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2017 Spring Season


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8 hours ago, canbelto said:

Suzanne Farrell owns the rights to Tzigane and it's unlikely she'll allow NYCB to perform either that or Meditation and Don Quixote (two other ballets that belong to her). 

 

Wouldn't the retirement of Martins likely make some difference in that decision (depending, of course, on who would replace him)?

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11 hours ago, canbelto said:

 

Suzanne Farrell owns the rights to Tzigane and it's unlikely she'll allow NYCB to perform either that or Meditation and Don Quixote (two other ballets that belong to her). 

In my opinion, NYCB is lucky if she won't let them have Don Quixote!

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Just got back from the matinee.   Loved Russian Seasons, though it was amazing.  Taylor Stanley, Rebecca Krohn, Sara Mearns, and Megan Fairchild were all amazing.  If anyone else was there, who was the dancer in the purple dress, Indiana Woodward or Alexa Maxwell?  Whomever it was, she was absolutely fantastic.  All of those power house dancers on the stage, and I found my eyes wandering to the dancer in the purple dress.  

 

Namouna was an interesting experience.  I'm not sure how I felt about it, but I'd like to see it again someday.  Is there a story to this ballet?  Because I made one up in my head and it goes like this:  A sailor gets stuck/lost on an alien planet.  At first the aliens are hostile, especially the alien overlord (Ulbright today?) but then a bunch of smoking women come and try to seduce him.  Then more women come to seduce him.  Then he meets an alien in white and they fall in love and get married.  Everyone is happy.  The end.  :clapping::P:D

 

This is it for me for the Here/Now festival.  I have tickets for next week, but I think I'm going to sit that one out and get ready for a lot of ABT.

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8 minutes ago, canbelto said:

This is what I jotted down:

 

 

 

 

Thanks, canbelto!  So it was Alexa Maxwell.  I have to keep my eye on her, I thought she was fantastic.

 

Good to know I understood the plot.  It was definitely a fun ballet and I would like to see it again when I'm not obsessing over whether they are aliens or pirates.  One of the NYT's reviews called them gnomes. 

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27 minutes ago, Kaysta said:

Thanks, canbelto!  So it was Alexa Maxwell.  I have to keep my eye on her, I thought she was fantastic.

 

Good to know I understood the plot.  It was definitely a fun ballet and I would like to see it again when I'm not obsessing over whether they are aliens or pirates.  One of the NYT's reviews called them gnomes. 

 

I'm pretty sure it's the kind of almost-a-story ballet where you can choose your own adventure. :D

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I saw the All Wheeldon program twice.  Mercurial Maneuvers is one of Wheeldon's best ballets, in my opinion.  I enjoy the way he utilizes the large cast.  High praise to Harrison Ball.  He is an exceptional dancer.  His technique is near perfect.  I'm not sure about his partnering skills at this point, but I now regard his appearances as must-see events.  The quiet and soulful pdd featuring Tiler and Tyler was beautiful and compelling. 

 

Polyphonia looked better at the second performance than the first.  The first performance had some rough edges.  The most interesting debuts were Phelan and Catazarro, taking over the roles created by Whelan and Soto.   Whelan and Soto had remarkable intensity in their long standing partnership.  Obviously Phelan and Catazaro were never going to be able to match my memories of the original cast. I did enjoy Unity's fully stretched out lines and positions, and she brought sensuality to the role.  Looking forward to seeing her tackle featured or lead roles in other leotard ballets in the future.

 

I didn't stay for Liturgy and American Rhapsody. 

 

I also saw the All Peck program. It was way too much Peck for me on a single night. 

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30 minutes ago, abatt said:

I saw the All Wheeldon program twice.  Mercurial Maneuvers is one of Wheeldon's best ballets, in my opinion.  I enjoy the way he utilizes the large cast.  High praise to Harrison Ball.  He is an exceptional dancer.  His technique is near perfect.  I'm not sure about his partnering skills at this point, but I now regard his appearances as must-see events.  The quiet and soulful pdd featuring Tiler and Tyler was beautiful and compelling. 

