Natalia Makarova among those receiving the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors

 awards, ballet  No Responses »
Sep 132012
 

Natalia Makarova Natalia Makarova among those receiving the 2012 Kennedy Center HonorsThe Kennedy Cen­ter Hon­ors award is the nation’s highest hon­our for those who have influ­enced Amer­ican cul­ture through the arts. It comes with a din­ner with Sec­ret­ary of State Hil­lary Rod­ham Clin­ton and a recep­tion hos­ted by Pres­id­ent . The hon­our­ees will be saluted by their fel­low artists on 2 Decem­ber in a show which will be broad­cast by CBS on Box­ing Day.

is one of the seven recip­i­ents this year. Kennedy Cen­ter Chair­man David Ruben­stein said that her artistry had

…ignited the stages of the world’s greatest bal­let companies.

The 72-year-old baller­ina per­formed in at the Kennedy Cen­ter in 1971, days after it opened, and just a year after defect­ing from her nat­ive Russia.

Makarova com­men­ted,

What a remark­able twist of fate that I chose to leave my home­land and came to Amer­ica to start a new life. I feel very priv­ileged that through me Kennedy Cen­ter hon­ours clas­sical ballet.

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  • wp socializer sprite mask 16px Natalia Makarova among those receiving the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors
  • wp socializer sprite mask 16px Natalia Makarova among those receiving the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors
  • wp socializer sprite mask 16px Natalia Makarova among those receiving the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors
  • wp socializer sprite mask 16px Natalia Makarova among those receiving the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors
  • wp socializer sprite mask 16px Natalia Makarova among those receiving the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors
  • wp socializer sprite mask 16px Natalia Makarova among those receiving the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors
  • wp socializer sprite mask 16px Natalia Makarova among those receiving the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors
  • wp socializer sprite mask 16px Natalia Makarova among those receiving the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors

Mara Galeazzi answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition

 ballet, questionnaire, questionnaire - dancers' edition  4 Responses »
Jan 202012
 

Q&A

Mara Galeazzi 500x376 Mara Galeazzi answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ EditionWhen did you start dan­cing?
When I was 6.

Why did you start dan­cing?
At first was for fun.

Which dan­cer inspired you most as a child?
Aless­andra Ferri, Carla Fracci and Pina Baush.

Which dan­cer do you most admire?
I admire all dan­cers for their hard work and passion.

What’s your favour­ite role?
Ken­neth MacMillan’s Ana­stasia.

What role have you never played but would like to?
Nat­alia in Fre­d­er­ick Ashton’s Month in the Coun­try.

What’s your favour­ite bal­let to watch?
I could watch Romeo and Juliet forever.

Who is your favour­ite cho­reo­grapher?
I have sev­eral favour­ites: Ken­neth Mac­Mil­lan of course, but I love Glen Tet­ley, Fre­d­er­ick Ashton , John Cranko, Wayne McGregor, and all the cho­reo­graph­ers that I’ve worked with in the past.… [con­tinue reading]

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Paul Chalmer answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition

 questionnaire, questionnaire - dancers' edition  No Responses »
Dec 272011
 

Q&A

Paul Chalmer Paul Chalmer answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ EditionWhen did you start dan­cing?
Age  6, then National Bal­let School, Toronto, age 9.

Why did you start dan­cing?
Saw bal­let on TV.

Which dan­cer inspired you most as a child?
Nureyev.

Which dan­cer do you most admire?
.

What’s your favour­ite role?
by John Cranko.

What role have you never played but would like to?
Des Grieux in Manon by MacMillan.

What’s your favour­ite bal­let to watch?
Any­thing by Balanchine.

Who is your favour­ite cho­reo­grapher?
Balanchine.

Who is your favour­ite writer?
Vir­ginia Woolf.

Who is your favour­ite dir­ector?
Visconti

Who is your favour­ite actor?
Bette Davis.

Who is your favour­ite singer?
Maria Callas.

What is your favour­ite book?
Orlando by Vir­ginia Woolf.

What is your favour­ite film?… [con­tinue reading]

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David Hallberg and Sergei Filin speak from Moscow

 ballet  No Responses »
Oct 072011
 

David Hallberg David Hallberg and Sergei Filin speak from MoscowThe new soloist of the bal­let com­pany, Amer­ican , has star­ted rehears­als in Rus­sia. His début on the Bolshoi stage will be in on Novem­ber 4.

Sergei Filin, the head of the Bolshoi Bal­let, who invited the 29-year-old Amer­ican to Moscow, said in an inter­view for The Voice of Rus­sia:

I’d like to under­line his strong wish to fit in with the Bolshoi Theatre com­pany, to work in our tra­di­tions and imit­ate our style. This is just the reason why he decided to become a prin­cipal dan­cer at the Bolshoi.

He is facing great chal­lenges and has changed a lot in his life style after he took this decision. All this makes us treat David with great respect.… [con­tinue reading]

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The most luxurious exercise in Giselle compare and contrast since Natalia Makarova and Gelsey Kirkland danced the role at ABT on consecutive nights in 1977

 ballet  1 Response »
May 302011
 

ABT Giselle Vishneva The most luxurious exercise in Giselle compare and contrast since Natalia Makarova and Gelsey Kirkland danced the role at ABT on consecutive nights in 1977Alastair Macaulay for the New York Times writes:

A double cli­max occurred on Fri­day and Sat­urday even­ings at the Met­ro­pol­itan Opera House when the two most idol­ized inter­pret­ers of the title role today, Diana Vish­neva (Rus­sian, from the Mari­in­sky bal­let of St. Peters­burg) and (Romanian, from the of Lon­don) danced for Bal­let Theater.

Here was the most lux­uri­ous exer­cise in com­pare and con­trast by any West­ern com­pany since Nat­alia Makarova and Gel­sey Kirk­land danced the role at Bal­let Theater on con­sec­ut­ive nights in 1977.”

On Vish­neva:

… brings to the role great per­sonal beauty, has a full­ness to her dance tone and a lus­cious sheen that set her apart from almost every other baller­ina today. The float­ing buoy­ancy with which she deliv­ers the fam­ous hops on point in Giselle’s Act I solo causes one sen­sa­tion.… [con­tinue reading]

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