70 replies to this topic

[trieste]

Now I feel a dunce for not grasping this concept before it was shown to me. Is it typically done before a performance of an actual ballet?

ETA: Yes, yes, Gillot as Courtesan! I have no doubt she is one of the best.

[cinnamonswirl]

Yes, it's done to open the season and for occasionally for other special performances like a farewell (but not all farewells).

The word défilé translates to something like parade. A fashion show is also called a défilé.

[pherank]

I would love to hear reports on the Balanchine performances happening at this time. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the POB is filming "Serenade" (and perhaps the entire program). It would be about time(!) to have a performance of "Serenade" available on DVD.

[cinnamonswirl]

Serenade is not being filmed. The ballets being filmed this season are Don Quixote, Troisieme Symphonie de Gustav Mahler and La Sylphide.

As for Soiree Balanchine, it's the same problem I always have with POB dancing Balanchine - they just don't understand Balanchinian movement. It's too academically correct and the energy and spirit aren't there.

Agon I think is the best. The dancers' personalities really come through and there is some edge. Ganio was terrific, and Dupon/Le Riche  in the Pd2. I would love to see Pagliero in the Pd2 because to me she is more suited for Agon than Serenade but I wasn't able to get tickets for that.

Serenade needs work. I was completely unmoved by the ending, which is a first. Almost like the dancers weren't really listening to the music. They were listening to the counts but not to what Tschaikovsky was trying to say through the music.

All I can say about Prodigal Son is that the Sirens (Letestu, Gillot) are considerably better than the Sons (Belingard, Thibault).

[trieste]

They're filming Sylphide? Isn't there a 2004 DVD with Dupont?

[kbarber]

trieste, on 14 October 2012 - 04:07 PM, said:

They're filming Sylphide? Isn't there a 2004 DVD with Dupont?

Yes, Dupont and Ganio.

[California]

trieste, on 14 October 2012 - 04:07 PM, said:

They're filming Sylphide? Isn't there a 2004 DVD with Dupont?

Yes, it was taped live at the Paris Opera in 2004, but just released last  year. Their La Sylphide is credited "choreography by Pierre Lacotte after Filippo Taglioni." It's a fascinating contrast with the more familiar Bournonville version. Principals are Aurelie Dupont and Mathieu Ganio.

[pherank]

cinnamonswirl, on 13 October 2012 - 05:45 PM, said:

Serenade is not being filmed. The ballets being filmed this season are Don Quixote, Troisieme Symphonie de Gustav Mahler and La Sylphide.

As for Soiree Balanchine, it's the same problem I always have with POB dancing Balanchine - they just don't understand Balanchinian movement. It's too academically correct and the energy and spirit aren't there.

Agon I think is the best. The dancers' personalities really come through and there is some edge. Ganio was terrific, and Dupon/Le Riche  in the Pd2. I would love to see Pagliero in the Pd2 because to me she is more suited for Agon than Serenade but I wasn't able to get tickets for that.

Serenade needs work. I was completely unmoved by the ending, which is a first. Almost like the dancers weren't really listening to the music. They were listening to the counts but not to what Tschaikovsky was trying to say through the music.

All I can say about Prodigal Son is that the Sirens (Letestu, Gillot) are considerably better than the Sons (Belingard, Thibault).

Thank you for this information. Again, no Serenade on DVD. I can't say this surprises me the way things have been going with Balanchine's works. But why another La Sylphide, instead? (A rhetorical question.)

[silvermash]

A practical assumption : perhaps, if you have to call to a larger audience in cinemas, full length ballets are more appealing.  As it has already been discussed, it doesn’t look like the broadcasts are systematically to become a DVD.
In any case, there are only 5 full length ballets this season, the others not filmed are Kaguyahime and Signes (this one is already on DVD, the other has a DVD by Nederlands Dans Theater).

[cinnamonswirl]

Ask and you shall receive!

[Nanarina]

Nanarina, on 03 April 2012 - 08:06 AM, said:

cinnamonswirl, on 15 March 2012 - 05:52 AM, said:

Quote

Perhaps also because they are quite a lot to be close to retirement age, they prefer to concentrate on short works instead of full length classical ballets…

I hadn't thought of that.

As to casting, there are a lot of retirements coming up, especially amongst the ladies -- Osta this season, and Ciaravola, Letestu and even Dupont in the next couple of years. It would behoove the company to start casting younger dancers now, rather than later, when they actually have to carry the company -- such as what is happening now with Héloïse Bourdon, who is debuting in La Bayadère next week.

Presumably we'll see a lot of Don Q debuts. 26 performances is a very long run!

Talking about Aurelie Dupont in the new season, she is cast to dance Sasha Walsh's Romeo and Juliet in May, with her beau Jeremie Belingard in May.  That should be very interesting, most certainly will have chemistry in it.  It would be great if it was filmed for realise on DVD.

I think that Jeremie was mentioned as a possible replacement for Herve Moreau if he was not fit enough to perform. However, it was Herve was able to dance in the run  and can be seen in the feature on Balletoman.com with a dowenload and view facility on the internet.

[pherank]

cinnamonswirl, on 13 October 2012 - 05:45 PM, said:

...As for Soiree Balanchine, it's the same problem I always have with POB dancing Balanchine - they just don't understand Balanchinian movement. It's too academically correct and the energy and spirit aren't there.

Serenade needs work. I was completely unmoved by the ending, which is a first. Almost like the dancers weren't really listening to the music. They were listening to the counts but not to what Tschaikovsky was trying to say through the music.

Sorry to hear that the performance wasn't a particularly good one. I imagine different nights/casts did better than others. I can think of quite a few companies that could do with a little of the "academically correct" though. Balanchine performed without precision can be a fright. I happened to dig up the NYCB's "Bringing Balanchine Back" DVD to catch some glimpses of Serenade and that segment (with Darci Kistler) fairs pretty well, but Symphony in C, Symphony in 3 Movements and Western Symphony look all a muddle due to the Corps lack of precision. Energy and speed are there, but no precision. I laugh every time I hear the comments from the Russian dancers about NYCB: "The legs very good. The arms not so good." "Not so good" is putting it mildly - arms at every angle. And different degrees of curvature/straightness. No one seems to realize how much this blurs the choreography and renders it indistinct. Not so good. ;)

[pherank]

cinnamonswirl, on 19 October 2012 - 07:32 AM, said:

Ask and you shall receive!

The video was great to see, btw. The only problem is that it's all about Mathilde Froustey, and keeps fading out when the ensemble is left alone on the stage. As if those are the boring parts!

[trieste]

Fortunately, I love Froustey...her FMG uploaded was terrific.

[silvermash]

pherank, on 19 October 2012 - 02:12 PM, said:

Sorry to hear that the performance wasn't a particularly good one. I imagine different nights/casts did better than others. I can think of quite a few companies that could do with a little of the "academically correct" though.

I believe if you don't like POB style, the different casts all looks the same in Serenade.
POB dances Balanchine in its own way and you may like it or not. I think personally it's the way it should be when you "import" a choreography in a with a strong stylistic tradition.
I also think Agon fared better because the personality of the dancers gave a very interesting turn sometimes to the pas de deux, especially Aurélie Dupont/Nicolas Le Riche and Eve Grinsztajn/Stéphane Bullion.
Prodigal son was all Agnès Letestu...