REVIEWS

Christopher Wheeldon about Olga Pavlova

"Olga has a delicacy that is matched by great strength and a voracious appetite for devouring space. This makes her so appealing that, at once, she can seem fragile yet explode into luxurious movement. This, for me, created an extraordinary range in her work. Her abilities to resonate emotionally onstage are extraordinary in that it comes purely through her movement qualities. There is no air biting or face pulling. She acts out every movement through her body even in abstract work. Her luxurious attack and fearlessness set her apart from other great dancers of her generation. Those Bolshoi trained dancers throw themselves into their movement. There is little that is polite, yet it is never vulgar."

The Third Pavlova

By Karen McDonough (February 3, 2011)

First came Anna Pavlova, the iconic ballerina of the early 20th century. Then there was Nadezhda Pavlova, the popular Bolshoi dancer of the 1970s and 80s.
Now there is Olga Pavlova, a fresh-faced chameleon from Moscow with exacting technique and versatility all her own. Choreographer Christopher Wheeldon calls her dynamic. Dance Magazine calls her "the new Pavlova." Audiences in Russia, Europe and Asia, where she spent much of her career, have followed Pavlova's ascent that eventually brought her to the United States.

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by Julie Gervais (August 29, 2011)

Ms. Pavlova is a mensch. She’s a prima ballerina as well as a master teacher, and could easily direct everyone on the stage. (Full disclosure: I’ve watched her work in the studio and in rehearsals.) She first appeared on Saturday as Schéhérazade, dripping with a knowing sensuality. The intensity of her focus is gripping. Even someone who doesn’t know about ‘One Thousand and One Nights’ will be in no doubt about what this woman means to accomplish. Her next appearance, that of the already-deceased Giselle in that ballet’s Act II, is so solemnly sad and yet full of steely will and determination to save her love, Count Albrecht (Ludovico Pace) from a terrible fate, proving you can have strength of spirit even when you’re just a spirit. To conjure these characters out of thin air requires that every gesture, every step, and every glance be true, and Ms. Pavlova’s are.

Boiled-down 'Bayadère' sustains the drama
DANCE REVIEW: Pavlova a standout in Metropolitan's show

The turbulence was not far behind as Nikiya (Olga Pavlova) learned of her lover's treachery and was given a basket with a hidden snake in it. She was a marvel of expression and will, leaping like the wind was at her back and with her feet touching the ground without a sound. Her undulating arms and arching back conveyed a wealth of emotions, from surrender, to joy, to trust.

Bolshoi, Broadway are able dance partners

Olga Pavlova danced voluptuously in her role as the title character Nikiya. In her death dance, Pavlova displayed gorgeous extensions.

Shall We Dance?
MCB dances an original down the aisle, while Broadway at the Bass delivers a royal rumble.

Anfinogenov got to actually shine in the evening’s opening work, George Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco. His wife, Olga Pavlova, was his partner for the extraordinary adagio of the slow orchestral movement, and the two proved once again that they’re pure magic together. The stunning Pavlova is one of the wonders of the dance world, a dancer/actress of remarkable range. She’s equally at home in the role of the icy siren in Balanchine’s Prodigal Son and as the vulnerable Edith Piaf in Eddy Toussaint’s ballet of the same name. Anything her feet touch turns to gold.

Dance: New comic ballet flirts with old-fashioned antics

The evening's high point was the central pas de deux of Concerto Barocco, danced with weightless fluidity by Ms. Pavlova and Mr. Anfinogenov.

Dance review: Metropolitan Classical Ballet offers local works in Bass Hall performance

Olga Pavlova cast a spell throughout, blessed with expressive arms and elegant legs and movement of such clarity that every step looked effortless. In Cross Winds, Ms. Pavlova shone again, this time as the figure in white who entices three men and eventually even lures the mesmerized pianist off his stool.

