CriticalDance Forum

24 World of Dance Stars will perform.

Ashley Bouder

"I will be performing in a charity gala raising funds for tsunami relief in Japan on May 31 in Paris."

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=7 ... 4626040602

http://www.lesetoilespourlejapon.com/en/

Tel.+33.1.30536638 Fax. +33.130536636 http://www.lesestoilespourlejapon.com

au bénéfice de la
Participating dancers as of 24/April/2011

Carlos Acosta (Royal Ballet London, Principal)
Michael Banzhaf (Berlin State Ballet, First Soloist)
Ashley Bouder (New York City Ballet, Principal)
Jiri Bubenicek (Semperoper Ballet Dresden, Principal)
Otto Bubenicek (Hamburg Ballet, Principal)
Elisa Carrillo Cabrera (Berlin State Ballet, First Soloist)
Isabelle Ciaravola (Opéra National de Paris, Etoile) **
Marlon Dino (Munich State Ballet, Principal)
Olga Esina (Vienna State Opera Ballet, Principal)
Julien Favreau (Bejart Ballet Lausanne, Principal)
Mathieu Ganio (Opéra National de Paris, Etoile) **
Dimitri Gruzdev (English National Ballet, Principal)
Mikhail Kaninskin (Berlin State Ballet, Principal)
Igor Kolb (Mariinsky Theatre, Principal)
Elena Kuzmina (Eifman Ballet of St.Petersburg, Principal)
Lucia Lacarra (Munich State Ballet, Principal)
Roman Lazik (Vienna State Opera Ballet, Principal)
Andrey Merkuriev (Bolshoi Theatre, Leading Solist)
Shoko Nakamura (Berlin State Ballet, Principal)
Femanda Oliveira (English National Ballet, Principal)
Kateryna Shalkina (Bejart Ballet Lausanne, Principal)
Friedemann Vogel (Stuttgart Ballet, Principal)
Igor Zelensky (Mariinsky Theatre, Principal)

Special participation

Elisabeth Platel (Director, Ecole de danse, Opera National de Paris) and students
Gailene Stock (Director, Royal Ballet School London) and students
Cynthia Harvey (former Principal of American Ballet Theatre and Royal Ballet, London)

** with the special cooperation and permission of the Opera National de Paris.


Also added:

Evgenia Obraztsova (premier danceur, Ballet du Theatre de Mariinsky)

Jason Reilly (principal, Ballet du Stuttgart)

Maria Kochetkova

"I'll be dancing in Paris on May 31st for a charity ballet gala to support the victims of the recent earthquake in Japan. I'll be performing Giselle with Marijn Rademaker from Stuttgart Ballet."

http://ballet.mariakochetkova.com/les-e ... pon?ref=nf

This will be Ashley Bouder's third trip to Europe in 2 months.

30 Artists total at the moment.

Current casting:
http://www.lesetoilespourlejapon.com/en/list/

[rewritten]

Messages to Japan from the Artists performing at the Gala.

http://www.lesetoilespourlejapon.com/message/

This reference was found at the site of Maria Kochetkova, who wrote....

"I admire the calmness and courage the people in Japan have shown whilst facing this tragedy. It's heartbreaking to hear what has happened to so many people, to so many lives. Japan is a wonderful country with wonderful people!  I'm happy I can do something for Japan by participating in the gala "Les Etoiles pour le Japon"

I'm thinking of you and sending you my love.''

Masha

Maria Kochetkova

http://deballet.com/artists/maria-kochetkova

A Beautiful Place To Dream For As Long As Is Possible


Considering the occasion, the evening was

An Affirmation Of Beauty -- A Reaffirmation Of Being Alive


It started with a very brief and finely put together film of the bucolic life and beauty of a coastal region of Japan. Then it momentarily showed how the entire area looked after being leveled by the earthquake. As quickly as that appeared, it was followed by a view of a lovely sunrise or sunset and a sub-caption once again extolling a world of ageless beauty. The performance followed.


The Land of The Rising Sun

("The Japanese names for Japan are Nippon and Nihon. Both Nippon and Nihon literally mean "the sun's origin", that is, where the sun originates, and are often translated as the Land of the Rising Sun." From Wikipedia.)


