No doubt she's very good, probably the best, but she could use a new and better choreographer... Somehow people mix snake scene with snake type of dancing. This is a love dance, not a snake figurings. This girl has an enormous pottential to interpret this dance in a complete new version, same as Makarova did in the 70's.
Lovely dance. She needs to be aware of her wrists. They looked like goose necks in the end port de bra and in all of her ponches. She must lengthen them and kink her fingers a tiny bit to compensate.
However, she must be commended for acting her part out well and for her overall strong technique.
she's amazing! this was soooo good! the perfect video for those mental retards that think svetlana only has high extensions. see i dont get it...if a dancer has low extension, there are complaints. but then if a dancer is incredibly flexible, there are still complaints????? high legs are beautiful as long as the line complements them and there is control. svetlana totally has that!
yes I totally agree! I don't get it when people complain about Svetlana, to me she's got the whole package... control, technique, beautiful extentions, she's pretty :p, you name it she's got it. :) OH AND DON'T MISS HER IN LE CORSAIRE!! <3
People complain when the extensions are used in ways that don't complement the line. It becomes acrobatics, rather than ballet--simply a way of appeasing the audience's desire for spectacle. I don't see that in this clip, though. (I do see it in her penchees in the DQ pas de deux).
I think what annoys people about her is that she's just really thin and they get annoyed with her line. I agree with you. I have to say though her legs are really thinner than her upper body. I can't pin-point it... but I think that's why people have problems with her "too-high extensions"... But I think she's just perfect
i loved it! she was so good! personally, i just prefer gamzatti's varations overall, but this was amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! her extension, technique, control, upper body, and facial expressions were all unbelievable!
I think you are jealous because you don´t have her technique, you put a lot of effort in saying she is a "bad dancer" when really she is the principal dancer of the bolshoi, she is an artist and if you don´t like her dancing , well just don´t see her .
seriously you need to put some serious thought into whats good and whats not...ive seen what you like and it seems you like people with no expression low extension...boring altogether and horrible technique....she has great taste...and if having a high extension is "Bad Taste than you are a fucking idiot plain and simple...id like you to tell me who could do anything any better than she can...
What does the cello line suggest to you? The grief here is more internalized, and the dancing should be more understated. Nikiya is a social inferior to her rival and cannot throw howling laments in full public view--she is also afraid. If you watch Isabelle Guerin in the Paris Opera Ballet version, she dances with quiet pathos without resorting to high extensions
This piece is "Character" - oriental or more accurately Indian. However it is foolish to resort to an Indian-like dance and posture, one should stay loyal to this art-form and language seeking the mood and spirit of orientalism; else it becomes tangent and non-believable.
michaelfraydon, this is not charater, this is demi-character. What is taught in all ballet schools is that the ballet technique is most of the time from the waist down and charater from the waist up. She resorts to Indian dance, as much as Swan Lake resorts to wings and Don Q. to Spanish dance. Also, she was born with high extensions, she can't help it. And it's unthinkable in ballet schools to tell people to lower their legs.
I wouldn't dream of telling a dancer to lower her extension - I would expect her to have a sense of balance and propriety to compose her extensions not merely as such rather as language or a kind of accentuation. This is a way of adding color and shading the dance so it becomes varied and multi faceted
But extensions don't end at the limbs. The reason Svetlana's extensions are so good is that it "extends" through her body. Her body becomes one big extension, and not just a multitude of petruding limbs (although, her wrists could be straighter).
Swan Lake does not resort to wings; it attempts to emulate a movement reminiscent of a bird in flight -- arms will never look like feathered wings. And Don Quichotte does not resort to Spanish dance rather a Spanish mood and charisma.
Swan Lake, Don Q, La Bayadere are demi charactere ballets. The classical technique is used from the waist down. In Swan Lake except the pas de trois and the prince, practically all characters use character arms (not the classical arms). In Don Q, differently from what you think, the arms are Spanish (except in the Dream Scene). In La Bayadere is the same, her character is a demi charactere character except in the shades.
