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Which ballet do You think is the most boring You've ever seen?


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It saddens me to see that a number of people find Kenneth MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet boring - I get so absorbed in what's happening, I can't watch it without ending up in tears.

I love everything about it, from the beautiful score by Prokofiev, the wonderful fight scenes and set pieces, the humour in Mercutio's dancing, and the beautiful pas de deux. And the way Juliet's dancing matures from the innocent child at the beginning to a woman facing the biggest decision in her life at the end, when she sits motionless on the bed.

I love it, and I'm not ashamed to say so.

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It saddens me to see that a number of people find Kenneth MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet boring - I get so absorbed in what's happening, I can't watch it without ending up in tears.

I love everything about it, from the beautiful score by Prokofiev, the wonderful fight scenes and set pieces, the humour in Mercutio's dancing, and the beautiful pas de deux. And the way Juliet's dancing matures from the innocent child at the beginning to a woman facing the biggest decision in her life at the end, when she sits motionless on the bed.

I love it, and I'm not ashamed to say so.

I love it, too, and the Prokofiev score is probably one of the great reasons why--a masterpiece. I do find 'Cinderella' very boring though, and the Prokofiev score is not nearly so great for that either. I didn't even like the video of Sylvie Guillem doing it with POB much. But the MacMillan R & J is one of the greats for me. Saw very little in that short version by Sean Lavery, and haven't seen Peter Martins's version, nor care to that much.

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It saddens me to see that a number of people find Kenneth MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet boring - I get so absorbed in what's happening, I can't watch it without ending up in tears.

I love everything about it, from the beautiful score by Prokofiev, the wonderful fight scenes and set pieces, the humour in Mercutio's dancing, and the beautiful pas de deux. And the way Juliet's dancing matures from the innocent child at the beginning to a woman facing the biggest decision in her life at the end, when she sits motionless on the bed.

I love it, and I'm not ashamed to say so.

I love it, too, and the Prokofiev score is probably one of the great reasons why--a masterpiece. I do find 'Cinderella' very boring though, and the Prokofiev score is not nearly so great for that either. I didn't even like the video of Sylvie Guillem doing it with POB much. But the MacMillan R & J is one of the greats for me. Saw very little in that short version by Sean Lavery, and haven't seen Peter Martins's version, nor care to that much.

I agree on both counts. (I did see Martins' however, and was bored).

My main problem with cinderella is that its the same SORT of bombastic score. THis works for R&J, but seems totally wrong with a story like Cinderella to me

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I think that Prokofiev's score for Cinderella is a lot harsher, and I'm no fan of the Royal Ballet's production with male dancers playing the ugly sisters. I found the recording by POB with Sylvie Guillem was a better production, but still not one I'd go to see often.

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Having had second thoughts from my previous nomination, I'd like to add Peter Schauffuss' "Diana the Princess, A Celebration" - not that it could really be called a ballet (it defies description!) and Massimo Morricone's Jeckyll and Hyde.

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I forget the occasion, but Watermill was also danced post-Villella at NYCB by Jean Guizerix..

I see in the Sunday Times that Watermill will be performed in NYCB's Spring Robbins celebration. Who would you select for the Villella role? It would, I feel, require a mature dancer, and might just make a fine retirement vehicle...

Another candidate for most boring ballet will also return this Spring, with ABT reviving The Merry Widow.

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Watermill will be performed in NYCB's Spring Robbins celebration. Who would you select for the Villella role? It would, I feel, require a mature dancer, and might just make a fine retirement vehicle...
drb, I'll be interested in the answers you get to this.

Here's something that might help you all to make the selection. It's a story from Leo Lerman's journal, printed in the newly published The Grand Suprise: the Journals of Leo Lerman.

July 23, 1972, New York City. Villella, driving me home, said "Tonight I had a real trip [in Watermill] ... I went in so deep. When I came off Jerry [Robbins] grabbed me and shook me. He said, "I want that trip. I want that trip.'" Eddie has Italian humor, deep funniness, and sadness. So many ballet people are Renaissance in looks -- from early to high Renaissance.

