canbelto

Amar Ramasar has joined the ever-growing DL list and is replaced in all of this week's performances: http://www.nycballet.com/NYCB/media/NYCBMediaLibrary/PDFs/Press/Casting/NYCB_Casting_May-9-14-2017_lobby050917.pdf He is who Robbie is replacing.

Per Robbie Fairchild's instagram he's dancing in Spectral Evidence tonight:

Anyone there this afternoon? I'm curious as to how audiences are liking Odessa.

Saw Cast #2 tonight. It had a very different effect. The cast was so different from the first cast. Tyler Angle/Unity Phelan, Megan Fairchild/Daniel Ulbricht, Ashley Bouder/Taylor Stanley are much less intense dramatically than Sara/Amar, Sterling/Joaquin, and Tiler/Taylor. Some of the menace was gone. However there was more tenderness between the couples. Not better, not worse, just different.

Well you can cross this one off your meal too because the fabrics certainly aren't Imperial Russian ballet tutu fabrics.

I saw it last night. I thought it was very compelling and watchable, but definitely a much darker, more disturbing turn from Ratmansky's usual style: http://poisonivywalloftext.blogspot.com/2017/05/spring-gala-new-ratmansky-old-gala.html

I saw three of the four all Balanchine program the first week, as well as the Ratmansky bill in the Here/Now festival. I loved both Russian Seasons and Namouna. Full thoughts here: http://poisonivywalloftext.blogspot.com/2017/04/spring-diaries-beautiful-pies-babes-in.html

This is what I jotted down:

Suzanne Farrell owns the rights to Tzigane and it's unlikely she'll allow NYCB to perform either that or Meditation and Don Quixote (two other ballets that belong to her).

Why does Petipa need to be celebrated? His ballets are the bread and butter of almost all major ballet companies. It's as redundant as the Chinese having a year-long festival celebrating rice.

She definitely saved her voice for "Parade" and the title number. And her voice now has a rasp and is not a young-sounding voice anymore. But she has plenty of charm and comic timing that occasional vocal weakness isn't an issue.

I also felt something was missing especially in the writing for the two ladies after the Oscar episode, which was that Joan and Bette had a multitude of things they were unhappy about, but I don't think they felt particularly upset about starring in less-than-quality pictures. They were strong women who wanted and needed to work. Certainly Bette treated her later career with a good self-deprecating humor. And work is work. The writing was extremely melodramatic. But I think a more interesting angle would have been to show them shooting less than ideal pictures with a matter of fact, suck-it-up attitude. Both ladies were survivors. They would have been offended to be painted as Victims of the System.

I watched the whole series. Loved it. I did feel though that Ryan Murphy's previous work with Jessica Lange meant that the writing for Joan was richer and more developed than the writing for Bette. Susan Sarandon often looked like she was spitting out lines Bette said in her talk show appearances. Think that Stanley Tucci was absolutely amazing as Jack Warner. Turned a sleazy character into something believable and real.

I disagree with Kowroski. Even before she went on maternity leave and had her injuries I never saw her make it through a classical tutu ballet like Symphony in C or Diamonds without a major mistake. Doesn't mean she wasn't/isn't a lovely dancer. But I saw her twice in Symphony in C and her trying to get through those pirouettes was painful to watch. There's plenty of roles where Kowroski's warm stage manner, her comic timing, and her beautiful figure are still valuable, I just don't think a role like Symph in C is one of them.

Suzanne Farrell had a personal relationship with Bejart and danced in his company for several years. She's loyal. But personally whenever I see those beautiful POB etoiles contorting and twerking their way through Bolero I cringe. That's not even entertainment. It's ballet's equivalent of a striptease.

You lose me at "Bejart." There are plenty of European choreographers worthy of respect but Bejart's "choreography" is of the vilest, most vulgar, disgusting, self-indulgent quality and classical ballet companies should be ashamed of even having one Bejart work in their repertory. There's no excuse for such vulgarity. I mean, this is an absolute abomination: As is this:

This turnover at PABallet is dismaying.

This year I've managed to see many of the musicals and plays up for contention. Last night I saw Dear Evan Hansen and think that as much as I enjoyed Come From Away and The Great Comet, Dear Evan Hansen is by far the strongest musical this season. I also think that Ben Platt should be a lock to win Best Actor. Of the revivals, I really enjoyed Hello Dolly! and think Bette will win Best Actress but I also wasn't as blown away by it as others. I loved Gavin Creel as Cornelius though. Sunset Boulevard IMO can't quite overcome the fact that Glenn Close can't sing anymore. I've also seen a few plays and see Oslo next week. I was very impressed with Allison Janney in Six Degrees of Separation.

I agree that this memoir is rather airbrushed and has none of the acerbic wit of his writings on dance or his articles in NYBooks. Everyone's a "great friend," a "cherished partner," etc. I also think that his chapter about working at Simon & Schuster is the best but his tenure at Knopf is a lot of name-dropping. I'm disappointed overall.

Wow lots of all-Balanchine programs. Am excited to see Coppelia, Divertimento, Symph in 3, Square Dance, La Valse, Apollo, Baiser de la Fee, Concerto Barocco, Agon and Mozartiana return to the company!

NYCB's Paris performance is available for pre-order from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/York-City-Ballet-Paris-Blu-ray/dp/B06XWVHWDS/ref=sr_1_6?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1492117584&sr=1-6&keywords=ballet&refinements=p_n_date%3A2693529011

I am glad to see Maria is back in Symph in C but sad that this means we won't get to see Tess Reichlen in the adagio.

The Royal Danes dance the Neumeier version which is on YT. I think it's a very lovely version.

More turnover: longtime vet Amy Aldridge is retiring at the end of the season: http://pointemagazine.com/views/amy-aldridge-announces-retirement/

I actually find Acocella's attitude offensive. Part of being a critic is sampling what is out there whether it interests you or not. I have a lot of objections to the way Macaulay reviews but he does make it a point to see a diverse amount of dance every week. Arlene Croce and Edwin Denby might sound extremely opinionated and even didactic today but they created a written history of dance in the era they covered and that's treasurable. Robert Gottlieb is in his 80's and still out there reviewing stuff. The New Yorker's lack of dance coverage is sad considering its history of reviewing the arts.