Jump to content
This Site Uses Cookies. If You Want to Disable Cookies, Please See Your Browser Documentation. ×

Winter Season, Week One


Recommended Posts

I never did get caught up on my Nutcracker reviews. Oh well. Sylve is quite something, to put it mildly....

Last night started out with Martins' Symphonic Dances, to something dreadful by Rachmaninoff. Martins responded with something equally dreadful of his own. Imagine the last movement of Brahms - Schoenberg on qualuudes. I don't know whether to laugh or cry at the sight of Nikolaj Hubbe once again dancing his heart out in Yet Another Ridiculous Martins Ballet, as he does in Jeu de Cartes or Zakouski. What a waste, I thought. I thought much the same thing while watching Yvonne Borree, but for rather different reasons.

At least this was our first official look at Ask le Cour. I say official, because he'd made some uncredited appearances in Spanish over the previous few weeks, perhaps to get himself acclimated to the State Theater stage out of the glare of publicity. Or something. Tall, lanky, elegant, yet not without a certain endearing rawness. He seemed a bit unsure of himself in places, checking the other men out of the corner of his eye. I do think he'll mature nicely, though -- he certainly has stage presence! I don't think he'll ever be a virtuoso like Woetzal or Peter Martins, but I think he'll do quite well in the repertory.

Next was In G Major. Let's face it. Kyra Nichols is well past her prime. When she appears among the sportive youngsters who gambol about in Jerome Robbins' beachside fantasy to Ravel's Piano Concerto in G Major (hence the name), she looks a bit like someone's grandmother or batty maiden aunt come to prove she's still with it, by joining in the frolic. She has no jump or extension left, it seems, and during her perky introductory solo, she seemed so out of place, and out of sorts, I felt like covering my eyes.

And yet. And yet once she started that long adagio with Philip Neal, none of that mattered at all. All the qualities that I've adored in Nichols: her exquisite musicality, delicate phrasing and deeply felt understanding of every facet of her choreography, were there in all their welcome, and greatly missed, abundance. Suddenly every other dancer on the stage seemed, well, crude.

Western Symphony was another Andrea Quinn rush job. Sigh. Jennie Somogyi was just miscast in first movement; she's a big, strong, tough girl, and this role needs someone a bit more glamorous and sexy. And it needs someone who's there a bit more than Nilas Martins, for her partner.

Alexandra Ansanelli made a sensational debut in the second movement with Albert Evans (making the most of one of his few remaining roles. it seems). She's usually rather off in a dream world onstage -- it took only a little exaggeration of this natural loopiness to make a perfect parody ballerina for this bit's overly doomed, romantic encounter. Although she had some trouble with the grand fouettes in that very difficult solo, all else was marked by her usual commitment and fearlessness. I loved how she hurled herself at Evans in those two ferocious, head-first dives into arms.

Maria Kowroski and Damian Woetzal were as I've come to expect in the Fourth (excuse me, Third) movement, with the long-limbed Kowroski looking limber and glamorous indeed in that amazing hat, and appropriately silly and kooky (she is either an ice-princess or the girl next door's nutty little sister). I'm always impressed at how well she handles the fouettes these days -- she doesn't at all have the physique of a natural turner, yet she cranked out some perfectly respectable doubles, even. Woetzal was happy, exuberant, and high-flying, riding an invisible bucking bronco to the rafters.

Link to comment

For the record, "Symphonic Dances" is set to Rachmaninoff's - get ready for it - Symphonic Dances. I hailed(?) the titling of this ballet as a return to the days of the really dull titles from NYCB. The dances themselves are about what you'd expect from a virtuoso post-Romantic pianist, swoony and swoopy and molto rubato, composed as if the orchestra were a gigantic piano. It's murder to conduct.

Link to comment

In re: Ask laCour

When you say uncredited, do you mean he was dancing, but someone else was listed in the program. Or simply, that because he was in the corps, there was no way to know he was dancing unless you were at the performance, saw the program and put names together with faces?

The reason I ask, is that there is a fairly tall, lanky blond apprentice, Christian Tworzyanski, who has danced in Hot Chocolate. Could that have been him and not Ask?

If it was Ask, might I ask which performances you saw him in...just curious to put a face with the name, as I really look foward to seeing him dance.

As for Martins casting him in his ballets-Ask isn't related at all to Peter Martins, so aside from both being Danish and being trained at RDB, there's nothing to suggest that they would be similiarly suited dancers.

