Two for Tomorrow

In Russian, bolshoi means big. As applied to the Bolshoi Ballet, it means grandiose. Finishing up its final run in Manhattan before pushing off on a two-month cross-country junket, the Bolshoi last week clearly demonstrated that it possesses more depth and breadth in dancing talent than any other major ballet company. The latest evidence of this was the appearance of a pair of 24-year-old newcomers who seem surely destined to become the new superstars of ballet.

Yuri Vladimirov, with his unruly shock of hair and the untamed passion of his dancing, is reminiscent of Rudolf Nureyev. In The Flames of Paris last week, he burst across the stage with a round of incredibly high, twisting jumps, whirled whippet-quick through half a dozen spinning leaps in which his body seemed almost parallel to the stage, then snapped into a one-knee landing that left the audience gasping. Though the lyrical side of his artistry is still maturing, the solid, long-limbed Vladimirov exhibits an aerial freedom and heroic virility that few male dancers can match; in Moscow, he has a considerable following among women, who see him as a kind of Marlon Brando in tights.

Natalia Bessmertnova, a slight, dark, fawnlike creature, is a dancer of a wholly different mold. In the title role of Giselle last week, she was all gossamer and grace, a supremely lyrical figure with feathery leaps and arms like ribbons floating in the breeze. Her total involvement, wonderfully reflected in an oval face graced with large, waiflike eyes, lent a touching poignancy to the old story of young love gone astray.

Lest all the adulation turn their heads, Bolshoi Choreographer Yuri Grigorovich is carefully guarding the careers of his two prize youngsters. Says he: "Yuri and Natalia are still developing, still rounding off the angles. At this stage, it is difficult to see them clearly, but one thing is certain: there is no ceiling in sight."

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