Drew

Thank you--

Yes--I'm not indifferent to casting, but the chance to see this ballet is the great thing with me too. Especially this ballet as danced by this company. (Weather and ballet gods cooperating, I will be there Friday and Sat, and see all three casts. And I hope to meet some fellow posters on this site, too, as Cubanmiamiboy earlier suggested.) Edited to Add: Maps I would love to see the poster, but haven't been able to track down an image of it.

Some discussion of this in thread on 2016-2017 season: http://balletalert.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/41069-2016-2017-season/

I wasn't at the performance being asked about...You weren't quoting me--but Royal Blue ...

In the 1960's surfer classic The Endless Summer, two surfers traveling the world in search of the perfect wave keep turning up at famous beaches only to hear "you should have been here yesterday." And there is often something to that, say, when it comes to missing a ballet with its original interpreters (like missing that perfect wave)...But I'm a little wary of that attitude at times too. As it happens, I did see Verdy in Emeralds and...yeah...'you should have been here yesterday.' Without a doubt Verdy's Emeralds exists only in memory. And people have a right to mourn that performance. I do. But I still don't think that's quite the same thing as saying Emeralds exists only in memory. In recent years, for example, Peck has found a way to make the Verdy role a living, beautiful, unique, event. I long thought Chaconne without Farrell was merely a pleasant--often very pleasant--divertissement but then I saw Whelan give a remarkable performance and more recently Mearns. (By the by, Robert Gottlieb -- no slouch when it comes to complaining about post-Balanchine NYCB -- recently wrote that he thought Peck surpassed Mcbride in Who Cares?) Ballets are passed down through the generations; some will be lost entirely--and others will lose much of their original point. Sure...and it's great to hear from people, like Goldner, who can speak to distinctive qualities of the original casts that have been lost. But I'm uneasy at any implication that new generations can't find their own way to make many of these works live in distinctive ways well deserving of praise in their own right. Should you feel your judgment of Nichols in Emeralds is suspect because you never saw Verdy? I agree that if you had seen Verdy, then you might have a different sense of what Nichols was or wasn't doing, what might be more or less effective in her performance, but my suspicion is that if the performance had its own 'Kyra Nichols' power and musicality, then it was possibly quite a valuable reading of Emeralds. It's a good thing that great works can be taken up by new generations of interpreters even if loss is involved as well. That's the kind of art ballet is: even with the greatest and most pious of coaches, the tradition morphs. Bodies change, contexts change, cultures change. With the greatest devotion and greatest luck important dimensions of older works are preserved and something new is brought to them as well. Say, Tiler Peck in Emeralds or Who Cares...Sara Mearns in Chaconne. To invoke another tradition, I have found Anthony Dowell completely irreplaceable in the roles created for him by Frederic Ashton, but I would never say "The Dream" or "A Month in the Country" exists only in memory. And I'm pretty sure no-one has ever been better as Puck than Herman Cornejo who came to the ballet long after Dowell had danced in it. I am grateful for having been able to see both of those performances. We aren't living in the era of Balanchine--for some, I guess that's condemnation enough of ballet today. It isn't for me though, however much Balanchine remains my touchstone. I would even say that we are living an era of renewed creativity and talent on many fronts especially at NYCB.

Eager to hear about the production and perhaps, eventually, see it in the theater. Enjoy Zurich--

I very much hope Hallberg and Lendorf are dancing in the spring. But if the company does invite guests to fill in male leads, then I vote Sarafanov for Fille (which his home company has in its rep). I haven't forgotten that I don't actually get a vote....

I saw the video of Bessmertnova's in this variation for the first time a few weeks ago. Then, and watching it again now, I find it one of the most powerful and beautiful versions I've seen.

Ah...I should have written "the last time it was on..." or "the first season" not "last year. But for sure I'm kicking myself for not having watched the show before. I really enjoy it.

Thrilled about the DVD as these are two major Ashton works I have never seen...and, for sure, no complaints from me about a chance to see Osipova in Rhapsody.

Definitely enjoying your blog plus the summaries of what the judges are saying. From the dancers this week, I especially enjoyed the Terada and Okawa Flower Festival pas de deux. (And I am kicking myself for not having bothered with this show last year--somehow I hadn't realized how much substantive dancing one would get to see.) Edited to add: Buddy corrected me below re "last year"--Anyway I'm kicking myself for not having bothered with this show before.

