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samsara

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Everything posted by samsara

  1. It saddens me to read so many mean-spirited comments about the ABT performances in Washington, DC. I realize that there is trouble at ABT, that they need new and better coaches, (perhaps the present ones have simply become too old and have lost the freshness in their artistic vision), that they many new corps members that have to go "on due to injuries by older, more experienced members, and many other things that I admit need to be addressed. However, I find the extremely negative comments are beneath the posters and are causing readers to turn away. If we really love the ballet and ABT, perhaps it would be more useful and effective writing to ABT's management and/or Board of Directors and expressing your feelings about the state of the company and maybe they would realize do something, rather than attack the company to turn those people who are not as sophisticated about ballet as Ballet Alert posters and still enjoy the performances. By being so negative and harsh in your remarks, you might turn people away from buying tickets and that only hurts the dancers who are mostly not at fault. By the way, did anyone attend the Saturday matinee performance? If anyone did, you would know that Ashley Tuttle was lovely and moving and Angel Corella was extraordinary, every nuance and detail of his characterization and dancing was absolutely beautiful. Let's help ABT with constructive criticism - please write to Management and to the Board about the problems you see but don't be so cruel to the Dancers as it is the Dancers that we hurt. Thank you.
  2. Hello, Does anyone know if there is a video of the Tudor "Romeo & Juliet", either commercially or perhaps owned by someone who might have taped it from a TV broadcast? In a recent thread regarding "revival wishes and requests" for ABT, Tudor's R&J was repeatedly mentioned as being wonderful and often preferred to the current Macmillan that ABT has now. I have never seen the Tudor and would welcome the opportunity to do so. Thanks in advance for any insight.
  3. Hello Alexandra, What a great idea to post those works we want to see done and/or revived by ABT!However, how can we let ABT know our wishes and requests? Once there's a substantial list, would it be possible for you to send the list to ABT's artistic management? Again, thanks for yet another wonderful Ballet Alert idea. best, samsara
  4. Why do we need to always compare? Here we have two marvelous ballet companies n the same city where we can an abundance of works performed by terrific and different dancers and all we constantly do is compare and criticize!! BOTH NYCB and ABT have remarkable dancers!!!! Each and every one of them has his own talent, personality, and strength. Apples are not necessarily better than bananas, they are simply different, and for the most part, they are both equally good. So are NYCB and ABT, as dance companies in general and in terms of its dancers. As dance lovers we should rejoice in the diversity and variety of choice they both provide us with. Let's enjoy the dance and the dancers for what they try to do for us - their public. I'm confident that every male (and female) in both of these world-class companies always tries to dance and give their best at every performance - if they are less than perfect in a particular performance, well....they are humans, not robots, and they too, like the rest of us, go to work (and dance is their work) with a headache, a cold or feeling miserable for whatever reason on a given day. Another remark I find unfair is the constant reference to ABT's men just doing "tricks". Damian Woetzel and Benjamin Millepied jump and turn as high and as much as any male dancer at ABT and on one accuses them of doing "tricks". If the choreography calls for bravura and virtuosic dancing, there's nothing wrong in doing it with more zest and brio if the dancer is able to. As long as the dancer keeps to the choreography, the extra energy only excites the audience and makes the performance more thrilling. Most of us crave for this in a live performance. Why compare Jock Soto with Jose Manuel Carreno? Again, they are both excellent in very different ways. I admit that I prefer Jose Manuel but I always recognize that Soto is a superb dancer and partner in his repertoire and I'm glad I have the choice on who to see more often without discrediting the other. As for those who don't see Angel Corella as a "Prince", you obviously have not seen Angel Corella dance very often. Mr. Corella is one of the most magnificent and thorough dancers around - he is an excellent technician, a strong and caring partner, and he always demonstrates a perfect understanding of his character. He is a complete artist!! Please note I'm not saying he is better or worse than Woetzel, Boal, Millepied or Bocca, Carreno, Stiefel, Gomes, or Belotserkovsky. Let's enjoy everyone's "specialness" and individuality. Thank you.
