cobweb

Unity is so beautiful that I enjoy watching her almost no matter what she's doing, or what more she could bring to it. She looked stunning, but I agree she can grow in the role. I think they have given her too much to handle in one season. Some of these debuts could have been given to other people (like how about bumping up Indiana Woodward to Terpsichore in Apollo and putting Emma von Enck in to replace her, and didn't Claire Kretzschmar do Sonnambula once before?) and let Unity focus more on Rosenkavalier and Symphony in C. Anthony Huxley and Megan Fairchild looked great, Huxley especially. He is amazing. Ashley Laracey and Peter Walker also looked great. Laracey is so delicate and refined. The young ladies of the corps behind her looked like attractive, athletic young people, whereas Laracey was on another level altogether of refinement.

Mr. Cobweb and I attended the final Fall for Dance performance this afternoon. I chose it mainly to see Martha Graham Company in their new piece, CAVE, with Daniil Simkin (and which he co-produced, I believe). This turned out to be an intense, compelling piece evoking young people in a nightclub, with some very arresting moments and no doubt a strenuous workout for the dancers. I'm not sure how much this piece would hold up on repeat viewing. The highlight of the afternoon without a doubt was something completely new to me, Nrityagram Dance Ensemble (from Bangalore, India) in collaboration with Chitrasena Dance Company (from Sri Lanka), in a piece from 2019 called Poornarati. This is a dance form about which I know nothing, but it was fascinating, hypnotic, and beautiful. When it ended, I just wished they would start the whole thing over. I've never seen anything like it, and wish I could see more.

I had the same question. This program seems like a win for NYCB, and I'm hearing a lot of good things about the Abraham piece. But will this translate into people who also appreciate Balanchine works? Someone up-thread said they overheard audience members who found Symphony in C "a snooze," while someone else chatted with new audience members who seemed to love it. So we shall see.

I haven't seen this movie in maybe 30 years, and I wouldn't be surprised if it hadn't aged well. But for me, seeing it age 13, I thought it was a masterpiece, it's what propelled me into ballet lessons, and a long-standing passion for the art form. So thanks for that, Turning Point!

Great idea. I would love to see this. She brings her "A game" to everything, and I feel sure she would be radiant as Aurora.

A few more comments about last night. I thought Bouder looked considerably better than she did when I saw her last week, with more spring in her step and more flexible. Still not where she should be, and I still don't think she is a good fit for this role. I'm really enjoying Scotch Symphony and hope it's programmed more often. Emma von Enck was terrific, and I'm baffled as to why they debuted three ladies in this solo, but von Enck only got one performance. Hyltin was wonderful in La Sonnambula, with bourrees so tiny and so smooth she was sailing across the stage. I was wishing we could see Ashley Laracey here. Unity has a ton of debuts this season, and to me it would make sense to spread the workload around a little bit more, and Laracey would be a natural as the sleepwalker. Pondering the roster, I wonder if we will see Alec Knight and Davide Riccardo moved up to soloist. I notice that the new soloist batch (LaFreniere, etc) are getting lots of opportunities, whereas there is little if anything new for Erica Pereira and Georgina Pazcoguin. Oh, and it was fun meeting up with @Jacqueline last night! I look forward to comments on today's matinee and Ashley Laracey's debut tonight in Apollo.

Emma von Enck looked GREAT. Why isn't there more to do for this great young dancer? There has been concern here about Mira Nadon's casting, but I feel sure her talent is being recognized. Emma von Enck, not sure! She deserves lots, lots more.

After seeing tonight's performance, and all five performances of the Divertimento-Scotch Symphony-La Sonnambula program, gotta agree with @Royal Blue here. If you love ballet, and I do, you must love Divertimento No. 15. And I do. I bow to Mr. B.

I look forward to any reports from tonight!

Bellawood, did Peter Walker dance last night? I'm puzzled that he's listed for last night, but replaced later in the week.

There is so much going on with the Vienna Waltzes casting I may need a spreadsheet to keep track of it. Will definitely see a couple of performances of the VW/Episodes program. I would love to see all the debuts in Symphony in C but will probably not see this program so I will count on everyone to provide reports on Phelan & Knight, Gerrity & Chan, Kikta & Sanz, Weber, and I’m sure I’ve forgotten someone. I’m sorry there isn’t more for Emma von Enck. I could see her in Apollo.

