Archive for bolshoi ballet
January 28, 2008 at 2:49 pm · Filed under backstage, ballet, dance, injuries, choreographers, japan, EVAN MCKIE, the stuttgart Ballet, pina bausch, national ballet of canada, wingers, website, dancebloggers, opera house, opera houses, choreographer, issues, dacners, stuttgart ballet, back injury, choreography, bolshoi ballet, suttgart ballet, ballerina, marcia haydee, web, swan lake, injury, stuttgart, paris opera ballet, chirstopher wheeldon, john cranko, reid anderson, marcela goicoechea, luis ortigoza, balet de santiago, patrcio melo, debut, american balet theatre, opening night
( …in the world of Geraldine Georges. more at www.geraldinegeorges.be )
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It’s been awhile!… I suppose it’s high time that I share a few minutes with the ever-popular Winger family!
Though I have become more of a ‘’distant guest contributor'’ here (not my words) due to an increasingly heavy workload, I still check in from time 2 time to see what has been going down. I have been able to meet a few other contributors in 2007 and especially enjoyed catching up with David H. after a decade, seeing Patricio dance with Luis and Marcela from South America and first meeting and then sharing jet-setting tips with Christopher in a german Christmas market only to realize who it actually was a day later!!!! I also want to congratulate Kristin on being an absolute role-model this past year while making difficult life choices. I wish you, Kristin, happiness in your new position at NYCB and am glad you still manage to make time for this site. There doesn’t seem to be any other cyber-place with such a variety of different artistic voices!
I was asked recently what some of my highs and lows of 2007 were…I thought it might be a good way to discuss what’s been going on with me since I last wrote.
Aside from the little problems that can arise in a world filled with blood, sweat and tears, I found myself confronted with some more threatening issues in 2007. I became sort of plagued by a variety of significant injuries that prevented me from doing things that I REALLY wanted to be a part of; like touring to Korea again with Sue Jin Kang, creating a new role in a Christian Spuck ballet, and just generally working on improving my abilities as a dancer. This is when I was forced to realize that ‘lows’ can turn into ‘highs’ if you come at problems from the right angle. Every dancer goes through a huge injury at some point and having the advice of friends and accomplished dancers like Bridget Breiner and Robert Tewsley to guide me through was invaluable. I launched into therapy that taught me new things about my body and I learned about the power of breathing among other things. I decided to have a GREAT time and so I spent days visiting friends from Berlin to Paris. I was happy to see wonderful art and theatre in both places and meet exciting new people. One night after seeing an ABT(on tour) show at the Theatre du Chatelet I found myself on the Avenue de L’Opera. I stood staring at the beautiful Opera Garnier where I had JUST danced one month before. Now I was an invalid dancer shivering outside in the rain wondering if I’d ever be onstage again. A friend called me and invited me to hear him DJ at Le ParisParis which is also on the Avenue de L’Opera so i turned my back on the Garnier and swore to myself that I would forget the stage if just for that night and have a good time. I did but it was difficult to remove my thoughts from the theatre. During the following months I started to let go a bit and noticed an immense improvement in my condition (two ruptured and herniated discs in my lower back). The time soon came to come back to work and I was ready to take on new challenges and more mentally/spiritually prepared to do so than I was before I left for therapy.
Because things move so quick here (the company has had about 70 shows since I penned my last post even…), I was back onstage within a 2 week time period. Being there this time was like a new experience though. I enjoyed myself more than ever because I could feel that through letting go of the ’silly stresses’ of dancing, I had matured as an artist…if even just a tiny bit. 
I won’t bore with other small details that followed this event but I will mention one thing that happened right around that time that I consider to be a highlight of my year: I was cast as Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake!
I was going to dance my first principal dancer role with a great big company AND my partner would be doing it for the fist time aswell! What happened next was a combination of greatness and misfortune…
My Odette/Odile, Linda and I rehearsed and rehearsed. The company and staff were so behind us and I felt incredible chemistry with my partner. We were finally ready to dance our first show! We stepped onstage together and with adrenaline flowing heavily, we delivered to a hungry audience that was eager to witness our virgin attempt of the Tchaikovsky classic. Things went well and the excitement increased as we completed the 3rd act where the sorcerer’s evil swan daughter deceives the Prince and tricks him into marriage. It was time to ‘fall into’ the beauty of the 4th and final act that has a tragic love pas de deux that is exclusive to the Cranko version. We danced together for what was to be the Swan and the Prince’s final dance before she is turned back into a swan creature indefinitely and the Prince drowns trying to save her. I could feel her breath on my neck and the moment was magic when suddenly there was a funny sounding click and I realized that my partner’s shoulder had come dislocated in one of those backwards port de bras movements that distinguished the swan from all other classical roles. We exited the stage and she courageously held-in screams as the orchestra played on. Her shoulder wouldn’t pop back in and it was a devastating sight. I ran back onto stage and somehow managed to improvise with the corps de ballet of swan girls as if I was looking for the swan queen who I had lost somehow. 5 whole minutes played out as I performed the ballet til the end while wishing I could somehow help my beautiful partner who was by now being taken to the hospital.
