The quadrennial Moscow IBC -- one of the most prestigious & 'granddaddy' of all competitions -- begins today & continues through June 30. It is being widely reported on Russian-language sites. I will try my best to pass-on (translate) reports & 'news' on this thread. Anyone who happens to be on-site is welcomed to post, of course!

First off...here is the distinguished panel of judges. Quite a line-up! [My own "comments" in brackets.]

JUDGES


RUSSIA: (4 judges from the host country)

Chairman of the Jury:
Yuri Grigorovich

Altinai Assylmuratova

Natalia Bessmertnova [Mrs. Grigorovich]

Mikhail Lavrovsky [long-time professional partner of Mrs. Grigorovich]


OTHER COUNTRIES:

BELARUS' Valentina Elizariev

UKRAINE Yuri Stanishevski

BULGARIA Biser Deyanov-Todorov

GERMANY Konstanze Vernon

ITALY Anna Prina

CANADA Aleks Ursuliak

CHINESE PEOPLES' REPUBLIC Bai Shu-syan

USA Natalia Makarova

FRANCE Charles Jude

SWITZERLAND Heinz Spoerli

JAPAN Minoru Ochi

The various rounds & events:

June 20 - final registration & draw; Bolshoi Ballet's 'La Bayadere' (Grigorovich version), starring Svetlana Zakharova

June 21 - 23 - Round One (all competitors) - includes classical & modern dances; soloists and couples (pairs) allowed; both junior (ages 14-18) & senior (19-26) levels

June 25 - 26 - Round Two (semifinalists)

June 28 - 29 - Round Three (finals)

June 30 - Awarding of Prizes to dancers in all categories + special choreographic prize (among Modern Ballet segments)

July 1 - Special Gala Concert


At the Thursday, June 16, press conference, the following information concerning competitors was provided:

We received 450 applicants from 38 countries. After eliminations work, including the screening of videos, photos and applications, some 230 participants from 22 countries (including Austria, Bulgaria, Venezuela, China, USA, Ukraine, the Philippines, Russia, etc.) were invited to compete. So far, 201 dancers have confirmed their participation, among whom are 60 'juniors.' The rest are seniors. ***Among the 201 dancers are some 45 past winners of recent International Ballet Competitions & from the All-Russia Competition in Krasnodar, who were allowed to pass-on to Round One without going through the preliminary elimination committee. Some 30 choreographers have applied to the Choreographic Competition (their work to be seen in the modern segment of Round One).

Source: Bolshoi Theater web site press release.

* I will post the list of all competing dancers as soon as it is available.

Thanks for the news, Natalia -- the Moscow competition web site looks like it's geared more to those competing than those interested in the results (i.e., no news component, at least not yet), so I'm glad you'll be keeping us up to date. (At least one of the UBA students -- Mathias Dingman -- is competing. I don't know if the others from that school who went to Helsinki went on to Moscow as well, but I do know that he'd intended to.)

How very cool to see that Natalia Makarova is representing the US.

Thanks for the tip-off Alexandra. I thought that one or two of the Korean girls were also competing. Too, I heard that most of the recent graduates of the Vaganova Academy, as well as one or two of the younger Kirov-Mariinsky stars (Alina Somova) may be competiting. Let's see who turns up on the final roster!

I've moved the threads discussing Alina Somova here so that this thread can be focused on the competition.

Privet Nataliya!

Thank you for reporting on the Moscow Competition. Two of my daughter's friends are in the Junior Division so we are really excited to be able to hear the news from you.

Bolshoi spasibo!
Renata

DAY ONE REPORT (will add/delete/edit this, as new info comes in)

Bits of Info re. Roster of Dancers, Jury changes -

REGARDING ROSTER:

Although the competition just started, I'm still waiting for the final roster. I've e-mailed the competition site for this & other official releases but have received nothing yet. [Mikhail -- if you have the final roster, or the order for Round One days, could you please e-mail them to me at nnabatova@yahoo.com or post a link to them here? Thanks.]

Confirmed top Russian & Ukrainian names, among dancers:

Bolshoi Ballet dancers, incl soloists:
Natalia Osipova (grad in '03...I've seen her...spectacular raven-haired beauty)
Anna Tikhomirova (another top grad of '02 or '03)
Lola Kochetkova - competing as BOTH dancer & choreographer (tall, dark-haired Glamazon type; I've reviewed her here before)
Ekaterina Krysanova
Chinara Alizade
Alexei Matrakhov
Pavel Dmitrichenko
Anton Kondratov

Bolshoi Choreographers, in addition to Lola Kochetkova:
Morihiro Ivata
Andrei Melanin

Kremlin Ballet soloist:
Roman Artyushkin (I wonder if he is related to Alla Artyushkina, Bolshoi star 20 years ago?)

