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pirouetta27

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  • Connection to/interest in ballet** (Please describe. Examples: fan, teacher, dancer, writer, avid balletgoer)
    dancer, avid balletgoer
  • City**
    Seattle
  • State (US only)**, Country (Outside US only)**
    WA

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  1. I loved getting a chance to view the digital stream. Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan really took the stage by storm! And all dancers were superb with the lightning-quick footwork of Sechs Tanze (wish they'd perform this one more often!) However, I was again disappointed in James Kirby Rogers' musicality. He was consistently behind the group in Petite Mort. There was another piece this last year--maybe Cerrudo's Black on Black on Black?--where I also noticed he was not in sync with the rest of the stage. He has lovely lines and seems to be a supportive partner...I enjoyed his pas with Cecilia much more than the saber section. Other, random note: how is Clara Ruf-Maldonado not a soloist yet?
  2. I'm curious, too! Can we please give a round of virtual applause to the tech crew for this one? Between the amount of fly work, lighting cues, costume changes, etc. they must have been extremely busy. Kudos too to the stage manager who called all of it.
  3. I'm thrilled for Leah! I remember her as a young summer course student; she's truly put in so much effort and it's a joy to watch her onstage.
  4. I've been a PNB subscriber since 2002 and have seen Carmina Burana many, many times over the years (and it never gets old!) but rarely have I seen such a good cast for the In Taberna section. Luther DeMeyer was exceptional. I'm sure that the group energy was palpable at the live performances! side note: there are so many new faces in the corps this year and I'm excited to see the dancers grow throughout the season...but oh, I can't wait for Dylan Wald to be back onstage.
  5. It is really exciting to see some of the younger dancers (Kuu, Luther, Lily, etc.) step into featured roles! However, is anyone else just a tiny bit disappointed that Dylan Wald isn't doing a third cast Romeo? I know that the pandemic + rehearsal logistics etc make it far more practical to have two casts of leads...but because James and Lucien have been doing the role for so many years I was hoping that we'd also get a newbie!
  6. Halfway through the stream; even my 1-year-old is enthralled! One interesting (pandemic) detail is that all of the snowflakes were unmasked except for one with a white mask. I think that, production-wise, they've done a great job of incorporating masks that flow with the costumes. Was it Juliet Prine in the front of Snow who had the lovely smile?
  7. I'm not very active on this forum (former PNB student and lifelong PNB fan!) nor am I about to say anything groundbreaking...But MY GOODNESS Dylan Wald is a treasure! Every time I watch him I'm stunned by the purity of his movement and his emotional connection with others onstage. He brought Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven to a whole new level. I also loved getting to see Amanda Morgan featured. The way her limbs sliced through space was mesmerizing. This rep struck a pleasant balance of intimacy and camaraderie, both between the dancers and the audience. There were moments of introspection and expansiveness. I only wish that one of the pieces had slightly more colorful costumes to break up some of the visual neutrals! (obviously, Nutcracker will provide that contrast in spades). Is anyone else starting to think of their dream casts for R&J? Obviously Noe and James have been incredible in the past. After seeing this contemporary rep, I'm excited to see some of the newer dancers tackle dramatic roles!
  8. I still can't believe Noe did every single performance back in 2008. This production was such a treat to watch again; if PNB ever were to release a DVD with their dancers (if I'm not mistaken, BDMC has one) I would absolutely buy it. Did anyone else tear up at the end of "Somewhere" in WSS, with the realization that that kind of gathering and singing isn't possible anymore due to Covid? So beautiful, so missed.
  9. Congratulations to the Suddarths on their upcoming baby! I think this answers my question as to why Emma wasn't dancing as much in the last rep as I would've expected Also, per their Instagram, another company family is expecting!
  10. Oh, and I one more note: I was surprised to see that Emma Love Suddarth hasn't been cast in anything beyond general ensemble dancing for either weekend (but please correct me if I'm wrong; I was reading the casting on a smartphone screen so it's possible that I missed something). Her dancing is always very strong and I'd love to see more of her.
