Adam

Helene, that's why I don't post. Since the categories overlap, you can always find an arbitrary reason why someone has posted something in the "wrong" place. That's why I let you sit there and say "MY sandbox. MINE!"

Perhaps you should just, um, quarantine Macaulay in his own area heh, heh. While you can't have people posting things that are wildly off-topic, the problem is, if you post, "Cojocaru and Kobborg did a lovely 'Sleeping Beauty'. They did a "Sleeping Beauty" at the Royal last year, but it was better at the Met. I think they're a lovely couple", somebody's going to say - "A gentle reminder. The first part of sentence 2, but not the seven words after the comma, belongs in "European Ballet Companies" under "Royal Ballet". Sentence 3 belongs in "Dancers".

Isabella Boylston was an apprentice at the same time as Nicole Graniero. And Katie Williams is ABT all the way - Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, Studio Company and apprentice (for about 6 months).

I also was there on Friday (Reyes) and Saturday matinee (Cojocaru) and evening (Osipova). I agree that Xiomara was the best all-around. I note with some amusement that Macaulay is correct about Cojocaru's acting - he just doesn't realize what he's said! He speaks of her acting being remarkable - displaying wonder, etc. - during Act One. But he agrees that it wasn't appropriate to Acts Two and Three. Exactly. She doesn't have range. She has the ability to do one thing. When it fits, as in Act One, it has the desired effect. When it doesn't, she doesn't have any other expression to use. To borrow from the Monty Python sketch where they're interviewing a famous actor "the most difficult is being in love--you know, that openmouthed, vacant look that Vanessa Redgrave's got off to a tee".

I felt that her balances were very brief in the Rose Adagio, and she came down off the last one almost immediately. It may be that she's still recovering, but I'm commenting on what I saw, not saying that there's no reason for it. (If one does that, where does one stop? "It's her first time in the role"? "He's getting old"?) That being said, I did wonder if it was the partnering, because she seemed steadier doing unsupported balances - almost as if it was, "Look, just let me do this by myself. Don't help!"

I have to agree with them. She looked like she was wearing clown shoes, and she still couldn't stay up.

Bravo, Goldfish. Funny, you don't hear opera fans objecting to someone singing better than the others!

I think it's pretty clear what people want. Less Wilis, and more borzois.

When I was at Lar Lubovitch, a woman asked the usher if she could go in and out during the performance, as she needed to call her friend to make arrangements for them to meet up. At last - a considerate one? Guess again. The usher said that she couldn't do that; she would have to wait until the pause to return. So the woman sat there making repeated calls to her friend during the performance. "I ask if I can come back. She says 'no'. What you want from me? It is usher you have problem with."

Yes, I noticed Katherine Willliams, too. I hadn't really taken notice of her before, but I was amazed at how consistent she was.

I'm thinking of the line near the end of "Witness for the Prosecution" where Charles Laughton says to Marlene Dietrich "You testified [on behalf of Tyrone Power] because you knew he was innocent". And I won't go any further here, in case some of you haven't seen the film.

First, welcome to griffie and mimsyb. While we're mentioning people we've never noticed before (or never particularly appreciated), I have to say that Simone really got to me with the "There Will Never Be Another You" part of "Company B". For all the heavy-handed artsy antiwar stuff, like "The Green Table", nothing got to me the way she did. And I can tell you several people around me let out with "ooohhhhhs" when they realized what was happening. I also want to mention Nicola Curry, who I really enjoyed in both "Company B" and "Bakers Dozen".

I could hear it, and I was in the orchestra. There's one woman who comes almost every night, and she's always packing and unpacking these plastic bags she brings with her, almost like an OCD. I wonder if it it's the same woman. On opening night, I was surrounded by misbehaving people, and, as you know, the ushers stay outside - almost as though Andrey or Carol doesn't want them to get involved. It was so extreme that it would have been comic. On my left was a guy who spent the whole evening playing with his extremely brightly lit iPhone. On my right was a couple who talked through the entire evening - except when the husband was singing. Not even singing along - he had his own songs that he "bum-bum-bummed" to amuse himself. The were two people getting phone calls (one of whom didn't turn the ringer off after the first call, because he/she got another one later on). There was the guy in the side mezzanine who complained loudly about the size of the head of the man in front of him, and then stomped around looking for another seat. And the two rows of Ukrainian women who didn't know each other before they arrived, but got to know each other very well, in spite of all those people on stage who kept trying to dance in the middle of all their talking.

I liked Sarah a lot when she was in the corps, but what worked for her as a corps dancer has completely turned me off to her as a soloist - her absolute refusal to acknowledge her partner in any way whatsoever. She didn't look at Herman once, and kept that fixed look on her face. I know her fans describe that look as "beatific" or "regal", but to me, as a former supporter of hers, it just looks like she's just thinking about how good she is, and why doesn't this man get off her stage? I don't remember who Roman was partnering, but it was probably Anne Milewski or Sarah Smith.

I'd also like to mention Arron Scott, who is going to give Craig Salstein a run for his money in the funny department, as well as turning into a really good dancer. His "Tico-Tico" in "Company B" was superior to Craig's "Oh, Johnny".