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DVD Review: La Bayadere – The Bolshoi Ballet

July 2, 2014 by 4dancers

blu_bay_bolby Emily Kate Long

The impressive sets and exquisite costumes for Yuri Grigorovich’s staging of La Bayadere primed me to be blown away by the whole production. It’s superbly danced, but some just-missed dramatic moments left me wanting more at the final curtain.

In scale and technical execution, the ballet is outstanding, as should be expected from one of the world’s top companies. Parades of dancers with scarves, fans, drums, birds, and water jugs fill the first two acts in strings of divertissements celebrating the engagement of Gamzatti (Maria Alexandrova) and Solor (Vladislav Lantratov). When the High Brahmin reveals Solor’s involvement with Nikiya, a temple dancer (Svetlana Zakharova), Gamzatti vows to seek revenge. After Nikiya’s death by snakebite, Solor falls into an opium dream in which Nikiya is multiplied by thirty-five shadows. His guilt and despair remain unresolved as the curtain closes on the third act.

Few companies display character dances as energetic as the Bolshoi, and those in Bayadere are no exception. The drum dance is a highlight of the Act 2 variations. The dances for the bridal attendants look crisp and fresh. Soloists in all three acts excel dancing to tempi that bit excitingly at their heels.

As Gamzatti, Alexandrova commands the palace scenes. She’s a haughty woman, fully in control of her body, her kingdom, and her future. Her rage toward Nikiya is unsettling, lending suspense to her forced composure as the Bayadere dances. Lantratov’s Solor seems youthful in comparison to her power.

Zakharova’s extreme flexibility is hypnotizing, but her Nikiya is frequently unreadable. She really opens up in a solo in Act 2, dancing a plea to the gods accompanied by a lone cello. Her prayer is in vain; after an inconvenient dance with a basket of flowers, a snake hidden inside the basket bites her fatally. In this version, Gamzatti is never implicated. Who would dare accuse Alexandrova?

After the extravagance of the first two acts, I looked forward to the simplicity of the Kingdom of the Shades. The Shades’ entrance—32 white tutus , one arabesque after another, snaking down a three-tiered ramp to assemble in a wispy, reverent block—is worth the wait. There’s nothing flat or tedious here, just a dreamy treat for the eyes and ears.

The highlight for Zakharova and Lantratov’s chemistry is her scarf solo in Act 3. It says as much about Solor as Nikiya; her sensitive footwork and phrasing make her no more or less than an extension of the opium smoke that brought about his delirium. I wanted that connection to continue through the end. The rest of the dance-mime in the act is beautifully musical but lacks candor.

If the purpose of remounting the classics is to transport the viewer to the past, the Bolshoi’s production does so. This performance is expertly danced, though it raises few questions about the principal characters.

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: bolshoi ballet, dvd review, la bayadere, yuri grigorovich

DVD Review: The Bolshoi Ballet HD Collection – The Sleeping Beauty

January 16, 2013 by 4dancers

by Vicki Crain

sleeping beauty balletAmerican Ballet Theater principal dancer David Hallberg made international news in the fall of 2011 when he was asked to join the illustrious Bolshoi Ballet as a premiere danseur, the first American ever invited to join the company. One of his first performances in Russia’s newly renovated Moscow Theatre was also filmed for live cinema simulcasts around the globe. This updated version of Petipa’s The Sleeping Beauty features new choreography by Yuri Grigorovich with The Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra playing Tchaikovsky’s famous score.

According to Sergei L. Loiko of The Los Angeles Times, who covered the performance from Moscow, seven cameras filmed the Sunday performance that had the estimated audience of 1,750 in the theater giving a rousing standing ovation. Gorgeous shots of the ornate theater and behind-the-scenes takes from conductor’s view in the orchestra pit create the sense that you are there. Nobody does grandeur quite like the Bolshoi and the lavish sets and costumes, as well as the enormous cast of dancers, are on full golden display here. Even the dramatic tension of the story was heightened by the ultra-slow tempo of the music.