Kate

Link to comment

I was at City for Kip Houston's final bow. Quite sad :) , but it was time. I have consistently enjoyed his earnestness and presence (denoting both persona and sense of BEING THERE). He's been a caring partner and -- I know this is often used disparagingly, but not here -- reliable.

Wednesday, he was clearly in savor-the-moment mode, which was very sweet. If he's less agile than he might have been, he was as poetic a Second Sailor as one could wish, sweeping the vast stage space with those lateral port de bras, holding the releve a breath longer after pirouettes. It was interesting to see a City cast in Fancy Free again, in view of the incredible level ABT has taken it to. It wasn't quite up there technically or theatrically, but this felt "friendlier," due perhaps to the occasion. Apparently Damian has heard (if not seen) how Latin Jose had made his the Third Sailor (appropriately), and decided to "de-Latinize" him. Well, it can't be done completely, because that's the character of the music and the steps, but it was an interesting, baseballish take. Pascale in the pas de deux hit a good balance of ballet/jazz.

"Symphony in Three Movements" (with Kip in a secondary role) opened the program, and it was fabulous. Really. Top to bottom. Three Movements seems to be Peter Martins's favorite Balanchine ballet (you can find pieces of it in almost all of his works). Wendy Whelan and Jock Soto did the quirky central pas as wonderfully as I have ever seen it done.

The less said about the middle piece (Bigonzetti's "Vespro") the better.

I really hated to see another link to the Balanchine era leave. Part of the institutional memory is lost. Be well, Kip. All best to you, and thanks for all those years of really fine dancing.

Link to comment

OK, I'll take Alexandra's bait and talk a little about Vespro.

It isn't too often that I will say that I hate something, but I hated Vespro. I hated it the first time I saw it when I came to NY for spring season 2002 and that was the Diamond Project piece that was on. (I refuse to call it a ballet). I also hated it the second time I saw it when it was chosen for the Saratoga season, to my surprise, because of the extra musicians required. I hated it so much that when I was planning for this winter season I stubbornly refused to buy tickets for any performance that included it.

It is grotesque, with no redeeming qualities that I could find. The choreographic positions are ugly, there is no other word for them. Picture a ballerina, enface, with her legs hyperextended in a split, in the air, crotch in full audience view. Really turned out--and really hideous looking. Albert Evans' piece, Haiku, has some similar positions, but in his ballet they are beautiful.

Picture a male dancer jumping on a piano. Picture the ugliest costumes ever--bathing trunks with giant red circles in strategic places.

I see no value in this work because I think it is abusive: abusive to the dancers who have to expose themselves in such postions, abusive to the piano that is jumped on and off, abusive to the audience that has to sit and watch such ugliness. Not everything is or has to be pretty pink Raymonda. But this. I am shocked that it is still in the repertory and wonder what I am missing in it.

Link to comment

It’s always nice to get back to the NY State Theater.

Saturday’s matinee program was Serenade, Tombeau [i'm not even going to try to spell the whole thing], Pavane, and Western Symphony.

Serenade was not the best I've ever seen it performed, but was still wonderful. This is the one ballet where the question isn't whether I'll cry but when. Kistler and Kowroski gave lovely, fully-realized performances. Janie Taylor was game, but suffered by comparison to the other two: she looked young and too self-contained.

Tombeau was lovely and almost hypnotic. It flowed.

Kyra Nichols danced Pavane. I was looking forward to this one quite a bit and was not disappointed. My companion, who is much more of a music person, told me she was interested to see what the choreography would be like since the music is "very structured, but very sentimental." The ballet has very simple steps, lots of repetition, the dancer is saddled with a potentially problematic prop (a lengthy of chiffon) and it was, for reasons I cannot put my finger on, incredibly moving. Nichols was perfect.

Western Symphony was very uneven. The first movement was Somogyi and Martins. Somogyi was trying hard, I thought, but Martins was, well, not good. The steps were there, but close to zero emotion, or characterization, or awareness of anyone else on stage. What contrast to the second movement, in which Albert Evans, from his first five seconds on stage, gave us a fully-realized character. Ansanelli was also excellent and the two worked very well together. Once again I was filled with an urge to toss a brick through Peter Martins' window with a note around it demanding that Evans be cast more often.

Hubbe and guest Sylve did the third movement. Sylve is amazingly strong and confident. She did seem a bit too studied and careful, especially for this role, but I imagine that will change with time.

