29 replies to this topic

[BW]

Forgive me if this is the wrong forum to post this in...and I did look to see if anyone had already started a thread...

Please, if any of you attend this afternoon's performance - I would love to hear about it! I'm especially interested to read your impressions of  Square Dance today. The young woman who is dancing the lead is an old friend.

Merde! to all the dancers in this weekend's performances!

[sz]

BW, on Jun 3 2006, 09:25 AM, said:

Please, if any of you attend this afternoon's performance - I would love to hear about it! I'm especially interested to read your impressions of Square Dance today. The young woman who is dancing the lead is an old friend.

Is your friend the petite female lead or the taller female with black hair?  I was at orchestra/dress rehearsal yesterday and will attend both performances today, as I also have friends/family involved.

[BW]

The petite female.

[zerbinetta]

If that is Katherine Morgan (spelling?) whom I saw at the dress rehearsal yesterday, she is exquisite. Definitely a ballerina!!

[liebs]

Katie Morgan is not dancing Square Dance, she did the ppd in Scenes de Ballet tonight.  The leads tonight were Britaany Pollack and David Protas.  He was outstanding in the solo that Balanchine made for Bart Cook.  Pollack was good in the female lead, certainly one of the most difficult in the repertoire.

The other female lead for Square Dance is Erica Periera.

[Farrell Fan]

Yes, David Prottas was outstanding in Square Dance tonight. Overall, I thought it was the best performance of that ballet since the year Albert Evans was in it. I enjoyed Bourree Fantasque enormously and wish it would join the NYCB repertory. I loved Sarah Williams and Matt Renko in the first section, although it's unfair to single out anyone. As usual, the SAB kids outdid themselves. I can't decide whether Scenes de Ballet looks better at the New York State Theater or at the Juilliard Theater. Oops, I mean the Peter Jay Sharp Theater, of course.

[hbl]

Went to the 8pm Saturday Night performance.  The program consisted of Scenes de Ballet, Square Dance and Bourree Fantasque.  Scenes de Ballet would seem to me to be a difficult one to put on by students, but the did a wonderful job.  Lots of dancers of all shapes and sizes mirroring each other precisely.  I am not sure I could figure out who the dancers were in that ballet - but everyone did a very credible job.

In Square Dance, Brittany Pollack and David Prottas were outstanding.  They danced beautifully together.  He reminded me a little bit of Peter Boal (oh how he is missed) in his fine classical line.  Brittany was all sauce and vinegar.  She was fantatstic.  I expect great things from her if this performance was any indication.   The corps was also wonderful.   A real tribute to Suki Shorer who must have spent many many hours rehearsing them.

The final piece, Bourree Fantasque was an old Balenchine.  It looked a bit dated - which I rarely feel about any Balanchine Ballet.  I don't remember having seen it before...  It called for a large number of dancers.  Three main couples and many many corps roles.  This was staged by Richard Tanner and Susan Pilarre.  My hats of to them for attempting this revival with so many young dancers.  The corps in particular seemed well rehearsed and did a wonderful job backing up the three main couples.  One pair, Tabitha Rinko-Gay and Russell Janzen were especially outstanding.  They had the look of consumate professionals and danced just beautifully.

So, it was a wonderful night at the ballet.  I always feel that there are a huge number of excellent dancers in the pipeline after seeing these performances.  This was certainly no exception.  And it bodes well for not only the NYCB but for all the other companies that draw there dancers from the school.

In the program, they list the names, ages and home towns of the senior students.  They are quite an national and international group with dancers from: NY, NJ, CT, IA, MD, VA, FL, AL, OH, PA, NM, CA, MA, UT, SC, TX, GA, Japan, England, France, Australia and Israel.  Wow!  17 states and 6 countries.

[BSS]

I went to the Saturday Matinee SAB workshop. I thought Erica Pereira and Anthony Huxley(leads in Square Dance) stole the show. What a great pair. Erica was very light and quick on her feet. She danced with grace and ease. Anthony's solo was amazing. A well matched pair they looked like they were having fun!!!!!!

[BW]

Thanks for the reports - wish I could have been there but was over at the NY State Theatre last night. ;)

Yes, liebs, it was Erica P. that I was especially interested in reading about. She was put in that role only a few weeks before the performance due to another student's unfortunate injury.

Oops, BSS, we must have been posting at the same time - thank you so much for your comments about the afternoon performance! :huepfen024:    

Edited by BW, 04 June 2006 - 04:48 AM.

[sz]

Erica, indeed, was a spitfire with endless energy, and had a gorgeous, sweet beauty about her.  She looks about 13 years old, but I was told she's actually 18.  Erica was my favorite dancer of the day, yesterday.  Such a real talent and so delightful in such a very difficult ballet, Square Dance.

In the evening performance of the same ballet, David Prottas as the male lead was especially outstanding.  

I agree with the earlier poster that Square Dance is one of the most technically difficult NYCB ballets for both female principals and corps.  In general, it seemed beyond a good challenge for most of the SAB corps, who were also in the other two ballets (not easy) of the day, after two complete run throughs (full out) at Friday's dress/orchestra. Talk about trial by fire!

[BSS]

sz, on Jun 4 2006, 09:56 AM, said:

Erica, indeed, was a spitfire with endless energy, and had a gorgeous sweet beauty about her.  She looks about 13 years old, but I was told she's actually 18.  Erica was my favorite dancer of the day, yesterday.  Such a real talent and so delightful in such a very difficult ballet, Square Dance.

In the evening performance of the same ballet, David Prottas as the male lead was especially outstanding.  