Moscow Ballet of Kasatkina-Vasiliov soloist:
Nikolai Chevychelov

Kirov-Mariinsky Soloist:
Evgenia Obraztsova (grad of '02...sensation as Juliet at home and abroad...seen by some as a new Ulanova)

Favorite Ukrainian dancers, all confirmed:

Alla Domracheva, who competed as a junior last time, partnered by winner Leonid Sarafanov (now a Kirov star)
Denis & Anastasia Matvienko, as a couple - Denis has already won gold here; perhaps he is now a non-competing partner to Anastasia?
Andrei Pisarev (any relation to Ukrainean superstar Vadim Pisarev of 20 yrs back?)
Zherlin Ndudi
Yaroslav Salenko

"Favorites' if they show up; not yet sighted/confirmed:

Kirov-Mariinsky - Alina Somova, Julia Bolshakova, and this year's grads, many of whom are to be competing here

Tatchkin Ballet soloist Irina Kolesnikova not yet confirmed, but is to be competing


JURY NEWS:

On Russian TV last night , Altynai Assylmuratova was not among the final jurors named by Yuri Grigorovich, although her no-show has not been publicly acknowledged yet. Instead, esteemed Bolshoi coach & former ballerina, Ludmilla Semenyaka (not on the original list), was named. So Semenyaka is definitely there as a juror. Too, Charles Jude (France) had not appeared as of this morning but there is still a spot for him in the panel; he's expected to arrive later today (Day One).

COMPETITION NEWS:

It all began this morning, with Group One of Day One (two groups each day, with a mix of Juniors & Seniors in each) . Standouts in this initial group include senior men Zherlin Ndudi of Ukraine & Ivan Vasiliev of Belarus. The former is elegant & soft; the latter very powerful jumper & Spartacus type of guy, who 'nailed it' with a Flames of Paris variation. No big stand-outs among the women yet, although the Bolshoi's Anna Tikhomirova made an impression in her Kitri Act III variation. Natalia Vorontsova (Russia?) was mentioned as a good junior girl in this morning's group. No junior boys mentioned yet.

No non-USSR-territory dancers mentioned yet. Perhaps the Americans & others have yet to compete. [UPDATE: Matthias Dingman of the USA/U.B.A.-Wash, DC, competed this morning, as per chiapuris' report, below.]

Hi.
I believe that Andrei Pisarov is the son of Vadim.
Renata

Thanks, Renata.

Lots of second-generation dancers are beginning to make their mark. For ex., Ivan Sitnikov, son of Kirov soloist of 1980s Irina Sitnikova, just graduated at the top of the 2005 male class at the Vaganova Academy.

Just a quick note:
Yes, Alexandra, Matthias Dingman did compete already.
We saw him perform in the morning session today (6/21) of the first round.
He danced a variation from Coppelia, and then, later, his 'modern'
entry which I liked a lot.

The jury is as Natalia reported. Semenyanka has replaced
Assylmuratova. Jude is not here yet.

I spotted George Zoritch (for those with long memories) at the Bayadere performance,
and he was at both sessions today.

I'm trying to send a brief report on yesterday's
Bayadere but my web connection here is very slow.

chiapuris,

Thank you for the on-hand report. It's hard to work with slow connections, but do know we appreciate it!

Natalia,

Many thanks for serving as Bureau Chief from afar and for collecting and translating all of this info from your correspondents!

I'll echo Helene's 'thanks' to you, chiapuris!

Hi Natalia and Chiapuris!
Thank you so much for being our eyes at the Moscow Competition. Has Isaac Hernandez ( juniors, age 15 from Mexico) competed or is he still to come?
Renata

To Renata:
Isaak Hernandez competed on Monday; I thought his 'modern' piece was very good.

Natalia,
You were quite right to point out Zherlin Ndudi of the Ukraine.
His 'modern' piece to Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight of the Bumblebee
was fresh and sensational.
Of the list from the Bolshoi school and company, we've only seen so far
Anna Tikhomirova and Chinara Alizade.
[The first day they didn't circulate
programs with participants' listing,
so I had to make notes from the announcements -in the dark.]

Other Americans who've already competed
are: (today's morning session 6/22) Yana Feldman and Christine Shevchenko.

