sz

I see your point... but Scheller's arms, when dancing alone, went directly up to high fifth in a fast whirl of a turn. Then with her partner's help, she slowly, like pulling a sweater off over her head, unfolded her port de bras (arms) like a rose opening into full bloom (into a backbend). The first version was fast and exciting. The other was luxurious and building... like the music. Did you see that performance with Scheller and Garcia in the leads? (when the curtain calls didn't work as usual?...). I liked Garcia in his coda solos, but as a partner, he seemed to make his SPF ballerina(s) all nervous and tight this season. (Well, except for the tiny Megan Fairchild...and she can dance with almost anybody... she's so light and fearless).

Yes, thank you to drb and carbro for your Erica Pereira reviews. I'll see her in Dewdrop on the 26th. But this past weekend, I did manage to catch a gorgeous afternoon performance by Ana Sophia Scheller as SPF. Strong, technically secure, with spontaneously added balances and triple pirouettes (arms in above fifth). Stunning that way! Scheller has a warm, radiant, womanly, sexy look to her dancing. And finally, she had a good partner, Amar Ramasar, who allowed her to keep calm with an abundance of confidence adding to her already regal quality for this role. Amar's coda solo was very much lacking, but I hope that's just because he's danced so little this season... As a partner, he was tall and strong and reliable. Must also add here that I thought Lauren King did a lovely, slightly sexy, lots of fun to watch, job as the Marizpan lead. That part can make your teeth hurt or your neck tighten up when it becomes too cute and/or tense. King's not a fantastic turner or jumper, but, instead, she gave her audience an easy loveliness, with genuine, feminine touches here and there on top of the technique required. On the other hand, Sterling Hyltin, as Dewdrop, was like watching crackling lightening! Her energy was so high voltage, I thought I could see sparks bounce off the floor. Technically, Hyltin was very good, but my oh my, a little softness in the arms and neck/head areas would have made her performance even better.

>Did anyone see Tuesday nights 12/18 performance with >Robert Fairchild as the Cavelier. He was terrific, masculine >and danced better than I thought he would. Lillydoll, I'll see Robert Fairchild and Sterling Hyltin on the 26th along with Pereira's debut in Dewdrop. Can't wait!! Printscess, Thank you for the kind compliment. You didn't go once to Nuts this season??!!! Guess I'm a little nuts.... I always end up going more than I think I will because several corps and newly promoted dancers are frequently given difficult soloist and/or principal opportunities to show themselves off in. I think that keeps the production fresh, and I love it that way. Happy Holidays!

And here's a fine example of what many insiders know and understand about Suzanne that most others do not... >Back to Farrell again--and I know many will disagree with >me--when Acocella asked her why she thought that Balanchine >paired Mounmentum and Movements, I just >expected her to be able to say more than "because >Mr. B. liked them together." You don't need 40+ >years of experience with the man to say that. It was very much Mr. B's way of responding to questions.... to find something quick, slightly funny and/or ironic, if not hilarious, to say... that would quickly bring the ballet world down to earth. Eg, go, see the ballet, love it or not, don't think about it too deeply, and then go home and do something else.... Many people who worked with Mr. B spent years being amused and appreciative of his style of verbal communication. Sometimes there were wonderful stories, but most often Mr. B showed us that he was most proud of his quick quips. So, it comes as no surprise that Suzanne (and others) would try to imitate what she learned from Mr. B. And quite possibly, that is exactly what Mr. B said about putting M & M together. Quoting someone else on this topic, I too think that Internet outlets will offer dancers new places to begin a process of reflection and communication. And bravo for that!

I think it's a matter of content versus quality. I can't tell you how many times dancers have said to each other that most "critics" know little about what they're reviewing..... adding... but most do "write" excellently. So, naturally, I also expect that trained writers/experienced reviewers would be critical of dancers' writing. Some professional dancers do study and move on to writing careers (eg, Pointe and Dance Mags, etc.).... but I've never seen any professional writers leave those careers and become some of the best dancers in the best ballet companies. I think it's difficult and terrific that dancers are opening up more and more verbally, and writing on blogs, Winger, etc., casually. I'd like to see more insider opinions and reviews on the Internet... Tricky, of course, if you are currently employed by the dance company you are writing about... but it's possible to do, time permitting. And when I want to read the opinions and reviews of professionally trained, excellent writers -- I'll look for them in places where professional writers are publicized.

