The second of six programmes brought to London by the Mariinsky was a triple bill of Mikhail Fokine's choreography: Chopiniana, The Firebird and Scheherazade. The Times explained the programming: In the space of two years, Mikhail Fokine created a trio of works that helped to change our perception of classical ballet. Chopinianaembodied the very idea of abstract ballet; The … [Read more...] about Critics round-up: Mariinsky at Covent Garden, Homage to Fokine
Guardian
Critics round-up: Mariinsky at Covent Garden, Swan Lake
The Mariinsky kicked off their 3-week stay at the Royal Opera House with Swan Lake. An obvious, and right, choice, Immutable is the Mariinsky’s root foundation in classical tradition. Everything they dance speaks of “schooling”. Whatever more modern works the repertory now embraces, the classic ballets provide the company’s signature — none more so in the avid public’s mind … [Read more...] about Critics round-up: Mariinsky at Covent Garden, Swan Lake
Vasiliev ‘lays his pain on the line’ as Le Jeune Homme, writes Luke Jennings
Vasiliev, his eyes wild and his muscled body quivering with barely controlled rage, compels the attention from the first. His physical acting is huge and raw, his expressions silent-era cinematic. And his leaps, as always, seem to hurl a challenge to gravity – especially a flying dive in which he seems to hang, horizontal, some six feet from the ground. He hasn't quite the … [Read more...] about Vasiliev ‘lays his pain on the line’ as Le Jeune Homme, writes Luke Jennings
Critics’ Roundup: the Mariinsky in London, Swan Lake
In a splattering of mainly four and five-star reviews it was, perhaps surprisingly, the Financial Times's Clement Crisp, maybe the hardest critic to please, who showered compliments over the company without restraint: The world’s stages are littered with productions of Swan Lake, the majority of which – as I know to my cost – are horrid and foolishly optimistic. One alone I … [Read more...] about Critics’ Roundup: the Mariinsky in London, Swan Lake
Critics round-up: Romeo & Juliet… Osipova, Vasiliev, Lendorf & Ashton
HerOsipova's Juliet starts out as a hyper teenager, whirling on brilliantly fast feet. There's an immediate abandon to her dancing, movement sweeping through her small frame. As an actress, she doesn't always find the balance between this delicate choreography and her own huge personality. The IndependentThe limpid beauty of Osipova’s dancing — all languid limbs and … [Read more...] about Critics round-up: Romeo & Juliet… Osipova, Vasiliev, Lendorf & Ashton