Marga

Here is Paula Citron's review of Saturday night's performance: http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/Articl...//?query=ballet and Susan Walker's: http://www.thestar.ca/NASApp/cs/ContentSer...d=1076887504836 I'd like to remind readers that this is not Marcelo Gomes' first guesting experience in Toronto. He starred in the Canadian Ballet Theatre's Nutcracker back in December 1999 with Anna Liceica. He was a mere 20 years old then, newly in ABT's corps, but already showing his great capabilities as a future principal dancer.

There's a lengthy article about van der Wyst in today's Globe: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/Art...ry=paula+citron

The only Lisa I can find in this book is Lisa de Ribere, who has had a well-documented career. Lisa Rinehart is the former ABT dancer who is married to Baryshnikov (he calls her his wife although most media report her as his "long-time companion") and is the mother of 3 of his children. She is not mentioned at all in Off Balance. On which pages is 'Lisa Reinhard' mentioned? I skimmed the book twice yesterday (there's no index) and couldn't find her name.

Last night's performance -- Friday the 13th's, that is, was incredible! I wasn't going to see it again tonight, having another engagement (all right, it's my hubby's birthday Valentine's Day), but now I MUST. I told my husband that he's just going have to celebrate his birthday without me! (He is soo-o-o understanding about these things, this ballet passion!). He was with me to see the first performance and was also blown away, so he KNOWS why I must see it again. Laura Hormigon!!!!!! A 26 year old ballerina with the National Ballet of Cuba, she dances all the principal roles in all the classics. I have seen her dance variations from Don Q and Carmen (with her offstage love and onstage constant partner, 30 year old Oscar Torrado) in last year's Stars of the 21st Century ballet gala. She was absolutely wonderful in those Spanish flavoured roles, but as Giselle, she is a natural. Born to the role, she is just about the finest actress I have seen and a lovely dancer to boot. When Giselle is going mad, her arms and hands quiver uncontrollably right through the fingertips. Hormigon is not just a dancer who knows how to portray a great Giselle. She is an actress who, without a single word, tells us exactly what Giselle is going through every step of the way, and does it superbly and utterly believably. And, of course, she is a dancer with beautiful technique, line, and lyricism as well. As a Wili, she is but a wispy ghost with a strong essence that you can feel in your bones as you sit watching, mesmerized. We see her but we know she's not physically really there by the way Albrecht reacts to her -- always looking just beyond where she seems to be, catching her presence an earthly second too late as it scurries past in the haunted glade. The bravas rang out amid great applause and vocal whoops from the audience as she danced her famous variations. Count Albrecht, danced by the very handsome and perfectly proportioned Oscar Torrado, also took our breath away. From the entrance, when he and Wilfried act out their beginning scenario, to his carefree dance with Giselle as she comes out of her cottage to see who is knocking, to the end of Act I when he is paralized by his own turmoil, here was a commanding premier danseur who had us gasping more than once in response to his sheer artistry. A wonderful part in Act II, which differs from the usual, is when Albrecht, jumping to amazing heights, snatches each of the two lilies from Giselle's outstretched hands as she prepares to toss them. Indeed, he uses the flowers in both acts -- as part of the symbolism for his love for Giselle -- to a greater degree than I have seen any other dancer do. At the end of Act II, he inhales the very spirit of Giselle from the bouquet he retrieves from her grave, in an attempt to breathe in the girl he truly loved and keep her within him forever. In between all the dramatization we see stunning ballet virtuosity. Torrado can do anything, and although Giselle is not a ballet that allows you to show off everything you've got, we in the audience saw enough to tempt us and have us ache for more. Torrado has an easy elevation, perfect, clean technique, incredibly sharp batterie, impossibly fast chainé turns, all emanating from a neat, compact body that is very attractive to the eye, topped off by a wavy head of thick dark brown hair and a ruggedly handsome face that