novamom

Attending the Kennedy much less frequently than I would like, I have to admit that I did not notice any difference. But, I do have another issue. The lack of fresh air is stupifying! In fact, sitting in the 2nd tier, section A recently, the air smelled like a dirty vacuum cleaner bag! The odor of dust was a real put-off for me. Sorry if I digress from the artistic to the mundane, but doesn't cleanliness also have an effect on the total enjoyment, (or not) of a performance? Would anyone here be able to enjoy a performance if the costumes were dirty? Has anyone else had this experience? Or, was this just an isolated incidence?

My daughter and I had the opportunity to see last night's performance. I usually prefer to see more actual dancing, however, I also found the dancers to be charming. It is a lovely story and the 2-1/2 hours went by very quickly. We have never seen this ballet, nor have we seen the Royal Danish Ballet Co., I would definitely try to see them again. This style is quite a bit different than what we have seen before. I'm sure the fact that this ballet was first staged in the 1800's has a lot to do with that!

We live in No. VA, and just got our power back yesterday. Many trees down and part of the county is still without power. We are very fortunate, indeed.

Catlady, I'm personally very glad that you brought this subject up. And, Dirac, your idea is a very good one. As a result I will also write a terse :angry: e-mail t the editor. Thanks!

I heard of his death yesterday. What a sad day. I was not aware that he was even sick. I loved his performance in "White Nights" especially.

Alexandra, My DD just had a master class with Ms. Evdokimova and was moved to tears by her beautiful lines. She thought it was an excellent class in spite of a nagging hip injury. Do you know what her future plans are?

Personally I think she showed great courage. I agree that her colleagues may be misguided in suggesting she shed her attire in court as a protest And I think whoever it was that fired her should get a life!

Sadly, I have never had the opportunity to see Oleg Tupine dance. However, my 13 yr. old son and I were very priviledged to have met him shortly before his death. He showed my son his great love of music and offered words of encouragement in spite of his being quite ill at the time. We will remember him in our prayers.

I can't believe I missed this thread! Does anyone know if it will be playing again in the D.C. area? AAAARRGGGG!

Thank you, Thalictum, for the info. I did think that Korsakova and Gumerova were fairly close in height on flat. And, re: Gumerova, depending on the size of the foot, you might add 6"-8" once on pointe! Marc, thank you for your clarification on Ms. Gumerova's height. My daughter always delights in finding taller dancers!

Mr. Haegamen, Thank you for that info. Actually, he is a little older than I would have suspected. I would love to see him dance again. May I also ask, how tall is Ms. Gumerova? My daughter, who studies dance, is very interested in the careers of the taller dancers, as she is now 5'8". She hopes to dance professionally, as so many of these lovely young dancers do!

Alexandra, I did not mean to cast Mr. Korsakov in poor light. Actually, I found him to be wonderful to watch. I hope to see him again in the future, and I will certainly be on the lookout for his name. A little maturity may be all he needs. I wonder how old he is. I tried to find out some information on him over the web. but was unsuccessful. My daughter and I sat in the back of the theatre, slightly to the right. From our vantage point, we could see every dancer in "Shades" well once they were all on that tiny stage! Perhaps because I see a limited number of ballets each year, I may not be as critical as some. I thought the performance was quite beautiful. Even if on a small scale. I had thought the lack of a ramp intentional due to the size of the stage. Shame on the K.C.! I still loved it. I did not notice too many wabbly legs! My daughter and I both loved seeing MCB. Actually, she also saw the opening night performance and preferred that nights cast. A few of the dancers seemed to be a bit over-the-top extension wise, but for the most part I thought they looked quite strong. We try to see MCB whenever they come to town, and I have yet to be disappointed. It's nice to see a company with so many female dancers who are not rail-thin. Some of the movements in this ballet are extremely fast and I thought they were danced very well. I did not particularly care for "Troubles", although I loved the dancing. Samba38,( I believe it was your post) you are so right about the taupe dresses. They were lovely and added such dimention to the dance.

Has anyone here at BT seen the 3/15 evening performance? I would love to hear comments on the dancers, particularly Sofya Gumerova, who to me looked almost angry, and Anton Korsakov who looked very young and although a few more inches in height may have made his partnering skills more solid, was a beautiful dancer. He seemed to hang in the air forever, with wonderful height.