Sunday Dec 16th 1PM matinee Well, the orchestra was certainly not "blah" at this performance. Neither were any of the dancers. On a cloudy, slushy, cold day outside, it was all magic and sunshine being indoors at NYCB's Nutcracker. I wasn't expecting such an excellent performance so early in the day, but it turned out to be the best overall Nuts I've seen so far this season. Beginning with the magic of guest conductor, Philippe Beran. Beran knew when to be zippy fast (overture and peppy kids' dances) and when to let the music have its full weight in grandness (parents/guests dance and the grand pas). Beran kept the dancers in Act 2 happy as well with danceable tempi. Imagine that?!! Leading Clara's beautiful dream music was the always brilliant, and I mean brilliant, violinist, Kurt Nikkanen. If his Nuts violin solo doesn't bring tears to your eyes -- there is little that will in this wonderful Nutcracker. Btw, the orchestra members pounded the floor with their feet in appreciation when Nikkanen's solo ended. On to the dancers. The best of parents, Fowler and Abergel, were once again every child's dream leaders. Warm, gracious, gently beautiful and nurturing people. These parents set the mood of the first act, which can often get a bit long if the audience doesn't immediately become captured in the many details of the festive family event. Once, again, Fritz, played by Carl Pedersen was a blonde, deliciously naughty little boy. So genuinely cute. It was also very nice to see the womanly, charming Sophie Flack among the guests, as well as Morgan and Prottas as the sweet, dignified grandparents. Drosselmeier was performed by Kyle Froman, whom I had to check carefully twice to be sure it wasn't Robert LaFosse (my favorite Drosselmeier). That's a huge compliment to Froman who gave a very thoughtful if not quite as eccentrically fascinating an interpretation as the LaFosse version. Then, oh my gosh, Joshua Shutkind appeared as the Little Prince. And from then on, throughout Nuts, the audience couldn't stop falling in love with him. In the snow scene, among lively snowflake ladies, Shutkind lit up the stage with his grand manner. By the second act, Shutkind's story telling bit of dance, for the Sugar Plum, brought out bravos from the audience, not just hearty applause. Shutkind danced with a big heart, big movements, handsome good looks, elegance while still being boyish, long limbs, and with a dimpled smile that put a smile on everyone around him including the audience. Bravo! After the performance, in the lobby, an admiring, picture-taking, autograph-seeking fan club greeted Shutkind. Wow!! I took the opportunity to get an autography too and compliment Shutkind briefly. He told me he was 11 years old and has attended SAB for only 3 months. What a fine start! Back to the performance... Act 2 I wasn't particularly looking forward to seeing Abi Stafford as Sugar Plum, but she delivered an outstanding performance. Actually the best dancing I've seen from her since her 2nd violin Barocco debut. Abi doesn't have the longest lines (for a grand pas) or glamour, but she gave her SPF everything her heart and imagination could muster. It was quite beautifully done, partnered by a real cavalier, Jared Angle. He was the first cavalier this season to partner the pas de deux well. Though Angle's dancing in the coda solo wasn't clean and exciting principal material, he was a truly exceptional partner. I've seen too many SPFs this season who were stiff and obviously shaken and/or fumbled by their lacking partners. A real shame especially in one performance where I saw one of the SPFs in tears during the required bow because her partner was so "not there." Mr. B would have never allowed this... But lucky Abi had complete confidence in Jared Angle, and this made a wonderful pairing; together, they made the music sing with regal beauty. Abi's solo was also all sparkles and smiles, and femininity, with a backbone of very secure technique and musicality. Nice job! My other favorite of the second act was Erica Pereira in the lead of Marizpan. She is very youthful looking, light and easy to watch, long-limbed, with all the technique required.. and then some!! Pereira threw in a triple pirouette where I would have least expected it -- at the end of a series of pique turns moving forward towards the orchestra pit. Pereira is delightful and lovely and more than ready for Dewdrop! Lowery was the buck slip replacement for Sara Mearns (who was scheduled to replace LeCrone) in Sunday's Dewdrop. I was struck by Lowery's strong technique and high energy, but Dale said it exactly right, Lowery now needs much work on some beauty polish. She's very good, but lacks finesse. The other two outstanding dancers, for me, were Suozzi in Candy Canes. He's actually far too sexy and long-limbed for such a cute, circusy part. And then there was Paradiso flying above the stage, beyond belief, technically almost too good for such cute Chinese Tea role. So, in sum, I was very happy to have seen all of these very talented dancers. Many thanks for a brightened afternoon.

