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Xiomara Reyes


Medora

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Xiomarais her name Medora :( , and from what little I have seen of her, I think she is so sweet and beautiful when she dances. I think she comes from Cuba??

But who said she was annoying? what as a dancer? if so in what role? or as a person?

Jeanette

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Caution: if you find someone's dancing annoying for whatever reason, that's a suitable topic for discussion, but anything close to "I hear So-and-so is an annoying person" is not. This isn't aimed at you, Medora, it's just a general health warning. :(

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I am sorry, I just read it somewhere and I was wondering whether it would be worth it to see her dance as opposed to Julie Kent or one of the others. Now that I think of it it's really a dumb question because it is totally subjective. Sorry I spelled her name wrong too; I should have taken the time to look it up. :mad:

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No need to apologize Medora :mad:

I think it's hard to compare Kent and Reyes. It would depend on the role and what you like in a dancer.

I happen to be a fan of Kent's, but I've been watching her since she's been in the corps.

Reyes (to me) is still new, but I like what I've seen so far.

I don't think you could go wrong with either dancer (or some of the others) it just depends on your preferences.

Was there a particular ballet you had in mind to see?

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Reyes is demicharacter, a different type of dancer than Kent. She's fairly small, has very regular balanced and symetrical features and body proportions, very nice basic placement, is a pretty girl in the classic European style, turns well, has dramatic talent, emotes some might say a little too much (some complain of the unflagging thousand watt smile which could be modulated a bit at times). She jumps well but turns better. Her training is more European than American in her arms and upper body. I like her a good deal. I think one can't go wrong seeing her in Symphony in C, 3d Movement, or in Fille Mal Gardee or as a character in Offenbach in the Underworld.

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Medora, it is a subjective thing.

Personally, I would choose Kent in any role over Reyes. While Reyes is a superior technician, I find some of Reyes's qualities that Michael referred a somewhat off-putting. (She appears to me to have a proportionately larger head than most dancers.)

Let me note that at a similar point in her career, I avoided Julie Kent but find that she has matured into a fine ballerina in most roles.

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I think Reyes may be very interesting as Juliet; it's MacMillan's production, and that Juliet doesn't have to be a lyrical dancer.

I also liked her in the third movement of Symphony in C and didn't find her at all annoying. To me, the smile is genuine, not fake (actually, I don't even remember her smiling that much) but what mattered to me in that ballet is how musical her dancing was.

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I would agree that Reyes is demicharacter, at least at the moment. And although I dislike intensely the emphasis on certain physical standards, which strikes me as at times fetishistic, I must admit that I found the size of Reyes' head distracting when I saw her in Giselle last year. On the other hand, her ebullience draws the eye; she conveys real joy when she dances. I am thinking that maybe with time she will develop more of the elegance and subtlety I would associate with a prima ballerina (like Kent).

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I draw a distinction between people who dislike a certain physical characteristic, or body type, or look, or whatever -- which they're perfectly entitled to do, or not do -- and employ, which we've discussed a lot here: classique, demicaractere, caracterer, etc. Every dancer has a range, and some have a wider range than others, and some classique dancers can do demicaractere roles, and vice versa, but one's basic type doesn't change. (And, for those reading this who may be new to the employi discussion, "demicaractere" doesn't mean "bad," but a specific type of dancer more suited to quick movements and light roles, and less suited to roles that require beautiful lines, which are more exposed in slow movements, and an affinity for tragedy.)

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Went out for a belated Valentine's Day celebration and am back, Alexandra, wondering: do you really think it is ok for people to not like certain body types or aspects? I'm not talking about emploi now. I am not proud that I find Xiomara's rather large head distracting. I do think that is fetishistic. I don't like to think I'm buying into what I consider some pretty shallow aspects of ballet aesthetics, given we are talking about a dancer who is lovely in so many respects. As an audience member, I consider it my responsibility to try to appreciate the person onstage for who he or she is as an artist, not to act like a judge at the Westminster dog show.

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I think that in terms of what one LIKES there is no right or wrong. It's so deeply personal. If someone doesn't like people with red hair and blue eyes, or large heads, or short legs, they're not going to like them.

I think judging is different from watching/liking. I don't see anything wrong with watching a performance critically -- meaning judging it, not just responding to it with an "I like" or "I don't like". For me, appreciating art is the exercise of aesthetic judgment. Line is a part of classical ballet. A dancer without line in a classical role looks as wrong to me as a wrong note in a concerto would sound. And I usually intensely dislike seeing a demicaractere dancer in a classique or danseur/se noble role, or vice versa.

