cobweb

… and Emma was fabulous in Rubies!

Another comment about last night, I wanted to add that I really enjoyed the pas de trois in Emeralds, with KJ Takahashi, Baily Jones, and Alexa Maxwell. Takahashi had a beautiful restrained nobility, while Maxwell danced the heck out of her variation, musical and so passionate and animated. I would LOVE to see her in bigger roles.

Agree with a lot of the comments about last night. Ashley Laracey was absolutely exquisite in Emeralds. This is a perfect role for her one-of-a-kind carriage, articulate neck, beautiful arms, and the inner poetry she conveys. Just seeing her walk around on demi-pointe is poetic. Chan looked his usual noble self, and I think Peter Walker did well, but I was mainly focused on Laracey and didn't notice him so much! I found Bouder did reasonably well, with some technical limitations, but did not bring anything special to the role. Rubies was indeed tremendous. Peck and Mejia were on fire with daring and dazzle. Kikta was Amazonian. As someone said up-thread, all three got audience gasps at different points. Mejia's accelerating exit into the wings was showoffiness at its best. For Diamonds, all I could think was why is Unity in everything, and not getting time to really absorb or work on her interpretations. As with Vienna Waltzes and other big recent debuts, the steps are all there and her personal beauty makes her very watchable, but there is nothing more to it. Joseph Gordon on the other hand has matured into a dancer of great beauty -- authoritative, technically dazzling (also showed off with some different arm positions in his turns, done with ease and poise), elegant and pristine, I could go on and on - and relates to the audience with confidence, nobility, and a touching vulnerability. (The combination of nobility and vulnerability reminded me of, and made me miss, Harrison Ball.) Going back to opening night, Mira Nadon let loose with the Tall Girl, going all out for sexy and showy. She was terrific, but I find her a little too loose and sloppy with form sometimes. I guess if you're going to let go of classical form this is a role for it, but I'm hoping she can be her dazzling self with a more scrupulous attention to form.

Is that Suzanne Farrell in the white jacket? I notice that she alone remains impassive in the midst of the celebration.

On a more negative note about last night, I could do without the speeches, no matter the occasion. I find these self-serving and cringey. Also, the company seems to be loosening the standards for weight, and in some cases technique as well. I for one don't like it.

Just in from tonight and I have mixed feelings about the current state of the company, which I’ll have to sort through in my mind. But initial thoughts, it was a great idea to have the alumni night. They all wore special pins, and you could see people greeting old colleagues and friends, or sometimes introducing themselves and being greeted with affection. It was very heartwarming to see them all onstage. I would love to see if anyone did a video and IDs some of them, like the woman in the wheelchair. I felt like saying to my seat-mates — thank you for your service! Mearns and Janzen gave an absolutely beautiful performance in Diamonds. Full of depth, ardor, and beauty. Adrian Danchig-Waring, Anthony Huxley, Megan Fairchild, and Mira Nadon all look in great great shape to start the season. And if the orchestra was trying to prove they’re worth it (I take no sides, I have no idea about the issues), they succeeded. Especially in the Tchaikovsky, the oboe and horns and overall grandness just melted my heart.

They’re making a big ruckus with megaphones etc, and passing truckers blowing their horns in support. I see at least one news truck. I’m not sure it’s getting a lot of interest from people passing, who all seem on a beeline to get in the theatre.

I am sitting on the plaza before the performance. They have some giant scrims set up across the front of the theatre, showing different ballet moments in very, very slow motion. I see symphony in C second movement, with what appears to be Aaron Sanz and, I think, Unity Phelan. It’s kind of hard to make out. Has Sanz does second movement before? Would love to see him!

I am looking forward to the week of Jewels! Just a few thoughts as I mull over casting and debuts for the first two weeks. Some interesting, against-type choices. For example, LaFreniere in Diamonds and Nadon in Stars & Stripes. I would think that LaFreniere, who excels in big bold movement (eg, Concerto Barocco 2nd violin) and has a huge sunny smile, would be a more obvious choice for Stars & Stripes, rather than Diamonds. On the other hand, Nadon with her sultry air of grand mystery, would be a more obvious choice for Diamonds rather than Stars & Stripes. Both could be great, however -- will be interesting to see. Also, Peter Walker in Stars & Stripes -- wow, does he have the technique? Not sure I've ever seen him in this kind of all-out bravura role. On the other hand, I have high expectations for Emma von Enck in Rubies. After being disappointed by not seeing her in Sleeping Beauty and Square Dance, I am excited to finally see her in a role that brings her talents front and center.