Link to comment

Carbro, I understand perfectly.

E Johnson: I was at Saturday's mat, and had many of the same impressions as you.

I think you were kind though, in your evaluation of Serenade. Bluntly, I thought it was possibly the worst performance of that masterpiece that I have ever seen. The corps was fine, but the three female principals were not. I saw Darci Kistler do the Waltz Girl in Saratoga a few months ago and her performance was heart-breaking and beautiful; now I think she needs to think about whether to keep this role or not. She was jerky and frenetic and she couldn't stop touching and pulling on her skirt. The beautifully arched back was gone. She was overly emotional and I felt no emotion. Janie Taylor is just too wild and unrestrained to do justice to the Russian girl. She just appeared to be flying all around the stage; there was no sense of the "weightiness" of this role. And Maria Kowrowski just left me cold. I don't even think she was there mentally. She wasn't with the music at all, she was completely vacant.

The music. Oh well. The opportunity to see Kyra Nichols (any chance is something to treasure) was marred by a horrible horn solo at the beginning of the Ravel. Really horrible. Like a banshee screaming in hell. Now. My daughter, who is a musician, tells me that the horn is very difficult to play, that that particular passage is especially difficult, and that horn players frequently have problems. I'm not buying it. These are professional musicians. They are supposed to know what they are doing. I know plenty of student musicians who aspire to these positions. (for example my favorite young violist whose dream job would be to play in that orchestra....but I digress). There were some dicey trumpet passages too, along with some lovely oboe playing, over the course of the afternoon. The strings sounded just fine in Serenade, by the way.

So Kyra danced beautifully in spite of the music. As Manhattnik said in another post, the fact that the technique has slipped, that the extension isn't what it was, don't matter, because when you see her dance, you are in the presence of something unique and magnificent.

Western. Oh man. Poor Nilas seems so miserable. Talk about phoning it in. At the end of the first movement--the bit with his hat and her feet--not even there. Not even close to there. Can't see it from here.....come on! We paid to see this! Jennie Simogyi was just wasted here.

Alexandra and Albert made it up to the audience though, with a

hilarious second movement, complete with reckless dives, grins, and spot-on technique. Thanks for erasing that memory.

Sofiane Sylve is great. She has incredible extension and a fabulous turn and you can SEE her on the stage, even from the fourth ring. I'd like to see more of her but I fear that I won't. Isn't it only five weeks that she is here?

Link to comment

I was going to post something about that Saturday matinee when I got A Round Tuit (ever seen one of those?), but it looks like you beat me to it, rk.

I think that had to be just about the most depressing performance of Serenade I've ever seen, even worse than the Kirov's much-anticipated and wholly misguided effort at the Met a few years ago. Just as they've looked far too often lately, the corps was flat: meek, submissive, lifeless. It wasn't all that long ago that the girls in Serenade would thrill with their ferocious appetite for space and movement, like a shark scarfing up chum. Maybe it was a little vulgar sometimes, but it was also awe-inspiring. Even a few years ago I was writing about the breathless rush of City Ballet's Serenade. Now, it's a nice ballet. Pretty. The corps all lines up nicely, nobody goes for broke (except Janie Taylor, God bless her!), nobody tries to stand out.

It used to be that when the corps suddenly materialized in that big circle of pique turns around the stage, it would be one of many, many thrilling moments, something huge and symbolic emerging out of the mists for a moment. Now it's just a bunch of girls doing boring pique turns. Yes, they're all together, but it looked like a classroom exercise from ballet detention. And this wasn't a fluke -- the entire ballet had a dutiful, submissive quality. I pray for this greatest of ballets; I shudder to think that City Ballet might end up destroying, this, of all their masterpieces.

As for Kistler, well, she seems to be continuing on the same path as in Saratoga. She flailed her arms, she emoted, she (let us be kind) fudged the steps. She was indeed moving and luminous in Serenade only a few years ago; now she's a travesty of herself. I look at her stiff, hunched upper back, her low-impact jumps and sketched footwork and the often-pained look on her face and wonder if her performance was as torturous for her as it was for her audience. I rather fear to see her in Farrell's role in Davidsbundlertanze.

Kowroski was cold and flat, athough she's often a stunning Dark Angel. I rather liked Taylor's wildness. At least someone onstage was showing some signs of life! I thought her passionate and slightly scary intensity worked just fine here, as did her heart-stopping stag leaps.

