Tessa

Thought I'd add my two cents. The princess costumes in Firebird were phenomenally ugly- just about the worst ballet costumes I've ever seen. Also, the choreography was somewhat stilted and the stage ludicrously crowded, except when the entire cast was dancing in unison as the Firebird tried to exhaust them. But I still enjoyed Arantxa as the firebird, and I actually liked the bit with Hawley Rowe as the Priestess at the end- thought that was a good moment of stillness at the right time. Concerto 488 was fine, but unremarkable. I thought it provided a nice contrast with Firebird, both in terms of the color palette as well as the vocabulary. I enjoyed seeing Heidi Cruz- don't think she's had too many featured roles lately, and she's fun to watch. Also, though this may have already been reported, I read that soloists Valerie Amiss and Edward Cieslak had their baby a month or so ago- pretty sure it's a boy!

I saw this (and was thrilled, since it's unlikely I will get up to NYC to see the real deal.) Katie Couric demanded that John Lithgow perform some of the elephant section for her, and he agreed to do so only if she would learn it as well- she seemed a little taken aback (I think it was a non-scripted moment). She wasn't too bad, though not much of an elephant.

My apologies if this has already been posted elsewhere on Ballet Alert but there is a nice interview with Ms. Kachadurian (former NYCB dancer, now an attorney in NYC) in the March 2003 issue of "More" magazine (I believe this is a lifestyle publication for mature women.) She has a number of interesting things to say about her career under Balanchine as well as her present legal career.

Dale, Sorry to have missed this earlier, but maybe I can still help. The Merriam has somewhat tight seating on every floor (there are 3) but pretty clear sightlines from everywhere, so it's probably not worth splurging for the orchestra. The top balcony is pretty high, though, so your best bet might be the middle floor (the balcony) which is divided into 3 price ranges, I think, with the most expensive seats being up front. As for the Academy, it is riddled with obstructed view seats but the people at Ticket Philadelphia are genrally honest about what you're getting. On the higher floors, try to be as centered as possible. Also, if this is for Miami City Ballet, odds are good that you'll get good seats because that show hasn't been very well publicized around here yet. I second Doris on the Kimmel Center gift shop; it's excellent, if a bit pricey and will give you an excuse to gawk at the glass vault ceiling. Restaurants- there are several cute Italian byob's in the immediate vicinty of the theaters (Bellini Grill, La Viola, Ernesto's 1521 Cafe.) Another restaurant I really like is Valanni (sort of meditteranean latin fusion) behind the Wilma Theater on Spruce Street. Oh, and Effie's on Pine Street (inexpensive Greek food in a cute setting.) Also, FYI, I heard through the grapevine that whatever Balanchine piece is on the March program (Sonatine?) may have been replaced with a Kevin O'Day piece. That is hearsay, however. Have fun in Philly and let us know what you think of the March program!

Doris, I was there on Saturday night too! Fortunately, I live in the city so I was able to go home that night...I'm sure you had fun on Sunday trying to get home, though! Interesting to read your reaction to Le Travail- I loved the costumes, and agree that the throws with Jennifer Smith were one of the evening's highlights (the moment when she was thrown onstage was also one of the highlights of Neenan's Vicissitudes, imo). I was also really impressed with Sarah Edery as the yellow girl- beautiful turns, probably the finest performance I've seen from her to date. However, something about the piece didn't quite gel for me- from the program notes and articles I've read, I gather that Neenan was trying to portray what's it's like for dancers behind the scenes, but I didn't get a terrific sense of that through the choreography- I think if I'd been closer and been able to see facial expressions better, I might have seen that theme more clearly. Also, although they were pretty, I found the scenic panels cumbersome and noisy (especially during the score's quiet moments.) And speaking of the score, it was pretty bombastic in parts in a way that I didn't think matched the action on stage. Still, I'd like to hear more from Maggio, the composer (love to have him do the score for a story ballet!) and overall, this was head and shoulders above Neenan's last work for the company. Carmina didn't really wow me either, although I still enjoyed it- I thought the corps looked a little ragged (actually, the same was true in Neenan's piece). Meredith (Reffner) was lovely in her "white gown" sections- she demonstrated solid technique and I give her the evening's Best Actress award. Arantxa Ochoa was typically delightful- I particularly enjoyed her trio section with the two men. Pennsylvania Ballet has a lot of wonderful female dancers these days- many of the men, while quite talented, unfortuantely seem to be too old or too young to serve as equal partners. But Borovik and Krensing performed admirably- I don't mean to slight them- that's just a general impression I've had about the company as of late. I, too, would encourage others to check out the program next weekend. Who knows, by then we might have less than two feet of snow on the ground! ;)

For Pennsylvania Ballet, I nominate Tara Keating and Charity Eagens, two corps dancers who have shone in individual roles and have also helped to lead an increasingly unified and elegant corps. And for most exciting newcomer, I nominate Riolama Lorenzo!