 

Polyphonia looked better at the second performance than the first.  The first performance had some rough edges.  The most interesting debuts were Phelan and Catazarro, taking over the roles created by Whelan and Soto.   Whelan and Soto had remarkable intensity in their long standing partnership.  Obviously Phelan and Catazaro were never going to be able to match my memories of the original cast. I did enjoy Unity's fully stretched out lines and positions, and she brought sensuality to the role.  Looking forward to seeing her tackle featured or lead roles in other leotard ballets in the future.

 

I didn't stay for Liturgy and American Rhapsody. 

 

I also saw the All Peck program. It was way too much Peck for me on a single night. 

Thank you abatt I only saw the Wheeldon program once but you echo my thoughts. As for the Peck program. He is talented no doubt but all Peck in one night is too much. The nights I was there, there were lot's of empty seats so I'd recommend going to the Atrium for discount tickets.

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On 5/2/2017 at 6:06 PM, California said:

It would violate the protocol of Friends open rehearsals to say anything about Ratmansky's new Odessa, which premieres at the gala Thursday night, so I will just say this: GO SEE IT, IF YOU CAN.

 

I was totally going to skip this weekend and do some spring cleaning, but now this is making me feel like I need to go!

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On May 2, 2017 at 6:06 PM, California said:

It would violate the protocol of Friends open rehearsals to say anything about Ratmansky's new Odessa, which premieres at the gala Thursday night, so I will just say this: GO SEE IT, IF YOU CAN.

 

We'll be getting this in DC next month, as well as the newest Peck. Yeah!

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On April 28, 2017 at 8:51 PM, nanushka said:

 

What else would be on people's wish lists for such a project?

 

I would love to see Gounod Symphony. I hope it's not lost again with the imminent end of Suzanne Farrell Ballet.

 

Hungarian Gypsy Airs, please! Surely it has not been lost. Von Aroldingen owns the rights, I believe.

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10 hours ago, Natalia said:

 

We'll be getting this in DC next month, as well as the newest Peck. Yeah!

 

 

I can't wait! I have tickets to both programs and am crossing my fingers I can get cheap tickets the rest of the week through MyTix.

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Here is an interesting article from Playbill regarding Odessa. 

http://www.playbill.com/article/why-this-new-ballet-is-bigger-and-more-in-your-face-than-ever

 

One interesting quote from the article:

 

While Ratmansky’s ballet is plotless, Sunset, based on Isaac Babel’s tales of Jewish gangsters in Odessa after the Russian Revolution, is anything but. “The story behind the music is very particular,” Ratmansky says. “It has strong characters, these criminal developments. You hear all of that.”

 

I also was fascinated by his complementary words on the dancers of NYCB.  I wonder what he thinks of the NYCB dancers in comparison to the ABT dancers.

 

 

As an aside, I saw the All Ratmansky evening of Russian Seasons and Namouna earlier this week.  Having been utterly bored at the All Peck evening, the Ratmansky evening was a refreshing and thrilling contrast.  It was full of humanity and emotion, not to mention outstanding choreography.

Edited by abatt
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Thanks for all of these insights. So this is in the collection of Ratmansky's "Late-Soviet/post-Soviet Musings" as in the Shostakovich Trilogy. Not in the carefree/happy/silly mode of NAMOUNA, WHIPPED CREAM, HUMPBACKED HORSE and PSYCHE. (Gee, one cannot accuse Ratmansky of boringly sticking to one style!)

 

I believe that I've seen almost all of his ballets, beginning with pieces for Ananiashvili in the late 90s. I've literally traveled the globe in pursuit of them...although they pursued ME in the beginning. It's killing me to have to wait one month to see this latest one here in DC...but now I have something great to look forward. Tick tock, tick tock.

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I look forward to more reports on Odessa, and seeing it at some later point, maybe in the fall. I saw two performances of the Russian Seasons-Namouna program, and was impressed with Ratmansky's range. He can produce some clunkers ("The Tempest" comes to mind), but also pieces of interest and complexity. This new piece seems more in the serious spirit of Russian Seasons, as opposed to the whimsical Namouna. 

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