I love Olga in this role- she is like some beautiful, unattainable creature. And Chudin is perfect as ever- the Bolshoi male principal roster is very strong!
I agree! She makes her own story out of this more abstract piece. Chudin is technically brilliant, he's just awe inspiring in his physical perfection... this pair together = amazing for me.
I would agree that this does not reflect what I might recognize of Balanchine qualities in ballet, but one-- the sweeping motions that devour the stage. They traveled so far, literally and figuratively, in this and I was completely transported through time and space. Smirnova moves with such fluidity, and her punctuation suited her desire to move as such. Chudin complemented this in his own smooth partnering, as well as his clean and seemingly natural way of moving across and through space. Bravo.
Rossi Lamont Walter, I agree with you. The performance is sublime, spiritually uplifting. One small detail: I love the way at the end (starting at 9:38) Chudin barely accepts any applause for himself, but directs it all toward her - a perfect gentleman!
Of the current crop of Russian ballerinas attempting this very difficult role, Smirnova is my favourite, with Obratsova not far behind. Very UNLIKE her willful colleague, Svetlana Zakharova, Smirnova’s dancing actually registers on the audience. We feel we are watching something with weight, and of true consequence. It get sense from watching Smirnova that she actually has something to say - not just posing and empty high extensions.
They should just dance and drop all those boring mannerisms for just one night. This piece doesn't need fluff, it doesn't need to be overwrought. It's about Royalty and Royalty aren't effusive. These dancers are exactly the reason why I won't spend big money to see them dance Jewels at Lincoln Center this summer. I know I would be extremely annoyed.
The whole thing. The Suzanne Farrell version is on YT and that is how Balanchine wanted it to look. See D'Amboise coaching sessions of Diamonds from PNB. They also danced it the way that Balanchine wanted. This example here is a repudiation of Balanchine's style and vision of dance. It emphasizes pretty, mannered poses over movement.
+Kerry Takashi I'm having trouble understanding, even after viewing the PNB YT uploads on Diamonds. How did Balanchine want it to look, is my question? Yes the Farrell/Martins version is most original, however when I think of his (Balanchine's) motives I thinking sweeping motions, strong physical accents and off-balance turns-- only the last of which I feel is absent here. Do you see where I'm coming from? Is that different from what you see and understand? If so, I'd like to understand you. Please help me. :)
+Rossi Lamont Walter (I admit, I also wonder if this version-- or any interpreted by the Russion Vaganova-trained dancers --seems exaggerated because it IS exaggerated. Vaganova training I've come to believe enjoys much visual exaggeration, such as with a striking port-de-bras and on-the-1 musical accents. As well, these are modern dancers who, in my estimation, have greater physical prowess than dancers from Balanchine's era, what with their training but also advents in dance understanding, dance science, biomechanical science... But perhaps this is an inaccurate/unfair statement? Even if it is not, perhaps it misses the point you're wishing to make here?)
What I see are dancers trained in a particular method that is antithetical to Balanchine style. I see dancers who think they know better than a ballet genius. They don't like what the man choreographed? Then they shouldn't dance it because they are adding nothing to this piece. Balanchine was interested in movement through the steps not the poses. Russian ballet to a large extent has become about posing and making tableaus. This was the direction even when Balanchine was still in Russia and he didn't like it. This was why he loved Suzanne Farrell so much. She is not a classical dancer, she phrases movement using Balanchine's interpretation of ballet technique. In this piece she was simultaneously composed and loose in the joints. I don't see the dancer in this interpretation being loose in any way. It's her training and she won't give it up. If you want to see an Eastern European company do Balanchine right then check out State Ballet of Georgia.
