61 replies to this topic

[Helene]

Maybe if the Prodigal Father begs.

[vipa]

atm711, on 15 February 2013 - 03:23 PM, said:

I saw the first night Balanchine program and NYCB should beg, borrow  or  steal Carla Korbes.  What a wonderfully mature artist--they are so few and far between here at NYCB.  Seth Orza's Apollo has much to learn yet from Peter Boal.  I read  somewhere that Orza said he was studying the role by viewing tapes of Martins---he has the perfect mentor in Boal, who understands the role so well.  (I am biased---Boal is my all-time favorite in the role)

I, too, detected opening night jitters from the Company.  It should all disappear when they learn their Balanchine can be topped by no-one......

Korbes is a wonderful.   She certainly shows that there are world class dancers outside of the major cities.  She is musical & masterful.  She should stay in PNB as I'm sure she is going to.  IMO - while she'd be a great asset, NYCB doesn't really need her.  I believe there are many mature artists at NYCB.

I loved the PNW Balanchine night, but I have to admit that it made me appreciate the NYCB more. I realized how amazingly high my expectations are when I go to a NYCB performance.  PNB has wonderful dancers, but there seems to be a looseness to their dancing.  Shapes and positions don't quite gel.  It is also revealing that Korbes is so outstanding.  Her performance was in another realm in comparison to the other dancers.

Again, I loved the performance, but I feel a little like there may be a lack of appreciation for NYCB out there.  To me that company had a depth in dancing and rep that can't be beat.

I

[Jayne]

I think the looseness is part of the PNB style - it reflects the late 1950's - 1960's decade when Francia Russell danced / was ballet mistress and Kent Stowell danced for NYCB.  

Obviously NYCB cherry picks their best students from summer programs to attend year round, and then cherry picks them again when they graduate from SAB.  They *should* dance Balanchine well, and I think the reviews over the past 2 seasons especially indicate that they are raising the barre (no pun intended) even higher.

I enjoy this forum, but I enjoy the dancing even more.  Watching various companies dance should be similar to visiting a variety of museums in NYC.  The Met is always going to be the Met.  I love it, especially the American wing.  But I also love to visit the Gugenheim, MoMa, etc.  I can appreciate Monet's art and still enjoy the Picassos, Van Goghs, etc.  It's a shame that the Republicans demonize the National Endowment for the Arts and PBS.  Those institutions bring art - especially dance art - to the masses through television and sponsorship of tours. I wish I could see MCB, Houston, Ailey and all the others every year on tours and Dance in America programs.   I'll step down from my soap box now.  ;)

PNB posted this video on FB today, if you watch the 2nd half you can see some of the 1st night show, as filmed from just off stage.

https://www.youtube....eature=youtu.be

[sandik]

Oh, big fun with the video!  Carrie Imler in those shiny, shiny shoes and Jonathan Porretta in Agon.  And Jessika Anspach got engaged!

[Helene]

to Anspach and her fiance!

[sandik]

I was already looking forward to seeing Agon later this spring, but this just makes it better!

[vipa]

sandik, on 15 February 2013 - 11:06 PM, said:

Oh, big fun with the video!  Carrie Imler in those shiny, shiny shoes and Jonathan Porretta in Agon.  And Jessika Anspach got engaged!

I'm so, so sorry that I didn't get to see Carrie Imler in Balanchine.

[Jayne]

R&J opening night montage, just posted on the PNB facebook scroll:

https://www.youtube....NgqGHEA&index=1

[sandik]

vipa, on 16 February 2013 - 05:39 PM, said:

I'm so, so sorry that I didn't get to see Carrie Imler in Balanchine.

She does seem to have a special affinity for the repertory.  Her performances in Square Dance several years ago are still in my head -- she is able to articulate the difference between fast (everything just zooming along) and quick (a decision to move at a particular speed), so that she's got clear accents inside a speedy phrase -- it's a true pleasure to watch.

[sandik]

Jayne, on 16 February 2013 - 05:51 PM, said:

R&J opening night montage, just posted on the PNB facebook scroll:

https://www.youtube....NgqGHEA&index=1

Thanks so much for the link -- it looks like it's going well.  I know they were concerned about R&J on that stage, since it's not as large as the stage here in Seattle, but it doesn't look crowded to me.  (I haven't been to City Center since the remodel, so these glimpses of the lobby are very impressive!)

[Helene]

In one of the Q&A's Peter Boal said they taped down the dimensions of the City Center stage in the big rehearsal studio so they'd have an idea.

