KarenAG

I am so happy to read this thread! I agree, Kathleen, Kathryn seems like a very lovely person and her videos are terrific. I hope I can see her dance in NY soon.

I agree that Garbo is a tough prospect as a latter-day fashion inspiration. It's near impossible to translate the designs from all those period films she made in the 30s into late-20th/21st century fashion statements. Maybe Grace Jones could have translated the Queen Christina look into something in the 1980s but I'm hard-pressed to name anyone else.

But wasn't Garbo gorgeous and poignant as she elegantly strode through the Grand Hotel lobby in that long fur coat and hat, and then stopped to assist the old woman. Such a beautiful scene.

Flaemmchen is one of my favorite Crawford performances and she looks great in Adrian's working girl frock. Check out this minx.

Sorry, Dirac, something happened to my second quote. I quite agree.

And I'm sure we can all agree that there's only one reason to watch Grand Hotel these days and her initials are 'JC'.

Miliosr, I don't agree. Although Flaemmchen is probably my favorite character in the film and I think the role is one of Joan's most endearing, I watch Grand Hotel for many reasons besides Joan's wonderful portrayal. It's incredibly glamorous, the characters evoke great empathy, the drama (or melodrama, if you wish) moves crisply and evenly, set in motion by Dr. Otternschlag's sad and world-weary view 'people coming, people going, nothing ever happens'. But things do happen and those desperate people, their worlds' colliding in that hotel, are changed forever.

Just tweeted by NYCBallet: SPAC season dedicated to Albert Evans. https://twitter.com/nycballet/status/618572630203977730

Thanks, susanger. Yes, Peter Martins came out to welcome the opening season and the audience and expressed the same. Peter was composed, of course, but there was great sadness in his voice as he praised Mr Evans as a great dancer, company ballet-master and gentle friend and soul. He asked the audience to join in applause for Albert and they did so with heartfelt enthusiasm. This is a company in mourning. However, our company danced brilliantly and the audience was most enthusiastic. Each year NYCB comes back 'home' to SPAC, there is palpable excitement and happiness that exudes throughout the place! There was a pre-performance diluvian downpour, too (quite spectacular if you were under cover ) between about 6:45 and 7:30 pm, and then a rainbow came out to welcome the dancers! Attendance seemed average or better for a stormy night and I must keep in mind that SPAC is huge. What the audience lacked in it not being a bigger house was made up by a most vocal and appreciative welcome for the start of another NYCB at SPAC season.

It is difficult for me to review the actual steps as some posters are able to do because I am not a dancer, but I can tell you, the company was in fine form last night!! They were gorgeous! It was an all-Balanchine program (Square Dance, La Valse, Tarantella, Symphony in Three Movements) and they danced clean and tight with beautifully articulated legs and feet and just lovely port de bras. The orchestra sounded great, and I do love the way an orchestra sounds at SPAC. I was pretty much blown away by the quality of the dancing in each work, so I guess I don't have too many standouts - they were all standouts: principals, soloists, and corps alike. La Valse was revelatory on that great SPAC stage; I saw it at the State Theater in 2014 with Janie and Sebastian (her penultimate performance with NYCB) and it was lovely, but last night was perfection. Claire Von Enck deserves special mention here, replacing Tiler Peck in Tarantella and was so charming. I thought perhaps she started out a bit cautious, but by the middle,she was assured and dancing in her element. I don't know why Tiler was replaced but I hope she's fine.

Equally special was meeting our fellow member, rkoretzky!

Well, bye for now. I may add to this post later, but if not, tomorrow the matinee!

KarenAG, please let me know when you're coming to New York. Maybe we can see a ballet together.

Thank you, Angelica, for the invitation, how nice of you! I would love to meet you and enjoy a ballet together. I'll PM you as the Fall gets closer and I'm deciding which matinees and perhaps one evening (I'll be in New Rochelle for business in September (the 1st NYCB week, I think) and would take MN in.)

That hurts! Symphony in C is one of those Balanchine ballets which is very hard to get right, so that it shines like the exquisite, multi-faceted, sparkling gem that it is. I contemplated buying tickets for ABT's SiC (two seasons ago?), but changed my mind because I felt that I might be really disappointed. I'm thrilled I'll be seeing it performed twice at SPAC this week and next week. I never tire of that work.

That doesn't mean I'm inflexibale about seeing another company perform it.

But ABT often misses the accents of many works, stager or no stager. For instance Symphony in C was staged by Merrill Ashley but the end product was horrifying.

That hurts! Symphony in C is one of those Balanchine ballets which is very hard to get right, so that it shines like the exquisite, multi-faceted, sparkling gem that it is. I contemplated buying tickets for ABT's SiC (two seasons ago?), but changed my mind because I felt that I might be really disappointed. I'm thrilled I'll be seeing it performed twice at SPAC this week and next week. I never tire of that work.

The Mark Morris piece is most likely going to be modern. The only classical Morris piece that I know of is Sylvia for SFB. I do hope for a balance diet with classical ballets and tutus. I may skip any all-modern programs. The fall season will be announced this Wed.

