canbelto

I went to the ARTE Series tonight. I agree that Justin Peck's The Most Incredible Thing was overall a disappointment. The four ballets that preceeded his ballet were also not that great. My main issue with the ballet is that some of the 12 divertissements didn't even bother to differentiate, for instance, the Five Senses or Seven Deadly Sins. I did like the costumes and mostly liked the score. More thoughts here: http://poisonivywalloftext.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-most-incredible-thing.html

I went to tonight's performance and agree that Sara was absolutely wonderful in Mozartiana. I was really distracted by Tyler Angle's lack of turnout and pointed feet though. The difficult variations of Mozartiana really require very strong classical technique and Tyler's almost flexed feet drove me nuts. I have noticed this about Tyler more than once in recent performances, that he simply doesn't turn out much anymore nor does he point his feet. I really loved Megan Fairchild and Gonzalo Garcia in Sonatine. I actually liked this rendition of Sonatine more than Tiler/de Luz. There was more rapport between Fairchild and Garcia and Garcia has a cleaner style than de Luz. Tess was very disappointing in Walpurgisnacht. Just didn't do anything other than be her usual chilly, remote self.

I absolutely loved Wendy Whelan but I never felt the adagio in Symphony in C was one of her best roles. Her style of dancing and body line were too geometrical for the adagio to make its full impact. I think Sara Mearns has an unorthodox shape but captured more of the movement's swooning grandeur. There really hasn't been a successor to Wendy in the leotard B&W ballets.

Has anyone seen it? I saw it last night and while I didn't like some touches (like the framing device) or the choice to play down some of the vaudeville influences, I thought it was a well-acted, well-directed revival. More thoughts here: http://poisonivywalloftext.blogspot.com/2016/02/fiddler-on-roof.html

Um ... is there any reason to be so hostile? Obviously we disagree about Hyltin as a dancer.

Well opening night Scheller completed all the turns, doubles and all. So it appears this is a modification.

I saw her execute SPF flawlessly and I know the steps.

This might not be related but David Hallberg's formerly very active instagram has been very silent recently. I hope he is okay.

I strongly disagree about Hyltin's Mozartiana. I feel like this ballet had been floundering since Kyra retired and Hyltin has revived it. No she's not Suzanne Farrell but I think she brings a lightness, grace, and charm that is, well, Mozartean. I saw Mearns do it -- she brought some good qualities but her body line is too unorthodox for the purity of this ballet. I saw Maria K look beautiful but struggle with the Theme and Variations section. I actually think Hyltin fulfills an important niche within the company -- no she's not a superstrong technician but she has grace, charm, lightness. I love her airy jumps. Her Sugar Plum Fairy is currently my favorite in the company, as is her Terpischore and Stravinsky Violin Concerto. The principals that I just think "Why?" are Abi Stafford and increasingly, Lauren Lovette.

I was at the Gordon/Fairchild (last minute substitute)/Phelan/Pollack performance of Who Cares? I thought the performance had many of the hiccups expected of a brand new cast. Gordon was technically excellent but his partnering of Megan in Man I Love had some shaky moments, and his face looked very nervous. Fairchild was technically flawless but doesn't bring much sensuality to the role. She needs to do more with her neck and shoulders. The usually solid Brittany Pollack was also very nervous looking and didn't attempt the double fouettes in her solo. Only Unity Phelan breezed through the part with elegance and ease. She looks a lot like a young Suzanne Farrell. More thoughts about the first two weeks of the season here, including performances of Liebeslider Waltzer, Glass Pieces, and the all-Balanchine bill: http://poisonivywalloftext.blogspot.com/2016/01/winter-season-diaries.html

Thanks so much for these translations! I find it interesting that in American dancing competitions there's usually a "Simon" who is very harsh, and then two judges who are usually positive but a bit bland, but in Russia I've noticed these judges are ... gentler? Which isn't what I'd normally associate with Russian ballet but ... (I'm just remembering Irina Dvorovenko harshly dismissing almost everyone on So You Think You Can Dance).

Those are good casts. I'm excited i have tickets for the Lovette/Huxley performance, the one cast I missed last year.

This is a tricky thing to mention but the first thing I notice in the Shapran videos is how emaciated she looks. Not just "ballet thin," or even "Russian ballet thin," but actually emaciated. In fact, the Giselle tutu seems too big for her shoulders, as the elastic straps fall off. Ballet requires a lot of strength, and Shapran looks so thin I wonder how she can even stand, let alone dance. I'll also add that Alina Somova gained some weight after she had her baby and became much technically stronger, and Oksana Skorik also gained some weight and has become technically stronger.

The Afternoon of the Two Pigeons of the Faun

Yeah, poor Gonzalo, his debut in Symphony in C delayed due to Mother Nature! Still, good to see the company celebrating.

Tiler Peck posted the instagram reaction to this: https://www.instagram.com/p/BA5LR_MGLUd/?taken-by=misstilerpeck Also Megan Fairchild had a cute reaction: https://www.instagram.com/p/BA5DyQNuiPe/?taken-by=mfairchild17

I was at the opening night performance and thought that Fancy Free needs to be re-coached. I've only seen ABT do it and by comparison the NYCB guys are so aggressive and even menacing towards purse girl that the thing became uncomfortable to watch. ABT makes it a lighter, more flirtatious gesture. This ballet is supposed to be light and fun, and last night it wasn't that at all.

