Mike Gunther

Ditto here, Jack, and if we had a somewhat different reaction to individual dancers & works, that's just in the nature of our personal responses to this most personal of arts. I am very appreciative of your comments, especially since there are so few of us who post from DC! Today's (Saturday, 11/24, Program B) matinee was sparsely attended (center orchestra full, side orchestra mostly empty) - but beautifully danced, I thought, and the KC orchestra was at the top of its form, with especial kudos to excellent pianist Glenn Sales and super violinist Oleg Rylatko. Dancers Pickard and Redick repeated their totally wonderful (imho) Bugaku from Wed., and Natalia Magnicaballi + Washington Ballet principal Runqiao Du gave a Ballade pdd to die for. There followed the exquisite and exacting Pithoprakta - especially nostalgic for me, since I studied Xenakis at IU school of music in the 60's. Pickard subbed for Magnicaballi in Meditation (Tchaikovsky) with Momchil Mladenov; I was very grateful to be sitting close to stage right & got the full force of their stunning entrances and combinations on that side. Lastly, the 4th movement of Brahms Piano Quartet orch. Schoenberg, danced by Ashley Hubbard and Matthew Prescott + the whole company in blinding white costumes on a brilliantly lit stage. Considering the two performances (programs A and B) that I attended, these little gems showcased Balanchine's incredible range as a choreographer, from modernist to romantic. I also think that Farrell's company is dancing better than ever, principals + corps, and has really come together as a company. Initially a teaching company, whose mission was to train dancers in the true Balanchine style and perpetuate his legacy, they are turning into a very excellent performing company as well! --Mike

I really enjoyed tonight's performance. There seemed to be a smoothness of legato, and a security of presentation, that I haven't always seen from this company in the past. Bonnie Pickard gave the audience a lot of eye contact in Bugaku, and a fascinating characterization. She seemed to be triangulating between winsomeness, determination, and anxiety - lots going on there. I also found Anthony Krutzkamp's enjoyment in Chaconne to be quite contagious. He's a very likeable dancer. Seeing Bugaku again reminded me how long ago (1963) Balanchine was doing the yoga-martial arts choreography that is so familiar today. Does anybody remember what were the antecedents of that, or who did it first? Mike

Wow! Big changes... guess I'll be reading more often, just to keep up With the loss of individual co. forums, I wonder if the local/regional co's will get lost in the shuffle, or on the other hand they might get more attention. We shall see. One question is where to post general comments about a specific co. - "I like co. X because Y but wish they would do Z..." that kind of thing doesn't quite seem to fit Heads Up or Recent Perf's either. Any thoughts?

I attended the Sunday May 6 matinee. Naturally, I liked some of the pieces more than others, but that's half the fun with this kind of program. In keeping with the Shakespeare theme, we got three Romeo and Juliets, two Hamlets, one Midsummer Night's Dream, and one Titus Andronicus(!) The choreography was uneven, and the energy level this fine Sunday afternoon was perhaps a bit lower than we've come to expect. As always, though, it was a pleasure to see these fine dancers up close, including some very exciting Studio Company and newer WB Company members: Diana Albrecht as Juliet in The Sorrow of Lady C, Jade Payette in deCapulet, Zachary Hackstock in Lovers Speak and Whispers. My favorite piece of the seven was Karole Armitage's "Gathering His Thoughts," choreographed for four Men In Black to an electronically sliced-and-diced recording of Richard Burton performing Hamlet's soliloquy. Jared Nelson was pure dynamite as Hamlet, supported very ably by Chip Coleman, Runqiao Du, and Aaron Jackson as personifications of Hamlet's thoughts. This one is a keeper! As for the rest, there's enough variety in the program that just about everybody is sure to find something they like. Links to Washington Post and Washington Times reviews can be found in the Ballet Talk News post for May 5.

