<B>'Historic' gala for Kirov</B> <BR>By Kevin Chaffee and Ann Geracimos for THE WASHINGTON TIMES<P><BR>The gala event brought together for the first time on an American stage members of the famed Kirov opera, ballet and orchestra of St. Petersburg's Mariinsky Theatre in a special program titled "A Tribute to Tchaikovsky." It probably helped that Valery Gergiev, the Kirov's dynamic general and artistic director (who was listed as one of the evening's hosts), directed the performance while wielding his baton from the pit.<P>A moving and poetic duet from "Iolanta" was followed by a triumphant rendition of George Balanchine's ballet, danced to the Russian master composer's elegiac "Serenade" by 20 filmy, blue-clad ballerinas. Then came a rousing scene in a gambling den from "Pique Dame." Three more offerings took place after intermission, including a dramatic extract from the little-known "Mazeppa" opera.<BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.washtimes.com/entertainment/20020222-74506348.htm" TARGET=_blank><B>click for more</B></A><BR><p>[This message has been edited by Stuart Sweeney (edited February 28, 2002).]

<B>The Kirov at a Crossroads, Torn Between Then and Now</B><BR>by Robert Gottlieb in The New York Observer<P><BR>The Kirov—the world’s premier dance company, the company of Petipa and Fokine, of Nijinsky and Pavlova, of Balanchine and Danilova and Spessivtseva, of Nureyev and Makarova and Baryshnikov—is finally lurching into the 20th century (forget the 21st). Having missed modernism and postmodernism, and with the West now available both as inspiration and cash cow, it’s hurrying to catch up. On the evidence of its recent season at the Kennedy Center, though, the company is in a state of confusion, rushing pell-mell in two different and opposite directions at once. In fact, the Washington program—Petipa’s Sleeping Beauty paired with Balanchine’s Jewels—can serve as an exact metaphor for the Kirov today.<P><A HREF="http://www.observer.com/pages/dance.asp" TARGET=_blank><B>click for more</B></A>

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>On the evidence of its recent season at the Kennedy Center, though, the company is in a state of confusion, rushing pell-mell in two different and opposite directions at once. In fact, the Washington program—Petipa’s Sleeping Beauty paired with Balanchine’s Jewels—can serve as an exact metaphor for the Kirov today.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Robert Gottlieb is a very experienced ballet critic and his eye for evaluating performance shines through in this article. However, I am puzzled at his notion that one of the elite companies in the world can only pursue one goal despite the huge number of highly-talented dancers at their disposal. <P>I share Gottlieb's view of the 'original' version of 'Sleeping Beauty' and once will be enough for me. However, a ballet historian friend of mine found it engrossing and can't wait to see it again. I respect the motivation to wish to reconstruct this version. <P>Similarly I can understand that the Kirov wishes to expand its 20th Century rep from the limited scope of the Soviet years and Balanchine is an obvious choice. Again I agree with Gottlieb that they perform 'Rubies' beautifully. The Kirov is now commissioning new work including a piece from UK contemporary choreographer Wayne Mcgregor, which should evoke an 'interesting' response in some quarters. <P>I believe that a Company of this stature is right to set a multi-tasking strategy and preserve its heritage as well as developing the art form and providing creative artistic challenges for its dancers. This is exactly what the admirable Paris Opera Ballet does.

Stuart, I didn't realise that the Kirov is commissioning a piece by Wayne McGregor. Is it for next season?

Kevin, here's what he said on the londondance chatroom:<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Janie: Is it true that you are going to work with the Kirov? What will you be doing with them? Will you be taking insect arms?! <P>Wayne: No insect arms only microchips. Yes I have been at the Kirov last year before my rehearsals for Nemesis. It was amazing to be there at that theatre and with those fantastic dancers. I went to cast my piece it was due to be performed in June but has been rescheduled for later in the year.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Here's the link to the <A HREF="http://www.londondance.com/Content.asp?Level=4&SubSection=740" TARGET=_blank><B><BR>full transcript</B></A>.<P><p>[This message has been edited by Stuart Sweeney (edited March 01, 2002).]