 I think one of the problems with Galas is that they are often under rehearsed and some things a bit cobbled together at the last minute. Im not usually that keen on Galas as a general rule unless they are for charity ....or sometimes to catch a particularly admired dancer that one might not be a le to see that often. I can't remember with this one ....it's not to raise money for any particular cause ....I didn't think....but perhaps was it to raise awareness of Russian dancers in the UK? Am really not sure. I went last year and loved it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Estreiiita Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 I was also lucky to be present at yesterday's performance, and liked it enormously! All dancers did their best and performed with a great ability and wish to dance! Stanislaw Wegrzyn is surely a very promising dancer, but in my opinion he still has much to learn about partnership - his hand holding Mayara's was not just trembling, it was shaking quite notably - the poor girl had almost no chance to keep the balance after that "support", but well, if she came to substitute at the last moment, it's understandable! For me all pieces were worth of seeing but most of all I was impressed by lightness and musicality of Francesca Hayward, beauty and expression of Ekaterina Kondaurova, physical ability of stunning Polina Semionova, joyful play and a lot of love of Anna Tikhomirova and Artem Ovcharenko, and, above all, the brilliant queen of the scene Maria Alexandrova and her partner, and, of course, amazing Victoria Tereshkina - both as the Black Swan and the eastern tsarine ! I must confess I liked Kimin Kim a lot - oh, those jumps - he just flies above the scene, I wished I could see him in a full time performance! But yes, he could do with a bit more acting, a smile, a loving touch...quite different from Vladislav Lantratov who not just partnered, but also cared about his wife enormously! All in all, the evening I'll remember for a long time! The only slight disappointment is with the information of the public about changes - I, for instance, didn't recognize Fernando Mora ( he was divine!) and just wondered, how much does MacKay brother differ from the others! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Estreiiita Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 I, for instance, came to be there by accident - actually, I came to watch " The Winter's tale" - wow, what a pleasure! It was superb! But as I anyway intended to spend the whole weekend in London, after the Gala had been announced, I thought:" Why not?" For me, indeed, it was a rare opportunity to see many outstanding dancers and I haven't regretted my decision, on the contrary, liked everything a lot! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 I am a bit worried that Osipova didn't dance....or was that change implemented a while ago? I've been looking forward to Thursday for months so I hope she is okay! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAB Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 3 minutes ago, Sim said: I am a bit worried that Osipova didn't dance....or was that change implemented a while ago? I've been looking forward to Thursday for months so I hope she is okay! Worryingly, there was a loose cast sheet inside the programme which appeared to duplicate what was printed inside, except for one amendment - Tereshkina replacing Osipova in Legend of Love. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeauxArts Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 There was some discussion on Russian forums that Osipova had mentioned at a public talk 2 weeks ago when rehearsing Legend of Love that she had hurt her right leg. At the end of the performance some people also reported that she was limping slightly during the curtain calls. Hopefully she is recovering but maybe chose not to dance last night as a precaution... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fonty Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 1 hour ago, LinMM said: I went last year and loved it. Me too. Last year, I read some of the things people had to say about galas in general, and I was really worried I had wasted my money, but I had a great time. Ok, some of the items began as though the performers were moving slightly tentatively in unfamiliar surroundings, but they all overcame this very rapidly. I really enjoyed it last year, and I am sorry I couldn't make it this year. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amelia Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 58 minutes ago, BeauxArts said: ... maybe chose not to dance last night as a precaution... I believe very much that this is the case. Dancers know their own body and how to protect it. Giselle is a full ballet, especially with Holberg whom she missed as a partner for so long. I am wishing her to take all precautions to be physically fit and to delight the audience this Thursday. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 I certainly hope so. Scheduled company commitments ought to take priority over a few minutes in a gala, disappointing though it may be for the attendees. