Belka

Megan Fairchild posted some rehearsal footage of Ballo della Regina with Anthony Huxley today on Instagram. It's not the disappearing stories either, so you can watch it at your leisure!

I saw Devon Teuscher in what I believe was her O/O debut (with Marcelo Gomes) years ago at the Kennedy Center. What do you all recommend, is Misseldine the show to see for this KC run? I have never seen Catherine Hurlin or Christine Shevchenko perform either.

10 hours ago, cobweb said:

I was so happy Cainan Weber got a big debut tonight in the 3rd movement of Symphony in C and thought he did very well.

Hooray! He caught my eye immediately on the onstage class in late September, and again as a policeman in the Sep 30 evening performance of Slaughter on Tenth Ave. Also on that night, India Bradley did triple overtime as a featured dancer in Bouree Fantasque AND Agon, and then returned to stage as one of the Ladies of the Ballet in Slaughter. (She, Sara Adams and Taylor Stanley were great in Agon pas de trois).

Is it unusual for a dancer to dance all of the pieces in a mixed bill? She looked to be having the time of her life in Slaughter, at the end of a long evening (or so I imagine).

I remember seeing the entire Tchaikovsky Suite No. 3 at Kennedy Center in 2013 and was absolutely blown away by Ashley Bouder stunning performance of the Theme and Variations portion. I remember it well, because sometime soon-ish before (or possibly after, need to check my records) Michele Wiles performed it for ABT. I think that was my first "Theme" experience, and from what I recall she looked very labored and not comfortable.

In Feb of this year, The Washington Ballet performed a week of all-Balanchine programming, including T&V. I saw the cast with Maki Onuki, one of my favorite TWB dancers, and she did well (much better than Wiles)!

On 10/3/2023 at 7:58 PM, On Pointe said:

I do not understand why any ballet company would allow the public to watch company class,  and I don't understand why anyone who isn't a ballet professional would want to see it. 

I'm a former ballet dancer, and I brought my non-dancer friend (who is a newer fan of ballet) to the class and we both thought it was incredibly interesting to watch. My friend noted she enjoyed it as much as the performance we saw a day prior.

One week ago my friend and I took the train from DC to see the Sep 28 and Sep 30 evening performances, and we took in the onstage company class and the 5pm onstage presentation. What an absolute treat and honor to experience all of the different parts of the ballet in one long weekend--and a major rainstorm to boot! I'm pretty late with these thoughts, so I'll try to keep it short.

Sep 28 (Thursday evening) Western Symphony - all of the soloists were really on top of their game. Kudos to Olivia MacKinnon for staying focused during the costume malfunction - someone upthread mentioned the long ribbon (?) that came undone from her costume and fortunately didn't get in the way of either her dancing or Gilbert Bolden's partnering (as many others have already stated, please promote him). Indiana pulled off the complex series of attitude turns in place of the italian fouettes without a care. But the show stealer for me was Emily Kikta! WOW! What explosive, fun dancing with abandon! Andrew Veyette matched her energy and flair, and it was fantastic to watch this ballet, which ended up being my favorite of the evening--not a single weak point in the dancing. Tarantella - I had two friends with me who were not previously dancers who both remarked that Daniel Ulbricht really tore up the stage and that Erica P. wasn't able to match his energy. Sad I missed Emma Von Enck in this one. Watching Roman and Megan bring down the house in Stars and Stripes was just icing on the cake after Western Symphony. I don't think there's anything either of them can't do. What a pleasure.

Sep 30 - Onstage class - this was actually my favorite activity of the weekend. I loved seeing the dancers just being themselves. I too noticed Gilbert front and center at the barre with Roman and Tiler, and mostly watched them in the warm up, and Alexa Maxwell, who was pretty much right in front of me. Across the floor I was extremely impressed by Alexa Maxwell, Miriam Miller, and a corps member I had to look up: Cainan Weber - his movements seemed extremely sharp and put together. Megan F, Tiler, Roman (who was also keeping everyone entertained with pirouettes a la seconde upstage) were a joy to watch as well.