Best: Uliana Lopatkina's O/O at BAM. Sublime. For the ages. Beautiful. Sterling Hyltin as the Sylph in La Sylphide -- the only Sylph I saw from NYCB that really seemed to understand the style Evgenia Obraztsova's Juliet The Hyltin/Veyette/Peck Nutcracker performance I saw -- maybe the best combination ever Ratmansky's Sleeping Beauty, with extra cheers for Stella Abrera's Lilac Fairy, Diana's Aurora, and Cornejo's Desire Nutcracker Rouge - by far the best Nutcracker alternative I saw in my Nutcracker adventures. Company XIV is incredible. Adrian D-W's Apollo at NYCB - we have a new great Apollo Daniel Ulbritcht and Anthony Huxley's King Oberon - again, we have new great Oberons Worst: An American in Paris - empty choreography, pretentious script, leads who really can't sing ... biggest disappointment of the year. Mariinsky's Les Sylphides/Chopiniana -- this used to be a company specialty but when I saw them do it it was leaden, heavy, and charmless Millepied's Without - bland copycat of Robbins' Dances at a Gathering. Blech. Sara Mearns in Flower Festivals from Genzano. No. Just no.

Well the thing to remember is that Pierina Legnani and Mathilde Kschessinskaya were asked to complete feats of technical mastery that had been hitherto unthinkable. It's not surprising that all of them had very thick calf muscles -- with the soft shoes they must have been extremely strong and athletic. But the earlier generation of ballerinas like Marie Taglioni and Fanny Elssler were famous for their slim, graceful figures. And the tide turned very quickly -- look at how much thinner the next generation of ballerinas like Anna Pavlova, Olga Spessivtseva, etc were. Alexandra Danilova: http://41.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lmp2uhOF9j1qa70eyo1_500.png Olga Spessivsteva: http://viola.bz/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Olga-Spessivtseva-9-500x670.jpg Anna Pavlova: http://www.russianballethistory.com/AnnaDyingSw.jpg Furthermore, Tamara Karsavina goes into some detail about how Mathilde K watched her weight and dieted when the season began. This involved not eating or drinking anything all day and only eating a sandwich at night. So it seems as if weight was always an issue in ballet, even when the pictures show another picture. With that being said, several ballerinas have said that Peter Martins is very blunt about asking them to lose weight. I think the NYCB in general is very strict about weight, and the merciless performing schedule is definitely not for everyone.

Yes but the Vaganova also accepts dancers who are extremely promising from other academies and lets them "finish" there. Examples: Tereshkina transferred to the Vaganova when she was 16 (she's from Siberia). Baryshnikov, same (he's from Latvia). I believe Natalia Makarova joined the Vaganova when she was 14, she was in another school before that. Zakharova only spent one year at the Vaganova. So "graduated from the Vaganova" doesn't mean they spent 8 years there either.

I don't see what the problem is. The parents who paid for Misty performances are seeing an excellent production of a very classic ballet. They're seeing Misty in a brief but showy part. Right now, at the KC, they're expecting people to pay top dollar prices for the Mariinsky Raymondas, and there's not a hint of casting. At BAM, they are doing the same without giving anything but a vague description of who's dancing. No program, nothing. Just buy at top prices, because it's the Mariinsky. I suspect Uliana Lopatkina will be doing some version of the 5 min Dying Swan + 10 min Rose de Malade program she's been doing all over the world for the past few months. I actually find that way more unethical and arrogant but no one here is calling it "sickening" or making assumptions that people who are paying for these tickets are poor and can't afford them.

Glad you had a great day! How was Scheller's Dewdrop?

Kaysta I'd recommend making the return trip. I saw two casts of Nutcracker this year (Hyltin/Veyette/Peck and Isaacs/Stanley/Hod) and it really is eye-opening to see the same steps performed by two very different sets of dancers. Mearns/Angle/Peck is a combo I've seen before and it's probably one of the best combos you could get. Tiler Peck's Dewdrop is really already a modern classic. Hell, I'd go for a return trip had I not completely blown out by December budget and then some on a new Macbook Pro, gifts, bills, and that marathon where I saw five Nuts in one week.

I fully expect the Ferri/Cornejo R&J to be dynamically priced and more expensive than the other R&J's of the season. Is that "sickening"? Or is it "sickening" just because it's Misty?

Well actually I found an old video with Diana Adams and Magallanes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnPPQEuM-mA The choreography has changed slightly but if I'm going to GUESS PM's 13 hazard points I'd say: 1. At 0:30 the supported pirouette in developpe a la seconde. I did see a ballerina fall off pointe at that moment, it requires a lot of strength. 2. The tricky arm changes at 0:58 3. The pique turn into penchee lunge sequence at 1:17. Adams handles it okay, although she doesn't lunge as quickly as some SPF's would do today and she makes a weird bobble at 1:26 in the second of those pique turns. 4. The pirouettes at 1:50. They have to be done with no preparation, with the last one at 2:03 being rather tricky (and probably the fifth hazard point). 5. The aforementioned pirouette at 2:03. 6 & 7. The two shoulder jumps at 2:35. If done perfectly we shouldn't see the Cavalier pushing the SPF onto the shoulder at all -- it should just look like she jumped right into a sit position on his shoulders. Also he has to turn her to the audience at that moment. 8. That floating lift at 3:27. If done well the SPF should look like she's riding the wave of the music upwards. Adams' timing is a bit off -- she comes down when the music is still going up. 9. The backwards lunge that follows that lift at 3:30. 10. (Not choreographed in this video). At 3:58 nowadays the SPF is put into that little pulley and slides forward in arabesque. 11. The tricky hand changing positions in 4:19 while doing a promenade. 12. The sustained balance that has to be held at 4:35 (Adams doesn't hold the balance for that long.) 13. The fishdive at 4:47. That was fun! Anyone else want to make guesses as to the 13 dangerous moments PM is talking about?