141 replies to this topic

[mussel]

Especially Ganio, whose entrechat series was maybe the best I have ever seen, and I've seen David Hallberg ...

They seemed to soar as the series continued, until he was nearly reaching the proscenium. And he was so sensitive too. Loved his last attempt to reach for Giselle's skirt. Bravo to Ganio for breathing life into a performance that otherwise was lovely but a bit ossified.

Too bad, K Mc is in Taiwan...

That's what ABT wants you to believe.

It was performed in all of its glory: 50 corps men (all from POB, I wonder?) sitting on the periphery of the stage......

18 corps men, the others were supernumerary dancers. The corps men took curtain bow in the front, the supers stayed behind.

[puppytreats]

The entrechats on the diagonal in "Blanc" were amazing, as were the locked ankle bourees.

I loved seeing willis, shades, and swans all in one ballet.

Aurelie's exploration and development of her power in "Bolero" was spectacular. I wish I had seen Le Riche, too.

I am reminded of "Apollo" or the third act of "Sylvia", although neither protagonist becomes a snake charmer. That would lead us full circle to the shades again.

Miliosr - Her upper arms are cut like no woman I have ever seen, and the arc of her ribs is complete.

Fourth ring aficianados, please explain the appeal. I want to see faces!

[Natalia]

......

Fourth ring aficianados, please explain the appeal. I want to see faces!

1. Cost
2. Ability to see the entire stage action (Big picture), including patterns of corps
3. Possession of strong opera glasses/binoculars to allow us to see faces up-close when necessary...so we are not losing out at all and, in fact, feel that we gain a lot by being up higher, especially if the seat is towards the middle, not cutting-off the stage floor.

My experience with Bolero was 10,000-x better from high up yesterday than it was when I sat in the stalls/orchestra at the Cairo Opera House 20 yrs ago.

Mussell: Thanks for the info on the corps vs supers in Bolero. WOW - I counted about 50 men during the bows, so that would mean about 30 supers. That partly explains why the "cheapies" at the Kennedy Center did not program this. Heck, they did not want to pay 6 child supers for the Bolshoi Coppelia (to surround Old Father Time in Act III); Bolero would have broken the bank!

[Helene]

The Kennedy Center has made its trade-offs: next season they are presenting/producing the Mariinsky Ballet, Suzanne Farrell Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Ballet West, National Ballet of Canada, New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and Ballet Across America. What should they have dropped in order to have presented "Bolero"?

Intermissions that last for long fund-raising hours aren't an option at the Kennedy Center.

[abatt]

Fourth ring aficianados, please explain the appeal. I want to see faces!

The fourth ring is not a problem if you have good binoculars. Closure of the fourth ring is a little game designed by NYCB to force people to buy more expensive seats once the relatively small number of inexpensive seats in the lower levels are sold out. It's a way of keeping the supply of tickets artificially low in order to coax people into buying more expensive seats. POB adopted the NYCB structure. I went to the box office to buy a POB ticket a few weeks ago and was told that the fourth ring was still closed off from sale. I wanted to buy a seat at the cheapest price pont, but there were none available. I ended up buying a more expensive seat in the back of the seond ring. The POB engagement is a rare engagement, so I bought the more expensive seat. However, if this had been a NYCB performance, I would have walked without hesitation.

[California]

The Kennedy Center has made its trade-offs: next season they are presenting/producing the Mariinsky Ballet, Suzanne Farrell Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Ballet West, National Ballet of Canada, New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and Ballet Across America. What should they have dropped in order to have presented "Bolero"?

Intermissions that last for long fund-raising hours aren't an option at the Kennedy Center.

It sounds like somebody at the Kennedy Center (administrators and/or board?) is keeping a short leash on their budget - an ironic juxtaposition with the discussion going on in another forum about those issues in Miami.

[Helene]

It sounds like somebody at the Kennedy Center (administrators and/or board?) is keeping a short leash on their budget - an ironic juxtaposition with the discussion going on in another forum about those issues in Miami.

Well, MCB has hired Michael Kaiser as a consultant.