Sep 30 - Onstage presentation - What a treat to see all of these pieces I didn't anticipate seeing this weekend! Highlights were Baily Jones in Symphony in C 3rd movement (I did not think Villarini-Velez was up to par with her, technically); Emma and Jovani Furlan in Rubies (wow! please have them dance this in DC next year); the bonus viewing of Megan F and Roman in Stars and Stripes, this time from a closer seat, was pure joy; and it it always a pleasure to see the exquisite Taylor Stanley. His remarks about what Agon meant to him were heartfelt and sincere and his dancing matches those sentiments. Unity danced the Rondo in Western Symphony with Veyette--it was interesting to compare that performance to the Kikta/Veyette show on the 28th. Though this was not a "real" performance, Unity's dancing was much more reserved and "proper" compared with Kikta's. I imagine that surprises no one on this board, but it was fascinating for me to be able to compare the two. I'm squarely in camp Kikta for this role at least (and, I suspect for many other roles. You can't take your eyes off her). 30 Sep performance thoughts to follow.

On 6/14/2023 at 9:43 PM, YouOverThere said:

Actually, what I was trying to say in regards to Pictures at an Exhibition is that it would have been more apparent that the mood of the choreography didn't always match the mood of the music if they had used an orchestra version. The 2 orchestra versions that I've heard (including the Ravel version that's performed 99.9% of the time) are somewhat dark and melancholic. The piece was composed by Mussorgsky after he attended an art exhibition honoring the memory of an artist who had been a close friend, and he definitely was not in the light-hearted mood that some of the choreography came across (at least to me) as being. I think that I stated when I first watched this work that I didn't get using ballerinas for Bydlo (aka The Ox Cart); there was nothing ponderous and plodding in their dancing.

At 2 performances I had to deal with people sitting nearby who were eating (presumably) some kind of chips out of plastic bags that crinkled quite loudly.

Thank you for clarifying your point, I was reading too quickly and misinterpreted. My apologies! I have listened to presumably the Ravel orchestrated version many times over the years, I understand what you mean about the dark and melancholic mood not necessarily matching the choreography.

On another topic - Sara Mearns seems to have had quite a triumphant experience as Juliet in Canada. Was anyone able to attend? It's a bit too far from DC for me to manage the trip. I haven't seen her perform since the 2022 Kennedy Center run, but I am so pleased to hear about her looking like her old self again.

10 hours ago, abatt said:

Belka, you should try to see Taylor Stanley in Apollo.  I suspect he will be cast in the fall (barring injury or illness).

 I will make that a priority!

I returned to KC to catch the other program on Friday night. It was, of course, much less of a slam dunk than the Balanchine/Robbins program, but I went in with an open mind. I saw Pictures at an Exhibition the last time City Ballet brought it to KC and liked it fairly well then and now. I agree with YouOverThere that the choreography would seem to fit better with an orchestra version of the music, rather than just the piano. Indiana and Roman were the biggest standouts for me, as was Ashley Laracey. I wish I had gotten to see more of her in this KC run, she is stunning. 

After the first intermission, the elderly lady next to me opened a container of...peanuts? Some kind of food item which she continued to eat/suck on for the entire second act. I’m usually not one to tolerate this, but she was so elderly that I couldn’t bring myself to say anything. I think this put in me in irritated mood just in time for Standard Deviation, and wow I did NOT like it at all. I thought the music was cacophonous and the choreography uninteresting and not fitted at all to the (awful) music. Emma von Enck tore it up with the frenetic, meaningless choreography she was given, and she was impressive. The Miriam Miller/Gilbert Bolden pas de deux parts also featured beautiful dancers with boring choreography. Not the dancers’ fault. The dark costumes made it difficult to see what the corps was doing, but I found that I didn’t much care at that point.

I had hopes that the eating of the nuts would be finished by the time Naomi Corti took the stage for Solo, but I was to be disappointed again. She was breathtaking, however, and made gorgeous geometrical shapes and drew invisible lines with her body. She deserved a standing ovation.