I view modern dance very differently. There, I think a variety of body types is one of the glories of the art form. I WANT the texture that different bodies provide. I'm bored by modern dance where the dancers look like they were just hired from a chorus line. (But I still would understand if someone says, "Oh, gawd, I cannot look at that man, with that tiny head and barrel chest and bow legs." He might be someone else's hero, of course.)

This might turn into a discussion -- if so, I'll split the thread off into one of its own.

Balletmama, why do you think it's wrong to judge dancers by body type of physical characteristics?

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Originally posted by Alexandra

Balletmama, why do you think it's wrong to judge dancers by body type of physical characteristics?

Well, I guess it's partly because at one time dancers of certain races were considered aesthetically inappropriate to perform as snowflakes, for example. And being a ballet mom I so often hear about the admiration or envy young dancers have for their peers who have so-called perfect feet or amazing extension and yet terrible line and little to no artistry; I wonder where they get these ideas and I don't want to contribute any further to them.

But mostly, truly, as an audience member I try very hard to participate in an artistic encounter -- to take in and value whatever it is that the artist is seeking to communicate. Judging something like head size seems awfully trivial and even a little dehumanizing. To give myself a little credit, I do think that, as Victoria says often here, there is no perfect body, and skilled dancers usually find ways to work so that even if their heads are oversized or whatever, the line is not spoiled.

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Feeling very sad over Reyes retirement right now.

I am watching the ABT Swan Lake video from 2005 where Reyes and the Cornejos do the pas de trois.

Her performance in that video sums up why I love her dancing. Not only is she technically strong, she dances with such a lightness and pure joy, that you can't help but feel happy watching her dance. (Her Cinderella had the same impact!). It's beautiful to watch, and I'm glad this was filmed so I have at least one of her performances to remember her by.

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Feeling very sad over Reyes retirement right now.

I am watching the ABT Swan Lake video from 2005 where Reyes and the Cornejos do the pas de trois.

Her performance in that video sums up why I love her dancing. Not only is she technically strong, she dances with such a lightness and pure joy, that you can't help but feel happy watching her dance. (Her Cinderella had the same impact!). It's beautiful to watch, and I'm glad this was filmed so I have at least one of her performances to remember her by.

I always thought she was unappreciated at ABT. Her Cinderella was my favorite. I would have been interested in her Swan Lake but KM never cast her in that.

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Feeling very sad over Reyes retirement right now.

I am watching the ABT Swan Lake video from 2005 where Reyes and the Cornejos do the pas de trois.

Her performance in that video sums up why I love her dancing. Not only is she technically strong, she dances with such a lightness and pure joy, that you can't help but feel happy watching her dance. (Her Cinderella had the same impact!). It's beautiful to watch, and I'm glad this was filmed so I have at least one of her performances to remember her by.

Kaysta, I love Xiomara's dancing and I'm so glad to hear you echo my thoughts about her. She is a pure heart! It was apparent to me in the the Swan Lake pas de trois, which is the first time I ever saw her dance (ABT video), in The Moor's Pavane and most significantly, in her farewell Giselle. I'm very sad I won't see Ms. Reyes dance with ABT, but she has expressed that she isn't retiring from dancing and I hope that means her fans will see her again, perhaps guesting with other companies.

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I am watching the ABT Swan Lake video from 2005 where Reyes and the Cornejos do the pas de trois.

Ah, thank you for reminding me of that. Erica Cornejo is another ABT dancer I miss, although I see she's still with Boston Ballet. But yes, that performance you mention is a delight. Part danced the principal role that same week, and I wish they'd filmed her instead, but at least we have Reyes and Cornejo.

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Perhaps my happiest memory of her dancing with ABT was a very energetic and exciting performance in Ratmansky's Piano Concerto No. 1 (from the Shostakovich trilogy though performed on its own)--she was fantastic.

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I'm very sad I won't see Ms. Reyes dance with ABT, but she has expressed that she isn't retiring from dancing and I hope that means her fans will see her again, perhaps guesting with other companies.

Im hoping that maybe, just maybe, she'll want to visit her friend Angel in Philly and come guest next year. That would be awesome!

Really, that whole pas de trois is fantastic. I was very impressed with Erica Cornejo as well. I've never seen her dance live, but if she's a principal at Boston, she's obviously done pretty well after leaving ABT.

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I think that the evolution was in the viewers' minds, not her development (although of course she improved - it's the rare dancer who doesn't over time). I was lucky enough to see Reyes dance her first week with ABT and fell in love with her then. To me, she was a complete dancer. No awkward upper body, no evident effort in what she did. She had beautiful lines, port des bras, was highly musical and could act. To me, the complete package. My admiration only grew over time as I saw her in more and more roles. I'm so glad that she didn't get stuck in the demi-character world. I will miss her enormously.

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