Another tepid review of Spartacus:

Joan Acocella's thoughtful evaluation of the Bolshoi:



I found the comments on Spartacus especially amusing.

--Andre

The New Yorker article by Joan Acocella… Too many contradictions there. On one hand she writes that the Bolshoi ensemble doesn't do Pharaoh's Daughter justice. On the other, she sings praises to Alexandrova, Zakharova and Vorobiev, who happen to be part of that same ensemble. And that orgasmic excitement over the The Bright Stream! Wow-zers, might be as well written by Mr. Ratmansky himself. Or might just be another example where the audience is at odds with critics. It was the only ballet to which the Met could not sell enough tickets. The people who I talked to, told me that the only reason they went to see The Bright Spring was because they couldn't get tickets to any other Bolshoi show. She mentions Ekaterina Shipulina as the future of the Bolshoi, when in fact this dancer is of the same age as today's primas: Zakharova and Alexandrova.

Whether the Bolshoi is or isn't what it used to be, I can't say, because I am too young to have witnessed its former glory. I can say with confidence, however, that judging by the quality of its dance reviews The New Yorker certainly isn't what it used to be.

Yes and I'm sure that Gennady Yanin, who I believe is the company's deputy director, will be delighted to be described as a "junior dancer".



Well I'm old enough to remember back a few decades and I can remember that the critics always sharpened their knives for this company. Okay they don't have a Vasiliev, Lavrovsky, Liepa, Maximova, or Bessmertnova; but since then they've had the younger Liepa, the younger Fadeyechev, Taranda, Vetrov, Ananiashvili and Kirov import Semenyaka. Today Alexandrova and Tsiskaridze lead the field: thats not a bad roll call over the years.

To be fair, fedora, Acocella criticises Lacotte for the failure of "The Pharoe,s Daughter", rather than the Bolshoi. Following from that, her praise for the dancers doesn't seem out of line.

Her dismissal of "Spartacus" reflects my own views and, like you, I haven't seen "The Bright Stream", but as Ratmansky's "Dybbuk" was bubbling with ideas and emotion, I hope they bring it to London for their next visit. It doesn't surprise me that "The Bright Stream" had the lowest sales in the season if US audiences follow the UK's love of ballets they know.

Not at all, Stuart,
Like The Bright Stream, The Pharaoh's Daughter was shown to us for the first time as well and believe me, it had thundering success at the Met! You should have witnessed the ovation at the end of this show! People wouldn’t let the dancers go! And prior to the performance there were people as far as Columbus Ave, seeking extra tickets - any tickets! How can this possibly constitute a failure? I don’t get it

Not so sure, Stuart. This is where she is talking about Pharaoh’s Daughter:

Zakharova, Tsiskaridze, Alexandrova are not at all interesting ... ... how come? I really believe that The New Yorker could have come up with a more informative and informed article. It is The New Yorker after all

Hello,

Can someone tell me where I can find the tour schedule for the Bolshoi Ballet for 2006? It seems I missed their appearances in California this year but would love to see them. If someone could direct me to a US tour schedule, or where I might go to find this out that would be most helpful. I went to the Bolshoi site but only found performances in Russia.

Many thanks,

amy