After the second intermission, and my neighbor thankfully done eating, I settled in for Love Letter (on Shuffle). Despite the truly awful costumes, which also obscured the audience from seeing the dancers’ movements, and despite the at times dissonant music, I really enjoyed this piece. The choreography was intriguing and I actually liked much (but not all) of the music.

Is there a more exquisite dancer than Taylor Stanley? I don’t think I have ever gotten to see him dance before, and I was spellbound. I did not take my eyes off him the entire time he was on stage. No one else could come close. I loved the ending. I will be on a train to NYC to see more of Taylor S.

On 6/8/2023 at 11:45 PM, YouOverThere said:

I have mixed feelings about Pictures at an Exhibition. I didn't always feel like the mood of the choreography matched the mood of the music (I think this would have been more apparent if he had used an orchestrated version).

I thought that Naomi Corti deserved a standing ovation.

 

100% agree with you on both these points

I saw the opening night (Tues 6 Jun) Balanchine/Robbins show at Kennedy Center and returned on Friday (9 June) new works mixed bill. There are my Balanchine/Robbins comments, if it’s too long, basically everything was brilliant. I'll post comments on the 9 June performance a bit later.

I went to opening night to see Megan and the surprise Joseph Gordon debut in Square Dance, Mira Nadon and Isabella LaFreniere in Concerto Barocco, and Tiler and Roman in Donizetti Variations. I was also pleased to get to see Unity Phelan for the first time, in Afternoon of a Faun. It was a wonderful mix of my long time favorites (Megan and Tiler) plus the fantastic new talent. This was my first time getting a look at some of the newly-promoted principal dancers and they did not disappoint! I was disappointed that Anthony Huxley was not dancing, as I so loved seeing him in Sleeping Beauty earlier this year and was especially looking forward to him in Solo.

First time seeing Square Fast as well – what a tremendous ballet, I would love to see it many more times to pick apart its intricacies and wickedly fast footwork! Megan and Joe Gordon—who apparently learned the ballet only four days prior, according to his Instagram story—did a fantastic job, as I expected from watching Megan for years at KC now. What a pleasure to watch! I am much less familiar with the corps members, but they performed marvelously as well. I do wish there were photos on the City Ballet website so I could attempt to put some names to faces. The corps choreography was so interesting and fast—my friend who attended with me remarked that it must be more interesting to be a corps dancer at City Ballet than a soloist in other companies.

I was happy to finally see Afternoon of a Faun, I have been curious to see it since watching the Tanaquil Le Clerq documentary. I feel it is a ballet that needs more than one viewing to appreciate, more time to digest its components. Joseph and Unity are exceedingly beautiful people and lovely dancers, and it was a pleasure to watch something contemplative after the speed of Square Dance.

Concerto Barocco offered my first glimpse at both Mira and Isabelle and WOW what an exciting performance that was! The corps was ON POINT and really had it together. As a reader of this message board, I expected to be blown away by Mira, and her effortless, grand, fast dancing did indeed blow me away, but I was perhaps even taken more aback by Isabelle’s attack in all of her moves and her extremely precise, yet somehow silent footwork. I will seek out her performances in the future! Mira had the more challenging role, dancing the pas de deux in the second movement, and it was sublime. Having seen Maria Kowroski perform this role, I don’t think Mira was quite to that level of…gooeyness (is that a word I can use to describe balletic movement?) in the pas de deux—I felt she could have luxuriated in some of the steps even more, as I remember Maria doing—but she is so new to this piece that I am certain it will come, and sooner rather than later. Absolutely fantastic!

Finally, what more can be said about Tiler in Donizetti? I assumed when I saw her Instagram stories about being injured that we would not be seeing her in DC, at least not on opening night, but she surprised us all by not only being healed enough to dance, but also to come rip-roaring onto the stage like nothing had even happened. Classic Tiler performance – subtle, nuanced musicality and technique paired with larger than life dancing. She was superbly paired by Roman Mejia, who said on Instagram “loved making my debut in this ballet” – but it was not noted in the playbill as a debut. Debut or no, I (and the audience) couldn’t get enough of him. Audience members were besides themselves with his bravura pirouettes and sautes. I think I almost laughed because I couldn’t believe what I was witnessing. He is just overflowing with Angel Corella-esque abilities. We couldn’t have asked for a more thrilling finish to the evening.

