38 replies to this topic

[cobweb]

Casting is up for the first week. No Sara Mearns. Not good!

[Ceeszi]

First thing I noticed also.  Is she okay?

[Slant]

Nice to see Russell Janzen get another featured role, building on Les Carillons from this past spring. This time to open the season the first week in Orpheus.

[bart]

cobweb, on 07 September 2012 - 04:49 AM, said:

No Sara Mearns. Not good!

OFF TOPIC:  Just noticed in the NY Times that Sara Mearns is scheduled to dance a non-NYCB gig in June  -- the closing program of the NY Philharmonic's season, ...

Quote

... an evening of Stravinsky ballets ("The Fairy's Kiss" and "Petrouchka") with Karole Armitage creating choreography for the New York City Ballet dancer Sara Mearns.  

[SingerWhoMoves]

If you follow Sara's twitter, she has been dealing with what sounds like back spasms.

[abatt]

Here's a fluff piece from today's NY Times re tonight's gala.  If nothing else, the costumes at least should be fabulous.

http://www.nytimes.c...tml?ref=fashion

[abatt]

I'm just back from the Gala tonight.  The stars were out in full force.  In attendance were Anne Hathaway, Sarah Jessica Parker, Iman, Angelica Houston (wow, too much plastic surgery is dangerous), Misha, Karolina Kurkova, Barbara Walters, David and Julia Koch, Roberto Bolle and of course Valentino.  In my opinion, the costumes upstaged the weak choreography of Peter Martins.  Sophisticated Lady was minor ballet in which Chuck Askegard waltzed Maria K around the stage for a few minutes.  Maria's dress was stunning, but the there was no sophistication in the choregraphy.   Not My Girl, w. Tiler Peck and R. Fairchild, was a very brief duo in which Fairchild showed off his tap dancing, and Tiler flirted with him in her colorful Valentino tutu. The choreography, again by Martins,was more at the level of student workshop than NYCB.  Thankfully, it was brief.

Things picked up considerably with This Bitter Earth, an excerpt of a new ballet by C. Wheeldon titled Five Movements, Three Repeats.  I thought this ballet was sensational, and I hope that this one becomes part of the rep of NYCB.  Whelan and Tyler Angle danced a tender and moving pdd of great depth.  The costumes were much more neutral in this ballet than the other costumes that Valentino created for this evening.  Wendy's dress had a sheer skirt that allowed you to see her line. Chris Wheeldon again strikes gold in creating a role on his muse, Wendy.

Rubies brought a number of significant debuts, and was cast primarily with corps and soloist members.  Ashly Isaacs and Danny Ulbricht did the third section of the ballet, and they were brilliant.  Their super charged technique and extroverted stage manner were spot on.  Kikta initially looked tentative as the tall girl, but she improved as the ballet proceeded.   It was good to see Anthony Huxley back on stage again after a long absence.  He did the pdd with Lauren Lovette.  I thought they were wonderful together, and that Lovette did an excellent job in bringing out the angularity of her role.  This girl is going places.   Pereira, Carmena and Lowery danced the initial section of the ballet..Why hasn't Ulbricht been cast in this ballet before?  He is perfect for it, and he is, in my opinion, underutilized at NYCB.

The final ballet of the evening was Bal de Couture, to the music from Eugene Onegin.  Again,  I thought the costumes upstaged the choreography of Martins.  Six of the women wear gorgeous dresses designed in various permutations of black and white. The dresses are so elaborate and have so many layers that there is no possibility of inserting any complex lifts into the choreography.  The dresses, in my opinion, hamper any possiblity of demanding choreography for those who are wearing them.   The main role of these beautifully dressed ladies  is to waltz around the stage with their dapper partners during the polonaise from Eugene Onegin.  In addition, there are three women wearing tutus (M. Fairchild, Bouder and Peck).  Personally, I thought the six dresses were gorgeous, but the tutus were unflattering. They made these three women look short waisted and broad shouldered, in my opinion.  (The women all have their hair done up in elaborate up-dos.)  I thought the choreography for the ensemble was very pedestrian.  The central leads of the ballet are Janie Taylor, Robbie Fairchild and Sebastian Marcovici.  (Janie's dress is a lovely lilac color with billowing arms and a sequin butterfly in the center of the back. This dress is sheer and light, and is much more suitable for ballet dancing.)  It is a romantic trio ballet which vaguely references the Onegin plot- Janie loves and is committed to Marcovici, but Fairchild is the man from her past for whom she still yearns.  I was hoping that this would be developed more in the ballet, but it seemed to go nowhere. The choreography for the trio was pleasurable but uninspired.

All in all,  a fun evening of costume and people watching.

By the way, the updated casting has Bouder replaced in her assignments for this week and next, but she danced tonight.  Not sure what's up with that.

I'm not a big fan of Orpheus, but Taylor and Marcovici were compelling in this ballet earlier this week.

Although Sara Mearns did not dance, she looked sensational in her red Valentino gown on the red carpet.

[cinnamonswirl]

Thanks for the descriptions, abatt. I'm glad to hear about Lovette.

Did Valentino do new costumes for Rubies as well? I can't find any pictures.

[abatt]

No, the costumes for Rubies were not by Valentino.  The Rubies costumes are the same ones that they use every season.  It was obvious that most of the audience had never seen Rubies before, because there was a collective gasp and spontaneous applause when the curtain was first raised for this ballet.

