canbelto

Wonderful! I don't suppose it's too much to hope that he also dances Diamonds in that Bolshoi/NYCB/POB mix/match Jewels?

I didn't. I saw Emily Kikta. Kikta has a lot of things going for her: power, amplitude, force behind her dancing. She sort of showed some rookie nerves as her entrances and exits were often not timed well with the music or the other corps members. But overall, a promising debut.

Also, Gil Bolden earlier in this seasons Nutcrackers had been listed as an SAB student dancing with the adults. In the latest program sheet he was listed in the Mice and Hot Chocolate, but with the apprentice tag next to his name. Congrats Gil, the latest apprentice of the NYCB.

I saw the show this week. I saw it primarily because my mom wanted to see it. It's a perfect mom-sical (at least for my mom, who has a hard time understanding English dialogue and is hard of hearing). She loved all the dances and only wished there was "more of a story." Gina was terrific.

Oh damn ... I meant Gina Pazcoguin.

So I saw a record four Nuts in one season. Here are some thoughts about the Nuts, plus a review of Cats. Georgina Parkinson is wonderful as Victoria, by the way. http://poisonivywalloftext.blogspot.com/2016/12/december-warhorses-part-four-cats-and.html

I forgot to add: I've now seen the NYCB's Nutcracker three times this season, with three different casts, and there wasn't a single bad performance in all three performances either among the leads or the supporting variations. There were no dropped wands, no fallen snowflakes or flowers, no tripping through the hoop. And the level of all the principal casts I saw (Hyltin/Veyette/Bouder, Peck/Fairchild/Reichlen, Laracey/Catazaro/Peck) was stellar. That level of consistency is truly impressive.

I was at the Laracey/Catazaro/Peck performance last night. Laracey's SPF is one to treasure. Full thoughts here: http://poisonivywalloftext.blogspot.com/2016/12/december-warhorses-part-three-more.html

Hi cobweb good to hear your report! How did Woodward/Ball do with those 13 moments of treachery that Peter Martins mentioned last year? Glad to hear it was overall a success.

There's an equally tricky moment in the Balanchine grand pas where the SPF has to run along a diagonal and jump on top of the cavalier's shoulders. Some Cavaliers opt to stand still and have the SPF run towards them, while others run towards the SPF and she jumps on his shoulders. I've noticed that with both dancers running, it's easier to fine tune bent knees/impromptu adjustments and so the more experienced partners almost always do it that way. But the timing is definitely trickier as well.

Well, the Bolshoi dancers don't always handle the torch lift seamlessly either. Here's a clip from 2015: This is much better: But look at how the work is cast at the Bolshoi. It's always a very petite, slight ballerina with a much taller, stronger partner. At ABT the casting policy is usually to pair taller males with taller females/medium-height ballerinas and shorter females with shorter dancers. I wonder how this torch lift might look on say, Marcelo Gomes with Sarah Lane. Because that's closer to how the Bolshoi casts this ballet.

