The Washington Post writes that “The works are a welcome break from the typical Mariinsky sojourn. (…) Here, we saw more leading dancers and more range of individual expression” “in a program dubbed Russian Seasons to honor Serge Diaghilev.” Ballet critic Sarah Kaufman was certain that “Fokine never dreamed of the spaghetti bodies dancing his works in the Mariinsky Ballet today.” In Schéhérazade, for example, Ulyana Lopatkina “ripples in places you never thought a body could bend.” In Kaufman’s opinion, Xenia Ostreikovskaya gave a fine performance in Chopiniana, demonstrating “suppleness and breath in her dancing, and great delicacy,” as well as “a sense of the body harmonizing with the Chopin, and with its candlelight mood”.
In the Ionarts blog covering cultural events in Washington, critic Charles Downey gave a detailed review of each of the ballets in Fokine’s trilogy. He commented that in Chopiniana “the Mariinsky corps was up to its fine standards” and that “as the poet, Igor Kolb lived up to his name (…) graceful and so strong in the many lifts, executed with precision and unflagging confidence.” Downey stated that Yekaterina Kondaurova “was charming as the Firebird, all avian jerks and twitches of head and arms, spot lit in her prismatic, feathered costume (…) by an orange-red bloom of light”, also singling out Alexander Romanchikov, “forthright and handsome as the Tsarevich.” Regarding Schéhérazade, the critic expressed his delight at the performance by “star pair” Ulyana Lopatkina as Zobeide and Danila Korsuntsev as her slave, giving “the choreography all of the erotic longing and fulfillment it needed”.
The Mariinsky Ballet Company was on tour at the Kennedy Center Opera House from 17 to 22 January.
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