You must be a ""ballerina""..LOL!!! Well my advice to you is NOT to attempt this kind of performance for the following reasons: a. you will never (!) In a million years have her technical skills. b. You probably have the same BAD TASTE and c. BAD TECHNIQUE and BAD TASTE = THE WORST KIND OF EXPERIENCE! LOL!!!
i am soo tired of seeing your comments everywhere....you are soo full of shit...and you know that you could never do even one quarter of what she does....its always something either not enough or to much....god everyone is an idiot these days
You must be a ""ballerina""..LOL!!! Well my advice to you is NOT to attempt this kind of performance for the following reasons: a. you will never (!) In a million years have her technical skills. b. You probably have the same BAD TASTE and c. BAD TECHNIQUE and BAD TASTE = THE WORST KIND OF EXPERIENCE! LOL!!!
EXAGERATION is key word for defining Ms. Zakahrova's taste. There is no coherency in her work. She wants it ALL! And ALL at once. Exaggerated extensions, Exaggerated arm movements, Exaggerated posture; and to top it all think she can pull it off! She is more concerned with showing off than with showing herself as the person she is portraying. She could be a great deal better if she were an ARTIST, or at least aspired to be one, rather than a brilliant technician with extraordinary skills.
I think that's a bit of a harsh comment. She's one of hthe principal dancers in one the best companies in the world. Surely they know who to put in such a high role and position.
I think you should rely less on what other people (say the Bolshoi executives..) consider "good" and trust yourself to make up you're own INFORMED mind as to what you consider as good or bad taste, performance, etc,.There really is no question of her technical prowess - this is certainly worthy of the highest praise. However, there is little doubt as to her intelligence - she is completely deficient of it, making it very hard to find her performance more than a circus-like display of bravura.
I see the problem, but I wouldn't fault her artistic judgment only, considering all the Kirov ballerinas with hyperextensions and anemic dancing. Schooling, pressures from management and rivalry could have pushed her in the wrong way. Her style is representative of Kirov, but I suppose she is more distinctive at Bolshoi. Dumb or not, she strikes me as calculating. She wouldn't let go of a perfect penche for the sake of interpretation, as though the latter would distort technical perfection.
But she is - after all - an artist; therefore her work must be assessed free of outside or non-imminent of her work considerations. Also she is Free-lance, so she needs to make choices - which she has! Last: A high ranking official at Mariinsky was quoted saying many years ago that the Russian idea of the ideal danseuse today is Mlle. Sylvie Guillem; leaving out the very critical factor that she is French!
Makarova is still the standard by which this dance is measured but Svetlana held her own well.
DocDLH 6 months ago
I prefer polina semionova in la bayadère!!! but no doubt zakharova is great!
danzzeshorty 8 months ago
@Pearlacious take a chill pill the clip was like 2 seconds long bro.
Isabelleisdabestest 10 months ago
linda
jennifermello1994 1 year ago
nice but...was it just my imagine, or was she insecure on her feets OO?
Zygaenidae 1 year ago
@Zygaenidae every dancer, even nearly perfect dancers like Svetlana, has bad days... that just means she's human :))
XxBallerina4ChristxX 1 year ago
I prefer the version of Isabelle Guerin. i think that it is more sweet
yommagui 1 year ago 3
I think her costume looks like a bikini :P
AGirlWhoLovesBallet 1 year ago
My favourite dancer dancing my favourite piece
tsyganko 2 years ago
Generally I like her as a dancer, and especially her feet and her supple grace, but her balance was definitely off several times in this clip.
Pearlaceous 2 years ago 2
what variation is this????
lemonadesun 2 years ago
well the info says Snake Variation...
aamechie2307 2 years ago
Yeah, I found out it's actually called the Nikiya Variation more universally. Thanks though.
lemonadesun 2 years ago
she is coming here in Greece in Athens at 5th september 2009 and i'm going to she her!!!!
marakisweety 2 years ago 3
graceful, elegant and with feeling. Beautiful!!! :)
idanceeveryday 2 years ago
Que pernoca tem essa bailarina. oh my god!
HellenBailarina8 2 years ago
snake variation? act 1 scene 2? its the 'Pas de bénédiction' and its from act II
mrlopez2681 3 years ago
PERFECT!!! AMAZING!!!
Deh280494 3 years ago 3
shes the best things that ever happened to the ballet world
xxxxx
tishtash67 3 years ago 3
muito lindo mesmo nossaa parabéns...
