61 replies to this topic

[Barbara]

Thanks for this Helene. I was a little disappointed that I wouldn't be seeing Carla Korbes, Seth Orza, Carrie Imler at the R&J matinee - only because those are names I recognize and have never seen dance. But it sounds like the Sat. matinee will be fabulous too! Looking forward to it.

[Waelsung]

Helene, on 01 February 2013 - 11:58 PM, said:

James Moore, who will dance Romeo to Kaori Nakamura's Juliette at City Center at the Saturday, 16 February matinee, was just promoted to Principal Dancer tonight.  Since the promotion machine at PNB is about a decade behind, you can be sure that this is well-deserved and in the "It's about time, already" category, and he's brilliant in the role and Nakamura's a divine Juliette.  So go see them.

Helene, would you say the matinee casting is the one to see? Is it superior to what is being offered on Fri and Sat nights?

[Helene]

I saw Korbes with Postlewaite and the Nakamura/Moore pairing the last time the ballet was performed in Seattle, and I wouldn't have missed either of them for the world.

I'm assuming everyone has read Macaulay's accolades for Korbes, and she is a goddess.   In Kourlas' interview in the NYT yesterday, she spoke about wanting to become a guest dancer at NYCB.  (I don't know what Martins will do about that.)  She's danced in galas in NYC, but that's different from taking on a full-length role, especially Juliette, especially by a dancer in the beginning of her prime.  (Her lead-up to her prime was pretty spectacular, too.)

A number of people on Ballet Alert! have spoken about how they like to see mature ballerinas.  Kaori Nakamura is in her early 40's, and unless PNB makes an exception and does R&J right away -- next season has not yet been announced -- it's unlikely that she will be dancing when it's next presented in Seattle, as she's making those heart-breaking noises about retirement.   Nakamura is the perfect combination of a dancer in her 40's with the maturity of a dancer in her 40's, and the technique of a dancer in her 30's, a rare gift to see.  There are no "buts" about her dancing.  She will be a different Juliette than Korbes: as great as she is a classical dancer, she's been doing fantastic work in Olivier Wevers' contemporary choreography, and that's R&J's genre.

This is a new role for Orza; Lucien Postlewaite, now with Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, was Korbes' partner in the last run.  Postlewaite and Moore were very different, but I loved them both.  I'm sure Orza will be a great Romeo, too.  He'll have a different dynamic with Korbes.   Not that Orza isn't a handsome fellow and all, but to be perfectly superficial, James Moore is pretty gorgeous.

So as much as it rips my heart out to suggest to anyone, especially NYers, that they might consider skipping Korbes' Juliette -- and this is like choosing between your children -- if you have the intestinal fortitude to listen to your friends tell you what you missed -- because you'll never convince them that they haven't missed something equally great -- you won't go wrong seeing Korbes dance Terpsichore in the Balanchine program and Nakamura/Moore in R&J.  

The best thing would be to see the Balanchine program and both casts of R&J.  I know, I'm very good at spending other people's money, but PNB doesn't tour very often.

[Barbara]

Ah yes, the old budget conundrum - if only. Alas, for me it will only be the Sat matinee and now my interest is really piqued!

[Jayne]

Just back from the matinee with Nakamura / Moore and it was pretty amazing.  Nakamura doesn't have the ethereal quality of Korbes.  But she offers an earthier character for Juliet: a spunky, sometimes socially awkward teenager who falls in love for the first time, and blossoms into a young lady.  The chemistry between James Moore and Kaori Nakamura is very believable.  

One thing to keep in mind: this production is not just about 2 dancers, in fact the scenes that most remain in my mind involved the entire corps.  You will get your money's worth at the matinee.

[Waelsung]

Thank you, Helene, for such a detailed answer! I wish I could see several programs, but unfortunately, for budgetary and logistic reasons it's going to be just one. Very hard choice to make, and I can't say you made it easier for me

[sandik]

Helene, on 02 February 2013 - 04:57 PM, said:

A number of people on Ballet Alert! have spoken about how they like to see mature ballerinas.  Kaori Nakamura is in her early 40's, and unless PNB makes an exception and does R&J right away -- next season has not yet been announced -- it's unlikely that she will be dancing when it's next presented in Seattle, as she's making those heart-breaking noises about retirement.   Nakamura is the perfect combination of a dancer in her 40's with the maturity of a dancer in her 40's, and the technique of a dancer in her 30's, a rare gift to see.  There are no "buts" about her dancing.  She will be a different Juliette than Korbes: as great as she is a classical dancer, she's been doing fantastic work in Olivier Wevers' contemporary choreography, and that's R&J's genre.

"There are no "buts" about her dancing."

Damn -- that's good!

Your comments about Nakamura remind me of the observations that people made about Ulanova later in her career -- that as she aged, her portrayal of Juliet got deeper and deeper.

Edited to add -- Nakamura danced with the Winnipeg company when Evelyn Hart was there, who also had a long career, so she's had that example in her experience.

[Helene]

I just scrolled to see that they're offering a 20% discount for buying tickets to both programs:

http://www.nycitycen...anceNumber=6711

[SingerWhoMoves]

There are discounted tickets available at tdf's website.

[SandyMcKean]

This is an "extra" level of refinement to the excellent recommendations above, but in case someone needs one extra bit of incentive to choose one performance over another: Lindsi Dec's performance of Lady Capulet on Sat evening is spectacular.  Not that Maria Chapman and Laura Gilbreath's are not, but Lindsi was made for this role.  All three are terrific, but Lindsi will add just a extra bit of spice on Sat night.

[Helene]

If you are going to see one of the evening R&J's, Saturday night is the only time to see Carrie Imler on ths tour, as Nurse, which is a more prominent part than in other productions.  I haven't seen Foster's Nurse, and I'm not comparing them.

[SandyMcKean]

I saw Foster's nurse last Friday, and she is excellent.  I've seen Carrie's too.  I'd say Carrie's is a bit more dead on in terms of the comedic nature of the role, and Rachel's is more intensely emotional (superbly so).  The only negative is: as good as Carrie is as the nurse, the role does not give her a chance to show the full range of her incomparable abilities (e.g., Carrie in Square Dance is to die for).

[Helene]

For anyone who wants more opinions and descriptions, Nakamura and Moore danced opening night last Friday, and they were reviewed in "Seattle Times."  sandik saw both couples performing in NYC, and her review should be published in "Seattle Weekly" by Wednesday.

[puppytreats]

Does City Center exchange tickets on the day of the show? If only bad tickets are available, is one better off buying them and exchanging them, if possible, or waiting until  the day of, in case of cancellations, in light of how bad the bad seats are at City Center?  Are other reputable sources of tickets available?

[Helene]

"Seattle Weekly" doesn't give sandik enough space to go into great detail, but she is able to give contrasting descriptions of the two casts, if you're curious and/or still need to make a decision:

http://www.seattlewe...eo-et-juliette/