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MichelleW

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  • Connection to/interest in ballet** (Please describe. Examples: fan, teacher, dancer, writer, avid balletgoer)
    obsessed adult student, ardent fan
  • City**
    Reston, VA
  1. A girlfriend and I call the disturbing phenomenon of the enthusiastically shouted "waaaahooooooooooooooooo" at the ballet, opera or theater the "NASCAR phenomenon." I would contend that it seems to have become far more prevalent in the last 10-15 years. We had a lively discussion about it just prior to curtain at the Kennedy Center's Kirov performance last Friday night, so we were well pleased to hear a chorus of enthusiastic "Bravo" and "Bravas" coming from all around us in the audience.
  2. I saw the July 8 performance. The sets were fun and set the mood. Everyone's right. Corsaire, at its root, has no compelling plot to speak of and truly encapsulates all of (to quote another poster) the "vulgar excess" of ballet. But it was a great show nonetheless. It had been awhile since I'd seen a Russian company. Having cut my teeth on SFB, ABT and NYCB, I forgot how differently the Russians do things, with bows and reverances in the middle of scenes, curtain calls at the end of Acts, etc. It's a tribute to their culture, in a sense, that they value their dancers so highly. Viktoria Terioshkina was dancing Medora and she visibly lost her footing in the Jardin Anime scene. I noticed a couple of shaky balances during the night -- not only on her part either -- and instances when the women leaned on their partners just a little too hard. I don't know what was up, but the show was glorious in spite of it all. I think Anton Korsakov stole the show as the Slave; his dancing was brilliant and alive.
  3. I was rewatching the pieces of the dream sequence excerpted in Suzanne Farrell: Elusive Muse last night and a couple of things occurred to me. First of all, I am not a fan of dance on film as a general rule, as anything but a last resort. It is no comparison to the real thing. That said, there was fluidity, risk and life, even in the grainy, poorly shot film of Farrell dancing the dream sequence that simply wasn't there when I saw Ogden do the same sequence. It was technically perfect and, certainly, there was no doubt it was hard, but d'Amboise described Farrell as being "possessed" and dancing with "abandon," which isn't something I could see on the Opera House stage and, yet, I saw even on that rather muddy film.
  4. It's my mother's fault -- really. She passed her obsession on to me. She had taken lessons at the old National Ballet School here in Washington, back when Miss Day was there. When I was old enough for creative movement, I started with those lessons. Then it was ballet and tap. I the first performance I ever saw was the North Carolina Ballet's Nut when I was six. I never looked back. I also received a copy of Jill Krementz's A Very Young Dancer for Christmas when I was five. I wanted to be like Stephanie. That was my first exposure to City Ballet, to Suzanne Farrell and to Patty McBride and I wanted to know more. I knew, just from the photos, that they were special. I still have my copy (and, it turns out, that Jill Krementz went to my college which is something I'm very proud of). All through the late 80s and the 90s, until I graduated high school in 93, season tickets to the Kennedy Center were part of either my birthday or Christmas gift. One of my favorite-ever performances was the 1990 (I think) Fort Worth Ballet tour when they received so many curtain calls that they finally danced an encore. I remember that Eight by Adler was on the program that afternoon. I danced until I graduated high school even though it was clear I had neither the temperament nor the talent for a professional career by the time I was about 12. As an adult, I have danced on and off based on health/work/graduate school. Currently I'm taking about three classes a week.
  5. I completely agree about the Rigaudon Flamenco. I noted that Pickard's technique was clean and her affect was infectious. Her dancing drew the audience in. I found this to be, frankly, a sharp contrast with Shannon Parsley's Danza della Caccia. Parsley's pirouettes and fouettes were, of course, a crowd pleaser (and technically lovely!) but there was something lacking there -- a certain emotive quality. I didn't feel it. My mother, however, said that this was her favorite of the divertissements, so perhaps there was something that I didn't get. My favorite of the divertissements in Act II, however, was the Pas de Deux Mauresque. Natalia Magnicaballi was able to nail that perfect mixture of acting and dancing. Nothing felt forced and it was utterly, completely charming. I was entranced. I am still processing Dulcinea's variation in Act III/Scene I (I think). All of those off kilter/off balance arabesques and attitudes, piques and turns, looked devilishly difficult. The fact is, that variation looked fairly difficult if it wasn't off center. I'd love to see it again to gauge my reaction the second time through. In general, I was quite taken with Heather Ogden, although I still had difficulty thinking of her as "Dulcinea" rather than "the dancer cast as Dulcinea." I think this gets back to Jack's point about neither dancer having the power to carry the role. I didn't know how to react after that shepherd's crook variation -- I didn't feel like I had much to go on -- but as the night wore on, she won me over. A couple of other things I noticed: the corps' pointe shoes seemed unusually loud tonight. A couple of the sets of bourrees sounded like a herd of elephants setting out across the Opera House stage. One of the solo variations in Act III Scene I was terribly loud as well (I assume it's the brand of pointes, but can't they hammer them before performance?). I expect a certain level of noise, but when my mom comments on it, it's reached the point where it's a little too much. The sets were, in a word, exquisite. It was worth going just for the sets and costumes. Overall, I'd call it an uneven evening at the ballet, but I'd absolutely go back this weekend to see it again, just to take in all of the details. (PS: Dear Kennedy Center, when are you going to replace that wretched curtain in the Opera House? It really is quite awful.)
  6. Between the New York Times review and the reviews here, I don't quite know what to expect tonight! I have been somewhat breathlessly anticipating this ever since I obtained my ticket and, while a night at the ballet never disappoints, I do hope this is all I expect it to be.
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