http://www.tvkultura.ru/news.html?id=1048810&tid=38442&cid=178

Mosfilm has created a TV program that will air this fall in Russia and Europe called "Bolshoi Ballet". The program involves several pairs of dancers from Russian companies, including Oksana Skorik from the Mariinsky, Kristina Shapran and Sergei Polunin from the Stanislavsky, Olga Smirnova with Vlad Lantratov, and Anna Tikhomirova with Denis Ovcharenko from the Bolshoi, and a couple from Perm, among others.

The program is aimed specifically at giving up-and-coming dancers a chance to perform in both modern and classical numbers, and prizes will be awarded in various areas (drama/technical, etc) in a non-exclusionary manner. Each couple has a dedicated modern/contemporary choreographer who will set the modern piece on that particular couple (for the Mariinsky -- Emil Faski). Other choreographers include David Dawson, Jorma Elo, Radi Poklitaru and Ivan Perez. In addition to classical and modern works, each couple will also be given one choreographic piece over the telephone that they will then perform on stage.

The jury includes Diana Vishneva, Vladimir Derevyanko and Azarii Plisetsky.

It will be possible to watch the series of TV episodes on the internet this fall and I will add more information as it comes.

Oksana Skorik is no longer dancing in "Bolshoi Ballet" and Viktoria Tereshkina and Andrei Ermakov are taking part.

Thank you Tiara for the post, and welcome to the forum. Do you know the reason Skorik wont be included?

I was told by one of the participating choreographers that the goal was to present the younger performers who are not yet principal level dancers. Tereshkina is a virtuoso, no question about it, so this alters the initial vision of the project.

Additional update: Uliana Lopatkina is also participating, and a clip of her with her daughter Masha (filming mother Uliana backstage) was shown on the Kultura channel here locally. She danced with Ermakov, as will Tereshkina. Mrs. Medvedev joined the dancers--who also included among them Diana Vishneva -- backstage after the filming to congratulate them on the mastery they've given the viewers in this project.

Cannot wait to see it!

Yet more news:


http://www.tribuna.ru/news/culture/russkiy_balet_s_inostrannym_aktsentom/

quick/rough translation:
David Dawson left his work in London and came out to rehearse "Grey Matter" with Anna Tikhomirova and Artyem Ovcharenko from the Bolshoi Theatre. Emil Faksi rooted for "his dancers" while watching. Former premiere of the Mariinsky and currently artistic director of the Ekaterinburg Theatre of Opera and Ballet Vyacheslav Samodurov didnt leave his pupils -- Larisa Liushina and Andrey Sorokin-- behind. Akram Khan, setting a number for the couple from Perm could not fly in from London but the work he did with them, according to Alexander Taranov and Ksenia Barbasheva, was the biggest event in their lives. Initiator of the project and jury member Alla Sigalova also rooted for her pair -- Andrey Ermakov and Viktoria Tereshkina.

The psychological challenges were added to by the remarks from the high jury headed by People's Artist of Russia Diana Vishneva. The harsh but objective comments from Vladimir Derevyanko, who left Russia 20 years ago and now directs the ballet company Teatro Communale in Florence, by no means offended the competition participants[...]
Just the same, Vladimir Malakhov's strictness -- a commissary from the associated Berlin State Ballet company, and the nicety of talented Russian ballerina Alla Osipenko and pedagogue-repetiteur at the Bejart school in Lausanne, Azaria Plisetsky were capable of throwing even the most seasoned competitors off of their stride.

[...] So, Diana Vishneva noted one of the performances of Olga Smirnova from the Bolshoi Theatre. According to the prima's words, the young ballerina managed to reconcile the eternal debate between the Moscow and Vaganova schools, taking the best from them both. Andrey Ermakov from the Mariinsky, under a tight preparation schedule for the competition program with Viktoria Tereshkina, received an offer from Vladimir Malakhov to think about continuing his career in Berlin. In her turn, Alla Osipenko, Vladimir Derevyanko and Diana Vishneva more than once returned to the discussion of master classes which, according to the dancers, gave them a great deal.
[...]
On the last day of filming, Svetlana Medvedeva arrived, a huge ballet fan. The wife of Prime Minister of the RF had heard a lot about the project and decided to support the participants of "Bolshoi Ballet". "I"m very happy that you gave the viewers such a wonderful television project. You demonstrated high mastery and you were perfect," she said.