Tombeau de Couperin wasn't much better. It managed to look both sloppy and dutiful at the same time. In the final, "hoedown" section, the guys clapped their hands, then shook hands with their opposite numbers just like they were doing tombe pas de bourree while watching the clock. It should be manic, fun and a little silly. As with Serenade, it was painful to see a masterpiece on its way to the dustbin of history.

Thank God for Kyra Nichols in Pavane. I must confess I didn't notice the instrumental difficulties, as I was too enraptured with Nichol's grace and purity. I remember years ago seeing Patricia McBride dance Pavane, and thinking it was clever but a little cute, affected and, well, silly. Not so with Nichols; it became one of the most moving performances I've seen. I admired Balanchine's tremendous invention; who could imagine that so much could be made of a woman dancing with a length of sheer fabric; I'll never forget when Nichols cradled it like a baby. It's hard not to compare how Nichols and Kistler are handling the twilights of their careers.

Western had its moments. In the first movement, Jennie Somogyi looked more relaxed than she had during her debut, while Nilas was just as pallid. Could there be a less dashing cowpoke imaginable? Alexandra Ansanelli and Albert Evans turned the second-movement's campy adagio into a masterpiece of comic timing. Evans wasn't above milking his precious few moments onstage for all the laughs he could get, and Ansanelli used her loopy yet other-wordly stage demeanor to great effect with moments of deadpan seriousness setting off long stretches of delightful silliness. You could almost hear Ansanelli shouting "Here I am!" during one of her entrances, frantically waving her arm to catch Evans' attention, much as if she were hailing a cab. Between the her two big head-first dives into Evans' arms over the outstretched arms of the corps girls, Ansanelli looked out at the audience for a few moments, totally losing track of everyone else on the stage, as if she were just enraptured with the joy of playing to the audience, or perhaps contemplating some distant galaxy only she could see. This spaceyness made her little catch-up run upstage to Evans' waiting arms (after she figured out where he'd gotten to) all the funnier.

For all of us who'd watched (and watched and watched) the little Internet video clip of Sofiane Sylve doing a heart-stopping fouette/pirouette combination (finishing with ten, yes, ten, pirouettes), her debut in the last movement of Western, which features a few prominent fouettes, was eagerly anticipated. She didn't disappoint, whirling through some very nice triples, but, overall, she still appears to have some of the reticence she showed in her nontheless impressive showings as Sugar Plum (absolutely stunning, space-devouring pique turns in the code of the pas de deux, for instance). She's an impressive specimen: tall, very, very muscular, with strong thighs and calves, and broad shoulders, both tapering to a rather narrow waist (she's not a dainty, curveless, straight-sided sort at all), accentuated by a rather emphatic chin.

She showed off a truly stunning extension during the travelling sequence of grande battements on pointe, with the fouette into the pique arabesque penchee (well, usually it's not much of a panchee). In general, she seemed a bit reserved, especially when compared with Maria Kowroski's over-the-top showgirl of a few nights before. I do think Sylve could fit very nicely into NYCB's repertory. She'd better, as the ranks of able ballerinas are thin indeed. Taylor and Ansanelli aren't strong or versatile enough to carry the repertory on their shoulders, as Whelan once did. Weese is a question mark, Kowroski too specialized. Only Somogyi looks to have the strength and versatility to shore up the repertory, yet Martins has been reluctant to use her as much as he might. It's not surprising that Martins needs to import a ballerina, nor is it surprising that he got one who looks as strong as a tank, with gorgeous training to boot.

Link to comment

Manhattnik, for the first time in over 25 years of watching NYCB, I too, am fearful for the future of this company. I have seen them weather many storms, I've seen the retirements of Farrell, McBride, Mazzo, Ashley, Tomasson, Martins, and countless others who were vital to the company, witnessed the deaths of Balanchine, Robbins, Irving, Kirstein, seen Farrell get tossed out of the company that she should be running, I've spent summers at SPAC when I wondered who the principal dancers of the future could possibly be and how the company could ever be "the same" (answer of course: it can't, but it could be very good), and I've also seen NYCB in glory, even after Balanchine. But now I am very afraid. I am scared that the masterpieces will be truly lost.

The young kids who are coming into the company are wonderful. They have technique to burn, they are strong and they have the training and the desire to succeed. But something is missing. What is it?

