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nanushka

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Everything posted by nanushka

  1. Yes, just because someone's hired into the corps without their height totally precluding their ever being considered for promotion doesn't mean that height won't end up being one (if not the) reason they are or aren't promoted. Promotions happen in the context of the company at a particular time, including the needs and capacities (e.g. potential partners, repertoire) of the upper ranks at that time.
  2. Oh how I wish I were seeing Gordon's debut with Peck in Ballo della Regina!
  3. The venue rental info on BAM's website includes the following detail:
  4. There was at one time (and may still be) a video on YouTube of Susan Jaffe and Nikolaj Hübbe performing the final movement. ETA: Yes, here it is:
  5. nanushka

    Sarah Lane

    Just a heads-up for Sarah's many fans and those who miss seeing her dance, that Nutcracker video is one of nearly 20 she's posted to her YouTube in the past few weeks.
  6. I'm not sure what that tells us; the same could be said of literally any location and the fans who live too far away from it to get there easily for a performance. A lot of people can't easily get to Brooklyn for a performance, but a lot of people can't easily get to any given location. The population of Manhattan is ~1.63 million. Queens is ~2.27 million. Brooklyn is ~2.58 million. A lot of people live in Brooklyn, and a lot of others can pretty easily get there. ABT's problem with sustaining their Nutcracker in the NYC area can't really have been about the size or makeup of the proximate-to-BAM population.
  7. Is there any obvious role/casting he should/could have gotten, in what's already been named? He couldn't really take any of Cornejo's current spots, and I don't see any other workable possibilities, given who else needs to dance. It's possible the season design and current roster (both male and female) just made it inevitable that he wouldn't be named cast until the secondary roles get announced.
  8. I too completely agree. Frenette, Gonzalez, etc. may be "ahead of him in line," but they don't have what he has. And it seems he danced more than a typical soloist load in the fall season.
  9. They performed for under 2 weeks at the Koch, and they're doing much of the same rep in China (plus Giselle, which they've performed a lot in the last few years). I think they're probably ready.
  10. What are Bradley's most significant featured roles? I've definitely seen her in small ensemble/demi-soloist-type parts (and have liked her dancing), but don't recall seeing her in featured parts, which I've likely just missed.
  11. Schumacher did dance in 4th movement Symphony in C. Not sure if he was injured at any other point in the season.
  12. Yeah, I'd say just from watching her dance that she's pretty in control. That said, I think she's very good at it. Only occasionally do I wish she'd tone it down a bit. For me, personally, she's pretty effective (especially compared with some others mentioned).
  13. I doubt it's on YouTube, even in an illegally copied version. You might be able to still find the lower-quality version that was previously there. I tried to make sure to download everything NYCB released during covid while it was still available.
  14. It seems like it's been a really successful season overall. It's very impressive how strong the company is looking now, after all the turbulence of recent years (covid, Martins, etc.).
  15. I imagine Bell must have a good reason for not sharing. While it might be ideal for fans and followers of a particular dancer or company to get updates, I do think it's up to the individual dancer, as we don't know their personal circumstances.
  16. As a child, I had quite an overbite, and until it got fully corrected with four years of braces and a later (semi-related) jaw surgery, holding my lips closed was not a particularly comfortable facial expression, as it took a bit of effort. Looking at LaFreniere when her lips are closed, I get the sense that it's not comfortable for her either (as it appears she too has an overbite or something similar). My personal suspicion is that that's a factor in her (IMO) excessive smiling. Not smiling at all might take more effort, and it's probably something she's had to work on. (I think it's gotten better over the past few years; when I saw her in Apollo recently, I didn't notice too much excessive smiling.)