[miliosr]

Party pictures:

http://www.patrickmc...64&sortdir=DESC

[ViolinConcerto]

abatt, on 21 September 2012 - 07:09 AM, said:

No, the costumes for Rubies were not by Valentino.  The Rubies costumes are the same ones that they use every season.  It was obvious that most of the audience had never seen Rubies before, because there was a collective gasp and spontaneous applause when the curtain was first raised for this ballet.

That happens at EVERY performance......

[dirac]

Yup. Happens in San Francisco, too.

[puppytreats]

Friday's performance by the New York City Ballet of "Apollo", "Orpheus", and "Agon" represented an eagerly awaited lesson in IIIs and IVs.   Peter Martins merits praise for putting these three ballets together on the same bill.  They informed each other.

I have seen many different representations of the Orfeus myth, including the Paris Opera Ballet's version of Pina Bausch's "Orfeus", the Australian Opera's DVD version of Gluck's "Orfeo", Balanchine's "Chaconne", and, on Friday, Balanchine's "Orfeus". I did not notice any reference to Paradise or Elysian Fields in the Friday performance.  I admit to experiencing some distractions.  Did I miss it, or did the black hut represent this plane? Did Eurydice emerge from the black hut?  Could Orpheus possibly have reunited Eurydice in the Underworld in this version?

In "101 Stories", Balanchine writes that Apollo tried to, but could not, retrieve the music or the lyre (I forget which).  In the end, the lyre ascends by a prop that appears to be a rope/fish symbol/ broken figure 8/loop/near infinity image.  Does that indicate the lyre was trapped and inaccessible?  In the absence of Balanchine's explanation, I would have interpreted the image as perhaps hopeful.    Usually a raising, elevation, ascension, or eternity indicates a form of salvation, not a failure.  However, in light of Balanchine's writing, one must presume that the promise of retrieval or rebirth does not offer the benefits desired.  Perhaps a souless, empty lyre, without Orpheus or Eurydice, offers little solace.  The conductor explained the passage of music as similar to running in place, which I did not observe, but which would lend support to the conclusion contained in Balanchine's writing.   However, this would appear to offer a negative commentary on Apollo's apparent triumph, in the previous ballet (which could be viewed as Act I in Friday's program), of his (a) birth/rebirth, (b) ascension, and © having conquered (i) his powers; (ii) his muses; (iii) his gifts; (iv) other levels or planes; and/or (v) time (?).

The following deserve special praise:
1. Ana Sophia Scheller, for her clean, beautiful performance as Calliope in "Apollo";
2. Amar Ramasar, for his beautiful lines, lyricism, and moving performance as the Dark Angel in "Orpheus";
3. Wendy Whelan, for being the incomparable Wendy Whelan, always on a different level, again on Friday as Eurydice in "Orpheus";
4. Megan LeCrone, for her self-reflective, thoughtful approach in "Agon"; and
5. Maria Kowroski, for her particular strength, athletic skill, ability to create dramatic tension, and near-flawless execution in the pdd in "Agon.

I wanted to see this program since it was first announced, and I waited until the last minute to buy tickets.  Luckily, I obtained a $31.00 seat in the Fourth Ring.  The same approach failed me with respect to the opera at BAM today, and so far, with respect to the upcoming ABT and Ratmatsky workshop at the Guggenheim.  How early does one need to get on line to obtain canceled tickets to Works and Process generally?  

Lastly, are Apollo's feet supposed to be sloppy, to convey his developing of mastery over his body, or do some dancers perform the steps in a neat fashion?

[vipa]

Just came back from tonight's performance and wanted to share a few thoughts.

Scherzo a la Russe -   It is short & sweet.  A wonderful example of fine patterning and musical choreography.   I could watch it several more time.  It is a great opportunity for those SAB students to have stage time and be able to move big without technical challenges.  

Divert La Baiser de la Fee - Tiler Peck, Tiler Peck, Tiler Peck - lush port de bras, beautiful musical phrasing, rock solid technique in every way.  Who could ask for anything more.  I'm not a fan of Gonzalo Garcia, he was OK.  I just find that his movements are not completely finished, and he never dances in a way that lets you know he has time to spare.

Dances Concertantes - Very entertaining.  Combine this with the two previous mentioned pieces and the choreographic inventiveness still is astounding.  I loved Andrew Veyette in this.  Everything looked  sharp, taught and focused.  If this is an indicator, this will be a great season for him.  Megan Fairchild was also fine in this. They both brought a lot of humor and spice to the piece.  It's funny, but to me the choreography isn't dated but the costumes are.

I didn't stay for Firebird.  My husband dislikes the piece and I don't like it enough to sit through a 20 minute intermission to see it, particularly when I saw it twice last spring.

I'm going next Tuesday.  Excited about Symphony in C - Reichlen in the 2nd movement and Lauren King getting a shot at the 4th.  I'm hoping L. King will get promoted to soloist - there are only 2 female soloists at the moment.

[Natalia]

Vipa, I love Danses Concertantes, too! I saw it at earlier performances, a while back, with Sterling Hyltin and Gonzalo Garcia. Hyltin has really progressed since her early 'light blonde days.' (Not that the darker hair color makes her dance better nowadays but she seems technically stronger than the coltish days when I saw her trip through Tarantella at the KennCen.) The trios were all amazing at the earlier perf I attended and, yes, Lauren King (in the jazzy 'blue group') is a dazzling stand-out who has spent far too much time in the corps, for her level of talents.