When Polunin was younger than he is now, perhaps closer to Womack's age, he gave a number of interviews complaining of his treatment at the Royal, including his partners; one article about his departure from the Royal Ballet also described him walking out on a rehearsal with Cojocaru; in interviews around that time he also talked about how ballet bored him, at least rehearsing bored him, how money was part of his motivation, how he had used illegal drugs, and--when he left the Royal, how he wanted to open a tattoo parlor; in a somewhat more recent public announcement he said that he was giving up ballet for movies etc. (A few days later he turned up dancing in Vladivostok.) I should add that he also gave an interview saying that at least one of the interviews given shortly after his departure from the Royal--interviews which I have summarized from--included statements that were just not true. That last statement I find easy to believe. Polunin also has had a number of last minute cancellations of performances that, however understandable, haven't exactly established him as the most reliable professional in the world. I'm talking about cancellations in which injury seems not to have been the issue. As a matter of fact, I can live with temperamental artists who say unconventional or inconsiderate things in interviews, live unconventional lives, and even cancel performances--though I may sometimes wish they wouldn't or not care for aspects of their behavior. A great artist is too rare a being not to allow that they have their own way of working and being. But whatever one thinks about Polunin's dancing or artistry, I wouldn't exactly use his offstage way of presenting himself to the public as a standard to which other dancers should aspire. Especially when he was younger. In other words: maybe Joy Womack could use some better role models for how she presents herself to the public in her offstage projects, but I don't think Polunin is one of them. Dancing, training, artistry, all that of course is a different matter.

Thank you for sharing your memories. I saw Kirkland very little with NYCB (though later with ABT I saw her a lot) -- she was my absolute favorite ballerina. Many years and many ballerinas later, probably still is. And, unless my memory betrays me, the first time I saw the Marriage of Figaro, your friend Michael Devlin was the Figaro.

I very much enjoyed Taming of the Shrew--though the stage lighting did not always translate well for the HD broadcast. I swear I think some of the bootleg video that turned up on youtube when the ballet premiered may have gotten a better picture. Really thrilled to get a broadcast with the original cast at least in the major roles--and I thought they were all terrific. I am not sure how I think the ballet itself would hold up to anything less than these kinds of stellar lead performances, but I find Mailot's choreography looks fresh, funny, tender, and sensual on the Bolshoi dancers. If I hadn't known the story/play, I would have assumed, seeing the expression on Lantratov's (Petruchio's) face after Krysanova's Katherine slaps him (the expression he deliberately goes on to shutter) that in Act II he was going to beat her to a bloody pulp. Fortunately that is NOT the story, but I don't think this ballet will be winning any awards for its treatment of gender relations--despite Maillot's insistence that no 'taming' is going on, just two people who belong together and learn to share a playful understanding of how gender roles are performed. (I'm not making that up...see the Bolshoi website's detailed synopsis of the ballet which begins with a paragraph about the taming question.) The ballet ends on a light almost anti-climactic vein as, to the tune of Tea for Two, the ballet's various couples demonstrate how they take tea together -- with only Katherine and Petruchio (who start the whole thing) enjoying it together without carping or fighting. I wouldn't have minded a more conventionally rip roaring ending for the leads--perhaps one final crazy lift--but that's Maillot's playfulness/irony i suppose. As it is, the last of ballet's major pas de deux goes to Bianca and Lucentio--which feels dramatically wrong despite the tea-drinking shtick that follows But no arguments from me on the beautiful dancing (and dance-acting) of Smirnova and Chudin in those roles. Anyway I would enjoy a chance to see this ballet live, but I don't think I will be able to anytime soon, so very grateful to have seen it at the movies. Edited to add: What a pleasure to see Filin smiling and laughing with Jean-Christoph Maillot at intermission and to hear the program's hostess Novikova talk about his contributions to the Bolshoi repertory. Of all things, she even asked him about the new dancers he brought to the Bolshoi. (He, tactfully as I thought, skirted that last question.)

Watching some of the 'Bolshoi Ballet' competition show, I was surprised to see Shakirova repeatedly fall off pointe in her series of hops, as -- though she is young and obviously inexperienced, she certainly does appear to have technical chops. I was wondering about training, shoes (as Fraildove mentioned above), nerves, bad luck, or just a particular weakness.