  17. I agree that Pereira did quite well as the Russian Girl this afternoon, with the exception of her jumps. Especially those immediately after she's been lying on the floor — one of my many favorite moments in the piece — were quite underwhelming. Her legs barely seemed to scissor apart. I also wish that she hadn't been matched with a quartet of such comparably tall dancers. The lovely parts during the slow opening of the 3rd movement weren't as visually impactful with Pereira as the shorty in the center. But she was very good in all her solo parts. Not what I've seen (or heard about — both here and in numerous Gia Kourlas reviews) in other roles in the past several years. I wasn't particularly looking forward to seeing Phelan in this either, but here too I was pleasantly surprised. I didn't feel the emotional journey with her that I have with some others in the role, but I liked her quite a lot. Danchig-Waring looked great in Serenade both in solo moments and in his partnering. And I too thought Grant did quite a good job — though yes, the turning arabesque was not at all smooth, and the impact was lost. I'm always a bit disappointed to see Andrew Litton take the stand. Things are always just a little off with him, I find. Today, the first movement of Serenade was too slow, as was the triple-meter portion of the T&V pas de deux. I've never seen Orpheus before; I'm glad to have seen it once, as a historical curiosity. I hope to avoid it completely in the future. Unlike so many of the Stravinsky scores, the music (while it has some moments that are interesting to listen to) does not seem at all suitable to Balanchine dancing — and as a result, I think, Balanchine seems to have choreographed one of his least Balanchinesque works to the score. Dull dull dull. At least the sets and costumes were interesting to see. Today's was one of the most satisfying performances of Theme and Variations that I've seen live. Not a perfect performance, and I think Peck has probably performed the solos even better in the past (probably in the 2015 performance with Veyette that was taped, though I'll need to rewatch), but she was really lovely and crisp and musical throughout, with some definite wow moments. She always looks like she's just loving it, and that's infectious. And while last weekend I thought her playing with rubato was a tiny bit overdone at a few moments in Ballet Imperial (which isn't, say, Tchaikovsky PDD, after all), that wasn't the case here. Gordon is such a beautiful dancer. I was noticing his amazingly sculpted calves this afternoon. His jumps simply float. Boo on cutting the double tour/pirouettes from eight to six, though. Not enough impact. Very disappointing that that's how it was done in all performances. I agree about Megan LeCrone, too. She was the weak link in the demi-soloist quartet; Olivia Boisson was the strong link, I thought. I agree with this assessment of the change. Previously, I've never understood the praise I've heard lavished on him. Though tall and with definite stage presence, he always struck me as too bulky and too made-up. (Yes, there was definitely a season or two when the makeup was extreme.) But now I'm finally starting to see a bit of what others see. He's definitely slimmed down, and he’s toned down the camp. I have yet to see him in a really significant role, though. But he looked good in T&V.
  18. NYCB also released a video with Tiler Peck and Andrew Veyette during the pandemic. It was a 2015 performance, with a finale from 2016. (I think I recall hearing there'd been an injury during the original recording.) For at least awhile now, other than that release and their performances this season, NYCB has I think only done the piece as part of the complete Suite No. 3. Does anyone know when's the last time they regularly performed it on its own? (Possibly not since the Suite premiered in 1970 — but I haven't been following the company long enough to know.)
  19. My hope is that they had two very context-specific reasons for wanting to do it in 2022 and again now: for the Stravinsky Festival and in order to recreate the original 1948 NYCB program. So hopefully with those two things past, they will indeed give it a rest.
  20. After seeing Mejia and Von Enck in Symphony in C this past weekend, I think they'd absolutely be a dream cast. Some very different challenges. I'm excited to see Peck and Gordon in it, as they were great in Ballet Imperial.
  21. Woodward was announced earlier in the week (or maybe even earlier) as subbing for Pollack. She danced with Schumacher.
  22. I would be ecstatic if Misseldine and Forster were to do SL at the Met next summer. (I’m already pretty excited just for her! I’ve been waiting for this.)
  23. Odd indeed. I'm trying to imagine what last-minute casting change might have required them to separate two of the pieces (to give a dancer a break) instead of placing them in the original order — and trying to think of other possible reasons for the change.
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