Josette

I agree- I very much miss Aaron Robison and Ulrik Birkkjaer, as much as I do appreciate all the dancers. 

I saw Van Patten dance Juliet twice and was bowled over, I also loved her in Diamonds and in Swan Lake.  I saw De Sola again last night in Etudes and found her in her element, dancing with radiance and finesse. I particularly appreciate her in the Sylphide section, which can sometimes come off as camp. De Sola danced one of the most effective Olgas I have seen in Onegin, where she and Myles Thatcher as Lensky had a deep connection.  

I did not find Cnderella to be one-dimensional and loved preparing and performing the role. 

Sasha Mukhamedov said in a pre-performance talk on February 21 that she was cast as Hippolyta and learning Titania (which Yuan Yuan Tan is cast as, as well as Sasha De Sola, as shown in the photo above). She also said that she will be dancing the tall girl in Rubies, which she danced at the Dutch National Ballet, and is learning Diamonds and loves Diamonds. Esteban Hernandez said in a previous pre-performance talk that he is cast as Puck and learning Oberon.

Oberon does not do any partnering but does dance fast and furiously. I'm sure most people here know that Villella was the original Oberon and Arthur Mitchell the original Puck. Titania has a pas de deux with a consort and also with Bottom and does not have a pas de deux with Oberon.  There are a lot of opportunities for the dancers, what with the two sets of lovers and the beautiful divertissement pas de deux in the second act. I am most interested in who will be cast in the  second act pas de deux. 

Do we know for a fact that Angelo is cast as Puck? He could be cast as Oberon.  He danced brilliantly in Etudes on the 21st. 

I saw two performances of Cinderella this season.  The first featured Sasha De Sola in her premiere, dancing with Luke Ingham.  I thought she looked tense in the first act. Honestly, I was underwhelmed by her  performance and felt she was making faces without her understanding who her Cinderella is, and this was not helped by the fact that Sarah Van Patten was on stage, more brilliant a presence and actress than ever.  During the intermission and upon leaving the opera house, I heard numerous people rhapsodizing about Van Patten's performance. I feel so fortunate to have seen Van Patten in this role.   De Solo was technically precise, but I found myself thinking how beautiful her feet were, which is a sure sign that nothing much is happening artistically or dramatically; there was no musical phrasing in the Act II solo; as clean and exquisite as the execution was, her dancing lacked feeling, musicality, and sweep.   Also, at her premiere, Sasha De Solo did not convincingly engage with Luke Ingham, who was fully there for her, and who gave an excellent, natural performance.  I  can assume that her third performance of the role improved, as she has always grown in artistry since the time that she was promoted to soloist.  Kudos to the four remarkable men who act as her protectors, they each danced exceptionally well and supported their Cinderella physically and emotionally. 

And it's time to let Max Cauthorn dance more leading roles. 

The following night I saw Misa Kuranaga and Angelo Greco, along with Hansuke Yamamoto  giving an absolutely wonderful performance in all ways as Benjamin.  Kuranaga's Cinderella had pathos, which is so needed as indicated both in the story and Prokofiev's score.  Her dancing is extraordinary and musical, with beautiful phrasing.  All her movements are graceful and filled with meaning.  She has warmth and a heart that goes out to the audience.  Though she is technically phenomenal, she does not display it; her execution is effortless.  Additionally, we had Isabella DeVivo as an utterly adorable stepsister. Maggie Weirich was excellent as the stepmother.   It was a wonderful show. 

I went to the performance on Feb. 11, and loved everything about Sandpaper Ballet.  I was smiling throughout the whole ballet, it was such fun.  And I agree about Diego Cruz, Phrenchphy11.  My eye always goes to him because of his joy.  

He is still listed on the Segerstrom website.  I was interested to see that he is performing at the Hollywood Bowl, with Dudamel conducting, on August 11. 

pherank, do you recollect when Possukhov last choreographed for SFB?  There must have been something after Swimmer, which I sadly never saw.  

Thanks for providing the message by Madison.  I am eager to see who is cast for A Midsummer's Night Dream.

