Drew

17 hours ago, On Pointe said:

.(Why was a principal trying to angle for a soloist's spot?).  To me that wasn't particularly credible either.  I'm sure others will disagree.

One of the disagreeing others here...Soloists get cast as leads...I don’t actually have a strong opinion on the value or truthfulness of this book which hasn’t come out yet and I don’t think one dancer angling for another’s role in these circumstances (however tactless or unkind) counts as more than a venial sin. But I certainly found the story credible enough whatever the ranks involved...

Edited to say: in earlier version of this I wrote that the ballet was a premier and premiers get reviewed but I later realized that isn't in the article -- I was just more  or less assuming it based on something I read elsewhere. In any case, soloists do get cast as leads esp in companies like NYCB.

7 minutes ago, lmspear said:

Without a corresponding increase in the curve on the bottom of the foot the "enhancers" are just adding bulk to the top of foot.  I find it unattractive.

Before I knew of their existence (quite recently) I would sometimes look at dancers’ feet and think “I don’t understand the shape of that foot? or How is THAT foot fitting in that shoe? Or “Those feet look odd...” etc.

There may BE some dancers out there with unexpectedly shaped feet or peculiarly fitting shoes, but I have concluded that much of the time the problem is these enhancements. I just didn’t know that that is what I was registering...

I think it makes sense for now, but fear it will not be taken up in many parts of the country including where I live. 

The timing of the Ratmansky Swan Lake is rough for me, but I am pondering....part of my difficulty is work schedule (February, not April, is the cruelest month) and part is that I prefer to plan way ahead of time if I am traveling (best seats, best airfares etc.) but am reluctant to do so with so many unknowns on the Covid front....I am starting to doubt whether I will see much ballet even in 2022...I know others are more intrepid than I!

With all the changes etc. just as well I opted against an NY trip. Still envious of all of you getting to see the company again live.....

Wishing her much success!

May she rest in peace...

8 hours ago, canbelto said:

I kind of think it's Corella rebranding the company. I could be wrong.

A possibility--it certainly seems unlikely he was doing it to honor the company's earliest history....And he may be being advised that if he is to up his donor game he has to do something dramatic and attention getting.

6 hours ago, PeggyTulle said:

Huh. I always thought Pennsylvania Ballet had name recognition. Surprised with the change...

A day or two ago, when I first saw a post online about Philadelphia Ballet I just assumed it was some small local group maybe even semi-professional. Then I read more closely.

I wonder if behind the scenes they don't have reason to think that the moniker Philadelphia Ballet may help them raise money locally or perhaps draw out same pool of people who support the orchestra?? To me it was a puzzling change because "Pennsylvania Ballet" has some cachet as a top U.S. company outside of NY.

Batoeva’s Gulnare in D.C. was pitch perfect. More than that, she looked like a ballerina and effortlessly (or seemingly effortlessly) drew one’s eye. Just a few months later dancing the lead in Paquita, also in D.C., her dancing was excellent, but .... she looked like a soloist. It may have been an off night but it was disappointing to see her have such a pallid outing when she was dancing as the bona fide lead. (I don’t find video the best way to assess the distinction I’m trying to capture.) I imagine she will be cast in Rubies in D.C, and, if she is, then I hope to see it. I do always enjoy her unaffected, clean style....

I enjoyed this rehearsal too...and thanks @naomikagefor posting about May Nagahisa's promotion. I remember her dancing an especially effective 3rd shade in Bayadere at Kennedy Center a few seasons back. Congratulations to her--

Met her briefly when I was younger, but was intimidated and awkward and everything bad about being younger. She has left a great legacy--may she rest in peace--

Congratulations from me as well to Novikova—

Thanks for this reminder.

Premiers by company dancers are a nice way to develop in-house choreographers but one can't help feeling that they may be another money-saving measure as well.

The Schreier premier is the highlight for me --and a chance to see her Pleiades Dances in the theater. After that, the Paquita--which is both a wonderful slice of classical dancing and, of course, rather a test of where the dancers are as classical dancers. When it was danced by the company during Nedvigin's first season, the "second" cast, which was the only cast I saw, struggled--at least so it seemed to me. And the dancers who were (to some extent) exceptions--Mara, Nash, and Rogers--are all of them no longer with the company.

