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Kate B

Senior Member
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About Kate B

  • Birthday 05/10/1977

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  • Connection to/interest in ballet** (Please describe. Examples: fan, teacher, dancer, writer, avid balletgoer)
    recreational student/ballet-goer
  • City**
    London
  1. Thanks, I will look into that too. You might be interested at reading my response to Forsythe's 'Three Atmospheric Studies', which I posted on the Winger this weekend. (www.thewinger.com)
  2. Hi Paul et al. Thanks for your take on it. It was familiar. I've been noticing that my experience of going to see dance has been changing - from being awestruck, to being technically critical (as I got better at my own dancing), to thinking hard about what it's saying as Art. The Art thing is the hardest, because I don't think many of us are educated to think in such a critical way, so we have to educate ourselves. I will check out the book you mention. Sounds right up my street.
  3. Hi whitelight, glad you found my post interesting. I hope you get another chance to see this. It was quite unique.
  4. Last night I went to see Merce Cunningham's 'Ocean' at the newly revamped Roundhouse in Camden. It was the opening night of the Dance Umbrella contemporary dance festival in London. Ocean is performed on a round stage. Arriving at the Roundhouse felt like going to the circus. The audience sat all the way around the stage, and the 150-piece conductorless orchestra sat behind the audience all around the amphitheatre. It was very odd. The music was by John Cage and David Tudor. Tudor had made loops of electronic music with sounds from the ocean to complement Cage's score. Foghorns and whale music featured heavily. There were digital clocks around the stage, and the dance lasted exactly 90 minutes. I was amazed by the dancing. Fourteen dancers performed throughout, sometimes solo, sometimes in small groups and sometimes all together. Cunningham expects so much strength from his dancers. Often they would stay still in an arabeque on bent legs, or perform endless ronde de jambes en l'air. I could not imagine being able to remain so controlled throughout these difficult phrases. There were moments of pure beauty, which was enhanced by the foghorns and the oceanic lighting, which to me suggested a journey to the bottom of the sea. However, it was a very long piece, especially as there was no interval, and I would estimate that about 15% of the audience walked out before it was over. John Cage is not for everyone (not for me either) and I could hear the orchestra giggling! I am glad I saw this, because it is quite a unique production, and it was very interesting to see Cunningham technique in such detail. However, I do not think I would go and see it again! Half the time I thought it was strangely wonderful that they were actually doing it, and the rest of the time I thought it was pretentious modernist rubbish! I've found the other thread in this forum on what's to get about Cunningham and I really appreciated the idea that the choreography and the music don't have to coincide - they just happen. Did anyone else go and see this, or have they seen it somewhere else? What did they think?
  5. I'm a cat person, for sure. I've had 2 cats in my lifetime - a tough ole boy black cat who died recently aged nearly 20, and my current rescue cat who's a tiny tabby. She's 10 years old but she looks like a kitten and she always has a cold. This is a small sample size, but I'm willing to bet that most of us prefer cats to dogs... There are lots of nice cats in ballets (I can't think of any apart from Puss in Boots, but go with me please!) but I can't think of any graceful dogs.
  6. Kate B

    Natalia Osipova

    Actually, I've just done a bit of searching and there's quite a nice gallery here of Thursday's performance.
  7. Kate B

    Natalia Osipova

    I saw her on Thursday in Don Quixote. I loved her. A lot of what's been said on this thread is very true. I was sitting way back up in the amphitheatre, but she drew me in and I couldn't take my eyes off her when she was on stage. She just seemed to be having such a good time. So light, so young, so confident I forgot she was a ballet dancer - she was Kitri. It was the first time I'd seen Don Q and now I don't know how I can see it again and for it to be as enjoyable. Technically she was brilliant, particularly on jumps. I longed for her to do more jumps! So light and flexible. She did some astonishing turns too, and it looked like she could turn forever. When the performance was over I wanted her to do it all over again. It's quite a while since I felt that way after a ballet - perhaps the last time was when I saw Darcey Bussell in Pavane with Jonathon Cope about eighteen months ago, but Bussell was brilliant for different reasons - a dancer at the height of her powers, while Osipova has it all yet ahead of her.
  8. I have blogged it on thewinger.com - and about Monday's mixed programme, which I hated.
  9. Did anyone see Don Quixote last night? Natalia Osipova was phenomenal, as was Denis Matvienko. Ballet stars of the future I hope. I wanted to see them do it all over again.
  10. I went to see it on Saturday and I thought the production was wonderful. I thought the costumes were just right - over the top enough to be fairytale but not too far into camp territory. It was unsentimental, particularly with the excellent casting of Carabosse and the Lilac Fairy. My friend and i were in raptures over Act 2 and I thought the divertissements were just right. I even warmed to Marianela Nunez. If you have the chance to see it, you must go!
  11. I'm going on the 3rd of June. I will tell you what I think. I'm really looking forward to it.
  12. Yes.... And Alina's foot size, length-wise, is also quite large for such a small dancer. I should have been clearer.... it's not just the width being large that can greatly excel a dancer with technique. It's a shame. Her shoes/feet can be quite distracting, and she is such a gorgeous dancer.
  13. Those photos are FAB. Lots of lovely memories of the Kirov last summer. I can't wait for the Bolshoi to come to London now.
  14. That's so rude! No audience should behave like that, even if the performer is not very good, which I imagine was not the case in the situation described above.
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