I think we're all forgetting that Yevgenia Obratzova is only 24 years old. As such, she still has plentiful time to improve her on-stage presence. I mean, what was Fonteyn like in her on-stage presence at the same age? Cassandra, by the time you finally saw Fonteyn live on stage in the 1960's Fonteyn had been actively dancing in a troupe for circa 30 years, and as such could build on her long dancing experience to achive the faultless line and perfect musciality you mentioned. In short, Obratzova is still some ways from hitting her potential artistic peak.

I'm old enough to have seen and known Fonteyn too, Cassandra...MF having been a National Ballet of Washington, DC frequent guest. They have the exact same MAGIC, CHARM, LINE, TECHNIQUE, MUSICALITY and EXTRAORDINARY FACIAL BEAUTY. Obraztsova is to the present what Fonteyn was to the 50s and 60s...and -- I forgot to add earlier -- what Carla Fracci (Obraztsova's little godmother in Rome) was in the late 60s, 70s and ealry 80s.

If anything, Obraztsova is closest in style, spirit and charm to Carla Fracci, who has been her frequent mentor and host in Italy. Case-in-point: Obraztsova's spectacular Romantic technique in ballets like ONDINE (her own!) and GISELLE.

Evgenia Obraztsova is the female balletic miracle of the new millenium...she encapsulates happiness and hope with her art ...and Vladimir Schklyarov is her perfect handsome, high-flying cavalier. One of these days all of you will wake up to realize how very lucky you are to be living in the Era of Obraztsova.

Have you noticed several 2001 and 2002 Vaganova Academy female dancer graduates are really making turning into fast-rising stars in the Mariinsky troupe? Note the fast-rising (and much-heralded) careers of Ekaterina Kondaurova, Olesyia Novikova, Evgenia Obraztsova, and Viktoria Tereshkina.

Don't get me wrong, I think Obratzova is very nice but doubt very much that she will develop into a prima, even making allowances for her age she doesn't have a stage presence that could be described as anything more than pleasant. Don't forget that Osipova at the Bolshoi is younger and already has the ballet world at her feet. Obratzova is a very pretty girl (so is Somova for that matter), but even allowing for beauty being in the eye of the beholder - not what I would call a great beauty.

I think we’ve touched on dancers’ looks before and no one can deny that good looks are a definite plus, but how someone looks on stage shouldn't really matter compared to what they do.

On thing E.O. does have in common with Fonteyn: apparently Margot wasn't a great exponent of Balanchine and having seen Ms Obratzova's Tchaikovsky pas de deux recently, it appears she isn't either.

[quote="Cassandra"]....Obratzova .....doesn't have a stage presence that could be described as anything more than pleasant. .....quote]

That is your opinion and you are most certainly in the minority, madame. Either that or you are joking.

From what I have seen so far (and obviously this is not a proof...), I entirely agree with Cassandra.

Right-on. All four are truly special, Sacto.

Yes, Fonteyn was Ashton's Muse; not Balanchine's. I'm not old enough to have witnessed Fonteyn, but I have seen most of the available film footage. I think her greatest quality was her humanity; that's what strikes me. Her stage presence must have been fantastic IRL. If there's one quality that encapsulates the art of Kondaurova, Novikova, Obratzova, Osmolkina, Tereshkina, Ayupova, Pavlenko et.al, it's their humanity. Everything that they do onstage is real. There's no camouflage and there are no circus tricks or vulgarity .

As far as Obratzova's concerned, "Tchaikovsky Pas De Deux" may be, too uh, "Balanchine" for her artistic temperament. A genuine soubrette-ingenue, Obratzova synthesizes lyricism, dramatic ability, Romanticism, and pure academics. "T Pdd" may be too 'virtuosa,' too 'fast,' and too 'extroverted' for her stage persona. Created for Violette Verdy, and IMO, defined by Patty McBride when I saw her in the mid 70s, I'd say that "T Pdd" is a good example of those characteristics, and probably not Obratzova's best Balanchine showcase. Here is where wise casting, and effective, authoritative Balanchine coaching (should) come in. This is what Management is responsible for. Obratzova dances an excellent 4th Movement in "Symphony in C." Given the opportunity, I'd think she'd be wonderful in "Emeralds," (the first variation), and if these were in the Maryinsky's rep, works such as "La Sonnambula," and "Vienna Waltzes." MO.

