Kirov Giselle Reviews Kirov Bakhchisaray Reviews all Kirov reviews any Kirov performances? Kirov in InterViews, News

I arrived on Tuesday morning in 100f heat. Walking down Sixth Avenue looking for groceries for the kitchenette of my B & B I felt as if my clothing was about to catch fire. But everything, including public transport, is air-conditioned, so I managed.

On Wednesday 7th I saw 'Fountain' choreographed in 1934 by Rostislav Zakharova to music by Boris Asafiev. It managed to be both dull and flashy. Dull because neither music nor choreography ever rose beyond the mundane, though the music, under the crisp baton of Boris Gruzin, fared the best, and flashy because the choreography was all bombast and the costumes were, well....flashy, though Valentina Khodasevichs' sets were lovely, particularly the richly oriental-carpet patterned front curtains. It 's enough to say about the plot of 'Fountain' that it closely resembles 'Bayadere', i.e good girl, bad girl, obsequious female servant, male authority figure who falls in love with good girl once he has seen her face and who rejects him for the love of another.

The Kirov's dancing alone saved us from slumber. Veronica Part as Maria (the good girl) danced with delicious buoyancy, despite disastrously noisy shoes, though, like the other dancers, she was never seriously challenged by the choreography. Altynai Assylmuatova as the 'bad'girl Zarema (possibly her last Kirov role in NY?) danced with her customary lustre and fluency (and that ivory coloured harem costume looked stunning on her). Her arms, for me, are still the best in the world; it's as if they speak a language of their own. The audience went wild for her. Vladimir Ponomarev and Ilya Kutznetsov as the leading men were both excellent, but Anton Korsakov, as one of a pair of 'young men' really drew the eye with his big, easy jumps and Vasili Sherbakov as the warrior Nurali drew the audiences roars. And I have to mention the two girls, Yulia Kasenkova and Irina Golub, confusingly labelled under the single name 'Panenki'. They were both dazzling dancers and a credit to the Kirov.

On Thursday 8th and Friday 9th I saw each performace of the Kirov's Balanchine progamme. I would have to say, reluctantly, that overall the Kirov disappointed me here. They don't yet have the necessary speed and clarity to to justice to Balanchine. But 'Serenade' brought tears to my eyes. The way those Kirov women did it was so brave and touching - they knew they were being 'tried' before a US audience accustomed to dancers trained by Balanchine himself, but they got on with it beautifully. On Thursday Lopatkina, Dumchenko and Part led with luscious, airy jumps; I thought them lovely, but there was an occasional impatient 'tut' behind me so obviously the were doing something wrong. Friday had Zakharova, Sofia Gumerova and Elvira Tarasova in the leads. Horrors, at one point the latter fell smack bang on her bottom to shocked gasps from the audience. She picked herself up and, after a brief moment when she was obviously counting like mad, managed to stitch herself back into the choreographic seam. The splendid irony of this was that, only moments later, she was the very ballerina who had to perform Balanchine's elegantly-choreographed 'fall' on to the stage! Moments like this come seldom and must be treasured.

Both Thursday's and Friday's 'Apollo' was a mixed bag. Zelensky was good on both days, far more relaxed than usual, even giving a hint that he was enjoying himsellf. His dancing was clean and bold on both days. And I don't even like him. His muses, though, were far less satisfying. On Thursday Svetlana Zakharova, Yana Serebriankova and Daria Pavlenko disappointed us and on Friday Veronika Part, Maya Dumchenko and Sofia Gumerova did the same, though Part, I thought, made the best of it. Not that any of them were bad, they just didn't get it right and did not have either the requiste attack or technique. There's no doubting, though, that all they need in more experience.

The Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux was performed on both evenings by Vishneva and Samodurov and Friday's performance was better than Thursday's, but there's little else to say about this brief and showy Balanchine piece.

And now to the stunner. 'Symphony in C', which on Thursday failed to flicker into life despite beautiful performances from Ulia Lopatkina in the second movement and Diana Vishneva in the third, just blazed into glory on Friday. There is such magic about this ballet - the music, which, unbelievably was written by Bizet when he was only 17, and of course Balanchine's choreography. For the first time, I was seeing this ballet from well above the stage and I could see the mathematical complexity of the movements. What a sweat it must be for the dancers! Veronica Part danced a heart-breaking Adagio and Pavlenko sparkled in the fourth (Allegro) movement. But they were all dazzling and we stood and screamed and shouted at the end.

And then to their curiously disappointing final performance on Saturday night in 'Giselle'. It was just such a flat production, devoid of detail or loving care. And by Saturday I was wanting to see a male dancer other than Zelensky, but it was not to be. I think the Kirov's reliance on Zelensky suggests a worrying defiency in male dancers. I was unable to write up my notes after the show but I would have to say from memory that the first act was disastrously flat and that Irma Nioradze as Giselle seemed too mature and tough. By the second act, however, things improved enormously and with the donning of the white veil Nioradze became at once the softest and most vulnerable of Giselles and her dancing was exquisite. Elvira Tarasova as Myrtha danced well enough but didn't even make a stab at acting the role with any conviction. The whole made me very grateful for the lovingly detailed current RB 'Giselle'.

Finally, I am sorry to report that, despite elaborate arrangements, I failed to meet a single Balletalerter! Oh well. Next time............