erpollock

I saw Bouder/Veyette and Hylton/Fairchild in Swan Lake in the past week. Bouder can do anything technically, but she is still callow as a girl, and I don't mean that at all maliciously. I mean she did not convey the pathos of the role, she seemed a young girl who has never known true heartbreak. Veyette, while certainly an authoritative dancer, also did not convey the emotional depth I was seeking. I found it in the performances of Hylton/Fairchild. Sterling Hylton, though so young, had the pathetic quality that permeates Swan Lake, she suffers like a Russian, yet is always natural, never cloying as they can sometimes be. Fairchild truly has the emotional range for the Prince. He is left bereft at the end, and it is a still, but deep moment. The entire fairwell of Odette and the Prince is beautifully, poignantly rendered. They are the couple to watch. Such a difference in performances between the technically thrilling Ashley Bouder/Andrew Veyette and the expressively mature Hylton/Fairchild. Which brings me to what Ashley Bouder does so well. She is charming, adorable in Fall of the Four Seasons on Sunday, and a week ago she sparkled in the finale of Stars & Stripes. That is what she is perfect for at this stage in her career, being a gorgeous, cheerful soubrette. Until she knows heartbreak, I don't see how she can fully know Odette.

Agreed. But he is all potential.

Ashley was excellent in white, though in my opinion she lacked vulnerability. In black she lacked arrogance, viperishness. She is a swan in the making. I look forward to seeing Sterling Hylton on Saturday and will deliver my report.

I just saw Black Swan, or the first hour of it - after that I knew exactly what was going to happen and I had a good enough impression of Natalie Portman's acting and dancing, which is what interested me. Despite all the publicity given her training and weight loss, I see New York City Ballet several times a week in season and there is no way she is going to make me think she's a dancer. The director wisely shows her mostly from the waist up, and even utilizing only a truncated version, she is awkward. Her back is stiff, she never shows a backbend which Swan Lake often calls for, and her arms are very disjointed. I don't mean this with malice - I hope it's not taken as that - but that if you are exposed to real ballet dancers at the top of their profession like at City Ballet, what Black Swan is depicting is a poor substitute. She has no musicality in her movement, dance does not live within her as it does within Benjamin Millepied, for example, who briefly partners her. Natalie Portman carries off the acting demands very well as we'd expect, but the dancing? That's not dancing, that's careful execution of taught technique, and it is too late at 28 to acquire the flexibility ballet demands. Though perhaps her stiffness is what the director called for, to demonstrate her rigidity. But then her being chosen as Swan Queen is completely inexplicable based on her demonstrated lack of dance talent. Well, I've had my rant. If this is too negative for Ballet Alert, I am sure I will be deleted by the Administrator.

Adrian Danchig-Waring for Apollo. Ashley Bouder as Terpsichore.

I thought this was charming! You really see how youthful and spontaneous they are, underneath all the precision and discipline of Balanchine's choreography.

I'm glad to hear he's been accepted into the arts management program. I hope he will have a successful new career. It's very difficult to be the son of a famous father.

I should say it's official, based on the listing of principals in the subscription brochure I received yesterday. Nilas Martins' name was not among the principal dancers listed for 2010-11. Amid the honoring of retirees, bouquets at Saratoga, etc., his name is omitted. It's as if he has become a nonperson.

The audience was very enthusiastic and gave the performers and choreographer a standing ovation. I saw Wheeldon's theatrical sense, his talent for movement flow, the way he told the story through dance, not mime and acting. He was able to display "horizontal vertigo" (characteristic of the pampas) through horizontally focused dance. He deploys props effectively - ropes, bridles, sticks representing I think fencing. The "wild horses" stole the show. The two "Ti/ylers" - Peck and Angle - in the leads were superb. Tiler Peck is a force of nature. That said, I think she is more Broadway in spirit than Balanchine. Tyler Angle skillfully went from "city" to "country" as he learned the ways of the Argentine pampas and won the girl. Early in the ballet I thought the dancing reminded me of Oklahoma, only with an Argentine flavor. But Wheeldon is original. The diminutive conductor, Clotilde Otranto, must be a ball of fire - the music was beautifully, strongly executed. As always, Georgina Pazcoguin was a standout, even in a horse's costume. The horses' movements are exceptionally conceived and executed - Andrew Veyette as the "wild horse" looked like he was having a ball! I don't think I'd want to see this dance again though. It's rather dark, and it lacks transcendency, which is what I go to the ballet to experience. Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet, which followed, to me represents the total Balanchine experience of transcendence through dance magic. The literalness of Estancia's plot, in which a girl rejects a boy because he can't tame a wild horse, is to me foreign in flavor. I prefer something more universal, more - well, plotless in which the story is inferred by dance values, like Brahms-Schoenberg! I'd be interested to hear other points of view.