Thought you'd seen it all ?
Alina Somova makes her debut in Fokine's The Dying Swan on December 7.

If someone is having a joke, it's a really good one...

I think Obraztsova is a more "specialized" dancer working best in romantic roles--and she is definitely of the right height to do roles designed for shorter female dancers like Aurora from Sleeping Beauty and Giselle. The only ones of the "newer" crop of Mariinsky female dancers that have a chance to get substantial "prima" roles are probably Viktoria Tereshkina (she just needs a tad "warmer" presence on-stage) and Ekaterina Kondaurova (her stage presence stands out very distinctly, especially her flaming red hair that is--in my humble opinion!--giving older Russian balletomanes Maya Plisetskaya flashbacks because Plisetskaya was a redhead during the height of her career from the late 1940's to middle 1960's).

That should be entertaining. Just follow the bouncing bourrees.

The partnership of Vladimir Schklyarov and Evgenia Orbraztsova is starting to remind me of a LEGENDARY husband-and-wife team: Vladimir Vasiliev and Ekaterina Maximova. By the way, Schklyarov and Obarztsova do make a really stunning, handsome couple based on the interview shown on the Russian RTR Planeta channel I saw online recently.

Sorry, but personalities aside, what matters in a troupe, is WHO is pulling the strings behind the scenes.

The author of these lines is writing from OnceGayParee, where over the last fifteen years, the career of an entire generation of promising men and women has been wrecked by influentials to whom the Breakfast Oyster, manifestly, is what Art is Really All About.

The reason no-one outwith Paris has ever heard of the likes of Mélanie Hurel or Fanny Fiat (no, NOT pretty, but, they can dance!), to name only those names, is that the repertory, and the way it is instructed, is so run-into-the ground, so threadbare, that such gifted artists have never really taken flight.

One anticipates with some misgiving the degree to which the troupe is about to come a cropper, in a purported celebration at the Christmas - "Raymonda" . As things now stand, there is NO WAY that the POB can keep the public awake through four endless hours of Glazunov.

And now, sweet Italy, about to have the Makhar Missile launched upon her ... WHEN will we ever learn?

I've noticed that, too. At least the Mariinsky Theatre management has started to embrace the more modern works of Balanchine and Forsythe and also starting to rediscover old gems from among the 50 ballets Petipa choreographed for the Imperial Russian Ballet.

As for Raymonda, we're very fortunate that the Mariinsky and Bolshoi companies are probably the only companies that can put on this ballet and not make the audience nod off. I have the version that was filmed in the late 1980's at the Bolshoi on DVD and it's actually quite good.

I'm afraid I am going to continue to adhere to my 'minority' opinions here as all these comparisons to the great names of the past simply don't hold water in my view.

Currently the company has a kind of schizophrenic attitude to its dancers with on the one hand the group made up of Somova and her imitators, and a second group, Osmolkina, Tereshkina etc that still cling to the 'Old Kirov' style and to me this produces an odd picture of the company as a whole. For example you can be enjoying a fine performance of a ballet until on comes Somova (amusingly nicknamed 'The Wrecker' by one of the Kirov fans I know in London) and the whole show suddenly collapses. Sorry to single out Somova, there are others that have the same effect, but Somova is the most aggressively promoted out of that sorry crew.

A very nice company could still emerge if policies change, but I for one can't see any second Ulanovas, Plisetskayas or Maximova/Vasilievs in the present bunch. The current crop of males in particular is very disappointing with the best of the bunch, Igor Kolb, having been imported from Belarus. Every once in a while the Kirov has managed to include a larger than life personality such as Chaboukiani, Nureyev or Ruzimatov; I'm getting impatient waiting for the next one to appear.