liebs

It was those windows that threw me off. The 83rd street building has those same kind.

I believe that studio was on Broadway at 84th Street. It was later occupied by a school run by Barbara Fallis and Richard Thomas. I studied there in the 70s. It is now a Barnes & Noble.

My first Giselle was Nadia Nerina with David Blair as Albrecht at the Royal. I was on a European trou with my ballet instructor and a group of girls. We sat in a box. Soemwhere I still have the program and the diary I kept of that trip. Later in the trip, we spent two weeks studying with Harold Kreutzberg in Berne, Switzerland.

Kathryn Morgan and Adrian Daching Waring are missed.

Gentle reminder please, that reports of a dancer's condition, if s/he isn't performing, is not permitted here unless you can cite (preferably link to) a respected source. A quote from the dancer or company spokesperson, a report in a newspaper -- all are acceptable sources. Something from a fan's blog is not.

My attendance has been a little spottier than usual, but I don't believe I saw Danchig-Waring this season, and I know I didn't see Morgan.

sorry

In Friday night's performance, I was struck by how Mearns and Angle created an imaginary world that completely drew us in. To me, it seemed that both lake side scenes were about the suffering of Odette and her need for the Prince to rescue her. She didn't seem so much to fall in love with him as to see him as the instrument of her delivery, which I thought was a valid interpretation and one well suited to Mearns, who given her physique can not be a frail Swan Queen. It particularly worked for me as it was all expressed by their large scale dancing, their movement, not just a few facial expressions.

The dances for the swan corps do much the same thing, telling the story thru great sweeping movement and to see this corps with the typical NYCB energy moving en masse is truly exciting.

Janie Taylor also created her own world in the Russian dance. Taylor is sui generis in this or probably any company and she gives this variation a kinky, kind of sexiness and glamour that is very compelling.

The ability to create a world or mood onstage isn't limited to story ballets. At the Saturday matinee, Whelan and Hall told a story about love lost and love remembered in After the Rain that was incredibly poignant. We seem to be looking into this couple's bedroom, it is almost unbearably intimate and maybe Wheeldon's best work.

Jenifer Ringer created a special sunlit spot in Spring in Robbin's The Four Seasons and was ably supported by Tyler Angle. This kind of perfume is what was missing from Tiler Peck's performance in Fall. She can do all the steps, almost too easily, but lacks the Bolshoi panache or even vulgarity that would make this part a showstopper - as it needs to be. (See Bouder's performances in the same role or Struchkova in the Bolshoi version of Walpergisnacht.)

But unhappily, Bouder was almost vulgar in the climatic woman's variation in Divertimento #15. She mugged,scaled the steps and the accents peculiarly and generally seemed to think she was in the ppd from Stars and Stripes. Happily, she calmed down a little for the ppd and the finale. Lately, she seems always to be pushing too hard as she did in her early days, which is a shame. The only time, she hasn't recently that I can recall was her debut in Scotch. It was soft, romantic and perfectly danced. And she created a wonderful, imaginary world all her own.

Croce's review of the ballet in its early days talks about pink leos. I think they were added very early.

It has been a while since I've seen his work but I found it a little dry and lacking in originality. I could not identify anything that made it special or get a feeling for who Miro is as a choreographer.

The Lesson - OMG I am amazed that this very mediocre ballet is still in their rep. Thoroughly unpleasant.

Of course, McBride and Sosenko - how could I have forgotten. Kyra Nichols and Margaret Tracey were also great in the role.

Certainly in NYCB performances that is the case, she is passed from man to man. But I don't always remember it being that way. We recently saw two excellent debuts in the role of the Sylph here - Ashley Bouder and Katherine Morgan. Bouder who is known as a dynamo technician, really transformed herself into a romantic ballerina with soft arms, great lightness and an incredible jump. Morgan, a very young but promising dancer, is more the romantic type but she lacked the lightness that Bouder brought.

Yes, she will. The first time I met her, I called her Mrs. Pellman and she said "no one calls me that except my former students,call me Miriam." She was a rare dance goer who gloried in the past while being excited by what was in front of her that night and she loved discovering young dancers. I also remember that every year on the anniversary of her husband's death, she would put a note of remembrance in The Times with a quote from his favorite poem. A lovely lady.

I frequently listen to Divertimento #15 on the exercise bike

Robert, one other point of interest. Bonnie Bedelia, who danced Clara, was Kit Culkin's sister. She went on to have a nice movie career.

I saw Karin Von Arnoldigen do Dew. She was definately tall.

I will not be going to LA but just saw the company in Burgos, Spain. Hope to have time to write something about that performance very soon.

NYCB didn't grab the fall. NYCO handed it to them because they could afford to pay for the weeks.

I liked the piece very much. All the elements enhanced the choreography and Martins brought out what was unique about each of his principal dancers. More to come when I have a moment,

That's right, Anthony Huxley is dark.

Try the Cafe at Alice Tully Hall, O'Neals on 65th Street or Landmarc in the Time Warner Center.

Marcovici came out for the ppd and finished Agon for Albert Evans. He and Whelan gave a good and intense performance, probably because they haven't danced this together before and it really focused Marcovici.

Kowroski was born to dance Chaconne and gave a fantastic performance. She has managed to incorporate the "Farrellisms" of the role into an original and personal performance. This was certainly one of the high points of the season to date. At one moment, Chase FInlay, Anthony Huxley and David Prottas were lined up on one side to the stage representing the future of male dancing at NYCB and a stong one it is.

Michael, I think Lola Cooper is an apprentice at SF Ballet.

I think it is interesting that they are doing Bouree Fantasque again, given that it is not a standard repertory piece. It was done for Workshop about three years ago. I remember seeing Matt Renko and Cameron Dieck in it.

I have two - both by Paul Kolnick. One is Balanchine with Stephanie Saland - he is working with her in Apollo. The other is Davidsbundlertanzes. Balanchine is downstage center with his arms up seemingly controlling the action like a sorcerer. Farrell is stage left in arabesque about to exit and Martins and Watts are upstage right in mid-exit. Although the dancers are in costume, it was clearly a rehearsal as you can even see the watch on Martins' wrist.

Many years ago, NYCB gift shop sold original prints signed by Kolnick and I bought that photograph. It was expensive and a big sacrifice for me at the time but I've never regretted it as it has always inspired me. It is one of the first thigns I see in the morning and the last at night.

Thank you Paul.

In Michael Popkin's recent blog post, he talks about Kowrowski, in her 2nd Swan Lake performance, not just dancing her part well but taking responsibility for the whole performance and lifting it to a higher level. That sense of responsibility might also be what Macauly is talking about. I think most dancers at NYCB and elsewhere take their work seriously but not all of them are capable of going beyond themselves to lift the entire company to that level. That is a rare quality (it might be said to be the test of a true ballerina) and we don't see it, for example, in a dancer like Somova or even in Sofiane Sylve, who I always thought communicated some lack of interest or even disdain for her fellow performers.

She is also a wonderful Carabosse - very sexy, witchy, and funny.