hi Madigan,
I am enjoying your comments. I happen to share your views about Vishneva. She is an international star, not a "Mariinsky ballerina," in terms of she doesn't represent the technique, the aura, or the traditions of the theatre. To me the M ballerina is a defined type, epitomized by a number of women on the roster, Lopatkina probably being one leading example, but Dumchenko or Pavlenko as well. I also respect Vishneva for her wide range of accomplishments -- who else has the drive to be an ongoing guest artist with 3 major ballet companies at the same time, year-round?!
I have to (respectfully!) differ with you about the mention of Osmolkina and Matvienko though. Matvienko is a performance horse, the competition wonder. Plug her in, turn her on, and she hits it --most of the time-- but the emotion and the aura are not there. I"ve seen her do Grand Pas Classique, In the Night, or (Gamzatti) in Bayadere -- and it's all light years ahead of what most American technicians can do, but again - there's not a lot of drama or emotion coming from her. Still, I would rather watch pure technique than a blotchy performance with some drama -- for that there are dramatic plays

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Osmolkina has superior acting skills, and also she has an entirely different repertoire (given their height differences, this is understandable). Her spring visit to London won over audiences there, and I am curious if her height will be a decisive factor in her career at the MT as Obratsova has hinted her own is.
I absolutely agree with you about emploi though -- there's no reason to dance the entire repertoire, and there IS a reason emploi exists...or, rather, existed. (!) (When I saw Vishneva's debut in Swan Lake it was readily apparent that the administration's previous refusal to give her the role was not without wisdom or reason. It's not her role, and she really did not have much to gain except fulfilling a personal desire by subjecting herself to the task.) However, I also understand the dancers' thirst for new roles and new ballets which affects emploi issues. When you're performing hundreds of classical works each year, you really would want to expand your scope of repertoire after a time.
I would actually submit that both KK and Zhenya Obratsova have distinct onstage personas, distinct repertoires, and both deserve to be promoted far beyond where they currently are. Just my opinion though.