Thanks, mussel. I will see ABT at Bard, regardless. Can't miss them at a perfect country venue, and in the Fall, too!

No, KarenAG, although I LOVE the Bard campus (I went to music camp there decades ago), it's much easier for me to go into the city. I remember seeing The Green Table as a child, and being bored to tears, but I didn't yet have a context to appreciate it. But it's going to take more ballet than is so far programmed to get me into the city. I've never seen Company B--I'll have to look it up on YouTube.

Oh, too bad, it would be so nice to meet! I love the Bard campus, too. Going to Bard is definitely great for me because I can't go to NYC all the time and plan on two NYCB ballets during the Fall season. So being able to trek to Bard, a mere 50 miles away, is wonderful for me. However, ABT at Bard is the same weekend for matinee performances of Liebeslieder Waltzer, which is a a ballet I haven't seen in quite a long time and want very much to see. So unfortunately, it will be one of those 'feast' weekends and thus, somewhat tiring with all the travel. But definitely worth it! Company B is terrific.

David Hallberg was sensational as Death. Harrowing, in fact. I think Thomas Forester would be splendid in the role. Possibly a great role for Roman Zhurbin also.

Thanks, mimsyb, for this. I'm looking forward to the casting.

Yes, it seems that so far the programming is top-heavy with modern dance. I want to see ballet too.

Angelica, will you be attending a performance (or more) at Bard?

Hadn't looked at this thread for awhile -- Green Table!

It's a wonderful example of expressionist ballet. Jooss was cross-trained in ballet and German expressionist dance (a student of Laban's) and so the movement is both meaningful and kinetic. The role of Death needs a man with gravitas (it helps if he's tall, but it's more important that he's strong --the gestures in his main solo were created with the scything motions that you use when you harvest grasses by hand -- it's got great torque) The Profiteer is a great role for someone small and quick. Of the women's roles, I've always loved the Partisan best -- lots of jumping and charging. When the Joffrey toured with this in the 60s and 70s, Christian Holder was often Death (after Max Zomosa died) and Gary Chryst was the Profiteer. I think they were both coached by Jooss before he died.

Back in the Ballet Russe days, we saw a lot of this kind of narrative/expressive work, but it's much more rare now.

Thank you, Sandik, for your information. I read the Wikipedia article and I definitely want to see it. The article says it is Kurt Jooss' most popular work and in the repertoire of ballet companies worldwide. From the essay: "Lasting about 30 minutes and subtitled "A dance of death in eight scenes," The Green Table is a commentary on the futility of war and the horrors it causes." Sadly, it couldn't be more relevant today, could it?

Thanks, AlexL and stuben, I'm thrilled ABT will perform at Bard this fall! Natalia, I do hope the Mark Morris is a ballet and not a modern dance piece - I'm good with seeing ABT perform Company B again, but I want to see ballet, too (I need to research The Green Table as I don't know anything about it as yet). I'd like to hear what others think of it here, too.

Greetings! Does anyone know what dates and venue MCB will be in NYC? I cannot find anything on the net. Thank you.

And yes, Cristian and Jack, MCB's website is quite deficient in not mentioning its tours!

If you should ever have the good fortune to meet de Havilland, KarenAG, I strongly advise that you assure her she was the more glamorous. (The sibling rivalry, as you may know, was intense.)

I wonder what the odds are that all the actors named above in the quote save de Havilland - Gable, Howard, Leigh, and McDaniel -- would all be gone by 1967? She's been the only surviving GWTW star for a long time now.

Looking forward to that autobiography.

Chuckling, Dirac, at your caveat and thank you for the news and link. Can't wait for her memoir, also!

First week casting is up on the NYCB website, FYI

And week 2.

Thanks! This is very helpful! I'm going to order tickets for the day and night performance on the 11th. I know it's the gala but it's the only time I can get up there Going to spend Saturday night in Saratoga and come back home sometime Sunday.

So happy you are making the journey up here, Kaysta, and participating in one of our premiere (imo THE premiere) summer event - NYCB at SPAC! As Katherine said, you will love it.. SPAC is just lovely. If you have the time, in the woods in front of the parking lot at the Route 50 box office is a detailed pathway that takes you to the creek. From there you can enjoy a quiet walk along the water. This is just one of the many simple pleasures our beautiful state park has to offer. You will also hear the gentle sound of the creek as you watch the performances. And for me, I cannot separate my over 35-year experience going to SPAC to see the ballet with my equally profound pleasure walking our beloved Golden Retriever, Fergus, now a golden angel, on those paths, as he enjoyed darting about in and out of the water. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!

Trust me, the pleasure is literally all ours! However, alas no Saratoga for me this summer. Too much competition from the PanAm Games here in Toronto, I think, to get a big enough group together.

Oh, Katherine, I'm sorry you won't be here! I was going to email you to see if we could hook up

I guess as new Swiss member I should introduce my favourite dancer in the company ATM (and rising star) Viktorina Kapitonova. She was brought to Zürich from Stanislavsky Theatre by Heinz Spörli and danced his Swan Lake three seasons ago.

