brokenwing

After making that somewhat lengthy and embarrassing debut post, I would love to contribute some thoughts on the season so far, if it's all right. ;) So far I have seen three of the most amazing performances I've ever seen in my life. Two of those would the first two performances by Darci Kistler in ''Chaconne'', while the last would be the magnificance of Miranda Weese and Peter Boal in ''Swan Lake''. Darci may have begun to fade, in terms of strength, a long time ago, but her soul is still as radiant as ever. There isn't a moment onstage where her presence doesn't fill the entire theater with it's grace. There is something about Darci, an unexplainable quality, that even through her injuries and her mistakes will always render her infallible to me, personally. I just feel blessed to be able to see her final years of dancing. As for Peter Boal and Miranda Weese, they made such an impression on me that I was actually sobbing. Peter Boal revealed an amazing aspect to his artistry that I had never seen, that being his ability to act. Throughout his performance you could feel his elation, his agony, his sorrow. Whatever his character was going through, you felt it. There were even some charming flub-ubs in his performance (a missed turn), but they weren't even distracting. He was really living Siegried, and it was an amazing thing. Ms. Weese has truly made an amazing comeback and has reclaimed her place as one of the best ballerinas on the stage at this time. I couldn't be happy to have her dancing at State Theater again. There were a few stand-outs in the corp to note, those being Rebecca Krohn and Melissa Barak in the villagers dancer. Rebecca has this gorgeous ballerina thing about her that seems to be rather underappreciated in the company, while Ms. Barak is just geniuinely happy to be up that stage. So far the season has been excellent on all accounts, and seeing as how I've gone every night I feel like my opinion is fairly valid ;). Yvonne Borree is having a strong season with a grand Donizetti performance and strong roles in two Swan Lake divertissments. Nikolaj Hubbe is thankfully back on stage. As was mentioned earlier in either this or another thread, Agon was looking amazing, and Symphony in Three Movements has been stellar. This season has already outstripped the last for me with City Ballet looking more confident and stronger.

A few weeks (or was it months?) ago, there was a performance by the Royal Ballet School. The students were technically precise and all the alignment and placement that has been discussed in this thread thus far was there. But there was something missing. A spark, a quality, a joy of movement. Though their technique was wonderful, there was so much more to be desired and to be explored by these students. SAB students may not have the placement of students of the Royal Ballet School, but what they have is a beautiful means of expressing themselves through movement. Alexandra Ansanelli (trained at SAB from age 10 on) can be a bit of a mess in class, if you've seen her, but when she is onstage there is no way you will be taking your eyes off her. She an absolute revelation in her love and her grace, and I'm sorry, but you won't find that thing in any other kind of company or any other kind of school. Give me that any day over perfect technique. This year, as we know, SAB is doing no Balanchine whatsoever, getting back to it's so-called roots. There are four students who have been brought up through the school with major roles/leads and I will tell you that you not only will you find a strong technique, devoid of said mannerisms, but you also will see a love of dance that is unparalleled. I have heard the stories about people having to unlearn SAB habits, but you also have to respect that it's a different technique that stems from the greatest genius ballet has ever experienced, and is not exactly like the classicism that runs much of the rest of the ballet world. The one problem is that students often misinterpret the technique based on what they have heard is pleasing to the teachers. Students hear, falsely, that SAB only cares about speed at all costs, lack of epaulement is excusable, etc. This is why you'll notice more mannerisms among summer students who don't yet know how things really work at SAB. The School of American Ballet has the best faculty imaginable, many of whom Balanchine worked with extensively for years, as you all know, so who better to teach the next generation of dancers? People have been spreading rumors about SAB's supposed downfall for years, and yet in recent years we've seen the rise of some truly amazing dancers from the school. This year students have been offered both corp and apprenticeship contracts with Boston Ballet, Houston Ballet, Carolina Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Alberta Ballet, Colorado Ballet Oregon Ballet Theatre, Pennsylvania Ballet, and ABT Studio Company, among others. If there was something faulty in the school's teaching, I don't think a wealth of other companies would be accepting so enthusiastically. I'm beginning to feel quite guilty now for making such a long reply on something that's already off-topic (and just in my first post!), but I just really wanted to share my feelings. I just want you guys to know that once you see this year's workshop, you'll be re-considering, I'm sure of it. ;) Again, sorry for the length and misplacement of this post. Perhaps I should have made it in the ''SAB Workshop'' thread.