Evgenia Obraztsova

At just before midnight -- A Burst of Sunshine !

Of all the many wonderful performers, Evgenia Obraztsova had to personify a "Land of the Rising Sun" as much as anyone. The evening ended very late and she with Dimitry Gudanov* were the last to appear. They danced the "Don Quixote Pas De Deux." Her performance was as airy, beautiful and exhilarating as anything seen during the entire evening. It was a sunlight statement of the art.

She Was A Total Sweetheart !

There were many wonderful performances. There were some faces unfamiliar to me that were delightful surprises. There were some different and highly interesting efforts as well. I will try to mention some of these at another time.

All in All -- An Inspirational Evening !


* [At least one person has posted on the internet that it was actually Andrei Merkuriev who was dancing in "Don Quixote" with Evgenia Obraztsova]

This was the evening's program and list of artists.

"Les Etoiles Pour Le Japon"

<  PREMIÈRE PARTIE  >   

* Suite de Danses – Pas de Trois *
ONP Students -- Elèves de l’Ecole de danse de l’Opéra national de Paris (Caroline Osmont, Clothilde Tran-Phat, Alizée Sicre, Mathieu Contat, Germain Louvet, Jeremy Loup Quer)
(Musique : Frédéric Chopin, Chorégraphie : Ivan Clustine)
 
* La Belle au Bois Dormant Acte III  Pas de deux * (Sleeping Beauty duet)
Maria Kochetkova, San Francisco Ballet -- Sergei Polunin, Royal Ballet Londres
(Musique : Pyotr Tchaikovski, Chorégraphie : Marius Petipa)

* Mopey *
Friedemann Vogel, Ballet de Stuttgart
(Musique : J.S. Bach, Chorégraphie : Marco Goecke)

* La Chauve-Souris Adagio Acte II *
Olga Esina, StaatsOper Ballet de Vienne -- Roman Lazik, StaatsOper Ballet de Vienne
(Musique : Johann Strauss Fils, Chorégraphie : Roland Petit)

* Le Cygne Noir pas de deux * (Black Swan duet)
Fernanda Oliveira, English National Ballet -- Dmitry Gruzdev, English National Ballet
(Musique : Pyotr Tchaikovski, Chorégraphie : Marius Petipa)

* Sinatra Suite *
Tatyana Gorokhova, Novosibirsk State Ballet -- Igor Zelensky, Théâtre de Mariinsky
(Musique: Frank Sinatra (1915-1998) , Chorégraphie : Twyla Tharp)

 * Light *
Katya Shalkina, Béjart Ballet Lausanne -- Julien Favreau, Béjart Ballet Lausanne
(Musique : A. Vivaldi, Chorégraphie : Maurice Béjart)

* Le Corsaire *
Ashley Bouder, New York City Ballet -- Jason Reilly, Ballet de Stuttgart
(Musique : Adolphe Adam, Chorégraphie : Marius Petipa)


ENTRACTE - 20MIN

<  DEUXIÉME PARTIE  >

* La Dame aux Camelias *
Sue Jin Kang, Ballet de Stuttgart -- Marijn Rademaker, Ballet de Stuttgart
(Musique : Frédéric Chopin, Chorégraphie : John Neumeier)

* Russell Maliphant Two *
Carlos Acosta, Royal Ballet Londres
(Musique : Andy Cowton, Chorégraphie : Russell Maliphant)

 * Spectre de la Rose *
Elena Kuzmina, Eifman Ballet de Saint Petersburg -- Igor Kolb, Théâtre de Mariinsky
(Musique : Carl Maria von Weber, Chorégraphie : Michel Fokine)

* Adagio *
Andrey Merkuriev, Théâtre de Mariinsky
(Musique : J.S. Bach, Chorégraphie Alexy Miroshnichenko)

* Grand Pas de Deux *
Elisa Carrillo Cabrera, StaatsOper Ballet de Berlin -- Mikhail Kaninskin, StaatsOper Ballet de Berlin
(Musique : Gioachino Rossini, Chorégraphie : Christian Spuck)

* Caravaggio *
Shoko Nakamura, StaatsOper Ballet de Berlin -- Michael Banzhaf, StaatsOper Ballet de Berlin
(Musique : Bruno Moretti, Chorégraphie : Mauro Bigonzetti)

