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The Kirov Ballet Dances Fokine
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Photo by Valentin Baranovsky
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By Don Kolman
The choreography of Mikhail Fokine is seldom seen today in the repertoire of the world’s major ballet companies. It is, however, in full view right now at Segerstrom Hall of the Orange County Performing Arts Center and is being danced by no less a major ballet company than the Kirov Ballet of St. Petersburg. The Kirov will continue dancing the Folkine program through Thursday, October 23 and will then dance an all George Balanchine program on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, October 24, 25, and 26.
Mikhail Fokine was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, on April 25, 1880. He entered the Imperial School of Ballet in 1889 and graduated in 1898. On graduation he immediately joined the Maryinski Imperial Ballet at St. Petersburg at the level of soloist and was soon a partner of the famous Anna Pavolva. In 1902, he began teaching and thus became the youngest faculty member ever to serve in this company. Fokine firmly believed ballet at that time was too absorbed with technique and athleticism. He strenuously objected to the use of ready-made dance steps, short skirts, and pink dancing shoes. He emphasized to his students the need for dancers to appeal not just to the audience’s eyes but also to its soul and emotions. He fervently believed that music, scenery, and dance should all come together to form a single whole. His influence on fellow choreographers of the first half of the twentieth century is marked. This is especially true in the case of George Balanchine.
Fokine’s choreography does present a problem for current audiences. That problem is simply that the ballet to which today’s audiences have become accustomed is radically different from that of Mikhail Fokine. With the arrival in the west of dancers like Rudolph Nurevey, Natalia Makarova, and Mikhail Baryshnikov, the audience’s taste for dramatic athleticism returned to a level even greater than it was in the late nineteenth century. Today’s audiences expect and demand bravura solo dancing and dramatic spectacular parterning in ballets like Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, and Romeo and Juliet. Current tastes in ballet make Mikhail Fokine choreography appear dated, stilted, and refined to the point of being boring.
Tuesday evening’s program opened with Chopiniana, more commonly known in the west as Les Sylphides. As the Russian title indicates, it is danced to music by Frederic Chopin as orchestrated by Alexander Glazunov. It was premiered on March 8, 1908 at the Marinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg with Ana Pavlova and Tamara Karsavina dancing two of the principal roles. The piece is the epitome of refined grace and elegance. Three women alternate dancing, the lone male danseur acts as furniture, and the female corps de ballet acts a backup. Irina Zhelonkina, Yana Selina, and Irina Golub all danced with considerable grace and verve. Irina Zhelonkina, in particular, distinguished herself with beautifully expressive arms and hands. Danila Korsuntsev was a graceful steady partner.
Scheherazade was presented next on the evening’s program. It is choreographed to music by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov with sets and costumes by Leon Bakst. It premiered on June 4, 1910, La Saison de L’Opera et des Ballet Russes, Theatre de L’ Opera, Paris. It was first danced by Ida Rubinstein, Vaslav Nijiinsky, and Alexei Balgakov. While virtually all of the dancing in Chopiniana is done by the three women in Scheherazade, all the real dancing is done by The Golden Slave. Vladimir Pponomarev as Shah Shahryar and Andrei Yakovlev as Shsh Zeman, his brother, posture a great deal but dance not at all. Uliana Lopatkina as Zobeide, Shah Shahryar’s favorite wife, slinks and slithers but doesn’t really dance. Igor Zelensky as The Golden Slave is a marvel to behold. He dances magnificently, is lightning fast, has a wonderful line, and he is exceedingly clean in execution. Mr Zelensky is also ardent and passionate. It would be wonderful to see him dance with a partner. He and Uliana Loatkina embrace and entwine a great deal but do not really dance together.
The final ballet for the evening was The Firebird with music by Igor Stravinsky and scenery by Alexander Golvin. The costumes for this ballet were designed by Alexander Golvin and Leon Bakst, and sadly they seem to be in the way much of the time. This is particularly the case with the costumes for the male dancers.
Stravinsky composed his music expressly for the ballet and that is readily evident in the brilliant coordination of the choreography and the music –- they fit and they fit very well indeed. The Firebird was premiered on June 25, 1910 at the Theatre de L’Opera, Paris. Tatiana Amosova, a soloist with the company, danced the role of the Firebird beautifully. She is extremely fast, uses her hand brilliantly, and expresses just the right amount of vulnerability. Victor Baranov as Ivan Tsarevich, Yana Serebriakov as the Princess, and Valdimir Ponomarev as Kastchei posture and pose a great deal but do not really dance.
The performance of the corps de ballet during the entire evening was stellar. In all three ballets, the members were precise and character. The Kirov Ballet has, for years, justly been famous for its corps de ballet, and the reasons for that fame were fully evident Tuesday evening.
The Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra was conducted by Mikhail Agrest. It is always rewarding to see a ballet danced to music by its own orchestra. The orchestra is totally familiar with the music and the needs of individual dancers. This is never the same with a pick-up orchestra.
All in all, it was a most interesting evening and one of particular importance to balletomanes with an interest in the development of 20th century ballet choreography. It is not, however, a program that is likely to appeal to a first time balletgoer.
The Kirov Ballet of the Mariinsky Theatre will appear at Segrestrom Hall of the Orange County Performing Arts Center through Sunday, October 26. Tickets can be purchased at: the Center Box Office, Ticketmaster: (714) 740-7878, www.ocpac.org, and Group Sales: (714) 755-0236
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