#skorik

[tikitania]

Reading the Mariinsky Playbill Tea Leaves...

Now that the 242nd season of the Mariinsky has started under a new Artistic Director, Andrian Fadeev, I've been trying to glean clues as to what changes we can expect moving forward. Here are a few thoughts: The Good: The playbill with casting is released much earlier than before. (Yay!) The Interesting: Perhaps I'm reading in-between the lines, but I sense that the first month's casting signals a return to standards of emploi, and giving the primas instead of the first soloists prime evenings, which did not happen last season. For instance, Tereshkina gets the first Swan Lake, Skorik the second, and Iliushkina the third in a matinee. Those three are certainly the theater's current, most swan-like dancers whose lines exude lyricism. While Iliushkina is not a prima (yet) her casting in a matinee suggests that 1st soloists are relegated to matinees. Shakirova and Bateova are conspicuously not cast in either one...at least for now. This casting tracks with the very Russian balletomane critique that neither dancer is a swan, it's beyond their emploi. I'd place money that Shakirova is not given Odette-Odile for a long time. The Intriguing: Lopatkina's back after a notable absence since her retirement, allegedly lured by the new AD. As is Leonid Sarafanov. Having these two stars as coaches could be a real game-changer.

The Worrisome: I'm worried about their lack of repertoire and the creative void left behind after losing so many licenses. Creating home-grown masterpieces doesn't happen overnight. The Mariinsky sometimes feels like endless cycle of Swan Lake - Don Quixote and 40 Nutcrackers thrown in for good measure. If an audience is bored with this, think how the dancers must feel night after night.

The Drama: For a few months, I nervously wondered if Khoreva would ever appear on the playbill. I had imagined a Diva scenario where she refused to dance if she felt "downgraded" for being cast in the Prince's Friend's PDT and it lead to a battle with management. That concern took up a lot of free rent in my brain, so I'm pleasantly surprised to see her in Giselle on 10/17 paired with Konovalov. I cannot recall if they've danced together before. We'll see if there' any chemistry, which is noticeably absent from Khoreva's partnerships. I'm still one of the "yes, her technique is fire, but her dancing leaves me cold" factions of the balletomane world. In videos, she seems like a determined technician, but the poetry is not there…yet?

The Hopes: I'm hoping to see more men who have been stagnating in the corps given a chance to prove themselves. I've already noticed a few names that I hadn't seen before. I want to see Savalieva promoted after dancing more solo parts. I want more exciting debuts from Bulanova, Khiteeva, Bespalova, Chernavskaya, Kuznetsova, and Anushenkova. Here's to hoping…and wondering what other surprises might jump out this season.

[balletomaneblog]

Some of My Favorite Odiles!!

Here are some of my absolute favorite Odiles! I really had to stop myself from adding waayyy too many dancers to this list. Feel free to let me know other dancers that you guys love in this role!!

Ulyana Lopatkina

Viktoria Tereshkina

Svetlana Zakharova

Oxana Skorik

Gillian Murphy

Polina Semionova

[elegantballetalk]

Today’s watch:

Aurora entrance through the ages

[balletthebestphotographs]

Oksana Skorik Оксана Скорик

Oksana Skorik Оксана Скорик as “Raymonda”, “Raymonda Раймонда”, libretto by Lidia Pashkova Лидия Пашкова and Marius Petipa based on a medieval legend, choreo by Marius Petipa (1898) revised version by Konstantin Sergeev Константина Сергеев, (1948) with choreo fragments by Fyodor Lopukhov Фёдор Лопухов, music by Aleksandr Glazunov Александр Глазунов, set and costume design by Simon Virsaladze Симон Вирсаладзе, Mariinsky Ballet Мариинский театр, Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Source and more info at: Photographer Tania Kholkina on Facebook Photographer Tania Kholkina on Instagram

Note I: This blog is open to receiving and considering any suggestions, contributions, and/or criticisms that may help correct mistakes or improve its content. Comments are available to any visitor.

Note II: Original quality of photographs might be affected by compression algorithm of the website where they are hosted.

[septembergold]

[pamwmsn]

Oksana Skorik and Andrei Ermakov

[thestreetdancer2023]

🇪🇸9 noviembre| 🇬🇧9 November

🇪🇸16 noviembre| 🇬🇧16 November 🇷🇺Не понимаю афишу мариинскую театральную на ноябрь...