Thankfully no lasting damage was done to Linda’s body but mentally it was difficult for everybody invloved to have been a part of such a beautiful process that was abrubtly cut short. The newspapers carried the story in their headlines and there was an influx of well-wishing notes. Linda still needed time to recover so I was scheduled to dance with Anna, another of my frequent partners. I was sad to see Linda watch as I rehearsed with another soloist just a day later but the show HAD to go on. Luckily Anna and I have chemistry that matches the intensity of Linda and mine together. This is rare (the two ladies share the same birthday too) but I was happy to be dancing with her and glad to not have to try and manufacture any feelings that should come naturally. Our show went over well and I felt the confidence that only a second show can bring. My ballerina told me she had never had so much fun and I believed her.
Since that time the direction was kind enough to give Linda a chance to redeem herself in the role and we danced the ballet, in it’s entirety, on a Christmas tour of Spain. Due to the incedible emotional journey that the ballet inspired for me, I’d definitely put Swan Lake at the top of my personal 2007 ‘crucial moments’ list.
4th Act embrace with Anna Osadcenko in ‘Swan Lake’ with the Stuttgart Ballet. Galina Mezentseva as Odette.
As Stuttgart’s autumn season brought scattered flurries to the Schlossgarten outside the theatre, indoors there was a blizzard of different ballets being performed. ‘The CRANKO festival’ was underway. Infact it was all planned far in advance to celebrate the company’s founder. We all danced a long list of roles that Cranko had created for his star-personalities of the time and many of them came back to help us get into each individual role. I danced Lenski in Onegin and special parts in ‘Brouillards’, ‘Jeu de Cartes’ , ‘Holberg Pas de Deux’ and ‘Initials’. Infact, I just debuted over this past weekend for the final two shows of ‘Initials’ in the hauntingly beautiful pas de deux created for Marcia Haydee and Heinz Claus from the 3rd movement. ‘Initials’ is one of those rare ballet’s that demands a large company fueled by a sense of camaraderie. Four principals represent four seasons and the music by Brahms is so powerful and melodic that it is hard for me to imagine it without steps attached. The choreography is difficult and there are alot of leading roles so that everyone has their own personal responsability to the ballet. We were all in it together and every single person felt like an important ingredient that was required to bring this ballet to fruition. The Cranko festival was a ‘high’ for me because it afforded me with the chance to dance roles that I loved while being a part of a 3 month long seminar-like expereince where I was able to focus solely on what made Cranko, the choreographer tick. I saw footage that I had never seen before, saw roles that had been lost in ballet history and celebrated (night after night) the ballets and steps that made the choreographer so famous. There were gala events where guests were invited to come dance all of the most popular Cranko roles. How lucky for them to be able to dance such roles on the stage where they were first received and how lucky for us, here, to be able to see how other artists interpret the roles that we know so well. (Alina Cojucaru as ‘Tatiana’ from ‘’Onegin'’ was one of my favourites.) I also thouroghly enjoyed getting to know Polina Semionova while dancing ‘Lenski’ with her ‘Tatiana’ in a special gala performance of ‘’Onegin'’.
1st time Siegfried in ‘’Swan Lake'’. Flirting with Katja Wünsche’s ‘Olga’ in ‘’Onegin'’
I’ll leave it at that for now as the new year is well underway now and I want to go out and accomplish brand-new things to reflect on at a later date. Altogether, I feel good about celebrating the ups and downs that my career as a ballet dancer brought me in 2007 and I want to make sure to thank the people who have celebrated WITH me! Whether it’s european balletomanes, my family and colleagues, or original Stuttgart Ballet members (antiques) who encouraged me to keep writing here at the WINGER (.. ..) I have recently been getting alot of attention in Japan aswell and am frankly quite baffled by it as I have only ever done ONE show there!..BUT I am always thrilled to receive the notes and extremely creative gifts from my friends in and around Tokyo. I don’t know what I did to deserve you but I am thankful and proud to have such a dance-educated group be interested in me! Thank you.
Let’s see what’s in store for ‘08. I promise to do my ballet-best 
!………
-Ev
Photos: The Stuttgart Ballet. (I am sorry I only have the few from recent while. The truth is I don’t have that many at my disposal!)
