Jump to content
This Site Uses Cookies. If You Want to Disable Cookies, Please See Your Browser Documentation. ×

Swanilda8

Senior Member
  • Posts

    198
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Swanilda8

  1. I've done this occasionally during intermission, but never before the performance. It's too frightening to me, because I once was at a production at the Met, in my own (student rush) seat, and I saw the ushers come up to someone in the row behind me just as the lights went down, shine two flashlights on the person, and say loudly "That's not your seat!" As for seats at the David Koch Theater, I would agree with everything said here, with the caveat that the most important thing is to sit near the center of the theater. It frustrates me so much if I sit on the sides of the theater and I can't see a third of the stage. Have fun!
  2. Although revolutionary modern ballets are not new for me, I was still very surprised to see how modern it is, when I saw the Flames of Paris on DVD. Did they make this in 30s of last century? I like those Soviet's modern ballets, the Flames of Paris, Bright Stream, and Golden Age. Hope Bolshoi could put them all on DVD. Did ABT dance the Bright Stream last year? How was it? I have doubts that they could catch Bolshoi's success. We can see the special Russian outburst of enthusiasm from their folk dances, pretty unique. I like your articles in your blog, which makes me more knowledgeable about ballet in general. I am preparing my money & time for visiting Moscow and St. Petersburg. Your <A Guide to the Bolshoi for First-time Attendees> helps a lot. Thanks so much! I'm glad the guide to the Bolshoi is helpful. And I hope you have fun in Moscow - it's a wonderful city. The Flames of Paris was originally made in the 1930s, but the version that the Bolshoi does was almost entirely redone in the 200s by Alexei Ratmansky. The only parts of the original choreography that he kept were the two pas de deux. The music, however, is all the original score by Boris Asafiev from 1932.
  3. WOW! did you see all of the performances in theaters? I wish I would have these chances. ‣ Bolshoi's Flames in Paris can be easily picked up as my best one, best dancers, best performances, above all. I cannot ask for more. ‣ The bottom one might be The Royal New Zealand Ballet's Giselle I saw last spring in Beijing. As a small theater, RNZB actually did decent job. I persuaded my sister to sped $100 for a ticket. However, on the second day, she saw Bolshoi's Giselle on DVD and said: "That is different ballet!" I was lucky enough to spend six months in Moscow for my research. Sadly, I probably won't get that kind of opportunity again. I'm glad you agree about Bolshoi's Flames. It was a new one for me until very recently and I think the whole production is fascinating - the original and Ratmansky's remake. Like many other Soviet works, I think it's a shame that it's underperformed in the US.
  4. That is the duet I'm talking about - I really don't know how to describe the movement other than stop motion - the dancers both move in quick jerks rather than smoothly.
  5. I saw the Bolshoi perform it last summer this way and, for instance, the little skips that the dancers have are done very lightly, with a smile. Similarly, that stop motion duet has a little humor in it (I think). If it's done in this way where everything is very somber, the dancers are always glaring, the movement is always slow, then I think those light bits make little sense. And that it gets tiring. On the other hand, Rubies was funnier than I've normally seen it, so I think the company was trying to pull out more contrast between the two acts.
  6. My problem with Macauley's approach to Mearns's body is that he isn't talking about things that hamper her ability to dance. He's talking simply about what he finds physically attractive. And that's where I have issues. I realize that beautiful people (as in beautiful faces for instance) have an easier time getting ahead in dance because people want to pay ticket price to see them. But I think as a critic Macauley should be trying to see beyond that. I'm not a dancer, but it doesn't seem to me that her weight poses any problems for her onstage. She has an incredible body - strong and graceful. To me, this sometimes makes Macauley's criticism a version of 19th century dilettantism. Sorry, this is just one my bones to pick. As for the misplaced praise of Gorak - I wonder if he was just tired and missed those things or if he actually saw the performance as going very differently. Or if he simply can't see any problems with a dancer he likes. I think there are probably some musicians who I would forgive almost anything (Jeremy Denk, Hilary Hahn, Emmanuel Pahud). But I'm not a music reviewer for the New York Times.
  7. I love Nuñez. Sadly the performance of Jewels I saw didn't have her in Diamonds, but I did see her in summer 2012 as the lead in Ballo della Regina. It was a beautiful, vibrant performance. I also love her Odette/Odile in the Royal Ballet recording of Swan Lake, which I think doesn't get the good press it deserves.
  8. Swanilda8