Best: 1. NYCB: The incredible performances of Tchai PC#2 by Teresa Reichlen and Tiler Peck. Two such vastly different ballerinas tackling such a difficult role so beautifully. Tiler Peck whizzing through the role of Ballo della Regina. Wow. Ashley Bouder returning after the world's shortest maternity leave to kick ass as Liberty Bell in Stars and Stripes and Dewdrop in Nutcracker. Sterling Hyltin's Symphony in Three Movements. The return of the glorious Divertimento #15 to the repertoire. 2. ABT: Marcelo Gomes (Widow Simone), Stella Abrera and James Whiteside in a joyous, life-affirming performance of Fille mal gardee at ABT. Ratmansky's Plato's Symposium. Very enjoyable ballet. 3. MCB's visit to NYC in 2016. They really painted the town red. Dancers like Jeanette Delgado and Nathalie Arja were getting loud cheers just stepping onstage. Their Bourree Fantasque was amazing. 4. Seeing the Mariinsky's Raymonda in full. Anastasia Kolegova was a lovely Raymonda. Also, seeing Uliana Lopatkina's artistry on display in her BAM performances. 5. David Hallberg making a return to the stage after such an excruciating rehabilitation. 6. Seeing the complete original Apollo with the birth scene at Damian Woetzel's Vail: Remixed. Worst: 1. ABT: Alessandra Ferri's return as Juliet. Her feet still look gorgeous but I didn't think her dancing was at an acceptable level anymore. I know I'm in the minority opinion on this one. Ratmansky's visually gorgeous but ultimately dull and bloated Golden Cockerel. 2. NYCB: two overbloated premieres: Christopher Wheeldon's American Rhapsody, one of the worst ballets I've ever seen, period. Managed to make Tiler Peck look like a dull, bad dancer. Justin Peck's The Most Incredible Thing, which was anything but incredible. 3. Angel Corella's slash and burn techniques at PA Ballet which resulted in 40% turnover in one season. 4. Wheeldon's A Winter's Tale.

In the last 24 hours many of David's colleagues at ABT, Bolshoi and elsewhere have posted beautiful tributes to him. Sara Mearns: Svetlana Lunkina: Julie Kent: Stella Abrera:

I'd go woth the Laracey/Catazaro/Peck performance. Tiler Peck's Dewdrop is amazing.

I caught yet another performance of Nutcracker (the Peck/Fairchild/Reichlen trio) and also the Yorkville Nutcracker, which has NYCB vets Abi Stafford and Craig Hall. My thoughts here: http://poisonivywalloftext.blogspot.com/2016/12/warhorse-diaries-part-2-more-nutcrackers.html

Thanks for the incredibly detailed review! I had been awaiting reports.

Sara Mearns apparently canceled tonight's performance and Tiler Peck went on to dance SPF with Amar Ramasar with no rehearsal:

I've not seen confirmation of this in English news but some Cuban news outlets are reporting that Alicia Alonso has passed away ... http://todoelmundohabla.com/ultima-hora-muere-alicia-alonso-en-cuba/

I might be nuts (pun intended) but I like kiddie chatter during the Nutcracker. This year there was a girl behind me who was fixated on the "candy canes." Every time she'd ask her mom when the candy canes came out. Her mom would shush her and she'd ask again. Finally when they came out she shrieked and started counting each jump with the hoop before finishing with one last ecstatic yelp as Devin Alberda finished the double hoop jump. I think that's the charm of the Nutcracker experience is the chattery kids. They're SO EXCITED and its' cute.

You know I was thinking that it's a weird paradox that the most hardcore NYCB fans often see their favorite dancers the least in the Nutcracker. In December most principals do extensive guesting and Nut prices are such that at most I see two performances a year. And because of the prices I'm super picky about casting -- I have to want to see the SPF, Cavalier and Dewdrop very badly. So today as I plopped down in my seat I realized that it's been SEVEN YEARS since I've seen Ashley Bouder's Dewdrop live. (I did see the telecast.) It was so wonderful to revisit this classic interpretation. It was actually great that this year my schedule, casting, and the dancers' schedules all coincided so I could see the team of Hyltin/Veyette/Bouder.

Tiler and Tyler are wonderful! I'm so glad you got to see them. Does the Dallas Ballet do the Balanchine version or a mish-mash version?

My thoughts on this afternoon's matinee. I thought Hyltin, Bouder and Veyette were all wonderful. http://poisonivywalloftext.blogspot.com/2016/11/warhorse-diaries-2016-part-one-aida-and.html

Savannah Lowery is a soloist who is dancing less and less. The last couple times I've seen her she's looked rather rusty but I don't know if it's because she simply doesn't dance enough. I'm seeing tomorrow's matinee.

Last year there were a flurry of debuts. I think some of these dancers will be given a second try at the role but in mid-December. Possible debuts this year: Miriam Miller, Alexa Maxwell, Alston McGill???