Dreamer

Thanks for your review, pherank. I was curious to hear how Froustey managed the technical difficulties of the Etudes. I wouldn’t mind seeing all three casts (Sylve, De Sola and Froustey) but it would mean way too many Snowblind(s) for me.

In the “Meet the Artist” interview, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa mentioned how she, like every other guest choreographer at the Unbound festival, wanted to work with Yuan Yuan Tan. Instead, she got Dores Andre assigned to her, whom she did not know and never worked with before. Ochoa said it has always been important for her to get to know her dancer better since it depends on dancer’s personality what chreography and what kind of character she could create on her/him. Ochoa had nothing but praise for Dores and gushed about how adorable and funny Dores was and how much fun she had working with her and that she absolutely would do it again. From Andre’s Instagram I know that she is a very social person and I believe she was part of the group at that “infamous” dinner with, let me guess—Justin Peck?— at which, allegedly, the casting was decided. It would seem to me that spending time outside the studio can be a mutually enriching process for both the choreographer and the dancers. But who knows, maybe that particular dinner was indeed some clandestine operation. 🤫

Sadly, I am not that optimistic about Messmer’s future. There is not that many medium-size regional ballet companies in the US which can afford adding to their roster a principal dancer who may not be committed to a long-term obligation. In Europe, she would have to compete against skinny, tall and willowy Russian trained ballerinas who have many advantages over her— one being in the proximity to a potential employer.

I am saddened to hear it. She is a strong character and this quality shows in her dancing. It’s tragic that she seems unable to find the right environment where she could solely focus on developing her artistic gifts. It also bothers me that she disappears from companies’ rosters (ABT, SFB and now MCB) without any announcement or wishes of farewell.

I am sorry if I didn’t make it clear. My comments about the morality of hieararchy were simple rhetorical questions and not opinions attributed to Bouder. I raised them because Bouder’s handling of the situation made me (personally) doubt her dedication to the ideas of equality and feminism. I made assumptions of Bouder’s beliefs which might have been just as (in)accurate as Bouder’s beliefs on the reasons behind the cast changes.

Absolutely agree. But are there specific public statements by Peter Martin that show he felt angry about having been criticized by a woman?

There was a curious sentence in the NYT article: ...certain important roles unofficially belong to particular dancers, who have owned them year after year in the first casts”. It made me wonder as to why Ashley Bouder, a self proclaimed feminist with equality driven ideals, is in favor of maintaining hierarchy and upholding the cast ranking? I thought that the concept of hierarchy contributes to a narrow world view and is formed by oppressive societies. And shouldn’t feminism be about supporting other talented and deserving women?

It was rather her partner Tissi connecting to his home audience that cheered loudly throughout the entire performance (a mediocre one, I must add). Kovalyova is not everyone’s cup of tea. To me she is a dancer lacking grace and refinement. And she’s also a poor actor who can’t bring nuances to her role in a story ballet. I am still planning to attend several performances as I want to answer a queston that has been lingering in my mind for quite some time: Is this company still worth my money and precious vacation days or is time for me to start exploring new territories?

Casting for the London tour includes many familiar and predictable names with very pleasant surprises (Skvortsov/Lobukhin) and some new untested corps dancers (Denisova/ Sevenard): Mon 29 Jul 2019, 7.30pm: Spartacus (Rodkin/ Sevenard/ Lantratov/ Zakharova) Tue 30 Jul 2019, 7.30pm: Spartacus (Tsvirko/ Nikulina/ Ovcharenko/ Smirnova) Wed 31 Jul 2019, 7.30pm: Spartacus (Lobukhin/ Vinogradova/ Belyakov/ Stepanova) Thu 1 Aug 2019, 7.30pm: Spartacus (Vasiliev/ Denisova/ Skvortsov/ Shipulina) Fri 2 Aug 2019, 7.30pm: Swan Lake (Smirnova/ Chudin) Sat 3 Aug 2019, 2pm: Swan Lake (Kovalyova/Tissi) Sat 3 Aug 2019, 7.30pm: Swan Lake (Zakharova/ Belyakov) Mon 5 Aug 2019, 7.30pm: Swan Lake (Stepanova/ Ovcharenko) Tue 6 Aug 2019, 7.30pm: Swan Lake (Nikulina/ Chudin) Wed 7 Aug 2019, 7.30pm: The Bright Stream (Zhhiganshina/ Vasiliev/ Skvortsov/ Krysanova) Thu 8 Aug 2019, 7.30pm: The Bright Stream (Nikulina/ Lobukhin/ Lantratov/ Shipulina) Fri 9 Aug 2019, 7.30pm: Spartacus (Rodkin/ Sevenard/ Belyakov/ Zakharova) Sat 10 Aug 2019, 2pm: Spartacus ( Tsvirko/ Nikulina/ Skvortsov/ Krysanova) Sat 10 Aug 2019, 7.30pm: Spartacus (Vasiliev/ Denisova/ Lantratov/ Smirnova) Mon 12 Aug 2019, 7.30pm: Swan Lake (Stepanova/ Ovcharenko) Tue 13 Aug 2019, 7.30pm: Swan Lake (Marchenkova/ Belyakov) Wed 14 Aug 2019, 7.30pm: Swan Lake (Kovalyova/ Tissi) Thu 15 Aug 2019, 7.30pm: Don Quixote (Shrainer/ Vasiliev) Fri 16 Aug 2019, 7.30pm: Don Quixote (Krysanova/ Lantratov) Sat 17 Aug 2019, 2pm: Don Quixote (Sevenard/ Tsvirko) Sat 17 Aug 2019, 7.30pm: Don Quixote (Stepanova/ Rodkin) https://www.roh.org.uk/seasons/2018-19/summer/events

