seattle_dancer

Thank you Birdwatcher, for putting the piece in perspective. I don't know a ton about Wolftrap, but I thought the objective was to showcase our national parks. That said, I don't believe you should just focus on Dirty Goods' choreography separate from the video. I actually found myself focusing on the video, maybe because it was new to me, and maybe because I had seen a couple of studio rehearsals. I believe the simplicity of the white costumes also help put the focus on the park scenery. Maybe the video didn't translate well on the live stream, but it looked great in the house, despite some bright lighting probably for the filming. Andrew Bartee oversaw everything, and he had never attempted this type of project before. I loved the video and thought he represented the Pacific Northwest very well. Additionally, even though the dancers had to endure extreme winter weather for the filming (it was sunny on the beach but actually a cold April day, also a blizzard in the mountains) they said they had fun and enjoyed the experience. At the demo last summer, I noticed Elle Macy, something interesting about her in this piece. Later in the year, that experience furthered by her performance in the Forsythe pas de deux and In The Middle. I'm looking forward to more from her next year.

Fantastic show tonight! Finally we get to see Dirty Goods in entirety. Last summer was a teaser with the studio demonstration and the "making of" videos. Now I get the part where Ezra holds Leta upside down for so long. I don't think there is a recording of the show tonight. If there was I feel sorry for the other dancers in The Calling after Carla. She was just exquisite tonight. In everything. Was so glad to get to see Jahna in Rubies again. What a treat! Maybe she'll get lucky and get a show next year at SFB. My final honorable mention is for Carrie Imler. Those turns in Seranade! Something like triple or quadruple pirouettes, a few revolutions en flat with leg in second, then she pulled it into passé for another three or four pirouettes. Increeible! I was so proud of her. It's like she was saying, you know PNB still has some kick ass ballerinas! (Vipa, I hope you saw the livestream) The farewells were well paced, meaningful, but not overly long. Fun to see blasts from the past like Jeff Stanton and Josh Spell. I also like how parents, husbands, brother and girlfriend presented bouquets.

I'm also sad Raphael is leaving. He was just getting some juicer roles as in Memory Glow, Before After and Vertiginous. I love how he uses his upper body, not at all like some stiff American ballet dancers. Those Monte Carlo dancers really know how to move and not just link steps. Also, must have been waiting at least 10 years - no more, it was pre-Boal, to see Kiyon's Torque solo in the orange unitard. So memorable. Now I must give up my dream. ? I will miss his special spirit on stage but great for us to have him as a role model and teacher in the school (helps ease the loss of Tim Lynch).

Apparently SFB alternates corp dancers in reps so if you visit one of the weekends where the reps overlap, you should catch Jahna. On the SFB forum someone said she's listed on the website now. Her photo is not up yet, and I hope they are not done with her bio because they neglected to mention her roles in Rubies and Vertiginous, two enormous accomplishments! I also thought she was very funny as the princess in Don Q, another aspect of her talent. Who knows maybe she'll come back some day like Josh Grant and Noe?

I totally forgot to mention how fun it was to see Marcelo as Carabosse!!! So funny to see that gorgeous man transformed with the makeup and costume. He even took his curtain call in character; he continues to amaze me with all the facets of his talent!

Good point nanushka about motivating kids to dance and to become future ticket buyers. I was shocked to see a mainly senior crowd at San Francisco ballet a few weeks ago. And you've made it personal for me, I loved Justin the little mouse in Nut. I met his mother at the BAM cafe; she was very earthy, not a stage mom at all.

Went to the Sat eve show, overall I liked this grand production but it seemed chintzy on the dancing compared to the Ronald Hynd version I'm used to at PNB. I hate to sound mean, but I didn't expect so much time spent on children on a Sat eve at ABT; this is no it Nutcracker! Although technically sound, Isabella seemed a bit stressed during Act I, so it didn't really look like Aurora was enjoying her birthday. Mind you I was front row center so maybe not noticeable further back. Subsequent acts she looked more and more confident and did a lovely job. Fish dives were rock solid! The Garland Waltz costumes were hideous. The fabric reminds me of that used to mock up costumes. And there were so many dancers! The Quuen's costumes were my favorites along with Aurora party dress, silver and diamond fairies. Cassandra Trenery really took command of the stager as Diamond Fairy. Other dancing that stood out: Joseph Gorak in Prince solo ; wish we could have seen more from him. Princess Florine (Misty) really different choreography (for me) including something like a step up turn with a low ronde de jombe. Gabe Stone Shayer I had never seen featured. Wow he flew so high as Bluebird but the most impressive feature was how soft and elegant his arms were during the diagonal of brise voles. My question to all you historical costume experts: what were the white Mazurka costumes supposed to be? Looked like a bunch of nursing school graduates! What's with the hats especially?

At last night's Q&A Peter Boal announced Jahna is taking a contract with San Francisco Ballet. This year her brother was in the professional level of the SFB school. I am sad she is leaving PNB but glad she is not going too far. SFO is just a quick flight away.

Ugh. Tried to say thanks Herm! from the subway. See you in a bit!

