#kirov ballet

[balletretrospective]

Happy 100th Birthday to Ninel Petrova

Though I have never had the pleasure of meeting this heroine of classical ballet. I owe to her all the thanks in the world. For as a young, bright-eyed yet naive student, I was no stranger to discouraging remarks from some teachers. I was assured that I would never be capable of becoming a dancer. Until one day, when I was fortunate enough to be taken with some classmates on a tour of the Mariinsky Theatre. The guides were so lovely, and told us many stories of the history of dance, they showed us the massive undertaking of the skilled craftsmen, artists, and designers and how, with their precision, care, and expertise the ballet could come to life. But it was a single pair of pointe shoes that changed my life forever. The pointe shoes of ballerina Ninel Petrova.

"they are so small" I remarked. Our lovely guide smiled down at me, "yes, ballerinas in this era were short in stature, and grand in character.' A small video of her dancing played on repeat. I could not break my gaze, my feet glued to the floor. I was in awe. She was the most beautiful dancer I had ever seen. For me, she is the soul of dance. After this experience I was able to be enlightened to such talents as Alla Sizova, Ninella Kurgapkina, Ekaterina Maximova, who I furthered aimed to emulate. No longer did I fight to "hide my shortcomings" or work against my body. I was able to start an approach to dance, first from the soul, then from the technique. There are such a great many people I have to thank for my life in ballet. But nothing will ever touch my heart as deeply as Ninel Petrova in Chopiniana.

Thank you. My deepest gratitude and most wholehearted wishes on your birthday.

#russian ballet #ballet history #living legend #kirov ballet #mariinsky theatre #ninel petrova

[alicenineshou]

Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake (Swan Theme) [Piano Cover]

#Tchaikovsky #Classical #Swan Lake #Swan #Lake #Piano #Tokyo #Japan #Ballet #piano relaxing music #relaxing #music #studying #the kirov ballet #cisne #schwanensee #kirov ballet #swan #swans #dance ballet #lago dos cisnes #le lac des cygnes #el lago de los cisnes #lake #kirov #dance #classical music #musique classique #música clássica #lago

[tikitania]

I just found you and wanted to comment about your Irina Zavialova post back in January! I had the absolute privilege and pleasure of being taught by her and her husband 10 years ago at my ballet school's summer intensive. I was only 12 and had been dancing just two years, I was absolutely awful lol but she was so sweet! Never made me feel stupid, even when I didn't know how to sew on my pointe ribbons properly and they kept falling off XD

When I looked her up a couple years later out of curiosity and learned she'd been a principal at mariinsky?? oh god the shock I felt lol! I wish I'd known at the time so I could have asked her about her time there, but I still treasure those memories. She taught us Talisman variation and the Oceans and Pearls duet and I was horrid at both but loved every second :D

@thecheeseburgercat - What a fun memory! Thank you so much for sharing it with me. You got to take a class from a Mariinsky Prima! Wow! I love the daintiness and weightlessness in the Talisman variation. Did you see Maria Iliushkina's performance in the recent Grand Ballet episode? She performed it perfectly. Here's a link to that prior post of Zavialova dancing Swanhilda in the 1990's. And now, rumor has it that revival of Coppelia will premiere this June during the White Nights festival. I'm currently at the "I'll believe it when I see it" stage. In the meantime, here's a clip of Zavialova dancing the role of Gulnare with Michale Zavialov, who I speculate is/was her husband based on surname alone.

And also as Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Princess Florine in Sleeping Beauty — there are quite a few more under that account.

#ballet #mariinsky ballet #russian ballet #prima ballerina #irina zavialova #Coppelia #Swanhilda #ballet class #Kirov #90s Russia #swan lake #sleeping beauty

[fatovamingus]

Irina Kolpakova, Giselle Mad Scene

#irina kolpakova #giselle ballet #kirov

[whatisonthemoon]

#the washington latin school #universal ballet foundation #ballet #Moonies #kirov academy #unification church #unification church in usa #unification church in the united states #american church #assets #church assets #uc assets

[howwelldoyouknowyourmoon]

Universal Ballet Kirov Academy Building, Washington, D.C., sold for $22.5M – September 2022

By Keith Loria September 27, 2022 2:30 PM

https://commercialobserver.com/2022/09/washington-latin-school-acquires-historic-kirov-academy-building-for-23m/

The Universal Ballet Foundation, which shut down its Washington, D.C., nonprofit academy earlier this year due to financial hardship, has sold its longtime home, the Kirov Academy, for $22.5 million.

