canbelto

Did anyone see this at City Center? Thoughts? Impressions?

Anyway I expect there to be a lot of shuffling of casts between now and May, as there always is.

So it's began. I haven't seen that much yet but I have seen Band's Visit, which I found very underwhelming, and Torch Song which I found very moving. http://poisonivywalloftext.blogspot.com/2017/10/harvey-fierstein-double-header-torch.html http://poisonivywalloftext.blogspot.com/2017/10/the-bands-visit-it-wasnt-important.html I'll see Brigadoon, and I have tickets to Frozen and Angels in America in March.

I assume he'll be cast in Harlequinade no? But Cirio is in the awkward position of being the short principal who is behind Cornejo and Simkin in seniority. So until Cornejo scales back his performances and Simkin leaves for Berlin, opportunities for Cirio will be limited because that's just sort of the way ABT works.

I'm really unexcited by the season except for the Harlequinade and maybe the Giselle with Hallberg and Osipova (if that happens). I wonder why they are giving Juliet to Teuscher instead of Lane. Teuscher is a tall, rather majestic dancer with a mature persona. Lane is naturally girlish. Also wonder why Lane is getting the Wednesday matinee Giselle - she was so lovely last season. And I guess Seo Ballet Theater has been replaced with Copeland Ballet Theater.

I saw Day and Fairchild sitting together at a performance of Megan's Square Dance. Day was loudly applauding and bravo'ing the performance. Afterwards I stopped and talked to both of them. They seemed to be having a great time.

Eh, I'm not going to spring for those Osipova/Hallberg tickets yet. Her track record the past few years hasn't really been ... reliable, including at her home company (Royal Ballet). Also, no R&J for Lane? That's nuts.

Kent, Farrell, Danilova, and Tallchief all wrote about a man who was incredibly courtly and polite and all those wonderful things but also felt entitled to certain things (their bodies) and could be brutal if he felt rejected (Farrell) or had moved on (telling Danilova she was "too old" to dance for him when she was 27, divorcing a parapalegic LeClercq and then not allowing her to teach at SAB). I don't think Wilhemena's account contradicts those more in-depth accounts. Basically every account I've ever read of Balanchine, whether from man or woman, boils down to: "He was a genius and was a wonderful polite man until he wasn't."

I don't see why this wouldn't make it into a biography. It's very consistent with the autobiographies of Suzanne Farrell, Allegra Kent, Maria Tallchief, etc. Except in this case Wilhemena made it clear that she was there for a purpose and she got what she wanted (in a way).

I also think that any biography of Balanchine, no matter how complete, will always pale to any serious analysis of his work. I think in this case the man's work was more important than the man's personal life. I sort of wish there could be a critical edition of some of the best Balanchine criticism all in one volume. Stuff from Edwin Denby, Arlene Croce, etc.

To me the real Balanchine biographies are the memoirs from the people who worked for him. Because they all had different interactions with him but the man they portray is remarkably consistent.

I could only attend one performance but what a performance! I loved Tereshkina and Kim. http://poisonivywalloftext.blogspot.com/2017/10/mariinskys-dreamy-la-bayadere.html

Huh? Hyltin and Fairchild have danced Duo Concertant many times over the years. It's actually one of their specialties. The performance last Sunday was one of two very experienced dancers who knew exactly what to do with this ballet.

Lauren King is a veteran who was in the corps for many years before becoming a soloist around 2013.

What I sensed from Restless Creatures was that yes, there's competition in a ballet company, and company politics, and Whelan was hurting emotionally and physically during the film. But I also saw a fairly warm and supportive community which is NOT the environment of many ballet companies. For instance Albert Evans (RIP) welcoming Wendy back with huge tears rolling down his cheeks, or Abi Stafford and some of the more junior members of the company knocking on Wendy;s dressing room door to check in -- it was pretty nice. Also, Martins let Whelan retire gracefully on her own terms. He might have given her a nudge but there are many, many AD's who would have simply sent a letter in the mail informing of the non-contract renewal.

I went to Robbie's farewell performance today. It was a beautiful send-off. Most of the NYCB principals came out. I thought he and Sterling were absolutely lovely in their final dance together. I write about the farewell performance, and also the program of new works: http://poisonivywalloftext.blogspot.com/2017/10/nycb-fall-season-hello-new-works.html And here's a video of the curtain calls I took:

Catazaro had a devastating injury two years ago right before he was to dance his dream role of Siegfried. I'm so glad he got another chance as he's one of NYCB's most sensitive, musical dancers.

Per Maria Kowroski's instagram Zachary Catazaro has been promoted to principal. Congrats Zachary!

I'd also add his shortish biographies of Sarah Bernhardt, George Balanchine, and the complicated family life of Charles Dickens IMO are also more revealing about who Gottlieb is as a person: sharp, witty, insightful. He obviously admired Mr. B enormously but his book doesn't shy away from talking about Mr. B's harder side. Gottlieb's book sort of reminds me of many politicians' memoirs that don't reveal much about said politician. Exhibit A: Bill Clinton's My Life. The complex, charismatic man is lost within volumes and volumes of him reciting his presidential calender.

I'm not saying he was name-dropping. Just that his memoir came across as slightly workmanlike. Gottlieb appears to be one of those writers who is uncomfortable actually talking about himself. The wit and love he shows for writing and dance in his reviews IMO is more fun to read because of the unbridled enthusiasm.

Restless Creatures is going to be released on DVD. It's already streaming on Amazon video and Netflix. https://www.amazon.com/Restless-Creature-Whalen-Linda-Saffire/dp/B075P9VPCX/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1507232448&sr=1-2&keywords=restless+creatures

Well I don't like West Side Story Suite at all. It takes all the punch, edge and "cool" out of Robbins' choreography and instead makes it rather vanilla and drippy. I think the same is true for Robbins' other B'way choreography. I mean "House of Uncle Thomas" only makes sense if you know about Tuptim's dreams for her own emancipation, and it will be very hard to capture the life-affirming dances of Fiddler on the Roof if streamlined.

See the romance novel roundup has some of the wit and bite that is so sorely missing from "Avid Reader." Consider this: It's witty, it's funny, and at its heart one senses someone who is a real fan of books and of writing, even if it's silly. The same spirit dots his dance reviews. I don't always agree with them, but I know I am reading someone who LOVES dance, who as an octogenarian is still so excited when the ballet season starts. The Gottlieb of "Avid Reader" often sounds like he's checking the boxes of people he has to air-kiss. Toni Morrison? Check. Bill Clinton? Check. And so on.

I saw four Swan Lake casts: Reichlen/Janzen, Hyltin/Catazaro, Fairchild/Garcia, and Peck/Finlay. My thoughts on the four performances: http://poisonivywalloftext.blogspot.com/2017/09/nycb-fall-season-4-swan-lakes.html In short, I thought Hyltin and Peck are the ones I'll be returning to.

What I sensed was that Whelan's transition was harder than most ballerinas because her career never really had the ups and downs of most ballet careers. No major injuries until she was in her mid-40's. At the NYCB she was THE undisputed star for so many years and she had a virtual monopoly on so many roles. Not just the ones created for her by Wheeldon or Ratmansky, but Agon, Symphony in Three Movements, La Sonnambula, Glass Pieces, In Memory Of ... and a bunch of other leotard ballets. So when reality hit (first subtly, by Peter Martins taking away Nutcracker), then more obviously (an extreme injury) she was shocked.