BalanchineFan

Thank you Quiggin, and thank you Helene for the screen capture of the names in the NYCB 75 film! I hadn't thought of the story of Orpheus in terms of the Russian emigrés and their connection to Imperial Russia, carrying it with them, but unable to look back. It adds depth and context to Orpheus. I had also forgotten that Balanchine commissioned this score from Stravinsky as well.

I loved the film and I wish they identified the people as well. I recognized a lot of the dancers and former dancers, but there were also people I didn't know. I imagine it will end up on YouTube with people filling in the names. It's on NYCB"s IG stories now, I believe. I was just thrilled to be there. The atmosphere was electric and the dancing so energetic. Everyone was giving it their all and jumping into the music together. It was the first time I'd seen Unity Phelan dance this fall (despite attending 5 times!) and she was just gorgeous, full, clear, expansive, serene. She and Emilie are well matched in CB. I'd seen them dance Kammermusik together and they play off each other really well. Phelan and Mearns were my friend's favorites. I was glad they included Orpheus. You need something darker between Concerto Barocco and the Bizet. It is a tricky ballet, and sure, the conventions may be dated, but less than the many classics where the corps play peasants standing in B+ as they show their wares at market. I love the Stravinsky music, I love Noguchi, and there's something about the story that always reels me in. Plus the ppd! I think the first time I saw Orpheus was on television, with Karin von Aroldingen as Eurydice. Her death was so quick it just killed me. I don't know how Orpheus can stand it. What range to choreograph that and Stars & Stripes, as just one example. The film mentioned NYCB challenging their audiences. It's true. Fairchild and Gordon were great in the T&V rehearsal. I got the feeling Joe Gordon throws her a lot higher than Anthony Huxley. Unity was rehearsing Bizet 2nd Movement with Alec Knight when we came in. She just floats, seamless. There are a lot of Empire State Building pictures on IG of Emilie Gerrity and Chun Wai Chan in costume for the Bizet. They must be cast for it at some point. (I have yet to commit the casting to memory.) Has she done 2nd movement yet? Maybe she's going to debut soon. Also Claire von Enck is pregnant and probably won't be learning the Bizet soon (did I misread that?) . Emma von Enck FLEW through the 3rd movement with Roman. I think that was a debut. They were both great. It was such a stellar cast for Symphony in C. Real stars with different qualities in each movement. I found myself marveling at all the amazing classical music that has been elevated due to Balanchine's choreography. People weren't familiar with Bizet's Symphony in C before Balanchine. I'm still humming it, the next day. I don't think Tschaikovsky's Serenade was popular, and certainly not 4T, which Balanchine commissioned. What a company! What a living legacy!

I was there too and at the ballet tonight (Wednesday). It was electric. No wonder NYCB has lasted this long. Great Concerto Barocco, bringing tears to my eyes. Nice Orpheus. Gorgeous, crisp Bizet. The audience was so jazzed and energetic. The rehearsal cast change was just Tiler Peck. She must still be in California with her father and family. Why would she leave Sunday and return for today? It was fascinating to see Megan Fairchild rehearse T&V with Joe Gordon after performing T&V with Huxley the previous night. She’s very vocal and speaks loudly, at one point yelling out “Whoo!” when Joe threw her up in the air. more later.

Tiler’s IG post doing tendus in her dad’s hospital room is so moving. I hope things go well. My own father died last year about this time, after a long illness. It’s a big deal. She was just stupendous onstage Sunday.

