Catherine Pawlick wrote:
You asked about comments; to me Vishneva's comments are the most interesting. She points out that she's danced the Lavrovsky pdd [Romeo and Juliet] 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.
I think that the dancers did show a slight newness to their mastery of this work, but this, for me, somewhat enhanced the charm of this young love duet. I think that Anna Tikhomirova was lovely and Artem Ovcharenko gave an expressively touching performance. (can be seen at 9:0)
Another performance that I enjoyed was 'Valpurgieva' Night ( Kovaleva) (1:19:10). I particularly liked Kseniya Barbasheva, who I think has a beautiful 'streamlined' style, that may well be another early 21st century characteristic. She is also extremely competent in the physically demanding flying catches, etc. (judges 9,9,9,9,9). The judges seemed to slightly favor her partner, Aleksander Taranov, (judges 9,10,10,9,9, Diana Vishneva being one of the 10's). Both dancers are from Perm. The work is pleasant and dreamy, which I also enjoy.
I would like to mention that Olga Smirnova's fine partner, Vladislav Lantratov, !Burned-Up! the stage in what could be considered a Space Age Bolshoi performance, perhaps another sign of things to come. I enjoyed it very much. I believe that the judges gave him all 10's.
Catherine, aside from 'Diana' and Azari Plisetsky, could you tell us something about the other three judges and the two hosts. What is Azari Plisetsky's comment approach?
Anyone interested is seeing Kristina Shapran's lovely performance can find it at 1:11:20.
Added:
Here is a complete list of the performers just posted below the video.
Anna Tikhomirova, Artem Ovcharenko (Bolshoi)
Sergei Polunin (Stanislavsky)
Kristina Andreeva and Oleg Ivenko (Tatar Theater of Opera and Ballet. Jalil)
Andrei Ermakov, Viktoria Tereshkina (Mariinsky)
Christina Shapran (Stanislavsky)
Alexander Taranov and Xenia Barbasheva (Perm)
Larissa Lyushina, Andrey Sorokin (Yekaterinburg Opera and Ballet)
Olga Smirnova, Vladislav Lantratov (Bolshoi)
Viktoria Tereshkina is a non-contestant performer.
As originally posted by Catherine, here is how to access the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... AflZZDHe24