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jkr3855

Inactive Member
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Everything posted by jkr3855

  1. hmmm...responding to elsewhere in this thread...I think the test of a well-trained eye is not so much to predict promotions as to critique the decisions that are made by the board/admin...but, I didnt' see anything particularly amiss in this group (edit, ). pretty much all as expected. As others have said, there's a bottleneck at the soloist level now.
  2. This is appalling, and it's why I canceled my subscription a few months ago. Popular internet trends should not dictate content. Maybe I should let them know.
  3. guys guys. lets all take a deep breath here.I agree with everyone here-- that the instagram thing is unprofessional, there's no other way to describe it--my jaw dropped when I saw him obsessively commenting on dancers' instagrams. not so much bc the dancers would feel obligated to respond--I don't think they do, and I don't think they feel the threat of a negative review--I just think it looks needy and pathetic, on the other side. As in,I may have just eviscerated your colleague in print but look, I'm really a nice guy! Love me!!! lets go pound some brewskis! If you want to be a critic, have the courage of your convictions and be remorseless, adamantine, yet just. It's a lonely office by definition. if you can't deal with that, get out of the way and let someone else write the criticism for the times. instagram is already an orgy of congratulation and self congratulation, with everyone patting everyone else on the back in the name of thinly veiled self promotion--do we really need to add a critic into the mix here? nonetheless-he was 100% right about his "sugarplum" review. And I thought his follow up was, though a little too personal for my taste, still cogently argued. I think some of this is not his fault--his reviews got markedly "nicer," or less perceptive, after the jenifer ringer incident, I'm sure bc his editor told him the NYT was getting too much negative press and he had to seem more appealing and relatable. So I don't know if it's his impulse to comment on instagrams, or if the paper has directed him to try and look more like a regular guy and not such a jackhole. I think it is a sickening trend and I hate it.
  4. SPF and Tchaikovsky ways of setting of Tchaikovsky; SPF/Nutcracker discussion Tchaikovsky, Balanchine, other Nutcrackers comparison of a few productions first article includes embedded full length 1993 Nutcracker, I think
  5. Carabosse has traditionally been danced by principals with either slightly or much diminished technical abilities, or soloists/corps. It's an unusual casting decision. I don't think this is a revolutionary statement. I'd prefer to see a soloist/corps do it. YMMV
  6. please do not editorialize my comments
  7. Thanks for the link unicorngabby. Very pretty slide show of Miriam Miller. I got nothin' from the interview though, unfortunately--her answers were notably generic. I hope Miller is not going to turn out to be a beautiful blank. I clicked on a link to NYT Macaulay's summation of the season, discussing the music--this was a refreshing discussion, I wish they'd comment on this more---and a few asides at the end reviewing some performers. I disagree with his statement that Miami City is superior to NYCB--or rather, I think an accurate assessment cannot be made when comparing a week's worth of 1 company's performances to a whole season of another. ie, he calls out one isolated Mearns performance in Serenade as diva-ish. But what about the rest of her season? Entirely possible that some hypothetical dancers at MCB are likewise uneven performers, but this wouldnt be apparent from a week long visit. In addition to the fact that a company on tour will not dance they same way as they do all season in their own theater. I think there are other factors as well but will cut this post short here. ..except to add that Gottlieb has the same issue--I like reading his reviews and think he makes some valid points, but his personal involvement with MCB and his feud with NYCB admins have clearly altered his perspective on both companies. I know he's recused himself from reviewing MCB, but it was none too soon, and it doesn't change the fact that his love of MCB will seep into NYCB reviews. I think a comparison of MCB and NYCB would be interesting, but neither Alastair nor Gottlieb is the right person to do it, though sorry for any syntax errors, typing this in a very very loud train station
  8. Oh, I completely agree. If budget were not an issue, I'd be at every performance of this--like you, I go for the divertissement, but I'm interested in the various Titanias as well, and Puck, and etc. Honestly, to me NYCB is really one of 5 top companies world-wide, and since I'm primarily interested in Balanchine, it's to some extent the only ballet company I'm interested in watching. I enjoy every performance I go to even when I only see things to criticize--it's still interesting. (And because it's, at least, in the top 5, I judge more harshly than I would any other company. Really, nearly every one in the company is fine. They should be held to higher standards simply because, IMO, they're the best. The NY critics are extremely harsh, but that's the way it should be, I think. We're talking about distinctions between very, very good dancers and great dancers, but these are real distinctions and shouldn't be ignored.) TLDR, I mainly stick to the student under 29 tickets so I'm a bit limited in my ticket selection, also I'm really picky about where I sit. Difficulties, difficulties. I'd love to see T. Peck, I wish they had more performances of Midsummer, this year. I seem to recall more last year but maybe I'm imagining things.
