canbelto

I read the book. It reads a bit like a corporate self-help book. Which is ... fine, but I would have liked more insight. I felt like her YT interviews with dancers showed a more candid side to Megan. It was a very quick read.

Not you but @Lauren did.

I think @nanushkais talking about the idea that ballet organizations should erase all their masking and vaccination requirements. I agree with nanushka that that's absurd. Organizations have to have protocols in place.

Re: Jovani Furlan he posted on IG that his mother was ill, and it seems he has gone home for a visit.

Vaccines are very effective in preventing serious illness. I had a breakthrough infection and got nothing but a headache and sore throat.

His partnering was wonderful. The shoulder jumps were a bit tentative, but everything else was top notch. His coda was also great -- lots of pirouettes a la seconde, very fast, very centered.

It's eligible people. If you just got your vaccine you're allowed in.

Can I say how wonderful it was for there finally to be a Chinese-origin dancer dance the grand pas last night?

Emilie and Chun were absolutely beautiful tonight. Wow. Also, some cast changes: Adams and Hod replace Kretzschmar in her assignments: https://res.cloudinary.com/new-york-city-ballet/image/upload/v1639521256/Documents/Casting/NYCB-Casting_Dec-14-19-2021_20211214 https://res.cloudinary.com/new-york-city-ballet/image/upload/v1639521523/Documents/Casting/NYCB-Casting_Dec-21-26-2021_20211214-1

My favorite SPFs are Sterling Hyltin, Indiana Woodward, Tess Reichlen.

I've said this many times but when it comes to Bugaku the fact is if a company wants to acquire a Balanchine ballet they're going for Jewels/Serenade/Concerto Barocco/Apollo/Agon and the list goes on every time. Bugaku on its own merits isn't top Balanchine. It's mid-tier at best. It's unlike Balanchine's Nutcracker, where Tea has been "cleaned up" but the ballet is still staged by many companies. The strength of that Nutcracker overrides the problematic Tea.

Usually 45 days from movie release.

With all due respect, I suggest giving this new movie a chance when it comes out streaming on HBO Max. It really exceeded all my expectations and was moving and beautiful. I loved the 1961 film but this film does justice to the material as well. As for the height difference, that actually becomes a joke in the film. It's quite well done.

I went and absolutely loved it. I posted a review on my blog.

There are actually many corps members who are getting soloist opportunities. Baily Jones, Mira Nadon, Emily Kikta, the von Enck sisters, India Bradley, Olivia MacKinnon, etc. Laine Habony just isn't among those.

I saw it today and actually loved it. I agree that Justin Peck's choreography can't hold a candle to Jerome Robbins' but I found many aspects of this film superior: https://humbledandoverwhelmed.blogspot.com/2021/12/west-side-story.html

I must say I'm puzzled by the adoration for Laine Habony. I don't doubt she's good but she wouldn't be the first corps member I'd promote. Not even the fifth. Emily Kikta, Mira Nadon, Ashley Hod, Olivia Boisson, Isabella LFreniere, and the von Enck sisters IMO all have caught my eye more than Laine Habony.

I love Emilie Gerrity. She is more romantic. And I agree that SPF is actually a hard role to pull off. I've seen some of the very best dancers falter in this role. For instance, Tiler Peck always is more free, expressive and jaw-dropping as Dewdrop than she is as SPF.

Apparently Peter Walker went on in place of Harrison Ball (who had originally subbed for Taylor Stanley) last night with Megan: https://www.instagram.com/p/CXXnpIWuZBL/

I didn;t go to that performance but I went to an earlier performance with Unity/Joe Gordon/Tiler. Tiler was fantastic as Dewdrop, but Unity and Joe ran into some partnering problems and as a result the performance was rather tense and lacking in magic. In the shoulder jumps Unity almost slipped off. I think Unity's a great dancer but more neoclassical than classical, and she's not a natural SPF.

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Did anyone attend last night?

I reviewed the December 7 performance for bachtrack: https://bachtrack.com/review-nutcracker-balanchine-woodward-huxley-coll-new-york-city-ballet-december-2021

I saw Sterling Hyltin as SPF a week ago and her portrayal if anything has gotten more technically secure than she used to be. I am not ready to part with Sterling, Tiler, Tess, Sara and other veteran dancers.

There are many brands of tights/nylons that now make shimmery tights. I myself bought myself a pair of Wolford Neon 40s. They look particularly good on singers like Beyonce, who are known to wear the shiny tights. When I saw Moulin Rouge I noticed most of the dancers were wearing the shiny, flesh-colored tights. I wonder why ballerinas don't wear them. They are flattering on darker-toned skin.