🇪🇸No entiendo la programación de Mariinski en noviembre chicos (9 de noviembre: ¿un espectáculo de «La bella durmiente» intepretado por Mariinski y un espectáculo de «Romeo y Julieta» intepretado por Bolshoi el mismo día, en la misma hora? 16 noviembre: ¿3 espectáculos de «Giselle» al día? Qué pesado...) 🇬🇧I am not understanding Mariinsky´s November programming people... (9 November: a performance of «Sleeping Beauty» interpreted by Mariinsky and a performance «Romeo and Juliet» interpreted by Bolshoi same day, same hour?

16 November: 3 performances of «Giselle» in one day?)

[lovelyballetandmore]

The Nutcracker’ at the Mariinsky with Oksana Skorik, Even Capitaine, Islom Baimuradov & Featuring students of the Vaganova Ballet Academy. December 24, 2024. Conductor: Arseny Shuplyakov.

[tikitania]

I don't know how long ago your grand ballet tv show post was (where you said capitaine hasnt been on the playbill for a while), but he's back! he's listed for carmen suite on the 19th

I wrote that recently, but I had noticed a while ago that Even Capitaine was injured. I haven’t seen a lot of his dancing since he joined the company, but I do recall that Catherine Pollack wrote something interesting on IG about Skorik & Capitaine. She described them as transformative in Giselle, each elevating the others’ dance to a newly discovered realm, and she sensed the budding of a very special partnership. That had my attention…and then he disappeared due to injury. So, I’m hoping to watch Skorik & Capitaine together soon! Glad he’s back.

So that is the long response to your anon!

The only other current Mariinsky partnerships that seem to have that kind of special spark is Shakirova & Kim and Tereshkina & Belyakov.

Speaking of injury, Camilla Mazzi has been out for a couple of months now. I don’t believe she made any kind of announcement,but I saw her on crutches in someone’s New Year’s story — so I suspect she has a long rehab road ahead of her.

[patricedumonde]

Let's play a game: I’ll name common famous dancers and you say what that says about that person:

If my fav dancer is:

Anna Pavlova—

Alessandra Ferri-

Carla Fracci-

Maria Taglioni-

Sylvie Guillem-

Maria Khoreva—

Diana Vishneva—

Gallina Ulanova-

Marianela Nuñez—

Maria Bulanova —

Altynai Asylmuratova-

Ulyana Lopatkina—

Olga Smirnova-

Ekaterina Maximova -

Evgenia Obraztsova -

Nicoletta Manni—

Natalia Ospipova -

Sofya Valiullina-

Maya Plisetskaya-

Svetlana Zakharova

Alina Somova —

Alexandra Khiteeva—

Victoria Tereshkina—

Renata Shakirova —

Galina Ulanova-

Maria Koshkaryova-

Maria Iliushkina—

Eleonora Saveyard-

Elena Svinko-

Svetlana Savalieva -

Nina Kapstova-

Elisabetta Nallin—

Angelina Vorontsova -

Yulia Makhalina—

May Nagahisa -

Kristina Shapran—

Camilla Mazzi-

Oxana Skorik-

So I've been wanting to answer this one but boy this is a long list but I'll try my best.

If this is your favorite dancer, then you:

Anna Pavlova - are swan obsessed

Alessandra Ferri - have impeccable taste and you love her interpretation of Juliet

Carla Fracci - are Giselle obsessed

Maria Taglioni - are dead

Sylvie Guillem - love trail blazers, and appreciate a mix of classical ballet and contemporary

Maria Khoreva - are chronically online

Diana Vishneva - love an objectively (nearly) perfect dancer

Gallina Ulanova - are an old soul

Marianela Nuñez - love a clean turn and a well rounded dancer

Maria Bulanova - love jumper and turners

Altynai Asylmuratova - nostalgic of Kirov days and love a dancer who can do a good Medora and Nikiya

Ulyana Lopatkina - love love love Russian ballet

Olga Smirnova - also love Russian ballet but you weren't old enough to see Ulyana Lopatkina in her prime

Ekaterina Maximova - love passionate dancers and good Kitris

Evgenia Obraztsova - love a charming stage presence

Nicoletta Manni - are well researched and love a technically proficient dancer

Natalia Osipova - love bravura roles but you also appreciate seeing dancers who grow tremendously out of their box

Sofya Valiullina - are new here lol! But you love a technically proficient dancer

Maya Plisetskaya - are deep into your research and you love strong dancers

Svetlana Zakharova - are obsessed with naturally gifted dancers.

