Marta

On 3/13/2018 at 8:12 PM, angelica said:

I'll be a charter member, just as I was a charter member in the past of the Veronika Part Fan Club and the Stella Abrera Fan Club. What would these often overlooked dancers have done without us?

Count me in for Lane. I was also besotted early on -- about 2006- - by Part!

On 3/13/2018 at 9:30 AM, cobweb said:

... and they are the two dancers I LEAST want to see. The programming is so unimaginative, and the casting is so dominated by dancers I'm trying to avoid, and filled out with others who are just ho-hum, that I'm not sure I'll be seeing a single performance this season. I'd like to see the new principals, but trying to find interesting performances is a challenge. Sad!

Boylston & Copeland are also on my least desirable list.  I would love to see Lane in either Bayadere or DQ but these  dates will be difficult for me to attend. I saw Lane & Simkin last year in Giselle and loved them.  Almmost every  possibility gets crossed off my  list because one or both of the lead dancers are duds.  I may skip the whole Met season.

3 minutes ago, nicolc said:

The most important critique you can make about a dancer is their dancing ability, musicality and stage presence -- weight comments, at the 5 pound mark, are not valid and, in fact, are very detrimental to the mental health and psyche of all dancers.  

Thanks for reminding us of that.  One may not like a dancer because they are too thin, too bulky, have hyperextended legs, fill in the blank.  These are all minor objections really. It's about what they do with their body,

5 hours ago, abatt said:

Agree about Lowery.  I guess this is indelicate, but she did not look fit this season.

I saw the all Balanchine on Saturday night March 3.  I had never seen Baiser and I really enjoyed it despite the opinion of some that it's not out of Balanchine's top drawer.  I had hoped to see Fairchild and De Luz, but Peck and Huxley were excellent. I'd watch Peck in anything. I had never seen Huxley in anything really and thought his dancing was very clean and unmannered, although have to agree with lacdescygnes who said he lacked stage presence.  

Lacdescygnes said:  

For the rest, I agree with most everyone- Duo Concertant was an unexpected favorite! The leotards in Symphony in 3 need to go but Lowery’s dancing was also particularly sluggish, particularly when she shared the stage with Sterling Hyltin. 

Until the Spring!

I've seen Duo three times in the last couple of years, and the last time with Hyltin and Fairchild was fantastic.  It was intriguing to see Megan Fairchild and Janzen. He is another dancer I haven't seen much of. I think Fairchild's dancing has much more depth and expression than it had in the past and I enjoyed Duo completely. I was disappointed not to see my favorite dancer Kowroski in Agon, however Reichlen is another huge favorite and she was great!  Symphony in 3 was another I'd never seen in the theatre. Wow.  The opening stage picture was dazzling  even if  nobody likes  the white leotards.  I agree that Lowery didn't look fit and I have never loved her dancing.  The all Balanchine program was so wonderful, while the Friday program of 21st century works was only 50% wonderful.  Millepied's and Blanc's pieces were almost putting me to sleep.  i do want to see Decalogue again, and really enjoyed Namouna despite some of the silly aspects.

Until the spring!

I wanted to add that Hyltin was terrific in Symphony in 3, and I liked very much Ashly Isaacs.  Also I had low expectations for Chase Finlay in Agon yet I thought he did very well.  

17 minutes ago, pirouetta27 said:

Not sure where to put this, but an Instagram post by Peter Boal, a Wikipedia bio (currently lacking citation), and public Facebook posts indicate that Sean Lavery may have passed away this week. Quite sad news for the company and all who knew him.

Sean Lavery died a few days ago.  There's a separate topic here dedicated to his death. Very sad indeed and he was also quite young.

How sad.  He was such a fine dancer.  I saw him several times.

32 minutes ago, fondoffouettes said:

I can't imagine it ever not mattering in any production of R&J, no matter the choreographer. I guess the question might be whether this production impedes a sense of chemistry between the leads. Not sure that's the case; just throwing it out there as a question.

I don't love the MacMillan as a whole -- though I cherish the many incredible moments -- but it's a ballet I'll go to when I know the leads are strong dramatically and have good chemistry. 

Do you think this carries over to plotless ballets? I found it hard to articulate why I found her disappointing -- and not technically in any way -- in Apollo. There was just some sort of aura or mystique missing. I find her presence rather sunny and surface-level. And I'm saying this as someone who LOVES her and thinks she's an incredible artist. I'm eager to see her in just about anything. 