Beginning September 30 for two months, evening programs on the "Kultura" channel will provide viewers not only with a passing view of the art of ballet, but of what is often hidden behind the walls of rehearsal studios. The program will show the winners of the project who will receive a Grand Prize -- a golden statue by Tatiana Khromoseyeva.

(Author: Ludmila LEBED')

I bet it was! Everything Akram Khan does is inspirational.

Interesting comment. I really look forward to following the future of this fascinating young artist.

Thanks, Catherine, for letting us know about all this and especially for the translation.

[From my continued internet video watching I would like to add that Olga Smirnova has remarkable qualities that I think are Totally Her Own and they can approach *Dreamstate*.]

Buddy, agree with you about Smirnova. She will be a great ballerina (officially) some day. In my view she's already great, the only down side is one must be in Moscow to see her

There is the fast train now (3 1/2 to 4 hours), Catherine. I might have given it a try this year, but no ballet was scheduled at the main Bolshoi theater when I was in Saint Petersburg. I've actually never been to Moscow, but would like to visit there. Maybe next year.

I am posting this link because outside of Russia, there's no other way to view this that I'm aware of:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=GAflZZDHe24

This is the first installment of the "Bolshoi Ballet" TV ballet competition in which they introduce each of the contestants as well as the jury.

Around 52 minutes, Fateyev explains why Skorik withdrew from the competition.

Kristina Shapran appears later in "La Sylphide" (Lacotte).

Olga Smirnova, of the Vaganova Academy, now with the Bolshoi, performs the Act 3 Bayadere Pas de Deux with Vlad Lantratov around 1:47. They are then voted the winners for this installment of the competition, receiving "10" each from every judge.

Catherine, I just got home and found the program. I started watching immediately and have seen about half. Thank you very much. Maybe we can discuss some of this at another time. Did any of the judges have anything of particular interest to say ?

Why couldn't Oxana Skorik be there ?

I generally like it when the camera stays on the performance 100%, but when it did momentarily focus on a judge you could see the rapture in her/his face which was extremely touching.

Based on this, I would think that the average 'grade' should be 9 out of ten, which is as it should be. How do you give such beauty a grade ? And I would think that the 'winner' could be 9.5 and the lowest grade could be 9.1, which is as it should be, since I'm sure that every 'contestant' is pouring her/his heart into this.

Is there a numerical explanation why I almost fell into the computer screen when the ultra-beautiful Diana Visheva, the only female judge, started talking ? Interesting that she is the last to be introduced and the last to speak, but sits in the center chair. There must be a message there someplace.

It's good to see these magnificent artists getting such public exposure. Maybe it'll be catching.

Having viewed 25 minutes, I thought that I was half way through, when actually there is over two hours of programing. Now half way through.

Kristina Shapran as "Sylphide" (Lacotte) -- Lovely !

Judges 10,10,9,9,10 (me -- десять ! (ten))


Also:

First performance -- "Romeo and Juliet" (Lavrovsky)

Anna Tikomirova

Judges 8,9,9,9,9

Artem Ovcharenko

Judges 9,9,9,9,9

(me -- десять ! (ten))
(based on the performance, the preview clip and the look of reverie on the judges' faces (Diana Vishneva was almost dancing along in her chair)).

I am guessing they placed Vishneva there since she's the only female on the jury (in the center); I also noticed that she always speaks ("votes") last...