  11. After attending the Saturday night performance, I have to say that I've never realized before how FUN Agon can be! The dancers have taken Russell's notes to heart; there were plenty of moments I could hear her corrections (from the livestream rehearsal) in my head, and see how the dancers had adjusted accordingly. Lucien's coupés in his solo were clear; the partnered arabesque promenades at the end revolved smoothly; Mullin's traveling echappes glided in perfect unison with Macy's. I especially enjoyed the gailliard with these two women. Sometimes with the Balanchine black and white ballets I get the sense that the driving emotion is "look how spiky we can be! Look how fierce and neoclassical!" Elements of that were there, but more than anything, I felt that Macy and Mullin were playing a wonderful game onstage, feeding off each other's energy and daring. Oh, and the pas de trois--such excellent chemistry between the two of them and Lucien, and what a glorious tendu ending! In the other sections, Pantastico brought a coy charm to her bransle solo, and Laura Tisserand was both cool and eminently personable as she and Josh Grant wrapped themselves in knots during the pas de deux. I could watch that pas over and over again. With Grant, I still don't think I really have a sense of who he is as a performer, but there was nothing dislikable in his presence or partnering. I mean, I do wish that Laura had reached the floor in the split-walk section, but with those legs I don't think there's time in the music for it! The whole cast kept up such crisp unity from start to finish that it really seemed like they were all pieces in an elaborate game of chess (a very fast game of chess, so there are holes in the metaphor, but you get the idea). There's no hiding in these leotard ballets--and this cast had nothing to hide, just wonderful musicality, teamwork, and sky-high extensions to show. I was a bit nervous to see Carmina, just because I'd adored it in the past and didn't know how I'd receive Stowell's choreography from an adult perspective. Happily, I found that his patterns, partnering steps, and conceptual flow held up to the power of the music, especially with the beginning Fortuna Plango Vulnera section where the men spring to life from the floor. Chills. Because this piece has such a large cast and often necessitates casting Professional Division students, there were a few moments throughout where one couple would be lagging in partnering, but it didn't detract from the spectacle or youthful exuberance. It's a great learning opportunity for all of them, and I must say that Mark Cuddihee (apprentice) and Noah Martzall (PD) really caught my eye in their commitment to the work, along with Abby Jayne DeAngelo (her face during the kneeling lines at the end captured the whole arc of the ballet). Another young one to watch is Sarah Gabrielle Ryan. She and Steven Loch in Primo Vere had chemistry out the wazoo as they progressed from teasing village couple to the more mature sections in unitards. I also greatly enjoyed Elle Macy as the siren female in In Taberna; she brought a sense of decisiveness and hedonistic abandon to every developpe, and it was interesting to watch her/Lin-Yee shift the power dynamics back and forth in the group. Something in her interpretation seemed fresher than those I've seen in the past: with other females it's felt more like an inevitability that the tavern would orbit around her, but with Macy it was a wicked party that just barely stayed in her control. Of course, Liz Murphy and Lucien were full of melting arabesques and silky solos in Cour D'Amour, and you could feel the audience stunned into silence during Dulcissima as the purity of Murphy's steps matched the soprano's impossibly high notes. What a treat! But on a sour note, in many of the other sections, someone kept bumping into a microphone, which inserted a horrible "ka THUNK" into the rest of the singing. And it. Kept. Happening. Seriously, I don't know if it was onstage or off, but its recurrence was both irritating and baffling. I heard one of the other audience members mentioning it as we filed out...hopefully the problem is fixed for future performances. I could go on and on but the last thing I'll mention is just how much I love the Carmina costumes...sure, the nude unitards provide minimal costuming, but the flecks of reflective material and waving pieces of fabric highlight the dancers' lines so nicely. And Murphy's buttercup-colored dressed for Cour is regal in its simplicity. It's so nice that, although PNB presses ahead with new and exciting works, Boal also takes time to revisit classics from the company's heritage: the architecture from Balanchine and gesamtkunstwerk revelry from founding director Stowell.
  12. I'm getting more and more excited for the show with all of this excellent video footage PNB is producing! After living overseas for a year and a half, it's a treat to be in town for these two powerhouse pieces. Does anyone remember the last time that Agon was programmed?
  13. Did anyone go to see the opening weekend? I live overseas so it's rare that I get the chance to watch a performance in person (thank heavens for the youtube rehearsal streams!) and I'm curious about everyone's impressions of this program. Standout dancers? Overall longevity of these pieces in the repertoire? Feeling/mood of the night?
  14. You can watch new PNB apprentice Abby Jayne DeAngelo dancing in this fun video from Cut; obviously, she's the ballerina with checked pants and a white t-shirt. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUxf7oytC9M
  15. I was able to watch what I think was all of the Act I rehearsal on Instagram stories (from Japan, no less; the time difference worked out well). Leta looked strong and joyful in the Rose Adagio, and I thought that Steven Loch was fantastic as Carabosse. Hats off to the many hard-working corps ladies, too, and their glorious unison work! It always warms my heart to see Francia Russell back in the studio alongside the current artistic team.
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