    Jewels

    I just came back from the Royal Ballet's Jewels and am too excited to go to sleep. Natalia Osipova and Steven McRae were unbelievable in the Rubies pas de deux. It stands to reason that Osipova would be excellent - it's a part that might have been choreographed for her athleticism and flirtatiousness, but I was amazed at how well McRae matched her energy. I wonder if the two have been partnered elsewhere, because I think it would be great to see if they work this well together in classical ballets. Emeralds and Diamonds were also very good, although not as earth-shattering. Lauren Cuthbertson had a beautiful night as the lead in Diamonds. Laura Morera (who I've not seen before) was very elegant as the second leading lady in Emeralds. Full review here: http://itinerantballetomane.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/mcrae-and-osipova-dazzle-in-royal-jewels.html
  9. That Nutcracker video is exquisite. That's the first I've seen of Froustey that I find really encouraging. I have to say her Kitri looks far too over-emphasized and jerky for me. But as the Sugar Plum she has real nuance to the performance. It's good she has someone in her corner (or rather box) to video her. Perhaps this is a modern-day American version of the claque.
  10. I've done a complete top 10 (plus one) performances of 2013 on my blog (http://itinerantballetomane.blogspot.com/2013/12/best-performances-of-2013.html) but for the short top four list: Sergei Polunin in Swan Lake, NYCB in Serenade (last January - stunning), Bolshoi Ballet in Flames of Paris, and Misa Kuranaga as Aurora with Boston Ballet. I hate to do a bottom list, but for my money, Boston Ballet's La Bayadere sticks out pretty bad. Also Grigorovich's version of Swan Lake was enormously disappointing.
  11. I saw the MCB production on Thursday. We had a different Dewdrop/Sugar Plum pair (Albertson and Kronenberg) but it was the same story. Albertson nailed the part and Kronenberg was a bit lackluster. The children were impressive, especially the little boy playing Fritz (Autumn Rodriguez). I thought the corps looked the best I had seen it, very crisp, which makes me think that Lopez must be doing a good job as artistic director. Full review: http://itinerantballetomane.blogspot.com/2013/12/nutcracker-wars-part-1-miami-begins.html
  12. I saw Preljocaj's Le Parc this Saturday at the Paris Opera Ballet (and many thanks to this forum, without which I never would have secured tickets!). I really enjoyed it - I found it thought provoking on many levels and very responsive to the Mozart score in a new and unusual way. Laëtitia Pujol was the lead ballerina, and she was very convincing in the role - she had a wonderful plastic sculpted quality to her dancing and was very emotional in the withdrawn way that the role requires. Stéphane Bullion was a last-minute sub for the lead man, and while he handled the part fine, it was nothing particularly exciting. The orchestra was very impressive - and Mozart can be very difficult to play since it's so exposed. I was also delighted to see the Opera Garnier - elaborate doesn't even begin to describe the theater! Everything was over-the-top stone sculptures and decorations. In all, it was a real treat. Full review here: http://itinerantballetomane.blogspot.com/2013/12/saturday-in-parc-with-mozart.html#more
  13. My grad school has a waltz every December with a live (student) orchestra that I used to play in. After three years of pestering the conductors, they finally added some Tchaikovsky waltzes to the set lists, so last night I got to dance to the Waltz of the Flowers - it was delightful!
  14. Also wanted to add - that split from the end is pure Nicholas Brothers, only two years after their Stormy Weather routine hit the theaters.
  15. Dear Santa, For Christmas this year, I'd like a promise that Boston Ballet will perform their production of Swan Lake next year. I know I've seen Swan Lake before, but I've heard that Boston has a really good production, and I've noticed they haven't performed it in many years. I want to see Misa Kuranaga as the swan and Jeffrey Cirio as Siegfried. Not to demand too much, but I'd also like to see an American company try Spartacus - any company, so I have no requests for leads. And finally, I would like to see Boston perform Agnes de Mille's Fall River Legend. I think Kathleen Breen Combes or Lia Cirio could dance Lizzie.
  16. I love the Balanchine version, I haven't seen NYCB perform it live and I'm hoping to in the next few years. That being said, I'd like to stick up for the ABT version. I think it has a magical and profound through narrative about the wonders of childhood and the sadness about losing the dreams of childhood and growing up. Ratmansky is deeply attuned to the narrative and emotional potential of the music, and every moment reflects the score (although not in the structural way that Balanchine's version does). I agreed that the opening to Act II is boring, but I've yet to see a version of that intro that doesn't send me to sleep. I highly recommend the ABT production.
  17. Fadeyechev and Zhdanov both performed Albrecht on the 1959 tour. I don't yet have cast lists for all the performances, but from the ones I have, the performance that Struchkova did was with Fadeyechev. angelica, might I ask what city you saw them in?