compels you to watch his every move. If your eye is naturally drawn to the ballerina in a pas de deux, watching this couple, your attention is divided -- it's hard to keep your eyes off Torrado! Yet, Hormigon is so lovely and a very precise dancer -- long, lean legs and feet, tiny torso, reaching arms, and a face which handles every emotion with finesse and an inherent gentleness -- that you don't want to miss anything she is doing for fear of being deprived of something sublime. So, the dilemma is real -- where do you look when they dance together, especially when they are at opposite ends of the stage?! As Hilarion, Jared Matthews (guesting with CBT straight from the corps de ballet at ABT) is so magnificent an actor, it looks like he's had years of experience developing characterizations, which is not the case. He has all the attributes of a principal dancer already, from the beautiful line of his head and neck to the well-shaped legs and gorgeously put-together body that I don't think ABT will wait too long to make him a soloist. His superbly coached role has produced a consummate classic ballet performer: one who can dance with strong technique AND act with spell-binding conviction. He brings a determined passion as well as vulnerability to Hilarion that makes you really care for the character. Inasmuch as he appears to be sure of himself and bent on unmasking Albrecht, Hilarion is blinded by his feelings for Giselle to the extent that he makes a fateful decision that will cost her her life. At the point where he displays the nobleman's sword to the gathered crowd and sees Giselle's reaction to Albrecht's betrayal, he realizes that what he has done is to hurt the one he so deeply loves. Jared Matthews showed us this pivotal moment so clearly, and in so doing revealed more to Hilarion's character than we are used to seeing in other productions. Kudos to Jared for his gut-wrenching portrayal! Ursula Szkolak is the apotheosis of Myrtha, the Queen of the Wilis, with her commanding physical presence and light, flawless technique. As she enters bouréeing, there is no movement elsewhere in her body but for the skimming, exquisitely articulate feet, and yet there is no stiffness, only Vaganova-produced soft suppleness to her upper body, a combination so lacking in Myrthas without Russian training. Her countenance never gives in to the pleading lovers, but is yet not as cold as many other Myrthas I've seen. One can imagine that she, too, must have once been deeply in love and there is a layer to her demeanour that betrays this, unrelenting as she must be to the end. An absolutely superb performance! Rachel Lieberman and Jennifer Winter as the lead Wilis, also turned in very professional performances. Rachel has always been suited to the romantic ballet roles with her long and expressive neck, upper body, head and arms. She danced the second variation with softness and the strength required of the difficult renversé turns in the middle of her solo. Her lilting arabesques, with the back leg reaching to the skies, the folds of her long tutu wafting down after being thusly sent soaring, her arms echoing the floating movement with a delicately exquisite delay, a soft jump with good elevation.... these movements contrasted with the exactness of her final diagonal, those one-count changes in direction alternating perfect arabesques en pointe with a precise plié-d landing....all executed so beautifully and confidently. Jennifer, dancing the first variation, is an appealing dancer with beautiful line and a constantly improving technique. Her performance was graceful and attractive and an intriguing complement to Rachel's -- each lead Wili distinguished herself as a separate character, shadowing what they were in life, no doubt. Indeed, in many productions, these two are known as Zulma and Moyna and even have a history. One entrancing surprise of this production is the children's peasant dance in Act I. Four very young couples dance out two by two and enchant us all. The little girls are so delectable, you want to eat them up! Better still are their visible qualities as future serious professional ballet dancers. You've got to see them!!! One little boy, especially, has such a charming presentation that you find yourself wishing these diminutive dancers had a longer turn on stage. You've just got to come see this ballet tonight, Valentine's Day! Every seat in the theatre is a good one. Arrive in time to get a ticket at the box office and have a great evening with your Valentine!