WB sent out their 2007-2008 mailing this week... here's a summary. Jan 29 - Feb 3, 2008 - Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes (Morris) - There Where She Loved (Wheeldon) - Nine Sinatra Songs (Tharp) Feb 19 - Mar 9, 2008 - 7x7: Love Duets, including Sonatine (Balanchine), Seego (Albert Evans), Desire (Stephen Mills) April 2-6, 2008 - The Four Temperaments (Balanchine) - Fives (Choo-San Goh) - High Lonesome (Trey McIntyre) May 7-11, 2008 - Cinderella (Webre) Non-subscription perfs are: Where The Wild Things Are (Sendak/Webre) + Western Symphony (Balanchine), Nov 2-4, 2007; Nutcracker (Webre), Dec 6-23, 2007; and Peter and the Wolf (Brian Reeder), Mar 13-14, 2008. Peter and the Wolf is a Washington Ballet Studio Company performance.

Oh I get it now. Like in that situation somebody could be leaning down into your sightline. Thanks!

What is the problem with leaning forward, anyway? You might scorn me for asking the question, but I have seen a *lot* of performances in my life and this has never been a problem. I suppose there must have been leaners in front of me from time to time, but if so it has just not even registered. Is this because I typically sit up front, or because I am 6' tall, or ?? Inquiring minds want to know.

My sympathies, Natalia, on the audience member that wrecked Wednesday's performance for you. I wasn't there, but... I know what you mean. I attended Friday evening. Morphoses was a strong performance, with Sona Kharatian + Luis Torres as the "spiky" couple and Jade Payette + Jared Nelson as the "smooth" couple. Ligeti's score was well-played by the FLUX Quartet. I think I would find the music unlistenable on its own; for me, Wheeldon's choreography greatly improved it! In a talk after the performance, btw, Webre mentioned that Wheeldon is an arachnophobe, which adds interest to the dance's "spider" variation. Torres also featured prominently in Carmina Burana, making it almost a Luis Torres evening; and what a fine dancer he is! Jonathan Jordan also stood out, as the male lead who spent the whole time chasing after love and never quite finding it; a very expressive and dramatic performance. Morgann Rose did a beautiful solo turn as the Swan ("Olim Lacus Colueram"). Her connection with the audience was electric. The opening tableau with Vitruvian Man suspended in the Wheel of Fortune (sounds like a game show, doesn't it?), surrounded by 100 choristers on industrial scaffolding, brought *gasps* and *applause* from the audience, which remained very enthusiastic throughout the performance and surged to its feet at the end. I only wish we could have had the full orchestral version instead of the two-piano reduction, but call me a dreamer... Interesting snippets from Septime's after-performance remarks: (1) he deliberately held off from printing the Latin text in the program, due in part to cost but also because he said his choreography responds more to the feeling of the music than to the literal meaning of the texts; (2) most of the dancers in tonight's cast were actually premiering in their roles - in which case an even bigger hats off to them! - and (3) although this is the third run of Carmina Burana, Septime continues to tweak the choreography, to match the style of dancers coming new into a role (parenthetically, I think his ability and willingness to match dancers to roles and to match/change steps to dancers is one of his great strengths as AD).

My oddest Audience Behavior experience was a couple of years ago at the opera house. I was standing up (along with many others) for a SO at the curtain call, when the lady behind me asked me to sit down so she could see the performers! It takes all kinds, I guess

I rented this the other day at my local Blockbuster and was absolutely delighted. The DVD combines narration, archival footage, and interviews with original(!) members of the companies to produce a very engaging history. To clarify, the DVD is about two companies: the "Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo" and the so-called "Original Ballet Russe" company, both of which split off from the _real_ original Ballet Russe - which as all of you know was the company of Najinsky etc. - after 1929. Everything about this DVD is first-class. The archival footage is very clean. The narration clarified many points of history about which I was very confused, including how George Balanchine bounced around like a pinball from place to place during those early years. Best of all was the contemporary footage and oral history interviews of company members. I could hardly believe how many dancers from the two companies are still around in the 21st century! We're talking WWII-era here. If this were Japan, we would declare them National Treasures. Many of them in their 80s, they are still vital and active in teaching, and in at least one case, performing! And they are still such lovely people that my heart just went out to them. The DVD cover includes a url for more information: http://www.balletsrussesmovie.com ; do check it out, and I hope you like it as much as I did!

