Dreamer

Since four Principal male dancers retired/left the company this season I expected more dancers to be added to the roster. Disappointed about Lauren Strongin not being promoted. She and Joseph recently performed at the Bolshoi at one of the gala concerts for Benois de la Danse and received very favorable reviews by Russian audiences who usually are quite biased towards and sceptical of non-Russian ballerinas. I was surprised by the return of Madison Kessler--I was under the impression that she enjoyed her life in London.

What a magnificent performance this matinee. Sarah Lane was a breathtakingly beautiful Giselle. Vulnerable, elegant, dreamy, ethereal. Daniil Simkin and Christine Shevchenko were very impressive in their debuts as well.

Although the Seregrstrom Center has not officially announced its dance series for the next season but we have some idea on what to expect. The Bolshoi posted its touring plans and it will bring to Costa Mesa The Taming of the Shrew on July 17 and 18 and A Hero of Our Time on July 21 and 22. http://www.bolshoi.ru/upload/medialibrary/a65/a655d67a780f3e199a03324fbbbdf031.pdf

I find some comments unfavorable to Strauss's score very interesting because for me the music was the most enjoyable part of this ballet. Maybe I should give the shoutout to the wonderful musicians of the Pacific Symphony who played it in Costa Mesa.

The Boy in Whipped Cream is not a physically demanding role. He only briefly appears in Act 1 and doesn't do much dancing. In Act 2 he has a PdD with Princess Praline and a short variation in the finale.

It is worth seeing this ballet once, even if just for Mark Ryden's sets and costumes. For me this ballet doesn't merit a repeat viewing though I saw it twice in Costa Mesa. On both nights, the corps looked out of sync and some of the costumes were too cumbersome for dancing. I tried to find a deeper meaning to the story but apparently there was none. I wanted to believe that "Whipped Cream" contained a veiled criticism of consumerism, overindulgence and escapism but none of the reviews I read said anything along these lines. It really disappoints me that it might be simply an inconsequential and glitzy eye candy. I am not even sure if kids would necessarily love it. Looking forward to the reports on its New York premier.

So, it is now official that SFB has lost four male principal dancers this season--Davit Karapetyan, Carlos Quenedit, Taras Domitro and Aaron Robison. This comes after the devastating loss of three dancers last year (Joan Boada, Gennadi Nedvigin and Pascal Molat) and another two (Damian Smith and Martin Ruben Cintas) the year before. I wish all of them well and will greatly miss seeing them perform.

Vyacheslav Lopatin danced the smuggler in Taman. I am not sure it was him in the 3rd act. In his Facebook page, Kirill Serebrennikov has some very harsh words for the French crew in charge of the broadcast. Edited: I only wanted to insert the link to Serebrennikov's Facebook but it copied the his entire post.

For me, a trip to NYC would only make sense if I could see several performances but with prices like these it becomes quite an investment. Another offering by Bolshoi--Mailott's Taming of the Shrew--doesn't make the trip any more attractive. I guess I'll be staying home this summer, travelling only locally to see La Scalla in Costa Mesa and preparing for a week-long trip to DC for Mariinsky's La Bayadere.

There has been a change in the program for La Scala performances on July 28-30. Instead of Cinderella the company will present Giselle. This is a rare chance for those residing on the West coast to see Marianela Nunez and Roberto Bolle in leading roles. Friday, July 28 at 7:30 p.m.Misty Copeland (Giselle) Roberto Bolle (Albrecht) Saturday, July 29 at 7:30 p.m.Marianela Núñez (Giselle) Roberto Bolle (Albrecht) Saturday, July 29 at 2:00 p.m.Nicoletta Manni (Giselle) Claudio Coviello (Albrecht) Sunday, July 30 at 1:00 p.m.Marianela Núñez (Giselle) Roberto Bolle (Albrecht)

Congratulations to Max and to all of those who believed in and supported him. I am so excited to have witnessed a generation of young dancers rising in the rank from the corp to soloist and eventually to principals. I just wish SFB would join the tradition of announcing promotions on stage--in those very few occasions when I saw a dancer being promoted at the curtain call I was moved to tears, even though I didn't know that dancer that well. There is something very special about sharing the joy and happinnes with a person who's being recognized for her/his achievements.

pherank, thank you very much for a such articulate and comprehensive review of the Balanchine program. It was so much joy and pleasure to read your observations expressed with such respect to the dancers. I also appreciated your input regarding the side box seats as I always wondered what the view from over there might be. Now I know better not to splurge. In response to your questions about the stage dimensions at WMOH--it appears to be smaller than the Garnier stage. I was at the Garnier this January for the performance of "Impressing the Czar" by Dresden Semperoper Ballet and it struck me how huge that stage was. It easily accommodated over 40 dancers for the the final act when the dancers were stomping and jumping in a large circle and it didn't look even remotely overcrowded. But I don't have the numbers to prove my impressions about the largeness of the Garnier. The WMOH stage is reported as being 52 feet wide. I saw Davit Karapetyan in "Diamonds" last night and felt like he must have had a substantial reason for why he decided to retire this year. He was a bit shaky at times and there were a cuple of partnering difficulties but he still showed the most beautiful, deepest plies and had a noble carriage.

According to Ratmansky' interview in Dance Magazine, he only choreographed a short piece to the music of pas de deux for himself, his wife and two other dancers at Winnipeg Ballet. I don't bellieve he ever made a full length Whipped Cream before.

I have tickets for the opening night and the following night (Wednesday and Thursday).

Regardless of what one thinks of Possokhov as a choreographer it would be nice and respectful to spell his name correctly: it is not POSSUKHOV or POSSEKHOV but POSSOKHOV.

San Francisco Ballet twitted about the promotion of Angelo Greco to the rank of principal dancers. Congratulation to Angelo, this very talented dancer who joined the company last summer. Wishing him an exciting and productive career at SFB.

I had no problems exchanging my tickets and I was not even a subscriber. I simply called the box office and asked to swap my tickets for another day (it has to be the same program though). And there is a fee you would have to pay for the exchange--I believe it is around $5-$10 per ticket.

Best wishes of speedy recovery to Mathilde. The photos she posted to her instagram account look scary but I hope it is not as bad as it looks.

I believe it might be Max Cauthorn behind Helgi.

The article in the "Sueddeutsche Zeitung" provides no details as to what exactly Zelenksy said about the company to be considered negative, only an indirect quote about too few dancers and too few performances. All I can conclude from this article is that Frau Lejeune is big supporter of Ivan Liska and obviously not a fan of Russian ballet.

I am with Natalia when it comes to the convenience of Western Union for sending money to Russia. There is a even less expensive option (around $7) when the money becomes available within 48 hours instead of 24 hours. Though, It may not be worth for someone making a $20 donation.

Thanks for the links, pherank. Great to know that Anthony Vincent is back. I don't think I saw him in anything this past season.

I have not seen any details regarding the performance dates but in the past some mixed bill programs did overlap and it was possible to attend several performances in the course of 3-4 days.

I didn't know Drew Jacoby had left NDT. I don't think she was cast very often there. Or did she simply miss dancing on pointe?

What a great idea to showcase three companies in one performance. I've never seen Houston Ballet before so I am super excited.