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cobweb

Senior Member
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  • Connection to/interest in ballet** (Please describe. Examples: fan, teacher, dancer, writer, avid balletgoer)
    fan & avid balletgoer
  • City**
    NEW YORK
  • State (US only)**, Country (Outside US only)**
    New York

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  1. Can anyone tell me when does PB usually announce casting, and where can I find it on the website? I'm not seeing a link for "casting" on the website, and when I click on info for The Dream, it just takes me to buy a ticket.
  2. Back from a very fun arts weekend in Philadelphia, where I saw the Saturday evening performance of the "Dance Masterpieces" program -- The River, In the Middle Somewhat Elevated, and In the Upper Room. I had never seen either of the first two pieces before, and had barely seen the company before, so my comments are very general. Overall, IMO the company looks great. The level of dancing is very high and everything looked highly polished and well rehearsed. The roster of talent looks impressively deep, and notably, Corella seems to have assembled, or trained, a large contingent of powerful, athletic male dancers. I loved The River, but had mixed feelings about the Forsythe piece. I might have enjoyed it more had it not been quite as loud -- I saw a couple of people around me plugging their ears, it was so loud. I find In the Upper Room a real joy. After seeing the Tharp staging a year and a half ago at City Center, I was worried I would never be able to enjoy it again since seemingly those performances can never be equalled. Happily, that was not the case, and I succumbed to the exhilaration of the piece. I'll hold off on making comments about particular dancers until I know the company better, the exception being that I was on the lookout for Ashton Roxander, being curious about Jake's brother. Ashton is a beautiful dancer with an intriguing, compelling stage presence. I may make the trip to see The Dream next month just to see him (honestly I would be glad to see him in anything)! And I definitely envision a trip, or two, to see next year's programming. With Philadelphia Ballet looking so good, with ABT at a low ebb, and with Philly being so close to NY and such an attractive place to visit for the arts lover, Corella has an opportunity to grow the audience.
  3. Just in from the Dance Masterpieces program. I will write more when I get back to NY on Monday and can type on an actual keyboard instead of my phone, but for now I’ll just say that this was a terrific program, the company looks great, and I will be back for more! And I fell in love with Ashton Roxander. What a beautiful, thrilling dancer.
  4. Thank you for that tip about checking the casting sheet, @wallis! I am excited to be going tonight. OT, my partner and I are spending an arts-filled weekend in Philadelphia, and last night saw The Lehman Trilogy at the Arden Theatre. (We missed this when it was in NY.) What an inspired work of art the play is! We greatly enjoyed the production and the performance… highly recommend!
  5. Unfortunate! ... but at the same time, there are lots of great dancers who could be stellar replacements. Please keep us up to date if you see the performances.
  6. What I particularly noticed at the time, and still treasure, was their firmly committed downcast eyes. All too often in Swan Lake (looking at you, ABT!), the swans let their eyes wander. It is more noticeable than they may think. The Pennsylvania Ballet swans kept their eyes definitely downcast, greatly enhancing the mood and impression of the performance.
  7. Thank you very much @wallis and @theo. That was very helpful. I got tickets on the aisle in the rear parquet. Looking forward to it! It's great to hear their Giselle was a success. I have not seen Nayara Lopes, but the one time I saw the company before, I too was favorably impressed with the corps de ballet. This was several years ago (2018 maybe?), when I went in for a day trip and caught two the matinee and evening performances of Swan Lake. I recall being very favorably impressed with the impeccable swans!!
  8. Looking at the Chicago casting, I see they are doing Serenade. Why isn’t Kikta doing the Dark Angel? Such an obvious fit for her!
  9. I am contemplating a visit to see the Dance Masterpieces program. Can anyone advise on the best seating, and in particular where are good sight lines for someone very short?
  10. So it is, alas! I loved @deanofdance's suggestion that it was Ava Sautter! (And she would make a lot more sense in the role than my guess of Nieve Corrigan.) Imagine, La Sonnambula with Ava Sautter and David Gabriel? I'm there!! Interesting to go through the slides. As much as I've been at the theatre, I've somehow missed seeing a lot of these, while seeing some of the others multiple times. Looks like maybe we will be seeing Dominika Afanasenkov in Dances at a Gathering.