I will be curious to see Giselle as well, but probably take a pass on Nutcracker.

Of course, I'm assuming that the Covid situation in GA will be well under control . . . if there is any doubt . . . well, no live ballet for me.

I had recently read about the quarantine issue and was wondering how that impacted Osipova. (Though if that's behind her decision, she has not said so...) I assume one problem traveling/guesting dancers have is that the scheduling is done ahead of time but Covid makes things unpredictable....

(Kekhman accused Ananiashvilli of lying a few months back--dispute over directorship of Novosibirsk ballet--so that's kind of his m.o.)

An interesting, moving, and enjoyable read...and what a striking portrait of Mitchell's huge presence, on-stage and off. 

6 hours ago, naomikage said:

Christian Spuck, currently of Zurich Ballet will take over Staatsballett Berlin, and Cathy Marston will be AD of Zurich Ballet 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CQIztOSNv_k/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Congratulations to both!

Loved the photos from the graduation preparations etc. Thanks for posting.

10 hours ago, diane said:

She apparently died in Perth on June 5th, 2021. 

RIP. 

https://michellepotter.org/tag/lucette-aldous

 A photo of Lucette Aldous graced one of the earliest ballet books I owned (well, "owned"--I assume my parents got it) -- which was also my very favorite. May she rest in peace....

6 minutes ago, nanushka said:

@Drew, just out of historical curiosity did you see that specific performance? I ask just because, when watching that video, I always think it must have been such an emotional night in the house.

I don’t think I was, but honestly don’t know.

18 minutes ago, volcanohunter said:

The director of the 1983 telecast dealt with this by showing the entire stage, so you do see a smallish Farrell making her exit, but you also see the chandeliers switch on and the couples coming on from stage right. Sort of the Fourth Ring view.

I must be remembering that same version and for me it didn’t remotely capture Farrell’s impact at that moment. A closer shot might have done more....there was such POWER in the way she completely yielded to the music and movement....I guess it’s just another example of why live performance is such a challenge to capture on film or video even when the choreography is, technically, visible.

2 hours ago, California said:

That was my one big disappointment with the camera work. The moment when the lights come on and the crowd enters from the side is always so exciting in the theater, and it was lost because the camera was watching Kowroski exit.

I had to laugh (ruefully) asI read this. As you probably have seen, there is footage of Farrell’ in the role and her exit at that moment was SO extraordinary, I was eager to see if the camera captured even a whiff of it. Alas no—the camera cuts away to show instead the swirl of couples as the crowd enters, so you can’t get any sense of what Farrell did with that moment....and I will never not be unhappy about that! 

She was indeed extraordinary....and thank you for the link to Gramiliano.  Other responses to her death on this site can be found under ballet obituaries and memorials:

I very much admire Lane for speaking here about her eating disorder and more generally directing some of her remarks at young dancers.

It surprised me to learn that she had specifically requested not to dance with one of her main partners, and I was struck that in her own account of life at ABT that decision seemed to mark a (negative) turning point. Since it's easy enough to connect the dots and realize who it must be--one is left wondering what she thought might happen when she refused to dance with a)one of the very few dancers in the company for whose height she is perfectly matched  and who is also b)one of the company's most widely admired stars. The reasons she gives are understandable and yet, taking those two things into account, the decision--at least as she explains it in this interview--still seems surprising to me.  If Joseph Gorak had come into his own as a partner/lead then she would have had more options. They were just beautiful together in Ratmansky's Tempest. After seeing it, I was awaiting their Giselle (in my dreams)...but alas no and the next time I saw Gorak partner someone (Boylston in Sleeping Beauty) I lost any remaining enthusiasm for the idea.

Profoundly saddened by this news. Fracci was one of the first truly great ballet artists I saw dance and my memories of her performances are among those I most cherish--and most advert to in my mind. Like others, I have been spending time watching video of Fracci dancing--in every way, she belongs to ballet's pantheon...