28 replies to this topic

[tempusfugit]

Makarova Fan's query about Sugar Plums, and a response to it mentioning  Dewdrops, made me wonder about readers' favorites in this role as well?
I myself love Nichols in the part and have also enjoyed Marnee Morris, Darci Kistler, Samantha Allen, Monique Meunier, Jennie Somogyi, Alexandra Ansanelli-- to name some very different types of dancers...

[Ari]

Maria Calegari was a fleet and gracious Dewdrop.

Colleen Neary was exciting in the role.

I wish I'd seen LeClerq!

[MakarovaFan]

Ari, on Dec 14 2004, 08:19 AM, said:

Maria Calegari was a fleet and gracious Dewdrop.

Colleen Neary was exciting in the role.

I wish I'd seen LeClerq!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I wish I'd seen LeClerq too.

Lourdez Lopez was a lovely Dewdrop.

[sdj3]

Kyra Nichols!!

[Helene]

Kyra Nichols was the first dancer I saw in the role, and I'm not sure even she in later performances surpassed that performance, at least in my memory.

After years of watching dancers perform roles that Balanchine made for them, I noticed that roles seem to have an xray of that original dancer in them.  I never had a sense of what Tanaquil LeClerq might have moved like until I saw Maria Calegari perform the role, and subsequent footage of LeClerq in the Balanchine special on PBS confirmed this.  Not that they were clones, but I felt like in Calegari I saw more of the "bones" of the role as it was created.  

Did anyone see LeClerq perform this live?  (Or the televised version, if LeClerq was in it?)  Is my impression of Calegari off the mark?

[Mme. Hermine]

No, the Dewdrop in the televised version was Allegra Kent.  Who was wonderful!

[carbro]

There are two who come to mind right away, both notable for their abandon and their musicality, and yet such different dancers:  Suzanne Farrell and Melinda Roy.  Farrell was the unattainable being who was more spirit than flesh, while Roy was the down-to-earth girl next door to the girl next door.

[oberon]

I must say that Monique Meunier gave probably the most interesting interpretation of the role that I have seen. She came out, all gorgeous and glamourous, and began to dance in a calm, almost demure style. With each succeeding solo passage, she took things to a higher level so the piece just built and built...about the 3rd time Dewdrop sweeps into view, Meunier's smile began to blossom. The girls seemed to be infected by her grandeur and they all notched up an extra level...by this point her exits were getting waves of applause and bravas, and when she finished the piece there was a wonderfully warm reception as the audience seemed literally to have been carried away by her dancing.

I have seen many, many beautiful & thrilling Dewdrops but Monique's remains a very special treat. Both her Dewdrop & Lilac Fairy seemed about as perfect as things get.

[Kathleen O'Connell]

I always rather liked Heather Watt's ultra-glamorous Dewdrop.  Although she wasn't among my very favorite NYCB ballerinas, I still have vivid (and fond) recollections of some of her performances from the late 70's and early 80's -- and Dewdrop is one of them.  I liked her "Clara Is Having a Teen Mood" reading of the role she originated in Davidsbündlertänze, too.  (Ansanelli's recent take was more in the "Younger than Springtime" vein, but that works equally well, I think.)

[liebs]

Jenny Somoygi, who has everything technique, grandeur and musicality.  Van Kipnis who danced with such unaffected joy and Bouder is on her way to being the epitome of her generation.

[Mel Johnson]

I always preferred Suzanne Farrell as the Dewdrop; her Sugar Plum Fairy was fine, but the Dewdrop was always great.

[socalgal]

I would have loved to have seen Jillana as the first Dewdrop! She must have been gorgeous!

[ballerina1023]

Well, my choices are limited to about the past ten years... but I thoroughly enjoy Janie Taylor in the role.  She manages to achieve a nice balance of willowy beauty, speed, and grace that epitomize the role for me.  Kowroski is an interesting choice in casting.  Her legs and general size are an odd match for the intricacies of the choreography, but when she's "on," I typically enjoy her interpretation.  Also, Miranda Weese is quite special as Dew Drop- such musicality matched with technical assuredness.

I'll also add that I agree with other comments- LeClerq would have been amazing to see.

[Ari]

socalgal, on Dec 15 2004, 10:36 AM, said:

I would have loved to have seen Jillana as the first Dewdrop! She must have been gorgeous!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The first Dewdrop was Tanaquil LeClerq.  Jillana danced it later on.

[perky]

Glad that the Kyra Nichols Dewdrop is preserved on video. Wish I had seen Marnee Morris's Dewdrop.