* Thaïs *
Lucia Lacarra, StaatsOper Ballet de Munich -- Marlon Dino, StaatsOper Ballet de Munich
(Musique : Jules Massenet, Chorégraphie : Roland Petit)

* Canon *
Jiri Bubenicek, Semperoper Ballet de Dresde -- Otto Bubenicek, Ballet de Hambourg --
Jon Vallejo, Semperoper Ballet de Dresde
(Musique : Johann Pachelbel, Chorégraphie : Jil Bubenicek)

* Les Enfants du Paradis *
Isabelle Ciaravola, Opéra national de Paris -- Mathieu Ganio, Opéra national de Paris
(Musique : Marc-Oliver Dupin, Chorégraphie : José Martinez)

* Don Quichotte Pas de Deux *
Evgenia Obraztsova, Théâtre de Mariinsky -- Dimitry Gudanov*, Ballet du Théâtre Bolchoï
(Musique : Ludwig Minkus, Chorégraphie : Marius Petipa)


* [At least one person has posted on the internet that it was actually Andrei Merkuriev who was dancing in "Don Quixote" with Evgenia Obraztsova]


http://www.lesetoilespourlejapon.com/programme/

The evening was also a reason to reflect for a moment. I was there, in all honesty, to hopefully see some very fine performances. Yet one has to remember why all this was put together. It was to call attention and offer whatever aid possible to a country in need. Does 'theater' of this kind and the reality that it is calling attention to really go hand in hand? Can you really enjoy such an evening? I have gone to ballet performances at several 'serious' times in my life and felt okay about it. It's the poetry of ballet, perhaps, that makes this okay. It's not a matter of a rollicking good time, although it can be. It's the part of ballet, or any art form, that tries to reach for the heart of humanity, that maybe gives it something special. More and more, when I see a performance, such as a ballet, I have to recall the expression that George Balanchine made famous in the world of dance -- It's "Une Question Morale" (A Moral Question).

There were many fine and interesting performances. Some were powerful and some were a refreshing and promising slight change of direction. I will try to comment on them if possible. Still, for me, it was once again the 'Ethereals' or the 'Celestials,' the ladies who didn't seem to quite touch the ground that I so appreciated and so strongly recall.

This evening they would include Evgenia Obraztova, Maria Kochetkova, Lucia Lacarra, Isabelle Ciaravola and Olga Esina. Some of these choices might also have depended on the works that they performed. In other works I might have seen some of the artists differently. For instance, I included Isabelle Ciaravola, although the work might not have best exhibited these particular qualities.

Maria Kochetkova

'The Butterfly'

She began the evening after a very lovely opening performance by the Students of the Opera National de Paris. She performed the 'Sleeping Beauty duet.' In an evening of some high energy, high profile performances, with high energy audience applause, she probably didn't get all the appreciation that she deserved. (She did receive a fine audience ovation.) Hers was an extremely lovely, beautifully detailed and delicate presentation. She was the 'Butterfly' of the evening. She did do some very impressive moves, such as holding point long enough to reach into a long backbend and accomplished very rapid triple(?) spins before going immediately into equally rapid 'fish dive' headfirst flights into her partner's arms (she did this several times).

The beautiful, airy motion of her feet might have been an example of something that could have gone unnoticed by some of the audience. Her general motion and positioning were just lovely ! Hers was definitely a performance of Wonderful Subtleties as well as of very impressive 'virtuoso' elements.

Absolutely Lovely !


Lucia Lucarra

I have always been impressed by her ability to take her Amazing Agility and Compelling Sensuality and turn them into

A Matter of the Heart -- A Matter of the Stars -- George Balanchine's 'Une Question Moral.'

The image that may remain as predominant as any from the evening will be of her spinning high overhead (being spun overhead) at the very end of her performance.

A 'Celestial' Being Rotating in Magnificent Suspension Through Space -- Floating Ever So High -- Above It All.

"Russell Maliphant Two"

Carlos Acosta

Choreography : Russell Maliphant, Music : Andy Cowton

This was one of the most compelling and interesting works of the evening. It was sort of a slow motion, high energy presentation. It was powerfully charged in response to the very modernistic, highly rhythmic music, but also very poetic and lyrical in feel because of the slow tempo and flowing physicality. Highly individual sculpturesque poses were continually being formed and held for lengthly moments. One almost has to think "Michelangelo" -- magnificent shaping of the human form, immense power and dream state gentleness.