I only know Shapran from video glimpses and her winsome beauty alone makes it hard for me to resist her...In the theater I bet I would find it close to impossible. Yet in a lot of video I do find myself resisting her. Unexpectedly...as I think of myself as "team Vaganova" in the various Mariinsky wars and she is a Vaganova school product. I do find her face unspeakably lovely albeit in a more conventional style than her Leonardo-esque contemporary Smirnova. In this video of Giselle's variation, my resistance is not just due to the missing & demi-pointe hops -- though I will say that in the second series of the latter you can definitely see her go on to full pointe and fall right off, a move which doesn't look intentional. I'm also not crazy about the way she comes out of the attitude turns on a turned in or awkwardly placed foot that then has to be adjusted. Many ballerinas fudge the ending of those turns, but she needs, at least, to find a defter way to fudge. The final pique turns also seemed slow-ish to me. If foregoing speed is meant to be a "Giselle" effect of softness, then I'm not sure she shouldn't get rid of the show-offy balance at the beginning which is inconsistent with a soft or modest Giselle. (Osipova pulls out all the stops, but she is unequivocally performing Giselle as a girl who is so mad for dancing that she is quite prepared let it kill her.) That said, as others have pointed out, a lot of the dancing was very fine and the flaws would probably have been relatively unimportant to me if I had found her interpretation delicately beautiful or warmly touching. I didn't. To my eyes, the dancing appeared to lack variety or piquancy. Of course, Shapran can't help but look like a picture-book Giselle of the weak-heart/sweetheart type--I don't know if I have ever seen a ballerina look more like a picture book Giselle of that type. But I didn't feel it in the dancing. Maybe I'm missing it; maybe this is an off performance; maybe it's the reductiveness of video--but others are clearly seeing something in her that I haven't been able to yet whether in this video or other videos. (Well, in video from Le Parc I will say she looks very sexy.) I'm hoping that seeing her live will make a big difference. And if all goes well and no weather or other misfortune prevents me, I will get to do so in February if only in a solo role.

Doesn't seem it will be turning up anywhere near me...very bummed.

I would have liked to see this production revived more often, but I'm not sure I think it is politics that has been a deciding factor. I suspect that a raved about production that had been received as a big artistic success and/or audience hit probably would have been revived more. In the meanwhile, if they get a still stronger production of Raymonda--so much the better. (I have no problem with program notes discussing the assumptions/history/politics that informed Petipa's creation.)

If I can, then I will certainly come up for this...

Oh dear--that's bad luck...Winter ballet travels can be nerve-wracking. (Wishing us all better weather-fortune when the Mariinsky arrives in Feb.)

Critics had some other objections to the production. I dug up a couple of old reviews--the second is mostly positive, the first a little less so, but even the positive review has reservations about the production that have nothing to do with 'political correctness.' For myself, I saw it once the season it premiered and mostly remember enjoying all the dancing. http://danceviewtimes.com/dvny/reviews/2004/spring/abt12.htm http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/24/arts/ballet-theater-review-when-raymonda-makes-up-her-mind-seducer-loses-nice-guy.html I tumbled over other disappointed reviews which suggested excerpts might be better (which ABT tried recently), though I can't say I would agree with that. Interested to know what others thought of the production.

How steep is the banking downstairs? About like the Met? The person I spoke to on phone said he thought it got steeper at a certain row but didn't remember which one...

Bests: 1. Atlanta Ballet in Maillot Romeo and Juliet -- final performance. The whole company rose to the occasion, but especially the two leads, Alessa Rogers and Christian Clark. 2. Cojocaru and Cornejo in Bayadere w. ABT. (Honorable mention to Sarafanov's beautiful Solor the next night.) 3. Ratmansky Sleeping Beauty 4. Dancers of New York City Ballet. All of them. Oh...I'll single out one performance: Sterling Hyltin pitch perfect as Hermia in Midsummer Night's Dream. But I could single out a lot more. 5. Macmillan's Song of the Earth--Having wanted to see this ballet for decades, I finally got to do so. With a few minor caveats, I was not disappointed. Finally: whether new rep or new dancers...I saw a lot this year that gave me interest in the future--including 5 ballets by 5 different choreographers that premiered this year at NYCB plus a recently premiered work from the Royal, all works I found intriguing in one way or another. The weakest of them showed off some marvelous dancing. (I could wish the 'ballet choreographer' demographic were more diverse.) And, among young featured dancers that I got a "first look" at this year and that I would be happy to see again, in alphabetical order: Alexa Maxwell (NYCB), Yasmine Naghdi (Royal Ballet), Cassandra Trenary (ABT). I had a few disappointments, but I'll forgo the worst(s).

Thank you!

I was able to watch some of the contestants -- did not try to see all. But when I clicked on Batoeva and Latypov I was blocked. I think the message was telling me something about regions.