netrina

I did! I saw the opening night cast of Nayara Lopez/Arian Molina Soca/Jack Thomas and then the cast of Mayara Pineiro/Ashton Roxander/Pau Pujol. I'm no ballet expert so I can't talk too specifically about the nuts and bolts of the choreography but I overall really enjoyed the production. It's fairly short, ~80 minutes including the intermission which kept the pace and energy up. I was most impressed by the pas de deux and pas de troix choreography, really dynamic and interesting lifts. There also seemed to be some inspiration drawn from contemporary dance to varying degrees of success IMO. The other highlights were the Escamillo solo (shades of Don Q) and the dance with Don Jose and the bandits, which the crowd absolutely loved. I did find myself wishing there was more dancing for the non-Carmen women, as even the "featured" roles had little to do. Though the Spring show is Giselle, so perhaps this was just trying to even things out I really enjoyed the performances as well; Ashton Roxander has the it factor and is the highlight in everything I've seen him in. Nayara and Mayara both fit Carmen so well and are so technically secure it let the performance and expression shine. Would be interested to hear other thoughts from anyone else who's seen it! Overall well worth the night(s) out for me.

Looks like a great season! Carmen and Giselle both seem like great fits, lots of dancers I'd love to see in the principal roles; Nayara Lopes as Carmen in particular feels perfect (barring injury of course). I really enjoyed her in Sleeping Beauty this spring.

I registered Thursday (I think) and received my link yesterday around 4:30 PM--hopefully the people in charge of membership reach out to you as it certainly seems like an error. Also happy to shoot you a PM or email if you're still having trouble--Don Q tonight should be lovely and you definitely shouldn't have to miss it on a system mistake!

I ended up seeing three performances with Pineiro/Molina Soca, Lopes/Diaz, and DiPiazza/Liang and every show was absolutely wonderful. It truly is an exciting and vibrant production and I'm so happy it seems like it's going in the company's rep now that they've bought the sets. Now, brief(-ish) impressions, focusing on the highlights so that I can remember them later on! Mayara Piniero and Arian Molina Soca were clearly the veterans in the roles and both looked absolutely secure and confident throughout the show. Piniero was absolutely the most impressive performance of the weekend, it feels like the role is made for her. I couldn't keep my eyes off her anytime she was on stage! Nailed the character and the little moments just as well as the technical tricks. Molina Soca was also just wonderful technically and in the partnering moments. The Kitri/Basilio back and forth in act 1 was so fun and felt like a true, lived-in relationship in a way that none of the other couples quite managed. Nayara Lopes also blew me away in her debut. She played Kitri a bit younger and more impish than the other two ladies which fit the class clown-esque energy Etienne Diaz was bringing to the table. She was rock solid in her balances both as Dulcinea and in the final pas de deux, and I loved just watching her react to the action around her, she had so many tiny moments that made me laugh. I also saw her as Gypsy Queen and she was great there too. It looks like she actually played 5 different roles in the 11 show run, and I wish I could have seen her in more of them! I also really enjoyed Zecheng Liang as Basilio--perhaps the most precise technique of every dancer I saw matched with the sweetest and most attentive acting. His coda in act 3 was unbelievable. Lillian DiPiazza was wonderful in act 1 & 2--a little more sultry than the other two Kitri's--but had a slip in the wedding pas de deux and almost face-planted, which clearly shook her and threw off the end of her performance. Other standouts in different roles throughout the three performances were Oksana Maslova as an absolutely regal Queen of the Dryads with fabulous Italian fouettes, Dayesi Torriente & Jack Thomas as my favorite Mercedes/Espada couple (not sure if it was just my angle but she seemed lightning fast on her feet), Jermel Johnson who made Gamache into a star turn, So Jung Shin who had just electric stage presence as Gypsy Queen, Yuka Iseda and Sydney Dolan as two of the Flower Girls (even if there was a dropped fan or two), and Alexandra Heier as an Amor who drew out true laughs. Not too many disruptive errors in the performances that I saw, although two of the Mercedes/Espada pairs had some noticable bobbles (DiPiazza/Baca in act 3, Vinez/Pujol in act 1) and each had variable success with the playboy/seductress vibe they seemed to be going for. Overall, I was incredibly impressed with the aesthetic, energy, and dancing. I'm no technical wizard but none of the errors took me out of the show, which is all I can really ask for. Can't wait to see the next performances of the company in November!

Casting is up for Don Quixote: http://paballet.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Don-Q-Principal-Casting.pdf Hoping to make it to opening night and maybe one more performance! Lots of lovely pairs to choose from.