CAM

At today's rehearsal the company was working on repetory for the tour. Among them was "Polyphonia". The Wendy Whelan, Jock Soto roles were taken by Tiler Peck and Ask Le Cour. The dancers were game but the entire shape of the dance was different and they struggled to bend into the proper shapes. I would file it under an "interesting experience."

CAM

Alastair Macaulay reviews Jacques d'Amboise' new memoir "I Was a Dancer" in this Sunday's Times book review. In the review he mentions a 1966 Hamburg television recording in which d'Amboise and Suzanne Farrell dance (Apollo) while Stravinshy himself conducts. Has anyone ever seen this? Is it available on You Tube?

CAM

I just saw the dress rehearsal for the new Susan Stroman ballet, Frankie & Johnny & Rose, and I think it will be a great audience favorite. There is an amusing story, good Broadway moves and virtuoso dancing. That Johnny is real two-timer or maybe a three timer.

I attended the dress rehearsal today and I think this will be an audience favorite. The overall impression is that it is charming and often charming is what people want. Megan Fairchild and Joaquin de Luz were excellent. She gave the impression of being light as air though at the end she knelt on the ground for an extended time. This role must have been a wonderful one for the young Kistler. The ensemble dances were attractive and the children's dances showed off the young dancers.

I received a more elaborate renewal mailing with pictures of the principals and Nilas Martins is not in it. I guess that he is quietly retiring. It is sort of sad, he was never the dancer his father was and after the drug incident he seemed to completely withdraw.

CAM

I just received my renewal. I thought it was for the short fall season. However, it's for the fall, winter and spring seasons!

They want you to renew for the entire year. And there's no option (on the form) to only renew for a season at a time.

I called the subscription office to find out if I was seeing things. They confirmed that you can only renew for the entire year.

I am extremely devoted to NYCB. As some of you know I have a professional (and personal) connection (which is why I don't post about the performances anymore) to many of the dancers. However, this is nuts! I still go to performances three times a week, and have noticed that the house is in need of more bodies to fill the seats (it's pretty depressing). On the other hand, I was just at the Royal Ballet (I was in London last week) and the place was packed.

Of course I'll renew, but I bet that they'll lose many subscribers because of this scheme. This is not smart marketing.

I saw the new ballet, "Call Me Ben", tonight by Melissa Barak. The best thing that can be said about it is that the costumes were lovely, and the scenic designs were beautiful. The choreography was amateurish. The "script" was something that belonged in a high school drama workshop, not the stage of the Koch Theater. I can't really put any of the blame on the dancers, who did the best they could with the awful material they were given. There were some points when the dialogue could not be heard over the music, but that was no great loss. What a waste of time and money. This one is going on my NEVER SEE THIS AGAIN list, along with La Stravaganza and The Lady w. The Little Dog. During the ballet, I kept wishing I was over at ABT to kill time before Scotch Symphony.

The evening started out with a very fine performance of Interplay. Though this is second rate Robbins, it had the benefit of an excellent cast led by Tiler Peck, Amar Ramasar and J. DeLuz.

Bouder was FABULOUS in her debut in Scotch. Her footwork in the allegro sections was clear and fast. Her work in the adagio sections was lyrical and melting. Millipied was fine as her partner, although he fudged some of the difficult footwork.

The scene around the table where the mob voted on whether to kill Bugsy reminded me a lot of "The Green Table". Didn't she repeat much of the choreography? It has been so many years since I saw it that I am not sure. That was a powerful ballet, at least when danced by the Joffrey.

CAM

I saw the dress rehearsal and was very impressed by the energy of the orchestra and the dancing. The conductor was very demanding and kept asking for more energy. Then Wheeldon asked that the last dance be faster. Everyone watching was exhausted by the end of the dance--I can only imagine what the dancers must have felt like. I agree that the horses were very good, Wheeldon got the leg movements beautifully. The pas de deux had some tricky partnering moves, but the effect was lovely.

CAM