  9. Chiming in to agree with the Unity Phelan prediction. also the Pollack prediction, tho I'm not sure she's ready. She seems like one of those strong reliable dancers who's nice to watch but doesn't necessarily have that extra something that makes a really great, rather than very very good, dancer. I always really like Hallelujah Junction. Quality piece of work I think. I'm glad to hear it's being danced well by Stanley and Ulbricht at any rate. I'd love to see Stanley in that. If anyone has any recommendations or discussion about their casting preference for upcoming Midsummer performances, I would be grateful to hear it--I can probably only make one performance and I'm not sure who to see. Leaning away from Stafford in the divertissement, and maybe leaning towards Mearns' Titania? Is Miller worthwhile? Id be interested in seeing Lovette take a shot at the divertissement but I don't know if I want to risk my one ticket on her. ETA: sorry, the predictions^^ were about promotions and they were in a different thread. forgot where I was reading.
  10. Forgot to say: Ashly Isaacs, Ana Sophia Scheller and Joshua Thew were out, last minute announcement no program slip. Just came back to add that, but while I'm here... I've never seen Ana Sophia Scheller dance this, so I can't comment on that... We'll have to agree to disagree on that point. Like you, I thought Ulbricht looked good in this ensemble. As far as Megan lecrone: This is essentially a corps ballet, but the principal casting looked so uneven it was hard to read the ballet as a completed composition, with the 3 principal women on stage flanked by the corp--it was like looking at a three-legged table with two of the legs broken so everything on top of the table is sliding off. (yes, I know the corps is generally considered the support so they'd be the legs, but not in this metaphor, & not in this ballet I don't think.) More specifically, tentative--as in throwing the leg up and behind her in those attitudes, or some of the other extreme positions-she didn't quite make it there. the contrast was especially stark when Sterling was doing the same step next to her. She looked unsure. Lacking humor or irony--as in, this ballet is full of non-classical positions and the ballerina has to figure out which ones take the weight of the phrase and need to be done with great intensity and which ones are lighter and not as serious. It seemed like she couldn't figure out which movements were more humorous--like a non-native speaker has trouble figuring out the jokes. That's how I read it anyhow--I agree with you, I was expecting her to be great and was not expecting greatness from Sterling, just based on body type and general appearance--I thought Megan Lecrone would shine. Maybe that's why they chose her to do a talking head, bc she has the expected look for this ballet. But look doesn't necessarily translate into ability. Just how I saw it and others will see it differently of course. wow I have spent way too long on this now.
  11. Just got back from Thursday performance so thought Id do a recap-- first the good: Tiler Peck and Andy Veyette were fantastic in Tchai Pas de Deux. she is perfectly suited to this piece, she really outshines everyone else in the company who currently dances this. (IMO of course.) People were audibly gasping during the fish dives--Tiler got a lot of air in her jump and the partnering was perfectly timed so there was no bumpy catch, as there sometimes is when the ballerina really dives. Andy has been looking a little tired in some of his previous performances of this--not tonight. His jetes en manege covered so much ground and moreover they just seemed to embody a fresh and joyful spirit. Not easy the night after a gala. But this: this was really perfect--more than lived up to all the hype. I;ve only seen Patricia McBride on video, but from that viewing, I prefer Tiler's interpretation. I really like the way she does that sequence of attitudes derriere (sorry, I can't describe it better, it probably has some other name)--some dancers lean over their supporting leg too far and it starts to look angular and ungainly. Bournonville: enjoyable as far as it goes, not bad, but not great. They're still not quite getting the style, though. And the "acting"--like when the dancers stand at the backdrop and watch the others dance, and are supposed to be interacting with each other, all I could think was, they look like they're all waiting for the subway. Sara Mearns looked a bit off tonight, footwork was slow, she was behind the music occaisionally. Indiana Woodward looked fantastic--I haven't seen enough Bournonville to know if she's doing it completely authentically, but her timing and her phrasing and her delineation of the steps will stand her in good stead for Balanchine rep. Definitely would like to see more of her. Lauren King stood out for nice port de bras. I'm not that impressed with Emily Gerrity, she lacks wit when wit is required of her and her phrasing is blah, bland. she doesn't seem to have a sense of what she's doing out there, or what she's trying to express with her technique. Moves: "a ballet in silence" --yes, but with an ostinato of coughing, cell phones ringing, murmuring, chairs squeaking, etc. Unity Phelan was featured and I guess it was good, I don't know I was too distracted by the noise of the silence. Not really a fan of Robbins' Dance for Women, it looks dated to me. Symphony in 3: Sterling Hyltin, Megan Lecrone and Erica Pereira-- a strange casting which worked out about as well as you'd expect. Sterling was great and carried the ballet, along with Taylor Stanley. I'd always thought of her as delicate and limited to a certain type of role but that's clearly not the case. Pereira--just no. The less said the better. Not dynamic, and that's really necessary for this ballet. just didn't belong out there in that role. I don't know if Peter Martins is not watching the ballets or is just unable to admit when he's made a mistake. I want to like Megan Lecrone since I love tall dancers, but she looked tentative and didn't always seem to understand the tenor of what she was dancing--when to loosen up, when to imbue her dancing with some kind of humor or irony. It was just a bit uneven. Basically, Sterling danced everyone else off the stage. Oh my, that was a very long recap.
  12. I haven't been here in awhile so I've forgotten my login--I don't think I can PM now-- but I'd love to buy it, please message me if it's still available, thanks
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