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Nyala

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  • Connection to/interest in ballet** (Please describe. Examples: fan, teacher, dancer, writer, avid balletgoer)
    American ballet companies
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    Utopia, NY, USA
  1. Well now I'd probably have to retort that such defensiveness can be construed as a sign of provincialism as well. I don't think that I or anyone else who has posted to this thread has suggested that PNB dancers are not as talented as "big city" dancers or capable of giving star performances. Why not try out the "big picture" view, as suggested by drb? Perhaps the selective use of guest artists is but one manifestation of a long range plan for audience development that eventually will lead to longer Seattle seasons with more opportunities for PNB dancers. In the meantime, I feel sure that those who choose to attend those performances will enjoy Weese in 'Ancient Airs & Dances.' She has performed frequently in this ballet, which benefits immensely from her high energy, gracious and generous performing style. And Thomas is likely to do well in 'Red Angels,' another piece that needs to be carefully cast. I apologize if this commentary is tiresome. I certainly did not intend to go on for this length and I did not really feel that the comment I quoted deserved a reply. However, I am tired of free discussion being stifled by the "definitive" pronouncements of a few. Perhaps that is part of the reason why the PNB forum generates comparatively less discussion than some of the other company forums.
  2. Why get so worked up about it in the first place? Peter Boal is hardly using some out of shape or aging, has-been "names" to beef up the box office. Frankly, I think the Seattle audience will be thrilled to see these two accomplished artists, both of whom are very much in their prime and have so much to offer (especially for pieces that really could use the services of a star performer). Moreover, it seems hypocritical (not to mention parochial, but there I did) to regard the guest appearances of PNB dancers with NYCB or other companies as conferring honor to PNB and then see something invidious in bringing in distinguished, outside dancers occasionally to Seattle as guests.
  3. This may change with a new administration, but PNB has, in the past, been rather slow at making these announcements, if they're made at all. The first indication may be the printed program on opening night or the first sight of Korbes on the PNB website. (Which still lists Jonathan Porretta as a soloist, even though he was promoted to Principal this season.) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> The article mentions that Peter Boal suggested that she might want to defer coming out to Seattle for a year in order to see how she might enjoy life as a soloist. In my reading, that suggests that she most likely will have to join her new company as a corps member. Of course, he may just have been referring to the experience of being an NYCB soloist, but, then again, this is all pure speculation. Undoubtedly she will have an opportunity to dance featured roles at PNB no matter her official rank.
  4. Does anyone else find it distasteful that they are turning these farewell tributes into just another cheap marketing ploy? Why couldn't they have done some sort of special, added Sunday evening performance (maybe even turn it into a benefit). It makes no sense as a revenue-enhancer either, since the Sunday matinee performances are usually well-attended to begin with.
  5. I think it is a very fitting (but very sad) choice for Peter Boal's exit. Having observed his entire career, that was probably the piece in which he really became a great dancer. His performance, along with that of Wendy Whelan, really made that ballet come alive for me; previous casts had just made me see an empty prettiness.
  6. I found Sylve's performance in "After the Rain" on Tuesday night to have been the least objectionable one that I have seen so far this season. She looked more comfortable in the choreography and brought a mechanistic quality to the part that somehow worked. Actually, it was instructive to see her performing the same steps side by side with Maria Kowroski (a former audience fave, who seems, to me, to have become almost a forgotten woman at this point, in spite of showing real signs of development this season). While Kowroski cannot get her leg up as high, straight, or quickly as Sylve, she injected a sense of humanity into her performance that made an intriguing counterpoint. I've not seen Sylve in Balanchine's "Kammermusik #2" (has she done that piece?), but I have a feeling that she probably would be effective. That ballet remains a touchstone for Martins and I think that Sylve represents one "type" of ballerina to which he can strongly relate, hence the enthusiasm. Did anyone read the interview with Sylve in Time Out NY a couple of weeks ago? She did not come across as being particularly gracious or generous, which are qualities that are absent from her dancing as well (but essential, to my mind, to the NYCB style). Perhaps something gets lost in the translation.
  7. Someone should write an article on the declining standards of dance criticism at the New Yorker; how no one has anything new to offer. They can just rework Croce in a diminished form. That was such a jaded, cynical pro forma piece. Some of what Acocella has to say about Martins' bad choices in programming, choreographers, and in setting a poor example of discipline are quite on target, but she chooses not to pursue any of those arguments. Instead she has to launch a tired attack on carefully selected "bad" dancers. I've read it all before. It's not interesting anymore.
  8. Thank you for your detailed review, Helene. I braved the crowds on the early morning train to Portland (where I spotted Kent Stowell and Francia Russell on the long check-in line--coach, not even business class!) to take in the matinee yesterday afternoon. I found myself agreeing with much of what you had to say. In general, I don't think that OTB has yet found the dancers to live up to the ambitiousness of its programming, but here's hoping that the exposure to challenging choreography and good coaching helps them to grow. At present I feel that Gavin Larsen is the most accomplished artist in the company. I was also sad to see such poor attendance. I wasn't anticipating any difficulty in getting a ticket to the performance, but I rarely have seen a theatre so empty. And it wasn't exactly a gorgeous day outside either. The discount offer suggests that attendance hasn't been all that great. Have Portlanders been supporting the company this season?
  9. Search committee or not. I wouldn't be surprised if it was Barker along with someone who was more experienced in management.