  5. Hello Petite_Arabesque - as you, I too enjoyed the performance and found both Paloma and Jose Manuel in excellent and joyous form. I love your description of Carreno as being HOT - he is certainly a dish!!!! and Paloma is undoubtedly coming into her own - at least in Don Q. The highlight of the evening for me was Sandra Brown as Mercedes - she was absolutely and completely exquisite! I also agree with you about Marcelo being a large dancer, in build and in character but I felt that he danced for himself and had very little chemistry with his "Mercedes". Interestingly, I found Veronika Part's dancing totally opposite from you. Although her upper body/port de bras had that typical Russian/Kirov elegant and regal quality, and her legs are lovely, I found her dancing looked forced and heavy - the steps were sharp and crisp but I felt a sense of effort and weight in her movements. And I too thought Ricetto's "Amour" adorable, fleeting and light. All in all, a most enjoyable performance with plenty of other wonderful casts to see. I wish I could take the afternoon off to see Meunier's debut as Mercedes this Wednesday matinee - with Dvorovenko, Belotserkovsky and Monique it should be a highly glamarous and exciting trio! For those of you fortunate to see that performance, please post for the rest of us. By the way, heard that Gillian Murphy did 38 fouettes during the dress rehearsal on Monday afternoon. I will catch the Murphy/Stiefel cast later on. Thanks. Samsara
  6. Why does everyone make such a big deal of minor technical details that in no way diminish the power and beauty of the complete variations and even more importantly, why doesn't any seem to notice the extraordinary nuances in Angel Corella's performances as "Solor"? Instead of concentrating on how many turns he does or if he placed his hand on the floor at very end of an impeccable variation, why not mention the way his neck and jaw muscles move as he shows real anger at the Rajah and Gamzatti for having to marry her and many other nuances with which this dancer imbues his performances? Why not mention his superb partnering and his commanding stage presence? Many seem to forget that it's little details like those that give meaning to the "Theatre" part of ABT's title. As for Ms. Meunier, since when has a visible roll of fat protruding from the mesh of a costume considered "luscious"? I have always admired Ms. Meunier's technical strength but she has always been and remains much too heavy and thick for a ballerina - her weight problem is a fact, plain and simple. Perhaps she is underutilized because ABT's management realizes it was a mistake to hire her.
  7. Hello, Thank you Sneds and Dale. Although Angel Corella's solo was a bit short - 4 minutes to be exact - it was very exciting and gave us just a hint of what's to expect - Corella was displayed a wonderful and intense power and energy and certainly had a "Spartacus" quality. I can't wait to see the entire piece in "HereAfter". With a totally different feel and carriage, Corella was equally stunning and very sexy in the opening solo of The Harrison Tribute The true highlight of the evening for me was Amanda McKerron and John Gardner in the Leaves are Fading adagio. Again, only a short piece but nevertheless, gorgeous and lyrical as only Amanda can be!!! All the dancers looked good and energic and ready for a great season. Let's hope it's a healthy one for all.
  8. Hello, This is my first posting and I'm not as good as many of you so please bear with me. I attended the Saturday, March 8th afternoon performance at the Intl. Ballet Festival at Kennedy Center and except for the wonderful performance of the three sailors in ABT's "Fancy Free", found the afternoon rather generic but enjoyable. It was very refreshing to see "Napoli" again danced by Royal Danish dancers even in such a stripped down excerpt as this one. Although not totally great, I felt that the Danish danced with the musicality and brio so unique to the Bournonville style and remain true to their tradition. I enjoyed the Bolshoi dancers much less. The real fiasco for me was Anastasia Volochkova in Don Q. This was bad taste at its peak, total vulgarity!!! Between the chain, the finger-long ring, the wide gold bracelet, the diamond hoop earrings and the excess of gold glitter on her hair there was no room for her dancing which was uneven and flat. It saddened me to see that the audience would appreciate such mediocrity with cheers and a partial standing ovation. The true brilliant performance, both in dancing and characterization came from ABT in "Fancy Free". I have seen this charming and joyful piece many times with both ABT and NYCB and feel that this was the perhaps the best set of sailors I have seen in a very long time as all three sailors were perfectly in tune with their respective roles. Herman Cornejo was sweet and perky in a boyish way and Sacha Radetsky was a true romantic in his solo. But the highlight was Angel Corella as the "Rumba" sailor. I heard that he had been a bit too strong with his charactization - almost angry and bully-like when he danced it the first time on Thursday but undoubtedly he understood the role better by Saturday - he was sexy, playful, and totally enchanting. Charm and sex appeal exuded from all the nuances of his solo - here was a sailor that really showed those girls (and all of us in the audience) the good time they (we!!!) could have with him. He was definitely the leader but still in a "buddy, one of the guys" sort of way. It was an extraordinary performance by the three buddies, but most higly by Mr. Corella. Stella Abrera was terrific as the "red bag" girl but Gillian Murphy did not have sufficient allure as the girl in pink. ABT saved the day triumphantly.
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