Koralle

Hello everyone, I'm new here. I've been following NYCB closely for the past two years after relocating to the city just before the lockdown. I saw both casts for the opening program - I like watching back to back performances. And I'm so grateful I haven't missed the glorious return of Sara Mearns in Conecerto Barocco. I was somewhat sceptic before the performance - I'm a Lopatkinasque-ballerinas fan - and I was proved wrong. She was a little bit cautious and too focused on each step during the first few minutes, I watched her closely with a binoculars, I saw some hesitation in her moves, some stiffness in her arms. And then a magic happened. She kept her eyes open but I got a feeling that she simply shut her doubting mind and let her body do what it knows to do the best. This transition was so palpable, and then I saw a true old-school Balanchine ballerina with clear positions, with very smart and strong arms, with measured fluidity. There was that crystal Balanchine musicality, mathematically beautiful. You know that feeling, when you know that the dancer knows and understands what he is dancing. It is a very rare quality, and I will be forever grateful to Sara for gifting me with that very rare experience. I didn't catch much of Isabella LaFreniere, I admit. But in the short syncopic interactions with Sara the difference in the class was very clear - mostly in the arms. And she also added some Broadway-like hip movements - similar to Ashley Laracey in the same part a night previously, so I'd have to see another cast to give my verdict on it. Unity Phelan was beautiful in Concerto. She is one of the most ballet-gifted dancers in the company - the soft long muscles, the natural turnout possible only with a very particular hip bones structure, the arc - her adagios are delicious not only for her tecnique but also for the beauty of her ballet body. She has gained some weight recently and while it doesn't harm her technique and she is a beautiful and strong dancer - I miss that feeling of being absolutely taken aback by watching that rare born-to-be-ballerina body dancing (her debut in After the Rain was one of my first strongest impressions from NYCB). To be continued...

Hello everyone, I am a neuroscientist from Tel Aviv of St. Petersburg origin. Have been living and working in NYC since 2020 and have been following the city ballet companies since their return post-Covid. I am a balletomane since the age of 3 thanks to my mother and our enormous collection of ballet books at home. I was raised on the heritage of the Kirov/Mariinsky ballet, and was a soloist in a good ballet school (not the Vaganova). Ballet is my sanctuary, there hasn't been a day in my life that I didn't read or watch something ballet-related. I've been reading a few ballet forums for decades but never felt an urge to join the discussions (up until now). Given my admiration of the Mariinsky ballerinas and repertoire, I was somewhat sceptic about the NYCB and ABT. And little I knew! I admire, adore the NYCB! I've learned so much about myself and about ballet from this fantastic company. Being a Mezentzeva-Lopatkinasque ballerinas fan all my life, my new ballet Queens are Tyler Peck, Megan Fairchild and Sara Mearns. I usually watch the opening nights of all of the programs and then decide whether I want to see more casts and who is of special interest for me. Quite often I watch the same program 2-3 nights in a row (hello fellow ballet fans from the first ring left wing). As for ABT - that's quite a different story. I left a few performances in the middle - and not because of the dancers but the horrendous choreography by Mckenzie (SL) or when Petipa is staged by Mckenzie (DQ). In contrast to NYCB, I don't like the ABT costumes and decorations for their original productions (the imported ballets like RJ I can watch every night without getting tired of it). As for the soloists - on one hand I wish I could see all of the greatest Russian guest-ballerinas, on the other hand - that switch from guest stars to home-raised soloists has proved itself - ABT would be in a very difficult situation if their 2022-2023 seasons was built on Russians dancers. Among the dancers - I follow closely Aran Bell, Hurlin, Brandt (in Giselle, still hoping to see her in RJ), Teuscher and Misseldine.