I did notice Dominika Afanasenkov as a stand out corps member in Donizetti variations, and the three male dancers—David Gabriel, Charlie Kiesa and Davida Riccardo—danced with incredible precision and were totally in sync. It was also thrilling!

On 2/16/2023 at 3:55 PM, MarzipanShepherdess said:

Roman Meija gave a bravura turn as the lead jester, subbing in for Sebastian V-V. Everyone who gets to see him as Bluebird is in for a real show.

Seeing his bluebird on Sunday--Mejia literally did not seem earth-bound. He soared! His dancing was somehow precise and sharp yet so graceful and fluid. His energy did not seem to run out and along with the sparkling Emma von Enck, I daresay they rivaled Aurora and the Prince in their effortless dancing and charming rapport onstage!

Despite ABT being in town with Romeo and Juliet, my friend and I decided instead to drive up to NYC from Washington to see Sunday night’s Sleeping Beauty, featuring Woodward, Huxley, and Gerrity. I am usually only able to see City Ballet when they tour DC, so usually two shows once a year. I’m a long time reader but infrequent contributor on this board—after reading so much about the different casts, decided it was worth my time and money to make the journey! I wish I had been able to see Fairchild, but the timing didn’t work out. But we were both so incredibly pleased with the cast we did see—it was all just enchanting! I envy the posters who have the privilege of seeing NYCB routinely. For us out-of-towners, seeing NYCB at Lincoln Center was a truly incredible experience!

I thought Indiana was a perfect Aurora, just so full of energy and joy in her dancing. It is always a treat to watch a dancer and just know that there is no need to worry about execution or mistakes, she was just fantastic! Sure, there was a tiny bit of uncertainty in the Rose Pas promenades, but she did not come off pointe and had some admirable balances, even if not every single partner change allowed for a perfect balance. Burned into my memory is the incredible control she exhibited after going for broke in the sets of coupe jetes en manege followed by pique turns ending with a suspended-in-time, perfectly held final passe before finishing with total control. It was breathtaking and it happened twice! (once in the Spell and again in a different manege section in the Wedding variation)

I enjoyed watching Emilie Gerrity as Lilac Fairy, she was very regal and commanding, and her dancing expansive. Anthony Huxley looked handsome and his dancing was so crisp and clean that I mostly did not notice the little bobble in the chaine turns in his own variation in the 2^nd act. I think the entire audience held their breath as he struggled and struggled to get his cloak off before the Vision scene—extricating himself from it *just* in the nick of time! We breathed a HUGE collective sigh of relief when it finally came off right before the dancing started! I thought Huxley and Woordward danced spectacularly together in Act II. The fish dives seemed so secure and precise that we were barely breathing.

Megan LeCrone was great as Carabosse, beautiful yet deliciously evil! My friend asked: “are those cicadas?” when her creatures first appeared. Not sure if NY had the cicada invasion a few years ago, but they briefly were the only thing people could talk about in DC a few years ago. Their giant red bug eyes did look cicada-like!

I thought Emma von Enck and Roman Mejia were flawless and completely nailed the Bluebird pas de deux. They brought down the house with the applause, demonstrating that they are absolutely ready for bigger roles. The entire third act was a joy. I had no idea NYCB used a tiny child for Little Red Riding Hood, and was astounded by her ability to keep up with the adult dancers. Wow!

KJ Takahashi subbed for Villarini-Velez as the lead (center) jester and killed it as well—all three of them delighted, in fact, but I couldn’t stop watching Takahashi. I don’t think I saw any weak performances, honestly. Standing out for me among the First Act fairies was Baily Jones (so precise and speedy in Courage) and Mary Thomas MacKinnon (beautiful a la second jumps in Vivacity), as well as Ashley Hod (Diamond) in Act II.

