Mary Ellen Hunt
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“Swan Lake” with Galina Stepanenko as Odette/Odile and Nikolai Tsiskaridze as Siegfried
November 9, 2002
While the company overall was very fine, there was definitely a sense that as the evening progressed, I was more and more finding myself making excuses for this little slip or that one. It made me wonder a bit about the way in which we come to see these companies in performance. In this country now, we are quite fortunate to see such a high level of dance on a regular basis, both from native and touring companies, so much so that sometimes I’m afraid we become overly picky, perhaps dwell on details that aren’t so important. The Bolshoi, being the Bolshoi, can’t help but take on a kind of iconic status. What I began to feel, I realized, is that when the first group of corps women run onstage and their pointe shoes clack and knock on the floor, you suddenly realize that they are very human.
Having said this, I still found myself wanting more however. I thought the company overall was less spirited than I recall from previous years (perhaps I’m haunted by the kind of style I associate with Eifman Ballet). Nevertheless, there were a couple of brilliant performances from the soloists, notably Yan Godovsky as the Fool, Maria Alexandrova, both as one of the Prince’s friends, and as the Spanish Princess in the second act and Ilya Ryzhakov as the Evil Genius, the von Rothbart character in this version.
In fact, I might say that I thought the sloppiest work came from dancers who did not possess their poor technique, but whose faces were unengaged. The three I mentioned above appeared, at times, to be the only ones on stage who really were enjoying dancing for us.
Even Galina Stepanenko, who danced the Odette/Odile role left me somewhat cold. As the White Swan she was too hard-edged, too brittle, to convince me that she was the otherworldly dream which Siegfried had sought all of his life. She did however, make a brilliant Black Swan, whipping out turns (a fouette turn, followed by turn á la seconde, with a double pirouette to pull in, for the first sixteen counts of her coda music was her special trick) by the barrelful with a manner that recalled Natalya Dudinskaya.
Now to Nikolai Tsiskaridze. I must confess my curiosity about this dancer was piqued by the hype and he was one of the main reasons that I wanted to see the Bolshoi perform. I suspect that it was the same for a lot of balletomanes in the house the night I saw them.
People asked me afterwards, so, did you like him? The answer is I did and I didn’t. The more I thought about his performance the more I liked him, but not the performance. And then the more I think that I saw him in the wrong role.
His technique is clean, not spectacularly immaculate, but I think that this is because of his flexibility which seems to make him strive more for an effect than a step. It didn’t bother me, I must say, because elements of it, like his floating jumps that landed without a sound, were so pleasant to watch that I was willing to forgive, for example, slight cheating on double tours.
In fact I think there were many small details about Tsiskaridze that were quite lovely. His beats were bell-like, they were so clear, with a well-defined opening on the last part of the beat each time, a detail missing from a lot of dancers today. His slow first act solo, which can be deadly for a male dancer, was mellow and controlled with well-executed double arabesque turns. As has been widely noted, he is possessed of a fine musicality which allows him to fill out phrases fluidly and fully, so that he can do a lot of thankless choreography beautifully.
Then too, Tsiskaridze has an easiness about him that could be mistaken for carelessness. Perhaps a perception of sloppiness might even arise from the way in which he rides so easily though his steps. Nevertheless, picturing him now in my mind doing the prince’s Black Swan variation, I have the distinct impression of a stylish and elegant technique.
One area with which I have a quibble, and this bothers me about many male dancers these days, is that his partnering was not strong. He has obviously been well coached – I can’t imagine a student of Marina Semyonova and Galina Ulanova not being taught how to treat a ballerina – and certain things are exquisite, such as the gentleness with which he took Odette’s hand when they first met. However, partnering simple pirouettes, he tended to be casual, almost squat, in his position and had a great deal of trouble controlling his partner’s penchées. These may sound like minor points, but to me, that’s a basic piece of adagio work that every principal should have well in hand.
His characterization dramatically speaking was also problematic. I had heard so much about his investment into the development of roles that I was expecting quite a lot, I must say. On first encounter, Tsiskaridze’s Siegfried seemed very young, and not altogether princely. At times he hung around the edge of the stage as if he were waiting for a the subway. Modern disposition notwithstanding, he is still tall dark and handsome and when there’s a crowd onstage, there is certainly no doubt who the prince is. Too, his portrayal of the prince as a feckless and perhaps a little dimwitted and depressed youth is not altogether out of keeping with the story that Yuri Grigorovich has assembled for us. Grigorovich’s Siegfried is a Germanic hero, like the Wagnerian Siegfried, albeit a little less bloodthirsty, and about as much in control of his own fate as that Siegfried. Anyone stuck with a character like that, (even the traditional Siegfried is somewhat unfathomable) would have trouble finding a believable interpretation. Which is why I feel like I saw him in the wrong role.
What comes to mind about Tsiskaridze, too, is that he is fairly young himself. His Siegfried, while no doubt informed by the coaching of his illustrious teachers and his own research into the role, still has something unformed in the look of it. Still one cannot help but like the youth he plays. When he dances with two friends in the first act, Maria Allash and Alexandrova, he plainly would rather not, but exerts himself to be polite: he doesn’t want to hurt their feelings, even though his heart isn’t in it.
That graciousness may simply be a part of his nature. At the final curtain call, as Stepanenko received her applause, the corps tried several times to come forward for the company call, but would cut themselves short, obviously not wanting to infringe upon Stepanenko’s bow. After two or three abortive attempts on their part, Tsiskaridze went all the way upstage to the corps line and led them all forward in the bow. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a classier move and he won my heart with it.
This review initially appeared on CriticalDance.com
Last update on November 12, 2002.
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