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pirouetta27

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Posts posted by pirouetta27

  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'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. 

  3. 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! 

  4. 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?

  5. 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!

  6. 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.

  7. 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.

  8. 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.

  9. This whole situation has made me very sad from the moment the first article was published, but I was especially saddened today to read Ramasar and Catazaro's posts on the matter: regardless of what really happened, neither of them acknowledged the hurt that everyone else has been feeling (Waterbury, colleagues, fans...) Posting about how you are a such an honorable person blah blah blah does not make it so; what's honorable is to recognize and validate someone else's pain, particularly in such an icky situation as this. Without saying anything that would entangle the legal side of the case, each of them could have taken the chance to acknowledge the very real hurt that's happening NOW, rather than boasting about previous accomplishments in the world of City Ballet. The world is a better place when humans are able to step outside of their own self-focussed bubbles. Unfortunately, Ramasar and Catazaro have not done that in their public statements, and I fear that peace for City Ballet, Waterbury, etc. will be slow to come.

  10. Not sure where to put this, but an Instagram post by Peter Boal, a Wikipedia bio (currently lacking citation), and public Facebook posts indicate that Sean Lavery may have passed away this week. Quite sad news for the company and all who knew him.

  11. 11 minutes ago, Helene said:

    There are a few Martins works that have appeared in other companies' programs. I remember seeing either PNB or SFB do a Martins work that was a series of pas de deux to a wide range of music.

    Helene, didn't PNB do Martins' "Fearful Symmetries" back in 2003? It's not listed with the rep on their website right now, but I seem to remember it being performed years ago.

    From what I've seen, Martins' R & J is not a particularly special interpretation of the tale, but I am excited to be seeing City Ballet for the very first time next week when it's performed! My eagerness to visit NYC and watch the company eclipses the apathetic feelings I have about the choreography and production. 

  12. I was able to take open class at the new facility (pro tip: as of yesterday at 9am, the PNB website still listed the temporary facility's address and the FRC voicemail sounded as though it hasn't been updated since May) and was quite impressed! Although there are a number of construction details that are still being taken care of, the space appears to be even better designed than the original to meet the needs of Eastside students. I'm looking forward to seeing how it all progresses; bravo to the work crews who have put this all together in such a short amount of time and the students/parents/faculty who have rallied to make the transition go smoothly.

  13. I'd love to see Imler do the "Plink Plank Plunk" excerpt from Olivier Wevers' "Shindig." His choreography for this section is full of humor, and the speed of some of those turns--my gosh, Imler is one of the only women who can pull it off with such confidence!

     

    As for Bold, I agree with sandik's suggestion of "Caught." It's a marvelous chance for him to not only jump but also command the stage with that quiet gravity he has.

  14. According to Noelani's public Instagram (@hulagirl):

     

    "The role of the Fairy is what April [Ball] was taught in her audition for BMC, and she's been doing it ever since--13 years! It's not in PNB's culture to have guests, and seems to be the norm in other major ballet companies, so I'm grateful to see this unfold here and pray it happens more. I can't tell you how much it improved my dancing to see other dancers and companies outside of this realm when I left PNB in 2008."

     

    Though I don't know if Ball's guesting is as a replacement for someone or as an experiment in PNB hosting guest artists, it sounds like she'll be magnificent in the role! It must be exciting for the PNB dancers to get new faces and new voices as they prepare for Cendrillon.

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