Bebespears 3 years ago
No doubt she's very good, probably the best, but she could use a new and better choreographer... Somehow people mix snake scene with snake type of dancing. This is a love dance, not a snake figurings. This girl has an enormous pottential to interpret this dance in a complete new version, same as Makarova did in the 70's.
borgru2197 3 years ago 11
She's so wonderful! :D
GirlyGlinda 3 years ago 4
Does anybody else think she rushes through this?
xKarenina 3 years ago
...probably
RuddyWasHere 3 years ago
she really looks like she is dancing in air. who would know it her feet are hurting. great conveying of the emotion here.
tinymavy 3 years ago
Love her arms and legs. It's just so beautiful to see her.
LadyNRedShoes 3 years ago 2
bellisimo.........
cristycr 4 years ago 3
Lovely dance. She needs to be aware of her wrists. They looked like goose necks in the end port de bra and in all of her ponches. She must lengthen them and kink her fingers a tiny bit to compensate.
However, she must be commended for acting her part out well and for her overall strong technique.
lloydgar01 4 years ago
she's amazing! this was soooo good! the perfect video for those mental retards that think svetlana only has high extensions. see i dont get it...if a dancer has low extension, there are complaints. but then if a dancer is incredibly flexible, there are still complaints????? high legs are beautiful as long as the line complements them and there is control. svetlana totally has that!
calbalgal 4 years ago 23
yes I totally agree! I don't get it when people complain about Svetlana, to me she's got the whole package... control, technique, beautiful extentions, she's pretty :p, you name it she's got it. :) OH AND DON'T MISS HER IN LE CORSAIRE!! <3
blackeyedlinda 4 years ago
People complain when the extensions are used in ways that don't complement the line. It becomes acrobatics, rather than ballet--simply a way of appeasing the audience's desire for spectacle. I don't see that in this clip, though. (I do see it in her penchees in the DQ pas de deux).
TenduYou 4 years ago
Right On!!! I agree with everything! I don't like complainy people...
DanceFreakHannah 4 years ago
I think what annoys people about her is that she's just really thin and they get annoyed with her line. I agree with you. I have to say though her legs are really thinner than her upper body. I can't pin-point it... but I think that's why people have problems with her "too-high extensions"... But I think she's just perfect
JLynnxG 4 years ago
i loved it! she was so good! personally, i just prefer gamzatti's varations overall, but this was amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! her extension, technique, control, upper body, and facial expressions were all unbelievable!
dlanda9241 4 years ago
she skims the floor so gracefully :-D
GWWII 4 years ago
what are you talking about!!!! she is not OLD she is only 28 years old.!!!!!! she is amazing and I love here
adeballet 4 years ago
She's not even 28!
LizaBate 4 years ago
superbe cette danseuse est vraiment exceptionnelle!!
dancer8475 4 years ago
I think you are jealous because you don´t have her technique, you put a lot of effort in saying she is a "bad dancer" when really she is the principal dancer of the bolshoi, she is an artist and if you don´t like her dancing , well just don´t see her .
kitri 4 years ago
seriously you need to put some serious thought into whats good and whats not...ive seen what you like and it seems you like people with no expression low extension...boring altogether and horrible technique....she has great taste...and if having a high extension is "Bad Taste than you are a fucking idiot plain and simple...id like you to tell me who could do anything any better than she can...
heyyouarestupid 5 years ago
What does the cello line suggest to you? The grief here is more internalized, and the dancing should be more understated. Nikiya is a social inferior to her rival and cannot throw howling laments in full public view--she is also afraid. If you watch Isabelle Guerin in the Paris Opera Ballet version, she dances with quiet pathos without resorting to high extensions
genzano 5 years ago
This piece is "Character" - oriental or more accurately Indian. However it is foolish to resort to an Indian-like dance and posture, one should stay loyal to this art-form and language seeking the mood and spirit of orientalism; else it becomes tangent and non-believable.
michaelfraydon 5 years ago 2
michaelfraydon, this is not charater, this is demi-character. What is taught in all ballet schools is that the ballet technique is most of the time from the waist down and charater from the waist up. She resorts to Indian dance, as much as Swan Lake resorts to wings and Don Q. to Spanish dance. Also, she was born with high extensions, she can't help it. And it's unthinkable in ballet schools to tell people to lower their legs.
