44 replies to this topic

[Dale]

The Kirov at the Kennedy Center and Lincoln Center, especially Jewels, La Bayadere, Veronika Part in Swan Lake and Solugub as Queen of the Dryads in Don Q.

ABT in Ashton, Murphy and Gomes in Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, Murphy in 1st mvt Symphony in C at the Met and Murphy/Stiefel in 3rd mvt. in Symphony in C at City Center.

At NYCB, Maria Kowroski and Monique Meunier in Kammermusic No. 2, Kowroski in Agon, Ansanelli in Allegro Brilliante and the Voices of Spring section w/Woetzel in Vienna Waltzes, and maybe my performances of the year - Jenifer Ringer and Nikolaj Hubbe in Who Cares?, Meunier in Cortege Hongrois and Ringer w/Neal in Raymonda Variations.

Peter Boal in Witchel's Equillibrium (my favorite new ballet of 2002, with Wheeldon's Continuim coming in second).

[atm711]

Ashton's 'The Dream' with Ferri and a surprisingly good Stiefel
Ananiashvilli in 'Symphony in C' and "Offenbach in the Underworld";a fabulous 'Sylvia PDD" with Herrera and Gomes; the emerging talent of David Hallberg; and of course, the Kirov "Bayadere".

[Manhattnik]

In no particular order:

Dvorovenko's Operetta Star in Offenbach in the Underworld.

Meunier's Cortege Hongrois (that seems like about 100 years ago!).

Pavlenko's Diamonds. And her Rubies and Emeralds.

Ansanelli's Firebird. And her Sugar Plum. And her Allegro Brillante.

Anything with Wendy Whelan.

Ananiashvili/Acosta (remember him?) in Fille. Kent/Acosta in The Dream (ABT did Ashton proud).

The Vishneva/Samadurov Don Q and the Kirov's unflagging energy -- it was a rollercoaster ride from beginning to end.

Peter Boal in Midsummer, as always.

Ashley Bouder's Dewdrop (or anytime she really nails something).

Ringer/Hubbe in Who Cares?

Janie Taylor when she's Defying Death; her Dewdrop can be non-stop heart attack, but I like it. She also brought a wild piquancy to the Scherzo in Suite No. 3 with Tom Gold, and Who Cares? with Hubbe.

Last but not least, the Kirov corps de ballet in Swan Lake. They weren't quite All That in La Bayadere, but their Swans more than made up for it.

[glebb]

Gillian Murphys Odette/Odile, especially Odile.

[Michael]

Add Jenny Somogyi's performance as Hypollita in Midsummer Night's Dream, simply Taking Over and Clearing the Stage.

Agree with so much of what is written above but must mention and reiterate the Kirov's visit to NY last July.

[cargill]

ABT' Ashton performances has to be at the top of my list.  The miming of the Bottoms was so good--it was wonderful to see young corps boys take over a stage just by standing there.  And the Fille of Reyes and Corella, if I have to choose a cast.

And at ABT, Gomes in anything.  He is such a complete dancer, he has everything.  Stage presence, looks, technique, and generosity.  I can't wait for his Oberon next year.

The Kirov corps in Diamonds.  An absolute revelation of what that choreography  could be.

Somogyi in anything, but especially in Midsummer.  
The Diamond Project, because it means that there won't be one in 2003.

[sneds]

Acosta & Corella & Herrera & Wiles & Murphy& Malakhov & Reyes etc. in the opening night of "Le Corsaire".  One unbelievable night of dancing!!

Dan Ulbricht's debut in "Mozartiana"

Ulbricht, Alexandra Ansanelli and Damien Woetzel in the Fall section of "The Four Seasons"

David Hallberg, especially in "Grand Pas Classique"

Albert Evans as Puck in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"

Wendy Whelan and Jock Soto in the 2nd Act PdD from "A Midsummer Night's Dream"

Angel Corella in just about everything at ABT

Albert Evans & Peter Boal in "Red Angels"

Getting to see "Symphony in C" at NYCB for the very first time

[Paquita]

NBoC
~Erik Bruhn Prize- Screening of documentary "I'm the same, only more", Michele Wiles and David Hallberg in Grand Pas Classique and Manon,  Alicia Amatrian and Friedemann Vogel in In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, Heather Ogden and Guillaume Cote premiering Dominique Dumais' CollectiveSonataForTwo, Clara Blanco and Gonzalo Garcia in Continuum.  
~Romeo and Juliet (I second Saveta, the whole company looked great).
~Fille mal Gardee, after a 10-year absence. Martine Lamy's Lise.
~Apollo (Rex Harrington, Chan Hon Goh, Greta Hodgkinson, Sonia Rodriguez).
~Guillaume Cote and Tina Periera are ones to watch.
~master class taught by Karen Kain, with Ashton's style as a theme.