Chan looks beautiful as Apollo. He’s just not at home in the role yet. For one, he has trouble lowering his weight and getting down onto the floor. There are two moments in the choreography when Apollo pirouettes and spirals down to his knees, sometimes sitting right afterwards. Chan seems physically unable. Once he even put his hand down. He had similar trouble in the Rodeo section of Copeland Dances. Taylor Stanley, who originated the role, would turn, drop to the floor and lie back with hands behind the head in one smooth, sigh-inducing moment. Chan clunked. It could be injury (knees, hips, back), lack of mobility, his long proportions or just a lack of experience. Certainly, “princes” don’t study how to get down to the floor in Vaganova training. I’m confident he’ll get it with time. It’s just not there yet. Another example is when Apollo tries his first turns. Most Apollos turn, flail off balance, regain their balance, and then end their turn in a classical fourth. Four separate impulses. Chan, instead, does a turn in a strange shape. One impulse. There was none of the change in dynamics that show the young god attempting something he has not yet mastered. Chan got a good reception. I enjoyed his performance more than my companion. I’m not sure most casual ballet goers would notice a difference. It was a good debut. He looks godly and makes the things he does look good. He is just not a master of Balanchine’s choreography and storytelling. The muses were spectacular, more familiar with the idiom. I have a few notes for them, as well, but Nadon, LaFreniere and Kikta were a delight. I don’t see any impediments to Kikta becoming a principal. If they don’t have roles or partners for her, they will need to create them… For all of our benefit. I hear there are some pretty good choreographers at NYCB.

They changed the costumes for the leads in Wheeldon’s American Rhapsody after it premiered. I don’t see why they can’t do it again. They could probably auction off the costumes and make a fortune.

Jacques D'amboise coaching Who Cares? There's a picture in the beginning that shows the Karinska costumes in black and white. It's part of the preview. They look lovely. I think the new costumes would be improved by a pair of pinking shears, shortening the women's skirts, though the skirts do move when the dancers turn. https://www.films.com/ecTitleDetail.aspx?TitleID=210057

Any large scale, Balanchine ballerina role, where you have solos and have to hold the stage yourself, alone or in front of the corps, is a try out for principal, IMO. Kikta getting that role is a good sign for her future. Plus, who wouldn't want to dance it! And yes, to Kikta and Bolden!!! As for the new costumes, they look very pretty but the skirts are too long for my taste. Ballerinas should show more leg. Still, I look forward to seeing them in action.

Gilbert Bolden is quite tall and broad shouldered. He partnered Sara Mearns in Rotunda and Emilie Gerrity in Bourree Fantasque (he saved a very off balance attitude turn of Gerrity's on one of the shows. Very smooth). He often dances Mother Ginger. He's more muscular than Peter Walker. I don't see why anyone who has watched him onstage would have doubts about his partnering ability. I'd love to see him in something with either Isabelle LaFreniere or Emily Kikta.

Megan Fairchild’s IG https://www.instagram.com/p/CyDqGmBOWVp/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== Wendy Whelan’s IG also has pictures of the gala and some of the Broadway luminaries who sang. Gilbert Bolden’s IG shows his THREE looks for the evening. here’s another. A pic of the curtain call where you see a few costumes https://www.instagram.com/reel/CyD-CueOA5s/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== Whatever you think of the fashion gala it is MADE for social media. The pictures are very exciting.

Unlike you, I love watching company class. As a dancer I didn’t mind classes with an audience. It appealed to my exhibitionist side, I suppose. They know it’s class, so you still do all the things you normally do to get your body ready for the rest of the day; rehearsal, performance whatever. One of things you see is how individuals navigate that. Who is relaxed in that situation. Who enjoys it, who is hiding in the back. No judgement, though. Everyone is entitled to their response and strategy. I imagine companies do it because there’s an interest, people come, it builds excitement, it’s easy for them and not a costly perk to add for donors. SAB has patrons visit classes a few times a year as well and I love that, too. In partnering class you can learn what they’re doing and see how difficult it is to master it. Those are “real” classes where they give corrections to individuals.

How does it undercut anything? Whatever they agreed to is contractually stipulated. They didn’t actually fire Martins, so he’s entitled to whatever exit/retirement pay is in his contract. They have to pay. They’re not paying him out of the goodness of their hearts. I must have been at the same performance as you, Dale. I think Peter Walker is newer to Agon than Miller, who, iirc, performed it as an apprentice or shortly after she joined NYCB. In the ppd, when she’s in penchée arabesque (on pointe!) and he goes to the floor on his back, he is not supposed to move her hand. On Sunday, he moved it and she struggled to stay on pointe. That had gone much better on their previous performance, on Saturday.