Thanks for the info on Isaak (who has studied in the US for the past 2 years) and on the Americans and all the others who have competed.
Privet! Renata

DAY TWO information


For starters, here are the links to the full lists of competitors, alas only in Russian but many of you should be able to understand the names:

The 56 Juniors:
http://www.bolshoiballet.ru/spisok1.htm

The 73 Seniors:
http://www.bolshoiballet.ru/spisok2.htm


So out of the over-200 approved entries, 129 actually showed up in Moscow & are competing. Among these, 34 dancers represent non-USSR-territory countries:

Japan - 11 dancers
Korea - 7
USA - 4
China and the Philippines - 2 each
Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia, Macedonia, Venezuela, Brazil, Israel & Mexico - one dancer each

Among yesterday's unconfirmed famous names, we can now confirm Irina Kolesnikova, 'prima' of the K. Tachkine Ballet. The Kirov's Alina Somova opted to not compete but there's an 'unknown' Natalia Somova from Moscow. Kirov soloist Evgenia Obraztsova -- their famous Juliet -- is here. All of the anticipated Bolshoi dancers are here. Certain dancers are so famous (Kolesnikova & Obraztsova, for example) that they are practically guaranteed medals unless they fall flat on their po-pos. Ditto the more favored soloists among the various Moscow-based dancers (Osipova, Kochetkova & such). Just my observation after umpteen years of following IBC events chaired by Yuri Grigorovich. Not that those famous dancers would not deserve it if they dance to their known potential. Hopefully, 'new discoveries' will also be rewarded, if they perform well...as was the case with Thiago Soares (Brazil) in 2001 and the unknown sprite Alina Cojocaru (Romania) in 1997! This year's discoveries could be established stars four years from now, dancing with ABT or the Royal Ballet. Who knows?


To confirm the final list of USA dancers:

One Senior: Jonathan Drake

Three Juniors: Kristina Chevchenko, Matthias Dingman, & Jana Feldman


MORE NEWS FROM YESTERDAY (the evening round):

It was reported on 'Kultura' television news that Russia's Natalia Somova broke her foot in the midst of the competition & is out. Her partner had to finish the pdd all by himself.

Everyone agrees that the standouts among junior men, yesterday, were Ivan Vasiliev of Belarus and Ndudi of Ukraine. A late report on yesterday's morning round also notes -- besides those pointed out earlier -- Miss Sayaka Takuda of Japan, in Flames of Paris pdd.

In yesterday's evening round, stand-outs (all seniors) included

Ekaterina Alayeva of Ukraine - for her lightness, as Giselle

Maria Seletskaya of Estonia - for her contemporary dance, to Stravinsky

Lola Kochetkova of the Bolshoi - considered rather weak in classical but superb in contemporary (her own choreography)

Miryana Pop-Alexova of Macedonia - a big surprise! Excellent Corsaire Medora variation

Ludmilla Konovaliova of Moscow - very professional, clean classicist, by all accounts


TODAY's COMPETITION NEWS:

A report of Day Two's morning round, in the Bolshoi Forum (by author "Marekh") states that the biggest impressions were made by the "two Americans" (in parentheses, as names are not typically American) Kristina Chevchenko and Jana Feldman for the junior girls. Ukraine's Xenia Rusina, dancing a contemporary tango, impressed for her sheer physical beauty. Junior guys of note today were Ukraine's Alexander Shpak -- mentioned by ALL reports as superb! -- and Japan's Yasuomi Akimoto in Flames of Paris.

Another report on the morning round also praised Alexander Shpak of Ukraine & Ilya Bolotov of Perm-Russia, both of whom appear to have danced the same contemporary number by Radu Poklitaru (a modern take on a Chopin Mazurka). By the way, Poklitaru is the perennial winner of the choreography prize at such competitions; he choreographed the controversial new 'Romeo & Juliet' at the Bolshoi. A lot of people figure that he'll win yet again here.

Standouts (all seniors) in today's evening round, according to various reports:

Alexei Matrakhov of Moscow
Roman Artyushkin of Moscow (who was a memorable lead in the Kremlin Ballet's Coppelia not long ago, writes one reviewer)
Evgenia Obraztsova of St. Petersburg - huge accolades for her classical work
Vladimir Kuklachev of Israel -- actually born in Russia -- who is being coached by ex-Kirov great Valery Panov
Alexander Buber of Belarus - said to have the most spectacular technique, so far, among the senior men

From the writings I've read, it appears that the huge hope of all Muskovites is NATALIA OSIPOVA of the Bolshoi, who will dance tomorrow. [She was my big favorite at the May 2002 graduation of the Bolshoi Academy, even outdancing her classmate, the now-famous Polina Semionova, IMO.] Osipova was lucky to have received a 'high draw number' and will dance on the 3rd and final day of Round One. In other words, she is set to make a huge impression tomorrow, if she 'delivers.' Fans will be there en-masse for her.