I have never loved the MacMillan R&J but would still see it with two terrific leads.  I haven't seen Tiler Peck in Martins' R&J, but I did see her in Apollo and was disappointed.  I love her dancing too but as you say, some elusive quality was missing.  I also prefer that  Terpsichore be danced by a taller woman; as someone here said, we like to see a more "goddess=like" dancer, e.g., Farrell, Kowroski, Reichlen.

51 minutes ago, nanushka said:

I only know it from the PDD with McBride and Tomasson that's on YT (and there are a lot of great unique moments in that), so very much interested to see it.

Thanks for mentioning that PdD. I'll look for it, have never noticed it before.

1 minute ago, nanushka said:

Speaking of...

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/20/arts/dance/balanchine-divertimento-from-baiser-de-la-fee-new-york-city-ballet.html

It was an interesting article since I didn't know much about this ballet.  I'll be seeing it for the first time next month and I'd be really happy to see Fairchild and de Luz in it.  

7 minutes ago, nanushka said:

Yes, that's too bad. One should really applaud the dancers at least, if not the piece.

I second that.  I always applaud the dancers even if I dislike the ballet.  I don't think  sending a message to the choreographer really works.

I read the book and thought it was a better than average spy novel. It was quite violent and gory and over the top.

3 hours ago, nanushka said:

That is interesting. Though it doesn't sound like any "big uproar" caused its removal. The article mentions some audience gasps and "the condemnation of some critics," and it's been revived since then, presumably with the slap. (Again, I haven't seen it.) It sounds more like it was removed as a precautionary measure, to avoid any potential controversy in the wake of recent events. 

I saw it only on TV but I was revolted by the slap.  What does that add?  Zilch. I never want to see the ballet again. Martins' solution to the slap being described as "amazing" by Tracey is really laying it on thick.

4 minutes ago, kfw said:

The punishment should fit the crime, as the saying goes. 

 You’re welcome to believe me or not, but I think if he is a victim, quite possibly what he’s a victim of is the whole triggering/safe space mentality, in which not only sticks and stones but words also are thought to break bones, that makes people turn inward and become extra sensitive and fragile. We live in a culture which we're all about rights rights rights and every group asserting their rights against other group’s rights. Humanistic it's not. 

 Would it not have been better for the chorister himself for him to have spoken with Copely face to face? If the chorister was truly traumatized (which we don’t know), would not a face to face apology and expression of understanding by Copely have made him feel better than getting Copely fired? Why not? To quote a phrase, what’s so funny ‘bout peace, love and understanding? 

This discussion has nothing to do with "safe space mentality".  It's about what  John Copley said to the chorus member.  What anyone thinks the chorus member should have said  is really not relevant.

16 hours ago, kfw said:

16 hours ago, nanushka said:

I agree, but at least here it is in many cases legal (and, I would argue, moral) to fire someone even if they haven't been convicted of a crime.

kfw said: They can always be brought back if they're proven innocent, but in Weinstein's case I wonder if anyone in the world besides Weinstein claims he's innocent. 

I don't believe a person can be  proven  innocent in a court of law.  I think  there are two legal cases against   Weinstein currently being developed. No matter what happens down the line, I'd say his a-- is grass.

24 minutes ago, aurora said:

A lot of people are sick of putting up with other people's harmful mistakes.

I'm gathering from the way you insist on reading Copley's comments (fairly innocent, clearly joking), that you have never been aggressively cat called on the street (any woman in a major city's frequent experience), been groped on the street and public transportation, masturbated in front of on public transportation (once when I objected, the perp tried to hit me in the face, no one did anything to help me), followed home, had your boss kiss you on the head, had your supervisors in school make lewd "joking" comments, etc.

It doesn't feel innocuous. And people are sick of turning the other cheek for men to slap over and over again.

If you have and you like all these things, fine, that is your prerogative. But it sounds like you are speaking from a place of lack of understanding.

And it is not unreasonable to object to being treated like a sexual object in the workplace, which is precisely what Copley did.

 

 

I'm in complete agreement with Aurora and with Nanushka's very articulate posts.   Some of the comments "defending"  Copley's remark, overtly or essentially, are really mind blowing and to me also signify a lack of understanding.