The same point was made by several artists being interviewed on the 2006 "Ballets Russes" DVD. The interviewees were some of the original(!) members of the Monte Carlo incarnation of Ballets Russes. While admiring of contemporary technique, they felt that today's dancers had lost the emotional and artistic connections to those works. Maybe it's true... looking at the archival footage I could see their point. As for the later Balanchine, though, surely Suzanne Farrell is doing her creditable best to bring it back, or at least to keep it alive? Or don't you agree?

Things were pretty lively this afternoon, Saturday; a fine performance. This was the same cast as opening night, so I can't imagine there was anything seriously wrong then either, in spite of the lackluster Washington Post opening-night review. Today, at least, the dancers put a lot of energy and character into their presentation; for example, Daniel Ulbricht's humor and verve as Puck, and Jennie Somogyi's emotive Hermia. There was also something about Teresa Reichlen's Hippolyta that caught people's attention; maybe those long, long legs and a certain quality of presence. I thought that just about everybody sparkled, although perhaps Benjamin Millepied as Oberon could have been more emotionally connected to his fine partner (Maria Kowroski, Titania). The audience was warm and appreciative, giving two curtain calls at the end. drb, I noticed that Conductor Paul Mann substituted for Maurice Kaplow in this performance; unfortunately, I don't have any more information about that change. Today's cast repeats on Sunday evening; Thursday's cast, that Natalia praised so highly, repeats on Sunday afternoon.

I saw the Sunday matinee and would like to add to all the kudos for Osipova and Vasiliev. According to the program they are only Soloists!?!... that's gotta change soon! Osipova danced like she was on fire. I was amazed by her quickness... her strength... her energy... her personality Vasiliev was explosive, and the two of them danced beautifully together; amazing lifts, spot-on togetherness, great chemistry. The company is even stronger than I remember from their last visit. I enjoyed, among many others, Anastasia Kurkova's Amor, & thought the corps excellent. Beautiful production too. Lots of applause for the sets and costumes. I'm so glad I went - thanks Natalia, your glowing Saturday review convinced me to brave Sunday's snow and rain to check out the "dream team." I felt like the Bolshoi gave us everything that a great company can give. A sign in the lobby said the Sun. matinee was being recorded, so hopefully we will soon be able to buy the DVD!

Congratulations, it's all yours! pls pm or email me and let me know how you want to pick it up.

I have a free ticket to give away for this performance. It is an orchestra seat, L 13. First reply here takes it! I can either mail it to you, or hand it over on the day, whichever you prefer (I will be attending the same performance). Please note the day and time - it is the Saturday matinee - and reply to this post in order to reserve the ticket.

(Falling off my chair laughing)... Well, Natalia, Septime mentioned from the stage this afternoon that the run was sold out... so I guess that gives us a hint. :-)

I attended the Sat. afternoon performance (some cast changes for In the Night and oui/non, same cast for In the Upper Room.) I enjoyed all 3, but especially Upper Room. It is the kind of postmodern work that WB does really well. The performance I attended was enthusiastically received with a S.O. Not having seen this piece before, I can't comment on other versions. But I thought the WB casting and coaching was right on, with an excellent match between individual dancers and the very specific interpretations they brought to each role. The piece is basically one huge crescendo where the intensity builds and builds. I wish I knew how those folks can dance flat-out for 50 mins. and still make it look like so much fun!

PS - a historical note, that doesn't have much to do with this afternoon's performance... The RB has a tradition of introducing new dancers at their Saturday matinees, so about 20 years ago, in the mid-1980's, I showed up at a Saturday matinee of Sleeping Beauty, naively having no idea at all of who the cast was, or what I was about to see. The Aurora was Sylvie Guillem, who had just joined the company. In that production, Aurora entered from the top of a staircase at stage left (audience right), in the middle of a crowd, while a whole lot of dancing was going on below. So, Guillem fought her way through the extras and popped up on the staircase. The Kennedy Center audience, most of whom (including me) had never heard of Sylvie Guillem, went dead silent - and I mean, *completely* quiet - and then took one colllective breath, 4000 people inhaling in unison. I have never experienced anything like that, either before or since, and Sylvie was doing nothing at all except just standing there at the head of the staircase! From then on, things just got better and better. The traditional way of dancing the Rose Variation is that Aurora starts out diffident, a young girl supported and turned by her four partners, and then grows in confidence as she holds her balance longer and longer on her own. Well, Sylvie wasn't having anything of this. She was like, "you all can pretend to support me if you want to" while she turned and balanced like an angel on a perfect pivot point. So that is why, much as I love all the great Auroras from Margot Fonteyn through Alina Cojocaru, Sylvie Guillem will always be my first love in this role, the pinnacle of classical ballet.