There was very little footwork involved. It was essentially upper body movement. I have seen a similar style of 'dancing' once before, performed by a group of women from a Chinese 'classical' troupe, sitting down. Their extremely beautiful lyrical and poetic expression was the result of intricately designed and beautifully expressive hand gesturing along with lovely arm motion and facial attitude.

This performance showed how well a modern work with rock music intensity can be combined with a lyrical essence and grace. This is a very interesting and attractively heartful approach, showing one more of an infinite number of Ballet Related possibilities. We will hopefully see much more of this sort of thing from Carlos Acosta and others. He has expressed a strong desire to explore this kind of artistry.

The second half of the evening really made a great impression. It started with Sue Jin Kang and Marijn Rademaker, both new faces for me, in a highly expressive performance and ended with Evgenia Obraztsova and Dimitry Gudanov* in much more familiar yet especially brilliant territory.

Sue Jin Kang

" La Dame aux Camelias " (Sue Jin Kang, Ballet de Stuttgart -- Marijn Rademaker, Ballet de Stuttgart -- Musique : Frédéric Chopin, Chorégraphie : John Neumeier)

I think that ballet, in portrayal anyway, is still essentially a 'Western' world art form although it is becoming much more global. I'm always interested to see how someone from another culture deals with this. Sue Jin Kang, according to the evening's list of biographies, was born in South Korea, but at an early age "studied with Marika Besobrasova at the Académie de Danse classique Princess Grace in Monte Carlo." Early continued studies in the 'West' seem to be more and more common with young ballet dancers from the Far East.

http://www.sf88.com/japon/list/kang/

It also somewhat makes my interpretation of her performance a more personal perception as I was going under the impression that she had arrived in the 'West' at perhaps a later stage of her career. Why did I feel this way? Because I felt a strong element of 'Eastern' classicism in her makeup as well as an excellent adjustment to 'Western' sensitivities. Another thing that might make my perception highly personal is that what I sensed was a Noh classicism, which has made a strong impression on me but of which I have seen very little, that comes from Japan. I'm not sure if this is part of the Korean culture at all.

So what I saw was an excellent and highly expressive performance both physically and theatrically. The perception that I had of Sue Jin Kang's portrayal was that she was a fully accomplished mistress of 'Western' sensitivity, but was actually able to go beyond and reintroduce a captivating overlay of Far Eastern Noh-like expression. I really wonder how she would respond to what I have written, but in any case I found her performance to be extremely successful and extremely fascinating.


Shoko Nakamura

" Caravaggio " (Shoko Nakamura, StaatsOper Ballet de Berlin -- Michael Banzhaf, StaatsOper Ballet de Berlin -- Musique : Bruno Moretti, Chorégraphie : Mauro Bigonzetti)

She followed a somewhat similar path in her career as Sue Jin Kang.

http://www.sf88.com/japon/list/nakamura/

Once again I viewed her as an artist who has made an excellent adjustment to another culture's way of expressing itself. Her performance was wonderfully soulful, physically exciting and beautifully presented.


The second half of the evening was probably dominated by highly expressive presentations.

Among the women I would have to include, in a slightly different manner, Elisa Carrillo Cabrera's performance in Christian Spuck's "Grand Pas de Deux" in this description.

Elisa Carrillo Cabrera

" Grand Pas de Deux " (Elisa Carrillo Cabrera, StaatsOper Ballet de Berlin -- Mikhail Kaninskin, StaatsOper Ballet de Berlin -- Musique : Gioachino Rossini, Chorégraphie : Christian Spuck)

This is a Rollicking Comedy takeoff on classical ballet duets. It features both the best of classical ballet technique and laugh-a-second high comedy. Elisa Carrillo Cabrera handled it all just wonderfully along with her partner, Mikhail Kaninskin. If this had been done at another occasion it would probably have delighted me beyond belief. It was a fine performance and it kept the program moving along with a good dose of adrenalin.

There were also a couple first part of the evening performances that I would include in this higher energy grouping.