Natalia, Cristian, Herm and I are meeting for dinner at 5:30, the restaurant directly across the street from the New York State Theater. It used to be Iridium but I think it's called something like Daffy's now. Hope you can join us!

After seeing Osipova paired with Matthew Golding in the RB Swan Lake cinema screening, Steven McRae was a welcome relief to me. I was shocked that Natalia and Steven came out for a second curtain call after the house lights came up. She even walked a bit toward the middle of the stage and managed a curtsy. Extremely generous given the circumstances.

Oops hit post prematurely by mistake. I'm also going to NYCB Sat matinee and ABT Sat eve. Kills me to miss the Beauty NY premiere! Anyone coming for Royal Ballet in four weeks? See you soon, Jodi

Hi Cristian, I just flew in from Seattle for my college reunion and more importantly to see some ballet. I will be at Giselle tonight to catch the elusive Natalia Osipova. Hope to meet you and Herm at your bar at intermission. I plan to wear a modern print dress mostly chartreuse with black and white. I am short with low black ponytail. I am heading down to the plaza bit early to exchange some tickets

I noticed Francisco Mungamba at the Saturday matinee. He danced the part where he keeps jumping forever (all sixes I believe) and jumps off stage right. It looked so effortless. On Saturday the two ladies in Piano Concerto #1 were quite different in height - matinee (Sylve/Chung) and evening (Tan/Kochetkova). I'm wondering if this was purposeful or if that was just a fallout of casting who was best for the individual roles? When I saw it at ABT it was Osipova/Vishneva, who from a distance look somewhat similar. Davit Karapetyan was spectacular in Chamber Symphony!

I planned a trip to San Fran to see the Shostakovich Trilogy and Lines Ballet. I realized SFB had a different program the night of my arrival and picked up a ticket just to see some additional choreography (Tomasson & Possokhov) and dancers. My expectations were low for the Swimmer after seeing Caprice. The choreography was nice, especially for the couples, but the set design and lighting detracted from the dancers. I was totally surprised by Swimmer. I LOVED IT! So much so I bought another ticket to the Sunday matinee. I've never seen video and sets incorporated with dance so well. The music is amazing, very different styles for different numbers, I especially love the piece with the xylophone. The costumes are amazing as well. Sunday I went to the lecture with the video designer. She said Yuri specifically wanted to begin with a comic feel and progress in terms of seriousness and emotion. There is definitely an evolution in the feel/emotion of the ballet, it seems like a journey. One favorite part (I don't want to give too much away) is when there are 3 groups of five male dancers. Each individual group dances then the music builds and eventually all 15 dance together - it is magnificent. I've never seen so many high caliber male dancers in such difficult choreography. I hope Swimmer is a hit and that we can see it again in San Fran soon.

If you're Bored... PNB will be on tour at the Joyce Theater this fall Oct 8 - 12: http://www.joyce.org/performance/pacific-northwest-ballet/#.U7XaH_ldV8E They will be showing a mixed bill, with commissions by PNB from Christopher Wheeldon, Justin Peck, and Alejandro Cerrudo. The Cerrudo piece was partially funded with a grant from The Joyce Foundation, The Rudolf Nureyev Prize for New Dance. Press release here: http://www.pnb.org/Press/Releases/2012JoyceFoundation.pdf. The Peck piece is due to premiere in Seattle in early Nov, so I'm not sure how far along it will be, but it sounds like there will be at least a "preview". Hope you can make it and bring your friends!

I just bought tickets for Nov 13 and 14th!!! So excited for the opportunity to finally see Osipova in Giselle and Flames of Paris in general. Would be more efficient for me to go to Segerstrom; does anyone know why the are only showing Flames of Paris? Dancer scheduling, maybe? In any case, I am a former New Yorker and would love to meet up with other Ballet Alert fans at Lincoln Center! If you cannot go to the box office and it is inconvenient for you to call (e.g. different time zones): I found a useful trick on the website to pick your individual seats for different shows and still get the multi-show discount. First choose "Multi-Program Package" on this page: http://www.davidhkochtheater.com/events.html. When I first did this it gave me seats I did not want BUT keep those in your cart (for now). Then go in as if you are buying individual tickets. When you click on the seat it will show you all three price options. Repeat for all your shows. Then before you check out delete the original package of seats you didn't want. Ta-dah! Oh, I'm also going to Solo for Two @ Segerstrom July 26 eve if anybody wants to meet up. Attending with another hard core ballet fan.

Thank you abatt!

On Friday w. Herrera, Vasiliev lifted her one one arm and did a low arabesque, but he did not go up on releve, based on what I recall.