The Sat. matinee reminded me why I love this ballet so much! A fresh young Aurora, dancing with a gorgeous company that has Sleeping Beauty in its DNA. Production - I loved the costumes, they looked scintillating, rich, and very new, even from the 3d row. While respecting Natalia's objections about their design, I guess that I was totally seduced by the "bling." I do think the scenic backdrops, especially of the palace, need a refresh, or better yet a redo. It needs a more brilliant palace to show off this jewel of a ballet in its proper setting! Principals - Sarah Lamb as Aurora started off with a pretty secure Rose Adagio, although I wish it had been a little more relaxed. It's not enough to execute this exacting variation well, you have to look as if you're having fun :-) I loved the artistry of her Act II dream scene in the forest with Viacheslav Samodurov, her impressive technique in the Act III variations, and especially her final Grand pdd with Samodurov. I didn't see much character development, and she yielded one or two adjustments and maybe one correction, but nothing that detracted from the pleasure of seeing a fresh new dancer in this role. By the way, Lamb is incorrectly listed as a First Soloist in the program. Lamb was promoted to Principal last month, evidently after the KC program had already gone to press. I've already praised Samodurov's partnering, and also loved the way he strutted his stuff in his Act III solo variations. Overall, I'd say that Lamb+Samodurov was a very good casting decision! Lilac Fairy - Isabel McMeekan gave a sweet but undercharacterized performance. Song Bird - I'd walk a mile to see Gemma Bond in this role! For some reason she's only a "first artist" (translation: one step up from the corps) according to the program, but from what I saw this afternoon, I'd like to see her take a step or two up the hierarchy. Florestan & his Sisters - nice job by all three, and one of the sisters was just absolutely outstanding. Alas, I don't know which of the two sisters this was - either Natasha Oughtred or Victoria Hewitt - the brilliant brunette, if that helps. Can somebody give me the right name here? Carabosse - Elizabeth McGorian is so hot, and she added so much to the performance! When a dancer has so much fun being "evil," and has so much stage presence that you can hardly take your eyes off her, it raises the level of the whole production. And speaking of stage presence, Christopher Saunders as King Florestan XXIV also added considerable value to what is normally just a toss-off role. In this performance, Saunders made me believe that Aurora's father is really a king, and so she is really a princess. Corps - granted, there was a problem in Act II when they all lined up in the forest and every leg was elevated at a different length (and one leg, I don't know whose, was actually wobbling.) But, look at their other work in the performance, and I claim that Act II was actually a problem with whoever rehearsed them rather than with the corps dancers as such. These are seriously talented dancers (RB must have an exceptionally good intake program) that have a great individual and collective esprit and I expect to see many of them move rapidly up in the hierarchy. I'm personally willing to put up with a certain amount of unevenness in corps work when I also see such a depth of talent in the ranks. For example, I thought their performance in the great Act I "hopping" dance (one of my favorite corps presentations in all of classical ballet, that never fails to bring a frisson whenever I see it) was totally brilliant. Overall - a lovely afternoon of ballet that left me wanting, as usual, more!

The hot ticket is Saturday 24th, 1:30 pm, Sarah Lamb dancing Aurora. SL was a principal in Boston, moved to soloist at RB, promoted to principal there after dancing Aurora to rave reviews.

That's my impression too, Alexandra. they were just too civilized, especially during "In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated." Needed more edge, more "attitude" (street attitude, I mean). Warm response but no S.O. I imagine Giselle will be more successful, artistically and attendance-wise.

