158 replies to this topic

[bobbi]

I too was disappointed about the solos in Diamonds being omitted.  It brought me back to the many times in the 70's when Peter and Suzanne omitted them when Jewels was on a 1 p.m. Sunday matinee.  This was not because of injury but because of choice of the dancers.  Hope Mearns has not re-injured herself.

[California]

canbelto, on 27 January 2013 - 05:02 PM, said:

Sara Mearns was injured before Diamonds, and tweeted immediately after the show explaining her injury. She danced with unusual caution and the solos for both Mearns and Ask La Cour were omitted. I certainly hope the injury is not serious -- she just came back from an injury.

She has sent out several tweets on this:

Quote

sara mearns‏@nycbstar2b
The show must go on and it did. Instead of dancing 200 percent , I did 90. Ugh. Should be ok with rest and ice. Sigh.
14hsara mearns‏@nycbstar2b
Thank you to my partner Ask La Cour for getting me thru it, and Thankyou to Maria for staying in the wings. It just came on so fast...
sara mearns‏@nycbstar2b
I just want to apologize to anyone at the show today. I hurt my foot right before the curtain went up and had no choice but dance.

A new tweet Monday morning from Sara:

Quote

sara mearns‏@nycbstar2b
Nothing major, just some swelling in my tendon from over use. Ice Ice Ice.

Edited by California, 28 January 2013 - 10:39 AM.

[abatt]

bobbi, on 28 January 2013 - 05:17 AM, said:

I too was disappointed about the solos in Diamonds being omitted.  It brought me back to the many times in the 70's when Peter and Suzanne omitted them when Jewels was on a 1 p.m. Sunday matinee.  This was not because of injury but because of choice of the dancers.  Hope Mearns has not re-injured herself.

I assumed that unless there was some kind of emergency at issue, like injuries, all sections of every ballet must be performed.  This is the first time I've ever heard that it was the choice of the dancers whether the taxing sections of a ballet will be performed. Having now read Mearns' tweets, it is apparent that Maria K. was waiting in the wings to perform Diamonds in case Mearns could not proceed.  Is it better to perform half a ballet with the scheduled principal, or the whole ballet  with an unscheduled principal.  That may be a question for discussion, but one thing I am sure of is that an announcement should have been made regarding the omitted portions of the ballet right before the curtain rose.  Their silence made it look like they were trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the audience.

[rg]

i believe there were times when Balanchine himself deemed it necessary to drop movements of some ballets when dancers were at risk of one thing or another. on at least one, if not more, occasion(s) the entire 3rd movement of SYMPHONY IN C was omitted.
on a number of occasions the scherzo of DIAMONDS was omitted for reasons never really given - i too heard there were rumors about Martins's or Farrell's or before that Mazzo's wishes to have these 'cuts' taken but these were only hearsay.
as Balanchine was alive and well, it's rather safe assume that the decision to drop a section from one of his ballets was ultimately HIS and not just some dancer's whim.
one such time it was said, that while the scherzo had been dropped on occasion during Farrell's absence from the company, that when she first came back, it was she who insisted that the scherzo NOT be dropped, no matter what.
but again all this was hearsay and i don't think Balanchine's decision-making reasons were ever spelled out.
so a DIAMONDS without the scherzo is not without precedent at NYCB.

[brokenwing]

Around the time of the centennial, Peter Martins told a story about Balanchine involving the scherzo, in which he said it was being cut due to either his or Suzanne's injuries at the time. One night before 'Diamonds', Balanchine was wanting to bond with Peter and have some vodka before the show. Peter protested saying he had 'Diamonds' to dance, to which Balanchine responded 'We'll cut the scherzo!'. I thought it was a charming story.

[abatt]

Certainly  the choreographer is permitted to omit, add to or change his or her work.  The more difficult question is what right, if any, do other people have to change the choreography without the permission of the Trust while the copyright is still in effect. I believe the answer is that nobody has the right to make a change without the Trust's authorization, although I 'm sure there is a provision in the license agreement that allows for modifications in cases  of unanticipated emergencies.

[ivanov]

I also missed the scherzo yesterday.  It reminded me of a performance of La Source about 10 years ago when a portion of the ballet (one of the two pas de deux and 2 variations) was omitted, again without announcement.  Things seem very different now in the age of twitter, which does seem to have removed some of the mystery from the theater.  Regarding one of Mearns' tweets I can't help but think of the exchange between Eve and Karen in All About Eve:  "The show must go on!"  "No, dear, Margo must go on."  However, it must be hard to compose a tweet under these circumstances.

[balanchinette]

angelica, on 27 January 2013 - 04:45 PM, said:

I, too, attended last night's performance, which included a tour de force by Peck and DeLuz in Tchai Pas that kept me at the edge of my seat. But even more memorable for me was the luminous performance of Maria Kowroski in Diamonds. With what are, arguably, the most beautiful legs and feet in all of ballet history, coupled with a plasticity and expressiveness of her upper body, Kowroski danced with a fluidity such that every extension, every position, was drawn to the utmost. I also enjoyed watching Janie Taylor in Bal de Couture, although I think the tutus and the red shoes make everyone's legs look muscular and thick.

