Kaysta

He’s crazy.  And not in a good way.  I have no desire to see him dance again.

You are right, I needed Kleenex.  So awesome to see those kids dancing.

Thanks, you are all correct, it is at Opera Bastille.  I was thinking the seating chart looked big in comparison to the pictures, now I know why!  And to think I booked a hotel right outside Palais Garnier! 😆. 

I’ll just have to do the public tour, as was nicely suggested!

I am making my first trip to Paris in March and picked up some Swan Lake tickets.  I don’t really care that much about casting, as I’m just excited to see the Palais Garnier, but when in general is casting listed?

I saw the matinee yesterday and the Seven Sonatas PDD was the highlight for me.  Stella and Marcelo were absolutely amazing today, especially Stella.  So much emotion and chemistry.

I also loved Andile Ndlovu in Tarantella.  So musical!  I was slightly less impressed with Graniero who I felt at times was a bit behind the music.  Except her turns, which are blazing fast.

i thought Barkman was good, and she improved as the PDD progressed but I thought she lacked the sharpness of attack I prefer in my Odile.  In the beginning, I kept thinking maybe I’d prefer her as Odette, because she has such smoothness to her movement.  The audience loved her though, they received a resounding ovation.

As I’m new to the DC area, this is my first experience with the Washington Ballet.  I enjoyed the day and am looking forward to supporting the company.

Well, if they have the texts to back up what is in that complaint, I’m glad Catazaro and Ramasar are gone.

And the donor is just disgusting.

I’m not sure what to think about Ramasar’s second statement.

But I will say this:  if he received photos of Waterbury and knew she didn’t consent or he didn’t bother to ask Finlay if she was alright with him receiving them, then he failed at being a decent human being, regardless of whether he publicized them to anyone.

A decent person wouldn’t be ok at looking at them if the subject didn’t consent to it.  Just my opinion.  Whether he legally should lose his job or not will be for others to sort out.

Wow!  While I’m sad that this has happened (because Ramasar was my favorite male dancer at NYCB) I’m happy that NYCB has finally decided to take a strong stance.   I don’t believe they would have done this without having the appropriate evidence to proceed.

It wouldn’t be so horrible if they did a small season at the Kennedy Center in DC.

2 hours ago, Ilovegiselle said:

That’s quite a horrible thing to say without knowing all the facts.  

Would we say the same thing about Marcelo? I don’t think so.

I know enough of the facts to come to a reasonable conclusion:

1.  Finlay resigned before he could be investigated

2.  NYCB did an investigation and punished two dancers (one whom is exceedingly popular) and put out a statement essentially saying while they—NYCB—are not guilty, , they did have enough evidence to suspend dancers they were relying on for their fall season.   I’m sure NYCB has seen the texts and did not decide to suspend without evidence.

I am not going to feel bad for someone who abuses others.  Women are not farm animals.  Covering up or minimizing abuse is not ok with me, no matter who does it.  No matter how great a dancer they are.  No matter how much I love the institution they are a part of.

Further, whether I, or you, forgive Chase Finlay means nothing.  We are not the victims here.

59 minutes ago, fordhambae said:

My speculation refers to him 'deserving' anything.

Innocent people don’t resign without defending themselves.  I have no doubts Findlay is a horrible person.  

8 minutes ago, rkoretzky said:

Who should be the official spokesperson for the company? Scharf? Jon Stafford? 

I suggest that is the responsibility of the executive director. 

My career has been in the education world—public schools and libraries. I have no experience working in an organization of this size or scope. So I really don’t know. 

Re Bella’s comment: yes, I agree that the interim team deserves our full support. They have done a remarkable job under circumstances they couldn’t possibly have anticipated. But I’m one who wishes the search process had gotten underway much more quickly. And frankly I don’t understand why it didn’t. 

Why is the process to find a replacement taking so long?  I get that it is a major decision, but they must have several applicants in mind whom they want to interview.  Frankly, I’m shocked that this has gone as long as it has, though I admit I have no idea how these hiring processes go.  

I’ve been away a bit (moving, new job, buying a house).  Shocked and sad to come back and see this.  

If the allegations in Waterbury’s lawsuit are entirely true, I will have a hard time supporting this company with the current leadership and board in place.  They are the “captains of the ship” and are responsible for the culture created or maintained under their leadership.

I just wanted to add two things:

1.  The music doesn’t need to be world class, but the choreography and the dancing have to “fit” it.  Plisetskaya is a perfect example of this above.

2.  The story ballets, like Don Quixote, require a different type of musicality than Balanchine because to be memorable they also have to be able to act.  When you watch Plisetskaya, she is in the music even when she isn’t dancing; the way she moves her head, her hands, her feet, and her face.  I’m trying to think of anyone I’ve seen who comes close to this (in the story ballets) and I can’t think of anyone right now.  

7 hours ago, canbelto said:

Kaysta I think this is Exhibit A of a Kitri being musical. Maya Plisetskaya of course was famous for her huge leaps, her fierce stage presence, her speed. But in this clip you can see how she uses all these skills not as circus tricks but to emphasize certain facets of the choreography. For instance the way she almost stabs the ground with her feet looks a lot like folk dance. The famous "Plisetskaya jump" is done on the up-note of the music and emphasizes the fact that Kitri is a free spirit. It's this mix of the way she goes so fiercely into the ground (like a folk dancer) and then so high up in the air (like a ballerina) that makes the ballet truly seem like a mix of Petipa and Gorsky. I have seen this ballet many times and always thought the score was charming, but Plisetskaya makes me "see the music" differently -- not as pleasant danseuse music, but as a fascimile of Spanish folk music.