That’s right, Zhang Yimou, a film director, was responsible for adapting his film for the ballet stage. Back then this fact was emphasized much more, maybe because House of Flying Daggers was making a big splash that year. There may have several US cities to which the company toured this production in 2005.

I wonder if the current production is the same that the company performed back in 2005 in California. The 2005 version was staged by Zhang Yimou. I don’t remember much except that it was a powerfully told story and easy to follow.

Tahnks for catching it, JMcN. I corrected the error.

The principal cast for the Chicago tour of Akram Khan’s Giselle has been posted at ENB website: Giselle: Alina Cojocaru (February 28), Erina Takahashi (March 1), Tamara Rojo (March 2, mat), Crystal Costa (March 2, eve) Albrecht: Isaac Hernández (February 28 and March 2, mat), James Streeter (March 1), Aitor Arietta (March 2, eve) Hilarion: Jeffrey Cirio (February 28 and March 2, mat), Ken Saruhashi (March 1), Erik Woolhouse (March 2, eve) Myrtha: Stina Quagebeur (February 28 and March 2, mat), Sarah Kundi (March 1), Isabelle Brouwers (March 2,eve)

I finally was able to expand the geography of my ballet travels and ventured into snowy Pacific Northwest to see four performances of the Sleeping Beauty. It was my fist time seeing PNB live and for sure won’t be the last. The company has many dancers who were trained at SAB and it shows in the quality of its performances. Unlike with ABT, one doesn’t need to worry whether a dancer will be technically adequate for the part so you can just relax and enjoy the performance. I saw the following casts: Rachel Foster/Kyle Davis (February 8), Leta Biasucci/Lucien Postlewaite (February 9 matinee), Angelica Generosa/Seth Orza (February 9 evening) and Lesley Rausch/ Jerome Tisserand (February 10). It is so hard to say which one of the three Auroras — Leta, Angelica or Lesley—left the most impression on me. These are very dissimilar ballerinas, with different physics, musicality, energy and style. Leta reminded me of Alina Cojocaru. She radiates similar charm and warmth and her steps have delicate refinement and grace. Angelica was bursting with energy. Always wide eyed and with a bright smile she was so natural at displaying excitement and exuberance of the coming of age princess but I wished she would have toned down her verve in the Vision scene. Being such a technically assured dancer with incredible balances and quick foot work she was not quite comfortable with dreaminess and languor of Act 2 and failed to fill those beautiful musical passages with cantilena movements. Lesley is a dancer of breathtakingly beautiful lines who will captivate and mesmerize you by simply lifting her arm or turning her head. I don’t think you can look at anyone else when she is on stage. Despite having long limbs and being on a taller side she was a perfect Aurora, expressive and radiant but with a touch of fragility. As a more experienced ballerina, Lesley brought in so many emotional details to the role that I felt transported to another world. It was a transcending experience seeing her dance. The men of the company were so also quite impressive. Jerome Tisserand not only had the right look for the Prince but also the commanding stage presence and quietest jumps. Kyle Davis performed the most formidable manege of leaps while Lucien Postlewaite was the best partner to help his ballerina execute flawless and precisely timed fish dives. Special shoutout goes to the two soloists Dylan Wald (Fairy Cavalier, Gold and Silver Pas de Trois) and Steven Loch (Carabosse, Fairy Cavalier, Gold and Silver Pas de Trois). Being on a smaller size, the company was compelled to have many of its dancers perform multiple roles. Even its two Auroras, Leta Biasucci and Angelica Generosa, appeared as Princess Florine on the nights they weren’t the leads. Pretty much every member of the company had to be on stage every night but it provided me with the opportunity of seeing this wonderful company in its entirety.

