BALLET HEADLINERS OF
THE YEAR
From the Desk of Genevieve Bresson, Jean-Etienne Flamand, Luba Terechenko,
Vladimir Pedrovich and Florence Desmoulins
Swan Lake: A
deafening roar greeted the Kirov corps de ballet as they took their bow after
Thursday's performance of Swan Lake. The response was more than justified;
from the moment the curtain rose on Igor Ivanov's set - a late-summer
Rhineland pastorale in muted golds and blues - they had danced as if
collectively inspired, invested the smallest roles with poetry and nuance.
There is an undertone of melancholy in Tchaikovsky's score which is beyond the
expressive powers of most companies, but the Kirov's dancing embraces the
bitter with the sweet, and the result is profoundly moving.
Anton
Korsakov, partnering Irina Golub and Irina Zhelonkina in the act one pas de
trois, captured the mood precisely. His dancing is so incisive and effortless
that it is almost regretful in tone. Korsakov joined the Kirov from St
Petersburg's Vaganova Academy five years ago, and like his fellow graduates,
Golub and Tatiana Tkachenko, he is proof that the company's artistic heritage
is secure. Excellent as its constituent parts were, however, it is for the
thrilling scale of its ballerina performance that the evening was memorable.
Svetlana Zakharova has not always found favour at Covent Garden; she is not an
instinctive dance-actress, and despite her phenomenal physical gifts has yet
to make the most of dramatic roles such as Manon. But she was born to dance
Odette-Odile, and her performance makes the point that it is unnecessary to
overlay the exquisite classicism of Lev Ivanov's choreography with subjective
expressiveness. In the performance of the steps - and Zakharova performs them
perfectly - is the full expression of the role. This is a very Russian
approach, and lays its exponents open to accusations of showy vacancy.
Zakharova's fluid, hyper-extended style is spectacular, certainly, but there
is nothing empty about her icy, anguished Odette - frozen to the heart by the
tragic inevitability of what is to follow - or her glittering, sexually
exultant Odile. While every balance was coolly sustained, and every turn was
exquisitely centred, Zakharova was taking real technical risks. Igor Zelensky
was her Siegfried - a little blonder than Covent Garden remembers him - and
while he danced impeccably he was certainly taking no risks. By act three, as
Zakharova devoured the court's and the audience's attention, self-deprecation
had rendered him almost invisible. This was Zakharova's night. Her performance
grew and grew in tragic authority, flawlessly supported by her 32-strong corps
of swans. And when the Soviet-imposed happy ending finally arrived, a
rapturous audience was more than happy to forgive it.-Luke Jennigs.
San
Francisco Ballet
Photo
Credit: Lorena Feijoo (RJ Muna)
All Flash and Watermark photos by RJ Muna
Flash Photos: Catherine Baker, Stephen Legate, Peter Brandenhoff
Watermark Photo: Muriel Maffre
Photo: Artistic Director, the
Legendary Tomasson.
The most "European" of US ballet companies, acclaimed at Edinburgh 2001,
showcases the fine young English neoclassical choreographer Christopher
Wheeldon with three ballets including a world premiere commissioned by the
festival. Playhouse Theatre. Helgi Tomasson has held the position of
artistic director for San Francisco Ballet since July 1985. Since then, the
Company has evolved from a respected regional troupe to an international
company praised for its broad repertory, dancers of uncommon range and skill,
and a vision that continually sets the standard for the international dance
world. San Francisco Ballet is dancing better than
at any point in its history. As a choreographer, teacher and coach, Tomasson
has fostered an uncompromising classicism that has become the bedrock of the
Company’s training. The dancers he has trained are energized and inspired by
this rigorous training and continue to rise to new heights with each passing
year.
Born in Reykjavik, Iceland, Tomasson began his early ballet training in
Reykjavik with an Icelandic teacher and then joined the National Theatre’s
affiliated school, which was led by Erik and Lisa Bidsted. At fifteen, the
emerging dancer began his studies with the celebrated Pantomime Theatre in
Copenhagen’s Tivoli Gardens. Two years later, Jerome Robbins met Tomasson and
was so impressed by his dancing that he arranged a scholarship for him to
study at the School of American Ballet in New York City.
Photo:
alanchine's Serenade. Photo Credits: Loyd Englertt.
Soon after, Tomasson began his
professional career with The Joffrey Ballet and two years later joined The
Harkness Ballet. Over the next six years, he became one of the company’s
most celebrated principal dancers. In 1969, Tomasson entered the First
International Ballet Competition in Moscow as a United States representative
and returned with the Silver Medal (the Gold Medal was awarded to Mikhail
Baryshnikov). The following year, Tomasson joined New York City Ballet as a
principal dancer and over the course of his career became one of the finest
classical dancers of his era. He was one of the foremost interpreters of
George Balanchine’s and Jerome Robbins’ ballets, and both men created
several roles expressly for him. Tomasson’s vision, commitment
and dedication to the art of classical dance were demonstrated when he
conceived “UNited We Dance: An International Festival,” produced in San
Francisco in May 1995. Created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the
signing of the United Nations Charter, Tomasson invited 12 international
companies of the highest caliber to present new works created by native
choreographers. Never before had a dance event brought together over 150
artists for an unprecedented two weeks of creative exchange and inspiration.