Ashley Bouder

" Le Corsaire " (Ashley Bouder, New York City Ballet -- Jason Reilly, Ballet de Stuttgart -- Musique : Adolphe Adam, Chorégraphie : Marius Petipa)

She was right-on exciting, as usual, in her technical prowess. Her characterisation was very well crafted and highly effective. She continues to grow just fine in her sensitivity. It's always a pleasure to know that she is on the scene with her wonderfully indomitable high energy love for what she is doing and her ability to convey this with remarkable artistry.

Fernanda Oliveira

" Le Cygne Noir pas de deux " (Black Swan duet) (Fernanda Oliveira, English National Ballet -- Dmitry Gruzdev, English National Ballet -- Musique : Pyotr Tchaikovski, Chorégraphie : Marius Petipa)

She gave a wonderfully high energy-high technical prowess performance. She seemed to stretch her physical expression with additional emphasis in her moves and exciting nuancing that had a delightfully elevating effect. She was a real pleasure to watch !



* [At least one person has posted on the internet that it was actually Andrei Merkuriev who was dancing in "Don Quixote" with Evgenia Obraztsova. Also several typo corrections made.]

" I am very happy to be part of this event, and hope that through this art form we are able to help towards such a worthy cause. My thoughts are with the families and victims of those affected by the Japan earthquake. " -- Carlos

Carlos Acosta

http://www.lesetoilespourlejapon.com/message/


The men were fairly high profile. Of eighteen performances, four of them were all men with three of them being male solos. There was also a 'post classical' feel to it all. It probably reached it's high point with Carlos Acosta's poetically lyrical thunder of a presentation. Someone on the internet commented that his performance showed a great artistic maturity and I would have to agree with this.

There was a lot of masculinity on display, but in the most poetic and artistic manner. It was often very compelling and sympathetic. It was probably most apparent in the more expressive second part of the evening, but started in the first part with Friedemann Vogel's fine solo in "Mopey" and continued with Julien Favreau's very impressive and expressive performance with Katya Shalkina in "Light."

The second performance of the second part was Carlos Acosta's "Russell Maliphant Two" and the male presence for the rest of the evening was fairly well defined. Igor Kolb followed with what was probably the most masculine "Spectre de la Rose" that I've seen. It almost had to be, after Carlos Acosta, to be noticed. When Igor Kolb bent over and gently kissed Elena Kuzmina it all seemed to fit together.

Andrey Merkuriev's "Adagio" returned to the more nonclassical format with a very fine and sensitive presentation.

Jiri and Otto Bubenicek along with Jon Vallejo followed with "Canon."There was a slight and very comfortable Alvin Ailey feel to this as there was to several other performances that had a noticeable masculine presence. Jon Vallejo, in fact, reminded me a of remarkable male effort that I once saw in an Alvin Ailey production, where the dancer just took everything to a new level of 'transcendental intensity.' I never have been able to find out who that dancer was, but he was quite special ! Both Jiri and Otto Bubenicek and Jon Vallejo, with their shortly cropped hair and high energy intensity also reminded me of a spectacular performance that I once saw by the amazing Rolando Sarabia, recent co-winner of the Benois de la Dance, Male Dancer, Award. I kept asking myself, who do they look like? I finally concluded that it was Rolando Sarabia.

The evening did end on a very fine 'classical' note for the men with the "Don Quichotte Pas de Deux." Dimitry Gudanov was listed as the partner to the radiant Evgenia Obraztsova and I assumed that it was he that I was watching. The wonderful refinement and grace seemed to be Dimitry Gudanov at his best, but according to at least one poster at "Dansomanie" it was actually Andrey Merkuriev once again. I'm not that good with faces on stage sometimes and my french might have missed something, but according to this poster it was Andrey Merkuriev. It was a very fine performance with a series of high in the air entrechat foot movements that remain strongly in mind as a display of the best of male 'classicism.'

Igor Zelensky danced the "Sinatra Suite" with Tatyana Gorokhova in the first part of the program. It was about half as long as their performance of this at the "In Memoriam: Galina Ulanova" Gala in London about two weeks earlier. His final solo, which I thought was one of the highlights his evening in London, was not included. I missed not seeing it again, but it's always a great pleasure to see Igor Zelensky do anything on stage.

