Sonora

It might interest some to know that Nikolaj Hubbe is currently staging La Sylphide for Ballet Arizona, Ib Andersen's company, in Phoenix.

I just had to comment on an earlier description of Part as "a princess who spins velvet on the moon" - somehow that beautifully captures her intriguing qualities.

I agree with Ari's comment about wishing ABT would take Balanchine on the road to audiences not reached by NYCB. I'm not sure, though, about the blurring of repertories. That's a very interesting question. How much Balanchine at ABT would constitute a blurring? Then there's the question of the blurring of repertory across the plaza... I loved the chance to see those particular ballets, presented in full-evening format, and thought it was fascinating to see ABT perform them, even if, as someone said, there might have been 'quibbles'. I like Ari's idea of ABT doing the Balanchine they have, but don't usually do. I think it depends so greatly on whom they choose to stage these ballets.

Curious to know what provokes your response to the question. Personally I felt that ABT's Balanchine program was ambitious and on the whole very well performed. But then, I was extremely happy just to be able to see Mozartiana, and Ballet Imperial, and Theme, three all-time favorite ballets, in the same evening! These ballets are so gorgeous and so joy-making!; but in addition they have a great deal to give dancers as well as audiences. I think the dancers cast in them can only have benefitted, both technically and artistically

I actually thought Corella's double tours/double pirouettes were very clean and academic, and that in general he began the ballet (T&V) beautifully, and one felt optimistic. However as things progressed both he and Tuttle seemed to struggle, falling farther and farther behind and losing the clarity, energy, and ease they had initially promised. As for the corps, I thought it looked quite good in this most splendid of ballets. Mozartiana - what is missing? Veronika Part was beautifully serene and spiritual, and came closest to losing herself in the rarified atmosphere of the ballet, but Belotserkovsky was less successful. It seems to me that every movement, every step in this ballet must have a 'reason', or a 'motivation', and that he was sometimes just doing steps - beautiful steps, but still just steps. Someone somewhere mentioned that Mozartiana might suffer from being performed on the Met stage. I don't know if that is part of the problem with this production. On the whole I thought this program looked very good on Ballet Theater, and it was wonderful to be engulfed by the exquisite beauty of Balanchine and Tchaikovsky's genius - sort of a sensory overload of the most pleasant kind.

I find I'm not able to reach the old Gottlieb reviews via the links Ari mentioned. I keep getting bumped to the May 29 piece on Raymonda. Am I missing something obvious? I would like to go back and read some of his work.

Theme and Variations, Mozartiana, and Ballet Imperial on the same program (punctuated by Tchaikovsky PDD) was an almost overwhelming array of riches. I will comment at this late hour only on Tchaikovsky PDD and Xiomara Reyes' debut: she was lovely! like a breath of fresh, sweet air. Her musicality was wonderfully fleet natural, and she looked thoroughly joyful throughout, partnered solicitously by a generous Julio Bocca.

Jumping back to Bugaku - can someone who has seen it describe the ballet? What is its length? It seems a somewhat odd choice for the gala, but I wish I could be there to see it.

(originally posted by Cargill) [ ...And I would beg the dancers who originated roles to come back and coach.] In an ideal world, which Balanchine dancers would you invite back, and what ballets would they coach?!

I think it's important not to be resigned to anything, in this case, the fate of the Balanchine repertoire at NYCB. We are, I guess, still in the first 'generation' after Balanchine (and other great 20th c. choreographers such as Graham, Ashton, etc), meaning that there are still dancers around who were in the studio with him and who danced for him. Many of his ballets are in danger of disappearing or have disappeared altogether. Certainly some of his greatest works, the Serenades, the Baroccos, etc., will survive into successive generations, but in what FORM will they survive? I wish Martins had made a magnanimous gesture and invited those ex-Balanchine dancers to participate in the Celebration. You'd think someone would at least want to make a Marketing event out of it.

It will be interesting to see what other American companies do to honor Balanchine's 100th. NYCB is not the only one planning a 'celebration'. I think it's tragic that they apparently aren't planning to call on ex-Balanchine dancers to coach and stage. Or maybe they just haven't announced it yet. Excluding those that had direct contact with Balanchine and that truly understand and can teach his ballets deprives the dancers (not to mention the audience) of so much.

Alexandra - regarding Franklin, I think you could sense that the dancers were aware of him and of the other 'mature' dancers performing character roles. Each one of them added a layer of depth and interest to the performance. Franklin, especially, approached the Friar from a distinct point of view. I guess it was nice to see non-generic supporting characters. I think that sort of dramatic dance/acting develops over time particularly if - or maybe only if - dancers have the opportunity to dance the full-length classics on a somewhat regular basis, and if they are coached by people who take the dramatic nuances of individual roles seriously.