So is Cedar Lake; 50 working weeks and two of paid vacation.

Oh boy, oh boy! Pereira in Dewdrop! I can't wait to see her in that!

>I will admit that I wasn't blown away by Wendy Whelan. >I know she is supposed to be a very special performer... Wendy's more of contemporary (pretzel pas) ballerina these days. I agree, her Sugar Plums for awhile now have been rather odd, except for her big, radiant smile. I've loved Reichlen's Dewdrops since day one, including this year's while she is for whatever reason (working on SPF?) giving it only about 95%. Hope to catch one of Bouder's this season too. Yes, these two fine dancers are extremely different, and they are the best females NYCB has at the moment in principal roles; similar in that they both have the technique and stage presence to make any role exciting to watch. Reichlen's got the long arms and legs, jumps, turns and pretty femininity. Bouder's got the speed and endless, high energy along with amazing jumps. However, I'm missing Sylve like crazy in NYCB's Nuts this year... >seeing Balanchine's Nutcracker on an annual basis is one of >the major advantages to living on the East Coast of the US. Absolutely!

>I want to go see Katie Morgan and Sugarplum. I think Morgan will be a lovely match for Garcia, who very much showed his sensual and princely side dancing Cavalier with Fairchild in the first week of Nuts.

>I was around when there still were dancers who understood the genre and could >convey intense feelings feelings to a theater full of spectators..... These dancers >had the power to transfix an audience. Oh, some of those dramatic-type dancers are certainly out there, waiting for the opportunities. They're just beginning their careers. In time, I'm hoping you'll see a handful of these special dancers even from USA companies! Yes, they are rare. And yes, it has a lot to do with the training/emphasis at present. But sometimes, I've been lucky enough to watch a couple of these broadly-talented dancers test out roles by dancing/acting them with very small companies/schools.

Carbro, Thanks for the above casting. Not bad at all for the lucky school kids!! Anyway it's great to see Schumacher's name on this list. I believe he's also dancing candy canes soon (eg, next week!).

>New York City Ballet Principal Casting >November 27 - December 2, 2007 No casting listed above for Nov. 27th and 28th. Ditto, NYCB's website.... I believe Reichlen is dancing SPF on Wednesday (the 28th)... with Hanna as her Cavalier. And, btw, LeCrone cancelled out of Nuts (demi flowers) over the past weekend.

I turn into a child full of magical wonder every time I see Mr. B's Nutcracker, and I've seen it hundreds, more like thousands of times. Ditto Jewels, Serenade, Sym in C..... etc., etc. Sometimes I catch a performance to watch a special dancer or two.... Then I'm going to be focused primarily on him/her and the technique, etc., involved. Other times I just get lost in the overall beauty of the piece, watching the music come to life. Like dining on a fine meal with great wine, one can appreciate many details while at the same time admiring the entire presentation. It doesn't have to be one or the other. Only problem perhaps is that I'm spoiled from having worked with the greatest choreographers, and I have a low tolerance for ballets that don't rise to the same level of quality I've grown up with.

There were two redheads; one taller, one shorter. Also a very brightly blonde girl. Don't recall the fourth girl. So if Abi is a redhead, then the girl in the corps whom I so admired was someone else.

Yes! Fairly certain that's the one. But the program listed her as a Russian girl for opening night's Serenade...Wouldn't be the first time that a program didn't list actual corps dancers in various ballets... Anyway, a nice headshot... If there was a short video too...

>Can you describe her, sz? Maybe we could figure out who it was. She wasn't one of the Russian girls... that might have helped.... I would have four names to pick from. Ok, she's a bit like Somogyi when Somogyi was younger. But this girl is much prettier. Sorry... She's perhaps a bit taller too, but not much. Pale, light brown- blonde-ish hair. Nothing spikey about her dancing. She has a juicy, lovely muscularity to her dancing. Strong but not tough. Seems several dancers at NYCB know of her...