Natalia

Thank you very much for your report, Natalia.

It's wonderful to hear that Maria Seletskaja did well yesterday. She has been dancing with the Estonian National Ballet for two years, following a year of study at the Vaganova Academy after her graduation in 2002 from the Tallinn Ballet School. Just before joining the Estonian Ballet, she won 2nd prize at the Eurovision Ballet Competition in July, 2003.

Masha was given solo roles, starting with Myrtha in Giselle, as soon as she joined the Estonian Ballet, where she was ranked as a second soloist last year. She won an "Encouragement" prize at the Helsinki International Ballet Competition earlier this month.

She is joining Malakhov's Berlin Ballet this year.

Thank you for this, Marga. So *that's* why Seletskaja's name rang a bell - my video of the 2003 Eurovision Competition! She is indeed wonderful, from what I recall.

DAY THREE

Point of clarification: I am not on site, in Moscow. I thought that I had made my location clear at the start of this thread; sorry if this was not the case. I am in my home in Washington, DC, reading/compiling/translating various Russian-language reports on the competition, as they trickle in, as a service to you. Chiapuris, who has posted a bit, is on site & we welcome his/her additional postings. The more, the merrier.


DAY THREE STANDOUTS, as per a compilation of reports on various Russian-language fora:

Natalia Osipova of the Bolshoi - magnificent classical portion: 'Flames of Paris' pdd with non-comp-partner Jan Godovsky. Then people's hearts sank with her contemporary piece: a pdd from V. Gordeev's "Last Tango" that seemed under-rehearsed & generally shaky. Partner for this was Ruslan Pronin. Still, the general consensus is that she'll make it on to Round Two.

Magnificent Chinese pair, esp. the girl, Sin SAN, dancing the Black Swan pdd. The man, Zhibbei BANG, is also good, if not as impressive as the girl.

Anastasia & Denis Matvienko of Ukraine - very polished, beautiful 'Sleeping Beauty' pdd [He has already won a gold medal -- maybe even an Grand Prix? -- at this competition. How can he top himself this year, one wonders?]

Miriam Faustino & Gerardo Francisco of the Philippines - surprisingly good classical but downright SPECTACULAR contemporary pdd 'Spiders' (Arachnids), with very tricky acrobatic supports

Katia & Peter Borchenko of Russia - another good Black Swan pdd

Viktoria Luchkina of Krasnodar, Russia impressed with her light elegance, reminding one reporter of Irina Kolpakova

Doshan Tabuildi of Kazakhstan was cited as one of the best solo (non-pair) men in the senior ranks

DISAPPOINTMENTS today (beside Osipova's contemporary piece) -

Irina Kolesnikova of St Petersburg/Tatchkin Ballet Troupe - cited as one of the 'most professional' competitors but very 'rough' in-your-face manner, as if trying too hard.

Natalia Domracheva of Russia - she was wonderful in 2001 (when I attended live), as Leonid Sarafanov's partner. This year's audiences are not quite as impressed. She has grown up (body wise) and isn't as fresh & sparkling. People were expecting her to build on 2001 & it doesn't appear to be the case.

ONE MORE NOTE ON YESTERDAY's COMPETITION:

People are still buzzing about the magnificent Israeli, Vladimir Kuklachev, calling him a new Yuri Vladimirov (ex-Bolshoi star) due to his acrobatic leaps and quick shifts of direction in midair. Kuklachev's coach is Valeri Panov, himself a wonderful demi-caractere dancer & high-jumper from the Kirov in the 1960s & early '70s.

Natalia

Thank you for doing this, Natalia.

Just a quick note from Moscow after reading Natalia's detailed and complete reports of the
Competition from Washington. I am awed! Many thanks Natalia!

Third day: the big impression is Osipova's Flames of Paris pdd in the morning, (your report is right on: her contemporary was somewhat ragged )- a couple of fubbed lifts-- although she looked great in black tights.
In the afternoon the Corsaire II act pdd of Ekaterina Krysanova with a non- participating partner
was excellent. Moreover her tango to Piazzolla with an excellent non-particip.partner was
spectacular.

Other dancers of today that impressed me:
Ekaterina and Piotr Borchenko R
Anastasia and Denis Matvienko Ukraine
Natalya Matsak Ukraine
Kim Sol Fi South Korea
Artiom Alifanov R
Nikolai Chevychelov R

My notes say Ekaterina Kolesnikova had strong and secure fouettes but no other positive comments.

