Makarova, Lopatkina, Korsuntzev rehearse White Swan PdD

On November 24, 2010, the Mariinsky presented a special performance of Swan Lake to honor Natalia Makarova on the occasion of her birthday.  The day before the performance, Makarova went to the studio to rehearse Ulyana Lopatkina and Danila Korsuntsev, who would be Odette/Odile and Siegfried on the special night, in their White Swan Pas de Deux.  Ironically, Lopatkina wore a black practice tutu for the session.

The Mariinsky has loaded a video of this extraordinary meeting and rehearsal on its website.  The tiny Makarova coaching the current giants of the Mariinsky in the finer points of the pas is just remarkable.

She helped Lopatkina find where her wings came from within her shoulders and she dialed back the final arabesque penche from 180 degrees to about 165-170 so that Korsuntzev's head and face were not blocked.  She met resistance on the latter point and acknowledged that they have great differences of opinion, but the tiny tiger mother prevailed.  She told Lopatkina not to miss the chance to communicate with her partner. 

Korsuntzev is a huge man who lifted Lopatkina so very easily and seemed incredibly tender and refined.  He will be Veronika Part's Siegfried when she returns to the Mariinsky in Swan Lake on February 19th. 

Makarova's parting request to Lopatkina was for her to "Sing this for me tomorrow."

This clip is a treasure.

 

 

Comments

[Marie]

I was unable to get this link to work and visits to the Kirov site yielded the same problem. For anyone else also having difficulty viewing the video, Youtube does have a snippet up, with two additional links (neither of which worked for me). But at least the Youtube clip gives a flavor of the meeting.

Thanks for posting--it's moving to me to think of Makarova going back to Russia. She could not have known when she left that this would one day happen. I'm glad that it has.

[Haglund]

Hi Marie. I also experienced some initial problems and had to unblock the pop-ups a couple of times. Do that and if it doesn't work, try entering via media.mariinsky.ru and then, using your best Russian, search for the correct click. I also noticed a difference in transmission quality depending on the time of day.

The YouTube clip is heavily edited but the actual quality compared to what is delivered directly from the Mariinsky's website is much better. Hopefully, someone will load the whole thing up.

There's a very interesting exchange where Makarova explains to Lopatkina how and why the arms in the White Swan PdD should be different than those in the Dying Swan. Keep trying to load the clip. It's worth it.

[marina]

The clip is fascinating.... The struggle between the two over questions of shaping and interpretation are so interesting to watch. After all, Lopatkina has been dancing the role for years. Thank you for posting.

[Haglund]

Hi Marina. I wish there were more opportunities for Makarova to assert her Odette interpretations locally. She sure gave Lopatkina a lot to think about in that short time.

[Avesraggiana]

Lopatkina''s adopting Makarova's gossamer, spun gold approach would go a long way towards softening the ponderous hydraulic nightmare that has become the hallmark of her Odette. Her evident resistance to Makarova's suggestions is both puzzling and disappointing.

[Haglund]

Hi Avesraggiana! Too bad Makarova wasn't there for a week or two instead of for just one rehearsal. That "hydraulic nightmare" (great term!) seems to be the trend at the Mariinsky, isn't it? I recently was surprised by a clip of Obraztsova's Giselle in which the extension a la seconde nearly looked like Somova's.

[Avesraggiana]

Oh my Gosh! Really? So Somova’s licentious overextension and unshaped dancing is contaminating the other ballerinas? Of the current bumper crop of talented ballerinas, I had always favoured Obratsova for the relative purity and classicism of her style. If she’s impressionable enough to take on some of Somova’s mannerisms, surely she’s impressionable enough to drop them.

[Haglund]

Chalk it up to the ugly Western influence.

[Avesraggiana]

Hurrah! I finally got to see the entire clip! And I agree with you completely - this clip is a treasure. Makarova’s first comment, “you’re very business-like”, sums up my perception of Lopatkina’s approach. I noticed that much of Makarova’s coaching was directed towards getting Lopatkina to open up her upper back and shoulders, areas of the body that Makarova herself used to great dramatic effect.
Is Irina Chistyakova Lopatkina’s full-time coach? I don’t recall her being a notable Odette/Odile. What I do remember is that she was a very solid technician, especially in turns.
I would like to think that Makarova’s coaching points are still percolating through Lopatkina’s mind even now. I’m long past retirement age as a dancer but I know I’ll be thinking about Makarova’s comments for quite awhile.
Thank you again for recommending this.

[Haglund]

I'll also have Makarova's comments in mind when seeing S.L. in the future.