The Washington Latin School was the buyer and will use the 49,952-square-foot facility and site as its new campus, according to the school. ... “The Universal Ballet Foundation owned the property for 33 years and decided to close the school,” ...

Located at 4301 Harewood Road NE, the historic site is a former monastery building, built in 1914, that sits on 2.15 acres in D.C.’s Brookland neighborhood.

The three-story property was renovated in 1986 to its current design as a school for ballet.

The building consists of four ballet studios, dorm rooms, studio space, an industrial kitchen, a student lounge, administrative offices and a concert hall.

The Universal Ballet Foundation was founded in 1990 by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon. Last fall, a former bookkeeper was sentenced for stealing more than $1.5 million over the course of nine months in 2018, and the pandemic only added to the organization’s financial problems over the last few years.

Additional material:

▲ Sophia Kim, also known as Sookyeong Kim Sebold, the former bookkeeper at the Universal Ballet Foundation.

Kirov Ballet Academy of DC Exec, Sophia Kim, Stole $800K to Feed Gambling Addiction, Feds Say in November 2019

Hak Ja Han and Sun Myung Moon went nightclubbing in Las Vegas, gambling in Atlantic City and bought a $65 million hotel-casino in Uruguay.

#Universal Ballet #gambling #Sophia Kim #Kirov Academy of Ballet #Sun Myung Moon #Hak Ja Han #Las Vegas

[gorbigorbi]

Natalia Makarova and Yuri Solovyov (August 10, 1940 - January 12, 1977)...

Natalia Makarova was lucky to have partners. To the Leningrad Kirov Opera and Ballet Theatre (today the Mariinsky Theatre) she danced in duets with star dancers, magnificent strong and reliable partners Y. Solovyov, K. Sergeev, N. Dolgushin

[sporesgalaxy]

shout out to Kirov Ballet Swan Lake jester

#adddna #swanposting #<- WAS just for the ocs but. what the fuck EVAR.

[nurhanarman]

Khachaturian: Sabre Dance

Aram Khachaturian's iconic ballet Gayane was premiered at the Kirov Ballet on this day in 1942 Perm, Russia. Here is the famous Sabre Dance from the final act of the Gayane. Khachaturian: Sabre Dance Sinfonia Toronto / Nurhan Arman, Conductor Livestreamed on March 4, 2023 https://youtu.be/zzbEdefAo6w

#youtube #classical music #orchestra #symphony #toronto #ballet #canada #armenian music

[grandmaster-anne]

4 August 2000 The Queen Mother celebrated her 100th birthday at the ballet joined in the Royal Box by her daughter's Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret. For the Queen Mother's centenary night out, at the Opera House in London's Covent Garden, the Royal party saw the Kirov Ballet dance a mixed programme by the legendary Russian choreographer Mikhail Fokine. © Fiona Hanson/PA Archive

#queen elizabeth ii #queen mother #princess margaret

[cleverwordsandotherstuffilike]

Mikhail Baryshnikov is one of the greatest ballet dancers of all time; many critics consider him to be the greatest. Born in Latvia, Baryshnikov studied ballet at the Vaganova School in St. Petersburg (then known as Leningrad) before joining the Kirov Ballet in 1967. Since then, he has held the lead role in dozens of ballets. He played a key role in making ballet part of popular culture back in the late 1970s and early ‘80s, and he was the face of the art form for more than two decades. Baryshnikov is probably the most influential dancer of our time.

[balletretrospective]

Analysis of Class by Ninel Kurgapkina

This is simply a genius class. Let's talk about some of the elements that really stand out.

Warm up: repetition of battement tendu side closing first, then alternating first and fifth. This gets the legs used to closing with turnout and square hips so that when the time comes for fifth you are very aware of even slight deviations.

Plie: one grand plie in each position and port de bras. I am a strong supporter of light plie exercises. There is no need to overtax the dancers at the beginning of class. Repetitions of demi plie is great for students to develop strength and good stability but for experienced artists its not needed. Unless you are planning to start the class without a full warm up (as they did when these concepts came to be).

Fondu; with developpe side and tour temps releve. In both these movements we are often more conscious of pulling the knee to the side and being lifted on our supporting leg. Thus eliminating the common problem of letting foundus take place in front of the body with the weight too far back.

Rond de Jambe en l'air: honestly in our day and age, just having this exercise is a win! but moreover, i do appreciate the simplicity. We often make complicated and artistic exercises (which certainly have their place!) but doing this all the time can cause the technique to become too passive. A few slow correct ones to start, then the quick ones where they take (now conscious) liberties is a great choice.