Haven't sorted me second day notes.... yet.
The sessions have been long--hardly time for dinner.
Tomorrow no competition. So we're seeing Sleeping Beauty.

Thanks, chiapuris! Enjoy 'Spiachaya Krasavitsa' (Sleeping B.) tomorrow & do eat a bit!

Here's something that I wrote just as chiapuris' report came in, so it will be interesting to compare my 'round-up' of the Russian sites with chiapuris'.

DAY FOUR (Friday) will be a 'break day' between Rounds One & Two. Hopefully the names of the dancers who've made it on to Round Two (the semifinalists) will be posted on the official site & I can provide you with a link. Competition resumes on Saturday, the first of two days in the 2nd round. I won't be able to post summaries of Round Two until Monday but perhaps others can provide information between now & then.

Just based on the various reports from the Russian websites, these are some of the dancers who should advance to the next round, in no particular order:

Junior Girls:

Chinara Alixidze (Russia - Bolshoi)
Anna Tikhomirova (Russia - Bolshoi)
Natalia Vorontsova (Russia - Moscow...school/theater not specified)
Jana Feldman (USA)
Kristina Chevchenko (USA)

Junior Boys:

Zherlin Ndudi (Ukraine)
Ivan Vasiliev (Belarus)
Matthias Dingman (USA)
Isaac Hernandez (Mexico)
Alexander Shpak (Ukraine)
Yasuomi Akimoto (Japan)
Ilya Bolotov (Russia - Perm)
Paulo Alves Frasan (Brazil)

Senior Women:

Yevgenia Obraztsova (Russia - St P/Kirov)
Irina Kolesnikova (Russia - St P/Tatchkin)
Natalia Osipova (Russia - Bolshoi)
Sin San (China)
Ekaterina Kreisanova (Russia - Bolshoi)
Sayaka Takuda (Japan)
Ekaterina Alayeva (Ukraine)
Maria Seletskaja (Estonia)
Viktoria Luchkina (Russia - Krasnodar)
Lola Kochetkova (Russia - Bolshoi)
Natalia Domracheva (Russia)
Miryana Pop-Alexova (Macedonia)
Anastasia Matvienko (Ukraine)
Ludmilla Konovaliova (Russia - Moscow)
Miriam Faustino (Philippines)
Katie Borcheko (Russia)...competing with Peter Borchenko, sr man

Senior Men:

Vladimir Kuklachev (Israel)
Alexander Buber (Belarus)
Denis Matvienko (Ukraine)
Roman Artyushkin (Russia - Kremlin Ballet)
Nikolai Chevichelov (Russia - Moscow Ballet)
Andrei Pisarev (Ukraine)
Alexei Matrakhov (Russia - Moscow)
Doshan Tabuildi (Kazak)
Zhibei Bang (Cina)
Gerardo Francisco (Philippines)

The competition for the Choreographic Prize has ended, as all contemporary works to be judged were danced in Round One. However, the winners will not be announced until the final day. Other than Radu Poklitaru, I have not heard of any clear possible winners, although the contemporary dance of the Filipinos seemed to turn heads. Perhaps chiapuris or others could fill us in?

Good luck to all competitors! Tomorrow is the day of great nerves as they await the posting of the semifinalists.

Natalia

How wonderful to hear that an Israeli is so successful. The Russian emigre population has had such a huge influence on ballet in Israel over the past two decades - both as audience and as dancers.
My parents saw a performance by the Panov Ballet a week or two ago and were delighted with the performance.

It's very exciting to read your reports...
Thanks Natalia for organizing and translating, and Chiapuris, for reporting from the sessoins...

I'm pulling for Krysanova, but she's the only one I've seen -- totally fell in love with her when the Bolshoi came here (Berkeley, California) last year; she was a soloist in Raymonda. Her technique was very fine, but her DANCING was out of this world.

Official list of the participants of the second round is published at the site of the Ballet magazine:

Juniors: http://www.russianballet.ru/rus/mlgr2tur.html
Seniors: http://www.russianballet.ru/rus/stgr2tur.html

To my regret, no English version is presented. Between others – dancers from the US Mathias Dingman and Christina Shevchenko.

Natalia, sorry.
The competition of choreographers will be continued on Satruday morning. Dancers will show numbers which were not included to their official programs of the first round.

2 Chiapuris
Hi!
I'm greatly interested in your impressions about Kate and Peter Borchenko! Yuo've wrote theat theu've impressed you. Please, tell me what exactly? This couple is working in our theatre and I'm trying to get the more impressions that I can for i want to write an article about them.
Hoping you will help me,

In case you wnat to write a letter to me, here is my e'mail - singing_medora@yahoo.com

AND perhaps there is someone who also watches this contest and can help me!please!
One more thing, I'm interested in Buber and Vasiliev too.