I attended on Tuesday dress rehearsal and both shows on Wednesday. The rehearsal was my first with ABT and it was a real treat to see different couples run the pdd sequentially. Cornejo and Kochetkava only ran the wedding pdd. He wore a long sleeved superman shirt with black shorts and was in fine form. I had never seen Kochetkava before. She was just lovely and they worked very well together. In the middle of her foutte sequence she changed her spot a quarter turn at a itme, which I had never seen. Wed matinee: I have limited viewing of Part (Lady of Camellias, 2010?) and Whiteside (last fall season) so it was great to see them dance and their technique. He can fit in three revolutions on a single releve turning au second, and her extensions and pique arabesque were all done to the extreme. It was a nice performance by both, I don't know how many times they've done these parts and with each other, but it seems they are growing into the roles. I look forward to seeing them again. For me the Most Valuable Dancer was Stella Abrera. Her arms were so sinewy as Mercedes. When she came out as QoD I thought it was a different dancer until I read the program. Two entirely different styles of dancing in the same show! Wed evening: I bought my ticket months ago hoping to see Murphy but was happy to watch Reyes as Kitri. She is so natural and confident in the role, and it shows throughout the whole show, which is more important to me than the split second technical imperfections which she covered up like the pro that she is. Lendorf looks like a big guy and I found his technique very clean, which sometimes doesn't happen with bigger men. His acting seemed natural, he is very strong and did a few toss-catches. My opinion is that he is a very good partner. In the dress rehearsal, Reyes ran from upstage left in a diagonal and did the lateral jump where Basilio catches her and turns her upside down. One of the times she did not jump out that far and was very low, and he stepped up and caught her. I have a lot of respect for Lendorf, especially given the short amount of time they had to rehearse together. I anybody has comments from Friday evening's Herrera/Vasiliev performance, I'd love to read since I had to leave NYC on Thursday. Last year he lifted Osipova with one arm, did a low arabesque, and then went up on releve! Curious if he is doing this trick with other partners and in general how he is working with different partners? Thank you in advance!

This year was my first gala, and while I miss Osipova (in anything), it was great to see most of the principal dancers perform, since I don't live in NYC anymore. Thank you California for putting the gala show in my head last year when we met in the front row of the Grand Tier at the premiere of Ratmanksy's Shostokovich triptych. I mentioned the Playbill errors to Grey Johnson, Director of Membership, yesterday at the dress rehearsal. He was adamant the copy was perfect when it left ABT and that it was Playbill's error. He also said he was not sure it would be corrected, which is unacceptable IMO.

PNB is offering a preview of its Vail tour on July 23. It's open to the public and subscribers receive a discount. Genius idea PNB! I could totally use a midsummer fix. Also looking forward to seeing Carla, Karel, and others who were inured the second weekend of Rep 6 and Encore. See http://www.pnb.org/Season/Touring/.

I flew to NY from Seattle on Memorial Day specifically to see the Vasipova duo Tuesday evening. I felt like my $110 seat in row L of the orchestra was a bargain. Having seen this pair separately in person, and together only on video, it was a special treat for me to see them together live. Despite everyone else's criticism, Natalia still has a lightness and brevity and could take big risks jumping into her husband's arms. I saw small details from both such as his phrasing of a simple grand verse in Act I and her pique attitude half turn at the sides of the stage in Act III. I saw Natalia connect with many of the dancers and she danced the Kitri variation that the artistic director allowed. It is not the ultimate decision of the dancers what steps they do. Also I think the ABT audience needs to remember that some dancers are travelling globally and have a very short time to rehearse in the NY. Also in the States have much less rehearsal time than Europe. This means there is less time to clean up details. Also, this pair also was spending time rehearsing the new Ratmansky. The artistic staff should be held accountable for much of the final product, not the dancers. Also I wonder if the pair was pressured to do the same past variations caught on video when maybe they weren't up to it that night. Whoever said Ivan is not musical and jumped the conductors cue in Act III needs to watch the Mikhailovsky webcast from July, because there he does the first repetition in silence as well. And if you didn't know, the dancers can see the conductor from stage so they coordinate their timing. I was excited to see Sarah Lane and Misty Copeland in features roles. I'm glad Misty pulled off all the Italian fouettes. She seemed tentative and cautious at the beginning of the variation. The previous article explains why and it's a real testament to her determination that she is dancing such difficult pieces so soon after that surgery. It's been a week since the show but I still wanted to provide another point of view. You cannot deny that the Vasipova duo put more than 100% effort into their performances. Ivan did about six attitude turns, each a bit slower, and by the end he was off balance and fighting (and won) to finish the intended steps. Another featured dancer (who I won't name) didn't even look like he was trying - even doing a simple assemble and then striking a pose. My final memory is the very long curtain call that Natalia and Ivan gave. They probably really wanted to get some water and get cleaned up. They generously walked over to stage right as well, to provide photo opportunities and thank the other side of the house. If they ever dance Don Q, or anything else together in NY again, I'd buy a ticket in a heartbeat. Can't wait to see how their dancing evolves as they move to London...

I saw him and Karla (plus the others) at a working studio rehearsal. They all looked great - the piece is very different from the other Wheeldon pieces performed by PNB to date. Costumes totally awesome too. Joshua looks more muscular and like he lost some weight (not that he needed to). I only mention this observation because I had just seen him featured standing in the front of the Trocadero ad, kind of funny. He is looking really lean and mean (in a good way). I'm excited he was given this opportunity and hope we see more of him next season.