  11. Okay, thanks matilda. Something about the cheekbones doesn't look right to me, but I see I'm outvoted!
  12. To answer @vipa above, as far as I know, none of the following have danced this season: LeCrone, Pollack, Applebaum, or Schumacher. Neither has Aaron Sanz, although he was scheduled several times. Bouder definitely not. I would add Alston Macgill to the list of possible promotees. Also of interest, when I was chatting with @Jacqueline at intermission yesterday we scrutinized the giant slow-motion video of La Sonnambula. While I know some think it's Unity Phelan in the video, I remain unconvinced. Could it be Nieve Corrigan? However, it's definitely David Gabriel as the Poet! He would be a great choice to follow in Harrison Ball's illustrious footsteps in this role. Hope we get to see it! I was at today's matinee, the season closer. (Left before Carnival of the Animals again.) I love love love Stars & Stripes. What a jolt of joy! Mira Nadon and Roman Mejia were thrilling to watch. Nadon especially -- wow. I have seen many dancers and many performances that I absolutely loved, so I say this knowing I'm caught up in the flush of the moment, but Nadon's performance today was one of my favorites ever. Not only is she stunningly beautiful, and have a beautiful technique, she relates to the audience with depth and warmth. She appears open, generous, and very present with us. You get the feeling you could reach right out and touch her. What a rare gift. She totally threw herself into the role, seeming to relish every goofy moment of it. Thanks Mira!! Daniel Ulbricht was again incredible. Something about his landings gives me a thrilling jolt, in how sudden and clean they are. Like he's turning in the air, then suddenly on the ground again, calm as can be. The men's regiment has one member who seems to be seriously flagging by the end of their campaign. In all 3 performances I've seen, he fails to get around his double tours near the end, and today I think he was even turning a different direction from the other guys. It distracted from the overall thrill of this section. In Tarantella, Sebastian Villarini-Velez could not have thrown himself into the role with any more gusto and energy. Erica Pereira played up the humor and charm, in one of the best performances I've seen from her in forever. Tchaikovsky pas de deux. Indiana Woodward brings such richly detailed preparation to everything she does. Totally in command of every flourish. She was beautiful. For Anthony Huxley, while his elegance and clarity are supreme, he's not a showman, and for that reason I don't think this role completely suits him. I wish he would keep his smile on more. I don't know if he realizes how beautiful his smile it, and how much it lights up the entire hall.
  13. Agree also about Mearns in the "faded swan" section of Carnival of the Animals. As soon as she walks onstage, you can tell she's special. Her presence is so compelling, and the smallest gestures speak volumes about the character's inner world.
  14. I would love to hear reports from tonight's performance. Woodward and Huxley are debuting in Tchaikovsky pas de deux, which seems like an A+ pairing. Also, how are Joseph Gordon and Megan Fairchild in Stars & Stripes? Last night these two consistently stellar performers gave a low-energy, sub-par performance. I'm betting they bounce back tonight.
  15. A quick note on the matinee. Stars & Stripes was way better than it was last night. Sara Adams was a huge improvement over Erica Pereira (although I'd still love to see someone like Alston Macgill lead this campaign), and Emily Kikta brought her towering domination. It was fun to see her on pointe, standing a whole head taller than Daniel Ulbricht! And Ulbricht was amazing. Dancing at what looks like a new peak. Landings so clean it has to be seen to be believed. Mira Nadon and Roman Mejia were wonderful as Liberty Bell and El Capitan. Nadon is beautiful in that teal-colored bodice with the yellow tutu, gold trim and tassels, and little feather. She danced with spirit and confidence, and leaned into the goofy aspects of the role. Fun all around. Sebastian Villarini-Velez and Erica Pereira delivered an enjoyable, if not particularly outstanding, Tarantella. He went heavy on the personality and charm, and she had more energy than usual. Not great, but not bad. After reading the comments of the respected @deanofdance about Unity Phelan in last night's Tchaikovsky pas de deux, I went in trying to see if I could find more to value in her performance. In the adagio section she looks beautiful. In the coda, however, I find her lacking in attack. She seems to be just keeping up with the music, and not on top of it at all, so that rather than shape any phrasing, everything is flat as she plows along. I don't find this a suitable role for her talents. I left before Carnival of the Animals.
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