53 replies to this topic

[sandik]

It's very normal for additional casts to learn a new work even if they're not scheduled to be dancing it this time around -- it's more along the lines of preparation for the next time the work is performed.

[Helene]

I'm just surprised they were listed in the "couples" video if they were "covering" this time around.

[sandik]

Helene, on 30 January 2012 - 12:36 AM, said:

I'm just surprised they were listed in the "couples" video if they were "covering" this time around.

This is just speculation (enhanced after reading Steven Manes' discussion of the R&J where Noelani Pantastico had to perform all 9 shows) but I have a feeling that Boal would be very willing to have several alternates available for a work like this...

[Helene]

Absolutely.  I'm surprised they were revealed in the statistics video under "5 Couples."  (We often can see them shadowing in the back of rehearsal videos.)  Particularly since the short clip of Rausch was so enticing.

[Helene]

Marcie Sillman interviewed Alexei Ratmansky and spoke to Peter Boal for this segment on KUOW:
http://kuow.org/program.php?id=25863

For those of us who've been wondering how the cast of thousands in Alexei Ratmansky's version for Dutch National Ballet, suggested to Boal by Mikhail Baryshnikov after Bartyshnikov turned down Boal's request to stage it, would translate to PNB's 46 dancers:

Quote

Boal: "I thought, we're sunk! But he said, 'No, wait. We had a lot of extra dancers onstage, we might be able to pare it down.' So, he was willing to make it work. And it's a stretch for us, but it will work."

Peter Boal enlisted some of his top–level dance students to fill in the gaps. And Ratmansky set out to redesign some of the Seattle crowd scenes to make them feel as big as those he made for the larger Dutch cast.

One more night!

[Helene]

Stage rehearsal:  just under a minute of Leta Biasucci in the Cupid's variation:

[Helene]

Critic Alice Kaderlan was interviewed by KUOW's Dave Beck for the show KUOW presents:
http://kuow.org/program.php?id=25854

(Select "RealAudio", High or Low settings for MP3, or "Download" to listen.)

She discusses having seen her first Ratmansky story ballet in St. Petersburg in 2008, her observations about Ratmansky during a corps rehearsal and his instructions for characterization, and what she's looking for in this production.

[sandik]

And Marcie Sillman's interview with Ratmansky on KUOW ran this morning (Friday) during their NPR/Morning Edition time -- they often re-run material like this, so keep ears open.

[sandik]

Biasucci as Cupid -- this looks just like a fairy variation from Sleeping Beauty -- I think she'd make a great Canary.

[Helene]

When I saw the DNB video of "Don Q", Biasucci immediately leapt to mind as Cupid.

[Helene]

How is Karel Cruz going to fit in the basket in Act II?

[sandik]

Helene, on 03 February 2012 - 01:22 PM, said:

How is Karel Cruz going to fit in the basket in Act II?

Perhaps it operates as Hermione Granger's handbag does in the last of the Harry Potter books -- infinitely expandable.

[Helene]

(I don't think it's placed over one of the traps.)

[Jayne]

I saw the dress rehearsal last night, no cast was listed in the program, but looked to be the Saturday night cast, with Kauri Nakamura / Lucien Postelwaite as Kitri / Basilio.  It was a lot of fun to watch, there were quite a few glitches with sets, the dancers kept going even as a portly man in tshirt and sweats ambled across the stage to fix something.  Kauri was "on" but Lucien was marking some of his wedding dance solos in the 3rd act.  PNB is acting better here, but the Spanish "flair" does not come as naturally to Balanchine style dancers, as it does for other styles.  There was a particular lack of bravura on the part of the men, although the toreadors gave it their best shot.  Very colorful and charming, though.  Definitely in the Ratmansky naturalistic style.  Not quite as "mannerly" as other productions.

[Helene]

Peter Boal said in the Q&A last night that Lesley Rausch and Jerome Tisserand are performing Kitri and Basilio in the abridged school performance of "Don Quixote".

Before Boal and Jonathan Porretta arrived -- there was a big gala party right after the performance, and Boal greeted his guests and made a toast -- Audience Services Manager John Tangeman fielded questions.  He said that the opera, which closed last Saturday, was cleared out sometime on Sunday, and that the PNB crew worked until 3am, after which the electricians showed up at 4am.

PNB dancers don't get a lot of stage time for any production, let alone one that ships in 4x as many crates as their "Nutcracker", which itself is a huge production.  In some ways, dress rehearsals are the worst of both worlds, if a necessary evil:  the dancers are still transitioning from the tape marks in the studio to the reality of set pieces, and adjusting to differences in proportion, spacing, and lighting, yet their in costume and everything looks bright and shiny.  Sometime the dance energy is there, but that's not the focus.

Peter Boal joked that last night was a dress rehearsal (for Korbes and Cruz, anyway), but unlike for "Coppelia" and "Giselle", it didn't look it.  It took about .0001 second for the audience to erupt and stand when Korbes and Cruz came out for their first curtain call.  

It was great to see Alexei Ratmansky, lighting designer James Ingalls, and set and costume designer Jerome Kaplan, on stage to take their bows at the end.