I can also send to anyone photos of Kate and Peter Borchenko for you to see how harmonically they dance with each other!
By the way the are twins!

Mikhail
Thanks for posting the list of the people who have made it to the second round.
Renata

Thanks for the info, Mikhail, & for posting the lists. I, too, have just seen them.

Happy for the Americans who have passed on to Round 2 (Dingman and Chevchenko), as well as the Mexican Hernandez, who studies in the USA.

The Filipinos have made it on, for those who have been asking me about them. Good for them!

On the other hand...oh my goodness, the Israeli who was so praised for his technique, Vladimir Kuklachev, has been eliminated. Huh?????? Lola Kochetkova of the Bolshoi has also been eliminated, although in her case I know that she is rather weak in classical.

Natalia

For the record i want to list by day of competing the dancers that impressed me.
(Haven't seen the results for 2nd round)
First Day
Ivan Vasiliev Belarus
Matthis Dingman USA
Anna Tikhomirova R
Oksana Karash R
Zherlin Ndudi Ukraine
Igor Motizov R
Isaak Hernandez Mexico
Secoond Day
Alexandra Dorofeyeva
Alexander Shpak
Alyona Samraskaya
Maria Vinogradova
Anastasia Gubanova
Christine Shevshenko (sensational in her contemporary piece by Benjamin Millepied)
Anastasia Sheptifratz
Andrei Pisarev
Natalya Yershova
Natalia Vorontsova
Mikhail Martynyuk
Sun Xin
Wang Zhi Wei
Tabledy Doszhan
Alexander Buber


Natalia, The non-contest choreographies so far, have been 'better'
than the contest entries. The contemporary piece of the Phillipine dancers
(Faustino & ?), Shevshenko's Millepied's Paganini piece were really good.
So was Poklitaru's --also a non-contest piece.

More later.

Thanks, chiapuris. You hit most of them right!

This morning, several of the Russian sites are hotly commenting on the non-passing of the Israeli dancer. Some believe that his "wild style" may have been a bit too much for the prim judges! One site reports that Kuklachev and his support team may be filing a protest (whatever good that does...I don't know).

On the more positive note, one site reports that the huge favorites in contemporary dance, so far, have been the Filipinos (in the spider dance, mentioned above) and a Russian fellow named Mikhail Martinyuk, who reportedly made the audience "howl with enthusiasm"! [I see that chiapuris has Martinyuk on his list.]

Chiapuris - What, in your opinion, was the downfall of the Israeli, Kuklachev? Was his dancing as "wild" as some of the Russian sites describe it to be? He did Acteon for his classical variation, if my memory is correct.

Natalia

Natalia, my take on Vladimir Kuklachev is that the judges did the correct thing
for a cogent reason: there was no standard by which to judge what he 'did'.

The audience was very much for him, in large part because he was such a relief with his non-chalant spirit and his antic (difficult, unique, but antic) leaps and twists in the air and not knowing what he would do next. In the 'classical' Acteon, there were sudden leaps and then bizarre poses
that the audience really found refreshing --especially after the repetetive nature of seeing any number of short, coherent, totally organized series of movements, sometimes repeated more than two or three times (Don Quixote, Male variation XXX, Don Quixote Male variation, yyy, Don Quixote Male variation, zzz). Then comes this force of nature named Vladimir Kuklachev.

How do you give points? Especially when his contemporary piece was more like a physical comedian's 'act'. I wish I had counted the times he ran off stage while the audience was howling about what he had just done. To give an example: for his whamo finale he turned facing one wing (and I thought he's not going to do that?) and fell straight as a board flat on his back.

Now how does a ballet judge deal with that? What Kuklachev was doing reminded us of the
french ice skater Phillipe??? who has a free-spirit attitude and his back summersaults, but who also skates very well. My opinion is that Mr Kuklachev did not dance very well, because what he did is not comparable to what the other contestants did, at least by the standards of ballet.

Phillipe Candeloro is the name of the skater. He won bronze medals in two Olympic games and has been skating professionally ever since.

After this morning's session on choreography, the choreography results appear
this eve. at 6:00 pm (it's 3:12 pm right now).

Here's some choreographers who impressed me: (I've starred the one I think are choice)
Zhukoff, Mikhail Poland
*Fiorucci, Laura Venezuela
*Krichmarev, Vyecheslav R
Parfyonov, Maxim R
Barragan, Elloy Mexico
Yachmenyova, Marianna
*Tikhomirova, Maria R
Sayfretdinova, Rezeda R
Morihiro, Ivata Japan
*Vyskoubenko, Youry R


To Singing Medora : I'll respond a few days later--actually after the Competition is over-- when I have seen them dance again!