Artwork: a gift from the amazing Geraldine Georges
www.geraldinegeorges.be
Recent Posts by Evan McKie
May 10, 2007 at 8:10 pm · Filed under dance, choreographers, student, culture, CATHY, brazil, sao paulo, united nations, bolshoi ballet, royal academy of dance, virada cultural, balé da cidade de são paulo, ivaldo bertazzo, festival
Posted by Cathy Godeghesi
Well here I am again, after a long time!
Now life is really on its tracks again, after that UN model that I have mentioned in my previous post. So I’ll start by telling how it went.
As I said, after ballet this is something that I really like. Participating in the simulation was a huge experience for me (especially when representing the US, it was a hard job!)
I was in the General Assembly and our theme was The Religious Issue. We discussed for five days and then wrote a huge document recommending solutions to the nations concerning the matter.
It’s really hard to defend point of views that are not yours, especially when these are so polemic!
But I had fun and it was unforgettable!
I was pretty busy before that because I had to research about the United States position, and then EVERYTHING about the United States, and then about religious issues in the world, and so on.
My school colleagues also loved the experience, and we learned so much.
Well during this period in which I was studying, etc, I could barely go to ballet, and now I am finally back!
We have three performances coming up and it’s time to rehearse. We are dancing the Waltz of The Flowers (again) and also each girl will take a variation. I’m rehearsing Kitri, although we also learned Blue Bird and Flower Festival in Genzano.
Also, there will be an open class to parents and anyone else who would like to watch us, so we’ve been practicing the syllabus by Royal Academy of Dance (our examination is only in September, though).
My city held something really nice last week, a huge event called Virada Cultural. It was a 24 -hour event that went through the night, and there was absolutely everything: music, cinema, theater, exhibitions, dance, etc. And everything was free and spread around the city.
I attended some of the dance ones, in a stage in the Vale do Anhangabau (you know this already! I’ve shown it in another post).
I watched three pieces, the first one was Les Sylphides, danced by the girls from Escola Municipal de Bailados, which is the “municipal school of ballet” that belongs to the theatre and feeds to Balé da Cidade de São Paulo (”São Paulo City Ballet'’, but they’re pretty much contemporary nowadays and don’t dance classical anymore; however the school teaches just classical).
They made a short adapted version and it was very nice and clean. I had never seen their work before and the girls are beautiful, they have amazing lines and they’re soft, and were so ethereal.
This school is free so the students come from poorer communities in the city, and I find that amazing. To give these girls the possibility to have such great education in ballet and to open so many doors afterwards.
The second piece I saw was by the choreographer Ivaldo Bertazzo. Guys, if you ever have the opportunity to see his works, DON’T MISS IT. Seriously, this man is awesome. It’s contemporary and he gets inspiration in Africa and India, and mixes with brazilian sounds and contemporary technique.
Also, he is another one who gives shots to people that don’t have money to take dance classes and are envolved with drugs and things like that. His dancers come from an NGO, and he trains them and does the choreographies. They are really strong and great dancers!
I think there could be so much more things like this here in Brazil. Arts don’t get much attention in general, but they could really be used to help a big part of the population.
As we’re on this subject, I don’t know how many of you know about this but Bolshoi Ballet from Moscow has a school here in Brazil (in Joinville, southern brazil).
They pick children from poor communities from all over the country and give them this unique chance to study at the Bolshoi.
It’s the only school from Bolshoi that’s outside of Russia. If you want to know more about the work, visit their website, it’s completely worth the visit and you can see many pics showing very talented kids.
I admire them so much for doing this! Take your time and read about it, it’s beautiful.
Dear wingers, now I leave and I promise to be back soon showing my performances!
Bye!
Recent Posts by cathy godeghesi
April 16, 2007 at 5:29 pm · Filed under choreographers, studio, dancers, royal ballet, pacific northwest ballet, nycb, hamburg ballet, abt, san francisco ballet, choreography, CHRIS, morphoses, bolshoi ballet, christopher wheeldon, washington ballet, the ballet boyz, liv lorent
Photo by Yaniv Schulman
Hi there, Chris Wheeldon here with a first post for the Winger. I hope you guys will enjoy my posts recounting the adventures of building my new ballet company. I hope to also report on some of the experiences with some of the great dancers and companies I am fortunate enough to get to work with.
Wow, the last few months have been incredible. It’s been exhilarating, exhausting, and as much of a high-speed ride as anyone can endure in a short period of time.
Even before the actual work of forming a new dance company has begun in full, just announcing Morphoses brought with it a large amount of interest and expectations, and that alone has added to the intensity of each day.
