Miami City Ballet Program II

[bart]

Great report, Jack! You brought back memories from MCB's first outing with this program, in early December.

Re: Fox Trot. Strangely, this worked better for me as part of a full evening devoted to different 20th century social dancing styles, which MCB performed a few seasons ago. When the evening was ALL Villella, it actually cohered and developed. The whole, strangely to me, worked better than the individual parts. On its own, Fox Trot seemed slight and vulnerable, nothing more than something to fill the first act, before Taylor and Balanchine showed up. For me at least.

Kronenberg does bring amazing charisma and sex-appeal to her part. Wu, who had to expand her kusual range to take on the role, and who was quite lovely, could not carry it to the level of real story-line interest.

Guerra's character is the focus of the piece, anyway. Ava seems taken with him -- but then he gets distracted and a little too drunk -- so he loses her, without really seeming to notice, to someone else. In the meantime, she spends a lot of time alone at her table or with less interesting guys, while Guerra goes off to dance with his own cronies. When Ava is wafted out by "tkhe Pilot," Guerra dosn't even notice. This is ironical, I suppose. But something more "Warner Brothers" is desparately needed. When you do nostalgia/kitsch, you have to do it all the way!!!

Sorry you missed Kronenberg in Ballet Imperial. it would have been good to hear your thoughts about her as compared to Catoya. (I missed Albertson.)

Regarding Seay: she did not dance when MCB peformed the same program in West Palm so many weeks ago. Or, I should say, she did not dance in the 3 (of 4) performances I saw. I regreted this, but there were no major parts in this program that would have showed her off as she deserves.

Did you see both casts in the Taylor? It would be great to know your take on Cox/Delgado(Patricia) as compared to Baker/Delgado(Jeanette). All were wonderful -- but SO different. What did you think?

Only a couple of days before the City Center opening! I'm shocked to find that I'm actually NERVOUS, or over-exited anyway. And I'm not even a dancer!

[leibling]

I just wanted to clarify a casting issue.... at the FRIDAY, JANUARY 9 performance at the ARSHT CENTER in MIAMI, Katia Carranza performed the second lead girl, replacing Tricia Albertson, who was listed in the program. I know that some pre-performance announcements are difficult to hear, so I just wanted to make this correction.

[Jack Reed]

(from Coral Gables, FL) Briefly -- Thanks for that, leibling, everything that keeps us factually accurate here is really of value to me at least -- we're entitled to our responses, I suppose, but -- speaking as someone who gets it wrong sometimes -- we'd darn well better know who it is we're discussing!

Anyway, bart, I did see Kronenberg's BI this (Sunday) afternoon after I posted this morning and expressed my wish to see her in something "real". Would that I get what I wish for that quickly more often in life! Her partner was Guerra, and Albertson was the soloist! So this performance was one of the very top ones, and a fitting end of the little run for me: Tempos were a bit easier, which Kronenberg used for a grander, more regal rendition, I felt, a monarch more of this world and a little more variegated than Catoya's, who seemed to me a little more god-like. They're very effective approaches, each in their own way; if pressed to choose only one to see ever again, it might be Catoya and Penteado's, but perversely imagining this choice just makes me all the more glad I don't have to make it and that I got both, and in just a short span! What a company this is!

And as the soloist role seems to me to be a foil for the principal woman's role, it's all the more effective, that is, in raising our attention and appreciation of the principal by showing us someone close to her in more ways than one; and so the casting of Albertson, another tall woman, so similar in her way of moving she could almost be confused with Kronenberg sometimes, and also Guerra, whose personal "flavor" is more like Kronenberg's than, say Penteado's is, that this cast, seemingly made for each other, had such strength from unity that it ranked a close second to Saturday night's Catoya-Penteado-Carranza cast. (This was the performance that outdid the Friday evening one.)

By the way, I have been wondering why Symphony in C and not this arguably greater ballet is going to New York, and this afternoon Villella explained that this ballet has only one couple in it while Symphony in C has three.

I saw both casts in Mercuric Tidings, and I preferred Cox/Patricia D. vs. Baker/Jeanette D., because Patricia D. seems to me the more continent of the two sisters, and that's a virtue especially for this dance, not to mention Cox's greater presence. (Baker, new here, right?, looks a real comer, though.) As to the issue of Taylor dancers versus ballet dancers running earlier in this thread, I see the difference as more muscular and weightier -- that's not heavier, by the way -- versus lighter and more delicate; and I prefer the weight and authenticity of Taylor's dancers, but not by a whole lot. This was a very satisfying showing, and serves a further purpose in the relative absence of Taylor's company from this area. (There are darker Taylor dances which might suffer more in the translation to ballet dancers.)

[cubanmiamiboy]

Thank you for the clarification about Albertson's replacement by Carranza on Friday night, Leibling. I missed the announcement-(mea culpa)- and gave the not-so-good review to the wrong ballerina. Sorry about that. For what I see now, it was Carranza dancing the third girl who didn't do it totally for me. Corrections have been made in the original post. Still, about Albertson I can still maintain that sort of "slowing down"/"bland" feeling based on her performance from Saturday. Among all, I still remember Catoya as the savior of the night, lovely Seay still being the one I missed the most and regret not getting to see her at all...

[carbro]

By the way, I have been wondering why Symphony in C and not this arguably greater ballet is going to New York, ...

Arguably being the operative word. I would argue the other

... and this afternoon Villella explained that this ballet has only one couple in it while Symphony in C has three.

I like the choice of ballet, and I like Villella's thinking. The more, the merrier.

Only a couple of days before the City Center opening! I'm shocked to find that I'm actually NERVOUS, or over-exited anyway. And I'm not even a dancer!

I'm very excited but not at all nervous. Of course, I don't have the protective feelings towards these dancers that I might have towards my favorites in New York -- it's a matter of familiarity. But I've seen enough to hold them in high regard and know that they are more than up to the ballets they're bringing. And those they're leaving home, as well.