Hi, singing medora! So you have rooting interests in this competition? It must add considerable suspense as you follow their progress, even from a distance.

We hope you'll become a regular contributor and keep us posted on the events at your home theater. Meanwhile, here's a link to our Welcome Page. Please "click in" and tell us a little about yourself. You'll also be able to make the acquaintance with other members.

6/25/05
I've just come back from the first session of the 2nd Round and what a great evening it was!
Some thirty-five dancers participated in pdd or solos with an intermission between the end of the
classical selections and the contemporary selections (about 5 1/4 hrs).

Here are 15 dancers that I singled out in the order they performed:

Elena Kazakova
Jherlin Ndudi
Ivan Vasiliev
Igor Motisov
Alexander Shpak
Matthias Dingman
Chinara Alizade
Isaac Hernandez
Anna Tikhomirova
Ekaterina Khanyukova
Oksana Kardash
Natalia Vorontsova
Christine Shevchenko
Ilia Bolotov
Ekaterina Krysanova

All except Krysanova are in the Junior division.
Krysanova was listed last and gave what seemed to me a flawless performance
in the Black Swan pdd. There were other flawless performances, I thought,
such as those of Shevchenko, Hernandez, Vasiliev, and Ndudi.

Some of the contemporary pieces were outstanding:
Ndudi and Denis Cherevychko in a Hans van Manen piece,
Dingman in Syrtaki from M Bejart's Greek Dances,
Vasiliev in a Poklitaru piece to Saint Saens The Swan,
Krysanova in an exotic piece as a snake and a Snake Charmer.
More later.

Thanks for giving us your impressions. It helps those of us who are attending only by this web-site.
Renata

26 June
This was the second and final day of the 2nd Round, and it was a day packed with top-drawer dancing. The morning session had 19 competitors; I'm listing below some who caught my attention ....and kept it.
26 June Morning Session:

Maria Seletskaya
Ekaterina Alayeva
Ludmilla Konovaleva
Natalia Osipova
Natalia Yershova
Sun Xin
Wang Zhiwei
Christina Kretova
Roman Artyushkin
Mikhail Martinyuk
Eugenia Obraztsova

26 June Evening Session:
The session had 15 competitors.

Alexander Buber
Yaroslav Salenko
Victoria Luchkina
Matvienko Anastasia & Denis
Borchenko Ekaterina & Piotr
Irina Koleshnikova
Natalia Domrayeva
Victor Ischuk
Ekaterina Kozachenko
Natalia Matsak
At the end of the evening session it was announced that the results for the 3rd Round
would be announced in two hours-- which is about twenty minutes ago.

Natalia you'll probably have the results before us. I may try a Russian paper.

I can't imagine how they're going to cull from the second round because most of the dancers
seem so strong and at the same time so unique.

In the morning session Obraztsova was a standout, carving a niche for herself by being the
only dancer to dance the variation from Lavrosky's Romeo and Juliette. For her contemporary
piece she danced the variation (including an articulated gargouillade) from Balanchine's Tchaikovsky pdd. I thought she was sensational.
Another (expected) sensation was Natalia Osipova, who was flawless in the Diana &
Actaeon pdd.
Ekaterina Alayeva (Estonia) was a hit with Balanchine's Sylvia pdd, and for her contemporary piece, danced Balanchine's The Man I Love from Who Cares.
Another morning favorite were Sun Xin and Wang Zhiwei in Gsovsky's Grand Pas.

In the evening, special mention goes to Alexander Buber, who danced for his classical piece
Balanchine's Tarantella. There were two more Tarantellas as the contemporary selection.
The Matvienkos, Anastasia and Denis, danced it and so did Natalia Domrayeva and Victor Ischuk.
(For their classical, the last two dancers chose the pdd from Balanchine's Stars and Stripes.)

Other evening pleasures included the DQ pdd of the Matvienkos, the Bayadere 3rd act pdd of the Borchenkos and the DQ with Koleshnikova and a non-competing partner. There was also a nice, if idiomatic, Fascinating Rhythm danced by Ekaterina Kozachenko.

My next question is, how many prizes are there, and how do the judges decide between
best and better?
On to the 3rd round on the 28th.

Alayeva is from Ukraine, not Estonia. Maria Seletskaja is from Estonia and I'm happy to hear you were impressed by her. Thank you very much for all of your reports! I read them voraciously.