Belle of the ballet

But principal ballerina Olga Pavlova was clearly the night's star. She has the qualities that make one a ballet luminary, from those pierce-of-death eyes to ultraexpressive arms to a leg extension that would have made Cyd Charisse envious. All excellent qualities for Balanchine's angular shapes and exact moves.

Creationism

Pavlova was at her best as the young lover in their rapturous final duet. As a mature, compelling artist, she has no equal in this part of the world.

Power Serge

Olga Pavlova played the sultry, unfeeling creature here — a marvel of deviousness preying on hervictim with total detachment. She reminded me of the late Margot Fonteyn, with her ability to melt into the character and become one with it. Pavlova showed her technical virtuosity in Paquita, a tried-and-true 19th-century Russian showpiece of the kind Diaghilev sought to replace. She tossed off the bravura challenges with easy authority. During the first few turns of the obligatory 32 fouettes, she even daintily held the edge of her tutu between right thumb and forefinger. (As the going got tougher, however, she dropped the fabric to extend her arm and maintain balance the traditional way. Pavlova were the only ballerinas who managed to dance quietly all evening.

66th 'Nutcracker' shows the beauty of classical ballet

What can be said about Olga Pavlova and Evgeny Anfenogenov, principals and soloists, except one word: sublime. Both as Snow Queen and King or Sugarplum Fairy and Cavalier, they epitomized the level of dance excellence most hardworking teachers aspire to inculcate in their young leotard-clad charges week after week.

A bow toward Balanchine
DANCE: Metropolitan Classical Ballet devotes program to legendary choreographer

And cool was the word for Ms. Pavlova, whom this work fit to a T. She stands beneath a golden light in a black-velvet leotard and dark tights. For a long while, all she does is stretch out her arms, wrap them around her waist as though they were entangled, and lean back and forth. Almost hidden from view is a man (Yevgeni Anfinogenov) crouched behind her legs. Suddenly, he falls to the side.
When he stands, his job is to show in how many angles he can manipulate her long limbs, with the detachment of a watchmaker. The end is a stunner: He lifts her coiled body up toward the descending golden light – a talisman, a sacrifice, a work of art.

Modern classics

Webern Pieces, set to music by Anton Webern and created when Mejia was co-artistic director of the Chicago City Ballet with Maria Tallchief, seems inspired by jazzy-sexy '60s cabaret dancing (think Funny Face's Audrey Hepburn in the Gap).
It begins with the black-clad Olga Pavlova under a strong, golden light doing wiry arm work, with Yevgeni Anfinogenov crouched behind her, watching. They soon lock for a breathtaking pas de deux filled with dramatic pauses, remarkably angular positions and striking arm work that was probably influenced by Balanchine. It ends with a stunning lift.
The key here is that even in their breaks, there's an air of sexual energy, even though they don't always connect. Both dancers conveyed this beautifully, and appropriately didn't anticipate the dissonant music (played by pianist Liebermann, violinist Eric Grossman and cellist Eugene Osadchy) and its improvisational feel.

Arlington ballet's Nutcracker

The Fairy Doll (Olga Pavlova) and the Nutcracker Prince (guest artist Gennadi Saveliev) are a wonderful pair: she delicate, expansive and
serene, he bold and smooth. They both dance with a soft, spun-sugarlike grace. To the tinkling sounds of the celeste, she gives every little
beat of the foot, every luxurious turn, an unhurried clarity, while he has the daring backward turns and wonderful buoyancy.

Bolshoi at the Bass
Troupe invokes Russian masters

Metropolitan Classical Ballet's mission: preserving and presenting Mejia's choreography, which is a direct, unique and important offshoot of the Balanchine tradition. Vetrov and Pavlova returned to the stage for this single-movement pas de deux, with its entrancingly fluid physicality.

Ballet a journey through emotions
Metropolitan Classical's pieces express joys and pains of romance.

Although George Balanchine's Who Cares? Ms. Pavlova and Mr. Vetrov in the glorious "The Man I Love," not much else offered the perilous, go-for-broke swivels, slides and jazzy freedom that Who Cares? cries out for.