adballet 4 years ago
I wouldn't dream of telling a dancer to lower her extension - I would expect her to have a sense of balance and propriety to compose her extensions not merely as such rather as language or a kind of accentuation. This is a way of adding color and shading the dance so it becomes varied and multi faceted
allstarIII 4 years ago
But extensions don't end at the limbs. The reason Svetlana's extensions are so good is that it "extends" through her body. Her body becomes one big extension, and not just a multitude of petruding limbs (although, her wrists could be straighter).
lloydjenko 4 years ago 2
Swan Lake does not resort to wings; it attempts to emulate a movement reminiscent of a bird in flight -- arms will never look like feathered wings. And Don Quichotte does not resort to Spanish dance rather a Spanish mood and charisma.
allstarIII 4 years ago
this dance isnt spanish...
what are you talking about?
yanpan16 4 years ago
allstarIII was referring to Don Quixote when talking about the spanish. xD
yonjooheero 4 years ago
Swan Lake, Don Q, La Bayadere are demi charactere ballets. The classical technique is used from the waist down. In Swan Lake except the pas de trois and the prince, practically all characters use character arms (not the classical arms). In Don Q, differently from what you think, the arms are Spanish (except in the Dream Scene). In La Bayadere is the same, her character is a demi charactere character except in the shades.
adballet 4 years ago
You must be a ""ballerina""..LOL!!! Well my advice to you is NOT to attempt this kind of performance for the following reasons: a. you will never (!) In a million years have her technical skills. b. You probably have the same BAD TASTE and c. BAD TECHNIQUE and BAD TASTE = THE WORST KIND OF EXPERIENCE! LOL!!!
michaelfraydon 5 years ago
i am soo tired of seeing your comments everywhere....you are soo full of shit...and you know that you could never do even one quarter of what she does....its always something either not enough or to much....god everyone is an idiot these days
heyyouarestupid 5 years ago
You must be a ""ballerina""..LOL!!! Well my advice to you is NOT to attempt this kind of performance for the following reasons: a. you will never (!) In a million years have her technical skills. b. You probably have the same BAD TASTE and c. BAD TECHNIQUE and BAD TASTE = THE WORST KIND OF EXPERIENCE! LOL!!!
michaelfraydon 5 years ago
well she used to be so pretty but we guess old age overtakes us all
we wish her a happy future with her millionaire "" businessman"" boyfriend
tovictorianna 4 years ago
I see the same exact post in almost every Svetlana Zakharova clip.
what the hell does that even mean?
fionasputnik 4 years ago
such bad taste!!!
michaelfraydon 5 years ago
Bad taste? May I ask why?
swanlakegirl 5 years ago
EXAGERATION is key word for defining Ms. Zakahrova's taste. There is no coherency in her work. She wants it ALL! And ALL at once. Exaggerated extensions, Exaggerated arm movements, Exaggerated posture; and to top it all think she can pull it off! She is more concerned with showing off than with showing herself as the person she is portraying. She could be a great deal better if she were an ARTIST, or at least aspired to be one, rather than a brilliant technician with extraordinary skills.
michaelfraydon 5 years ago
I think that's a bit of a harsh comment. She's one of hthe principal dancers in one the best companies in the world. Surely they know who to put in such a high role and position.
swanlakegirl 5 years ago
I think you should rely less on what other people (say the Bolshoi executives..) consider "good" and trust yourself to make up you're own INFORMED mind as to what you consider as good or bad taste, performance, etc,.There really is no question of her technical prowess - this is certainly worthy of the highest praise. However, there is little doubt as to her intelligence - she is completely deficient of it, making it very hard to find her performance more than a circus-like display of bravura.
michaelfraydon 5 years ago
I see the problem, but I wouldn't fault her artistic judgment only, considering all the Kirov ballerinas with hyperextensions and anemic dancing. Schooling, pressures from management and rivalry could have pushed her in the wrong way. Her style is representative of Kirov, but I suppose she is more distinctive at Bolshoi. Dumb or not, she strikes me as calculating. She wouldn't let go of a perfect penche for the sake of interpretation, as though the latter would distort technical perfection.
genzano 5 years ago
But she is - after all - an artist; therefore her work must be assessed free of outside or non-imminent of her work considerations. Also she is Free-lance, so she needs to make choices - which she has! Last: A high ranking official at Mariinsky was quoted saying many years ago that the Russian idea of the ideal danseuse today is Mlle. Sylvie Guillem; leaving out the very critical factor that she is French!
michaelfraydon 5 years ago