I took an entire semester of Virginia Woolf in college, many years ago. I remember The Waves as being mostly impenetrable except for a few memorable lines that registered and stayed with me even after so long. Dipping into it a bit is probably the best bet. Mrs. Dalloway was easier going, but still not easy. Orlando on the other hand is entirely readable, delightful, funny and very, I would say, au courant. I re-read it a few years ago, I can't remember what prompted that, but I was laughing out loud (quoting loosely: "... so that illicit love on a pleasure ship... but we omit the moral"). On another note, I have been refreshing my knowledge of ballet history over the summer, and it was interesting to hear that the grandmother of Vita Sackville-West (Woolf's sometime lover) was Pepita de Oliva. She was a Spanish dancer renowned in Europe at the time, although not entirely admired by critics including Auguste Bournonville. I have been dipping into several volumes, I think I got that from Apollo's Angels, but don't quote me on that.

Lots to look forward to in the new casting. I’m kind of surprised to see Christina Clark as the “tall girl” in Rubies. She is probably the tallest woman in the company right now, but I think of her as more languid, without the force needed for this role. Ashley Hod and Miriam Miller seem much more obvious candidates, as well as some others I would pick from the corps (MT MacKinnon, Corti). But wishing her well! I’ll be there and look forward to it.

Thanks for these well researched comments, @volcanohunter! Very interesting to see the different approaches to this issue.

Just curious matilda, who you have in mind. I assume one is Sara Mearns, whose body type is decidedly un-Russian-ballerina. Who is the other one?

So true. The taller she is, the more stunning the impact. Her towering over everyone else in that formation, women and men alike, is a great example of how body type directly impacts the audience experience and is integral to the art form. Thank you abatt. My comments focused on Bouder's overall readiness, not her weight (although that is part of readiness). Given that I also referenced the deficiencies of Erica Pereira, it should be obvious I wasn't talking about weight. I think of Bouder (or used to think of her, before her complaints last fall) as the most talented and disciplined anyone could possibly be, so if anyone can achieve readiness, it would be her. We shall see.

This season especially, I am yearning to see rich, vibrant casting choices. Agree with this about Bouder. If she can come back strong, more power to her.

I was already not looking forward to more Erica Pereira performances this season, after her extremely bland Square Dance in the spring. Now I'm in dread of Bouder as well, after seeing her last fall. I know these decisions are wrenching for management, some of whom are probably close friends with these dancers, and go way way back to the SAB dorms or earlier. But, it's part of their job not to send a dancer out onstage unless it's clear they can deliver a stellar performance for the paying audience.

Among the senior corps, Alec Knight, Christopher Grant, Samuel Melnikov (very tall) come to mind. Davide Riccardo, IMHO, is the most beautiful among the corps men and should be promoted already, and I'm not totally sure but think of him as medium-to-tall. For the newer corps guys I don't know them well since annoyingly they are no longer putting pictures on the website, but I think new corps members Charlie Klesa and Owen Flacke are on the taller side.

I would love to see Chun Wai Chan as Apollo. I looked at his bio on the website, and it doesn't say specifically what his Balanchine roles were at Houston Ballet. Does anyone know if he did Apollo there? I would love to see a Terpsichore debut as well. I was trying to recall if Ashley Laracey has done Terpsichore before. Looking at her bio on the website, I see that while they list the ballets one has danced in, they don't give the specific role(s). Annoying. Wait. Looking more closely, they do give the specific roles for some ballets ("Midsummer NIght's Dream, Hermia," for example) but not for others. Still annoying.

This sounds like a charming trio. I'm not on instagram, so thanks to all for posting these casting hints.

Amen to both of these. There was an instagram pic years ago of Laracey rehearsing Diamonds with Russell Janzen, and I got very hopeful, but it never happened.

So maybe they won't need new Rubies Tall Girls, although I got excited thinking about seeing Mary Thomas MacKinnon or Naomi Corti! Ashley Hod is an obvious choice too.

Quoting myself here. Mary Thomas MacKinnon? Naomi Corti?

Didn't Miller do Diamonds, or at least the pas, at Saratoga a few years back? I wasn't there, but IIRC, reports were that she was lovely.

If both Nadon and LaFreniere are now in Diamonds, does that mean they won't do the Tall Girl in Rubies? If so, that only leaves Kikta; they will need a new Tall Girl or two.

It seems very odd to limit tickets for a particular performance ONLY to people with a special code. I don't get that at all. Whatever is going on, it seems very disorganized on the part of the box office or whoever is making these decisions!