On February 13th and 14th, Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., Canadian Ballet Theatre will present Giselle (a true love story for Valentine's Day!) with Laura Hormigon and Oscar Torrado of the National Ballet of Cuba as Giselle and Albrecht and Jared Matthews from American Ballet Theatre as Hilarion. Those interested can still get tickets at the box office onsite. The ballet will be performed at the Leah Posluns Theatre, 4588 Bathurst Street, (between Sheppard and Finch Avenues). The theatre is part of the JCC complex there. I was at dress rehearsal tonight (or last night, as it's already Friday by the clock!) and urge everyone to go see this production. Hormigon and Torrado dance the principal roles unlike any other Giselle you've ever seen, on video or live on stage. I would love to have a video of this performance to watch over and over. I hope that one will be made. There are so many layers to these portrayals, you need to see the ballet more than once! Torrado's Albrecht is truly in love with Giselle and the tenderness and angst with which he dances the role offer a powerful contrast to his virtuoso technique. When he jumps he touches the ceiling! His beats are so clean (and numerous!) and so beautifully pointed, you find yourself applauding with such fervour it lifts you from your seat. And this was only dress rehearsal! In Act II, Torrado's dramatic abilities are so convincing that you, like he, intuit the presence of the spirit Giselle rather than really seeing her. It's heart-stopping to watch Torrado as the truly repentant and lovesick Albrecht. I think I prefer his characterization of the Count/peasant to anyone else's. Hormigon's Giselle is so vulnerable, sweet, shy, yet strong, that you see a new dimension to the character. In Act I she paints a true picture of a young, innocent girl in love for the first time and overwhelmed by the feelings such love produces in her. In Act II, she dances a light and airy, yet rock-steady Wili who transports us, along with her, to the ethereal world she will forever live in. Jared Matthews is very good as Hilarion. Having quickly advanced into the corps de ballet of ABT after a year in the Studio Company and 7 months as an apprentice, he is getting lots to dance and it shows in his development as both a technician and an actor. Since the first time he danced with CBT 2 years ago he has progressed splendidly, and he's still only 19 years old. He was coached in this new-to-him role by Victor Barbee as well as Ethan Brown and the attention to detail really shows in his movement. Come and take this opportunity to see a rising young ABT dancer. As a sidenote, Canadian Ballet Theatre had Marcelo Gomes guesting in the Nutcracker 3 years ago when he was only 20 -- and see where he is now! Actually, you CAN see where he is now if you have tickets to NBoC's Sleeping Beauty for Saturday night! If you don't, come to CBT's Giselle! Friday and Saturday nights -- the 13th and 14th -- tickets are only $35 and every seat in the theatre is fabulous. In addition to the guests, there are many nice surprises among the young dancers of CBT -- Vaganova trained, beautiful, and dancing strongly. On top of all are the wonderful sets. There is much for the eye to feast on. And the parking is free!

Igor Zelensky is 33½ years old -- not exactly over the hill yet! As far as needing to turn in his shoes goes.....I don't see any reason for it while he is still dancing so beautifully well. I wonder what the reason is for your provocative post? :shrug:

Dear Marianna, What a pleasant surprise it was to read your post today! I am sorry for the almost month-late response on my part, but I have not been on the computer since Christmas. You are a real dear to write such a detailed review of the Canadian Ballet Theatre's Nutcracker. I was not able to do so because of family commitments that took me away from my cyberlife. You write so entertainingly! On February 13th and 14th, Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., Canadian Ballet Theatre will present Giselle (a true love story for Valentine's Day!) with Laura Hormigon and Oscar Torrado of the National Ballet of Cuba as Giselle and Albrecht and Jared Matthews from American Ballet Theatre as Hilarion. Those interested can get tickets from Ticketmaster at 416-872-1111. The ballet will be performed at the Leah Poslun's Theatre, 4588 Bathurst Street, (between Sheppard and Finch Avenues).

Hi Inga, Yes, Dmitri Gudanov is absolutely wonderful in Nutcracker! He danced it with us last year, as well. Thanks for the clickable link to his bio. Dmitri Belogolovtsev and Anna Antonicheva danced Nutcracker with Canadian Ballet Theatre a few years ago. I will PM you the students' names at a later time, as I don't want to put them on a public board without asking them first. There may be a Toronto critic writing about Saturday night's performance, and, if not, I hope someone else will. If I have the time (Christmas being so busy), I may do it, although writing a review usually takes me a couple of hours as I am a persnickety editor. Dmitri and Elena are in town already, having arrived last night. I am going over to to the theatre with my son in an hour. It will be great to see them rehearsing tonight!

