The Traveling Ballerina

For those interested in reading it, I've written a review of the performance I saw last night. I left the show feeling a bit ambiguous, appreciative of their technical abilities and at the same time lacking an emotional response to what I saw. Anyone else attend?

2 hours ago, Helene said:

That's fine; we need a citation when you post news, like you blig pist cited El Pais about the de Luz news 

Ok - understood!

I've also translated a video of Joaquín published by the Spanish government earlier today.

9 minutes ago, Helene said:

Please note: Ballet Alert! rules require an official source citation for info about a ballet professional.

Is this in regard to my comment about Martínez? My source is El País, one of the most circulated newspapers in Spain. These are the two articles that I have read: https://elpais.com/cultura/2019/02/04/actualidad/1549297649_613520.html and https://elpais.com/cultura/2019/02/06/actualidad/1549449729_452880.html

By the way, for anyone who does not understand Spanish, I have written this to sum up what was in the Spanish newspapers.

This is so exciting! I can't wait to see the influence he has on this company and country! 

17 minutes ago, Drew said:

...but it's kind of a made up ballet--Smekalov came up with his own story and mostly his own choreography for the first two acts...

Hmmm...my understanding is that it's based on Cervantes' La gitanilla.

I'm so curious to see Paquita in its entirety!

Just in case you haven't seen this yet, I think this film about Royal Ballet School's Health Dancer Programme is a great watch. I wish that something like this existed when I was training and I hope that this sets an example for other academies to follow. Enjoy!

So I've just come across this video showing the making of R-Class pointe shoes. I think it's wonderful insight for students, parents, and professionals - enjoy!

7 minutes ago, Mashinka said:

Yes, it has an extraordinary front curtain designed by Grayson Perry that I don't think I can describe here without contravening the rules.

You have my curiosity peaked.

Oh how I wish this ballet would make it to The States! I adore almost anything I encounter about the life of Frida Kahlo, so I imagine Broken Wings would not disappoint! Has anyone here seen it?

30 minutes ago, Dreamer said:

I wonder if the current production is the same that the company performed back in 2005 in California.  The 2005 version was staged by Zhang Yimou. I don’t remember much except that it was a powerfully told story and easy to follow. 

Hmmm...my understanding is that Zhang Yimou was the director of the film that the ballet is based on, and Wang Xinpeng and Wang Yuanyuan are the choreographers of the ballet. If you saw it in 2005, I'm thinking it's most likely the same version as that's the same year it premiered (at Kennedy Center).

46 minutes ago, YouOverThere said:

- The lead dancers were quite good. Which they had to be, because there wasn't much in the way of tricks or "wow" sections in the choreography to make them look spectacular if they had been merely adequate.

I felt like there was very little dancing for the principal male characters. The Peking Opera Actor had some opportunity to demonstrate his technical skills, but most of his and the Master's contributions were in partnering.

48 minutes ago, YouOverThere said:

- The choreography could have used a little more variety, especially in tempo.

- the story was a tragedy, but it didn't engage me enough for me to have any emotional response to it.

Completely agree!

17 hours ago, Drew said:

The production looks pretty stunning visually at any rate...I read in your review they don't give any cast information or indeed information about the ballet and its background. That seems a shame all round.

Thanks to reading @YouOverThere's impressions, I flipped through the program again and discovered that a couple of pages were stuck together! So I have updated my post  As I mention in the update, there is very limited casting information - so I still don't know who actually danced that evening.

Although I had moments of "wow" during the evening, this production felt a bit incohesive to me. Here are some more of my thoughts - has anyone else seen Raise the Red Lantern?

22 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:

So, they're going to have ABT "onboard experiences" (presumably meaning performances) during the Met season in June??

I imagine that only a handful of artists will join the cruises at any given moment. And it's possible that the onboard experiences are concentrated within a couple of days, not necessarily for the duration of the itinerary.

Here's all the information I've put together so far. As I am also a travel agent, I am in contact with the cruise line directly to see if there is more information they will allow me to publish; I will update my article any time I get some new scoop!  

On 2/11/2019 at 7:23 PM, balletgirl22sk said:

I had to retire in my 20's due to injuries and surgery. It was the most difficult time of my life. I stayed away from anything about dance, it hurt too much. A couple of years later, I started taking barre again and ended up starting to teach at a company school. That was 1980- and I am still teaching after 5 knee surgeries, 2 hip replacements, and 1 recent hip replacement revision!

Oh, so sorry that you've had to endure so many surgeries  I am so glad to hear that teaching has given you the opportunity to stay connected to ballet and to pass your knowledge on to others.

I hadn't really thought about this in a while, but today was inspired to share what retirement was like for me. I am sure that many of you out there are retired professional ballet dancers - what was your process like?

Well, after attending the performance last night, I think that Harlequinade is precious. The evening flew as I was thoroughly enjoying myself the entire time. If you're interested, here's my review  Would love to hear the opinion of others!

I'm going to opening night tomorrow and I can't wait! I refrain from reading other reviews until I write my own but look forwarding to perusing them afterword. Thanks for sharing!

Will any of you in the UK have a chance to see this biopic of Rudolf Nureyev? I am envious and crossing my fingers that it comes to the States! Please share with us how it is

I interviewed my dear friend Pablo Perez who is in his second year as Ballet Master for Carolina Ballet. We danced in the company together since its founding and have remained close since then. Does anyone else here in this forum know him?

13 hours ago, Mashinka said:

...perhaps too English for export?

I imagine that there are many folks outside of England who love it! It's quite possible that I'm the anomaly

I searched the forum to check if anyone else has seen or commented about Bourne's Cinderella but couldn't find anything. I went to the performance last night at The Kennedy Center, and I'm sorry to say that I was disappointed. I really wanted to love it considering the high praises I have heard from colleagues and reviews of his other productions. If you're interested, here are some of my thoughts about the show. And I would truly appreciate reading the opinion of others, especially from those who enjoyed it.