  18. I agree that women all over the world face these sorts of difficulties, probably more so within the world of performing arts, where there are rarely clear guidelines or oversight and where there is enormous competition for roles. I also agree that dancers live and work under terrible conditions all over the world. However, the fact that it happens on a large scale does not mean that it is right, nor does it mean that any dancer is wrong when she points out the injustices that she was subjected to. Giving out roles for money rather than for talent is an injustice, even if Womack doesn't have the talent to get a role without it. Asking for sexual favors in return for roles is an injustice. It seems to me that Womack has done everything that she can in the situation. She can't take the matter to the police - even in the US that would be an extraordinarily difficult thing to do, with huge amounts of political and financial repercussions. She has secured another situation (and I would point out in a Russian company, so clearly she enjoys and appreciates living in Moscow and doesn't believe that this is a particularly Russian problem). It makes me angry that things like this happen. I wish all the best to Womack and hope she succeeds at the Kremlin ballet.
  19. I can't believe I missed this conversation when it was going on. Just to confirm (since the tours are the topic of my research): the Bolshoi first appeared as a group in the US in 1959. They had sent films over previously, including Romeo and Juliet with Ulanova and Zhdanov, the Stars of the Bolshoi, and Swan Lake with Plisetskaya. This does, however, allow me to introduce a quote I've been hoping to bring to the forum for the past few weeks. In a book of interviews that Ulanova did with Sania Alievna Davlekamova in the 1990s, Ulanova discusses her version of the Odette/Odile role: (this is my translation from Russian and thus slightly awkward) The most sacred question (and even that could be long argued): should Odette resemble Odile? In general they should in some way since the Prince mixes them up. But in what way should she resemble her? And in what way entirely not resemble her? In other words why are there two roles? Odette is almost unearthly, spellbound, magical, whereas Odile is in some ways heartfelt, but earthy. It’s difficult to explain: well more concretely ... Odile is living, passionate, open. Odette is reserved, ‘silent’, responds to the Prince timidly, untrustingly... Whereas in Odile this timidity is overcome, that which was closed in Odette begins to open up. For this reason the Prince both recognizes and does not recognizes Odette in her. It’s possible to do this with a big contrast: almost totally different, only a certain gesture or movement that resembles Odette breaking through. As though she has accidentally revealed this to the Prince... Every actress chooses for herself. I chose: my Odile resembled the enchanted swan. I didn’t make her ... as extravagant, if it could be said that way. But very earthy, very vital.
  20. The Cuban production uses the Strauss!? That's incredible - until you said this I didn't even know there was a Strauss score for it. And this is convincing me more and more that there needs to be serious scholarship on the Cuban ballet - (which I've never seen - doesn't mean it isn't out there somewhere already). I have to say that, while I love Prokofiev, I agree with what's been said about it - if you aren't a fan, you probably won't like his Cinderella. The score is actual quite acerbic, more so even than Romeo and Juliet (which is odd, obviously, since it's a fairy tale). That's one of my favorite things about it, and it's given rise to some fairly dark and/or twisted ballet productions of Cinderella (Mariinsky's Ratmansky version and the Stanislavsky-Nemirovich Danchenko). But it's no champagne.
  21. Does anyone know what kind of license they have to show choreography - especially Balanchine's and Robbins'? It's possible that they're keeping these clips short because they're not allowed to show more.
  22. I went to the Boston Ballet's production of La Bayadère last night. It was a big disappointment. I was actually shocked at how racist the production is. The dancing was not up to par for the company either. I had been looking forward to seeing Lorna Feijóo as Nikiya - I've never seen her in a major classical role before. Her third act was really wonderful, but the first two acts were only acceptable - there was no drama. Nelson Madrigal wasn't quite up to the part of Solor. Whitney Jensen did a good job as Gamzatti, especially on the turns and pointe work. Isaac Akiba made an excellent Golden Idol (could be a little sharper but it was very athletic and he's just getting started). Anyways, full review is here: http://itinerantballetomane.blogspot.com/2013/10/disappointment.html Here's hoping that the Nutcracker is back up to the Boston Ballet's high standard. Here's also hoping that the next time they perform La Bayadère there are no fakirs.
  23. This appeared over a week ago, but I was thinking about it today and I wanted to hear some other opinions: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/10371161/Alina-Cojocaru-interview-Ill-always-be-grateful-even-for-the-lies.html Cojocaru discusses why she left the Royal ballet. The paragraph that most interests me: "Doors at Covent Garden, by contrast, were being closed to her. She has become known for injury cancellations, but it looked worse, she says, because for years director Monica Mason had been reducing her performances. The tipping point came in 2011 when Mason told Cojocaru her style was no longer “Royal Ballet style” and she did not want her as Aurora in the autumn run of The Sleeping Beauty. Cojocaru is considered an exemplar of the role anywhere else in the world." Is there a Royal Ballet style? If so, does Cojocaru fall outside of it? I would have thought that the Royal Ballet style, if it exists, is built on strict classicism and form, smaller dancers, a combination of Petipa, Macmillan, and Ashton repertory - a 20th century lyrical interpretation of classical technique. To me, it seems that Cojocaru fits that perfectly.
×
×
  • Create New...