Veronika Part & Jared Matthews @ The Mariinsky

Oh, this is one beautiful treat. Hurry and watch Veronika and Jared in Ratmansky's Seven Sonatas at the Closing Gala of the Mariinsky Ballet Festival on Sunday:

 

Extraordinary. Just extraordinary. So proud of the home team.

More videos from the festival here.

 

Comments

[Robin]

Fantastic! Thanks for posting :)

[Juan Michael Porter II]

Thank you for this Haglund. Ratmansky is a genius and Jared and Veronika... I haven't seen them in years. Wow, they are wonderful. Thank God the powers that be finally recognised her and yet... why is he still a soloist when he dances far better and with greater personality than some of his 'betters'.

-Juan Michael Porter II

[Haglund]

Hi Juan Michael.

Yes, Jared has proven himself time and time again. He has successfully partnered Part, Murphy, Seo, Herrera, Vishneva, and all of the soloist women. His soloist technique is excellent. His acting is outstanding. He's the only male lead in Ratmansky's Nutcracker who is able to manage the Grigorovich lift. He grabs any and all challenges that come his way and turns them into opportunities. He certainly should have been named principal by now based on his own merits. That he is still standing behind some of these namby-pamby principals is terribly sad.

[fondoffouettes]

Thank you, Haglund! I would consider them an unlikely pairing, and yet they dance beautifully together. It really speaks to Matthews' partnering ability, as you say. He doesn't crumble under pressure and instead rises to every challenge. I always think of how masterfully he handled the Thais Pas de Deux a couple seasons ago, which is just one of many examples.

There is such a paucity of Veronika recordings out there, and this comes as a very welcome addition. I'm such a fan of her in classical roles that I sometimes forget what she can bring to modern pieces. I'm always curious to know what she could do with Apollo and Symphonie Concertante now that she is in her prime. I know she was written off as being ill-suited for Balanchine in her early days at ABT, but she is such a stronger, more confident dancer these days (while still retaining all those magical qualities from her early career.)

[Haglund]

Hi FoF.

In recent years, I know that I've seen Veronika as Terpsichore in Apollo and she was wonderful. Years ago she danced a superb Ballet Imperial with Marcelo Gomes and Stella Abrera. She was quite beautiful in the second movement of Symphony in C recently. She could certainly handle Symphonie Concertante, but ABT hasn't done that piece in several years.

Hopefully this tape will remain available for a long time, because it is such a compliment to Ratmansky, Part and Matthews. Working with Ratmansky has really enriched both of these dancers' artistry on so many levels.