Kathleen O'Connell

2 minutes ago, fondoffouettes said:

I think Isabella Boylston might agree with you! (I enjoyed this video she made a while back.)

https://www.instagram.com/p/Co8Bie1AZIe/?hl=en

🤣 

10 hours ago, California said:

Maybe I'm part of a small minority, but I much prefer the brises

I'm part of that small minority too. I also loathe the hops on pointe; in fact, I loathe any hops on pointe. I think they look like a circus trick and flatter no one. (Your mileage may vary of course.) They're not the thing I'm going to judge a Giselle by, although I agree that it's better to work out a valid and expressive substitute in advance and just do that. 

An aside, I saw Trenary's 2021 Giselle. I don't remember the hops on pointe, but I do remember her mad scene, which was first rate.

3 hours ago, pirouette said:

In other news, Mimi Staker is retiring from the company. Today was her last performance. Saw it on Tiler Peck's Instagram stories.

Per her IG account, she's off to Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business for an MBA. I wish her all the best, but I'm sorry I won't see her onstage anymore—I was always happy to see her name on the cast list. 💐

1 hour ago, matilda said:

My main gripe is that the piece felt short for a full evening.

In terms of the actual amount of dancing time, Copeland Dance Episodes at 80 minutes or so is longer than this season's All Balanchine program (Concerto Barocco, Kammermusik No.2, and Raymonda Variations), which clocks in at about 70 minutes of dancing time. The Balanchine + Ratmansky II program (Pictures at an Exhibition and Swan Lake) has about 70 minutes of total dancing time as well. I think the only Spring 23 program that was substantially longer than 80 minutes was Masters at Work III program (Fancy Free, Agon, and Brandenburg). I think the combined effect of the variety offered by a mixed bill and the breathing space you get with intermission can make it seem like more dancing has happened.

On 4/23/2023 at 8:41 PM, sandik said:

At the risk of adding to your "to be read" list, you might be interested in Deborah Jowitt's "Time and the Dancing Image."

Another thumbs up for "Time and the Dancing Image." It is excellent. 

ETA: I prefer Jowitt's work to Homans' for the simple reason that Homans always seems to write to promote an agenda whereas Jowitt writes to support an idea. 

41 minutes ago, bellawood said:

Yes, I think this is his niche (he's also quite a wonderful dancer)

He was terrific in Sanguinic—and I'm not even going to mention his partner because I think he's got potential to be more than a backstop for ballerinas. 😉 (OK, it was Gerrity, and she was terrific too.) 

47 minutes ago, bellawood said:

Couldn’t Russell (or her own husband) partner her?

I've seen Kitka partnered with Walker (her husband) and IMO, it didn't quite work. He's tall enough, but his slender rangy-ness isn't an ideal match for her Amazonian splendor. Bolden might be a better match in terms of physical scale if he's tall enough. He's a fabulous backstop for Mearns for just that reason.

Perhaps NYCB needs a "Principal Tall Girl" tier much as some companies have a "Principal Character Dancer" tier. 

1 hour ago, Balletwannabe said:

My impression from the mime scenes was that she was helping him because he wasn't very intelligent.

Jonathan Stafford was really good with this particular bit. When the briars started to clear after his first thwack, he'd look down at his sword with body language that suggested nothing so much as "Holy Sh*t!" His Firebird Prince Ivan was delightful for similar reasons. He wasn't always compelling as a Balanchine capital-P Princely-Consort-to-the-Boss-Lady, but he did Naive-but-Endearing-Rescuer-of-Princesses well. (He was the only Ivan I ever saw who made it seem absolutely right that he ends up with the Princess rather than the Firebird, even though the latter has the best steps and a snazzy costume.)

1 hour ago, BalanchineFan said:

I could see Gilbert Bolden as Carabosse!

Heck, I'd buy a ticket for that.

18 minutes ago, abatt said:

I would have preferred to see Carabosse performed by a man, like Russell Janzen.

Martins' Carabosse has always been danced by one of the company's ballerina's, no? (And usually one of the senior principals, although there have been exceptions like Marika Anderson, who was terrific.) I think it's important to the spirit of the production that Carabosse be as glamorous as she is scary. (Not that a man in drag can't be glamorous, I hasten to add, but in ballet men are usually cast as women to drain as much glamour out of the role as possible.) One of the big surprises of the production's premiere was just how fabulous Merrill Ashley's Carabosse turned out to be. And as much as I love Janzen, I'm not sure he's got the "I just LOVE being a villain" dramatic chops to pull it off. 

Now Gilbert Bolden might be another matter ... 😉

ETA: Why would you want to see Carabosse performed by a man? For contrast with the Lilac Fairy?

1 hour ago, MarzipanShepherdess said:

AND retired NYCB great Maria Kowroski guesting as Carabosse!