I just heard that Riolama Lorenzo danced the role of Sugar Plum Fairy today at PA Ballet's dress rehearsal, and that apparently she will be performing the role during the run- I don't know specific dates for casting, though.

How could I have forgotten Taming of the Shrew? That's one of my favorite ballets too, Treefrog! Especially the bit with the horse I've heard Graduation Ball can be very funny- never seen it, though.

Is Rodeo considered a comic ballet? It's one of my favorites.

December 2002. I think the cover is about great holiday gifts or something...

Paul, Concerto 622 is still in Pennsylvania Ballet's active repertoire. The last time I saw it danced was February 2001, I think. The central "Gemini" duet (interestingly, I've never heard it called that before) was typically danced by Jeffrey Gribler and David Krensing. Gribler's now retired and is the company's Ballet Master, but I'm pretty sure they trained another dancer in the role so I imagine it will only be another couple of years before we'll see it again. I find it to be an extraordinarily moving piece.

Just wanted to call people's attention to an article in this month's Philadelphia Magazine by a sportswriter for the Philadelphia Daily News on Arantxa Ochoa, one of Pennsylvania Ballet's Principal Dancers. I found the article to be surprisingly well-written given that the author has never written an article on dance before- though there are a few too many sports analogies for my liking, the author is deeply respectful of the art form. And since PA Ballet has been touting the athletic abilities of its dancers in its ad campaigns for the past few years, it seems pretty appropriate. There's no on-line copy of the article available, but maybe your local Barnes & Noble or Borders carries Philadelphia Magazine? I know we have magazines for Miami, San Francisco & New York in our local bookstores...

I'm not from Boston, but am throwing in my two cents based on what I've seen in Philadelphia. A 3,500 seat theater is HUGE (similar to the Academy of Music in Philly) and the only time I've seen the Academy totally full is for Nutcracker. Other performances get quite full, but that is based on a limited run (6-8 peformances.) 12 performances seems awfully ambitious. And, let's face it, Onegin is not a household name. Not even close. In the general public, two ballet names are well known: Nutcracker and Swan Lake (if the people have ever had any contact with the art form, we can add Giselle, Coppelia, and Sleeping Beauty to that list.) The only other story ballets that seem to have a huge turn-out in Philadelphia are based on popular stories like Cinderella and Dracula. Onegin also suffers from having a difficult-to-pronounce name, a fairly adult storyline, and a choreographer who is not a household name either. I hate to be pessimistic, especially since the reviews of the production were so wonderful, but I think that Onegin is not the type of full-length ballet that people are flocking to see. Bostonians, feel free to prove me wrong. I know that Onegin, Le Corsaire, La Bayadere, etc., sell out in NYC, but do they sell well in your city?

You can add Arantxa Ochoa, who's probably Pennsylvania Ballet's most popular dancer, to the list of former Ullate students. Ochoa has beautiful lines and extensions, without being hyper-extended. She's also steadily improving as an actress- lack of acting skills seems to be a common complaint about the Spanish dancers (maybe I am generalizing, but I know I've read that about De Luz and Lacarra before), so it's good to see she's working on it.

Ok, I'll bite. I thought the best performances were given in Bugaku, though that's my least favorite ballet of the three. Valerie Amiss was surprisingly good as the bride- she's typically a soft, lyrical dancer, so this role was a stretch for her, but I thought she carried it off well. I liked Scotch Symphony, too, but Jennifer Smith, who I normally love, seemed a bit overwhelmed by her costume (kilt, etc.). Is that role normally given to a short dancer? As for Apollo, I thought the muses- Arantxa Ochoa and Riolama Lorenzo (who I think is a new transplant from NYCB), in particular- were wonderful, but I felt indifferent to the performance of corps member James Ihde in the title role. He has the appropriate physique, but not the stage presence for that part, I think. Elizabeth Zimmer once praised him in a role where he looked like "a regular guy at ease on the dance floor" (can't remember the ballet- a Trey McIntyre piece, maybe?) and I think it's in those type of parts where he truly shines.