Newly found again by Christian Spuck at Zürich, she has danced Giselle with Roberto Bolle (totally emotional, fantastic feet, and tears) and Friedemann Vogel ( he was taller and more 'cold', but her emotional portrayal made him look a cold heartless beast )

Spuck also created a full length ballet for her 'Anna Karenina' this season. Mixed reviews of the piece, and she started off a bit cold in the romantic parts with Vronsky, but after a few performances it was a triumph.

Anna Karenina Trailer:

Giselle curtain calls with Bolle (just to see the emotion even here)

As a huge fan of Bolle she also regularly dances in his Roberto Bolle & Friends galas, one to watch...

Welcome to Ballet Alert!, Stephan, and thank you for these links. I look forward to your posts about Ballett Zurich and the other European companies that you see. I love the tutus in this Giselle production!

There are more costumes, headpieces, and drawings in the McCaw Hall lobby. The Flowers costume has a rosy saturated pink bodice and from the waist there are three tiers of petals with the color grading to orange. The longish tulle is a light orange with white dots. The headpiece is a in smallish triangular pattern. Ian Falconer's drawing was of a floppy tutu, but the actual costume looks like a Romantic dress, maybe a little shorter. We're not sure if the two lead flowers' costumes will be differentiated. The snow costumes are the same length, in a lovely ice blue. There are soft shard layers over the skirt with several inches of white "crystals" on each layer and taller crowns for headpieces.

The homage to the Sendak designs is that the Arabian will be dressed as a peacock, with a gorgeous blue and green jeweled peacock head that is on display. The drawings showed that she will have a peacock-like "tail" skirt.

There were two small crows that we think might be for Marie and the Nephew/Prince, a stunning green crown -- maybe the Sugar Plum Fairy's? -- and a couple more lovely crowns. I hope they can add more as they become available.

Helene, your descriptions of the costumes are making me jealous!!

(from Links) MJ McDermott (weather reporter on channel 13) got a look at the new sets in process -- I think that's a bust of Balanchine on the right side of the door, and Tschaikovsky on the left. I'm not sure if Falconer added the references as a nod to Sendak and his Nut designs, or to the NYCB tradition of including visual footnotes in sets and costumes. (Likely it's both) Am I missing any other connections?

Not sure where the dog fits in, though.

I love that they included the busts of our beloved artists! I'm sure this will be a wonderful production and all of you in Seattle and the West Coast who will see the debut of this production, enjoy!

Normally we don't delve into politics at B.A. But this is more about a Judicial decision than about politicians.

I thought I would start a thread to document the Social Media response to the legalization of gay marriage today. So here are a few things I found on Facebook today (shout out to the FB page Odette's Ordeal):

Pacific Northwest Ballet

Cincinnati Ballet

Joffrey Ballet

Boston Ballet

San Francisco Ballet

And these, too - beautiful!!!! If we could post in colors, well......

Many dancers have also spoken out about their happiness about the decision. Here are some links:

Johan Kobborg: https://instagram.com/p/4Z2VZBD4gN/?taken-by=kobborg

Leanne Cope: https://instagram.com/p/4b9ItmS4v5/?taken-by=leannemcope

Ashley Bouder: https://instagram.com/p/4afH7Qv_7C/?taken-by=ashleybouder

Maria Kowroski: https://instagram.com/p/4Zg5OQjqsr/?taken-by=realmkowroski

ABT: https://instagram.com/p/4aHAZ8yJY1/?taken-by=abtofficial

Gillian Murphy: https://instagram.com/gillianemurphy/

Justin Peck: https://instagram.com/p/4Zc2q5KRSm/?taken-by=justin_peck

Tyler Angle: https://instagram.com/p/4ZSqXjvP6R/?taken-by=t_angled

Alexei Ratmansky: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10204486810595111&set=a.1133754148868.2020465.1377723438&type=1&theater

they're all great! But I LOVE Alexei's !!!!

I actually believe that the likeliest possibility is that when an audience member gets something special from a particular performer that performer's technical lapses become miniscule. I've expressed this view before. My example in opera is Natalie Dessay. I have been in the audience when she didn't quite hit a note but that wasn't my take away. I've seen Cojocaru badly stagger out of turns from fifth in Don Q, I've seen Maria K over at NYCB have near disasters in Symphony in C. That does not diminish them as great artists in my mind. I am a fan of Sarah Lane's because of what I view as a purity of line, beauty of port de bras and rare classicism. For me personally I will overlook a technical lapse here and there in her case. If I see a dancer who in no way takes me to another place I focus on the technical lapses. In NYCB that's Erica Perreira in ABT that's Seo Hee and Misty Copeland. That's how I see things as an audience member. It has nothing to do with promoting my favorite and it certainly has nothing to do with race.

I quite agree with you, Vipa. The ability for ballet dancers to create poetry within the confines of the choreography itself, and outside its confines by artistic and dramatic expression is what is most important to me. Technical flaws or lapses become secondary for me.

Oh, my! Happy, happy belated birthday, Ms. de Havilland, and many more! As for my enormous admiration and appreciation of Olivia's and Joan Fontaine's distinctive star qualities, I must paraphrase Scarlett O'Hara: "Oh, I never can make up my mind which of you two is the most glamorous!"