Prima ballerina Svetlana Zakharova (Princess Aurora) handpicked Hallberg to be her Prince Désiré. With long, lean limbs, high-arched feet and exquisite lines and extensions, these two are a match made in ballet heaven. Zakharova’s beautiful, relaxed upper body port de bras are at times defied by the sheer height of her extensions. Her full-split developé a la secondé makes The Rose Adage, albeit extremely slow, inherently more exciting to watch. Hallberg’s entrance solo in Act II is exciting and brilliantly executed. As he finishes, there is a millisecond pause/glitch in the dvd before the audience erupts in applause, as if even the film crew knew they were witnessing history. Bravura solos and effortless partnering make this pair irresistible to watch.

Classic storytelling with technically dazzling dancing make this dvd  a must-see. Standouts in the stellar cast are Nina Kaptosova and Artem Ovcharenko as Princess Florine and the Bluebird, Maria Allash and her liquid bourrees as the Lilac Fairy and Alexey Loparevich (in drag) as the evil fairy Carabosse.

Run time: 138 minutes

BIO: Reviewer Vicki Crain is the voice behind Rogue Ballerina, an excellent blog that covers the Chicago-area dance scene. Check out her site for interviews, previews, reviews and more, and follow her on Twitter at @rogueballerina

Filed Under: DVDs Tagged With: american ballet theatre, Ballet, bolshoi ballet, David Hallberg, dvd, moscow theatre, petipa, prima ballerina, sleeping beauty, Svetlana Zakharova

DVD Review: The Bolshoi Ballet’s Giselle

October 29, 2012 by Ashley David

by Emily Kate Long

bolshoi ballet, giselleFilmed in 2011, this Giselle is Yuri Grigorovich’s version after choreography by Coralli, Perrot, and Petipa. Simon Virsaladze’s set and costume designs are gloriously light and airy, and the staging in both acts is full but polished.

Svetlana Lunkina’s Giselle is playful and modest in Act 1. Her sweetness is well complemented by Dimitry Gudanov’s casual confidence as Albrecht. Lunkina is closeup-ready; every expression is genuine and effective down to the ends of her eyelashes. It’s easy to fall in love with her, and easy to mourn her madness and heartbreak. This Giselle’s believably tragic and deeply personal mad scene is, unfortunately, somewhat cheapened by the villagers’ over-the-top reactions of distress at the close of the act.

The Giselle that appears in Act 2 is, appropriately, the emotionally spent young woman whose world collapsed around her in Act 1. Her innocence has been darkened, her joy dampened. Lunkina is completely at the mercy of a cruel and somber Myrtha (Maria Allash) until her true love and forgiveness of Albrecht break Myrtha’s spell and to save him at sunrise. The dancing of the wilis is pure magic—the suspension of one woman from a rocking mechanism to drop lilies on Albrecht is pure distraction.

The huge scale of a Bolshoi production is something that simply doesn’t exist in the West. For most of us, video is the only way we’ll ever see something so enormous. Watching that magnificence, as well as seeing Lunkina close up, is absolutely a treat, but here video simultaneously detracts where it enhances. The humanity of her Giselle, so wonderfully highlighted in close-ups, seems out of context amid the exaggerated grandness traditional on the Bolshoi stage.

The Bolshoi Ballet and Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra in Giselle. 109 minutes. Pathe Live, Bel Aire Media, and the State Academic Bolshoi Theatre, 2012.

Emily Kate Long, Photo by Avory Pierce

Assistant Editor Emily Kate Long began her dance education in South Bend, Indiana, with Kimmary Williams and Jacob Rice, and graduated in 2007 from Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School’s Schenley Program. She has spent summers studying at Ballet Chicago, Pittsburgh Youth Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School, Miami City Ballet, and Saratoga Summer Dance Intensive/Vail Valley Dance Intensive, where she served as Program Assistant. Ms Long attended Milwaukee Ballet School’s Summer Intensive on scholarship before being invited to join Milwaukee Ballet II in 2007.

Ms Long has been a member of Ballet Quad Cities since 2009. She has danced featured roles in Deanna Carter’s Ash to Glass and Dracula, participated in the company’s 2010 tour to New York City, and most recently performed principal roles in Courtney Lyon’s Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, and Cinderella. She is also on the faculty of Ballet Quad Cities School of Dance, where she teaches ballet, pointe, and repertoire classes.

