Alexei Ratmansky announced yesterday additions to The Bolshoi Ballet:

http://www.bolshoi.ru/ru/season/press-serv...ex.php?id26=472

added 11:52 AM The announcement also mentions an American mixed bill featuring choreography of Balanchine, Tharp, and Wheeldon (Part).

Whoa does this mean Merkuriev has left the MT and Shipelevsky the Berlin Ballet?

Did they also list promotions? (I'm just wondering how the marvellous Kobakhidze and Chrysanova are faring inside the company.)

The press release covered a lot of ground: the Company's great success in London, new hirings at the Opera and Ballet, opera and ballet programming for the new season, travel plans, the promise of new (unspecific) dvds, awards for service within the Company. Promotions were not included.

Nonetheless, the company list on the Bolshoi's website has changed this summer - I've only noticed Ekaterina Krysanova and Natalia Osipova who are no longer in the corps, but have been promoted to soloist.

Hi Canbelto! I don't know about Shipelevsky, but Merkuriev is in the Bolshoi now.

Artem Shpilevsky is no longer listed on the Berlin Staatsballett site.

Both are members of the Bolshoi now (as leading soloists, what is just below principal).

Shpilevsky danced with them in London. Don't know about Merkuriev as I made it to less than a handful of performances... (insert disappointed sigh here).

Merkuriev only officially joined the Bolshoi in August. He wasn't in London.
Shpilevsky danced among others Espada, Rothbart and Symphony in C in London.

My heartfelt congratulations to both dancers, for their well-deserved promotions!

Among dancers listed above:

Shpilevsky: His Bolshoi debut was as Espada in Don Q on July 22. He is scheduled to play the Evil Genius in Swan Lake in September, Siegfried in November (opposite Shipulina), and The Baron in Gaite Parisienne in October.

Merkuriev: He will play Yan in all September performances of The Bolt, and in October will be Jose to Alexandrova's Carmen, and will play The Miller in Le Tricorne.

Krysanova: Lyuska in Grigorovich's Golden Age in September.

Artem Shpilevsky danced at the YGP gala with J Kent and V Part earlier this year.The NYT reviewer was not too impressed.
Joe

Wow it seems like the Bolshoi is the place to be for dancers. They've scooped up quite a few treasures the past few years.

No, I wasn't too impressed either. Shpilevsky was shown to disadvantage by one of the young contestants
who also did Albrecht's variation. I was much more impressed by the more youthful Albrecht. And Shpilevsky's partnering of Kent seemed weak to me.

I find it rather alarming that the Bolshoi has to bring in male dancers from outside. In the past the company was always renowned for its male dancers. What's happened?

In my opinion neither Merkuriev nor Shpilevsky are outstanding dancers, though Merkuriev is the better of the two. Obviously the company can produce future female stars - just look at Osipova and Krysanova, so why aren't they producing top male dancers any more?

It's the school which doesn't "produce" them, Mashinka. The company can't groom any top male dancers if the basic potential isn't there. But Ratmansky has high hopes in Ivan Vasiliev. And with that name, he'd better be good

That's interesting to me. I was just re-reading Arlene Croce's last "Dancing" article in The New Yorker archives, and in her scathing criticism of the state of NYCB (1996), she said that the school had been producing talented women who disappeared in the Company a few years later. But if the school isn't producing the dancers in the first place, there's not much to develop or neglect.

It is now official, from The Bolshoi site, on 3 October Ivan Vasiliev dances Basilio opposite the sublime Kitri of Natalia Osipova:

Will this be the ballet event of the year?
The next night will see Diana Vishneva's first Bolshoi Giselle, with Albrecht not yet announced, but Masha Alexandrova will be her Queen. That notable balletomane, Mr. Putin, will have to put aside affairs of state for a couple of days!

Casting is up for the Bolshoi's February visit to Kennedy Center. It looks like we won't get to see Krysanova's Cinderella or I. Vasiliev but at least Osipova is cast in DQ with Matvienko!

Oh, and they're also bringing Zakharova, Alexandrova, Filin et al