Btw, did anyone notice a mishap in Diamonds last night? At one point I thought I heard a gasp in the audience but I was sitting at the side of the first ring so that the dancers were hidden from sight at just that moment.

Angelica, I believe it was Olivia Boisson who took a thumping fall, but she got back up immediately.  Agree absolutely on the beauty of Maria's Diamonds -- those legs are a national treasure, she is so breathtakingly beautiful!  I've loved her dancing this season -- so strong and crisp, with great authority, in Mozartiana (I much prefer her to the lightweight Sterling Hyltin -- Sterling's bourrees are too fast -- she ends up almost vibrating, which takes away from the effect), absolutely gorgeous in Swan Lake (I admit I cried, whereas Mearns's SL did not move me at all) -- and so gorgeous in Diamonds.  I thought Tyler Angle on Sat was also wonderful in his solos -- great elevation on his petit allegro.  Maria's extension and back are amazing, and I love the way her endless limbs sweep through space.

I hope they find a better leading man replacement than Ask la Cour - that was a scary moment in TP2 when he took down Tess Reichlen.  These ballerinas are risking real injury with untested partners that clearly don't have the technical prowess needed in these roles.

[abatt]

balanchinette, on 28 January 2013 - 12:34 PM, said:

I hope they find a better leading man replacement than Ask la Cour - that was a scary moment in TP2 when he took down Tess Reichlen.  These ballerinas are risking real injury with untested partners that clearly don't have the technical prowess needed in these roles.

I feel the exact same way.  The problem is that there are not enough tall men to partner the tall ladies at NYCB.  Even Tyler Angle is not quite tall enough to partner Maria,  but it's the best they can do.  Part of the problem is that Jon Stafford seems to be frequently injured or absent, so they have to scramble to find a tall guy whenever he's out.  Ask is the default choice.  They are working on bringing Finlay up to code in partnering, but he still has some work to do.

[angelica]

balanchinette, on 28 January 2013 - 12:34 PM, said:

those legs are a national treasure....Maria's extension and back are amazing, and I love the way her endless limbs sweep through space.

balanchinette, I loooove the way you describe Maria.

[vipa]

Just want to mention that I got same day half price tickets for Sunday at the Atrium across from Lincoln Center.  They had fourth ring rows A & B.  I love those seats.  I was very center of the fourth ring row B.  They also had some first ring at half price.

[California]

Casting is up for the fourth week:
http://www.nycballet...-2013_lobby.pdf

Whelan is still missing. Any news on that?

[vipa]

I had my first experience with the subscription ticket exchange option.  The casting for the first week of SB's went up and, although I'm sure each Aurora will do a fine job, I wanted to be sure to see Tiler Peck do it.  I gave the very helpful box office lady my 2 options and the trade was successful for comparable seats.  However only one of the two dates had availability, and both date quite full.  In fact I was told the ballet was selling extremely well in general.   I'm thinking they might open up the 4th and maybe even the 5th ring.  

Anyone else have any experience with the exchange thing?

[bobbi]

I too exchanged one of my subscription tickets as soon as SB casting went up because I wanted to see Tiler Peck.  My usual seats are in the Second Ring and, for Tiler's 2/17 matinee, I was given the choice of only First Ring on the arm or Third Ring.  Very glad to know the house is full.  It's been extremely packed every time I've gone.  I will of course catch one of Ashley's SB too.

[abatt]

I saw Paz De La Jolla and, on a differnt program, Year of the Rabbit,  over the weekend.  Paz was pleasant, with creative choreography for the corps in particular.  It is more conventional than Peck's Rabbit, but with much less detail.  You can tell that Peck had an enormous amount of time to polish the choreography of Rabbit. Not so much for Paz. For me the standout of Paz was Tiler Peck.  It showed off her strong technical abilities.  In some ways, it reminded me of when Tiler Peck came bursting out of the corps in  Martins' Friandises (spell?).  I liked Rabbit more this season than last, although I still think there are aspects of the ballet that are mere filler rather than choreography (having corps men do push ups, having corps women do stretching exercises, for example).The pdd between Taylor and Angle was particularly beautiful in Rabbit.

Bouder really earned her pay on Sunday.  She did double duty.  Her role in Rabbit is very difficult. Nevertheless, she did a brilliant job in Voices of Spring in VW on the same program.  Carmena gave one of his best performances as Bouder's partner in VW.  It bothered me that there were groans in the audience when it was announced that Maria K. was replacing Mearns in the final section of VW.  It's a rude response. Maria is an excellent dancer, and she has grown a lot in her role in the final section.  

On Sunday, the main pdd in Glass Pieces was performed by Krohn and Adrian DW. Krohn's approach is much softer  than either Whelan and Maria K's.

On Sat. evening I saw Porte/Soupir.  This ballet is really not my cup of tea, but I'm willing to sit through it about once per decade.  Maria's movements to the recorded door creaking elicited laughter.  Was that what Balanchine intended?