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VirginiaB

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  • Connection to/interest in ballet** (Please describe. Examples: fan, teacher, dancer, writer, avid balletgoer)
    avid balletgoer
  • City**
    New York
  • State (US only)**, Country (Outside US only)**
    NY
  1. When Hee Seo spoke at an ABT interview last month, she told us how to pronounce her name. She said that the correct pronunciation is SUH.
  2. I have asked several Japanese people and they have said that Yuriko's name is pronounced YUR - EE - KO with the stress on the first syllable. Her last name is pronounced KA - JEE - AH with the stress on the second syllable. Russian speakers have told me that Osipova's name is pronounced with the stress on the first syllable - AW - SEE PO- VA.
  3. I have one extra ticket for the Paul Taylor dancers at Lincoln Center on Sunday, March 16th at 2 PM. The ticket is in the first ring in the middle of row B. The price is $84.50. Please PM me if you are interested in buying this ticket.
  4. I saw the first 4 performances of Giselle this week. I thought that Julie Kent (with Marcello) created the best version of Giselle. Her lightness and lovely arms were especially beautiful. Of course, Marcello's performance was excellent. But the outstanding performace of the four I saw was Herman Cornejo's. His dancing was superb, his brisees in act 2 were gorgeous and his acting was overwhelmingly thrilling. On the other hand, Reyes had a major problem with the hops in act 1. I agree with the others who were in Chicago that the corps dancers were lovely.
  5. Hee Seo performed the Lilac Fairy on Thursday.
  6. Hee Seo performed the Lilac Fairy on Thursday.
  7. I was able to hear Ratmansky's description of ABT's new ballet, then I saw the rehearsal on Friday and saw both casts in the ballet. The ballet is perfect for ABT since it gives opportunities to so many of the younger dancers because there are many solo roles. I especially appreciated Maria Riccetto whose spirited acting and dancing were very exciting. Craig Salstein also displayed his strong acting skills and his talent for comedy as well as his balletic technique. David Hallberg and Daniil Simkin had completely different interpretations of the 'ballerina' role. Because of his size, David emphasized the humorous aspect of the role. Daniil was also very funny, but copied and mocked the romantic style with great accuracy. The role of the ballerina role (Gillian Murphy/Isabella Boyleston) was danced with great flair by both of them, but I thought that Isabella's performance was especially exciting. Her technique and energy level made her performance thrilling. The role of the husband was danced and acted marvelously by both Cornejo and Gomes. The role allowed both of them to display tenderness, humor, romance and very exciting dance technique. I strongly recommend that this ballet should be seen with several casts. Repeated viewing is needed to appreciate what Ratmansky has given to us. The entire company showed enormous energy. I also suggest seeing the ballet from an upper level because of the interesting patterns for the corps dancers. When I attended the rehearsal, I sat in the orchestra and didn't realize how much of the choreography could not be appreciated from that perspective.
  8. I have two single tickets for Lady of the Camellias. One is for Saturday, June 5th at 2PM. The seat is in the first row of a center box in the Parterre. The face value is $175. The second is for Saturday, June 5th at 8PM. The seat is in the center of the Grand Tier in row B. The face value is $111. Please contact me at vberlin@earthlink.net Best offer accepted.
  9. I attended the Wednesday evening performance with Yuriko Kajiya's debut as Gamzatti. I had expected her lovely style and excellent technique, but especially enjoyed her approach to the role. Many of the dancers depict Gamzatti as extremely cold and demanding. While Yuriko was clearly the Rajah's daughter, she was also a woman desperately in love with Solor. In all of their interactions, she kept trying to seduce him to fall in love with her. I'm eagerly awaiting her debuts in ABT's other full length ballets.
  10. I thought much better of Veronika's performance than you did, I think. She got much more smoothly through the scarf section than did any of the dancers I saw from the Kirov in April. I agree with you on Gomes' Solor, but not on Michelle Wiles. She is not a dancer I particularly enjoy, but I usually find her technically solid. Her Gamzatti however did nothing for me. She was fine during the mime scenes, but she seemed to interpret the unlikeability of the character as a reason to dance with a harshness and brittleness that I found unattractive. I think someone mentioned it on ballettalk earlier, but she seems to have developed an odd hitch with her head in her leaps that is particularly unattractive--it looks like the head movement of a strutting pigeon. Her Italian fouettes and regular fouettes were good, in fact her turning was on the whole, but for me there was nothing beautiful in her movements, and the solo in the engagement pas de deux, one of my favorite variations, was incredibly flat. Especially when viewed in contrast with the lushness of Veronika. I know that Nikiya and Gamzatti are very different characters, and that should be brought out in the dance quality as well as the mime, but I did not find this an effective way to do it. just my 2 cents I agree with you regarding Michelle's forward head motion and also the harshness of her dancing. In addition, she had almost no rapport with Gomes. I first noticed her head motion it last week. I was at the dress rehearsal yesterday and saw Yuriko Kajiya as Gamzatti. She will be dancing the role this week. Her dancing was absolutely beautiful. Her technique was outstanding and her acting was ideal. I would have expected her to shine as Nikiya, but was pleased to see her do so well as Gamzatti. She also danced beautifully as the second of the three shades.
  11. I was so pleased to be there for her debut. I've been watching her for several years and was thrilled by her performance yesterday. Her technique was excellent and she glowed during the entire evening. I was also happy to be at the Met for Stearns' debut. However, I thought that he'll need a good deal of coaching to be able to dance Conrad's role properly. He got through the steps, but he didn't exhibit any of the strength which Conrad represents. In addition, in his relationship with Irina, he seemed extremely nervous. There was no sense of the passion which we saw in Marcello's or David's performances this week. I will be seeing him again this weekend, and I hope that he'll be able to overcome his fears.
  12. I decided to travel from NY to Washington DC to see Cornejo and Reyes in The Nutcracker. I hadn't seen it since the days of Baryshnikov and had forgotten that Kevin McKenzie had rechoreographed the ballet. In the Baryshnikov version, Clara and the Nutcracker dance together in the first act and in much of the second. McKenzie separates their roles and those for the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier. As a result, Reyes and Cornejo danced only the final pas de deux. In addition, most of the new choreography was quite bland. The exceptions were the Waltz of the Flowers which was created by John Meehan and the pas de deuz for Reyes and Cornejo. However, both Reyes and Cornejo were superb. It was such a thrill to see them dance together. I was sorry only because their roles were so limited in this production. I was especially interested in seeing some of the younger dancers. Yuriko Kajiya danced the role of Clara. While I thought that McKenzie's choreography was not as interesting as it needed to be, she danced it beautifully. She played the role of a young girl falling in love. Possibly because McKenzie didn't want her style to compete with the Sugar Plum Fairy's, the choreography for Clara was a bit repetitious and lacking in challenge. Sarah Lane was one of the five fairies and looked especially radiant. Hee Seo was the Snow Queen and led the dancers beautifully. Sacha Radetsky and Stella Abrera danced the Arabian variation and received a deserved ovation from the audience.
  13. VirginiaB

    New Member

    I've been reading the items on this web site for several months and have enjoyed doing so very much. I am an enthusiastic ballet fan and especially enjoy ABT. I attend almost all of their performances in NYC and also sometimes see them in Chicago or Washington DC. In April and May, I will be in Paris (4/29-5/6) and then I will be in London until 5/13. I am very interested in attending ballet performances in both cities. Could someone please tell me web sites where I can get ballet schedules and order tickets to the ballet.
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