 

Yes!!!!! This is exactly it!  She is so with the music, that’s it like her body is the instrument that is playing it.  It’s inspiring and amazing to watch.  I’m sad I never got a chance to see her perform live.

The only other dancer I’ve seen who can “play” with the music to this degree is Tiler Peck in Balanchine and Robbins works.   Others have come close, and for me it is what makes the performance memorable in my mind.  

She looks  gorgeous!

22 minutes ago, nanushka said:

You describe something very important here as well, Kaysta. The difference between that and what I was describing (I'm not trying to speak for canbelto — just drawing a distinction between your idea and my own), is that that experience ("I can't decipher the choreography without the music or the music without the choreography") is perhaps only going to be possible with works in which the two are potentially so perfectly inextricable. That's true of most Balanchine (he's particularly known for it), but it's maybe not true of, say, Don Quixote (to use the piece that gives this thread its nominal topic). And yet, a dancer can fully embody the role of Kitri or Basilio in the manner I've described.

I completely agree with you, although I do think the best Kitri’s have an inherent sense of musicality, albeit a different “kind” than what I would associate with Balanchine.   When a dancer is comfortable in a role and with the music, the two blend for me, to the point I can’t hear or watch one without the other playing in my head. ( sorry I’m getting cheesy) I think it’s a rare and extraordinary dancer that can do this with any choreography.  Most can do it with their style (like Mariinsky with La Bayadere or Bouder in S/S), but will struggle outside that particular style of dancing ( so no shame that Boylston struggled, many fantastic dancers would).

But as someone who can’t regularly get into NY anymore, I sure am happy to see companies attempt styles outside of their comfort zone.  It might not always work, but that’s ok, I don’t mind watching it.

On an unrelated note, that Bouder/Gatti video is the first time I’ve seen Gatti dance and he was amazing.

I’m sure Canbelto will have a far better interpretation to what she meant than I could ever have.  But for me, disappearing into the choreography is when I can’t decipher the choreography without the music or the music without the choreography.  They become one., which is what I see when I watch the Peck and Bouder videos.  I also see that intense musicality with Ratmansky’s video, so you don’t have to be trained in the Balanchine technique to get “it.”  With Boylston’s video, it’s not just that there were technical issues, but that the musicality of the steps with the music was absent to the point her movement looked jarring.

17 hours ago, Josette said:

Oh dear, I was warned but I watched The Boylston video. She does plod her way through. 

I am a Boylston fan, but that was horrible. Not surprised it has been yanked from YouTube now.  I it’s especially bad when you watch Tiler’s first, who is amazing.  NYCB also posted a small snippet of Megan Fairchild today, which was also fantastic. 

As as I don’t get to see as much NYCB as I would like, I’m not picky about seeing other companies perform Balanchine.  And while I agree that the Boylston/Simkin Stars and Stripes wasn’t very good, their performance helps highlight just how difficult the choreography is.  

Cirio confirmed he is leaving ABT on Instagram 

Bethea was injured last season as well, wasn’t she?

6 hours ago, Classic_Ballet said:

I agree with your post completely, to me one potential solution is "balance". Bring 2-3 big stars, and combine that with opportunities to in house dancers. Having 1-2 shows per week with a world-class casting won't hurt the growing opportunities for the home dancers. In fact, I think it would be a great experience for Trenary and Brandt, for example, to dance next to Smirnova, Nuñez, etc., . I dont understand why does it have to be all or nothing, before we had a constellation of stars  to the point that the season looked like a ballet festival more than anything else, and now we went 180 degrees opposite, practically zero guest artist this year. Considering the quality of the female principals, having no guest stars, especially after Vishneva is gone, is ridiculous to my eyes.

I completely disagree.  Lane got one Nikiya this year.  One.  Who knows when she’ll get to dance it again.  If you bring in guest artists 2-3 performances a week, she likely would have gotten 0.  And dancers like Brandt and Trenary would get no opportunities as the principals above them would get all of them.

I have no problem with ABT bringing in outside talent as full company members.  They’ve tried to do this and it’s failed as of late-Lendorf, Kochetkova did not boost much whether due to injuries or lack of audience excitement.  But it has worked in the past.

On 3/15/2018 at 3:30 PM, hyacinthhippo said:

. especially for me and my fellow millennials, the ones who will bring ballet forward to the 23rd century.

 

 

I mostly enjoy Boylston and Lane and certainly will not avoid either’s  performances. 

i do think social media is (unfortunately) super important for today’s dancer to get noticed by the public, at least in the US.  I  think using it in the right way gives that dancer an edge over an equally talented dancer who does not use it.  It seems like most companies are about the money, which is understandable, because they need to stay afloat and try to prosper

48 minutes ago, cubanmiamiboy said:

My God. I'm doing all this work arrangements to be able to attend the Giselles and Harlequinades.  I just hope Osipova at least sticks to her performance.

Uh oh.  I hope she does, but I'm placing my bets on her withdrawing if Hallberg is pulled.  Unless they bring in someone else to dance with her.

Also to add, that both Siegfreids are young.  Jack Thomas, who is partnering Maslova, is only a second year corps member.  Zecheng Liang was at Houston ballet previously (corps from 2012- this year), but it is only his first year at PAB and he is also in the corps. I've seen some instagram videos of Liang, and he looks amazing, though I haven't seen him partner.