About Skorik, she dropped out due to nerves this summer. I've done a very brief translation here:

In the video, Andrey Ermakov is introduced and the announcer points out he is a strong participant, "But to win this sort of competition, you need a reliable partner." Then Skorik is introduced. ("I'm Oksana Skorik, I work in the Mariinsky Theater and... about this project, well I'm panicked about this project.") Then the announcer explains that "The theatre flatters Andrey's partner Skorik, they say she is has wonderful physical traits and great potential but that is always followed by remarks about unpredictable character."
Then Yuri Fateyev speaks: "it's [hers is a] difficult character, it's possible we haven't found the right approach [with her]."
Announcer: Unusual choreography, new plastique, movements that break the body...
Skorik: "My legs turn out and here you have to turn them in."
Announcer: "[...]Constant capriciousness and complaints about fatigue. Two weeks before the start, she bowed out due to injury."
Fateyev: "she didn't have the internal strength to mobilize herself and to support ... her partner and her theatre."
Ermakov: "I worked (for X mos) with her. She had to step out and at that moment i was alone."
Then they cover how Viktoria came to the rescue in that same section of film.

Sorry it's not more detailed but I don't have time for a complete translation right now. It's too bad she bowed out, as she is talented. There is a lot of Skorik bashing going on, I'm not quite sure why as she didn't ask to be promoted prematurely. Regarding this project, I have heard she worried about the competition; i know she has a sensitive character from her posts on social media. But in any case we have Ermakov's prowess alongside the company's main Virtuoso (Tereshkina). That Corsaire is amazing, even Vishneva gave it a 10!

You asked about comments; to me Vishneva's comments are the most interesting. She points out that she's danced the Lavrovsky pdd so many times and that the couple should use their youth to maximize the message in the dance, and relate to each other more. I think it was that pas de deux in which the host asked if they'd danced this before, and they said yes. She said the goal is to keep it fresh and not MAKE it look like you're doing it for the 150th time. She really liked Polunin's Faun as well. If I recall (moving backwards to Smirnova) Diana commented that it's one of the hardest, if not the hardest in the classical rep (Bayadere) and she admired Olga's performance.

Buddy I agree Shapran is as charming now, if not moreso, than when she was appearing in Academy performances! I thought the Lacotte selection was a perfect vehicle for her.

Catherine, I was just about to post this, when your post came up. Please let me do this now, and I'll read your previous comments as soon as I can.

I'll skip right to the end for the moment.


Olga Smirnova


La Bayadere


The judges' faces told the story -- ' Oh Well -- What Can We Say ! '

Quite Amazing, This Lady, Quite Amazing, And She's Just Getting Started

(this episode of her saga starts at 1:46:30 into the program and lasts for about 8 minutes)

There is a hint as to one thing that may make the early 21st century ballerina special....

A penetration of "The Fourth Wall...."the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage....through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play." (Wikipedia)

The artist is consciously making direct contact with the audience. She is Knowingly controlling 'every moment' possible of the audience's response.

I've seen Veronika Part (ABT, formerly Mariinsky) and Oxana Skorik perform in a similar manner.

Olga Smirnova was an all A student. When the announcers and the judges were talking to her, you could almost see her mind going a mile a second.

One question I have to ask myself already is what would she be like if she had been given the same instant recognition and had stayed on at the Mariinsky. She may now be called a Bolshoi artist. Her expression is bigger than life. She can do things like hold pointe forever (her coach simply exclaims, " Margot Fontaine ! ", while she's practicing). In a sense I would love to have seen how the Mariinsky's Graceful Refinement would have made her different. This is something that I hope she is able to nurture greatly as well.

She already puts her own personal stamp on everything that she does, from La Bayadere to Diamonds and she has just begun !

Catherine, thanks so much for your detailed and fascinating response. I've read it all quickly and will certainly return to it in great detail later. Even before I asked for your thoughts regarding Oxana Skorik's not being there, I was thinking, "Part of the territory in being a Genius." I hope that she handles this as well as possible and is able to get as much Joy and Happiness out of her career as she does Accomplishment.