Sorry it took me so long to get back to this post. I was delighted, and more, with the evening - the choreography of both pieces (Bach's Goldberg Variations, Beatles' songs) was great, and it seemed to me the company was dancing on a whole new level - graceful, fast, and strong, obviously overjoyed to be back on the stage, and best of all, secure and confident, in spite of the incredible difficulty of their demandingly repeated allegro passages & lifts. To take just one example, Jason Hartley had an amazing moment where he was leaping so high in the air, and defying gravity with such a beautiful attitude (legs together, canted with torso at a perfectly-judged acute angle between earth and sky) and poignant expression that I'll never forget it - the best of many "flashbulb memories" of this performance. While both works were excellent, the Washington Post reviewer, and the very enthusiastic audience, clearly gave the most applause to Trey McIntyre's Beatles piece. To me, although I thought Beatles very good in itself, there was a disconnect between Trey's rather satirical and my own, more guileless, 1960's-era feelings about those songs. I've no reservations at all about Septime's Goldberg Variations, which I thought unabashedly brilliant in concept, staging, and execution. With only a little bit of necessary polishing up - specifically, to smooth out that one awkward moment in the middle of the piece where the dancers move irresolutely between piano and harpsichord, like spectators at a tennis match - this deserves to be repeated by the WB, and mounted by other companies! Lots of people are interested in the WB, although not too many are posting these days. Welcome, sophsterr! And, what did you think?

An enjoyable Sunday afternoon - here's the Washington Post review. I wish the performance had been longer. 7 dances x 7 minutes = 49 minutes. This format always leaves us wanting more! Choreography ranged from the neo-romantic (Trio in White. Uncertain Song) through the frenetic (Shifting to here), the unclassifiable (Stearc, Alarm Will Sound, and Minor Loop), and the silly (Pillow Talk). The hits, for me, were Uncertain Song - a modern-day "l'Allegro, il'Penseroso" without the Moderato - and Alarm, that had the dancers dodging many criss-crossing lengths of white tape that were strung out from wing to wing across the stage. I don't think there were any real misses, although I felt that Brianne Bland and Jason Hartley were underutilized in "Minor Loop." This year's 7x7 program didn't always call forth the best from the WB. I think, without being able to prove it, that some of the choreographers maybe didn't know the company and its dancers well enough to elicit their best work. But, to end on a positive note, I saw a lot of great stuff from the Studio Company dancers as well as the WB stars!

The WB announced that Michele Jimenez will be leaving the company next season to join the Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam. She will enter as a 1st Level Soloist. Sounds like a great career move for Michele. Congratulations are due, although we will sure miss her here in D.C.!

I saw Merce Cunningham Dance Ensemble last month in DC - they come here just about every year, but this was the first time I'd seen them (review by Sarah Kaufmann.) Nanatchka's excellent post was what motivated me to go buy the ticket. Not only that, your post really helped me to understand what I was seeing. Thank you so much, Nanatchka, you made a new friend for Merce!! One observation and one question, if the thread is not too old by now: (1) Nanatchka mentioned that Merce's choreography treated the lower body in a rather classical manner, the upper body less so. I saw that indeed, and my naive observation is that this is actually a *gradient* (continuity of change) from foot to head; the feet often classically positioned, the legs with semi classical extensions held for quite a long time (must be physically hard on the dancers!), and the whole attitude of the body getting gradually less classical, and more modern, as one progresses from the torso to the arms, neck, head, hands. It's the seamless integration of classical and modern in the individual body that made these dances really work for me. (2) About the music, Nanatchka mentioned (and Merce also said during post-performance discussion) that it was composed independently of the dance (Merce quote: "The only thing we agreed on ahead of time was the length of the piece.") Yet, in all the dances I saw, there was a strong reciprocity between musical and choreographic elements; the music and movement truly seemed to "belong together," such that I can hardly imagine any dance without the specific music that accompanied it. My question is simply, how does he make this work? In theory it shouldn't be possible at all. Is it that the dancers subtly adjust to the music (they mentioned this in the post-performance discussion), or that the music, like white noise, can "take" any dance, or that the choreography can "take" any music, or perhaps just that Merce and his musical collaborators had a really good "feel" for each other's work? Anyway, thanks again, Nanatchka, for a really thoughtful post that opened up a whole new choreographic world to me. --Mike