GB1216

3 minutes ago, Leah said:

I wasn’t conflating intent to harm and harm itself. Speaking about Finlay, not Ramasar. He shared the photos to several men including a pimp and compared Waterbury to a farm animal. I think there can be a string inference of an intent to degrade and embarrass Waterbury. 

“Willful” blindness, like “willful” disregard and extreme recklessness, can count as intent.

Yes exactly.  

17 minutes ago, Helene said:

 

Those are two separate things:  You can cause harm without intending harm.   (Example:  involuntary manslaughter, in the criminal world.) To prove intent, a lawyer and/or prosecutor would look for direct statements, coded statements, and patterns of behavior to show intent. From everything that has been published in court documents and main stream reporting, I don't see anything that shows they did it to harm anyone.  That they thought there was no harm involved is the issue. 

100% agree.  I would even go so far as to say they were willfully blind to what they were doing - still wrong, of course.  
 

I do have to say that I was surprised when Amar was cast in west side story.  I thought he would just continue his career quietly at NYCB since being reinstated.  

10 minutes ago, aurora said:

Again you ignore the matter of CHOICE inherent in this.

There may be women walking around topless in Times Square, but they chose to be topless in public.

She did not consent to be seen topless by the people who saw her photo.

I agree with this....however, after reading Maxwell’s statement she unequivocally has forgiven him and they are moving on together.  Whether that is right or wrong, it is not our choice but hers alone.  Another woman may have dropped him and that would have been fine too - if not more in the line of public opinion.  We are not in their relationship and can only speculate.
 

Side note:  I remember seeing images of Waterbury and Finlay prior to the scandal on IG, and thinking “my god what a fast life they are living”.  It showed through - I was not at all surprised that a scandal broke out.

Saw this version twice - first time many moons ago with I think Sterling Hyltin and then was lucky enough to be at Tiler Peck’s debut performance.  The dancing itself I have always found to be top notch, but the production itself is lacking.  The sets and costumes are bad (ESPECIALLY the costumes).  There is something about it that leaves me not as emotionally vested as other productions.  Can’t quite put my finger on why.  The ending is def unique in its own way - I don’t hate it but I don’t love it either.  
 

P.S.  Tiler was fabulous, of course. So many well deserved curtain calls! 

5 hours ago, sohalia said:

I just wanted to say that I love the new feature of the podcast: The Rosin Box with Claire Kretzschmar and Aarón Sanz. It's been so nice to get to know the dancers individually, to hear them talk about their paths, their personal lives, their experiences. It's so fascinating, and makes them so human and "approachable" in a way. 

While I did find some episodes of the first season a bit dry at times, this new series is fantastic. I hope we get to hear from every dancer, and get more behind-the-scened tidbits like these.

Completely agree!! the rosin box is by far my favorite so far followed by the episodes that Wendy Whelan did.  

Just wondering if anyone was at Kathryn Morgan’s comeback performance?  I saw her when she was with NYCB and she was always stunning.

If Ramasar was leaving the company, wouldn’t he be given a farewell since he is a principal? Or would the scandal obfuscate that? 

Was still thinking about the opening night of jewels and thought I’d go on you tube to watch some performances.  I found this live recording of Pat Neary rehearsing Rubies and Diamonds with the Royal Opera Ballet from 2017.  I found it so interesting and thought I’d share here.  FWIW, I find Steven McCrae to be so talented and think even in this short rehearsal was more compelling than Veyette.

Had such a wonderful evening last night! I love going opening nights as I feel the audience is always so engaged.

For Emeralds, agree that Unity stole the show.  She was just gorgeous and delicate. Stafford was meh as discussed and I feel Unity easily outshined her.  Amar was good but not great I felt.

For Rubies - LOVED Emily Kikta!! It was so dramatic every time she was on stage and I loved every second of it.  She’s perfectly cast and owns that role fully.  Hyltin I thought was wonderful and I enjoyed seeing her dance compared to Bouder who I saw last year.  In regards to Veyette - he was good. However, I did prefer Joaquin De Luz last year who had a wonderful charm on the stage that Veyette does not have.  De Luz of course is retired but I always enjoyed his dancing compared to some of the other men.

For Diamonds - highlight of the whole night for me.  Maria Kowroski danced with an abandon that I have never seen from her which I thought lent itself to more drama and passion.  And totally agree that Tyler Angle was superb - was definitely the finest man on the stage last night.  

2 hours ago, bellawood said:

For those who might have missed it, there's a few hours left to watch part of the rehearsal for DGV on NYCB's instagram that was aired live yesterday afternoon. Lots of goodies, including Lovette/Veyette, Walker/Pollack and the truly-DGV coda. Wheeldon is there to stage it. 

Just watched it! I always love watching the behind the scenes rehearsals - I hope they keep doing more of them.  

Lauren Lovette looked beautiful and I thought Megan Fairchild looked in very good form as well! Obviously all are so talented.

1 hour ago, nanushka said:

I'm seeing the first cast as well, and have some of the same feelings. I'm looking forward to seeing Ball and Phelan in Emeralds, though, and Kikta and Hyltin in Rubies (especially since I've never seen the latter in that) — and I expect Kowroski's Diamonds PDD especially will be gorgeous. In my eyes, there's no one standout all-around best cast, so I'm reasonably satisfied.

That's what Balanchine programs are so often like for me at NYCB, especially when I'm only seeing one iteration. I always feel I'm getting to see so much and yet missing so much at the same time! Not complaining, though — it's a sign of a strong company and good programming.

Yes agreed! I do think kowroski is going to be beautiful.  I know that she was coached by Suzanne Farrell a few months ago on diamonds - it will be interesting to see from that perspective! 

On 9/3/2019 at 5:29 PM, CTballetfan said:

Thanks, canbelto, for the link to the first week’s casting. For me, a mixed bag. I have tickets to Jewels opening night and am happy to see Hilton, whom I have not seen in Jewels before. I hope Veyette is in shape.  Last spring I saw Kowroski and Angle in Diamonds—great adagio—but hoped to see Reichlen or Mearns this time. Oh well. Also, I am not a big fan of Abi Stafford—I find her dancing bland. But the whole of the production and the music are exhilarating. And I am happy my summer ballet drought will be over! 

Very much agree with this assessment.  Last time I saw Jewels, I too saw Stafford and Kowroski and have tickets for opening night as well.  Was definitely hoping for Mearns in diamonds and someone else for emeralds as opposed to Stafford.  I remember her dancing was lovely but not captivating as opposed to the others.  In looking at the cast lists, the second cast of bouder/Fairchild/Reichlen feels like a more interesting grouping.