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnross Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 Interesting comments regarding the apparent under rehearsing. I had the pleasure to sit (and photograph) through the 5 hours of the rehearsal. They not only had to place but the lighting was being done at the same time. Imagine getting the 14 acts through with all the setting up and taking down in that time and I would like to congratulate Paul the stage manager in keeping the stars on schedule. Sadly of course they were mostly not in costume or makeup but to see these great artists in action was an honour. I just had to defend the comments. I will post some pictures in due course. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnross Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 Remember that these pictures were taken during a technical and not a dress rehearsal, thus the artists are not in full costume or make up. Just a selection from the 14 act programme. Part 1 Stanislaw Wegrzyn and Mayara Magri in Coppellia Francesca Hayward and Frederico Bonelli in Giselle pdd Alexei Orlenco and Polina Semionova in Cello Duet (from Bach) Maria Alexandrova and Vladislav Lantratov in Don Quixote More pictures in www.johnrossballetgallery.co.uk 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnross Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 And some from Part 2. Nadia Khan in Warrior of Light Xander Parish and Victoria Tereshkina in Black Swan pdd Sergio Bernal in The Swan More pictures on www.johnrossballetgallery.co.uk 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amelia Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 (edited) 23 hours ago, johnross said: ... I had the pleasure to sit (and photograph) through the 5 hours of the rehearsal. They not only had to place but the lighting was being done at the same time. Imagine getting the 14 acts through with all the setting up and taking down in that time and I would like to congratulate Paul the stage manager in keeping the stars on schedule. Thank you, John, for your excellent photos. I also want to join you in the praise of Paul Godfrey. He is such a hard working man. In addition to your photos here is a link to a short report on the Gala. Sorry, it is in Russian but at least it includes some short clips: https://xn--b1agj9af.xn--80aswg/video/rossija-24/v-londone-proshel-trinadcatyi-gala-konce.html Edited February 27, 2018 by Amelia the link added 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard LH Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 (edited) Various performance photos here...http://www.danceeurope.net/gallery/russian-ballet-icons-gala-2018 one "disappointing" review here https://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/2018/russian-ballet-icons-review-london-coliseum/ but a "masterclass" review here ! https://www.standard.co.uk/go/london/arts/russian-ballet-icons-gala-2018-review-a-masterclass-in-showboats-and-seduction-a3775601.html and another favourable review http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/russian-ballet-london-coliseum-15598 Sorry I now realise these reviews are already listed on the Dance Links thread. Edited February 27, 2018 by Richard LH additions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Q Fan Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 Overall quite a nice show if short. Lovely to see Mummykool. Some interesting pieces, especially the Cello Duet and I really wish the Bolshoi would film Nureyev - we had such a teaser from Lantratov and Alexandrova who wowed Act1 with their DonQ. A few curtain call pics for you - think you know who is who:- Lantratov/Alexandrova Tereshkina/Parish Krysanova/Kim Kondaurova/Belyakov Semionova/Orlenco Shklyarov/Ovcharenko/Tikhomirova/Bernal 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Q Fan Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 Demitry Semionov didn't dance either. I hope Osipova/Hallberg turn up for Giselle next week. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amelia Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 54 minutes ago, Don Q Fan said: ... I hope Osipova/Hallberg turn up for Giselle next week. They are scheduled to dance this Thursday on the 1st of March. Thank you for your lovely photos, Don Q. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 Lovely piccies Don Q thanks for posting 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RHowarth Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 14 hours ago, Amelia said: They are scheduled to dance this Thursday on the 1st of March. Thank you for your lovely photos, Don Q. Hallberg spotted in class today courtesy of Stix-Brunell's Instagram feed so looks promising. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMC Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 Having never seen Hallberg dance, I am permanently glued to the weather forecast!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 I rather thought some returns for Thursday might come up, and so they have- great- but, it looks as if it will be almost impossible to get there and impossible to get back...life's little ironies 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amelia Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 More than a dozen of different tickets for tomorrow were available online since this morning . Most of them were expensive. Some were eventually sold but other tickets appeared. For those who are desperate to see this performance there are 2 Balcony tickets at £56 are available on ROH website at the moment. It helps if you keep checking from time to time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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