Now that I know how relatively easy it is to go to NYC on the train, I am hoping to make this journey more often. I’m also hoping to catch Washington Ballet in its All Balanchine program this week.

My pleasure

I really wanted to attend NYCB  mixed bill, but work didn't allow me to leave early enough to catch those two evenings. I was looking forward to seeing new works, confident in the knowledge that if they weren't my favorite, Midsummer wouldn't be too far away.

I received the "Reframing the Narrative" mailer, and as a counterpoint, I think it is an exciting program that I definitely plan on seeing. I can't see how any of it would seem offensive or anti-ballet. I am a classical ballet fan whose passion is Balanchine works and NYCB, but always welcome new works being presented in DC. I can't imagine all of my ballet options being a never-ending cycle of the classics. I remember Wendy Whelan said once (paraphrasing) that dancers need new choreography as sustenance--you can't eat the same thing every day and be satisfied.

I attended two performances of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Thursday and Saturday evening. It was very special, as I haven’t seen NYCB perform at the Kennedy Center (or at all) in person since 2018, due to Covid and living abroad during this time.

Thursday, June 9

I was so excited to see Sara Mearns dance Titania on Thursday. She has been one of my longtime favorites due to her musicality, artistry, technique, and emotional connection to the dance. It was exhilarating to see her step out on the stage after knowing she had been out with an injury as well as Covid. I started clapping all on my own to acknowledge that. Despite having a less-than-ideal seat on Thursday (but close enough to see the acting!), I greatly enjoyed her sublime dancing and the joy she exuded. She and her Cavalier, Chun Wai Chan, seemed to have such an easy time dancing the pas de deux. It was a delight to watch how effortless the partnering between both Mearns and Chan looked.

 The entire performance was a pleasure—Daniel Ulbricht’s Oberon was crisp, precise, and so speedy. I witnessed one of the laurel leaves fly off his head, as Washington Post writer Sarah Kaufman put it, “from the force of his turns.” I also greatly appreciated the clear acting rapport between Ulbricht and Taylor Stanley’s Puck. Stanley was both a joy to watch and of course his dancing was incredible. The audience was audibly in awe over the tone and fitness level that the Puck costume shows off for both Stanley and Saturday’s Puck, Harrison Ball.

This was my first time seeing Isabella LaFreniere, and she was absolutely gorgeous as Helena, as was Ashley Laracey as Hermia. I can see how LaFreniere would make a regal Titania and seems poised to tackle any number of roles at NYCB. I would love to see more of Laracey and LaFreniere, and they truly live up to the reports of the heroic dancing they did in Spring season.

I tip my hat to India Bradley, who probably didn’t have much of a break in the entire ballet, as she was dancing in Titania’s Retinue, Hippolyta’s hounds, and as a Courtier in Act II. This was for all five Midsummer performances. She shines brightly, and I enjoyed watching her excel both nights.

Georgina Pazcoguin danced a powerful Hippolyta, and Kristen Segin did a great job as Butterfly. The audience did laugh at the out-of-the-blue-feeling proposal of Theseus and Hippolyta—"wait what just happened, why is she agreeing to marry this random dude?"

A funny D.C.-ism – the ushers were warning people that intermission was an intermission and not the end of the show. I think DC audiences generally don’t know the ballets they’re seeing well, and apparently some people thought the show was over, due to the bows that take place after Act I. Kennedy Center did not include a synopsis of the plot, and I did hear people sounding confused as to what had  happened at the end of Act I, as well. "I should've refreshed myself on the Shakespeare play," one fellow patron commented.

And of course the night ended with the incomparable Tiler Peck and Tyler Angle pairing in the Divertissement. In all my years attending NYCB at Kennedy Center, I have never ever seen Tiler be anything less than completely on top of her game, and it is always such a great pleasure to see her, always at her best. She sparkles and at the same time is somehow completely sublime—truly a unique dancer.

