#wagman

[melmothblog]

Shale Wagman and the Other Side of the Coin

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A few months back, Shale Wagman made history when he became the youngest danseur (19) to be invited to dance a principal role at the Mariinsky. The role was of James, and the ballet was “La Sylphide”. Shale’s performance appeared effortless and was a resounding success. 

Now read this:

Dear friends, As you may have noticed, I haven’t been on here for a while.I’ve received many questions about where I am and what I’m doing.I want you to know the images you see do not always represent the full story.Although my dream to dance at the Mariinsky was realized , I was dealing with something unimaginable for me at the time. For us dancers this is the part we don’t want you to see or know about .I want my performances to look effortless and for the audience to see the beauty in what I’m giving. While in London, prior to leaving for St Petersburg,I was trying to manage leg pain through strengthening exercises. The pain was getting worse but my only focus was to prepare for this role. While in Russia, one week before the performance I was walking to rehearsals and experienced excruciating foot pain but this was the day Mr.Fateyev (Mariinsky Ballet director) ,came in to coach me.I would find myself in these situations time after time as the moments spent in that theatre were precious. Therefore,I chose to ignore the pain.The days passed by,the foot was progressively getting worse and the performance was soon approaching.I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity nor did I know the severity of how bad it actually was. Everything went into that performance, my heart, my soul and pure adrenaline.It wasn’t until I returned home to Canada that I had found out I was in fact dancing on a stress fracture. I have since been recovering at home with my family as I reflect on my first year as a professional with gratitude.I have found a wonderful dance rehab team in Arizona where I will stay for the upcoming weeks.With that being said,I don’t want to show a reality that isn’t true to where I am in my life at this moment.It was very disappointing to receive the news after the MRI and social media wasn’t the best place for me to be.I took some private time to reflect and enjoy my life at the present moment.Dance is everything to me and to be stripped away of it suddenly ,really teaches you about who you are. Announcing this to all of you felt important to me as you are all a part of my journey and I am humbled by the love and support. Lots of love, Shale 

- from Shale’s instagram

[melmothblog]

Hi Melmoth, I know this is a bit off the usual topic in your blog, but today was the debut of Shale Wagman (18 or 19 yrs old, last year's Prix de Lausanne winner) as James in La Sylphide with Olesya Novikova at the Mariinsky. From what I've read, it seems to be unprecedented to have an artist ranked at the corps de ballet level (I think) from another company playing a principal role at the Mariinsky. Any info on how he was received?

I am as fascinated by Shale Wagman as everyone else is. I’ve been keeping an eye on him since Prix de Lausanne. I think he is absolutely extraordinary and I hope he will have a spectacular career.

I haven’t scoured the internet for reviews, but the few impressions (from the people who witnessed the performance live) I have read are very positive. I am very excited for Shale.

d i s c l a i m e r

[jgreendc]

In regards to your comment on Diana Wagman's piece, at what point do you think it's acceptable to judge someone based on their political beliefs? Do they have to be a Nazi? The people Wagman is talking about are hardly the types to pursue reasoned discourse, and I feel like hers is a just reaction to extremism on the American Right.

Ah, this is a question that I was thinking of writing upon last night. Thank you for reminding me. For those of you who've yet to read my quick commentary on a L.A. Times editorial by Wagman, you can read it here.

Trying to find a point of no return isn't likely to be terribly helpful, and pretending that we've ever had a "friendly" discourse in our nation's politics is, well, naive. I'd recommend following Zach Vaughn for more on political history. Needless to say, elections have always been nasty.

My point isn't to advocate against judging, but rather to suggest that people are more than their political beliefs. If I unfriended every liberal friend of mine on Facebook or stopped debating Marxists in class, I'd be able to basically cease thinking. That's not what I'd want. Preaching to the choir is fun and all, but isn't it just a waste of time?

Our country can't just operate with 50% +1 of the vote. Getting anything done effectively requires 60 votes in the Senate, which is impossible when political opponents insulate themselves from opposing discourse.

Don't like the Tea Party or Newt Gingrich types? Go argue with them. Use facts and reason (even if they don't) until you're blue in the face. We're all, like it or not, in the same tribe at this point.