Participants of the 3rd round:
Juniors: http://www.russianballet.ru/rus/mlgr3tur.html
Seniors: http://www.russianballet.ru/rus/stgr3tur.html

2 Chipuris
About the prizes read
http://www.russian-konkurs.ru/eng/awards.html


Yahoo!!!My couple, Borchenkos, are in the third tour!!!

Thanks Mikhail, for posting the links. Thanks to the others who are taking the time to report.
Renata

singing medora...thanks for the link to the prizes.

Thanks for the fabulous reports, chiapuris, and for the links, Mikhail!

I'm happy to hear that the Kirov's rising star, Yevgenia Obraztsova, made such an impression in the Lavrovsky Romeo & Juliet excerpt,during Round Two. She has been making this her signature role at the Kirov, since her debut, at age 18 or 19, two years ago! Many of the knowledgeable 'locals' who sit in the 'cheap seats' of the Mariinsky Theater adore her & compare her Juliet to that of Galina Ulanova, no less. Obraztsova made a favorable impression in the not-too-well-attended Kirov season in Cardiff, Wales. Hopefully, more people will be able to catch her miraculous Juliet in London (although her participation is yet to be confirmed...but it would be ridiculous, IMO, to omit her from the London tour).

Natalia

Marga, sorry for the identification errors.
Mikhail and singing_medora, many thanks for the useful links.

3rd Round, Junior Division, 6/28/05

Junior women (my lists, not in any order)

Christina Shevchenko USA
Marina Burtseva R
Maria Vinogradova R
Oksana Kardash R
Alyona Samarskaya R
Elena Kazakova R
Chinara Alizade R

Junior men

Ivan Vasiliev Belarus
Alexander Shpak Ukraine
Zherlin Ndudi Ukraine
Igor Motizov R
Isaac Hernandez Mexico
Matthias Dingman USA

This evening was the Third round for the Junior division. Each competitor had two classical variations or, instead, one pdd. Two competitors selected pdd:
Kazakova Corsair act II, and Alizade Swan Lake act III. Both had non-competing partners.
The evening as a whole showed some cases of understandable stress and tension,
so there little slips and hesitancies that showed some performers not at their very best.

Others came through energized to a degree that showed them in superb form.
Among these were Christine Shevchenko, Alexander Shpak [Actaeon and a wonderful Giselle act II variation], Ivan Vasiliev, Isaac Hernandez, and Zherlin Ndudi for his second variation. (His first was good and he received enormous applause [DQ] but his second [Actaeon] was right on ). Burtseva for her second dance performed a variation
from Esmeralda act II -not the tambourine variation- but another with slow movements
and bourees with parallel feet going backwards in long lines across the stage, that were greatly appreciated by the audience.

The results are to be posted at midnight, local time. That's about now.

PS I'll be glad to provide any details or specifics but there's just too much to write about.

Thanks for your report, as always, chiapuris!

Comment & Question on one of the junior male finalists -- Zherlin Ndudi of Ukraine. I saw him in the video of the 2003 Eurovision Competition, when he won the top prize, so I know what an amazing raw talent he is (was 'raw' then...surely with more finesse now, two years later). QUESTION: He is Ukrainian but do you know his ethnic background? He is a very good looking mulatto. I would have guessed him to be Cuban, in fact, but the name is not Spanish. Perhaps he has African blood? I'm sure that his history has appeared in the Moscow newspapers, by now. Thanks, in advance, for any info that you have on the background of this fascinating dancer!

A friend in Moscow has given me the results of the juniors:


WOMEN

GOLD - USA!!! Christina Shevchenko for soloists

Russia's Chinara Alizade wins jr. women's gold for duets

SILVER - Natalia Vorontsova among duets; Maria Vinogradova among soloists

BRONZE - Elena Kazakova among duets; Anna Tikhomirova & Marina Burtseva (TIE) among soloists

All female medalists except for Schevchenko are Russians.



MEN

GOLD - Ivan Vasiliev (Belarus)

SILVER - Zherlin Ndudi (Ukraine)

BRONZE - TIE between Isaac Hernandez (Mexico) & Matthias Dingman (USA)

No jr men duet awards were given but Karim Abdullin (Russia) obtained a special award as non-competing partner.

All the remaining junior participants in the third stage obtained diplomas.

CONFIRMED via the Russian magazine, Balet, site:
http://www.russianballet.ru/rus/mlgrlaureat.html

Natalia Nabatova

Congratulations to all of the junior winners and to all of the fine dancers who particpated in the junior division of this competition. And thank you ciapuris, Natalia and the others who helped us keep up with the results. It is exciting to wait for the senior results.