Ballet Boys (Norway, 2014)

Ballettguttene  (Norway, 2014)

Ballet Boys

dir. Kenneth Elvebakk

for release April 2014

Documentary on four years in the life of three ballet boys — Lukas Bjørneboe Brændsrød,  Syvert Lorenz Garcia,  Torgeir Lund

Lukas Bjørneboe Brændsrød

        Norwegian National Ballet School

                         Ballettskolen ved den Norske Opera & Ballett

XXII Winter Olympiad Opening

XXII Зимние Олимпийские Игры Сочи 2014

XXII Winter Olympiad Sochi 2014

The opening ceremony was a grandiose spectacle in the Fisht Olympic Stadium worthy of combined Disney and Cirque du Soleil on unlimited budget with gigantic scenery and projections, handsomely costumed dancers, actors, and musicians by the hundred. Intention was a worthy inauguration of the XXII Winter Games and celebration of both nation and the Olympic spirit. Despite an occasional small hitch it came off remarkably well. 

The large Canadian contingent looked good in scarlet inspired by the iconic Hudson's Bay point blanket. Curious American journalists took it to be a Mountie look.

Svetlana Zakharova shone for a few moments in a scene reminiscent of Lev Tolstoi’s monumental War And Peace, soon joined by virtuoso Ivan Vasiliev (both Bolshoi Ballet stars) and handsome Danila Korsuntsev (Mariinsky). 

Diana Vishneva (Mariinsky Ballet) later led a group of whirling doves in a gesture to peace.

Lighting of the gigantic cauldron set off an astonishing spectacle of fireworks.

7 February 2014

Illusions Perdues

Illusions Perdues
Утраченные иллюзии
chor. Aleksei Ratmansky  (2011)

Bolshoi Ballet
Балетная Труппа Большого Театра

with Vlad Lantratov (Lucien), Diana Vishneva (Coralie), Artem Ovcharenko (First Dancer, Youth, Robbers’ Leader)

Pathé simulcast from Moscow
2 February 2014

The performance was excellent, with star dancers in the principal roles: Vlad Lantratov (Lucien), Diana Vishneva (Coralie), Artem Ovcharenko (First Dancer, Youth, Robbers' Leader). Lantratov cut an impressive figure as the confident and successful young composer on the way to failure, marginalization, and emotional collapse.The libretto, a ballet about ballet in 19c Paris, at times seemed overloaded with detail. The specially composed score by Leonid Desyatnikov while mostly appropriate for the movement was jarringly modern for the period scenes unfolding. A soprano declaiming Russian poetry marked poignant moments, actually a distraction from the dance.