jsmu

Jayne theorizes, probably correctly, that the female lead (for at least some of the run) will be Pantastico, who is a marvelous dancer--but it doesn't matter who dances the part. a ballerina with the combined talents of Ulanova, Fonteyn, Plisetskaya, Maximova, Sibley, Seymour, Hayden, Adams, Verdy, Kent, Tallchief, Ashley, Nichols, Loscavio, Dupont, and Nunez could not save this turkey. There are no steps of even slight interest, and the female role is just one long, dull, tarted-up descent into victimhood. I particularly loved Quiggin's remarks about the onstage rape (I'd forgotten to mention that charming little reality-show detail) and the abominable 'Oriental' makeup--like very, very bad Kabuki imitations. Attending a second performance of the mixed bill where 'Raku' was last, I fled the theatre after 'Lilac Garden.'

Sandi, since you watch demisoloists as well, . be sure to watch the Bizet when it's broadcast; in the first movement, Claire Kretzschmar , recent winner of the Levin Award, is superb as the demi who begins, I seem to remember, on stage left. She is tall and blonde, so you can't miss her. Gorgeous. Why she was not promoted the other day in the mass of promotions to soloist is a mystery, to put it politely.

I understand. I was extremely young when I saw Tomasson and McBride do it, several years after it was made, but the impression was indelible. Their partnership was an entente cordiale, not just a business deal or a working relationship--much as I imagine McBride's partnership with Villella, from what he says about her. I do not think any film of McBride, sadly, conveys the presence and elan she brought to every role. Her personality was extraordinary and completely unforced. I saw this with Nichol Hlinka, a vastly underrated NYCB ballerina, who was ravishing and crystalline, and a performance at PNB with Biasucci and Davis. I liked that performance very much too. Biasucci was at her most delicate there.

The solo variations, particularly Tomasson's, are anything but hard and commercial; Tomasson's variation, one of the greatest pieces of choreography ever made on a man, calls for off-balance landings from difficult jumps, off-center turns, and emotions Balanchine never called for elsewhere in a male part. McBride's lovely variation ends with a triple turn, two on pointe, the last on half-pointe. The penchee in the pas de deux is only one of many striking images. The final parting of the lovers is unforgettable. I find this ballet quite as good as Violin Concerto, particularly Violin Concerto without Bart Cook and Kay Mazzo.

Not at all wonkish, Emma, but very good questions, and not easily answered. Soloists keep *some*--not most--corps roles when they are promoted; the most salient example is 'Concerto Barocco,' which is considered a plum part even for corps members and in which the corps never leaves the stage, doing some of the steps the soloists do such as the hops on pointe. 'Square Dance' is another small-corps ballet which soloists are sometimes still in because it's very difficult. Small-corps ballets like 'Le Tombeau de Couperin' are very desired; in fact the original cast of 'Tombeau' was at least half soloists. Balanchine corps roles are nothing like other corps parts--they are far more demanding, often more exposed, and frequently in smaller numbers (four women and the principal man in 'Four Temperaments,' three women and the principal couple in the Intermezzo from 'Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet,' and so forth.) 'Agon' is a ballet so difficult to count, and so complex, that when Unity Phelan (one of the newly promoted soloists) was called to rehearsal for it as a second-year corps member she was dumbfounded, saying in an interview that she hadn't expected to get to dance in that ballet for at least ten years. Soloists are never, except in emergencies (which happen constantly in ballet) left in corps parts in big ballets like 'Swan Lake' or 'Sleeping Beauty,' and usually give up most corps roles fairly soon; they probably will finish out this week or even the winter season, however. Some corps parts are quite difficult---those mentioned above, the parts in 'Fearful Symmetries,' "Year of the Rabbit,' etc--and not something you'd want to throw an inexperienced dancer into. On the other hand, nothing is a worse sign for career aspirations than still being 'in' 'Swan Lake' after one's contemporaries have been 'promoted' out of it, either in rank or in seniority. 'Theme' is also a ballet in which the demis are often soloists rather than corps members, as the parts are hard. In earlier times, particularly under Balanchine, principals jumped into the corps without a second thought if someone was missing or injured; Tallchief and Hayden in particular knew everything and did this whenever it was needed. At that time of course the company was much smaller and more close-knit... but even in the early Seventies, when the company made the sadly disastrous (because of horrendous camera shenanigans, kinky editing, etc) video recordings in Berlin, many corps members like Merrill Ashley who did mostly solo parts were in the corps of 'Valse-Fantaisie,' 'Barocco,' etc. Balanchine was sometimes said to think roles and/or a salary raise were more a reward than promotion to a higher rank, and there have always been glaring examples of corps and soloist dancers who in every way deserve principal ranking--including their dancing of principal roles. Lindy Mandrajieff, Renee Estopinal, Wilhelmina Frankfurt, DEBRA AUSTIN (!) etc, etc., come to mind, and among soloists the brilliant Samantha Allen, Carol Sumner, Susan Hendl, Susan Pilarre...as Toni Bentley says, were everyone in NYCB to have her/his due, every dancer would be a soloist.

