Week 4

[charlieloki]

imho

orpheus is a masterly collaboration of dance, music and art (noguchi's costumes and settings). unfortunately, for the past umpteen years, the part of orpheus has been danced by martins the younger. the addition of his mother-in-law didn't help much. with a proper orpheus, the piece would make much more sense, and the full effect of the tragedy would be felt. if you are not happy with stravinsky, you are missing a lot of balanchine's best efforts. balanchine had a way of letting you "see" the music, and opened up new musical worlds to some of us.

thank you, mr b

[oberon]

I love Stravinsky's music, but do not think ORPHEUS is one of his more interesting scores. I think the sets and costumes are ugly and, as with many things that were avant garde at the time, look dated and silly today. I did not see Darci, but Kyra. Nilas in the title role was actually quite poetic, and was one of the few things about the performance that I liked.

Balanchine was known to discard fussy costumes & settings along the way and I wonder how this ballet would look in a black & white incarnation?

[Colleen Boresta]

I just noticed that when I was talking about "Fascinatin' Rhythm" I wrote Janine Tuner instead of Janie Taylor. I guess this is what happens when you turn 50. Sorry about that.

[oberon]

Colleen, wait til you hit 60!!!!

[rkoretzky]

An interesting discussion of "Orpheus", which I have mentioned to many posters here is the one and only Balanchine ballet that I actively avoid. My first viewing was in summer 1979 with Baryshnikov. I disliked it so much that I don't even remember who danced Euridyce. I remember thinking that it was the first time I had seen Misha dance, and he was doing a part with almost no dance. Today with 25+ years of immersing myself in NYCB's repertoire, and studying the relationship between Balanchine and Stravinsky I might feel differently, but I doubt it. I have seen Orpheus a few times since but that first impression has never changed.

I agree with Oberon that much of Stravinsky's ballet music is sublime (for me: Apollo, Agon, Violin Concerto, and Firebird are favorites), but the score of Orpheus leaves me cold, bored, and mystified. As my good friend FarrellFan would now say to me: "But how do you really feel about it?"

As for the Noguchi costumes, they are hideous. I am intrigued by Oberon's idea of resetting Orpheus as a leotard ballet, a la 4Ts, when Balanchine scrapped the ridiculous Kurt Seligmann designs. I was about to say that I didn't know if it would work, given that Orpheus does have a story line, but then what about Apollo? That certainly works beautifully in simple costumes.

Of course in the case of 4Ts, Balancine himself was here to make the design changes. I don't know what the Balanchine Trust would say about costume changes. The only change that comes to my mind immediately, since Mr B's death, is the corps swans in "Swan Lake" who are now in black. How does such a change come about? Which brings up a recent conversation I had about "Glass Pieces", the choreography of that looks fresh and 21st century to me, but the costumes and sets are so 80s that I find it distracting. Given Jerry Robbins' famous reputation for pickiness, how could any change to his ballets be implemented?

[dewdrop]

Of course in the case of 4Ts, Balancine himself was here to make the design changes. I don't know what the Balanchine Trust would say about costume changes. The only change that comes to my mind immediately, since Mr B's death, is the corps swans in "Swan Lake" who are now in black. How does such a change come about?

That's a unique situation since Mr. B wanted those costumes changed to black. PM simply executed the idea with material already purchased for the occasion.

[carbro]

Regarding the Vaes designed Swan Lake, at a talk at the time of NYCB's first Balanchine Festival, Barbara Horgan said that NYCB's relationship with the Trust was not the same as other companies. She did not specify, but I took her to mean that NYCB had more leeway. (At the time, I took it to mean no quality control.) And Martins had said in interviews at the time of that production's premiere he and Balanchine had discussed B'chine's desire to dress the corps in black.

[Editing to note that I posted before seeing dewdrop's post, which opens Pg. 2 on my screen].

I love the stark, gothic feel of the production. I just don't think of it as Swan Lake. Quite. Then again, there are many mountings that are so devoid of gothic-ness that they aren't quite Swan Lake, either.

Edited February 5, 2005 by carbro

[AmandaNYC]

Cast changes within the corps are not listed on programme inserts. Almost every night in the bigger ballets, somebody replaces somebody. It's fun to try to spot the missing persons and figure out who is replacing whom. 

Since these dancers were doing soloist parts, there should have been inserts. In the past, there were inserts for those doing the soloist parts in Who Cares?. I guess this has changed now, which is a shame.

I think harpergroup was just trying to make sure no one was under the mistaken impression about who they saw dance some key parts. Thanks, harpergroup! Not everyone knows who all the dancers are, especially with the large influx of apprentices each year for the last few years.

Oberon, I do agree with you that it's fun to figure out which corps dancers have been substituted... though it sometimes causes me to miss actually "watching" the beginning of the ballet! But I like to correct the program (after the ballet), so I can have it noted for posterity whom I saw.

-amanda

[paulofnyc]

I have resisted joining the Ashley Bouder fan club for two years, but last night (Saturday 1/29) she won me over, with irresistible performances in La Source and Octet.  During her rise through the corps and soloist ranks, I often felt she danced like she was bucking for a promotion -- trying to knock your eyes out by doing every little move bigger and brighter than the competition.  But now she has her promotions, and as a principal she is simply a knockout.  Everyone talks about her "amplitude", and it's remarkable, but I'm just as impressed with her clarity of gesture.  Last night she did some pas de chats that seemed to define this step, so dear to Balanchine's heart, clearer than anyone I can recall since Violette Verdy.  La Source is all about delightful details, and here's a dancer who can make them delightful from any distance.  OK, Ashley, you win, and I'm happy to give up. 

Octet was interesting to watch, despite the excessive symmetry typical of Martins' machine-age choreography.  Darci Kistler, the other ballerina, kept up with Bouder and showed her a thing or two about the expressiveness of the upper back and arms.  This was the sort of pairing you could turn into a soap opera plot, but let's not.  It was just excellent dancing. 

Also on the program:  Tarantella, a last-minute swap for Eros Piano, no explanation offered.  Megan Fairchild was bouncy, piquant, and gorgeous in her crimson bodice.  Her partner, Joaquin de Luz, had energy but acted more like a pirate than a lover boy. 

The program ended with West Side Story Suite, which to me is a cynical mess.  This is great musical theatre, and lip-synching ballet dancers just can't make it live, though many of them tried valiantly.  It also gave the whole program an imbalance of many more male dancers than female (Octet has a male corps).  What happened to "ballet is woman?"

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It was interesting that on Friday in West Side Story Ashley had red hair. On Saturday she had brown.

[AmandaNYC]

It was interesting that on Friday in West Side Story Ashley had red hair.  On Saturday she had brown.

I noticed that she no longer wore the wig, as well, when I was there on Sunday. Last week, it looked like her wig either caught on something or just started having issues, for she ended "Cool" with what seemed like stretched out hair (I know it wasn't as bad as Gilda Radner's Baba Wawa (sp?), but that's what pops into my head). I think they must have decided her brown hair was "Jets-like" enough and that the wig was more trouble than it was worth.

-amanda