Word: misha
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Otherwise, Spartakiad was Olympiad without the crowds. The scale of the competition equals that of the Olympics, though several important 1980 facilities are not yet in operation. The official Olympic symbol, a cute bear cub named Misha, made its debut. With only a handful of Western tourists in Moscow last week, the city's life-support systems were not severely tested. But Soviet patience was, largely by Western journalists complaining about stalled visas, confusing event schedules and scoreboards that used the Cyrillic alphabet. Fed up, a Soviet official denied that Spartakiad was a "dress rehearsal" for the Olympics, just...
What worries A.B.T. dancers is not that Misha will experiment, but that he will be too tough. They may have a point. Baryshnikov feels that "in a way I will be onstage every night. If a ballerina does not do 32 fouettes, then I will feel that I have failed too. In fact, if you put on a ballet that calls for 32 fouettes, you should have a ballerina who can do 46." He is aware of the dancers' worries, however: "I must learn a language to speak to them. If they trust my standards, my judgments...
Most of the troupe want peppier times. Says Soloist Victor Barbee: "Misha has proved that if he wants something he can get it. In maintaining the difficult line between the business and artistic sides of A.B.T., Misha won't give up quickly...
Adds Soloist Cynthia Harvey, "Misha has a low tolerance for boredom. That will be good for those who can keep...
...most knowledgeable supporters is Nora Kaye, a former A.B.T. star and now a board member. "This is a natural step, but not an easy one," she says. "A.B.T. has never had a real artistic policy. Misha is intelligent, and I hope he will find young choreographers and nurture them. He will be good for the dancers, because he is not jealous in any way-and that is rare. But at first there will be trouble. He will have to sweep out the people he can't use. I think he should be courageous...