Incidentally, Lerman thought Windmill was a work of

genius ... I was utterly absorbed, so much and so deeply that I ached -- achtually ached all over. Some brutish dowds booed this work that leads to a new world. I must see it again. The long Balanchine disscipline gave Jerry the dancers, but only Jerry's genius made them into theis superb creation.
I'm not saying I agree, just quoting for the record.
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I see in the Sunday Times that Watermill will be performed in NYCB's Spring Robbins celebration. Who would you select for the Villella role? It would, I feel, require a mature dancer, and might just make a fine retirement vehicle...

Too bad Hubbe is not staying just a little longer. He's the only one I'd be interested to see do it. It's so special and singular a piece that none of the other dancers there come to mind as being able to have the presence for it. This is a true example of the Arlene Croce quote made on the ABT thread today about 'ballet is only good when it is great', and this one is so specialized that it is close to impossible to make great, is impossible without the right dancer.

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Oh, casting is absolutely crucial here. It is a shame Hubbe won't be around. First reaction to the ideal of Woetzel is that he lacks the emotional gravitas, but who knows? Who would have predicted that Villella could do this before he actually did? I'd be willing to give Damian his chance. And I wouldn't rule out Albert Evans -- in fact, he'd be my first choice.

I have confidence that in a few years, Tyler Angle could be a worthy candidate.

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Oh, the answer will be very easy: Véronique Doisneau (that's the title)!

It was created by Jérome Bel. The idea wasn't uninteresting but it was so boring. It was supposed to show the life of a dancer at POB. The only dancer on stage was Véronique Doisneau. It has a lot of spoken parts and not that much danced ones. The worse was the depicting of a swan's part in Swans' Lake. The music was played during a very long time and Véronique Doisneau stayed motionless on stage.

I would like to tell I have absolutely nothing against Miss Doisneau as a dancer but that creation was definitively dreadful.

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This may get me in trouble, but I have never liked Coppelia. I've tried really hard, but I find it hard to even care about why I hate this ballet. Maybe it's the characters. Except Coppelia herself, I can't stand any of the characters. The one scene I like is when Swanilda and friends sneak in to Dr. Coppelius' workshop and you have all those wonderful little variations. Other than that, I have a really hard time making it through any production of Coppelia that I've ever seen. :)

Niamh

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The worse was the depicting of a swan's part in Swans' Lake. The music was played during a very long time and Véronique Doisneau stayed motionless on stage.
Sounds like the ultimate deconstruction of "dance" as non-movement. I can imagine the long explanatory essay on sale in the lobby. 10 euros at least. :blink:

This does, indeed, seem to take the cake in the "boring" category. Thanks, cygneblanc

P.S. Come to think of it, I could probably stand still through quite a lot of ballet scores. :) Apollo? Faun? Albrecht? James? I can do that!

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With apologies to Larissa Ponomarenko (sp?) at Boston Ballet, who I think is a beautiful dancer, and Jormo Elo, who I can find interesting, but also repetitive and boring...

A recent performance (sorry forgot the name of the work) this past season where Larissa was mic'd, and danced solo to Mr. Elo's seamless but emotionally flat choreography while simultaneously carrying on an endless monologue in Russian--I don't remember any music except at the beginning of each sequence, but maybe I just blanked? Since I am not fluent in Russian (in fact I only know about 10 words), and Mr. Elo has never been one to provide a dramatic arc to his choreography, it was only her inflection (between gasps for air) that provided some clue to a purpose, if there ever was one. Consequently, it just became an endurance ordeal for myself (and maybe Larissa too?). If anyone was able to do a simultaneous translation, maybe they could explain it to the rest of us?

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I find 'Mayerling' boring and also hate it.

Me too, and I'm usually a huge fan of MacMillan's ballets - his Romeo and Juliet, and Manon usually have me in tears by the end.

I think that Mayerling is trying to tell too convoluted a story, with too many people having too many affairs, and what is it with the opera singer in the middle?

I'll take several Mayerlings to avoid one Isadora

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This post attempts to generalize instead of being specific...I know this is treasonous (I live in the Bay Area) but 95% of Helgi Thomasson's one acters meet or exceed the boring quotient.

I saw his 7 for 8 (?) recently, and could not stay awake. What a waste of a major company's time.

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