Darina Moiseeva is just showing up on my radar because I don't closely follow the Bolshoi as I do the Mariinsky. (EDIT) I wanted to re-state how much she impressed me in the few snippets of her debut that I saw. But I had previously commented on how terribly slow and lugubrious Moiseeva's fouttes were in her debut - it's a trend that I don't like. Yes, it showcases the dancer's control, but it absolutely drains the choreography of energy. It's not a "trick" I like. And here's a side by side, for comparison:
Darina Moiseeva's fouettes:
Yaroslavna Kuprina's Fouettes:
I still haven't see videos of Polina's debut. I'm sure they're somewhere….point me in the direction if you have them, please! Now, I'm very curious.
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Tata Jashi თათა ჯაში as “Gamzatti”, “La Bayadère”, libretto by Nina Ananiashvili ნინო ანანიაშვილი after Sergey Khudekov Сергея Худеков and Marius Petipa, choreo by Marius Petipa, Vakhtang Chabukiani Вахтанг Чабукиани (Pas d’Action), new version and stage by Nina Ananiashvili ნინო ანანიაშვილი and Aleksey Fadeechev Алексей Фадеечев, set by David Monavardisashvili დავიდ მონავარდისაშვილი, costume by Kirill Gasilin Кирилл Гасилин, music by Ludwig Minkus, Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theatre თბილისის ოპერისა და ბალეტის სახელმწიფო თეატრი, Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia.
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I love the energy of the role and all the petite allegro
#4- The Firebird (Firebird)
So much drama in this role, I’m also dying to wear the costume
#3- Dark Angel (Serenade)
Even though this role is generally for taller dancers (I’m only 5’5), but I love adagio. Also, serenade for strings makes me cry
#2- Gamzatti (La Bayadère)
I just love a good diva, and that’s exactly what Gamzatti is. Her wedding variation is my absolute favorite classical variation
#1- Aurora (Sleeping Beauty)
This would be my dream lead role. The Rose Adagio is probably my favorite section from any classical ballet and I would kill to do it. She also doesn’t have to do the big 32, which makes me so happy because I hate fouettés with a burning passion
21 October 2023 — Masha's debut as Gamzatti in La Bayadere was a shock to many, and for good reason. This role requires not just technical proficiency but also maturity, and heavy acting. To make things more interesting, she was side by side Ekaterina Krysanova who became principal in 2011 and Vladislav Lantratov who became principal in 2013. For a dancer who just graduated 4 months ago, this wasn't just a challenging task, it was also impossible.
That said, let's go through some scenes that could have easily been corrected prior to the debut.
On the left, Maria Koshkaryova and on the right, Eleonora Sevenard.
This might be a hot take, but despite male dancers not being the center of attention in a pas de deux, I actually fully expect them to lead (Like in ballroom dancing.) In the movement above, I expected Vladislav to at least initiate eye-contact with Masha; this way, Masha would feel more comfortable to look at him as well. You'll notice the difference with the partnering of Elya. Instead of the movements looking hurried, you can see that there is a slight pause when they look at each other.
Here, there is clearly a lack of blocking. Masha should have turned instead of shuffling back. This way she can 1. See where she should go and 2. Look confident in doing so. This was likely from a hasty preparation for the role. There's simply too many moving parts for her to learn.
On the bright side, I thought her Italian fouettés were good. Excruciatingly slow, just how I like them! The fouettés, she played it safe by going with all single turns and honestly, I thought that was a smart decision. Incoming explanation on why.
Falling off balance here wasn't an accident, it was a blunder. She went for the 2.5 turns instead of a clean 1.5 you see on the right side. The clip on the right is perfect. Good preparation, clear spot, and solid landing.
One of the things I love about Gamzatti is that you can add a lot of embelishment to every movement. Maybe it comes with time and experience, but instead of just switching profiles here, Masha could have really emphasized more with her hands. Literally, a swish and flick could have added a lot.
JUMPS. The height is there. The look to the audience on the second jump could have been held much longer. Most importantly, the arms should be more controlled. When Masha braces herself before each jump, it isn't clear if she's passing through first position or even at a bras bas. When there's too much change and lack of clarity with the arm movements, the jumps don't seem effortless.
