84 replies to this topic

[Helene]

Thank you for the report, iwatchthecorps.   It's great to see that the tour was well-publicized.

[bart]

Great to hear an inside-the-theater report of audience response.  Thank you, iwatchthecorps. I can't wait to hear about your next performance, especially the Symphony in Three Movements, one of MCB's biggest artistic triumphs in the past (for this Balanchine lover, at least)..

Good to hear about the positive response for Gary Sheldon.  That should go a long way in persuading donors to continue to support live music at MCB, well into the future.  

iwatchthecorps, on 14 July 2011 - 03:23 PM, said:

I felt that both 4Ts and La Valse were very warmly received. But, I felt a real energy in the audience for Western Symphony. It seemed that the audience, which was very young compared to audiences at MCBs other venues, recognized many of the tunes that wove their way through the score. Although the style may have been a little outside of the standard for French ballet, they embraced it. The applause at the end was huge and went on for many minutes.

Maybe they remember their parents' generation, with its love of "les Westerns" at the movies.  I suspect you are right about the familiarity of the songs.  I hope that PBS  released the Great Performances video -- including Western Symphony -- for international sale.

[iwatchthecorps]

Yesterday was Bastille Day, a day of national celebration. MCB performed La Valse, In the Night, and Symphony in 3 Movements to a nearly full house (the rest of Paris was immediately outside of the Chatelet getting ready to watch the fireworks over the Eifel Tower. The audience warmly received La Valse and their response grew for In the Night. This is the first time that I have seen In the Night. But, I was not prepared for their response to Symphony in 3 movements. The applause went on and on and on. The company received three curtain calls. I understand that this reception was even bigger than that for In the Upper Room that was performed last week.

Here are some pages from the program.

http://www.flickr.co.../in/photostream

http://www.flickr.co...in/photostream/

(I don't know why the images are not showing up)

After each piece, the theater was illuminated with camera flashes and this morning those pics started showing up on twitter (#MCBTakesParis)

Gary Sheldon and the l'Orchestre Promethee executed the difficult Stravinsky score wonderfully.

Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and Naples...you should be very proud of your company!

[Estelle]

Sorry for not having written since last week (and I'm writing this in a hurry before leaving my hotel room).

I attended three more MCB performances since then: the two performances of Saturday 9 (matinee with "Symphony in 3 movements", "Afternoon of a faun", "Liturgy" and "Ballet Imperial", evening with "Square dance", "The Four emperaments" and "In the Upper Room") and that of yesterday evening ("Theme and variations", "Promethean Fire" and "Nine Sinatra songs").

I loved all the performances (and so did the rest of the audience, considering all the applauses... especially for the Saturday evening performance). The ballets I preferred were "Symphony in three movements" (with
Katia Carranza, Carlos Guerra, Tricia Albertson, Daniel Baker, Patricia Delgado, Renan Cerdeiro- but the whole corps de ballet was wonderful too), "Square dance" (with Jeannette Delgado and Renan Cerdeiro again), "The Four Temperaments" (I especially liked Kleber Rebello, very musical in the Melancholic variation, and Patricia Delgao and Renato Penteado in the Sanguinic pas de deux) and "Theme and variations" (with Jeannette Delgado and
Renato Penteado). I find that "Afternoon of a faun" less interesting than some other Robbins works, but Jennifer Carlynn Kronenberg and Carlos Miguel Guerra were very good in it and it made me appreciate it more than when I saw it at the POB several years ago. I also liked their partnership very much in the "One for the road" pas de deux of "Nine Sinatra songs" (my favorite moment of that ballet, with "Softly" with Jeannette Delgago and Jeremy Cox (very romantic), and "Domani" with Patricia Delgado and Kleber Rebello- but all the couples were great, and Katia Carranza and Renato Penteado in "That's life" were especially applaused by the audience.)

"In the upper room" was very, very well received by the audience; I had liked the energy and dedication of all the dancers, but was not especially fond of the choreography (and of the Philip Glass score)... I even found it had become more "dated" than the two Balanchine masterpieces which had been performed just before and were decades older, and was a bit sad to see that it made the audience far more enthusiastic- but well, maybe it wasa because it was the last performance of the evening !

Well, I have to leave- and am looking forward to the last two performances I'll see today !

[iwatchthecorps]

A review: Le miami city ballet à paris, ou l’immanquable spectacle de l’été.

[iwatchthecorps]

I am not sure that this was mentioned here, but there was a film festival that coincided with MCB's visit to Paris. The films included some performance with Edward dancing lead roles.  See it at: http://www.lexpress....in_1011136.html

[cubanmiamiboy]

Estelle, on 16 July 2011 - 01:25 AM, said:

... "Theme and variations" (with Jeannette Delgado and Renato Penteado).

How was it...?  

[bart]

Estelle, I'm glad you are gaving such a good time, revisiting works you love.  MCB's Facebook page links to a review in the Financial Times.  The photo is from Four Temperaments (it looks like Phlegmatic) with Jeremy Cox at center.  It occurs to me that most of the rep they brought to Paris comes from two transcendent seasons (2007-2009).  Those seasons had so many major 20th-century works, especially Balanchine, and such a fascinating group of dancers..  This means that most of the dancers on the Chatelet stage had the chance to perform this rep fairly recently.  Only the youngest corps members and apprentices had to learn the parts specifically for Paris.

http://www.ft.com/in...l#axzz1SE0Caqv3

Quote

It  was quite a bet: a little-known ballet company from Florida  touring  Paris for three weeks in the middle of the summer. And yet  Miami City  Ballet is pulling off some of the most refreshing  performances seen here  in a while. With 14 ballets scheduled, it may be  an unprecedented  undertaking for the company’s founder and director,  former Balanchine  star Edward Villella, but this tight-knit troupe has  coped, and the  audience’s reaction to the unfamiliar repertoire has  been rapturous.

