Rock, Roll, and Tutus

[Marenetha]

Saw it last night. Opened on Thursday, and I've got season's tickets for Saturday.

The program consisted of Stanton Welch's Nosotros, Christopher Bruce's Rooster, and Serge Lifar's Suite en Blanc.

Nosotros was alright. There were some really clever bits, especially the fourth pas de deux with one of the newer corps members, Nao K-something, whom I would look up, except that she is not up on the site yet, and Bridget Zehr (I think that that's her first name) was lovely as usual. It did seem a little long, though ... 11 straight pas de deux (and by the end of the evening, what with Suite en Blanc also, I was really sick of pas de deux ending with a new couple walking onto the stage.)

I thought Rooster was adorable. My mom wasn't quite as much of a fan because she thought it didn't quite capture the sixties and seventies dances the way that she remembered them, but I thought it was quite an amusing character piece. It got about four curtain calls, which is rather rare for HB.

Last was Suite en Blanc, and I do have to say that HB is VERY good about scheduling the best pieces for last. Suite en Blanc was LOVELY. Gorgeous ballet. Gorgeous Mirelle Hassenboehler, fantastic Zdenek Kovalina, great everyone. Lovely. Great technique, very clever, very, very nice.

The women seemed to be a little off that night, but the men were *perfect*.

Lovely night of ballet, I thought.

[carbro]

Thank you for that, Marentha!

I agree that some ballet evenings, because of the mix of ballets, can seem like just one pdd after another, diminishing the whole effect.

I've never seen the full Suite en Blanc -- just an excerpt performed by Cynthia Harvey and ???? at a gala. It was beautiful -- lyrical, pure, simple. I've long wished to see the entire ballet.

[bingham]

I think it was Laurent Hilaire who dance w/ Cynthia H. in ABT/POB gala during Barysnikov's directorship.

Joe