Hi Millie, I am so glad you got tickets. I will be there for sure. If you get there about 15 minutes before the show, we can meet in the lobby. Maybe I'll wear a name tag! I've got long brown hair, I'm 56 years old and 5'4" tall. I don't know what outfit I'll be wearing yet. I'll look for you at the tables and chairs to the left of the lobby to see if you got there early. If I don't see you then, I'll track you to your seat after the show or at intermission! We will probably see each other quite easily at some point.

Carbro, you hit the nail on the head! That is the quality missing from some dancers, and you have elucidated for me why I never really liked watching Peter Martins dance as much as I thought I should. I kept trying to find something wrong with him and kind of settled on the fact that his head was too big. That satisfied me as to the reason why I, personally, had a hard time warming up to him. He explained his coolness in his autobiography, so I forgave him for that quality after the fact, even though it had annoyed me. Still, I never found Suzanne Farrell's coolness irritating -- quite the opposite. Now I see, with your clear analysis, that it was the lack of any visible passion, or even, as you put it, pleasure, that disturbed me. His technique -- flawless; looks - aristocratic; line -- impeccable; musicality -- unerring. Presentation -- dull!

Age Oks and Toomas Edur (as their names are in Estonian) flew to Tartu, Estonia for this weekend's I.D.A. (International Dance Activity) festival. They will be back dancing in London on Wednesday. Estonians are very eager to see them at the festival, where they will be dancing, among other works, Wayne McGregor's "2Human". Principals and other dancers from the Royal Danish Ballet, Latvian National Ballet, Finnish National Ballet, Estonian National Ballet, Tartu's Vanemuine Theatre Ballet, as well as students from the Tallinn Ballet School are also performing. Toomas Edur performed one of his own choreographic pieces in May, at the Linbury studio in London. Called "If", it commemorates the death of his mother, who died in the "Estonia" ferry disaster Sept. 28, 1994. It is choreographed to music his mother liked, that of 19th century Italian composer Alfredo Catalani. Thank you, Michael, for your review of Age's and Toomas' performance in Cinderella! BTW, in Estonian, "Oks" means branch, so the change of last name to "Oaks" is not too far off the mark!

Absolutely! I don't think that that should be a problem, as it is certainly not "off topic". I'll look forward to your next message. Marga

Dear Marianna, Thank you so much for your message! I have read many of your posts, coming both from Almaty and now from Toronto and have thought about contacting you. I would love to meet you, too! As I wrote above, I will be in attendance at all 3 performances. Once you get acquainted with the Academy of Ballet & Jazz, you will find the same generous hearts among the teachers (from the Kirov, Bolshoi and Latvian National Ballet), students and visiting dancers. It's a wonderful ballet atmosphere to be in! You and I can also arrange through PM to meet each other, Marianna. Marga

Dear Millie, Yes, this school and associated company and world-wide activity, emanating from an industrial office complex just above the metro Toronto city limits and just east of Yonge Street, does seem like the best-kept secret in Canada sometimes! I would love to meet you, Millie. I will be there for all three performances as my son is dancing the part of Fritz. Last year, my daughter (she's the former student who now dances with the Estonian National Ballet) danced the part of Clara, with her brother as Fritz and the Nutcracker Prince. This year, one of our boys who has also attended Harid, will dance the part of the Nutcracker Prince, the Russian doll and the boy in Pas de Trois. Another of the students, who graduated from Harid last year, is recovering from a stress fracture and can't perform in this Nutcracker, unfortunately. If you are able to attend, please send me a PM and we can arrange to meet. Thank you so much for asking about the Canadian Ballet Theatre! Marga