5 hours ago, Helene said:

It's an appropriate word, however many syllables it has.  Intention has nothing to do with the legal definitions of hostile in hostile work environments.

If you make racist jokes, ethnic jokes, jokes about people with disabilities, etc. in the workplace, there can be consequences regardless of your intentions, and people who don't want to guarantee that they don't suffer those consequences don't make them.  I'm having difficulty understanding why it's so hard to grasp that making sexist or sexual jokes at work is inappropriate in the same way, and the people who do it can suffer similar consequences.  

I also am having increasing difficulty understanding why it's so hard to grasp that Copley's remark was inappropriate,  and why  people think it is acceptable to criticize the chorus member's reaction, why they think that it would have been more adult for the singer to laugh it off,  why they think Copley's age is relevant, etc.  

On 2/3/2018 at 8:44 AM, Mashinka said:

Why did they fire Copley for fairly innocuous banter?

There's nothing innocuous about what Copley said, and as someone else here said, it's not "banter" unless both individuals enter the ring.

6 minutes ago, Kathleen O'Connell said:

I suppose that every dollar David Koch donates to the arts is one less dollar he can shovel into political dark money, so that's a good thing.

That being said, I for one do not consider Koch's reputation to be much enhanced by his philanthropic largesse. 

 

 

Well said and I couldn't agree more.  Koch cannot buy integrity or quality with his billions.

2 hours ago, nanushka said:

While we're at it, let's go back to some of the original titles, like Ballet Imperial. So much more fitting and less clunky. (I kind of insist on using the name anyway, in defiance. Like a friend of mine who refuses to stop calling it "the State Theater.")

I'm with you. I'll never call it the D**** H. K*** theater!

16 minutes ago, rkoretzky said:

Marta, Juliet and I are talking about SPAC, the summer home of NYCB since 1966. From four weeks, to three, to two and now to one week. 7 performances. 

Three are Romeo + Juliet, including both matinees. 

Coppelia had its premiere (Mr. B's version of course) at SPAC in 1974, so naturally we feel a bond. 

Oh, I stand corrected!  I was just looking at the spring schedule and I do now remember the mention of SPAC.  Clearly I was reading inattentively. That is definitely a stinker schedule with 3 performances of R & J out of 7.

Juliet, I agree completely about R & J.  However, Coppelia is coming up in the spring season. I look forward to that!

On ‎1‎/‎30‎/‎2018 at 4:50 PM, volcanohunter said:

Yes, tepid. It lasted less than ten seconds, and you hear the same claquer over and over again.

Just to insert my two cents:  I saw the broadcast of DQ and I thought Smirnova was weak and insecure as Dryad Queen.

Fondoffouettes said:

So is the Martins R&J not totally dreadful? I've only watched the videos Kathryn Morgan has posted of herself in it, and the choreography seemed somewhat repetitive and unimaginative. (BTW -- I'm not a huge fan of the MacMillan R&J overall, but it has it sublime moments.)

I don't think I can sit through the Martins Swan Lake again, no matter who is cast in it. Sleeping Beauty is less offensive, but perhaps more disappointing because of all the cuts and odd pacing. Canbelto, I think you once called it a "drive-through Sleeping Beauty," which is such an apt description.

I can't wait for the day when NYCB's full-lengths by Martins are replaced. Many of ABT's full-lengths have their own flaws, so I'm eager to see new alternatives at NYCB, ideally ones that allow the dancers to truly become the characters.

I agree completely!  I am not a huge fan, or even a fan, of the MacMillan R& J, although I'll watch Makarova in it.   I never want to see the Martins version again. Nor do I really want to see his Swan Lake or SB again. Drive through is a good description of SB.  So rushed. I wonder though if NYCB will delete all the Martins full length ballets.  Swan Lake seems to be popular.

My wish list is Pavlova, Nijinsky, Leclerq, Sizova,  Soloviev, Kirkland, and Martha Graham.

I was thrilled to see Makarova, Baryshnikov, and Farrell, who remain for me the god and goddesses of dance!  I saw Villella, D'Amboise, McBride and Kent; only Villella was young but the others were still wonderful.  I  saw Plisetskaya dance Dying Swan when she was over 60.  It was memorable.  I would have loved to have seen her in Don Q!  

I'm enjoying all these reviews too, especially since I won't be seeing any performances until early March. Thanks to all.