Saturday evening performance:

I wanted to see both casts and picked a much better seat (third row center, first balcony) for this evening. There were some replacements: Harrison Ball replaced Troy Shumacher as Puck, and Alexa Maxwell replaced Claire Von Enck as Butterfly.  Finally, Preston Chamblee replaced Gilbert Bolden III as Theseus, because Bolden had to replace Devin Alberda in the Divertissement. Miriam Miller was a lovely Titania, and performed superbly, although she and Cavalier Aaron Sanz had some shaky, labored-looking partnering that was all the more evident to me after seeing Mearns/Chan on Thursday. I think the partnering is really what separates the older principals from the younger up-and-comers. But other than that Miller was very lovely, and the partnering didn’t detract too much from the overall excellence.

Roman Mejia as Oberon – what to say? He managed to lose not one, but two of his headpieces, due to the sheer force and explosiveness of his dancing! (They were lost at different times. They really need to work on the headpieces staying put for Oberon!) Even from the balcony his dancing was both larger than life and incredibly crisp and sharp. Bravo!

I found Alexa Maxwell’s Butterfly to be a lot more clean and powerful than Segin’s, but maybe it was that I had a much better view that night, albeit farther from the stage. I greatly enjoyed Claire Kretzschmar’s Helena, both dancing and acting-wise. I do have to say that I am not a fan of Erica Pereira’s dancing. I always find it to look jerky, as if she’s throwing her limbs around, and her dancing never looks polished or finished to me. This was the case on Saturday with her as Hermia, especially in the wedding scene, when the costume reveals much more than the long dresses of Act I. I have never really understood why she is always cast at Kennedy Center.

I was extremely impressed by Emily Kikta as Hippolyta—what power and control she had, and her grand jetes covered so much space. She had no troubles with the fouettés and she was my favorite “newcomer” of the series! (new to me, I only see NYCB infrequently.)

Harrison Ball did a fantastic job as Puck. The audience loved his antics as well as his powerful dancing—they audibly gasped at his athleticism.

Divertissement was again led by Tiler/Tyler and I was happy to be treated to their flawless partnership again. The partnering certainly sets the journeymen apart from the newer dancers. Tiler radiates pure joy when she dances and is an impeccable technician to boot. She is timeless. I can’t get enough!

A note about the children – they were a delight as well, and very well-rehearsed. One of the many things I love about this ballet is that the children are seamlessly woven into the ballet, and so they are a total delight while at the same time never distracting from the professionals onstage. They are truly an integral part of the ballet and the whole production was just wonderful.

I attended opening night for program 1 (Tues March 27) in order to see Tiler Peck in Tchaikovsky Pas, Bouder and Laracey in Diverimento, Fairchild and deLuz in Zakouski, and Mearns in Pulcinella. It was a great night, even though Fairchild did not dance. One thing I notice others remakring upon, and something that has perplexed me for years: the (over?)use of Erica Pereira in recent years, at least in Kennedy Center tours. To me her movements look thrown, harsh, not grounded, and unfinished. Every year I try to give it a fresh go. Each year I come away from a performance feeling like a terrible person for disliking her dancing.
Anyhow, this year wasn't too different. I didn't mind her Divertimento performance as much, but by the time she appeared in Symphony in Three Mvmts, I was done. It was a long show, and maybe I was getting a bit cranky towards the end. But on to the other dancers!

Bouder never disappoints, and she was oh so crisp and controlled in Divertimento! I also really enjoyed seeing Lauren King and Ashley Laracey. Abi Stafford is almost never featured in KC tours, so I was really curious to see her dance, but several days later, I have almost no impression or memory of her dancing.
I had never seen Zakouski, so was very enthused to see the originally cast couple, but Indiana Woodward did as well as she could for being thrown in with a different partner at the last minute! I did really like the music as well.

Possibly my unexpected favorite of the evening was Pulcinella Variations--everyone did a bang up job, just fantastic on all fronts. I was especially excited to see Lydia Wellington replacing Woodward, whose lovely lines and shapes and graceful, powerful dancing has left an impression on me in years past. It was thrilling to see her featured in a technically demanding piece! Perhaps she is a bit reminiscent of Sara Mearns, who for me is the ultimate ballerina. I wish Mearns had been featured more in this performance, but I am looking forward to seeing her in Sunday's works. All the ladies were most impressive in this piece. THe audience loved it as well, especially the Tarantella danced by Anthony Huxley. 