Under Villella’s guidance, Miami City Ballet has built a  reputation  for illuminating aspects of Balanchine’s style often  overlooked by  others. The dancers’ exuberance and faith in the steps  are infectious,  and theirs is an all-American musicality that sheds new  light on ballets  that have grown formulaic and dull on this side of  the Atlantic.

[ViolinConcerto]

Here's a summary of the season in Paris from the Miami City Herald.  

This is a brief quote:  

Quote

A feature this week in Le Monde, one of Paris’ leading newspapers, cited MCB as a prime example of Miami’s cultural explosion, and praised the troupe’s “sophisticated elegance, with a je ne sais quoi of modesty and generosity that makes all the difference.” London’s Financial Times described the audience’s reaction as “rapturous,” noting that “the dancers’ exuberance and faith in the steps are infectious, and theirs is an all-American musicality that sheds new light on ballets that have grown formulaic and dull on this side of the Atlantic.”

I'm sure Mr. V. is bursting with pride, and that Mr. B. is smiling as well.

Edited by ViolinConcerto, 17 July 2011 - 04:57 PM.

[bart]

Thanks for the link, Violin Concerto.  I was especially interested in Elizabeth Platel's comments in Villella's choice of repertoire for the Chatelet:.

Quote

Elizabeth Platel, director of the Paris Opera Ballet school, said  MCB's expertise and aplomb in the works of George Balanchine, and a  repertoire that struck a balance between dense, powerful Balanchine  works new to Paris, such as  Symphony in Three Movements and  Ballet Imperial, and his beloved, lighter ballets, such as  Tarantella,  Western Symphony and  Square Dance,  had proved to be a smart and appealing mix. The Balanchine works are  balanced by masterful, modern dance crowd-pleasers such as Twyla Tharp's   In the Upper Room and Paul Taylor's  Pomethrean Fire, and lyrical Jerome Robbins ballets such as  Afternoon of a Faun.

Also, referring to the sophistication of Paris audiences:

Quote

"Audiences  are very demanding because they have a lot of choice and they know a  lot of different companies," Platel said. "They know Balanchine, and  [the Paris Opera Ballet] has a very high level, and we have a lot of  Balanchine and Robbins. [MCB has] a different way of dancing from what  we are doing in Paris ... and the energy given by the dancers is great."

[cubanmiamiboy]

Quote

MCB has a different way of dancing from what  we are doing in Paris ... and the energy given by the dancers is great."

That's the effect of the year around sunny, hot days and salty water of the beach..!!  

Congrats, MCB...

[bart]

cubanmiamiboy, on 21 July 2011 - 11:09 AM, said:

Quote

MCB has a different way of dancing from what  we are doing in Paris ... and the energy given by the dancers is great."

That's the effect of the year around sunny, hot days and salty water of the beach..!!  

Congrats, MCB...

Cristian, the temperature/humidity index along the So. Fla. coast has been in the 100's recently.  Not a source of  "energy" for ME, at least.   But, then, I don't actually live on Miami Beach, so I may be missing the key ingredient.   AND I'm a good deal older than the MCB dancers.  So, who knows?  

[cubanmiamiboy]

bart, on 21 July 2011 - 12:03 PM, said:

cubanmiamiboy, on 21 July 2011 - 11:09 AM, said:

Quote

MCB has a different way of dancing from what  we are doing in Paris ... and the energy given by the dancers is great."

That's the effect of the year around sunny, hot days and salty water of the beach..!!  

Congrats, MCB...

Cristian, the temperature/humidity index along the So. Fla. coast has been in the 100's recently.  Not a source of  "energy" for ME, at least.   But, then, I don't actually live on Miami Beach, so I may be missing the key ingredient.   AND I'm a good deal older than the MCB dancers.  So, who knows?  

Oh, it is GORGEOUS here today-(and for a little "gossiping around town", me being a permanent staple at the beach during my days off, I've spotted some dancers indulging there sometimes... )

[Drew]

Thanks for all the reports from Paris.

[iwatchthecorps]

Last night we saw Western Symphony, In the Night, and In the Upper Room. The line for last minute tickets was out the door, down the block, and around the corner.  The only seats that I saw empty were those behind the famous poles in the Chatelet. Imagine opening with Western Symphony. This really warmed up the audience. In the Night was also well received. But, Upper Room brought down the house. I lost count of the curtain calls.The entire place was on its feet for minutes and minutes.

This was the last performance that I'll see here. It was an experience that I'll never forget and I'm sure that MCB won't either.

Quote

Villella told the Herald that its invitation to participate resulted from the greater international notice the company earned during its well-received New York debut in 2009. The company has been asked to consider returning to Paris in 2014, and a similar festival is interested in luring the troupe to Spain, he said.

From the Palm Beach Daily

Here is a recent blog post leading up to week 3 in Paris.

Here is what is being danced today (the last day).