We are missing three principal dancers. In Divertimento No. 15, Froustey probably had to replace Ana Sophia Scheller who danced this ballet at the Balanchine festival in NYC.

I was at the matinee performance with Wona Park and Joseph Walsh and did not intend to post any comments about it for one simple reason — I did not not know how to put into words what I saw. It sounds corny to say that history was made that day but I did feel I witnessed something really very special. It was one of the most memorable moments of my ballet going experience. Park was stunning in her debut as Kitri and together with Walsh they set the stage on fire energizing every single dancer. I never thought Walsh could outdance the jumping, spinning and turning wonder boy Angelo Greco. But I guess the confidence and “go for broke” attitude displayed by Wona was contagious. Particularly thrilling were Park’s fouettés — she alternated double-single with the fan opening and closing through the entire sequence. I knew Park was a very talented dancer with incredible technical skills but after this performance I could fully understand why she had such a meterioc rise through the ranks. When the curtain fell and lights came on I could hear company’s members cheering and applauding backstage.

Here is my take on the situation. In the last season Unbound festival Kochetkova was, I believe, the only dancer in that role. During the summer Chung and perhaps someone else learned the part. But now with Chung sidelined it was probably too risky to have only one dancer who knew the role to perform in a longer run of Program 2 as compared to only three performances at the festival.

As much as I admire Tiit Helimets as a brilliant dancer and one of the most reliable partners I don’t think I want to see him in The Sleeping Beauty. I am in favor of more dance opportunities to be given to the younger male soloists such as Benjamin Fremantle, Lonnie Weeks, Max Cauthorn, and especially Vladislav Kozlov who danced Desire at the Bolshoi. That’s my guess too. The original cast of Anima Animus included Kochetkova. On the tour to DC last fall, Frances took over that role.

I did not expect Tiit’s post to stay there for long. It does not reflect well on the company when one of its most senior principal dancers is looking for moonlighting opportunities. It is a sad and frustrating situation but the 2019 repertory season with many returns of the works from the Unbound festival does not provide Tiit with much performance time.

😆 I just finished watching the rehearsal footage (thank you for linking it). Any doubts about making this trip have been assuaged. I will be tormented with regrets if I miss this marvelous choreographic beauty.

Thank you very much, Helen. I may just maximize my trip and go to four performances instead of three. This government shutdown really messed up my plans. When air traffic controllers warned it might be unsafe to travel by plane I panicked and cancelled my plans. Now I am scrambling to make last minute booking/reservation.

Dear Seattle based Balletalerters: I am planning a last minute trip to Seattle next weekend to see the last run of this production of the Sleeping Beauty. I want to go to three performances. The first one will be on Friday February 8. For the remaining two I would to have to chose between Saturday matinee, Sat. evening or Sunday matinee, Feb. 9 and 10, respectively. Any advice is greatly appreciated as I am not familiar with PNB dancers which I hope to rectify by making this trip.

The new piece UnSaid by Danielle Rowe was very well received by the audience. I hope Rowe gets to do more work for the company. Sofiane Sylve and Aaron Robison danced with so much intensity and abandonment that even the easily distracted members of the audience were able to give their full and undivided attention to what was going on on that stage.

😆 Can’t say for sure about all of the ballerinas. But Sarah most definitely. I was looking forward to her Mercedes, the Lilac Fair, Mermaid and one of the three female protagonists in Chamber Symphony of Schostakovich Trilogy. Davit Karapetyan, another San Francisco Ballet alumnus, was in attendance as well. I did not see him but the San Francisco Chronicle posted his picture amongs other guests at the pre-performance dinner.

This year opening night gala was a rather low key event, which I didn’t mind. The program was sweet and short. The audience was almost on time and respectful of the other attendees—no late comers, no leavers and no music enthusiasts humming along the tune. In The Etudes, Luke Ingham who replaced Ulrik Birkkjaer was replaced by Ulrik Birkkjaer. Present in the audience were Tamara Rojo, Isaac Hernandez, Frances Chung and Sarah Van Patten, who will be missing this season for a happy reason.