This program began with Wheeldon ('Fool's Paradise') and continued with McGregor's 'Infra' and Peck's 'Year of the Rabbit.' Joffrey has done 'Fool's Paradise' before, several years ago, but I believe this performance was better. Victoria Jaiani did the adagio pas de deux with her usual partner Temur Suliashvili, with beautiful extension, off-center turns and elasticity; April Daly and Fabrice Calmels, who must be the company's best partner--he is quite tall, with big hands which seem infallible in putting a ballerina on her leg--were marvelous in the central pas. Daly's cambres and backbends were especially fluid. Amanda Assucena, a young rising star from Rio who like several other women is dancing principal roles in all three ballets this rep. was incandescent in the solo female role in the pas de trois. The final scuptural pose is one of Wheeldon's best moments. 'Infra' has interesting steps--McGregor's movement vocabulary is complex, with twitches and jerks as well as slightly altered classical steps, sometimes simultaneously--and, unfortunately, a dreadful LED display above the stage, rather like a marquee from hell, with figures walking along it. Not only does this detract from the choreography's impact, which could be considerable, it is garish and hurts the eyes as one tries to focus on the dancers--who are less brightly lit, for dog only knows what reason. When all six couples are doing difficult and intricate steps simultaneously, as they do in one of the ballet's high points, the last thing on earth we need is a visual handicap while trying to watch them all closely. The electrical distortions in the score, which may be intended to be trains braking but sounded like the sound engineer was screwing up, hardly improved the ballet. This ballet is said to have been 'inspired' by the 2005 London subway terrorist attacks, which may be the case but which certainly does not make scenic and auditory excrescences useful or necessary. In this ballet Assucena and her partner were superb in the third pas de deux--which seems to treat a tragic and doomed love--and Assucena's collapse behind the entire cast walking slowly across the stage was moving. Yoshihisa Arai's solos , as they were in the Peck, were brilliant. It almost seems that McGregor is uncertain of the effect of his chorography and chooses to add obvious 'dramatic' schticks to try to produce something harder-hitting. It's a mistake. I had only seen one Peck ballet, which I was underwhelmed by, so was interested to see 'Year of the Rabbit.' I liked the ballet very much; the dancing is flashy, fun, interesting, and the corps groupings and general corps work are extremely strong. One sees some Balanchinean bits but no literal imitation, and a ton of originality in groupings of soloists against the corps. The female soloist role was for Ashley Bouder, and one can see exactly why; Anastacia Holden here burned up the stage in every passage she danced. Arai was equally good in the male soloist role. Jeraldine Mendoza danced the role made on Teresa Reichlen, and though she is much more petite than Reichlen her elegance and ability to make any step look its best served her well. The motif which often recurs of the principal woman doing a lifted arabesque with a kind of arm salute --which is also echoed by the corps--was particularly striking, both from Mendoza and Holden. Assucena, in yet another principal part, was exquisite in the largest pas de deux, essentially the adagio, near the end. (This part was made on Janie Taylor, who staged the ballet.) She has high extensions which appear unforced and natural, and is only about twenty-one years old; every performance she gives seems to make new strides. Alberto Velazquez was her excellent partner. The whole company danced with huge verve, elan, and scale in this ballet, and appeared to be having an absolutely tremendous time doing it.