Seems to me it could be one of about 20 people.

Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch own the NY Post. It's a rag. The funniest part is this quote, "The Post could not confirm what additional work, if any, Martins has performed for the organization. " They are saying they didn't care to do any research, but still want to fan the flames.

I was there for company class early. If other company members had wanted to stand in front like Gilbert Bolden, they could have. Many people came early and chose places in the back. (Davide Riccardo, Taylor Stanley and Mira Nadon, I'm talking about you!)

I have seen Bourree Fantasque several times. The first was at the State Theater during a Miami City Ballet season some years pre-pandemic. The second was a year or two after that when SAB did the ballet. I’m pretty sure KJ Takahashi led the first movement with Savannah Durham. Then I saw the open rehearsal on Friday and Saturday matinee. I find Bourree delightful. The first movement has lovely patterns for the corps and lots of funny moments playing on the relationship between a haughty, tall woman and her shorter, adoring male companion. The second movement is lyrical and floaty with swoopy, swoony moments for the main couple. The women wear longer, romantic tutus. I thought Gilbert Bolden and Emilie Gerrity really shone. The third movement is like a firecracker. The leading man keeps throwing the woman into a switch split overhead, like a lift in Tschai Pas, but more dynamic. The music has chords that repeat in a syncopated rhythm. It sounds a bit like a circus, in a fun and energetic sense. In the rehearsal Ms Pilarre wanted the music a touch slower, but for the performance it seemed they must have changed their minds, as the orchestra ramped up the tempo. David Gabriel, and Alexa Maxwell led the third movement and seemed to relish the speed and meet the challenge. She was particularly astonishing, a ray of light onstage, spending the majority of her time in the air. I’m rooting for Gilbert Bolden for soloist and Alexa Maxwell for anything and everything. The three movements each have such a different feeling. For a ballet that’s new to them after an absence of 30 years, NYCB, does this Bourree than anyone. All the leads come back for a rousing finale similar to Symphony in C. I recommend it to anyone who is curious, it’s a great opening ballet.

Omg, her LINES in that arabesque! Wow.

NYCB had full casts for Bourree and for Slaughter at the dress this afternoon, so they have a good 50-60 dancers at the theater already. I took the subway down to Columbus Circle from way uptown (and back, the ABCD subway line) without any incident, so I’d be surprised if there were any changes, but who knows where the dancers are coming from.

NYCB is still having its open dress for Bourree Fantasque. Susan Pilarre (or a woman who looks EXACTLY like her) is repertory director for the corps de ballet. Maybe that’s why she’s not at SAB. I haven’t seen Rosemary Dunleavy so far.

What fun!! Looks like a great program. I'm not a Medici member so I'll wait until the PBS broadcast. Thanks for the heads up!

Someone asked about a tall, red head upthread. I think it is Oscar Estep https://www.instagram.com/p/CxsvnaPMH8b/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== And congrats to all the new apprentices!

Russell Janzen is such a beautiful dancer. So princely and elegant. He got a huge ovation on the Diamonds entrance and it looked like he was trying not to laugh. They pulled themselves together and dig into the choreography. I think he and Sara had every emotion possible. After the ppd, she was fighting tears (briefly) and mostly he registered joy and relief. The next moment the emotions were switched. It still amazes me in Diamonds, how they walk in from opposite corners and end center, so far apart, arms outstretched, just fingers clasping. I particularly enjoyed seeing Teresa Reichlen and Maria Kowrowski returning for the farewell. Kristen Segin also seems to have a special bond with Russell.

Please NYCB, cast Gilbert Bolden III and Christopher Grant into more Balanchine Prince roles, please! Davide Riccardo, Alec Knight and Aaron Sanz, too. But mostly Gilbert Bolden.

Why would we do that? Would that imply anything about our worth?

Olivia Boisson didn't dance for a few seasons due to an injury, which must impact one's trajectory. She's only been back a year or two.