Hope you don't mind a late-comer on this thread, but, thank-you Samba38. You responded more succinctly than I ever could have. I'm all for multiple exposures to wonderful music. And, if dressing up a bit and doing a bit of acting-out I think it sounds just fine. Anyone ever heard of Kindermusik? The theory is to get kids doing mock-performing before the age when they become more self-consious. Seems to have merit. One of my children dances, and the other plays violin!

WOW! But still, what is the cost of tickets to the ballet?

I have brought both of my children to the ballet, symphony, plays, from the ages of about 3 yrs. old. We have been told many times, that our children were charming, or polite, or, "Isn't this concert a little long for children so young"? when one of them drifted off to sleep. And certainly, they are not angles, and from time to time, probably annoyed someone or other. I always felt that it was important to give them these wonderfully enriching experiences. I agree with the comment that this is what makes adults who go to theater, ballet, etc. Now, my 16 yr old daughter dances and my 13 yr old son plays the violin. I believe children are happiest when they learn to meet the expectations of their parents. Parents are the responsible ones and should definitely take a child out if they cannot behave well. There was an earlier comment about parents bringing their children to the ballet instead of hiring a babysitter. The cost of a babysitter for the night might run $20.00. A bargin compared to $20.00-$70.00 per ticket for each child!

I saw last nights performance also, and I must say I was less bothered by the difficulties that performing ballet in the Concert Hall presented. We were celebrating a birthday, and, having spent all day digging out, and barely managing to get out of our neighborhood, we were feeling very thankful indeed for being at KC at all. So, our mood allowed us to see nothing but the good things last nite, the formost of which was Ferri and Bocca. I thought they were beautiful together. And in spite of the crowding, and poor lighting all I could feel was their passion and intensity. Ferri is so delicate yet so powerful! My daughter loved her! This is what ballet is about for me. I will admit, although I loved the color scheme of the costumes, They were a bit over the top. What were those two wearing on their heads! As you said Samba38 "One tiny super where's some overpowering thing on her head that must have been a cabbage in a prior life."

Medora, I hope you enjoy the performance. We saw Ferri, Bocca and DeLuz last night. After spending nearly the entire day trying to dig out our minivan, and forging our way up the unplowed streets of our neighborhood, we made it. And it was all worth it. Ferri and Bocca were like a dream together. You could feel their passion from way back in the audience! Ferri is like a feather! Bocca lifts and carries her as if she were another arm, or leg. They seem to be part of each other even when they are accross the stage from each other. I have seen Julie Kent once before, and, since I bought our tickets weeks ago, couldn't choose the cast. When I found out who we were seeing I had no clue how great they would be. I wish I could afford to see it again, I'd love to see Kent or Herrera, or Tuttle, or Carreno, or Correla . With ABT I don't think you can go wrong! Please let us know how you liked the performance:D

Did anyone see the Sat. evening performance? Fondu65, I too enjoyed ABT's Le Corsaire tremendously. And we too clapped loudly at each pause, and there are plenty of them in this ballet. Major lead roles were:Julio Bocca danced the part of Conrad, Herman Cornejo, his pal, Ali was danced by Angel Corella; Lankendem by an amazing Gennadi Saveliev; Medora, by the beautiful Nina Ananiashvili, Gulnare by Ashley Tuttle. I thought the dancing and the enthusiasm were such that the few baubles could be overlooked as they did not detract from the performance. One such flaw occurs when Midora discovers Conrad has come to save her in the Pasha's palace. Midora and Gulnare then dance together ending facing each other on one knee. Nina Ananiashvili seemed to slip slightlI and sat down a bit on stage. Seeing this, Ms. Tuttle did likewise, and the two looked at each other with no clue of a misstep. If you had not seen the ballet before,or, were looking for flaws you would never have known! My entire family thought it was a beautiful performance. Ms Ananiashvili showed such passion! The Odalisques were not as well matched as they could have been, but there was an adendum to the program stating that the Odalisques were to be danced by Maria Riccetto, Stella Abrera, and Anna Liceica. The latter did not seem quite as well prepared. That is to be expected, I think, from time to time. We never anticipate a perfect performance. But last night, the dancing and enthusiasm were wonderful. We thoroughtly enjoyed the evening.

Glebb, would you mind posting this info. re Ebay? Thanks very much.