blizzardqueen

I was able to attend the 7:00 pm performance yesterday, and was completely blown away. There was a wide range of different ballets and dance, with works by Balanchine, Petipa, Paul Taylor, and many others. Sean Lavery spoke to introduce the performance, telling how as a young boy, the only boy in his class he learned Swan Lake alongside the girls, because Marcia said it would be good for him, and when he was old, he could stage Swan Lake. Before each person danced, a video clip of that person dancing in earlier years as a CPYB student was shown. (for example: a tiny Abi Stafford perfectly executing the Corsaire variation with the all the arabesques into pirouettes) Also included were video clips and hellos from those stars who could not make it to the show (Grant Delong, Adrienne Shulte, Tina LeBlanc, Heather Jurgenson, Vanessa Zahorian, Kristin Long) On to the actual dancing. It was amazing! I particularly liked the White Swan Pas de Deux, performed by Lia Cirio and James Whiteside, Carrie Imler in the variation from Stars and Stripes, a fun African-themed piece performed by Sherri LeBlanc, and Nh'amor by Laszlo Berdo performed by Zachary Hench and Julie Diana. Noelani Pantastico was glowing in the pas de deux from A Midsummer Night's Dream (partnered by Jeffrey Stanton). However, my favorite moment of the evening was Ashley Bouder's grand pas de chats. From seemingly out of nowhere, she was all of a sudden high in the air, and the straight leg was next to her head. It was amazing There was a collective gasp from the audience. I couldn't find much wrong with the performance, but I will say that CPYB's excellent technique and training pay off. The dancers from CPYB were mostly stronger and freer because of their technique. Without mentioning names (because I'm not a real critic yet :shhh: ) there were some (but not all) guests I wasn't impressed with. At the end of the performance, Alan Hineline choreographed a sort of finale for all the CPYB alumnus and 6 young CPYB students. Marcia was brought up the stage, given a very long standing ovation, 3 huge flower bouquets, and lavendar and gold balloons cascaded down onto the stage. She was very humble and seemed overwhelmed. Thank you, Marcia!

I was online the other day (yes, I was typing in "Suzanne Farrell" and reading anything that would come up:D ) and I saw the forward to the new edition of her book, Holding onto the Air. Anyways, at the very end, she hints at possibly writing another book! About her students! Does anyone know ANYTHING at all about this?? I'm fortunate to once again be spending the summer with her on Cedar Islands, and once again extend my thanks to all on the site who were discussing the program, leading to me finding out about this wonderful program, and auditioning, then going Thanks:)

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone discussing Suzanne Farrell's Cedar Island program, because this is where my mom heard about it, and if she hadn't heard about it on here, I wouldn't be going. So, thanks everybody!

Wow! Whe I first wrote that Suzanne Farrell was my favorite dancer, I never expected such a HUGE response! I have read her book at least 5 times, seen her video three times(Elusive Muse) and read anything I could about her...Her dancing on the video was absolutly woderful, and I really wish that I could have seen her dance. When she did the Suzanne Farrell Stages the Masters of Twentieth Century Ballet, I went to see it, and I loved it! I am so excited to be able to study with and live with her this summer... It's really a dream come true, and I think it'll be wonderful to learn so much from her.

I'm Aleksandr Borodin. Is anybody else him? I wanted to be Stravinsky too.... I like how complex his music is....

I'm Aleksandr Borodin. Is anybody else him? I wanted to be Stravinsky too.... I like how complex his music is....

Why do I admire Suzanne Farrell? Probably because she worked so closly with George Balanchine (I study Balanchine technique), and probably also because I read her autobiography, Holding on to the Air, and when I heard everything about her life, that made me respect her even more. I saw her comany perform... I really liked Meditation...

I know she isn't still dancing professionally, but I still admire her a lot...

She's my favorite dancer! She danced as the Sugar Plum Fairy in our Nutcracker...