Hi Millie, The Canadian Ballet Theatre has nothing to do with the two groups you mentioned. CBT does not use "former Russian dancers". Current principal dancers with the Bolshoi and American Ballet Theater, among other companies, have danced the leads in our Nutcracker with the advanced students of our school as soloists. A few of these students have gone on to train at the Bolshoi, the Hague and Monte Carlo's Princess Grace & the Harid Conservatory, while two have become professional ballet dancers, presently at the Budapest National Ballet and the Estonian National Ballet, both classical companies. Canadian Ballet Theatre is the name of the company associated with the Academy of Ballet & Jazz in Thornhill, Ontario. It is run by Nadia Veselova-Tencer and Solomon Tencer, well-known impresarios in the ballet world for the 15 or more (I've lost count) ballet galas they have produced in the last 10 years called the "Stars of the 21st Century International Ballet Gala." Click on the website link in my first post to read all about those galas. The next one in Toronto will be in April 2004. The next one in New York (Lincoln Centre) will be in February 2004. Nadia and Solomon have contacts, some quite personal, with some of the best known dancers in the world, especially those with the Bolshoi and the Kirov. Thus, Svetlanas -- both Lunkina and Sakharov, Igor Zelensky, Darcey Bussell, Agnes Letestu and José Martinez, Tamara Rojo, Ilina Cojacoru, Herman Cornejo, Susan Jaffe, Desmond Richardson, Wendy Whelan, Jock Soto, Alexandra Ansanelli, Charles Askegard, Daniela Severian, Rut Miro, Roberto Bolle, Farouk Rusimatov, Fernando Bujones, Paloma Herrera, Carlos Acosta, Johan Kobborg, Xiomara Reyes, Vladimir Malakhov, Yulia Makalina, and many others (I'm just listing from memory and in no particular order) have been chosen to perform in these galas. Additionally, Lucia Lacarra and Cyril Pierre are so closely associated with these galas that it is Lucia on the official posters at each venue. She is a dear friend of Nadia's and Solomon's and recently won the Benois Prize in Moscow, having been nominated for it by Nadia. Nadia and Solomon invite guests to headline the performances of the Canadian Ballet Theatre, which is otherwise composed of the advanced students of their Vaganova-based school. So it is that Anna Antonicheva, Dimitri Belogolovtsev, Dmitri Gudanov, Elena Andrienko, Maria Allash, Marcelo Gomes, and many others have danced with our school in its annual Nutcracker and in Giselle, under the name of the Canadian Ballet Theatre. Giselle will be performed in early 2004 as well, with guest principals. The Canadian Ballet Theatre as yet does not pay its dancers (except for the invited quest stars, of course), but is on the road to becoming a permanent classical ballet company in Toronto with a mission of presenting only the classics with their original choreography as is done in Russia and many other European companies.

I agree with you, even though I never saw Danilova dance it! To me, Allegra Kent IS the Sleepwalker, bar none.

Oh, yes, the stories are good! I do find that when I cross-reference historical incidents, Danilova's telling of them is always a little different than someone else's. She sometimes even contradicts herself! I still value -- tremendously -- that these stories are told at all. If only I had as good a memory for details of the past as many of these dancers had. I marvel at how Tamara Geva, for one, seems to have remembered entire conversations word for word.

For those in Toronto interested in seeing Dimitri Gudanov and Elena Andrienko up close, here is the perfect opportunity. They will be featured in three performances of the Canadian Ballet Theatre's Nutcracker in the cozy (444 seat) Leah Posluns Theatre. Here are the particulars: December 20, 1:30 pm and 7:30 pm December 21, 1:30 pm Call ticketmaster at 416-872-1111 I believe the tickets are all $35, no matter which seats. The Leah Posluns Theatre has no bad seats, anyway. It is an intimate setting with a large stage. The same couple danced last year in the same production and it was just wonderful. It's a perfect venue to see the Bolshoi's choreography for the grand pas de deux of The Nutcracker with its spectacular lifts and dramatic jumps. For more information call the Academy of Ballet and Jazz at 905-886-0455 or visit Stars of the 21st Century