This is a very belated post about Ferri and Bocca's Romeo and Juliet of May 29 - their second-to-last together, apparently, as Bocca will dance Romeo no longer. I was actually hoping someone else might comment on the evening but no one did (not counting the paper reviews), unless I missed it (highly possible). I've seen several different productions of Romeo and Juliet within the last few months, including Cranko's for the Stuttgart, and felt that ABT looked extremely strong and at home in the MacMillan. Whereas the Cranko looked disappointingly tired and underrehearsed, MacMillan's, notwithstanding whatever shortcomings there might be with his interpretation of the story and use of the score, I felt looked the opposite. This was a particularly interesting cast for someone who isn't often able to see ABT, as Freddie Franklin portrayed Friar Lawrence, Susan Jones the nurse, Georgiana Parkinson Lady Capulet, etc. Several of the corps dancers seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves, and thoroughly engaged in their roles and in the story. Joaquin de Luz took an enormous amount of applause as Mercutio and danced brilliantly, although I thought neither Mercutio nor Benvolio were terribly distinguishable from one another in terms of their characterizations. I didn't get the sense, as Kisselgoff apparently did, that Bocca was managing the technical aspects of the role "as necessary" (to paraphrase from memory). I thought he danced with ease and control, and that the technical demands of the part were at the service of his character. I'm sure others are longtime observers of this partnership, but this was the first time I had seen Ferri and Bocca together, and I thought they were captivating in terms of their rapport and sort of 'symbiotic', or complimentary, musicality. Certain small details of their relationship onstage remain in one's memory: the moments after they first become aware of one another during the ballroom scene; Ferri's perfectly natural reaction - terribly excited and almost giggling; eager - to the first touch of his hand during the first pas; the way she runs confidently toward him during the balcony pas, the intensity of their mutual focus during that scene and the sheer beauty of every line of her body...I remember her balances in arabesque as being so musical, like emotional responses, in a way, certainly not like 'balances'. I hope someone else saw either of their two final performances and will comment.

Regarding Farrell Fan's comment about Carmina Burana (ought to be declared off-limits to choreographers for the next couple of generations) - I completely agree. What possesses a choreographer (especially one with American Ballet Theater at their disposal) to say, hey, I think I'll do a new ballet to - let's see - how about Carmina Burana??!

Not to change the subject, but can anyone enlighten me (in any way) about Ives, Songs? I saw it tonight for the first time, bracketed by a disappointingly lackluster (and dispirited) Barocco, and the latest new Martins ballet.

While in New York we may be stuck (indefinitely) with the Martins and McKensie productions, I believe there's hope for Swan Lake in less likely places. Ib Andersen has done a Swan Lake in Phoenix for Ballet Arizona that, I believe, satisfies Alexandra's criteria for a "standard" version - it respected the structure, both of the story and of the score, was blessedly free of psychological interpretations, and was coached by liebling's "expert in classical style who understands that there are better ways to flap a wing" - Olga Evreinoff, who stages Makarova's Swan Lake and teaches/coaches at the Royal Ballet, etc. It may be difficult to imagine that a regional company's Swan Lake, albeit on a limited budget with a limited number of non-NYCB, non-ABT dancers, could warrant broad attention. Yet everything one would wish for was there including a sense of poetry about the entire production, a cohesiveness in terms of artistic vision, gorgeous warmth and musicality in the first and third acts, and, perhaps surprisingly, an absolutely remarkable Odette/Odile (Yen-Li Chen-Zhang), with Peter Boal guesting as the Prince. This production was, for me, everything the McKensie and Martins Swan Lakes are not.

I'm feeling even more queasy than before about the proposed Eifman treatment of Balanchine's life scheduled for his centennary celebration.

Where is that link to Sylve on the Internet? Would someone mind putting it up again?

I am more than sorry to hear that Nickolaj Hubbe was apparently injured, whether in Jeu de Cartes or beforehand. He is a beautiful dancer, with a vital presence and depth that's all too rare within the ranks of male dancers at NYCB (and of course he is an unparalleled Bournonville interpreter). Yet he is so underused in general, and his talents so often squandered in ballets such as Jeu de Cartes, that an injury that may keep him offstage is doubly tragic.

Dale mentioned earlier, and I agree, that the company has two strong Apollos in Boal and Hubbe. Yet Hubbe is underused, at best, by Peter Martins, and if Apollo were to be revived I wonder if he would even be cast. Most of the time I must follow the company from afar and therefore am not as familiar with many of the newer dancers... maybe I am missing someone. But other than Hubbe and Boal it appears that there are few (if any) who could handle a role like Apollo and do it justice. I fault Martins, to a large extent, because it is the duty of the artistic director to cultivate and nurture talent. Particularly among the ranks of men, I don't think he has either cultivated or nurtured talent in a way that would value artistry as equally important as technique and ensure the survival of ballets like Apollo.