The other male dancing, for me, was the most impressive because of the very fine and highly supportive partnering that was involved.

It was Wonderful! that they would contribute to such a worthy evening and their outstanding artistry was very well presented and very much appreciated by a very responsive audience.


[spelling correction made]

Just a few more words. These would be to comment on the ladies that I've not already mentioned.

I would put the first two in the fine company of Evgenia Obraztsova, Maria Kochetkova and Lucia Lacarra for the evening.

Two more ladies -- 'Who Never Seemed to Touch The Ground'

Olga Esina

("La Chauve-Souris Adagio Acte I" -- Olga Esina, StaatsOper Ballet de Vienne -- Roman Lazik, StaatsOper Ballet de Vienne -- Musique : Johann Strauss Fils, Chorégraphie : Roland Petit )

Fine artistry speaks for itself. She was one of a large group of artists who were totally unknown to me. Her performance was early on and I sort of absorbed it into a sea of new impressions. As the evening progressed I kept thinking about her and saying to myself, "You know, she really danced beautifully."

In fact, there was a good reason for feeling this way. Unknown to me at the time, she is a former Mariinsky soloist. I can't say much more about her now, except that I really want to keep an eye on her. She is still fairly young and there is a good chance that she will make some wonderful impressions in the world of dance as the years progress.

The beautifully lyrical motion of her dancing was heart-touchingly lovely.


Isabelle Ciaravola

("Les Enfants du Paradis" -- Isabelle Ciaravola, Opéra national de Paris -- Mathieu Ganio, Opéra national de Paris -- Musique : Marc-Oliver Dupin, Chorégraphie : José Martinez)

I have seen her only once before briefly on a dvd. I sort of knew what to expect. This work is perhaps not the best to illustrate her fine range of beautiful artistry, but it was enough for me to thoroughly appreciate what I saw and to look forward to seeing as much as possible of her in the future.


I appreciated these last ladies for their fine efforts as partners.

Tatyana Gorokhova

("Sinatra Suite" -- Tatyana Gorokhova, Novosibirsk State Ballet -- Igor Zelensky, Théâtre de Mariinsky -- Musique: Frank Sinatra (1915-1998) , Chorégraphie : Twyla Tharp)

I had seen her a few weeks earlier do this same work at the Ulanova Gala in London with the famous Igor Zelensky. The London version was longer with Igor Zelensky, for me, essentially dominating the performance, especially with his touching, final Sinatra-ish, soulfully swaggering solo. In the Paris performance the solo wasn't there, but Tatyana Gorokhova's spark was. Good and soulful Tharp-Sinatra from Siberia has to be appreciated ! Igor Zelensky is doing his best to introduce George Balanchine and post-Balanchine to Russia through his young troupe of dancers from Siberia. I applaud his doing this and Tatyana Gorokhova, this particular evening, really caught the wave and added greatly to the performance.

Elena Kuzmina

("Spectre de la Rose" -- Elena Kuzmina, Eifman Ballet de Saint Petersburg -- Igor Kolb, Théâtre de Mariinsky -- Musique : Carl Maria von Weber, Chorégraphie : Michel Fokine)

Igor Kolb really had his hands full to deliver a convincing "Spectre de la Rose" immediately following Carlos Acosta's explosive performance. Elena Kuzmina helped him immensely. Like Tatyana Gorokhova, whom I just mentioned above, she complimented her illustrious partner just beautifully, adding a wonderful spark of feminine support to what he was expressing.


Katya Shalkina

("Light" -- Katya Shalkina, Béjart Ballet Lausanne -- Julien Favreau, Béjart Ballet Lausanne -- Musique : A. Vivaldi, Chorégraphie : Maurice Béjart)

Her partner, Julien Favreau, did one of the best jobs of the evening in making his man's part of a duet a work of art in itself. Katya Shalkina was the beautiful other half. It was a fine performance.


**********

It was a beautiful evening, intended as a heartfelt statement of sympathy and support, that will hopefully be conveyed, in one way or another, to as many as possible who are now living in Japan.

How are the people in Thailand doing from the tsunami? I know the tsunami happened a few years ago but I'm trying to look for a website where it says how they were doing before and after the tsunami. The article/website does not have to be recent at all. It could be from when the tsunami happened.
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