Alina Somova - Love hyperextensions

Alexandra Khiteeva - Love a killer port de bras!

Victoria Tereshkina - are obsessed with strong dancers who can do no wrong!!!

Renata Shakirova - Love a versatile dancer

Maria Koshkaryova - are new here! But you're Vaganova obsessed.

Maria Iliushkina - Love dancers with emotional depth

Eleonora Sevenard - learned about her from when you got into Vaganova in 2017 and you've been obsessed ever since

Elena Svinko - (I'm sorry I don't know her well enough)

Svetlana Savalieva - a hopeless romatic and believes she deserved a fair chance into soloist territory!

Nina Kapstova - are a fan of absolutely flawless dancers

Elisabetta Nallin - are new here!

Angelina Vorontsova - prefer Mikhailovsky over Mariinsky and Bolshoi, and you're probably better off for that. Respect.

Yulia Makhalina - are ME and are CORRECT, but seriously though. You have good taste and you wished there were more clips of her out there.

May Nagahisa - love a perfect Aurora interpretation

Camilla Mazzi - don't love a perfect Aurora interpretation. Yeesh it got spicy here.

Kristina Shapran - You have faith in Mariinsky's next generation of principal dancers

Oxana Skorik - are Catherine Pollak. LOL. But actually, you have good taste and you just weren't around during Yulia Makhalina's time.

[mariaspir]

I’m just going to say it: I really like Maria Khoreva in swan lake. BUT. Is she just going to be odette/odile for the rest of her life?? Like recently she’s done a Kitri and two Mashas and then just SWAN LAKE. It seems she’s being doing and rehearsing swan lake since she debuted it.

There are a lot of variables in this.

The most obvious one is the recent chain of injuries she has suffered, which did set her back imo. She was getting 1 or 2 performances every week, and that was obviously too much. So I find the fact she's cast less frequently a net positive, she has the time to rehearse everything, but also time to rest and hopefully avoid more injuries.

Another thing is, she's still young. They cast her into everything too soon, and she didn't always deliver. Masha is a technical standout, but she needs time to find her interpretation. Case in point is how her Odette and Kitri have improved dramatically since her debuts, which is very natural and to be expected. In her first 4-5 years she did Aurora, Raymonda, Kitri, Odette, Giselle, Nikiya, Shyrin, Paquita, Medora, Masha... it's a lot of different characters that each needs time to flesh out. Even easy acts like Masha in the Nutcracker need time, especially if you are on the shyer side. I believe that as she grows artistically and matures as a person she will gain her repertoire back, plus some (she's currently rehearsing Juliette). Which again, is not a bad thing. For me, some of the roles she was given like Nikiya should never be given to a girl fresh out of school, what do you expect her to do with it? How much can a teenager act about something they've never experienced? Unless you have Meryl Streep graduating from VBA.

Another thing, Mariinsky rep is atm kinda limited. A lot of their more interesting and new ballets have been frozen because of the war. They try to make it up by adding Soviet or new Russian choreographers' works (Anyuta, Stone Flower, Coppelia, Bronze Horseman, Fairy's Kiss) but it's not necessarily best suited for Khoreva. I'd love to see her in Symphony in C (1st part), Midsummer Night's Dream, Little Humpabcked Horse. She needs parts that have a lot of technical difficulty and a bit less acting, but not no acting at all. She also needs something close to her character, from the new productions, I think Coppelia would be best. Idk when she will do Juliette, but with a strong Romeo and enough time to get into character, she could be a great Juliette.

But again, you have to ease people into these things. If you give her Anna Karenina tomorrow, she'll be lost. But in 5 years with the right coaching (which she seems to be getting these days), she can do it. I don't think she'll be a Firebird or Zarema, but that's not a bad thing. Shakirova and Batoeva have never done Raymonda, Tereshkina and Skorik have never done Shyrin, Kondaurova has never done Kitri(? not listed in her repertoire), Novikova has never done Medora, but her they all are.