Other
~Stars of the 21st Century Gala- Marcin Krajewski of Ballet Opera Wiesbaden's solo "Les Bourgeois", Irina Dvorovenko and Maxim Belotserkovsky in Tchai pdd, Jamie Tapper and Johan Kobborg in Giselle and Flower Festival, Evelyn Hart and Rex Harrington in Impromptu. Also, witnessing Lucia Lacarra's hyperextension in Light Rain is something I won't forget! I don't know if it actually qualifies as a highlight...
~NYCB in Who Cares?

[carbro]

NYCB:  Ringer's debut in Act II pas in Midsummer was THE single great highlight of 2002 for me.  Evans' Puck consistently hits the funny/poignant intersection with incredible accuracy.

ABT:  La Wiles.  Always Carreno.  The bursting into flower of Murphy (especially during City Center season, where each performance seemed to gain in authority over the previous one).  Dvorovenko & Beltoserkovsky in 2nd Mvt. Bizet.  Kent's wonderfully ditzy Titania.  Steifel's incredibly rich and detailed 2nd Sailor (Fancy Free).  Also his solo in Harrison tribute.  Promise of Hallberg.   Finally seeing Misty Copeland on stage.

Kirov:  Ayupova in Emeralds.  (Had to use green here, right?)

Runner-up:  Cojocaru's Giselle.

[Alexandra]

You found Cojocaru's Giselle colorless, did you?  That's why she's only a runner up

[carbro]

With a little more passion, a little more focus, she'll have earned her "colors."  :rolleyes:   Sorry.

I am already turning blue, holding my breath in anticipation of her Nikiya here this spring.

[Mel Johnson]

Ah, but in the best Manichean tradition, Giselle is black-and-white!  Giselle = good, Albrecht = looks good, is bad, Hilarion, looks bad, is good. (Can't have this nobleman alley-catting about after peasant girls, after all!)

The second act is about the transitions from bad to good and so is in greys.  Giselle was good, but now she's a Wili = bad.  Albrecht was bad, but his repentance is sincere, so he presumably ends the ballet good.  Hilarion ends up unshriven, so he ends up dead!  By the end, Giselle's good qualities overcome the fate of the Wilis, and she is assumed into heaven!

...and now back to our topic....

[Nanatchka]

My Best of every year is always the Merce Cunningham Dance Company. This year I was especially happy to see Robert Swinston's  marvelous revival  for the 50th Anniversary (he did the work of putting it together; Merce of course looked at it before it was presented)of a dance from  the 1960s called How To Pass, Fall, Kick and Run, which was on the first Cunningham bill I ever saw.  THe company's Events across the street from the World Trade Center "pit" at the gallery of the American Express Tower were beautiful, and moving.At NYCB, I adored Ringer, Ansanelli, Somogi (was worried about Kistler, who looks so breakable, and Whelan, who looks so frail), and saw three Midsummers in a row, all of which enchanted me in different ways.  The orchestra was NOT problematic, a real plus. I note with pleasure Twyla Tharp's Movin Out, with a fabulous John Selya, Elizabeth Parkinson, Benjamin Bowman, and Ashley Tuttle. (You didn't ask what I most hated, but it had to be Ballet Biarritz's Ballets Russes bill. )Oh,  let's not forget best date: the young man who held my umbrella over me so I could take notes in the rain at the opening of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council's new outdoor stage (MCDC performing).  (You're not a cradle snatcher when yours was the hand that rocked the cradle...)

[Alexandra]

There's a thread in the Dance forum for things we saw and liked that weren't ballet It's very bare.

[liljules5]

i got to see julie kent dance sugarplum with damien woetzel as her cavalier! it was wonderful! i love julie kent so much and she is such a wonderful dancer!! a dream to watch !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!