In Choura, Danilova recalls: "Mozartiana was pearls of pure dancing, a long strand of beautiful steps strung together by the music, Tchaikovsky's orchestration of four pieces by Mozart.......Balanchine had choreographed this music before, for his company Les Ballets 1933 in Paris, and he choreographed it again later, for the New York City Ballet. But I think ours was the best version." She continues that the version made on her (and Franklin) was more "vivace" in comparison to the Paris version which was more "triste" to reflect the mood of Paris at that time, in which the ballet had opened with a funeral procession. By contrast, the Ballet Russe version opened with the Gigue (danced by a boy in a tricorne hat, which, Danilova said, transported you to the right period instantly). After the Gigue, The Prayer (danced by Lubov Rostova), and the Minuet (for six girls), all short sections, she and Freddie Franklin came out. Interesting bit of history mentioned next in Choura: The following year Balanchine made Night Shadow (La Sonnambula) for Danilova. The composer, Vittorio Rieti, wanted her for the Coquette and debated back and forth with Balanchine about this, who wasn't sure which female role she should dance. Danilova was asked to make the choice herself. "Well..... I always do coquettes, and for a change I would like to do the dramatic part." Balanchine replied with "All right.....then you will do it". Guess who danced the coquette? Maria Tallchief, who always danced the dramatic roles! Danilova wrote that "Night Shadow was mine, and the Sleepwalker came to be one of my signature roles." As to Danilova's arrival in America, she doesn't give as precise information in Choura as she does in I Remember Balanchine: "When I first appeared in America with the De Basil Ballet Russe at the St. James Theater in 1933, Balanchine did not come to see me. We were finished as husband and wife. .....But I did see him at the School of American Ballet later, where I always went for class. At one lesson there at the barre were all the wives and ex-wives: Geva, Zorina, Tallchief, Tanaquil LeClercq, and myself." Of course, history tells us that Danilova was never officially married to Balanchine, but we know that she always considered herself one of his wives. They did live what now is called "common-law", in Paris. Why Balanchine did not come to see her when she danced in New York is explained in I Remember Balanchine. To not take this thread further off-topic I will not go into that. Thanks, Amy, for giving me a reason to delve back into these two books! Every time I do I rediscover something fascinating that I had forgotten from previous reads.

A Midsummer Night's Cream (proudly sponsored by Pond's) FireStone Flower Danilo stumbles upon a magical tire mountain guarded by a supernatural beauty who, with the help of the fine wines of the Firestone winery, makes him completely forget about his wife. The Mistress of Tire Mountain teaches him to carve incredibly beautiful flowers out of rubber. CarMen (brought to you by Speedy Muffler) Marguerite and Arm & Hammer (A public service broadcast paid for by the makers of the finest sodium bicarbonate in the world.) Tragic tale of love and death due to lethal consumption of baking soda.

"Nutella" -- the copyrighted combo version of Nutcracker and Cinderella Prince Charming returns shoe hurled by Cinderella at the mice as they changed back from the horses that had just been pulling her coach. As he does so, he turns into the Nutcracker Prince himself. Carries Cindy (aka Clara, Marie, Masha) off to Land of the Sweets, where she develops a particular fondness for chocolated hazelnuts.

"She's Elle" -- TV special with Elle MacPherson as the delicate peasant-girl-turned-Wili.

Afternoon of a Flan (as seen on PBS & Julia Child's "Baking with Julia")

Don Quick Oats (sponsored by Quaker)

Thank you, Paquita, for the heads up! Marcelo Gomes, besides having quickly developed into a star-quality principal dancer, is the sweetest guy you could meet. He guested with my children's ballet school's annual Nutcracker in 1999, when he was just 20 years old and already displaying the qualities that led to his meteoric rise. I last saw him dance in ABT's La Bayadere, when he was still a corps member. I can't wait to see him in Sleeping Beauty. Everyone who can, should go and see him. What an opportunity!