I agree that Sylve was wonderful in Western Symphony this afternoon (the 19th) - she looked as if she were having alot of fun, for one thing. I particularly enjoyed her little staccato runs forward on pointe and buttery turns. "Dynamic stage presence" she certainly posesses. A few days earlier she was beautiful in Symphony in 3 Movements as well! She looked very good with the rest of the cast, at home in the movement and music

Just to continue where I left off: Yen-Li Chen-Zhang danced both the Snow Queen (with Sergei Prokovskii) and Dewdrop in Ib Andersen's Nutcracker Sunday night. She is a gorgeous dancer with radiant technique and artistry and a tremendous versatility; last season she gave unforgettable performances in Swan Lake with Peter Boal, and she continues to surprise in a varied repertoire. Andersen’s version of Snow pas is a continuous flow of swirling movement, the dancers seemingly caught and borne about the stage by swiftly moving air currents. Chen-Zhang is crystalline, like snow in sunlight. She has particularly beautiful arms, full of music, and tapering, elegant hands. She is small in stature without appearing small, possessed of a huge jump and liquid, perfectly centered turns. As Dewdrop, she is a joy, darting among the flowers, parting them and rushing forward, sailing in lyrical attitude tours en dehors, and finally returning to centerstage surrounded by flowers. In this role she seems delighted, and conveys that feeling in abundance to the audience. It’s difficult to be restrained about this ballerina, who should be known more widely.

Ballet Arizona is performing Ib Andersen's Nutcracker. This production has spirit and is what I might call unadulterated - uncomplicated as it is by attempts to 'improve on' the rather simple story or make it more 'psychologically meaningful'. In addition it is full of beautiful dancing, both in Snow and Flowers, and in the gorgeous Snow and Sugarplum pas de deux. Last night there were a couple of wonderful performances in leading roles that made the evening resonate. Natalia Magnicaballi (who people might know from Farrell's company), was Sugarplum, partnered by Michael Cook. Yen-Li Chen-Zhang was both Snow Queen and Dewdrop. Both dancers share these roles with four other balleriinas. Magnicaballi was an exquisite Sugarplum, exciting to witness. She posesses a pure, singing line through legs and feet, complimented by a lifted and expressive upper body, arms, and head, a dark-haired beauty, and amazing strength. Hers was a gracious fairy who, in stepping delicately on the first notes of her variation, seemed to pluck the strings of the harp with her feet. Her phrasing was beautifully shaped. Her turns in this beautiful, difficult variation were clear and effortless, and for me she captured the quality of the quite well-worn music, embuing it with freshness and life. In the pas de deux the turns, balances and lifts were technically brilliant but not in an overtly flashy, trick-y sense: they mirrored the grandness and confidence of Tchaikovsky's score. In addition there was something very natural about Magnicaballi's dancing, a quality shared by Cook, a 'homegrown' talent. Yen-Li Chen-Zhang's dancing is so exceptional and so worthy of notice that I feel I should devote another post to her performances. I guess this will have to be continued...

Yes, referring back to what Alexandra said, it's certainly true that there are many more Nutcrackers, and that their numbers seem to grow exponentially. A recent article in the Tucson Weekly (Tucson, AZ 12-3-02) counted five local productions, one of them dubbed "A Southwest Nutcracker”, which is apparently “replete with dancing copper queens and coyotes” and in which “Hoffman’s European Clara becomes an Hispanic Maria”. The same article strongly suggested that these local Nutcrackers were interchangeable with that of the state's professional company, even though the local troupes that offer them consist of students, augmented by one or two visiting dancers who dance the principal roles. This brings me to a related problem: the difficulty many potential audience members have in distinguishing between non-professional and professional Nutcrackers (or between a professional ballet company and seasonal, pickup tours of the Rockettes, for that matter). I’m not suggesting that people are incapable of telling the difference, just that if they are uneducated about or unfamiliar with ballet, they may have very little information that would help them decide what performance of half a dozen to attend.

A recent review of the local company's Nutcracker referred to the ballet as the "cash-cow staple of every ballet company in the land". This would seem to be an unquestionable truism: Nutcracker has traditionally provided companies with the revenue to literally keep them solvent through the remainder of the season. But in many communities outside the large metropolitan areas the offering of productions and events during the holiday season has increased markedly, meaning that Nutcracker now has to compete for its audiences with groups such as the Rockettes (yes, their Christmas show seems to be everywhere) and Cirque du Soleil in addition to the "Great Russian Nutcracker" and the usual array of nonprofessional, dance-school-related Nutcrackers, Christmas Carols, and the like. Without real data in front of me it's difficult to do more than speculate on the reason(s) why, but it is clear that in several communities Nutcracker sales are down from last year. I wonder how much of the loss can be blamed on the economy, or whether competition from larger, spashier productions such as the Rockettes doesn't cause quite a drain on ticket sales. Tickets to Cirque du Soleil and the Rockettes were considerably more expensive than Nutcracker tickets, at least in Phoenix. I noticed a similar situation in Minneapolis and am curious to know whether this might be a trend of sorts, at least outside the larger cities. If so, it will be dangerous for companies to continue to unquestioningly rely on the Nutcracker as a "cash-cow".