There are veterans who are wonderful too. Jeny Ringer and Jennie Symogi can pull my heartstrings in a way that I thought couldn't happen post Patty McBride and Suzanne Farrell. Peter Boal is the purest and most sensitive dancer. We still have Kyra, at least for a while.

I can't get that Serenade out of my mind. I chose my programs for winter season really carefully--I want to see one last Bizet before it leaves the rep for a while, I felt compelled to see Barocco and Chaconne. Now I am scared to see them.

It really came home to me when I saw the Ailey company. There is so much life in those dancers. I never thought I would say this. NYCB looks stale and deadly in comparison. OUCH.

Link to comment
Originally posted by rkoretzky

I want to see one last Bizet before it leaves the rep for a while, I felt compelled to see Barocco and Chaconne. Now I am scared to see them.

That is exactly why I will not see NYCB dance Barocco. It breaks my heart, then makes me angry. It was the first, but I suspect not the last, that I will boycott. Part of what is missing is the musicality -- the response to what the music is saying. I suspect, too, that there is no joy in the studio work that the dancers can then naturally carry with them onto the stage.

Link to comment

I'd just like to add that I heard through the grapevine that the Sunday matinee of Serenade very good, and Kistler with it. Perhaps the Saturday performances were just another instance of NYCB's time-honored tradition of using the first performance of an old ballet in a repertory season as the dress rehearsal.

Perhaps.

Link to comment

The Sat matinee cast of Tombeau was:

Bar, Hall, Beskow, Hanna, Edge, Stafford, Golbin, Crenshaw, Abergel, Froman (Kyle), Ash, Fowler, Hanson, Seth, McBrearty, and Boehmer.

I am always interested to hear others describe Taylor as uncontrolled in her dancing. Not that I don’t see it, but that the thing that bothers me about her is that she seems unaware of anything going on around her (or else unconcerned) - other dancers, the audience, etc. She appears to be dancing for herself only.

Link to comment
Originally posted by Manhattnik

I'd just like to add that I heard through the grapevine that the Sunday matinee of Serenade very good, and Kistler with it. Perhaps the Saturday performances were just another instance of NYCB's time-honored tradition of using the first performance of an old ballet in a repertory season as the dress rehearsal.

[/quote

Grrrr. I feel that I have to erase the memory of that Serenade. Did you all see the casting for next week???? Sylve and Nichols, in various castings along with Kowroski, who can be a spectacular Dark Angel, but certainly wasn't on Saturday. Oh what to do? What to do?

I am planning a trip with a Saratoga friend--Friday night and Saturday mat, Jan 24 and 25. Carefully chosen to see "In the Night" and "Slaughter" (twice actually) and my first ever viewing of "Davids...." (so excited to see that), but bookended on both sides by Serenade with wonderful casting. Add performances?

Stay yet another night? Which way to do it? Again---GRRRRR.

Oh...and how could I forget? Somogyi is part of those dream castings too. One more time---GRRRR.

Link to comment

"Oh, but the performance you missed was so much better."

As balletos, we will always hear thus. It's probably not always true (although given the reports on that first "Serenade," in this case it probably was).

I'm sorry, rkoretzky. Wish I had a crystal ball for both of us!

Link to comment

I am convinced, no matter how old I get, nor how many performances I see, that I will always and forever hear, as I leave the theater, happy that I've seen the World's Greatest Performance Ever, I will hear a small, determined, elderly voice call after me, "Ah, but you should have seen Taglioni!" :P

Link to comment

Sorry to reopen a thread that has already gone full circle. But, well I am back from my little trip abroad…