[miss-mollys-ballet-blog]

Ranked Ballet Performances

I've seen quite a few live shows and I have thoughts on all of them, but instead of sharing them, I'm just going to rank them from my favorite to least favorite:

La Bayadere: Viktoria Tereshkina and Kimin Kim

Giselle: Svetlana Zakharova and David Hallberg

La Bayadere: Ekaterina Kondaurova and Timur Askerov

Raymonda: Ekaterina Kondaurova and Danila Korsuntsev

Don Quixote: Marianela Nunez and Carlos Acosta

Le Corsaire: Ekaterina Kondaurova, Andrey Ermakov, Kimin Kim

Paquita: Viktoria Tereshkina and Timur Askerov

Swan Lake: Devon Teuscher and Marcelo Gomes

Raymonda: Oksana Skorik and Timur Askerov

Giselle: Skylar Brandt and Joo Won An

Don Quixote: Skylar Brandt and Herman Cornejo

Romeo and Juliet: Gillian Murphy and James Whiteside

The Nutcracker: Mariko Sasaki, William Bracewell, Isabella Gasparini, and James Hay

Giselle: Gillian Murphy and Thomas Forester

Swan Lake: Isabella Boylston and Alban Lendorf

Swan Lake: Devon Teuscher and Aran Bell

Giselle: Elizaveta Gogidze and Olekseii Kniazkov

Little Humpbacked Horse: Anastasia Kolegova and Maxim Zyuzin

Sleeping Beauty: Sarah Lane and Herman Cornejo

Paquita: Nadezhda Batoeva and Xander Parish

Harlequinade: Skylar Brandt and Daniil Simkin

Whipped Cream: Sarah Lane and Daniil Simkin

Le Corsaire: Maria Khoreva, Konstantin Zverev, and Kimin Kim

Paquita: Maria Khoreva and Konstantin Zverev

I think I got them all lol. I didn't include non-ballet performances such as Bourne's Swan Lake, Alvin Ailey, and Riverdance.

[the-cricket-chirps]

Genia Rubin, Nu solarisé, c. 1942

Genia Rubin, Solarisation, Mlle Skorik, en pied, jambe, c. 1942

[misspeppermint2003]

Vasily Petrovich Goloborodko from Servant of the People (Ukraine)

Yuri Ivanovich Chuyko from Servant of the People (Ukraine)

Sergei Viktorovich Mukhin from Servant of the People (Ukraine)

Ivan Andreevich Skorik from Servant of the People (Ukraine)

Dmitriy Vasilyevich Surikov from Servant of the People (Ukraine)

[ballet-symphonie]

When you said you could tell a dancer was from Perm/was educated there, is there a particular reason or association out there that made you say that?

The base in the Russian technique is the same but with a solid fusion of both Bolshoi and Mariinsky styles. After WWII the Perm school was stabilized under Mariinsky's soloist Ekaterina Geidenreich. Perm's most infamous teacher and artistic director Lyudmila Sakharova was a BBA grad.

I think what often stands out to me, is the remarkable cleanliness and pointed precision of technique, with both men and women.

Some videos featuring Perm Graduates:

Tatiana Melnik

Inna Bilash & Nikita Chetverikov

Oksana Skorik

[balletomaneblog]

I’m intrigued how things (especially promotions/debuts) are gonna go now that pretty much all of the top Vaganova graduates are shifting to the Bolshoi. A year ago they were definitely preparing to make way for them in their ranks. I’m sure this isn’t news to the management though and maybe the recent larger role debuts of Khiteeva, Chernyevskaya and of course the new swans coming in is them cementing the new faces of the company? Tbh They’re running out of time to replace the greats

Yes, I believe that the were really hoping for Koshkareva and Kuprina specifically. They did get Kulikova and Karamysheva, but I'm sure Fateyev wanted the taller, longer-limbed dancers that the Mariinsky sees more as future principal material.

It seems like Ilyushkina and Khoreva are holding a lot of the hopes of the theatre right now as future principals. I think Nagahisa has potential to be a principal one day too, though it seems less certain. And yes, they're also trying to solidify which dancers have the potential to be like Osmolkina, Shirinkina, Evseyeva, Tkachenko, etc, who were never made principals, but were critical for the theatre rep and are now close to retirement.

If they promote Ilyushkina, Shakirova, and Khoreva soon, it will ease the transition of Kondaurova, Tereshkina, and Novikova retiring, with Batoeva and Skorik still there as more seasoned principals. I don't necessarily think Ilyushkina and Khoreva are completely ready to be promoted, but like you said, they're running of out time.