Not sure if this is a result of editing but it seems that they have a set barre and new centre exercises. Again, a brilliant choice. The teacher can now watch for difficulties and make centre exercises accordingly. Its also nice as a dancer to focus on the steps at the barre without worrying about new coordinations.

Centre Foundu: mixed with the sharper releves and pirouttes en dedans I wouldn't be surprised if some dancers had to perform italian fouttes that day.

Petit Battement: Chaines finishing cou de pied. then, pique arabesque. that pause is so important! that'll make the endings on stage super strong, secure, and thoughtful. The petit battement is a nice way to set up the combination too.

First Jump: those releves after the third landing. Surefire way of making sure that you are not just rebounding and are in fact using the plie.

Second Jump: I love it. Many similar but different jumps. Eliminating the lazy executions as you have to think carefully about each step so as to give clarity where they differ.

I'll link the class here, Let me know your thoughts on it!

#russian ballet #ballet class #ninel kurgapkina #Kirov ballet #mariinsky ballet #Youtube

[intriguingpeoplebyangelafloyd]

RUDOLF NUREYEV

RUDOLF NUREYEV

1938-1993

Russian ballet dancer

            Rudolf Nureyev was born into a poor peasant family in Russia (Soviet Union) and wanted to become a dancer since seeing the opera as a child. He started studying ballet at age 11 and as he got older he joined the top ballet company in Russia, the Kirov Ballet.

In 1961, he fled Communist-controlled Russia and deflected at the Le Bourget Airport in Paris.

            He went on to dance with the Royal Ballet in London and formed a famous partnership with dancer Margot Fonteyn and became one of the best-known dancers in the world.

            He socialized with well-known celebrities including Freddie Mercury, Liza Minnelli, Andy Warhol, Jackie Kennedy Onassis and allegedly had an affair with Mick Jagger (Mick Jagger also had a threesome with David Bowie and Bette Midler). Nureyev later grew tired of socializing with celebrities but remained friends with those in the ballet world.

            Nureyev was bisexual and would often pick up young men. In 1961, he met Danish dancer Erik Bruhn and they became a couple. In 1973, he had an affair with American dancer Robert Tracy.

            Nureyev was notorious for having one-night stands. When AIDS became known in 1982, Nureyev took little notice. One of his previous lovers who had contracted HIV rang up Nureyev and advised him to get tested which he did in 1984 and tested positive but kept it a secret whilst his health declined. In November 1992 he entered the hospital in France and died there aged 54 in January 1993.

#rudolfnureyev

#rudolf nureyev #rudolfnueyev

[tikitania]

Coppelia at the Mariinsky

I'm hearing rumors that the Mariinsky will debut a new production of Coppelia staged by Alexander Sergeev…and it made me wonder when was the last time they performed Coppelia? It seems to have been a very long time ago. There are hundreds of clips of the Vikharev production at the Bolshoi. How/why did the Mariinsky let this ballet end up in a dust heap? So odd… Anyway, I'm glad it's coming back. (If rumors are true!) And I'm so curious about casting. The most recent clip that I could quickly find was from the Kirov in 1993, fearing Irina Shapchit dancing the Swanilda variation from Act 3.

I know nothing about Ms. Shapchit and discovered that she now goes by her married name, Irina Zavialova. She and her husband left Russia in 1995 for the West where they worked at several smaller ballet companies. It seems like she was one of the talents that "got away" in the turmoil of the 90s. She's now teaching in Norway from what I gather. Here's an interview with her from the 90s

It's almost a foregone conclusion that Shakirova will be first cast in this. BTW, I still haven't seen Ratmansky's production at La Scala, but I've heard that it's really good. It's on the list. The full production can be streamed on Medici TV:

#mariinsky #youtube #russian ballet #coppelia #Irina Zavialova #Irina Shapchit #Swanilda #alexei ratmansky #la scala #Youtube

[opera-ghosts]

Николай Печковский ария Отелло из 3 акта запись 1957 года Концертный зал

N. Peczkowski Otello aria from Act 3 Dio mi potevi (in russian) record in 1957

Nikolaj Konstantinovich Pechkovskij

13 (25) January 1896 Moscow – 24 November 1966 Leningrad

Nikolaj Konstantinovich Pechkovskij studied singing with L. D. Donskoj. In 1918, he joined the opera studio of K. S. Stanislavskij. From 1924 to 1941, he was a leading soloist of the Kirov. Pechkovskij created a series of unique interpretations: Lenskij, Otello, Werther, Rodolfo, and his most appreciated part: German.