What would be the grounds for Ramassar's attempting to abrogate the protesters' first amendment rights of  free speech and the right to assemble?  The protesters' words have not caused him to lose employment.   Subjectively, the protesters' words could be considered to be in bad taste, but there are a lot of things stated that are abhorrent that are not unlawful conduct or  speech. 

That's great news and a great photo of Aaron!

I agree, @Emily12.   

 I saw Gillian Murphy dance Giselle with the New Zealand Ballet and loved her so much that I went back for her second performance.  Her port de bras was beautiful, her jumps were lighter than many a smaller ballerina,  she was convincing dramatically and did not dance like a powerhouse but had a delicacy and effortless quality as you describe so well.    I do not understand the ongoing paradigm of a Giselle as restricted to the body-type of Kirkland and/or Makarova.  

I received an email from the Joffrey Ballet with the 2020-2021 season announced.  http://www.joffrey.org/subscriptions?utm_source=wordfly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SubscriberAcquisition2020-2021_%231&utm_content=version_A

• Manon in October
• Serenade and Of Mice and Men in February
• Neumeier's The Little Mermaid in April-May

      (and The Nutcracker in December)

I certainly cannot read her mind, but it is apparent that Sarah Lane is  extremely talented, has not been handed roles, and works hard to invest her performances with meaning and beauty.   

On 2/12/2020 at 12:36 PM, ECat said:

Please accept my apologies for coming so late to this conversation but I was very happy to have found it as I was at that Sunday matinee performance.  The reason I am commenting is that I was so moved by the performance that I still think about it.  It is almost 11 years later and the memories that stand out the most are Irina Dvorovenko as Giselle, Veronika Part as Myrtha, and the glorious corps in Act II.  Irina moved me to tears with her portrayal.  Never before had I seen the vulnerability and the "weak heart" of Giselle so clearly.  Her mad scene was fantastic.  it is no surprise that she is now an actress.  Veronika was a force to be reckoned with while being velvety smooth.  The wilds were fantastic!

ECat,  I was just thinking about that particular Giselle yesterday.  I took my Mom to that performance, in which Dvorovenko gave one of the the most moving and unforgettable performances of Giselle I have seen.  Her dancing was sublime in both acts and her mad scene extraordinary.   I ran into friends after the show and we were all beside ourselves.  

I saw program 2 on Tuesday, February 11, and found McIntyre's comments in the program notes so compelling that I bought a ticket to program 3 for next Friday.  

Sasha Mukhamedov was to dance in the last ballet, Mark Morris's The Sandpaper Ballet.  I am hoping to see her as the tall girl in Rubies later in the season. 

That's great news!  Now if only SFB would come back to Segerstrom this fall.  

When Joe Walsh was injured two seasons ago in December, he was off until the next season; it was the same with Davit Karapetyan and Vanessa Zahorian and Jaime Garcia Castillo when they were injured, and I can think of others as well who were off for an extended time upon injury. It seems that SFB is very careful about letting an injured dancer back onstage. I do hope that Ulrik will be performing in something this season as he is apparently not injured. He is  still listed as a principal dancer, isn't he? 

Got my tickets - unbelievable price with the Flex Subscription. 

I am relieved about Tuesday's show, which I am attending, as well as the open stage rehearsal in the afternoon.  I have no complaints about ever seeing YY in After the Rain pas de deux or Misa Kuranaga and Sarah Van Patten in anything.  

I was at the opening night of Etudes last year and it was Sasha de Solo, who was brilliant and radiant, the best I've seen the lead danced.  She was pure magic. (I have not seen Sofiane Sylve in it.)

Interesting that Joffrey Ballet has not changed its scheduled performances of Liam Scarlett's Vespertine in Berkeley in early March.   Ashley Wheater,  who was a wonderful dancer, has been a very effective director for the Joffrey, and is simply a nice guy,  has close ties with SFB and trained at the Royal Ballet School. 

How many lawyers have said that? 

I am less than thrilled.  

All we can do here is speculate as to what SFB knew and when.  Only a handful of people in management and an attorney or two would have all information.  I hope that I do not have to sit through Scotch Symphony on Feb. 11.  I would expect that Scarlett would get paid his royalties despite the pulling of Hummingbird.