[Natalia]

Helene, I am referring to the just-completed season at the KennCen. You list what's coming in 2012/13; POB ended the 2011/12 season.

I would have removed a couple of the Giselles to present the 3ple bill twice, e.g., 4 performances of Giselle and two 3ple Bills instead of 6 Giselles.

[Helene]

Even if the logistics made sense -- i.e., shipping the sets and costumes for the triple bills to DC and then NYC -- it would still have been more expensive to present both in DC; unless someone made a major donation specific to subsidizing the difference, either there would be a deficit, the money might have been taken from next year's budget, or something else from the 2011-12 season would have had to give,

• National Ballet of China
• Ballet 360
• Suzanne Farrell Ballet
• NYCB
• Bolshoi Ballet
• Mariinsky Ballet

in addition to Paris Opera Ballet's "Giselle."

One person's "el cheapo" is another's "top-notch international programming within budget."

[Natalia]

Chicago did a week juggling Giselle and the 3ple bill -- which has minimal sets. They got the Giselle sets and costumes from Chicago to DC in a couple of days.

More importantly: Some of us grew up with far greater arts programs. It's sad to realize that every generation henceforth might be getting poorer and poorer arts programing, on all levels. Poorer and poorer everything (expectations for life, arts, food, living conditions, etc.). The Western world must have reached its economic apogee in the 60s and 70s. But that's the subject for another forum.

IT solutions, IPads, cellphones, etc., have not translated into greater quality of life. Yes, we can see many things 'live' on the internet. But is that living? Is that a substitute for being inside the Palais Garnier or the Met? Is seeing a skating event on internet the same as seeing it on a big TV screen...and is that the same as being in the ice arena live? My point: in 2012, people are quick to conform to easy solutions. In most cases, they don't even realize what they're missing. If you've only eaten 'plastic' microwavable pot roast, do you even know how a real pot roast tastes? If somebody doesn't demand old-fashioned quality, will the old standards ever come back? Maybe most folks would give up. I refuse to believe that the next generation has to settle for second-class living...IT toys & YouTube ballets (and plastic pot roast) above substance.

[Jayne]

I see your point, Natalia, but I think your point deserves its own thread. And maybe a PhD thesis.

[mussel]

Mussell: Thanks for the info on the corps vs supers in Bolero. WOW - I counted about 50 men during the bows, so that would mean about 30 supers. That partly explains why the "cheapies" at the Kennedy Center did not program this. Heck, they did not want to pay 6 child supers for the Bolshoi Coppelia (to surround Old Father Time in Act III); Bolero would have broken the bank!

I don't know how much POB paid for its supers but ABT pays only tokens. The supers at ABT do it for the love of the art form, being able to rub elbows with dancers, see the backstage actions, watch the dances upclose and personal, plus the bragging rights that they performed at the Met. I assume it's much easier to find 30 super dancers in NYC than in DC because of Broadway. I imagine the super dancers would do it for less just so they can put "Paris Opera Ballet" on their resume.

I also noticed there're at least 6 supers in Giselle, they're the guards that made the entrance before the huntig parites arrived.

[mussel]

To celebrate the Bastille Day on July 14, POB decided to stage Giselle Act III for the matinee show:

Giselle (Isabelle Ciaravola) and Albrecht (Karl Paquette) meets for one last time.


Giselle changes her mind about forgiving Albrecht:


She zeros in on the two-timer and tries to finish the job Myrtha failed to do:


The POB dancers are very friendly, but Isabelle and Karl are the most fun, and she is espeically talkative.

[cubanmiamiboy]

I would had LOVE to see "Suite en Blanc"...(sight)...Again...you lucky NY'rs...

[Birdsall]

Fourth ring aficianados, please explain the appeal. I want to see faces!

I like to sit up close for ballet too, but I have box seats for MCB that are the ones closest to the center of the auditorium but two levels up. For Balanchine ballets it is often nice to be higher than the orchestra level to see the geometric patterns the dancers make. You can still get an idea from orchestra, but sometimes higher up can be breath-taking.