Heck, I'd show up just for Kowroski's Carabosse. 

4 hours ago, nysusan said:

And I'm a bit doubtful about Phelan & LaFreniere. I love them both but to me, neither looks like a natural Aurora

I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around this casting as well. To me they seem like natural Lilacs. In my mind's eye, Phelan's Lilac is the distilled essence of benevolence while LaFreniere's is power and grandeur all the way down. 

And I agree with everyone else that E. Von Enck seems to have Aurora written all over her. She is a delight.

The best NYCB Aurora I've seen yet was Sterling Hyltin: she sparkled.

1 hour ago, matilda said:

His Puck in Midsummer is extraordinary

It really is! Of course he can do all the steps, but he imbues his Puck with genuinely otherworldly quality that I've never seen anyone else attempt. 

16 minutes ago, abatt said:

Gordon, in particular, is such a beautiful classical dancer.

He's the kind of dancer who makes you realize that pyrotechnics can be more than Wham! Pow! effects.

I'll always have a soft spot for Veyette's handling of the role: he threaded the needle between charming village swain and preening opera house ham better than anyone I've seen.

5 hours ago, abatt said:

For me, this has been the greatest contribution of the management that took over  after Martins.  The willingness to have former great dancers return to coach.

This. I can't help but regret the opportunities that were squandered during the Martins regime. 

Woodward and Gordon were absolutely on fire in yesterday's matinee performance of Donizetti Variations, by the way. I got winded just from watching them. But they weren't just fast: the steps were as clear as spring water and as bubbly as champagne. 

9 minutes ago, BalanchineFan said:

Jonathan Fahoury was also one of the stand outs in Jamar Roberts ballet.

He and his solo were absolutely the best thing about it. I'm really going to miss watching him dance.

The cast for the 2014 performance of Davidsbundlertanze that I saw was cast as follows:

• Farrell's role: Rebecca Krohn
• von Aroldingen's role: Reichlen
• Mazzo's role: Laracey
• Watts' role: T. Peck

The men were T. Angle, Catazaro, Janzen, and Suozzi. Janzen danced the Lüders role.

I'll admit that while I won't go out of my way to avoid it, it's not among my favorites. The shadowy critics with the giant pens are a real buzzkill for me—right up there with the miming of flapping angel's wings in Serenade. Cringe.

12 hours ago, abatt said:

Mearns performed S. Farrell's role, I think. .

She performed van Aroldingen's role.

14 hours ago, cobweb said:

ETA: Gerrity seems like an obvious choice. Not sure if she's done it before.

This would be my vote. I've seen Gerrity in a couple of Mearns' signature roles (e.g., the role Ratmansky made on her for Namouna) and they looked great on her. Gerrity has her own style, but the two dancers share a kind of fearless attack that certain roles call for and that Phelan, for one, doesn't have.

Your average Hollywood movie is longer than 80 minutes, no? 

17 minutes ago, BalanchineFan said:

I'm not that young, but edgier work definitely appeals to me. LOL.

The older I get the edgier it needs to be for me to feel young again. 😉 

3 hours ago, BalanchineFan said:

I'd pay to see him as the Tall Girl in Rubies

After watching this, absolutely! 

He's one of my favorites because he always looks like he's living his best life when he's on stage dancing. 

I'd add Serenade after Plato's Symposium to the list of keepers. (It's actually my favorite of the ballets Ratmansky did for ABT.) 

It's odd: I think every ballet Ratmansky did for NYCB is a keeper—even though not all of them are crowd-pleasers—but his work for ABT seems more hit-or-miss.

1 hour ago, On Pointe said:

I am not sure whether there were multiple female dancers from NYCB who had nude photos shared.

This is one of the specific allegations in the court filings. 

11 hours ago, On Pointe said:

According to numerous studies,  and casual observation,  straight men almost universally have a "prurient" interest in looking at nude photos of women,  whether they are life partners or not.

For me—and I'm speaking only for myself—the issue isn't looking at nude images of women. People have been doing that since cave-paintings and our museum walls are covered with women in all their naked glory. It's consent. If a woman is OK with her partner sharing nude or sexually explicit images of her with others, that's their business. But if those images are shared without the woman's knowledge or consent, that's a different matter. It's a breach of trust. If a woman's colleague shares an explicit photo her with other of her colleagues without her consent, and exposes what she believed was a private, intimate moment to public gaze—the gaze of people she works with closely day in and day out—she's stopped being their colleague and has become a commodity. I'd consider it workplace harassment and I'd argue that any organization would be right to sanction employees who were engaged in it.

Alexandra Waterbury wasn't anyone's colleague, so Finlay and Ramasar's behavior with respect to her isn't the same kind of breach of trust. But the men involved shared images of women they worked with too, and that's a different matter.