yes....and commented on it here, but it appears that like the latest NYCB winter season thread, it was eaten by the cyberhost/platform. The problem with having two masterpieces on one program is that any third ballet will perforce look weak by comparison if it is not the same sort of chef d'oeuvre.....in this case, however, 'RAKU' is not only weak, it is abominable. I have seen very little tolerable Possukhov, but this is the worst to date--cheesy, manipulative, rudimentary, with 'choreography' which is simple-minded beyond the power of words to describe, and it was appalling that the audience screamed and hollered as if witnessing Baryshnikov and Kirkland at their best together. Prodigal was good but not exceptional--Alberto Velazquez was not as great as the Huffpo review said, though he was passionate and tried hard to reach the depths in the final scene, he is still young and relatively immature for such destroying emotions. Elivelton Tomazi was actually more ardent, but still too young in the part. Christine Rocas and April Daly were both good as the Siren, but not stellar. Rocas is an accomplished virtuoso technician who is barely tall enough for the role, and it really did not suit her. Lilac Garden was probably the best performance, with Victoria Jaiani--the company's unofficial prima--as Caroline. Jaiani is tall, willowy, and a prototypical adagio ballerina, and she was suitably elegiac here, as well as making the difficult combinations look simple. Jeraldine Mendoza, the company's young rising ballerina, was again too young for the complexities of emotion which Caroline must convey, though she danced well. Daly was superb as the Other Woman--tremendous panache and tremendous sense of loss when she realizes it is all over.

Neary's career had faltered; Balanchine probably planned to promote her with Merrill Ashley, as he did when he made them both soloists (they were rivals and competed for the same roles since their first years at SAB) but Neary gained weight and lost momentum, fell out of favor, and Balanchine finally promoted Ashley and not Neary. Laracey's dancing has grown lovelier each year to date, and it is a crime that she was not a principal years ago and dancing things like Bizet adagio, Swan Lake, Diamonds....

Very, very depressing thought of King and Laracey both possibly never making it to principal. They have both deserved the rank for years and Laracey is now the most embarrassing omission from principal status in any major US company. I doubt Pazcoguin will even return, much less be promoted again (the first promotion took too long--only Krohn has made it to principal after thirty, of the current crop) though she is a marvelous dancer--she had spoken of looking to make a change in some interviews before she moved to 'Cats.' LeCrone has probably gone as high as she will, having had her career seriously slowed by back injuries. It's distressing to think that Lovette was the only dancer of that 2013 group to make principal so far. There was footage on facebook a while back of Laracey rehearsing the Bizet adagio in the studio--it was indescribably ravishing, and maddening.

One of the greatest photographers in any medium. Her photos were instantly identifiable. The shot of Kent and Villella in 'Scotch Symphony,' where he appears to hold her down lest she fly away, is unparalleled.

Mr. B had nothing to do with the choice of Martins; that was the Board of Directors, which assumed control and disenfranchised Balanchine when he was in the hospital with his last illness. Such figures as Betty Cage, who was NYCB's general manager for thirty-two years, are quoted on the subject (in Greg Lawrence's biography of Robbins, "Dancing with Demons," among other places) as saying Balanchine named and left no successor. Mr. B was never given the chance to be right in this case.

There are almost no more overdue promotions than Benjamin Griffiths'.....in any major US company. FINALLY!

Could not agree with you more. Peck is an anomaly, sadly (well, there's Ashley Laracey, if Martins ever sees fit to promote her to the principal status AND ROLES she deserved seven or eight years ago) and the ballerinas even remotely like Imler (Margaret Severin-Hansen at Carolina Ballet and Frances Chung at SF Ballet) are going to be retiring soon as well, uggggggh. I call the dreadful phenomenon you have mentioned 'the asparagus ballerina.' it's enough to make one stop attending the ballet.

If you can, go to Seattle this winter/spring and see her. The videos do not begin to convey her brilliance.

I knew it was a matter of time, and that does not soften the blow one damn bit. I've never seen Imler dance without bringing something brilliantly individual, special, and irreplaceable to the role, whatever it is. Her Square Dance was my favorite after Patricia Wilde's, and that includes Ashley's and Nichols' which were both scintillating. The *wit* in her inflections (not to mention the ludicrously flawless petit allegro.......) Her Polyhymnia. Her Black Swan. I'll stop now. It's unutterably depressing.