 

Filed Under: 4dancers, DVDs, Reviews Tagged With: albrecht, bolshoi ballet, coralli, dimitry gudanov, giselle, perrot, petipa, svetlana lunkina, yuri grigorovich

Photographing The Joffrey Ballet

August 31, 2012 by 4dancers

by Christopher Duggan

Derrick Agnoletti of The Joffrey Ballet in Son of Chamber Symphony; photo Christopher Duggan, courtesy Jacob’s Pillow Dance.

Last week marked the end of Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival’s 80th Anniversary, and I found myself scrambling from one dress rehearsal to the other trying to squeeze in documentation of both main stage performances. I was so excited/nostalgic about the fact that this is the last week of the summer, and I wanted to capture it all.

Victoria Jaiani and Miguel Angel Blanco of The Joffrey Ballet in Son of Chamber Symphony; photo Christopher Duggan, courtesy Jacob’s Pillow Dance.”

I loved The Joffrey Ballet‘s program. They danced Bells by former Bolshoi Ballet dancer and San Francisco Ballet choreographer Yuri Possokhov, Age of Innocence by Edwaard Liang, and Son of Chamber Symphony, a world premiere by Stanton Welch. It’s always exciting to photograph a world premiere. My photos will be the first ones showcasing the new dance, and it makes me nervous and psyched.

Victoria Jaiani and Miguel Angel Blanco of The Joffrey Ballet in Son of Chamber Symphony; photo Christopher Duggan, courtesy Jacob’s Pillow Dance.

This idea is amplified at Jacob’s Pillow where world-renowned companies perform on a world stage. It’s a big deal to premiere work at the Pillow. All eyes are here. I knew the company wanted approval of the images before they were given to the press, so I wanted to be sure I delivered both quality and quantity. I made a larger number of photographs than I typically do at dress rehearsal, and prepared and edited the photos for use within hours. It’s a lot of pressure to photograph for press use, but it’s something I’ve grown used to in the fast-paced world of performance documentation.

I had a great time with The Joffrey. The dancers were so talented, and the tutus in Stanton Welch’s new work were exquisite and especially fun to photograph.

Yumelia Garcia and Matthew Adamczyk of The Joffrey Ballet in Son of Chamber Symphony; photo 2012 Christopher Duggan, courtesy Jacob’s Pillow Dance.

Please visit my blog if you’d like to see more from this year’s festival. I post photos from Jacob’s Pillow each Friday, and I’m doing a few special projects in the coming weeks that I’d love to share.

Christopher Duggan, Photo by Julia Newman

Contributor Christopher Duggan is the founder and principal photographer of Christopher Duggan Photography, a New York City-based wedding and dance photography studio. Duggan has been the Festival Photographer for Jacob’s Pillow Dance since 2006. In this capacity, and as a respected New York-based dance photographer, he has worked with renowned choreographers and performers of international acclaim as well as upstarts in the city’s diverse performance scene.

He has created studio shots of Gallim Dance, Skybetter +  Associates and Zvidance, among others, and in 2011 alone, he has photographed WestFest at Cunningham Studios, Dance From the Heart for Dancers Responding to Aids, The Gotham Dance Festival at The Joyce Theater, and assisted Nel Shelby Productions in filming Vail International Dance Festival.

Duggan often teams up with his talented wife and Pillow videographer Nel Shelby (http://nelshelby.com). A New York City-based husband and wife dance documentation team, they are equipped to document performances, create and edit marketing videos and choreography reels, and much more.

Christopher Duggan Photography also covers Manhattan’s finest wedding venues, the Metropolitan and Tri-State areas, and frequently travels to destination weddings.  The company’s mission is straightforward and heartfelt – create timeless, memorable images of brides, grooms, their families and friends, and capture special moments of shared love, laughter and joy.

His photographs appear in The New York Times, Destination I Do, Photo District News, Boston Globe, Financial Times, Dance Magazine, Munaluchi Bridal, and Bride & Bloom, among other esteemed publications and popular wedding blogs. One of his images of Bruce Springsteen was added to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s celebrated photography collection in 2010. His company has been selected for inclusion in “The Listings” in New York Weddings magazine.

Filed Under: 4dancers, Editorial, Finis Tagged With: bolshoi ballet, christopher duggan, dance photography, Edwaard Liang, jacob's pillow, san francisco ballet, stanton welch, the joffrey, the joffrey ballet, tutus, yuri possokhov

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