Here's a clip of Elya in the same part of the variation and she chose to be more consistent. (This is the part where the author realizes that she is a big fan of cleanliness and clarity which extends to her preference of risk-averse dancers)
Let's move on to arguably the hardest part, which is why I won't dwell on it too long. I will stand by my earlier statement, I cannot believe they would let her go against Ekaterina Krysanova, who is 20 years her senior. Especially in a confrontation scene like this, the disparity is palpable. Masha needed more confidence here and instead, it looked a bit apprehensive.
On the left, she should have been more "in your face" and she should have invaded Ekaterina Krysanova's space a lot more. After the first arabesque, that must have been 2-3 feet, she should have approached much closer than that.
Throughout this scene, I felt that Masha's facial expression remained unchanged. At the beginning, Gamzatti should be more accusatory and by the end, she should be full on, taunting. In all fairness, I can somewhat see it in the movement.
I saved this for last as it really stood out to me. The fall did not make sense. However, it would have made a lot more sense if she already came from a kneeling position! I would have preferred if she decided to beg on her knees, AND THEN fall in the manner that she did. It just seemed physically weird because of the way Ekaterina pushed her.
Honestly, this is all I am willing to go over. The first person to blame here would be whoever casted this. The second, maybe, would be her coach who agreed with that decision.
I see that the consensus here is that this debut is premature, and it is. Masha is a talented dancer. If you have seen her other debuts and felt that she was unprepared, surely it makes sense now, right? Imagine learning all those new roles on top of learning the entirety of Gamzatti's in La Bayadere.
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What do u think about valiullina debuting as myrtha, and koshkareva and kuprina debuting as gamzatti?
What’s your opinion for each dancer?
Ok so I am not even going to go into how they're too young because obviously that's true.
Sadly, Kuprina has been removed from all up-coming debuts, likely due to an injury. However, I think she's perfect for Gamzatti so I'm fairly sure they'll give her another shot at it once she gets better. I think Koshkareva will do fine with this role, but I will say that they've given her a lot of jumping girl roles like the First Bridesmaid in Don Quixote, Paquita, etc, and I honestly like her a lot better in adagio. So I hope that she gets more of those kind of roles in the future.
As for Valiullina, I really love her and it's great that she's been given Myrtha, similar to Kovalyova in her first season. However, I see her far more as Giselle and Kuprina more as Myrtha but I'm sure she'll do a great job. It just better not stop her from getting her Giselle debut one day!
As for my general opinion of each dancer, I do enjoy that they each are fairly different from one another. I honestly don't have a favorite, though I do have a soft spot for Valiullina ever since her Raymonda last year. But they're so so young so I'm very excited to see their debuts in the next month and get a better picture of them in the beginning of their professional career!
Is it true that Myrtha in Giselle is the most difficult soloist role?
I would argue either Myrtha or Gamzatti from La Bayadere? Both have a lot of stage time and the choreography for their multiple variations is demanding. You could say Gamzatti is more difficult because she has a full pas de deux to prepare as well? Myrtha only dances by herself. But Myrtha's entrance with all the promenades and penches is also taxing, just in a different way. Personally, I'd rather do the supported adagio but that's just me.
Ultimately, I think these two roles are the most difficult soloists roles in the classical repertoire because their characters are the most emotionally involved in the ballet's plot. Perhaps it's because they're both villains? Both ballets need strong secondary characters to be successful. There's no fear or sense of desperation in Giselle Act II without an ice-cold Myrtha. Bayadere needs a strong conflict between the two female leads to drive the story forward.
Compared to, let's say, Gulnare from Le Corsaire, that role has much fewer artistic demands in terms of contributing to the narrative arc, even though there are significant technical challenges in her variations. Lilac Fairy from Sleeping Beauty is basically the opposite case? Once you get through the prologue, you're basically home free. Yes, the Lilac Fairy is important for narrative purposes, but after the prologue, she's really only responsible for a bunch of pantomimes, with some dancier moments here and there.
