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DocM

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  • Connection to/interest in ballet** (Please describe. Examples: fan, teacher, dancer, writer, avid balletgoer)
    balletgoer
  • City**
    Los Angeles
  • State (US only)**, Country (Outside US only)**
    CA
  1. I have now seen three performances, Murphy/Whiteside, Abrera/Hammoudi, and Boylston/Stearns. If time allows I would like to see more as overall I love this production and the individual personality that Ratmansky gives to his characters. For each viewing I discover more details. Each performance had moments of beauty and a few mishaps, but I want to touch briefly on the Boylston/Stearns performance as I'm happy to report that my experience was very different from Josette who reported earlier in the thread. I was seated in the Orchestra near the stage and had an excellent and close view of the dancers. After the failed "torch" lift, I was impressed by how professionally both Ms. Boylston and Mr. Stearns handled the situation. For a first time viewer the failed lift may not even have registered. Ms. Boylston's dancing was strong and completely in character. There was not a trace of looking upset, just the opposite, Ms. Boylston and Mr. Stearns both radiated warmth toward each other and to the audience. Ms. Boylston got multiple brava's and a warm applause after her variation, and there was a standing ovation for the lead couple at the end. I went with two friends who like me adored the leads and the production.
  2. I saw both casts of A Chance of Rain at the Koch, and I need to point out an incorrect statement in this thread. Amour stated that “…we all get to experience that PDD again, this time with Boylston, Gomes, Stearns….”. This is actually incorrect as there are two PDD in A Chance of Rain. One lead PDD that was danced by Seo/Gomes and Boylston/Stearns, and a second PDD danced by Copeland/Whiteside and Lane/Forster. The PDD performed on January 26 at the Joyce is the lead PDD which I found quite beautiful and tasteful at the Koch. No vulgar moves in this PDD, and in my opinion the best part of “A Chance of Rain”. The second PDD is the “boob/twerking” pas, which is not going to be performed. The Jan 26 program also states that Gomes will be dancing a piece choreographed by himself. I’m hoping to still be able to get a ticket to the Joyce benefit, and will report back. But expect no “twerk” report. Sorry....
  3. I am curious to know how much influence the principals have on which partner they are cast with. For example, can a principal with some seniority decide which partner they will dance with?
  4. Thank you so much Helene for your detailed reply!
  5. What is the age range for a dancer to get promoted to soloist or to principal with a top level ballet company?
  6. I saw the Saturday afternoon performance of Don Q with Isabella Boylston ad Kitri and Daniil Simkin as Basilio. They both danced with high energy and lots of youthful exuberance, which servers this ballet very well. It was easy to see why Mr. Simkin has a large international following as there seems to be no technical feat that he can't handle with great control and polish. Ms. Boylston has gorgeous legs and feet and a slender build, in addition to great musicality which she used to play around with the music a couple of times in the ballet. Not surprising that Ms. Boylston was invited to perform with the Mariinsky ballet earlier this month. Both she and Mr. Simkin are budding world-class young artists who will just keep growing. Even the partnering was done well and I did not notice any mistakes. Misty Copeland danced Mercedes and Queen of Dryads, and Jared Mathews was Espada. Mr. Mathews has improved greatly in the past two years, and his Espada was danced very well. Sarah Lane and Luciana Paris were flower girls. I disagree with the comment that was made earlier that either of the flower girls would be a better match partner for Mr. Simkin. Although Ms. Lane is petite and slender she is not as slender as Ms. Boylston, and my impression was that both flower girls seemed more mature than the very youthful Mr. Simkin. Gemma Bond was Amour and Craig Salstein was Gamache. Mr. Salstein added a lot of comic flair to his character. All the dancing was great, with it needs to be in this ballet, since in my opinion the level and quality of the dancing is what determines if you see a great Don Q. Ms. Simkin and Ms. Boylston were clearly the stars of the afternoon, well deserving of the standing ovation that they received, and I hope Ms. Boylston is promoted to principal soon.
  7. Last night I went to the opening of the ABT program at the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion. The program was a mixed bill consisting of Apollo, followed by Chamber Symphony, and finishing with Symphony in C. Overall it was a very lovely progam, the auditorium seemed full, and I left feeling very inspired. Some of the dancers who stood out from an excellent cast of dancers were Marcelo Gomes and Paloma Herrera in Apollo, James Whiteside and Isabella Boylston in Chamber Sympony, and Stella Abrera in Symphony in C. I will write more later when time allows.
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