Nobody here went to the opening night? I thought Serenade was for the most part stiff, held back, dancers making sure not to slip or stand out, or jump too big, or dance too big, or be emotional. A totally bland performance, with the exception of a couple of dancers in the corps. One female, in the corps -- I couldn't take my eyes off the entire night. She must have come from SAB, her training was cleaner and bolder than the others. Wish I knew her name.... A beautiful mover with a lush, lush upper body. Wow! Why oh why isn't she dancing at NYCB?!! After a brief intermission, full of ballet regulars, PA Ballet gave it their best, selling their Carmina Burana. I too loved the soprano, Sarah Coburn, and my hat's off to the company for having a live chorus (however too small) and live orchestra. But Carmina's choreography and staging, with too many costumes, didn't really come to life until the last two or three minutes when the dancers were wearing nothing except flesh-colored unitards. Finally the power of the music was realized with a large group of strong dancers. I wish PA Ballet had given its all to Serenade instead.

American Ballet Theatre - David Hallberg Bolshoi Ballet - Natalia Osipova, Ivan Vasiliev Munich Ballet - Lucia Lacarra, Cyril Pierre and Royal Ballet - Roberta Marquez Plenty to be excited about there! Well, I'm excited.... for the chance to see these fine dancers together in one evening!!

I thought Sunday matinee's performance of Ballo was beautifully performed by Cornejo and uncomfortably ok for Kajiya. There were a couple of small partnering sections that seemed a little shakey... but Ballo is all about their solos. And there Cornejo succeeded beyond expectations for a first debut. He was in full power with a mature, sensual beauty while at the same time looking fresh and exciting. Kajiya, and the other females I saw this season in the leads of Ballo, were strong but they just didn't have the ballerina beauty and presence to command this ballet.

>>And I'm not interested in seeing Somova at all. >Why? Ok.... I just read many comments re Somova's dancing under BT's Kirov coming to NYC section... Somova doesn't seem ready yet for all the attention and parts she's getting... And I'll never understand why Pavlenko has received so little.... I thought Pavlenko was a dream-come-true when I last saw her in Jewels at the Met.

Why?

I was at Sunday's matinee (10/28/07). Most of what Leigh Witchel wrote about his viewing of Michele Wiles in Ballo, I'm in agreement with. She seemed to be having the time of her life, but she lacks the refinement of technique and wit to show this ballet at its best. She's messy and turned in, but at the same time irresistably fun to watch. Michele made me smile, over and over, but mostly for all the wrong reasons. Thought David Hallberg, as Michele's partner, improved a good deal (already!) since his opening night's performance. He was much more free and confident at Sunday's matinee, also enjoying himself in this ballet whereas at the gala he looked pressured and a bit tight. The soloists (same as opening night's) also seemed to be much more comfortable with the speed and pressures of the ballet. I noticed more so at this performance how tiny the stage at City Center is, which can easily fool an audience into thinking the dancers are jumping and moving with much bigger strides than they really are. And the exit movements at Sunday's Ballo were all choked, barely visible, because of the size of the CC stage. I wonder if ABT will bring Ballo to the Met stage any time soon. Now that would be really fun.... I suspect the dancers looked kind of "soft" overall because they had such little room to execute their movements as fully and as sharply as a big space would allow. I remember thinking this too when ABT brought Sym in C to City Center. So, I stayed for C to C mostly to hear the music which was beautiful and beautifully played by the pianist. The ballet's choreography was not nearly so and definitely not as interesting as the sets, costumes, lighting and music. Still, I enjoyed watching Marcelo Gomes and Herman Cornejo both of whom were plenty sexy, masculine and physically stunning dancers at their peak. Loved their bare chests/backs and mostly sheer-black legs/feet which made every movement more precise from the waist down while keeping the fleshy-fluidity from the waist up. Very flattering on both these guys. C to C was an intense, art exhibit, but new ideas re choreography were very much missing.

They're distracting.

>Michele delivered a performance with panache and style >and striking balances. She opted out of trying double >piques before opening to the arabesque as Murphy >had done, but we've seen singles before elsewhere. Good to hear that Wiles was dancing Ballo so well. I'll have to see this... FYI, the pique turns opening into arabesque have always been singles. It's just so incredibly fast that it can look like a knife (arabesque leg) cutting into the blur of turning air. It's very difficult to execute beautifully primarily because of the speed involved and the precision of lines / balance required. This pique turn is done three times in a row, followed by a tiny change in steps, then three more piques to arabesque in a row! The audience, and the dancer, are given but a second or two to catch their breath between the two sets. On a taller girl, like Merrill Ashley, it was dangerous looking. On the smaller, Ashley Bouder, it's still a thrill because she can hold that arabesque for a second before proceeding to the next. One doesn't have to be familiar with the technique involved to understand that there is no room for any off-balance error.