He also was much praised for his interpretation of chamber music by Glinka, Dargomyzhskij, Chajkovskij, Rachmaninoff etc., works by Soviet composers, national songs, and Russian romances.

Fatal for the singer was the Second World War when, due to unforeseen circumstances, Pechkovskij appeared and sang in occupied territory. The war caught Pechkovskij in a village south of Leningrad with a seriously ill mother. At the behest of Andrej Aleksandrovich Zhdanov (1896–1948, Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR), a car was sent with Zhdanov's personal driver to rescue Pechkovskij. The driver failed in his mission and upon his return, so as to save his own skin, slandered Pechkovskij saying that he had refused to return. And though Pechkovskij sang under the Nazi occupiers so as to earn a living, he was no traitor.

He helped guerrillas pass valuable information to the Soviet command, he rescued compatriots from death. Nevertheless, immediately after his alleged defection, his wife – a soprano at the Malij Theater – was jailed to death, and his adopted son – a budding actor – was shot by the Soviet authorities. Back in Soviet-controlled territory after the war, Pechkovskij was condemned on the false accusation of collaboration with the fascists, and was sent to the Gulag until 1954. He was even personally questioned by Beria.

He was never rehabilitated, but he was allowed to sing again in concert and opera, albeit only in second-rate venues, primarily in provincial towns. In his last years, he ran a vocal studio for amateur singers at the Leningrad Recreation Center.

Pechkovskij died on November 24th, 1966. Only at the turn of the century, his popularity began to come back.

Pechkovskij was People's Artist of the Russian Soviet and Federative Socialist Republic (1939). Began on the stages of Moscow's dramatic theatres in 1910. In 1914 he started his career as a singer, as a pupil of L. D. Donskoj. In 1921 he joined the workshop of the Bolshoj Theater directed by K. S. Stanislavskij, who had a great influence on the development of Pechkovskij's operatic personality.

In 1922, he began on Moscow's opera stage. From 1924 until 1941 he was the leading soloist of the Leningrad Kirov Theatre Opera and Ballet.

Great dramatic tension is typical of Pechkovskij's best-known roles: German, Otello, José, and Canio.

In 1939 he became the head of the new branch of the Kirov Theater, where he staged a number of operas.

In 1941, German forces took over the region in which he was living. In 1944, he was arrested by the Soviet authorities and spent ten years in prison camps, to be released in 1954.

In 1956, he returned to Leningrad, though he was not accepted by any theatre and worked independently at the Tsjurupa Recreation Centre.

In 1966 he gave a few concerts in Moscow and Leningrad. He wrote Recollections of an Opera Singer (St. Petersburg, 1992). Between 1926 and 1941 he lived at 4 Lermontovskij Avenue (memorial plaque installed).

The tenor Pechkovskij was the rival of Kozlovskyj and Lemeshev. And of Neljepp, above all, who sang in Leningrad like Pechkovskij, and was deeply rooted in the Communist party at Stalin's time. Pechkovskij was declared undesirable by the people's government, because during the world war, he found himself in German occupied territories and in order to survive, he had to sing for the Germans.

After the war the all-powerful KGB minister Abakumov sent Pechkovskij to the Gulag. This cad had not forgotten his quarrel with Pechkovskij in 1933, when he was just a private of the KGB. It goes without saying that mentioning Pechkovskij's name was a no-no in the USSR for many years.

Keeping his records at one's home could cost the owner his life, or many years of incarceration, so the records were destroyed (only few remain), their fame forgotten. The worst was the total destruction of the matrices of a not yet published complete Otello that Pechkovskij had recorded before the war, after a successful run of performances at the Mariinskij.

No books could even mention the name of the traitor, and he became a non-person in both the USSR and, correspondingly, in the rest of the world.

Pechkovskij recorded 23 sides for the SSSR label; among the operatic items, arias from Pagliacci, Pikovaja dama, and La muette de Portici.

#classical music #opera #music history #bel canto #composer #classical composer #aria #classical studies #maestro #chest voice #Николай Печковский #Nikolay Pechkovsky #Nikolaj Pechkovskij #tenor #dramatic tenor #otello #othello #Giuseppe Verdi #lyric tenor #Mariinsky Theatre #classical musician #classical musicians #classical history #history of music #historian of music #musician #musicians

[orcesstra]

the kirov ballet performance of swan lake is the best one for a lot of reasons but mostly