I regret that I had some harsh words for Darci Kistler in a previous post about her role in Stabat Mater. I saw Darci last week in Davidsbundlertanze and she was quite lovely, and within her comfort level in terms of technique. There are certain Balanchine roles that seem to be made for the mature dancer, such as Davidsbundlertanze and Vienna Waltzes. I remember Kira Nichols graduated to those types of ballets at the end of her tenure with NYCB, when she had retired the more exacting roles. I think a lot of the criticism of Darci, both my own and that of others, stems from our perception that there is nepotism involved. There is an apt saying, "A favorite has no friends." We might have let Kira's long and extended tenure pass, as we loved her for her past achievements. But Darci is not given the same benefit. I was very touched by her dancing last week in the Schumann, and did not want my previous criticism to be my last word.

It is ineffably sad to me, having seen this past Tuesday's NYC Ballet performance of Stabat Mater, that Darci Kistler, so wonderous a dancer in the 1980's and 90's, is still dancing. The comparison of her remaining technique and that of the dewy Kathryn Morgan in the same ballet was to me, cruel. Kathryn Morgan is the essence of springtime, flexible, swift, surprising, and - essential on the stage - bursting with watchability. It was painful to watch Darci's dancing, I felt worried with each of her solos. She should not be dancing in roles that place her in comparison with 18 year olds. In 1981, Darci was new, filled with promise, her extensions sky-high, and her joy in dancing dazzling. Darci was then what Ashley Bouder is now. Though Darci is retiring next year, it is a belated retirement. Speaking of Ashley Bouder, where is she??? I don't remember her being cast at all this season. Does anyone know?

I saw the first third of this matinee, the sublime Divertimento No. 15, Balanchine at his most spiritually romantic. The piece displays his amazing ability to arrange to perfection irregular groupings of male and female dancers, as in Serenade. I thought as I watched, superb dancers may come and go, but this repertoire must live forever. Unfortunately, though I had a wonderful mid-orchestra seat and perfect unobstructed view, I was afflicted that afternoon with a cold and coughing, struggling against, and had to leave at intermission. Please elucidate, if possible, the finer points of Divertimento that might have escaped me, and tell me what I missed in Stabat Mater and Brahms-Handel Variations. (The latter is one of my favorite pieces of music and I so wish I could have been there to see it danced). If I can, I will try to catch this program next Tuesday, Feb. 11 when it will be repeated for the last time.Eileen

Are these still available? I am interested. Please send me a message. Eileen

I attended the All Robbins program Tuesday night. Was blown away by Wendy Whelan's creepy, man-stomping Novice in The Cage. She is utterly plastic, or rubber, or spandex. There is no one like her, and I suspect there will not be again. Although preternaturally thin, she is a force of nature, and I rush to catch her performances now, before the eventual autumn of a ballerina's career sets in. For now, she is an insect grotesque. Rebecca Krohn as the Queen and the ensemble of creepy crawlers were superb. The nervy Stravinsky, led by Music Director Faysal Karoui, stays in my mind and I restrain myself from striking those Kafkaesque poses. As the program notes by Deborah Jowett point out, the scenario resembles Act II of Giselle. I found the rest of the program not particularly thrilling. Interplay is, well, jazzy and cute. I was glad to see Sterling Hyltin again and Robert Fairchild. These two stood out in a first class ensemble. Four Bagatelles was to me a pas de deux of puff pastry. Tiler Peck had charm, but Gonzalo Garcia I just haven't warmed to yet. I'm Old Fashioned - I've always felt this ballet suffered by comparison to the Fred Astaire-Rita Hayworth movie original, up there super-sized on the screen. The last portions, where the principals and corps wear black and closely echo the Astaire-Hayworth dance, was most effective. The rest was negligible. How I wish we saw more of Jennifer Ringer. She is an aristocratic, womanly dancer. And for all the appeal of Hyltin, Megan Fairchild, and Tiler Peck - well, they just aren't aristocratic or womanly yet. And I wish NYCB would give Maria Kowroski's comedic talents more scope. She is a gifted comedienne-dancer, her theatrical instincts are brilliant, and I dearly wish she would be used to more advantage than in this slight ballet. Sighting: David Hallberg, principal of ABT, in the fourth row center of Orchestra, looking like a prince.

I saw the Sunday, January 11 Coppelia with Tiler Peck, Andrew Veyette and Adam Hendrickson (as Dr. Coppelius), and also the Tuesday, January 13 Coppelia with Megan Fairchild, Joaquin de Luz and Robert LaFosse as Dr. Coppelius. I preferred Megan, de Luz and La Fosse. Tiler Peck was superb, but somehow, to me, she is wanting that girlish quality, a certain appeal, that Megan possesses. It's not so much a question of dancing, as an air of charm, vivacity, and cuteness that Megan naturally gives off. She has what I call "lovability" which pervades her dancing. As to de Luz versus Veyette, while Veyette certainly gave an excellent performance, de Luz had greater abandon, sweep, spontaneity, and most of all, his acting and mime were thoroughly convincing. He embodied the character, full of pizzazz equal to Megan's. As for Hendrickson compared to La Fosse - well, La Fosse is an experienced character dancer and I felt he was the more accomplished, his walk felt older and painful, his every motion was perfectly judged. His adoration of Coppelia, his joy as she comes to life, his bewilderment as his "creation" flies from his grasp. It's possible though that my views have been influenced by the fact that I sat in a better, closer in seat for the Megan/de Luz/La Fosse performance. (I sat Sunday in the first row second ring, on Tuesday in row K center in the orchestra.) It really makes a major difference to me to sit close enough to fully appreciate the dancers. That said, I simply don't feel Tiler is sufficiently appealing, in this role and also last year in a featured role in Double Feature.

