I just don’t know whose idea it was that decided to leak it to everyone that NYCB had offered him the position, when it hadn’t been set in stone. Now it just seems that Ratmansky snubbed NYCB in favor of ABT.

Hm, SF Ballet is bringing Ratmansky’s Russian Seasons next year – should I be holding my breath??

I couldn’t agree more. It’s really bothersome to me too that Johnson seems to be suggesting that communist themes shouldn’t be revisited and explored. It IS a part of Russian history, like the Imperial period. Maybe it’s a generational thing? Johnson is of the Cold War generation (I’ve met him before; I’m not making an assumption), whereas I’m Gen X — those for whom the fall of the Berlin wall and the Iron Curtain were a defining moment that gave us a certain world view — ie: Russia is not a scary foe and communism something to be feared and guarded against. I just know my parents think much differently than I do… I don’t know, the whole article was oddly slanted, although I do really want to see more of Ratmansky’s work now, whereas I hadn’t been as interested before reading Johnson.

And thanks for linking to the Rockwell. I didn’t know that about the interview — it IS a drama!

When it comes to his criticism of Ratmansky’s choreography, I do agree that there seems to be this kind of undercurrent of anxiety about communism. In addition to your point that an artist ought to be able to criticize imperial Russia–and goodness is there a lot to criticize about it; that rebellion didn’t happen in a vacuum after all–without necessarily praising communism. What I find particularly bothersome though, is that in Johnson’s assessment of not only Concerto DSCH but also of the works Ratmansky created for the Bolshoi he seems to be suggesting that communist themes or relics ought not be revisited. But that’s a huge part of Russian history and it seems to me quite logical that Ratmansky would have worked on these ballets. That’s not to say that we, as viewers, shouldn’t be alert to the political implications of art, but I still find it natural that a Russian choreographer would produce work that related to communism in one way or another.

Also, it seems to me that Johnson assumes that the work Ratmansky does for American ballet theater will necessarily take the same tone as what he did for the Bolshoi–which is affiliated with the state is it not?–in a country where a certain nostalgia for Soviet supremacy certainly exists. I might just be reading far too much into this though.

Incidenally, John Rockwell also posted about Ratmansky on his blog, noting that the Times was only allowed to interview him in the presence of Kevin McKenzie and Rachel Moore. Such drama.

Sorry to leave such a long comment…I really need to learn to be more concise! I’m so glad you posted about this though, because I think the whole thing is really quite fascinating.