  10. I humbly disagree. I think that it was the opening night cast of Agon who seemed to stumble the most under the burden of trying to carry the "present at the creation" banner of "authenticity" in Balanchine interpretation. The tension was obvious throughout (and not in a good way) and I think that the pas de deux in particular was flat and ineffective. Gibson was good in the first pas de trois, but NOT at all in the category of Boal. I thought that Divertimento No. 15, however, came off fine. The entire ensemble worked well together and Pantastico was brilliant. Brahms-Schoenberg was also generally good, though I felt the costumes were atrocious and distracting (particularly first and third movements). I have never seen tall dancers used in the third movement before, but Barker managed to pull it off. Milov, however, did not register at all in what is often a "surefire" part. Herd needs to work a bit more on projecting a character in the Rondo. I also attended today's matinee, which I thought was even better. The "tall" cast of Divertimento had a slight edge over the opening night cast. Agon looked more alive. Wevers showed great sensitivity in his partnering of Nadeau in Agon and got Pantastico through an impressive debut (?) in the B-S Intermezzo. Mara Vinson danced with a commanding sense of freedom in the first movement. Even Bold seemed to show a great deal of improvement; he was far more fluid in his upper body than I ever recall seeing.
  11. I went down to Portland for the opening night performance, grateful for an opportunity to see the "real" Nutcracker once again. I enjoyed it a lot and felt that overall OBT did a good job. I have seen the NYCB production many times, and I agree that the sets and curtain used here were rather undistinguished. The second act took place in more of a forest setting, rather than in the Land of the Sweets. My friend wondered whether or not this was a PC touch--a subliminal PSA: kids, don't eat too much candy! We also both thought that the star that appears in the final scene was a little too cruciform, sending an overtly Christian message that seems absent from the NYCB version (although, frankly I never saw that star in all those years of sitting up in the fourth ring; it came as a bit of a surprise to see it the first time I saw a performance from the orchestra). I wasn't that crazy about the costumes either, especially the muted palette of the second act. I'm glad that I got to see one of the performances at which the orchestra played. I hadn't realized that there wouldn't be live music at all the performances. That is a real shame. I had attended OBT's October program and I felt that the taped music marred the performance of Rubies. I thought the orchestra sounded decent, though the tempi seemed a bit fast. I liked Gavin Larsen. Her entrance as Sugar Plum was particularly lovely, though the variation seemed to lose momentum as it progressed. I thought Artur Sultanov had a nice manner, although he was technically a bit wobbly. I don't care for Yuka Iino. I had found her performance in Rubies to be very mechanical. She seemed to show a little more sensitivity to the music as Dewdrop, but it was just sort of a blah, reasonably competent performance. The moment where Dewdrop shoots down that diagonal, for example, had no real impact. I couldn't really make out any individuals in the corps, but there were several Snowflakes who danced very well. I also liked Larke Hasstedt as one of the lead Flowers. I agree that the technical aspects proceeded without a hitch, but I think that because some elements of the set appeared to be scaled down, the impact of some of the great moments of the production was definitely muted. The tree, for example, was definitely disappointing. I kept expecting it to get bigger, but it just didn't. I also think that the moving bed did not come off as well as it should have either. I think that the vast expanse of the Keller Auditorium (which is very wide, much like the pre-McCaw Hall Opera House in Seattle) may have contributed to squashing the stage picture. I also was disappointed that they brought Marie and the Prince on and off in a Sleeping Beauty type of boat. The lack of the flying sleigh in the closing scene made the ending less magical.
  12. This is coming a little late in the day I know, but I had the chance to catch three different casts: opening night (Barker/Milov); 9/27 matinee (Noelani Pantastico's debut as Odette/Odile; and 10/3 (Nadeau/Maraval). It was fascinating to see the different casts and the contrasts each offered. Barker, while giving an incredibly strong performance in the supercharged atmosphere of opening night, was perhaps the least interesting in the role. She is so beyond the traditional conception of Odette/Odile that the part doesn't seem to offer her many challenges. Pantastico was a fatalistic Odette who never dared to allow herself to believe that the spell could be broken in Act II and who was resigned to her fate in Act IV. Similarly, her Odile, while clearly a different character than her Odette, appeared to look to von Rothbart for approval and guidance throughout her seduction of Siegfried. It was an accomplished debut and Pantastico, who looked more comfortable in the Odile role, seemed to grow in confidence as the performance progressed. She is a remarkable young dancer. I look forward to seeing her in PNB’s all-Balanchine program (in Brahms-Schoenberg, I hope). The Nadeau/Maraval pairing, on the whole, proved to be the most satisfying performance of the ones that I saw. Nadeau was truly a Swan Queen rather than just Odette, helped along tremendously by Maraval's sensitive partnering. Of the three Siegfrieds that I saw, he was the only one to convey his awe of Odette--that here at last was what he had been looking for all along. As to the other aspects of the production, here are a few random thoughts. I found the fey conception of the Jester as suggested by the choreography to be distasteful in the extreme. Both Jonathan Poretta and Cornell Callender, however, were extremely vivid (Poretta was perhaps a bit over the top on opening night; his performance on 9/27 was more admirably restrained). Mara Vinson, as usual, was a standout, this time in multiple parts (particularly during the 9/27 performance). The national dances were dull, dull, dull. I would have voted for “Neapolitan” as the worst of the lot until I saw Poretta and Rachel Foster manage to make something out of it at the 10/3 performance. I guess I would have to say that the real dud was “Persian.” As to Stowell’s “innovations” in general, I just wish that they didn’t make me so conscious of being put in there for a purpose (e.g. using the children in the cast merely for the cuteness factor and for their ability to bring in family and friends; pointlessly beefing up [?] Wolfgang’s part, in order to give another soloist or principal something more to do). I appreciated the set more from the second tier (where I sat for the 10/3 performance). Closer up, the full moon in the lakeside scenes seemed to swallow up the dancers (it also annoyed me that the moon never moved at all). The orchestra was wonderful under both Kershaw and Dameron, fully conveying the emotion of the score in a way that the choreography (no matter how superbly executed by the dancers) never really did.
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