Ballet by the Water 2005

[Paquita]

This year's outdoor summer performances will include excerpts from La Sylphide, Kudelka's "Romeo and Juliet Before Parting" and "Full Circles", and Theme and Variations.

Casting has been released: http://www.national.ballet.ca/Media/showPr...p?id=20050819-1

I will be there tonight, and possibly tomorrow to see Aleksandar Antonijevic and Xiao Nan Yu in La Sylphide and the new principal dancers Heather Ogden and Nehemiah Kish in Theme.

Let's hope the weather is cooperative

Anyone else planning on going? Get there early if you want a seat!

[gracey]

I will be there this evening, though will have some difficulty getting there early! I am sorry I missed last night as I really wanted to see Tanya Howard in Romeo, but I am looking forward to seeing this evenings performance.

[Paquita]

Tanya was beautiful as Juliet last night (from what I could see standing at the back... I'm quite short so I was pretty much on demi pointe the whole time trying to get a better view!).

It was nice to see several of the dancers who weren't performing in the audience showing their support. I also spotted Nikolaj Hubbe, as he is in town staging La Sylphide. It was almost as enjoyable watching him watching the dancers! (Especially during James' variation).

Unfortunately, from where I was standing, I missed a lot of Nehemiah Kish's batterie.

Both Greta Hodgkinson and Aleksandar Antonijevic were marvellous in Theme and Variations. By that time (it's the last piece on the program), I found a better spot;)

I will stop by tonight too if time allows.

[gracey]

was this Tanya's debut as juliet? I cannot remember if she dance it last time they staged it, but I don't think so. She is a lovely daner with wonderful potential so it is nice to see her get the spotlight more often.

[Paquita]

This is actually Kudelka's pas de deux "Romeo and Juliet before parting". It is set to the same Prokofiev score, but that's about all it has in common with the Cranko full-length version the NBoC performs. The dancers are dressed in white and are bare-footed.

Tanya Howard performed this pdd at a Prokofiev symposium at U of T earlier this year (February?). "Romeo and Juliet before parting" has not been performed at the Hummingbird Centre before.

I hope you enjoy tonight's show and post your opinions on it!

[Noreen Arnold]

"Tanya Howard performed this pdd at a Prokofiev symposium at U of T earlier this year (February?)"

Paquita - were you at the symposium? It was an excellent day, very interesting and such a treat to see the dancers so close.

[Paquita]

Noreen, unfortunately I couldn't make it to the symposium. I had heard about it though and really wanted to go.