Tiler Peck in Tchaikovsky PDD--what can I say that hasn't already been said? She absolutely owns the stage and the piece. The fish dives took everyone's breath away, the fouettes were 100% on point, and wow! It was just incredible. One of those performances I'll always remember seeing. 

For me the most impressive part of Symphony in Three Movement was the corps men and women. I suppose I haven't had enough exposure to the PDD danced by Hyltin and Danchig-Waring to appreciate its subtleties, so I won't comment. I did not especially enjoy the other two soloists, Pereria and LeCrone. The corps was in fine form! This is a piece I'd like to see many more times for full appreciation.

It was a long night, but what a night! THe most ballet bang for your buck in all of Ken Cen, I imagine! A nearly-three hour show with 5 fantastic pieces, with a fairly decent side seat in row X of the orchestra cost me only $59! Hard to compare it with the $150-$200+ tickets ABT charges when its comes to Ken Cen these days. If I hadn't had to work so much, I'd have gone back Wednesday night for sure. 
Very much looking forward to Sunday!

I saw Saturday afternoon’s Giselle, danced by Ayano Kimura (filling in for Venus Villa) and Jonathan Jordan. I thought Ms. Kimura did a commendable job for what must have been a fairly last minute replacement (the programs already having been printed). A few years ago I saw the Maki Onuki/Broooklyn Mack “Giselle” by TWB, and while I am not sure anyone can match Onuki technically in the company (she is my favorite dancer at TWB), I really did enjoy Kimura’s winsome, girlish, shy Giselle in the first act. Her acting was great, and my heart really did break for her when Albrecht’s betrayal was revealed, because I believed she *was* Giselle.

Peasant PDD was danced excellently by Nicole Graniero and Corey Landolt. The Eisenhower Theatre’s stage is a bit too small for this production, yet these two danced right up to the scenery and almost on top of standing dancers and didn’t seem phased by it one bit. Graniero did a fantastic sequence of chaines into a double pirouette almost right on top of the sitting Duke, and landed perfectly into a kneeling position. I was amazed!! There were a few moments when I likewise thought Landolt might kick the scenery, but it could have been my angle (very close to stage on the right side). The stage really is too small for the men, but they made the best of it. I wish I could remember more details of their dancing, but they were both excellent, and Graniero was especially sharp.

One of Giselle’s “friends” really impressed me with her winning stage presence and joyful dancing. She had one of the yellow (golden?) dresses on, was a bit shorter than the others with dark hair. I wish I knew who it was, but I’m sure she’ll stand out in whatever role she performs next. I couldn’t take me eyes off her.

The second act was also lovely, and it made me like Kimura even more: here is still the shy, likeable girl from Act I, yet now forgiving and intensely sad. Her easy arabesques just melted like butter, and astonished me again and again. I enjoyed her dancing very much in the second act, and while it may not be as strictly sharp as Onuki’s is, it was still wonderful, and her petit allegro work was astonishingly excellent. Most of all I loved her acting and her arabesques.

I also enjoyed Francesca Dugarte’s Myrta, as I did all the Wilis, who danced very well as a corps. Very haunting. Dugarte had exceptional command of the role, and owned the stage when she was on it.

It was also lovely to have the live music. Kudos to all!

I'm a little late to the game, but happy to report that if you watch these performances via Roku or another streaming service, the clarity and the ratio seem to be completely fixed! I was dismayed at the pixelated quality and weird ratio when I watched them live, but it's been worth another view (or FIVE of Sara Mearns)!

