41 replies to this topic

[ORZAK]

I surely miss Gelsey Kirkland, Rudolph Nureyev.  But most of all Prima Ballerina Assoluta Margot Fonteyn.  Yesterday was the tenth anniversary of her death.

That death does not endure - because as she dances in my mind - which she does - she does not die.  That is the gift of the artist.

I had the great good fortune to be in a class once with Patrick Bissel - and to watch  him teach a master class.  I purposely didn't take the master class because I wanted to just sit there and watch him.  

He arrived to teach the class directly from the beach (this is San Diego after all) wearing a pair of short shorts, and sandals - carrying his ballet slippers.  At one point in the class the men said that the music was too fast for them to fully fulfill the amplitude of the steps in the combination he had set.  On went the ballet slippers and without even thinking - he spun off into a series of jumps and turns with dazzling speed and aplomb.  There was no more whining from the men in class.  LOL

He managed to "fill" that large studio with his presence that day. Basheva

[ORZAK]

I should have added that I had the pleasure of seeing Patrick Bisssel dance Swan Lake with Cynthia Gregory - what a wonderful performance that was.  

Had things been different he was the partner she should have had.   Basheva

[This message has been edited by ORZAK (edited February 23, 2001).]

[Andrei]

Soloviev, specially after his sudden death. I still don't see anybody who can approach to his ability to stop in the air.

Andrei.

[Steve Keeley]

My answer may seem out of place, since this dancer never even got out of the NYCB corps, but at the moment I am still dearly missing Riolama Lorenzo.

I first noticed her in a performance of Robbins' "Brandenburg" and couldn't take my eyes off of her.  At every subsequent NYCB performance I attended, the first thing I would look for in the program was her name.

Tall and beautiful and actually built like a woman, there was a strength, authority, cleanliness and expressiveness to her movements that enriched even the smallest corps roles.  If nothing else interesting was happening onstage, I could always enjoy the performance just by letting my eyes follow Riolama (which they seemed inclined to do on their own).

I would look for a mention of her name in every NYCB review I read, anxious to see what roles she was getting.  I would watch ballets and pick out parts I hoped to see her dance some day, and generally looking forward to watching her career progress.

Then she was gone, and my interest in NYCB as a whole seemed to fade.  The loss of Riolama is probably one of the main reasons I haven't considered the expense of a trip to NYC this season or the next.

It's not always the stars who define the company.

~Steve

[Leigh Witchel]

Steve's right.  I was sad to see Lorenzo go as well.

When this topic was first proposed I kept mulling over the famous names, most of whom I never saw live (Bissell, Kirkland) or very infrequently (Nureyev).  The dancer I thought of as a career that should have gone farther was Jeff Edwards, a soloist with NYCB.  I thought it was a great loss for the company when he left it.  Poets and princes are hard to come by.

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Leigh Witchel -  dae@panix.com
Personal Page and Dance Writing
Dance as Ever

[Manhattnik]

I remember years ago being struck by Edwards while watching him in class, and later when he danced the lead in Opus 19. I thought he was tremendously gifted. What did happen to him?

[Leigh Witchel]

He went to Lyon Opera Ballet to finish his career, then came home to America - I believe he went to Brown (I may be wrong) and I spoke to him briefly last summer and he was doing an internship at PBS.

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Leigh Witchel -  dae@panix.com
Personal Page and Dance Writing
Dance as Ever

[Kevin Ng]

I actually saw Edwards perform once with the Lyons Opera Ballet, about five years ago when the Lyons company performed in the Hong Kong Festival.  Jeffrey Edwards performed Romeo (Preljocaj version).

[liebs]

Yes, Edwards was a lovely dancer - much missed.

I regret not having seen more of Allegra Kent and Violette Verdy.  I came to NYCB at the end of their careers and so saw them only sporadically.  But the tapes I have seen show dancers with wonderful technique and great individuality.

Also would have liked to see Alla (sp?) Sizova and Nadzeha Pavlova. And like Alexandra, Danish dancers too numerous to mention.

[Drew]

Sizova and Soloviev are quite peculiarly special names to me -- The first ballet I ever saw was the film they made of Sleeping Beauty; I was a very little girl when I saw it but completely ballet mad from that time forward. I suppose it's odd that I don't exactly think of myself as having missed them.  I did, of course, and I do wish I could have seen them live.  But they seem to exist elsewhere for me in a sort of magic memory-bubble...

[cargill]

I was just talking about Jeffrey Edwards to someone (in relation to Melancholic, which he still, in my opinion, mainly owns), and they said he was teaching at Brown.  He was such a loss to NYCB, an absolutely beautiful dancer.  I remember his talking at an NYCB guild event a number of years ago (featuring the then young promising male dancers, like Boal and Woetzel), and him saying that the role he would really like to dance was Albrecht, and the others in the group all made faces (in fun.)  He would have been just wonderful with the right Giselle.

[Sonora]

I am thinking also of the many wonderful dancers from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Someone already mentioned Karsavina...to be able to go back in time to see Vestris, Bournonville; to see either of them teaching...to pop in on a rehearsal of the Ballet Russe...this is a game we used to play: what would you give to go back in time just for a day?

[KayDenmark]

I wish I could have seen Rudolph Nureyev!  His sex appeal is so intense in still photographs and videos...I can only imagine what it must have been like to see him dance in person, at his peak.

[Mme. Hermine]

i saw jeffrey edwards' graduation (is that what they are called?) performance at the SAB workshop, i think it was in 1983.  i believe i remember he danced 'sleeping beauty' with margaret tracey.  i only saw the workshop once, and if i recall it was the night mr. balanchine passed away, and kirstein, robbins and martins all came on the stage before the performance.  i recall that he impressed me a great deal.  (sorry to be so vague but it's been a little while).  does this sound correct?
befuddled (a/k/a pmeja)

[Diana L]

I saw Kathleen Moore once and she soon retired after.  She was someone who just wow-ed me.