According to the excellent French language site, Dansomanie, the Kirov is giving three performance in Spain on 9th, 10th & 11th November in Valencia. The dancers include Lopatkina and Kondaurova with a guest appearence from Carlos Acosta. As the programme includes Scheherazade one can't help but speculate about a Lopatkina/Acosta pairing.

A case of fire melting ice perhaps?

For those with some Spanish a little more here:

http://www.adn.es/cultura/20091023/NWS- ... ladas.html

Cassandra thanks for this news.

I don't personally consider Lopatkina "ice" -- she's a great artist, and has a very intellectual and highly musical approach to her dancing. She's just as passionate about her art form, if not moreso, than many of the other ballerinas on the MT roster at present. Many talented artists don't have the intelligence to approach things in the same manner she does, so they may rely (often lazily) on sheer talent, which granted, can take one quite far, but on an off night , well, doesn't leave much of interest to watch.

Acosta on the other hand is much more intuitive and "in the moment" in his dancing, and doesn't strike me as the analytical type. So I"d be interested in seeing this pairing for that difference in their approach to roles onstage more than anything. They may complement each other superbly. He also certainly has the height to partner her, which is not a small detail.

If anyone attends this performance, I will be curious to hear feedback!

I agree with you that Dansomanie is a great forum. Thanks to them I’ve been aware of a lot of performances that are due to take place in my country.

The Mariinsky is in Spain with Acosta as a guest star. The pity is that it is during three working days so no way to be able to go to Valencia to atten

The Spanish magazine El Mundo, has published a new about and there also is a video

Thanks Carolina! I heard about Acosta/Lopatkina and I am very curious how they appear onstage. It is too bad you cannot attend but I am glad you posted!

If you speak Spanish, can you give us an idea what the news article said?

I agree Carolina, so cheap and easy for me to fly on a budget airline to Spain in November but I can't get away mid week either. Really frustrating.

Of course Catherine, with pleasure!

Here it is a sum up of what the article tells:

Headed by who is considered as the best classical ballet dancer of the moment, the Ukrainian Uliana Lopatkina, the Ballet of the Mariinsky Theater of Saint Petersburg celebrates the centenary of the Ballets Ruses in the "Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia" of Valencia.

There will be three performances (9, 10 and 11) and the program is about three of the most emblematic works of Mikhail Fokine (1880-1942), 'Sylphides', 'Fire bird' and 'Sheherezade'.

Carlos Acosta will be guest performing the role of the Golden Slave in 'Sheherezade'. This role was created for Vaslav Nijinsky and was the one who immortalized him as “God of the dance”.

Acosta will dance with Uliana Lopatkina – she will be main role as the favourite of the harem, enthroned Zobeida- who is the star of the Mariinsky from 1995. Along with Lopatkina, there will be principal dancers of the ballet of Saint Petersburg like Ekaterina Kondaurova, Tatiana Tkachenko, Elena Yevseyeva or Xenia Ostreikovskaya.

This tribute to Mikhail Fokine, the revolutionary teacher of ballet, choreographer and dancer and impeller of the modern Russian choreography that gave aesthetic and style to the revolutionary company, will only be seen in Valencia.

It would have been a good opportunity for the Teatro Real in Madrid to program the Mariinsky - although it has been there few seasons ago; and it would add prestige as its eternal competitor, the Bolshoi, opened there the season this year-, since it was in this Madrilenian theatre where the company of Diaghilev also left its energy in 1916 and 1917 - when Spain was its refuge before the Great War-, and, for the last time, in 1921.
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I’ve made a search for critics but nothing at all… incredible but true!

Yes Cassandra, sooo frustrating for me too…

Thanks so much Carolina for your efforts. If you see a review, I'm sure others are also interested to know what the locals are saying of the performances, esp of the Lopatkina/Acosta pairing .

Roger Salas did not miss the event and reported at El Pais.

Here it is the link for those able to understand Spanish.

El País

I’m translating the paragraph were he talks about the performance itself, focussing on Lopatkina and Acosta:


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Also at a local newspaper, there is a short article titled:

´Plisetskaya the complete dancer´

Yuri Fateev arrived at the Mariinsky as a dancer the same year when one of its greatest dancers, Mikhail Baryshnikov, fled to the United States. But the times have changed and "Russia no longer is a closed and communist country. People choose where to live and to work. The doors are open". Also to come in - there are some dancers from Austria and Korea, and a young person of the Royal Ballet of London is going to join the company soon, but under some conditions. There is nothing about galactic contracts but with a previous stage at the Vaganova Academy.

The greatest ones? Yuri Soloviev, in the Seventies, Fateev says, "he was music onstage". Baryshnikov "he is very natural, one of the very best". "And I adore Maya Plisetskaya - he adds- she is the complete dancer. She is everything: one of those unique cases joining physic, mind and hard work". He saw Nureyev at the end of his career, "but in the videos he is very moving". About Spaniards he says he knows well his “amigo” Angel Corella, Joaquin de Luz, Tamara Rojo and "contemporary" Nacho Duato. He endorses Corella’s project in Segovia, "because to construct a company of classic ballet there is necessary first to have a school.

Original article in Spanish here

Does anyone know more about this?


PS -- Thank you, Carolina, for your reports and translations.