I looked up the comment in the original thread. Cristian had referred to the old generation of schoolteachers who enforced discipline with a stick, and the class behaved, but in fear. That was where I got the "ballet mistress" idea from - sorry if I misremembered, but I got the general idea. Eileen I hope you'll at least peruse other areas of the board. There's a lot of history here, discussion of overall trends in the art. I don't remember the "ballet mistress" comment, either. Welcome! :blush:

"Carbro" has invited me to introduce myself as a new member. I got off to a rocky start with my initial post "Ballerinas and Candy Wrappers" in the forum "Everything Else Ballet". I was compared to a ballet mistress wielding a stick, and attacked for describing a dancer who opened the door for me as "classy". I will try to stick to non-controversial topics here on in. My area of interest and devotion: New York City Ballet, its dancers, George Balanchine, the School of American Ballet, and all books on Balanchine, his life and work, books on his chief dancers, etc. I have attended City Ballet for almost 30 years, and it is my great love. I'd enjoy communicating with the perceptive members of Ballet Talk about NYCB performances.

I'm glad you raised the point that throwing candy wrappers on the floor caused no discomfort or annoyance to others. It has really helped me understand my negative reaction. The incident caused discomfort to me because I realized that just because a person is a beautiful dancer does not mean she knows or cares about throwing litter on the floor. Why is throwing candy wrappers on the floor objectionable? Isn't it a matter of live and let live? In New York State Theater, a beautiful theatrical space, it is inappropriate to make a mess, and a mess for others less fortunate than you to clean up, namely, the cleaning people. You are spoiling the beautiful space, you are creating an unfortunate impression on others who see what you do, and if you are a dancer with NYCB, you are making subscribers think that dancers are merely a beautiful image, not necessarily good people. The impression a dancer makes in the world, especially upon ballet audience members, is crucial. Ballet is an illusion, and to break that illusion when you are among audience members is not a wise choice. I remember a few summers ago when I encountered Nilas Martins at the entrance of Starbucks, and he HELD THE DOOR OPEN FOR ME - I was so positively impressed by his politeness, that the bad publicity he had received (he had been exiled from the Saratoga season so was in the city that summer) was totally wiped away for me. I thought, he is a good person. Throwing candy wrappers on the floor is not a major crime, of course, but it is not classy. Nilas Martins was classy, so he impressed me positively. I hope this helps answer why I reacted negatively, and felt it necessary to give a gentle reproof.

I wonder if anyone noticed in Coppelia the theme of an older man hopelessly, incongruously, in love with a young ideal. In 1974 Balanchine appears to have emerged from his immersion in Farrell's loss of the early 70's and he may have been able to deal better with this theme and its perhaps too personal resonance. The search for the elusive ideal woman is the theme of many Balanchine ballets, as we well know, but here we have a caricatured elderly figure, Dr. Coppelius, who loses his love to a young man, the very evocation of Balanchine's own story. The many rejections by Swanilda of the puppet master, her ridiculing of him in her dances, made me think of the Balanchine-Farrell drama. Of course, I know Danilova staged the second act, but their creation of Coppelia was a collaboration.

I attended a performance of Coppelia at New York City Ballet on Sunday, January 11 in the second ring first row center. Next to me were two ballet dancers, beautiful young women dressed in the scanty prevailing fashion. From their talk, I could see they got their tickets for free (I'm a subscriber). The dancer next to me was unwrapping candies and offering them. At intermission, when they left their seats, I saw under the seat of the dancer with candies many curls of candy wrapper. The beauty of these dancers was instantly spoiled for me. I wondered - how many of the dancers I am seeing on stage at New York City Ballet are leaving their litter on the ground for others to pick up? I wondered, how can I communicate to these young ladies without causing an altercation, wordlessly a la ballet mime, that dropping candy wrappers on the floor is inappropriate and unmannerly behavior? (As Balanchine said, "Ballet is about behavior!") So I gathered up all the wrappings, and carefully placed them on the ledge in front of the ballerina's seat where she would be sure to see them. When the young ladies returned, I buried my head in my program to discourage communication. The ballet dancer beside me saw the wrappers in a place she had not put them, reached out a graceful arm and enclosed the candy wrappers in her fist, where she held them. I stared intently at my program like the doll Coppelia, feeling I had conveyed a necessary and helpful message to these two young women.