Since January I have completed and premiered ‘Elsinore‘ (originally Misericordes) for the Bolshoi Ballet, rehearsed and staged Polyphonia in Seattle and Boston, as well as Carousel in New York and with three wonderful casts in San Francisco. I just returned from Washington D.C where Washington Ballet gave a fine performance of Morphoses (the ballet).
I feel fortunate for all of these experiences with different dancers and daily my respect grows for these wonderful people who embrace my choreography with every fibre, both emotionally and physically.
Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company is still quite a long way in coming, although we will form as a pick up group for performances this summer. Our goals are longevity and a permanent company, which requires some serious time for planning and building a secure infrastructure.
I have an awesome roster of dancers including Wendy Whelan and Maria Kowroski from City Ballet. Alina Cojocaru and Johan Kobborg from Royal. Angel Corella from ABT .The Ballet Boyz from the UK and Anastasia Yatsenko from The Bolshoi. She was in my recent ballet ‘Elsinore’ and is absolutely beautiful . I was so impressed by her commitment to my work that she is coming to New York for our City Center season. We also have Gonzalo Garcia from San Francisco, Laeticia Guiliani from Florence, Helene Bouchet and Thiago Bourdin from Hamburg and Carla Körbes and Miranda Weese from PNB. In London Alexandra Ansanelli dances with Angel Corella in Balanchine’s Allegro Brilliante. The rest of the rep is some my work including ‘After The Rain‘ and ‘Polyphonia’ mixed with some Forsythe , Michael Clark and Liv Lorent. It’s going to be really exciting. I have also asked ex-City Ballet dancer Edwaard Liang to make a new duet. This along with two brand new works of mine will make up the world premieres for this season. Of course these dancers are on loan for the summer but we hope that sooner rather than later we will be able to hire some permanent members of Morphoses.
Over the past few months, people have been asking me why I want a small company of only 20 dancers. There are several reasons, but it took my experience with rehearsing ‘Carousel’ at San Francisco Ballet in March to help me to understand the reason that remains at the forefront.
During the two weeks I spent on the West Coast, I watched three casts blossom in my ballet ‘Carousel.’ Each one introduced me to something new in my choreography that I hadn’t seen before. What was most interesting, however, was how they inspired and shaped my ideas about the coaching of a ballet.
It is always an honor when a company asks for an existing ballet to be taken into their repertoire, but I have to admit that I have not up until now fully enjoyed the process of coaching dancers in existing roles. I have always focused on the next new ballet.
One of the things that was so rewarding about my time in San Francisco was working with two corps girls in the same lead role.
Being a choreographer is an honor in the sense that you can offer great opportunities to people you believe in. I think that there is nothing more rewarding than molding a young dancer in a leading role. No matter how rough things are to begin with, it is about persistence and a belief that in the end they can see it through. Too often ballet masters and choreographers give up at that crucial point in the process right before the breakthrough. It’s true that it can be frustrating when all you are getting are brief glimpses of full potential over a long period of time, but if you encourage and are patient and truly persistent in your demands, coaxing and often insisting, there is almost always a great pay off. You watch the dancer as they begin to understand their possibilities: that powerful moment when the intellectual understanding becomes physical understanding and the freedom of pure dancing takes over.
I can’t think of a prouder moment watching my three principal casts of ‘Carousel’. They all took great strides and had personal artistic triumphs. Mostly with the corps girls it was about coaxing natural and unaffected dramatic performances and combining that with a keener sense of the shapes their bodies made, using their articulation and physicality to express naturally. It is tough to shed the layers of pretense that we think amounts to acting onstage. Much of the purely classical work that we train for encourages a stylized approach to acting. I wanted both girls to be the honest in her interpretation. In the end they were both absolutely wonderful and I hope they discovered a new side to their gifts. This process with these three casts is ultimately for me what it is all about and why we do what we do. Using each other as artists to discover our potential in order to deliver generous and honest performances to the public. These dancers helped me to believe in the process and to trust in my instincts to not give up after one or two rehearsals when it seems that progress is slow. After all, dancers develop at different speeds both in the course of their careers and over the process of learning and rehearsing a single role.
I look forward to my next couple of trips to The Australian Ballet in Sydney for a staging of ‘After The Rain’ and then on to Houston for ‘Carnival of The Animals‘. I really hope to report on both trips.
Right now I am working on ‘The Nightingale and The Rose’ based on the fairy tale by Oscar Wilde . This is a new ballet for The New York City Ballet Spring Season. So far it has been a tough experience as I have some issues with the commissioned score, but think that’s another story !
Take care all. I am thrilled to be able to be a part of this excellent site.
CHRIS WHEELDON.
Recent Posts by christopher wheeldon