I agree with the earlier poster that Square Dance, in general, seemed beyond a good challenge for most of the corps students, who were also in the other two ballets (not easy) of the day, after two complete run throughs (full out) at Friday's dress/orchestra. Talk about trial by fire!

sz  Erica Pereira is only 17 from what I overheard  from some of her fellow dancers who were raving about  her performance

[bobbi]

I was at the Saturday evening performance (as well as the rehearsals).  The Class of 2006 has oodles and oodles of talent.  The standouts for me were David Prottas in Square Dance and Kathryn Morgan in the Scenes de Ballet.  David Prottas' dancing was at a tremendously high level.  His qualities include beautifully pointed feet, pliancy, ballon, stage presence, musicality and -- most especially for me -- soft, soft landings.***  Although I could see where others at the intermission quibbled with his rapid and deep pelvic movements during the Corelli adagio, I think that Balanchine would have approved.  No, it wasn't the way it was done for Bart.  But nothing that David did was unmusical.  This fellow was born to do the Melanchonic section of 4-T's.  And, as icing on the cake, he's tall!!!  (Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Prottas).  Peter M. please sign this kid up today!!!

I remember Kathryn Morgan from last year's workshop and she has now tht old "ballerina polish" in spades.  Both David and Kathryn are this year's Wien award winners.  There were others that were terrific too, but at this point I can only name Jose Sebastian and Sean (brother of Seth) Orza.

***I've often wanted to start a thread called "Soft Landings 101."  Why is it that this young David Prottas (and, by the way many of the other young men in the class of 2006) can land so softly and yet many of today's men at NYCB are -- despite being otherwise good dancers -- "clunkers"?   It can't just be that the  Danes (Eric B., Peter M., Helgi, Peter S, Adam, Nicoli H) or the Russians (Rudy or Misha) have a monolopy on soft landings.  Our American men (Eddie, Jacques and our own Damian) seem to know how to do this.  Can someone please tell me why this young David Prottas already knows how to land softly?



Moderator's note:  Soft landings, a great topic idea, to be continued -->here.  
--carbro

[BW]

BSS, on Jun 4 2006, 10:27 AM, said:

sz  Erica Pereira is only 17 from what I overheard  from some of her fellow dancers who were raving about  her performance

True, she will be 18 in January.

Thanks for continued feedback.    Naturally, I'm very glad to hear the other performances went so well - including those soft landings. :gossip:

[Michael]

The students did a lovely job with Bourree Fantasque on Sat. Afternoon:  Western Symphony meets La Valse in parts 1 and 2 and then the two of them breed and produce an offspring, part 3.

Meagan Mann and Masahiro Suehara had the first, Western-reminiscent, movement:  next to him she appears very tall, of course, and in any event she is both very flexible in her back and very very musical and flowing in her response to music.  A legato dancer.  

The Prelude, the La Valse-reminiscent section, was just beautiful -- I think it's the gem in this ballet.  The girls spaced over the stage in deep bends with the arms en couronne, two soloists doing the same more prominently in front but with a slightly modern edge to the movement (Gabriel Baden and Lauren Brown -- very good thank you) and then the principal couple:  Leah O'Conner and Justin Peck.  Very fine performance by them.  Some courage there too -- There are those successive pirouettes by the principal young woman in a big unsupported attitude rear, with the turn ending in a pose in attitude on pointe.  They are something like the diving penchees in the Nutcracker Pas in that the ballerina launches into to the turn (ending in a pose which must be supported) alone on stage and on faith, with her partner rushing in from a distance to support her at the end only.  The first set of turns was a little rocky.  The next two perfect.  O'Conner is very appealing, it's a fast adagio where there has to be a lot of musical feeling, which she has.

The 3d section, Fete Polonaise, is the offspring of the other two, the Western and La Valse contingents criss crossing and weaving through each other -- The cast here was Lola Cooper and Daniel Baker and again a strong job by both of them.  Cooper does everything well, jumps, point work, extension, she is both an adagio and an allegro dancer, has good dance intelligence, she can dance a wide range of material.    

It's a very strong graduating class so to speak.  

I agree about Pereira and Huxley in Square Dance. Though I thought they started a little nervously -- as who wouldn't.  The ballet is a killer for the company's strongest dancers.  He has a nice deep pliee, the first section with the hip thrusts was very well danced indeed, you sometimes won't see it as well done at a professional level.  She is a lovely rangey girl, I thought -- She had the point work and the phrasing for the quick opening sections, but I was blown away too by the manege of jumps and the long fluid lines when she got to move.  Give her some room on the stage and then watch.

There is so much praise deserved by all the students.  The pressure is very heavy, the material very difficult to dance well, and the physical stress alone is extraordinary.  For a seventeen year old girl in point shoes, think of running through Square Dance twice on Friday afternoon and then performing -- some of the corps de ballet girls in two or three offerings, twice on Saturday.  The foot was not built to take that abuse.

[Martha]

BSS, on Jun 4 2006, 08:43 AM, said:

I went to the Saturday Matinee SAB workshop. I thought Erica Pereira and Anthony Huxley(leads in Square Dance) stole the show. What a great pair. Erica was very light and quick on her feet. She danced with grace and ease. Anthony's solo was amazing. A well matched pair they looked like they were having fun!!!!!!

I agree with BSS that Huxley and Pereira were simply wonderful in Square Dance.  The evening leads were equally accomplished, different in style.  But Erica's lightness, quickness, and sheer joy in dancing were special, and Anthony exuded from his entire body, not needing facial expression to transmit emotion, passion and exquisite beauty.  The coaching on all three pieces was, as usual, exceptional.