First and above all, I should say I am very fond of the NYCB, a lot of it having to do with my love of the city which in my little universe so encapsulates the dance scene. It’s the whole proximity thing with the dancers and their visibility, everywhere else they seem secluded behind the walls of the opera house, whilst in NY, you just keep bumping into them and one can easily get under the candid impression that voilà, this is it and you are part of the whole thing! Needless to say that I get a great buzz each time I cross the imaginary border of 63rd. Unfortunately disappointment was part of the ride this time and I am saying this only after having convinced myself that I shall not take blame for (extra ?) high expectations. I caught (pardon me for the inventory) 2 Serenades (yes the Sunday one had nothing to do with what had been served on Saturday), 3 Morphoses (dreaded the third time round, not because I didn’t like the piece -there are moments of sheer strange beauty such as the entrancing Whelan spiderlike leftwing exit (enface en plié à la seconde en pointe, pushing herself away with one hand) but it’s not it is not an easy one to take in. Luckily the last time I was sitting on a higher level and rediscovered the whole ballet anew ; as with everything it can sometimes just be a matter of perspectives.) Then in for the single takes :Raymonda, Symphonic dances, G Major, Infernal Machine (how terrible of me, I somehow blanked this one out completely- a mystery why), Symphony in three, Le Tombeau, Pavane, Western Symphony and Fancy Free. Save a few truly enthralling performances, I found the dancing -and it obviously pains me to say so- lacking in life. Missed the vitality, energy and high spirits I usually associate with the company. Saturday’s Serenade was dull (all has been said above and personally I found myself more listening to the music and interested in how Kistler would manage to get her layers of tulle down after the portées) and yet on Sunday the same cast simply spelled magic. By the time Kistler was carried away like a some statue/object of sacrifice, I had trouble swallowing. Luckily that Saturday had an extraordinarily moving Pavane with a splendid Nichols. It all ended with a real treat : Western Symphony. Prior to that matinee I had only seen the excerpt on the Balanchine celebration tapes and was not expecting much: cowboys, saloon gals, bit of square dance on pointe to tunes from the Far West… The first bit augured ill for the rest, courtesy of the male performance, but it all picked up with the dashing entrance of Evans and the delightful Ansanelli. They were a dream-in-heaven-duo, him outrageously camp in a black velvet diamante outfit and pink scarf, a perfect self absorbed Narcissus in a cowboy hat to whom Ansanelli responded with an out-of-this-world goof doll act . Evans’ driving his chariot -composed of four corps girls- and her fearless, actually come to think of it scary, fishdives are indelebile. And did they ever play it to the public who in turn rewarded them plenty. The last couple, Sylve and Hubbe, certainly knew how to put on a show on! Full attack, perfect timing, awesome technique for all the extreme rapidity and trickiness of those steps, good chemistry : sparks were flying all the way to the pirouetting grand finale ….what more to ask for ? Those guys and dolls from the Eldorado sent me back home on a high and a note of incredible lightness, humming Hershy Kay.

Fancy free, which closed the following matinée, on other hand did not have the same effect. Probably because once you know the basic plot and have seen a few photos, you can very much figure what to expect (though the chewing gum wrapper competition had me break a grin.) The boys were endearing (Millepied, Higgins and Ulbricht), the horseplay sweet but I somehow resisted the comedy of it all.

Martins’ Symphonic Dances were, how to put this…rather overwhelming ? A sudden explosion of notes, dancers galore : wow, was I ever rather taken aback by the overly romantic profusion of sounds, colours and abundance of people one can fit on that stage ! Yet bizarrely, I liked it, something about the grandeur and enthusiasm that was put into it, notably by Hubbe. Honestly, the costumes are hideous, the music certainly a challenge, but it was the commitment and endeavour put into it that created the whole difference. If this had been the case of all the pieces I saw, I probably would have given this one much less credit but one can only take from what is offered. Sadly, the rest of the performances I saw were nice, but bland-ish. Probably not enough to catch a plane. Thankfully there were also joyful discoveries of corps members such as Glenn Keenan, Ask La Cour... and side perks of being in the city (Boal solos, but I suppose I ought to switch threads for that one) .

Link to comment

A little aside : I was in NY the weekend where two para City Ballet events were held, namely a Family Fanfare and a Ballet Insight so I checked them both out. The two were held on the 7th floor of the SAB building and were of various interest.

The public of Family Fanfare is as much a spectacle as the presentation itself. Imagine 4-6 year olds wearing tiaras, tutus attached to their winter gear co-ordinated with demi-pointes and a larger than life Louis-I-am-ballet- XIV as the master of ceremonies who teaches them glissade, changement… The lecture demonstration is illustrated with various videos and live excerpts from the Sleeping Beauty, Jewels, …Who Cares performed by two couples of advanced SAB dancers, all promising especially Tyler Angle ( brother of Jared) and Ana Sophia Scheller, who then answer graciously and articulately any questions. It was a sweet experience, I would definitely reiterate it, with a child this time – but worry not, adults have no time to get bored! :)

The Ballet Insight was more of a pre-performance talk- mainly attended this time by a senior public- in so far as it was devoted to the music of the matinee performance. Both a lovely introduction and keys to read the works in the repertory with the wonderful Alan Moverman playing excerpts to illustrate the theory. Very inspiring, makes you head across the plaza with much anticipation .

Link to comment
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...