For a variety of reasons Pavlenko, Vishneva and Makhalina have danced little in London. Assuming Daria Pavlenko is fully recovered (she did perform two Bayaderes) then all three will not have had too taxing a time in London.

<small>[ 05 August 2003, 10:16 AM: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

Lopatkina really does internalise her drama. I agree that she is in a category of her own. My Russian friends simply adore her. I saw her in civilian clothes at the Mariisnky some years back and whe was bombarded for requests for autographs and fans had complete adoration in their eyes.

Svetlana Zakharova will join the Bolshoi Ballet next season and will not go with Kirov Ballet on US tour.

Arina - do we have any insights into as to why Miss Zakharova is going to the Bolshoi?

As I know Svetlana has been invited to the Bolshoi several times. First time she was invited by Vladimir Vasiliev when hi was a director some years ago. And now she has decided that the time is good for her moving to Moscow. She says the Bolshoi offered her the best conditions.
Her first appearance on the stage of Bolshoi will be in Gala of “Grand Pas” festival in August, 30. She will dance a duet from “Sheherazade” with Nikolai Tsiskaridze. However “Grand Pas” isn’t a project of Bolshoi Theater and the new season there will start on 4 September. Then she will dance in the “Pharaoh's Daughter” with Sergei Filin in October. This ballet is planned to be filmed by French TV.

Thanks Arina for that insight!

I'm curious who they plan to replace Zahkarova with for the US tour.

The Kirov currently perform two versions of "La Bayadere", that is the reconstructed one (London in July) and the Soviet era producion (May in Salford). Does anyone know which version will be performed on the US tour?

I looked up some stuff in the LA Times archives, and according to a March 26 brief, the Kirov will be performing the reconstructed "La Bayadere" at least in Los Angeles. The article does not mention anything about other legs of the tour, only that "At the Kodak from Oct. 14-19, the Russian dance company will perform its recent elaborate reconstruction of Marius Petipa's full-length ballet "La Bayadere," which the company presented to critical acclaim in New York in 2002."

Are there any similar anouncement pieces in the Detroit or Cleveland papers that might hint at whether or not they will see the reconstruction? Websites for the two venues say nothing about which version they will be performing. Detroit looks like it could conceivably get the reconstruction, but the Cleveland run begins very soon after the Detroit run. Even though the two cities are relatively close, will that be enough time to transport the new set (which I've heard is massive)?

--Art (now home from a great month and a half across the pond, where he didn't get to see enough of the Kirov)

Art, thanks for your research. I had a look at this site which gives links to all the theatres presenting the Kirov on the US tour:

http://www.kirov.com

The three theatres presenting "La Bayadère" in Hollywood, Detroit and Cleveland all have the evening performances starting at 8pm. If it is the reconstructed version, curtain down would be around midnight, which would be unlikely here. In addition, none of the websites mention the reconstruction.

On balance Art, I would put my money on this being the Soviet era version that was shown in Salford.

That would be very disappointing if LA did not get the reconstruction; but I suppose the main thing I wanted to see in "La Bayadere" was the Kirov corps doing the Kingdom of the Shades - which, of course, both versions have.

I considered the curtain time being a factor in decoding which version we would get, however, the Kodak Theatre management has been known in the past to not completely comprehend the smaller but unique details of presenting ballet. The Kodak is primarily a concert venue, and everything inside is treated as a concert production no matter what is actually being presented (seating, policies, start times, etc.). So I wouldn't be surprised if management overlooked the fact that this is a 4 hour production.

One thing's for sure though: if it turns out to not be the reconstruction, the LA Times will most definetly complain loudly in any coverage of the LA tour.

--Art

It appears now that Los Angeles, Detroit and Cleveland will *not* be getting the reconstructed version of "La Bayadere," just as Stuart said. We are, however, getting the sets and costumes from the reconsruction - just not the production that they were made for. Were they perhaps afraid that the fourth hour would turn off some audiences? Or, perhaps the reconstruction requires the hiring of far too many additional people just to populate the stage, making it uneconomical for touring?

--Art

In the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

Kirov in Cleveland

- Wilma Salisbury

More

Most likely the sticking point is the number of children required to dance in the latest production. They would need to be recruited, trained and rehearsed at every venue: obviously an impossibility.

Of the "new" re-discovered choreography, the absolute gem is the Lotus Dance of the last act which is danced entirely by children.

The Globe's fall dance preview included a short article about the Kirov coming to Boston this November:

For those of you waiting in anticipation of the rest of the tour dates, Please visit our new Kirov-usa page, which brings together coverage of the tour as well as past information from their recent London blowout!
[url=http://www.criticaldance.com/kirov2003/usa/index.htm]
KIROV USA PAGE[/url]