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Corella Ballet in New York


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I was at the opening night of Corella Ballet last week too. For a company that is just getting started, they were remarkably polished. The Company has assembled a group of talented dancers. Corella's ballet was pretty good for a first effort, but a lot of it looked like classroom steps. The three pdd that comprised the second act were enjoyable. The piece choreographed for Angel and Carmen brought out Angel's best qualities as a dancer. I'm not as enthusiastic about the Wheeldon ballet as the NY Times. It didn't rank in the same league as many other wonderful Wheeldon ballets I have seen over the years. I wish Angel well, and I think his hard work paid off. I would certainly see the company again if it visited NYC. I thought it was very ironic that Corella ballet was able to rent City Center, while PNB had to settle for the Joyce. Funding of ballet companies is a strange business.

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Kudos to the Company and Mr. Corella! Spain deserves a world class ballet company, and they now have one. I look forward to see their version of Don Q in the future.

Oh yes indeed, Corella Ballet is our Company!! and me too want to see their D.Q.!! It would be great but I still have to see their Lake.

Here there are two more reviews:

Corella brings his Spanish charm to New York stage

By JOCELYN NOVECK, SF Chronicle

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?.../e142119D85.DTL

and

The new Corella troupe makes a promising international debut

By Robert Johnson/The Star-Ledger

http://www.nj.com/entertainment/index.ssf/...pe_makes_a.html

Many thanks to you all here who have shown interest and have let we Spanish people know how things have been going on in NY :blush:

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Ok, I was there--all week. So was a 12-minute "loop" of my documentary's Trailer + 4 performance excerpts which screened first on a widescreen tv in the vestibule of "Studio5" prior to, and after, Angel's March 15th interview with Damian Woetzel; AND prior to every performance and during intermissions in the City Center lobby monitors. Did any BT members see it? Did anyone realize it was excerpts from the doc, and not just some generic footage? Did anyone read (or bother keeping) the Playbill program insert that explained the current status of the film? If not, you're not alone.

During the "Studio5" interview, Damian asked about the location of the company, and seemed impressed by the ceding of the Palace of St. Cecilia by the Spanish royal family, and Angel's description of the site--but no one mentioned that the palace etc. was clearly visible in the trailer that was playing on that vestibule monitor!

On March 15th I was allowed a poster/sign next to the widescreen tv, but, since I wasn't allowed to place any signs next to the lobby monitors, (supposedly because of NYCC union rules!?), unless I spoke to you personally--(once I realized that no one knew it was the documentary video screening in the lobby monitors, I made a point of visiting each (4) monitor and saying so to any viewers standing nearby)--I'm not sure the connection between the doc, lobby "loop" of excerpts, and Playbill insert was ever made.

But anyways, the film was just one reason I was there. The other, or course, was to see the company and renew some friendships.

Impressions of the ballet(s):

STRING SEXTET

I agreed with Macauley's comment that Angel's "String Sextet" was 'overchoreographed', but I also recognized that this was a first effort, and 'over-choreographing' is a common failing of many beginning choreographers. Except for a few moments in the first movement where I felt a noticeable disconnect between the first couple--mostly because of the choreography, not the dancers--I liked many things in it. There was inventive choreography in several of the movements, and good use of music in the adagio--(which thank goodness banished "Cruel World" from my mind). Joseph Gatti's dance with the six corps women in the 3rd movement was originally choreographed on Angel himself, so it's a "puffy" piece, which Mr. Gatti handled with his usual skill. I also liked the way the women circled around him, alternately pulled towards and eddying away from his turbulent center. There were echoes of T&V, also Symphony in C, and a lot of other neoclassical works by Mr. B or others in the choreography, but, Angel has a prodigious memory (muscle and not) and I don't blame him for incorporating some of it. I also thought the costumes were beautiful--especially the way the tutus 'lofted'. The dancers did say the bodices were stiff, but it is a formal classical work, not full of fluid plastique like SL.

WALPURGISNACHT

I wondered if this piece and the "Sunny/Solar Duet" that followed were chosen as an early homage to Vasiliev, who is being honored at a YAGP gala the following weekend. (VV was also originally supposed to be a Ballet Master at CBCL.) I thought both were very dated, but how many galas have we seen with similar excessivenes?! Joseph Gatti and Yevgen Uzlenkov (sorry but if it was Kiril Radev, it didn't look like it from where I was sitting) got gasps and ovations. Kazuko Omori was sweet, girlish, and flirtatious, but not a femme fatale or siren or bacchante. I still love her 180 degree grand jetes, not lofty, but great line.

SUNNY/SOLAR DUET

This was originally chosen by HERMAN CORNEJO, because he wanted to do something that no one here (or elsewhere?) had ever seen him do before. The problem was it was so obscure, there was no score readily available. (It was originally created for a single Soviet tv broadcast--mid 1950's, and afterwards most of the records of it were trashed. So, after many months of searching archives from here to Russia and back, an ancient videotape was discovered. And that's where this production's music was derived, after some efforts to clean it up). But it was dated, and didn't showcase HC's brilliant technique as effectively as usual. Adiarys of course was her usual technically skilled and delightfully expressive self. But the change was made to Black Swan pdd for future perfs and I, and many others, was glad.

SOLEA

Begins so slow and sweet, but gradually the speed increases, and so does the "competition" between brother and sister, while still retaining the mutual admiration and affection so evident in their relationship. After not seeing Angel dance full out in so long, I loved that blazing diagonal that flew across the stage, the expressiveness of his upper body, and the joyful abandonment to the music and movement. I thought the best performance was the Sat. matinee, it was the quickest, free-est, and most precise. But Saturday evening's version was a close second. And to see beautiful Carmen dance again, (she was seriously injured in late '08 and worked very hard to recover) well definately made me VERY happy. And after watching her in DGV, even more so.

BLACK SWAN

Hooray, NYC finally gets to see Herman Cornejo do Siegfried--even if only in excerpt. What fun. He did a few things differently, but mostly the variation was similar to Angel's. Adiarys used the harp/oboe (original?) variation music and choreography. Blazing fouettes as usual, but not the ones I saw her do in Spain. Now I'll really have to include that footage in the doc.

DGV

What I loved about this piece was the juxtaposition of corps and principals. The corps was often much more interesting to watch. All those sly references to trains: choreography that imitated signal crossing arms, Brit Rail logos, train tracks, levitating wheels humming along, always propelled by the score. Each principal couple was unique and interesting to watch for different reasons. Carmen and Sergey (him tall enough and secure enough to partner her) slowly winding/unwinding versus the increasing speed of the score; Herman and Adiarys sliding across the stage in parallel and profile and then contorting themselves; Ashley and Fernando, both capable of continuously fluid connections between each step (what is the word for that?! I forget); and Angel with Natalia Tapia (only months from having a baby) even in slo-mo, even when fast, her amazing flexibility and long lines in sync with Angel's instinctual use of epaulement to accentuate line. And those lunges on that hyper-extended knee --like some glorious ship's figurehead or auto/train hood mount--were both beautiful and cringeworthy.

So as I wrote to someone recently...He came, they saw, he conquered. What else is new?

Let's hope we all can move forward now.

PS. Many thanks to Alex and Andrey, jah and Ann T-P, Drew S., and Matt B. AND Ross MacG for his artistry and kindness.

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