It's a short hop from noodle soup to asparagus ballerinas

Not with NYCB. She also alternated Carabosse with Lourdes Lopez, who was good as well; Croce said that Ashley looked like Hepburn as Mary of Scotland and Lopez looked like a living, sneering Velazquez.......a 'black widow.' She commended both. Carabosse is usually done by dancers at least somewhat close to the end of their classical dancing (or corps dancers like Marika Anderson who have not been promoted) and this was true for Ashley as well, who was already over forty and had had many dreadful injuries by 1991 (I am a rabid Ashley fan.)

Ramen. Those unitards have been hideous since Day One, and you're so right about Mearns. If NYCB and Martins can junk the lovely Bizet costumes in favor of Swarovski nouveau-riche arriviste tutus, the Glass costumes can go. Unflattering costumes *and* headshots are one of the astounding NYCB perennial problems: how do they manage to make so many unusually pretty people look so bad??? And speaking of Martins, "Thou Swell" is one of his most odious outings for so many reasons. I think the thing I hate most about it is the utter dreck 'choreography' to great , great popular music. Balanchine made masterpieces ("Who Cares?" most notably) to popular music; Robbins at least did not mortify himself in "I'm Old Fashioned." When I see good dancers having to appear in "Thou Swell" I want to hurl.

The diagonal, as Humphrey said, is powerful. For this reason, it is *frequently* used at the end of a variation or coda, for the most brilliant (or one of the most brilliant) passage in the choreography. Pirouettes, fouettes, brises, grands jetes, etc, alone or in combination are often used here. A diagonal is frequently the last line of steps in a variation or pas de deux and sometimes even in corps choreography

Kikta has been excellent in a couple of 'big girl' roles (First Movement Brahms, Rubies) and I hope she'll be given more parts. Kretzschmar (from your blog) is one of the most promising tall girls the company has had in decades, and has been a standout in everything I've seen. She is gorgeous as one of the demis in First Movement Bizet. The blog pic of her in Coffee is stunning.

Yes, JD is muscular, and they are also *long* muscles as any classical dancer's should be. I might mention a couple of other powerhouse virtuosi: Carrie Imler and Ashley Bouder. Neither is anorexic or asparagusting. Viengsay Valdes doesn't exactly have thin thighs, thank gawud.

Laracey is a *treasure* period and should have been a principal years ago. I would love to see her dance Sugar Plum--her combination of lyricism and strength is extraordinary, almost reminiscent of Nichols.

This is CLASSIC, Jayne. 'the asparagus ballerina.' I'm stealing it instantly. Just what I loathe above all else: tall anorexics with hyperarches and hyperextensions, no strength, no petit allegro, no passagework, no feet, no agility. When cubanmiamiboy talks about Jeanette Delgado being 'muscular' and 'short,' that is only by comparison with asparagus dancers who have imposed a truly dreadful orthodoxy on what a 'ballerina' is supposed to look like. And we remember what Balanchine said about asparagus to LeClercq........

You're definitely not the only purist , Jack. However........The Seligmann costumes (have you seen pics? MON DIEU!!!) were not only garish and kinky but made it impossible to dance the beautiful choreography. Everyone involved in that production , from Moylan to Tallchief to LeClercq, said so. Canning them was a mercy killing. It's true that Apollo was his ballet, and it's also true that he wrecked it with that horrible truncation and revision, and it's been speculated several times (Billy Weslow, most notably, in I Remember Balanchine) that Balanchine did that to make Baryshnikov, then a member of NYCB and of course slated to dance Apollo, less spectacular and dazzling. I wouldn't be surprised, considering what B. did to Villella several times (after the Donizetti Variations encore in Russia, after the Tchaik Pas more than once, etc.) Balanchine was a genius with some awful weaknesses on the personal level. The 'hair down' thing in the Elegie of Serenade is another change which may not have been an improvement....

Yes, exactly. The new Swarovski tutus are hideous--absolute Kardashian Kollection--and obviously geared to the lowest common denominator of taste. They suit the new name of the State Theater to a T.......not to mention certain other atrocities coming early next year.....