atm711

Beautifully expressed jsmu about Mearns!!  I could never quite get a handle on why he obsessed over Mearns.  She is a fine dancer and technician, but not what I look for in a dancer.

Yes, I too would like to know the year he said it!  I saw Kent in the role and it was her performance that revealed the beauty of the work.  (previously I saw Tannaquil LeClercq, but always felt she was unsuited to the role)---and then finally, the ultimate--- Farrell!!  I have always loved and responded to Kent's 'other world'.

Robbins beautifully captured the style of Baryshnikov  and Makarova's dancing, and I personally can't bear to see anyone else perform it (particularly Kirkland!)

Yes, I have always felt he had a special affinity to Chopin and I think it goes back to his early training days..  In his day, (and mine, too) class pianists played mostly Chopin and the body gets used to moving to it.

Wonderful news!!  You have it all Eugenia

Please -- bring back the old daily forum page   I am lost lost lost!!

I am lost!  How do I get to something resembling the old forum page???

....and that is supposed to mix with Balanchine?----good grief!

Well, we shared the same hairdresser in NY for while---I would often b e seated next to her under the dryer---but nary a word was spoken--at the time "intruding on their privacy" was the norm. Too bad---I would have loved to talk to her about "The Heiress".

I was at the rehearsal for SB---Abrera in Act l; Trenary inAct 2; and Murphy in Act 3...As for me, she walked (danced?) away with the honors...she is really the one to watch. Abrera's Rose Adagio was good, (has a way to go for real excitement!) but she lost me in the variation that followed. Too much mugging......

I saw her "final" performance with Bolle in '07 and was a bit reluctant to push my luck with another performance, all these years later. So glad she has had good reviews! The one moment I have always loved about her Juliet has nothing to do with her dancing.....it is when she is sitting on the edge of the bed contemplating what she will do to resolve her predicament.....her stillness, not a muscle moving is quite mind boggling.

About those fouettes---I have seen a few ballerinas go the 'pique turn way' but the one I recall most vividly is Nana Gollner (with ABT in the 40's and 50's) who did 32 Changements (for those not familiar with technical terms, it is one of the easiest steps in ballet...) but she made it exciting. Her elevation was great and she bounced up and down like she was on a trampoline---one felt like shouting "Whew!".

Dear Giannina -- rest in peace. Always loved your comments and I regret not having met you in person.

Actually Tom, it is not the Nureyev/Fonteyn SL--it is the one he did for the Paris Opera, I believe in 1984. There is a very good recording out by POB with Letestu and Jose Martinez. The variation is at the end of Act 1 with the Prince in a pensive mood about to go hunting......

For me, beautiful male dancing has been embodied in the elegiac solos Nureyev put into his 'Swan Lake' and 'Sleeping Beauty'...not a bravura turn anywhere---just beautiful lyrical male dancing......

Bravo! He was great last night in Hallelulia Junc (ugh!!) and WS. I have been drawn to his talent early on because he eerily looks like Hugh Laing...I think of him as Hugh Laing with technique. I would love to see him in a Tudor repertoire---really ANY of Hugh Laing roles.

It was glorious to see Maria K back on stage. She is the ONLY ballerina I have seen in VW who doesn't make me miss Farrell in the part Such a pleasure to see true artistry. .Sterling Hyltin was dazzling in the second waltz--I expected to see electricity sparks flying. Lovette and Finlay do not have the necessary sophistication for the G&S waltz.

Saw Isaacs and Findlay in Tchai PDD---thought she had a hard time keeping up with the fast pace. this is a wonderfully playful pdd and there was no sign of that in the performance. Hopefully they will have lots more performances to polish it.......Well, my favorite Balanchine "Sym in 2 mm" was a revelation---especially after the performance I saw last week of Miami Ballet (and regardless of the rave by Macauley---I still can't figure that one out)

What I missed most in her performance was a lack of a beautiful port de bras.......sadly lacking...

During my first formative years of ballet-going:

Les Sylphides

Pillar of Fire (saw it with Kaye and Laing)

Theme & Variations (with Alonso and Youskevitch)

Fancy Free (I saw the 2nd performance of the work with the original cast, and Bernstein in the pit)

Graduation Ball (with Riabouchinska and Lichine)

Is it any wonder that I was "hooked" way back then?

Dear, sweet Adelaide..I was one of her students in the late 40's when she was assistant to George Chaffee. She was a real beauty then. I was part of the ballet ensemble Chaffee had at the time and she was a sparkling dancer. When I saw Nadia Nerina for the first time in the 50's, she reminded me of Adelaide,...they both had a wonderful "sparkle" on the stage. It's regrettable that she did not have a larger dancing career....she surely had the talent for it. In the classroom she could be a bit 'mousey',but on the stage she came alive. Rest in Peace, Adelaide, I will pray for you.

I find it difficult to watch Lacotte's use of pointe shoes in Act 1---it's all WRONG! If that was all that bothered me, I could just skip to Act 2 and the beautiful ending......but at some point the mild mannered sylphs in the corps morph into Wilis. I'll take the Danes......

The question a lot of people are asking is "why is it always Seo?"

Okay so my aunt loves ABT, she has for decades now, and always tries to attend as many ballets as she can, especially during the MET season. Last year at least 4 of the performances she attended, for which she had bought tickets in advance, ended up with Seo as a replacement. She used to like her a little bit a few years ago, but after last year she says she is "done" watching her and isn't buying any tickets whatsoever until she is 100% sure of who will be dancing (I told her she may have to wait until the night of the show and may end up with nosebleed seats, but she doesn't care). Needless to say she was pretty pissed when I told her about Lane's Aurora getting pulled.

Yes, I feel the same way about Seo....still cannot believe she did three R&J's in one week last season Unusual for me, I do not have tickets yet for this coming NY season...once bitten, twice shy!

If only we could travel back in time and see Balanchine's full-length version for the Ballets Russes, starring Danilova!

As they say - be careful of what you wished for! Danilova -- yes, yes, she surely had the 'manner' for it. I have always loved Frederick Franklin's opinion of his Jean de Brienne--"In that awful costume I felt like Ingrid Bergman in 'Joan of Arc'. In those days we had not yet been invaded by English and Russian companies and we were very much into the short works of Fokine, Balanchine, deMille, Tudor and Robbins. The ballet was a bit of a shock to our system. The only 2-act ballets we saw were 'Giselle' and 'Coppelia'. It was not an opulent production, in fact, it was done on a shoestring. However, the Karinska tutus were gorgeous, and all my Raymonda's have been compared to Danilova's.

Ah, well...I guess if you need a price list you can't afford it....