Question: I've only seen NYCB perform Symphony in C twice before this broadcast, when they were touring the Kennedy Center (2 years ago now?) and was wondering if that--due to the nature of the choreography--the third movement female lead always tends to look like a baby fawn who's just found her legs? I actually thought Alston Macgill did a pretty good job though some of the difficult technical parts, for only being an apprentice at the time, but I found the performance jarring and thrown about. I suspect she'll develop more maturity in time, and don't wish to judge her now at all (I loved her smile through it all!), but it did bring back another memory of the two DC performances I saw. Imagine, if you will, the second movement just having been sublimely performed by Maria Kowroski, just to be followed by Erica Pereira, limbs thrown about, rushed-looking, etc. I had never seen her dance before, and was not impressed. To me it seemed incredibly ridiculous looking to have her and Kowroski side by side in the fourth movement, and I found this height and quality-of-movement difference to be distracting. 

Not wanting to be  a terrible person, I tried to go into the second performance with her in the same role with fresh eyes, but came away wondering why she was a soloist. 

I just wonder what joy the third movement could be in the hands of a dancer with more control and maturity (say, Peck, Bouder, Fairchild) yet incredibly speedy all the same. I'm not as familiar with the newer crop of soloists and principals, but I'd be interested to hear others' tales: can it be done better? Am I being too harsh? Is this a role that Peter Martins routinely throws dancers into to see if they sink or swim (as he has put it)?

Thanks for posting the casting, I could not get a hold of it on The Washington Ballet's website, nor at Kennedy Center's. I decided to see Maki Onuki dance Theme and Variations on Friday evening--and I was NOT disappointed! I always love watching her confident, technical, brilliantly sharp dancing and thought she was definitely the one to tackle Theme and Variations. Having seen both ABT (Michele Wiles, about five years ago) dance it not very well, and Ashley Bouder dance it amazingly it at KC two (or so?) years ago, I am pretty picky about who I want to see try their hand at the ridiculously hard choreography. I was SO pleasantly surprised! Not only did Onuki nail it (I suspected she could), but the corps did really well! It was a great show and had me thinking I'd like to go again during the weekend...until Carmina Burana started.

Not my cup of tea, I'll say that up front. I saw just the symphony/choir performance of it last year at the Concert Hall, and it was astounding, blow-you-away forceful! Really brilliant! Unfortunately, I'll have to agree with YouOverThere's comments on the music sounding kind of anemic, as if the singers might have been struggling to project. The effect of having them stand onstage was pretty moving, though. I couldn't get over how much I disliked the black garbage-bag pants costumes that the men and women wore in the first part of the ballet. For me, simpler costuming is ALWAYS better, no matter what! The costumes were, for the most part, extremely distracting for me for the entire show. I did enjoy the nude costumes that simply let the dancers be seen for themselves.

I thought Brooklyn Mack was very forceful and brilliant during his solos (the audience loved him too!), but don't have a great concept of who else was dancing that evening. I found the playbill casting list be fairly confusing, but I recognized Venus Villa and really enjoyed her sharp technique, lovely lines, and quick movement. Maki Onuki (I think? According to the casting, it was Tamako Miyazaki, but I'm not familiar with her at all. It *looked* like Onuki) really tore it up for her quick solo, Ego Sum Abbas (again, I guess this is the right piece--the dancer was in a ridiculous costume with a brown wig, kind of looked late 1700s era?). Incredible dancing though!!

I enjoyed a lot of the dancing in Carmina Burana, and even most of the choreography, but the music and costumes distracted me so much that I couldn't really enjoy it. The audience was very into it, eager to clap, and managed to stay for a few extra bows, which was refreshing (how many times have I seen incredible dancing at KC, only to have the audience not even seem to notice?!?), and that made it a good night.

I, too, really enjoyed the Mack/Villa cast of Hamlet. I went in not knowing anything about the ballet, except expecting to like the Philip Glass score (which was excellent!). I had never seen a Mills ballet, and really enjoyed this one. The music, for me, really evoked the ever-worsening emotional states of the characters, and I did not think it felt rushed, as the Kaufman review mentioned. I also thought the 3 additional Hamlets were a really interesting move, and really signified again, the mental anguish of Hamlet. Great dancing by Villa and Mack! I enjoyed Hamlet a lot more than Carmina Burana, which I'll discuss in the proper thread.