observations 5/24

        This should enrage the American Woke Folks who dedicate themselves to wiping out Petipa's masterpiece.

        Vladimir Malakhov is taking his re-imagining of Petipa's La Bayadere into Asia. That's right, Ukrainian-Russian Malakhov is taking the Golden Idol, The Great Brahmin, slaves, temple dancer, shades and the whole nine yards right into Hong Kong with Brazilian Marinela Nunez, Ukrainian Iana Salenko, and Russian Vadim Muntagirov as guest artists with Cuban-American Septime Weber's Hong Kong Ballet. Yep, he's going to toss Petipa's fantastical imagining of long-ago India right in the faces of the adoring Asian audience.

        The promotional video looks spectacular. Note the use of the finger positions that the American Woke Folks find so offensive and intolerable. Honestly, the Americans had better get on the case and get over to Asia to explain to the Asians why they should be offended by this fantastical Russian romanticizing of storybook India.

 

Comments

[Golden Idol]

Oh, do I wish I could see this! If any other video clips surface, do alert us!

[Haglund]

Golden Idol, there is a lot more info about La Bayadere on the HK Ballet Instagram sight: https://www.instagram.com/hongkongballet

[Zachary]

Hi Haglund,

I think beyond woke folks, there seems to be an organization which claims to represent Hindus (featured in many online articles) that upon closer inspection appears to be a one-man operation.

That said, I think criticism of La Bayadere from brainless western woke thought and maybe even diaspora who aren't familiar with their own history should be rebutted by referring them to the Indian government's own Ministry of Culture website with a brilliant essay by the now departed Sunil Kothari. I think the literal government of India is more responsive to Hindu representation than a one-man foundation. https://www.indianculture.gov.in/east-west-dance-encounters

"At the turn of the century and during alien rule, classical and other forms of dance in India were eclipsed for various social, political and economic reasons. The temple dancer or devadasi became a mere entertainer, and with the passage of time her status as a handmaiden of God reduced to that of a woman of easy virtue. Dance, which was once worship and had a definite place in temple ritual, came to be considered a lewd art. On account of the stigma, dancers were also looked down upon. No woman from a decent family was willing to learn dance. It was Uday Shankar who accidentally took to dance thanks to Anna Pavlova's interest in Indian themes and her desire to choreograph ballets based on them. While in London she learnt of an Indian student who was studying painting at the Royal College of Art and who knew dancing. Through a common friend at Ivy House where Anna Pavlova was staying, they met. This meeting changed the course of Uday Shankar's life and gave an impetus to Indian dance-almost in a moribund state in the first quarter of the century ... In 1877, when Marius Petipa was well established in St Petersburg, he choreographed a ballet called La Baradere', It was presented at Marinsky Theatre. Anna Pavlova also featured in La Bayadere. This ballet is still in the repertoire of the Marinsky Theatre and has been revived in the United States and Europe by Natalia Makarova and Rudolph Nureyev. For the Festival of India in the U.S.S.R. Mrinalini Sarabhai, the well. known dancer and choreographer, has choreographed an Indian version as a tribute to Marius Petipa." - Sunil Kothari (1988)

With this excerpt we can actually contextualize Nikiya within the devadasi as a woman who is attempting to maintain her honor. Further, if the literal government of India commissioned a choreographer to honor the ballet in a tribute it's hard to argue that it's offensive.

On Uday Shankar (https://www.jstor.org/stable/1567655) it's important to understand that because of La Bayadere, Anna Pavlova traveled to India to learn about the devadasi. That's disprovably not unintelligent appropriation and collaborating with Shankar helped create a renaissance in indigenous Indian dance! Cultural exchanges and ideas are beneficial for everyone.

It's being ignorant of history that has led to a demonization of La Bayadere.

[Haglund]

Zachary, thanks so very much for digging up this info!

It's true -- most of the fuss about La Bayadere has been made by one or two people who caught the attention of the Woke media which is always looking for something or someone to scorn at.

I hope Hong Kong loves La Bayadere as much as 99.9% of the rest of the ballet world. The dancers look lovely in all the clips and have certainly taken quite a liking to Malakhov who is now Professor at Beijing Dance Academy.

[Jeannette]

Thanks for the news and the lovely film, Haglund! This is the version by Malakhov that was jettisoned in Berlin to make room for the reconstruction by Ratmansky (2017/18 era). Many Berliners were sorry that the Malakhov version left, I recall.

[Maria Cristina Marquez Camihort]

Thanks for sharing these news. Just one comment regarding Marianela Nuñez. She was born in Buenos Aires and therefore is Argentinean. Cheers!

[Dreamer]

Hi Haglund, thank you for sharing this exciting news. How I wish I could see it. By the way, Marianela Nunez may have ties to Brazilian ballet through her ex-husband Thiago Soares but she herself is Argentinian.

[Haglund]

Thanks, Maria and Dreamer, for the edit. I may have been thinking of TS.

[Angelica]

If it were up to me, they would still be performing Corsaire.

[Haglund]

Yes, Angelica, and without any changes.

[Cynthia Izoldi]

Ops… Marianella Is not “Brasilian” but Argentinian, close but far from the same. You know colonization and etc…🫠

[Jeannette]

Hi, Haglund, I’m sure that you’ll weigh in on the new LWFC ballet soon. For now, let me just praise The Met for the printed Playbills! Yes - real printed playbills to treasure in our hands and to take home as a souvenir of our time in the theater! (Kennedy Center in DC, please do the same! )

Can we finally declare an end to the COVID Era?

[Haglund]

LOL, KC's continued practice of no Playbills is like a fancy restaurant with no menus. One simply has to know what he's going to order before he gets there or else look it up online on his phone when he gets to the table. Not progress . . .

I'll get to LWFC as soon as my new knee allows me.

[bee wojciechowski]

awww, get well soon!

[Haglund]

Thanks, Bee.

[Jeannette]

Get well, Haglund. Go when you can. Health first!

[Georgiann]

Heal well, Haglund! As much as I long for your reviews, I do want you to take all the time you need to let your knee recover.

[Haglund]

Thank you both. Can't yet bend the new knee to get in a car but I should be able to climb on a bus very soon.

[NorthHudson]

Haglund's Knee, until further notice

[Haglund]

LOL, thanks. It's my second replacement in three months. On my way to being the bionic balletomane.