CriticalDance Forum

Hi again,
I hope I am posting this question in the right area. Here is my question, I am wondering if anyone has any knowledge on where I can contact to get a copy of a specific Swan Lake. The Kirov Ballet is the company, and it is taped in front of a live audience at the Wolftrap Theater in Virgina, USA. The original airing I saw and copied off tv was on PBS sometime between '83-'87 I think. The opening credits are in Russian and during the oveture they show the dancers backstage getting ready. They even show the men on the fly rail raising the curtain.
I am wondering if anyone can give me any information. Even who the princpal dancers were with the Kirov at the time. At the time I was too young to even think of remebering the names of the principle dancers.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Kate

Hello Kate/Lilac and welcome to criticaldance. I think that at least one of our posters will be able to help out with your question. We have a lot of people who have many tapes in their libraries and if they don't have it they most always know about it.

Lilac, I believe that is the performance with Olga Chenchikova as Odette/Odile. I think it might not be commercially available now. I'll check with someone I know who has a copy and see what I can find out.

I decided to look for the copy of this performance that my friend made for me, which has been missing for awhile, and I found the box containing it and other videos I've been missing. So, I can tell you that the year was 1986, since they said it was 22 years after the Kirov's last North American tour, which they say was in 1964. (But that means I'd have been 13 or 14, and I know I was older than that when I last saw the Kirov live, and in the souvenir program for the season I saw, the listing of performers Sol Hurok was presenting was for the 1965-66 season.)

Lilac, do you still have the tape you made? In case you don't, here's a bit of trivia from Ronald Reagan's introduction: this performance was the first major performing arts presentation in the US under the exchanges agreement that was signed at the meeting of Reagan and Gorbachev at the Geneva Summit.

The artistic director at that time was Oleg Vinogradov, who is interviewed, and who says he's contacted Robbins, Joffrey and Graham about the possibility of presenting their works at the Kirov, "where our dancers are so versatile that they can dance whatever style is presented to them." (I don't know, somehow I don't think they'd have such an easy time making Graham look right.)

I couldn't stay up late enough to see the credits at the end, but I recognized the principals, Olga Chenchikova and Konstantin Zaklinski. I watched the first scene, and can tell you that one of the women in the pas de trois is Zhanna Ayupova, and I think the other's first name is Nina, but I'm not sure of her last name (Chistyakova??). I didn't recognize the man, who has curly blond hair. The production is Konstantin Sergeev's, and it seems to be the same one that's on the 1990 video with Yulia Makhalina and Igor Zelinski, except in that one, the prince is the man in the pas de trois.

Since my friend doesn't believe in distributing copies of videos that are commercially available, the very fact that he made this copy for me makes me pretty sure that it isn't available.

I'm not sure that the Chistyakova is even close to Nina's last name. If you have the Kirov in London video, she's one of the soloists (the only one named Nina, I believe) in the excerpts from Le Corsaire. Zhanna Ayupova is also in that ballet, as is Makhalina, and probably Zaklinski, and maybe Chenchikova.

<small>[ 15 April 2003, 05:15 AM: Message edited by: djb ]</small>

I suspect that this will get more responses in our "Ballet" forum, so I will move it there and hope that that's OK with everyone.

Here is the entry in the New York Public Library's catalog for this film:

Telecast on WNET/Channel 13, New York, July 16, 1986. Recorded in performance at the Filene Center, Wolf Trap Farm Park for the Performing Arts, June 2 & 3, 1986.
One of a number of performances given by the Kirov Ballet on their 1986 tour of the United States.
Introduction & narration by Liz Trotta. Includes brief interviews with artistic director, Oleg Vinogradov and dancer, Olga Tchentchikova.
Original choreography: Marius Petipa & Lev Ivanov. Adaptation: Oleg Vinogradov after Konstantin Sergeev. Music: Peter I. Tchaikovsky. Story: V.I. Begichev & V.F. Geltser. Set design: Igor Ivanov. Costume design: Galina Solovieva.
Performed by: Olga Tchentchikova (Odette/Odile); Konstantin Zaklinsky (Prince Siegfried); Eldar Aliev (Von Rothbart); Vitaly Tsvetkov (Jester); and members of the Kirov Ballet.

***********
Unfortunately in this listing the soloists are not listed, and it is indeed not available on video.

Lilac, if you no longer have a copy of this performance and you want to see it, contact me by email and maybe we can work something out. (Click on the icon for my profile, the one with the question mark, to get my address.)

(T)Chistyakova's first name is Irina. She was in the pas de trois in Act I with Zhanna Ayupova. Irina is the one who does the ferocious jumps and turns variation. She's an incredible turner. I have that tape someplace, but we taped it live from PBS> I've never seen it commercially available.

(p.s. that video is TO DIE For; possibly the best Swan Lake I've ever seen.)

<small>[ 17 April 2003, 12:56 PM: Message edited by: Catherine Pawlick ]</small>

Wow,
THANK YOU SO MUCH! The Swan Lake you found is THE ONE. Oh my gosh, I am so happy! Let me see if I can find it and if not, I will be contacting you if you still don't mind djb. I had never had the full production that was presented on tv because my parents missed tapeing the interviews and the second act was taped over by something.

Thank you so much again!!!!!

<small>[ 26 April 2003, 10:35 PM: Message edited by: Lilac ]</small>

Sure, Lilac, the offer still holds. Thanks for the correct info, Catherine (I knew there was an "ina" in there somewhere).

I looked around but you're right, it was never for sale. So I'll be emailing you soon. Thankyou so much again.