My favorite pairing of muses at PNB is still Carrie Imler's Polyhymnia and Leah O'Connor's Calliope.  Each of them was fabulous in her solo, but what made it really great is that they weren't so broken up by not being chosen -- no having to deal with that ego for very long -- and they were dynamite together after the Terpsichore-Apollo Pas de Deux, flying down the stage in diagonal with the mirror en dedans pirouettes.  They were like partners in crime, and they had great chemistry together.

Imler's "Square Dance" is probably my favorite thing I've ever seen in almost two decades of watching the company, and there have been a lot of highs along the way.

I think it's a shame she wasn't showcased in this program.  Korbes deserves all the accolades she gets, but she's not the only ballerina out here.  I understand wanting to showcase the younger and up-and-coming dancers, but I wonder if a Nakamura/Imler "Concerto Barocco" would have settled the opening nerves that every reviewer I've read so far has written about.  There should have been more than one performance of the Balanchine program, and by the second day, the young-uns could have shined.

[Jayne]

and....thus spake Alastair Macauley...I was rather expecting this, as his preferences for neo classical dance are very clear. I posted the link here because of his praise of the Nakamura / Moore matinee.  Some of you were worried about missing Carla Korbes in this role, and as it turns out the 2nd cast received higher praise.

I still lament the lack of Carrie Imler in NYC casts, surely they could have crammed in 1 additional Balanchine night to show her off?  I second the earlier preference for her Square Dance.  The Lady's feet would make even Fred Astaire cry in envy.  

My dream 2nd night would be PNB's Blue period, and include Square Dance (Mr B), Sum Stravinsky (Gaines), Million Kisses (Dawson) and more Balanchine - maybe something a little slower, after all that allegro dancing, so I'll pick Serenade.   Poor Ms Imler, I'd cast her in everything and she'd die from exhaustion.

For a 3rd night I'd go Red, and include Rubies (Mr B), Piano Dances (Gibson), Red Angels (Dove) and finish up with La Valse (Mr B)

So each program would have 2 balanchines, 1 pnb choreographer and 1 outside choreographer.

[Barbara]

Unfortunately I have to agree with Mr. Macauley. I was at the Sat. matinee.  Long ago I had seen pieces of this R&J on a PNB video (w/Noelani) and was intrigued, but seeing the full length makes me realize anew that I'm a classical gal and contemporary choreography just isn't for me.  I felt the production was overlong and confusing - was that Lord Capulet in brown? Oh, he's kissing Juliet, must be Paris. Has Lady Capulet changed her outfit from grey to black? Oops, that must have been Rosalind. I joked with my daughter that Romeo suffered "death by scenery" - it looked as if he flung himself headlong into the pointed edge of one of the raised platforms. I found myself missing the swordplay. There was one very effective piece of business though that sticks in my memory - when Romeo finds Juliet apparently dead and kisses her passionately as if hoping that would bring her to life, Juliet's body arches upward on the strength of the kiss only to collapse again. Absolutely riveting. I did appreciate the beautiful dancers and the music was worth the price of admission. I only wish I had the chance to see the company shine in something else. In the end, I don't regret going to see this wonderful company in their R&J - it might not be my cup of tea but I was introduced to something new and that's never a bad thing.

[abatt]

I have to agree that after seeing the Maillot R&J I had a new esteem for the MacMillan version.  The Maillot choreography is very modern.  What's worse is that he tended to make his lead characters into charicatures sometimes, which made it difficult to care about the fate of the characters.  I also had the same confusion about Lord Capulet that Barbara mentioned.  It was only after reviewing the playbill that I could determine definitively that there was no Lord Capulet, and the tall man in brown was supposed to be Paris.

Earlier in the week I thought the Concerto Barocco was marred by first night jitters. However, the Apollo was very well done. I could not stay for Agon.

Have to agree that the PNB's program choices for their rare visit to NY was puzzling.  I would have preferred to see some good rep instead of this modern version of R&J. The house may have been full, but I know that there were tons of discounts available for many weeks for these performances. I think a very large percentage of the tickets sold were sold at a significant discount.

[Jayne]

vipa, on 16 February 2013 - 05:39 PM, said:

sandik, on 15 February 2013 - 11:06 PM, said:

Oh, big fun with the video!  Carrie Imler in those shiny, shiny shoes and Jonathan Porretta in Agon.  And Jessika Anspach got engaged!

I'm so, so sorry that I didn't get to see Carrie Imler in Balanchine.

And....here she is (along with Carla Korbes):  This video is hypnotic:

https://www.youtube....h?v=rd1SDbQbHvM