I have my doubts about Bouder and Veyette in the first movement of Symphony in C at this point. If it were my choice, I'd bump up Gerrity and Chan from the fourth movement to the first. Have to agree that Nadon is perfect for the Merry Widow. Maybe someone else will be debuting in the role next week? I don't think there's anyone in the company currently who has done the role before. I thought Knight and Phelan looked very good together in Piano Pieces a few days ago, so them getting to debut together in Sympony in C is exciting.

So Phelan is debuting Terpsichore in Apollo, Rosenkavalier in Vienna Waltzes, and Symphony in C 2nd movement -- all in the same week? Wow.

Thanks for this, FauxPas! Those are some lovely photos of lovely costumes.

Thanks for the info! She posted some beautiful shots of the costumes, close up and almost abstract. I wish I still had access to those photos!

Enjoyed another performance of the Divertimento-Scotch-Sonnambula program. This cast of Divertimento has so many of my favorite dancers that I'm torn as to where to look. With Ashley Laracey, Tiler Peck, Emily Kikta, Isabella LaFreniere, and Ashley Hod, it simply couldn't be a better lineup. Even Hod, not normally one of my favorites, looked great. Aaron Sanz and Davide Riccardo could not be more elegant. Jovani Furlan stepped in on short notice (I wonder if he did this piece when with Miami City Ballet), and aside from some unfortunate timing differences among the men during their initial entrance, all three men looked beautiful. There was a "See the Music" before Scotch Symphony. I usually find these tedious, but this was more engaging (perhaps I felt that way because it wasn't a work night, when I just want to see the performance and get on home), and drove an appreciation for the beautiful music. Sterling Hyltin and Anthony Huxley were perfection. He is just clean beyond belief. This is a great role for Sterling, and she got a solo curtain call, for what is presumably her last performance of this role.

I was also there this afternoon, and it was fun seeing vipa and Mr. vipa at intermission! I agree with everyone about the incredible Tiler Peck and the beautiful Joseph Gordon. Tiler also dazzled a few nights ago in Divertimento, when she attacked a series of chaines with truly unbelievable changes of speed, intricate phrasing, and the utmost clarity. I preferred seeing Gordon to the originally scheduled Roman Mejia. I know this is heresy, but I find Mejia a little out of control and sloppy sometimes. Gordon on the other hand was all elegance and command. I have seen Raymonda Variations before, but have only the vaguest of memories, so it was pretty new for me. I am in the midst of a deep dive into Divertimento No. 15, and I found myself comparing the two. Divertimento somehow seems more modern and bracing, Raymonda by contrast looks a tad fusty and dated. Maybe I'll like it better if I can take it on its own terms. In any case I enjoyed the dancing. LaFreniere and Chan both have megawatt stage presences and huge technique, and Mira Nadon was breathtaking. These two ladies are likely the next two principals. Like vipa, I don't love Piano Pieces. It lacks a coherent identity, unlike, say, Dances at a Gathering which has an overall vision. Also I don't get a sense of it building or developing, it's just kind of one random segment after another. Agree that the cutesy elements do not agree with Huxley; I couldn't help thinking he's too good to have to do this kind of stuff. However, there was good dancing, most notably I enjoyed the pas de deux with Alec Knight and Unity Phelan. I'd love to see Raymonda Variations again, but since half of this program is Piano Pieces, I probably won't be seeing this again.

For further thoughts on La Sonnambula, I just read Nancy Goldner's essay in Balanchine Variations. Interestingly, she compares the Poet and the Sleepwalker to James and the Sylphide. (I wonder, was that part of the idea in putting Scotch Symphony and La Sonnambula on the same program?) Of course, La Sylphide also has the element of a body being borne aloft, also a woman who wears white. In both ballets, the man seeks to join a woman who inhabits a different, more supernatural, realm, and he pays dearly for trying to do so. By way of contrast, the Poet seems to be trying to leave a decadent society and who could blame him for wanting to get away from all the artifice and being drawn towards the single-minded Sleepwalker, who may be elusive and unknowable, but also seems pure and sincere . On the other hand James seems foolish and loses out on a hearty, happy domestic life.