My first ballet (other than Nutcracker) was a mixed rep program at Pennsylvania Ballet when I was 11 (1988?). The only portion I remember was a ballet by Lynn Taylor-Corbett that I think had something to do with human rights violations. The house lights stayed on for the ballet's first few minutes- I've always wondered whether that was accidental or intentional, though I presume the latter. ;) The first ballet I saw that I really liked was Balanchine's A Midsummer Night's Dream (also performed by PA Ballet).

What I find disturbing is that someone who genuinely believes that ballet is over also freelances as the sole ballet critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer, the daily with the largest circulation in the area. I've long had questions about her reviewing style, but how can I now take her seriously as a ballet critic knowing her opinion of the art form?

What I find disturbing is that someone who genuinely believes that ballet is over also freelances as the sole ballet critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer, the daily with the largest circulation in the area. I've long had questions about her reviewing style, but how can I now take her seriously as a ballet critic knowing her opinion of the art form?

Augh! So the rumor I heard is true- James Ady has left Pennsylvania Ballet for the ABT corps. We in Philly sure enjoyed his dancing-- I'll be interested to see what the NYC folks think!

They are staging James Kudelka's version, which I think has been performed also by Houston Ballet.

I love "A Very Young Dancer"! I received my copy as a child and still have it, though the cover is completely tattered now. I remember reading it incessantly when I was around 8 or 9 and was startled to read, upon opening it several years later, that my ballet teacher at the time, Richard Hoskinson, was mentioned as one of the cavaliers. Anyone know whatever happened to him? Or did anyone ever see him at NYCB?

This is tricky, but I'll give it a whirl: The top tier- NYCB, SFB, ABT The rest of the top five- Miami, PNB Just below that: Houston, Boston (they are wildcards due to so many recent changes in leadership) The rest of the top ten- Pennsylvania, Ballet West, Joffrey I haven't seen all these companies, so my list is largely based on size, repertoire, and reviews (both formal and informal!), in addition to my own personal observations. The other companies that I've read about that sound like they have interesting reps. or dancers include Ballet Florida, Cincinnati Ballet, and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. And it will be interesting to see what happens to Fort Worth-Dallas Ballet with Ben Stevenson at the helm.

When I first read this thread, I scribbled down the following formula-- aside from Nutcracker, my season would consist of two classic full-length ballets (or if need be, faux classics-- I'd rather not do them every season, but we know Dracula sells a ton of tickets), and three repertory programs which would include the following: at least one modern classic by Tudor/Ashton/Robbins/DeMille, three or four Balanchine works, one or two world premieres, and one existing work by a living choreographer (Morris/Taylor/York/McIntyre). Of the aforementioned selections, at least one ballet per season should be a company premiere. I would love to see the Robbins Trust loosen up a bit and allow more companies to perform his works (if that's the issue-- maybe the rights are really expensive?). So after thinking about all of this, I did a little bit of digging around and realized that for next year, I should move to Ohio because Cincinnati Ballet is going to be performing more or less my ideal season. Here it is: -Sleeping Beauty (Kirk Peterson)- I imagine this is a serviceable version. -Midsummer Night's Dream (Victoria Morgan, the company's AD) -a repertory program that includes excerpts from Devils Holiday (Ashton), Gaite Parisienne (Massine), La Sonnambula (Balanchine), and a world premiere by Julia Adam (SFB). -another rep. program with Trey McIntyre's Blue Until June (I already saw Washington Ballet perform this and liked it), Concerto Barocco, and a world premiere by Dwight Rhoden. -Carmina Burana (Butler) and Serenade. I think they filled all the categories! If you just swapped out Carmina for a Robbins ballet, it's pretty much my ideal. Of course, Carmina Burana is probably an AD's dream- a repertory ballet that sells a lot of tickets.

Hi! I know I should probably post in the "Welcome" forum for this, but I just wanted to say thank you to whomever (Alexandra? Leigh?) created a separate thread for Pennsylvania Ballet. I've lurked on this board for over a year, but the introduction of this thread spurred me to actually register. And now that I know there are others out there with whom I can discuss Pennsylvania Ballet performances, I will be much more inclined to post. So, thanks again!