Thanks to all who responded to my question as to what La Sonnambula about, especially the articles linked to by @cargill and @california. I didn't realize that the Sleepwalker was supposed to be the Baron's wife, and I'm not sure it enhances my appreciation of the piece to think about her that way. For one thing is only raises more questions, like why is she sleeping when everyone else is partying? Thinking of her as a wife makes it mundane; to me she is something more spiritual - the embodiment of some unknown, unknowable force. Like the Kisselgoff review says, the piece works more as allegory. Why does she come back to collect the Poet, after so forcefully rejecting him? What is their bond? The Kendall article says that when the Sleepwalker reappears she's "on a mysterious errand," but to me she has clearly returned to seek the Poet, to whom she somehow senses something has happened. This time she's walking, not bourreeing. The images of her lamentation, and then receiving the Poet's body, are stunning. It reminds me in a way of the entry of the Dark Angel and the man in Serenade, where she is covering his eyes and his hand is stretched forward. In both cases I have no idea what specifically this might mean or represent, but it is deeply moving nonetheless, with a sense of something elemental and profound being captured in the image.

Thanks, nanushka! Those are some great shots. I'm glad they gave the costumes some love in this video. I also discovered there's an instagram hashtag, #divertimentono15, where there are some good shots. Comments on tonight's performance. Joseph Gordon has upped his elegance, control, and grandeur this season. Just beautiful to watch. Divertimento delights. As I've commented before, I love the Minuet, and especially when the ladies come forward two by two, and most especially that moment when Christina Clark and Malorie Lundgren grand jete. Honestly I get choked up by the whole thing. I look forward to seeing Jovani Furlan debut on Sunday. I wonder how much time he had to learn it, but Walker is out and Joseph Gordon needs a break. I'm enjoying Scotch Symphony. The guys in green kilts and crimson jackets make a big impact. Not sure if they are more menacing or more protective, but they move with such sharpness and clarity, and the guys are so well rehearsed and very much in sync, that it packs a wallop. Alec Knight and Victor Abreu as the demisoloists both looked sharp. Knight seemed to be on an upward trajectory a few years ago then stalled. He seems to have a lot of untapped potential. Also Baily Jones in the red kilt solo was wonderful. Jovani Furlan looked great. Ashley Bouder... hmmm... there seemed to be a claque down in the orchestra house left... just wish they would assign this to someone who can deliver, draw in the audience, and make a case for keeping Scotch in the regular repertory. I know Sonnambula has a reputation for being a snooze, so to speak, but I'm enjoying it. What a strange piece, shifting in mood, introducing the main character late in the game, clearly a narrative but it doesn't cohere, and just overall what does it all mean?? Is there some back story to this that Balanchine adapted? Anyway, a few comments on the divertissements. The quartet of Boisson, Maxwell, Gabriel, and Zuniga all looked excellent. This is the second time I've seen Jacqueline Bologna and Maxwell Read in the pas de deux. I've never thought Bologna was particularly special, but she takes control of the stage here, her feet and her line are more beautiful than I ever noticed before. Maxwell Read doesn't have the most elegant line, with kind of an unwieldy chin, but he has a large, generous presence. Finally, Daniel Ulbricht as Harlequin delivers! Wondering about all the replacements and casting changes. I'm kind of assuming that this may be driven by COVID and the performers (and backstage too, probably) being tested regularly. I'm not an epidemiologist, obviously, but I do wonder at what point should symptoms, rather than just a positive COVID test for someone who may be asymptomatic, dictate that someone cannot do their job.

Intermission report. Another great showing for the scintillating Divertimento No . 15. The yellow and blue tutus are so beautiful. I did a quick online search for a closeup of the costumes but came up empty. Back when I was on instagram years ago there was someone in the costume shop who used to post closeups of the intricate costumes. Does anyone know who that is and is she, or the costume shop, still posting?

Casting updates from the lobby, sheet dated today. tonight - Phelan replaces Hyltin in Sonnambula. Saturday mat - Chan replaces Walker in Raymonda, Gordon replaces Mejia in tschai pas. Saturday eve - villarini Velez replaces Mejia in Piano Pieces sunday - Furlan replaces Walker in Divertimento. No changes announced for next week.

Thanks for the casting updates, abatt. Wow, Walker and Mejia out, possibly Hyltin — not a good way to start the season. Since it seems like they’re not posting casting updates online, maybe BAers can make a habit of checking the lobby casting sheet and posting any updates.

Still no Week 3 casting, or updates for this week (if Walker remains out). I hope this isn't going to become like last season, where they just stopped updating the casting sheets online. If anyone is there tonight, please check the casting sheet in the lobby to see if it's been updated.

I wonder if the delay has to do with whatever caused Peter Walker to be out last night - presumably injury. That must mean some reshuffling of casting.