drb

Diana and Angel

In tonight's Giselle Diana Vishneva was absolutely a different Giselle than she was with Vladimir. I think I know why, but I'd rather wait to read whether anyone else noticed this change, or it is just an "eye-of-the-beholder" thing. In common for the two Giselles were the multidimensional personality of her character and Diana's amazing "full-body" dancing: which I feel has a lot to do with how she creates the character complexity--she dances it in rather than acting it. I really hope one of the experts who've been contributing to the thread on epaulement (or anyone else!) has seen her Giselle and can say something about her use of epaulement. I wonder if this process, which adds so much to the physical dimensionality of dancing, is also intended as a way to flesh out (add dimension to) characterization. When the legs were here the shoulders were there, where they should be, and the endless arms and the head accordingly, but this was all in one unending twisting flow through the whole second act. It was sublimely beautiful.

Whatever, it sure beats acting for me.

Focusing just on the technical aspect of Angel Corella's partnering, his lifts of Diana were incredibly perfect, not just qua lift, but because he enabled the absolute continuity of flow of Diana's weavings through space. He kept her spell unbroken.

It was very peculiar to cast Veronika Part as Zulma in a Vishneva Giselle. Somehow I felt that someone might be wanting to dis her.

For a FABULOUS example of epaulement, one of the most beautiful I know of on video (wish we had more Violette Verdy on film, for she sure had it) is Adam Luders's partnering (of Merrill Ashley?) in Act 2 of a Midsummer Night's Dream (the televised NYCB performance from about 10-15 years ago). Normally it's the ballerina who gets the attention in this dance, but I could not take my eyes off Luders (who was not upstaging Ashley, he was nobly at her service) -- but what noble attention, and what beautiful lines he created.

And he hadn't forgotten it in his teaching, 15 years later (photo from 2001):

http://www.mainestateballet.org/images/lef...uders_glenn.JPG

And even if OT, just because it exists, a photo of Mr. B. coaching Adam and Karen in Davidsbundlertanze:

http://members.authorsguild.net/susankukli...arenadammrb.jpg

Friday, June 16

The Biggest Bang

At the moment Ana Sophia Scheller and Joaquin de Luz finished the final duet in Jorma Elo's Slice to Sharp the entire orchestra section of the State Theater appeared to explode to their feet and the roars and screams began. The longest and loudest reception for any of the Diamond Project ballets. I didn't count the curtain calls, there must have been around 10. Believe it or not, the State Theater patrons dwarfed the reception given to the sublime Vishneva/Malakhov Giselle two nights earlier.

The ballet began with four pairs of dancers, pairwise hands linked spinning each other around rather like the way children do. Spinning was to be a connecting theme through most of the ballet. The first pairing was Scheller/de Luz. Elo seemed to be using de Luz to salute his childhood idol Baryshnikov. Joaquin was given the most earth-shakingly virtuosic, classically-based choreography, and Ana Sophia was his Patty McBride. Generally speaking, like Ratmansky, Elo was very much engaging each dancer's whole body. But unlike Ratmansky, who did so in a very classical manner, Elo's upper-body work was radically unclassically linked to hips, legs and feet. Very Euro. I suspect some of these movements have some semiotic content, of which I am oblivious. While partnerships were not set in stone, usually they went in the expected manner: Kowroski/Liang, Sylve/Ramasar, Whelan/Hall. Maria's line and jump, Sofiane's ability to do everything explosively, Wendy's everything, Ramasar's charisma, Hall's intensity, Liang's emotional diversity. Edwaard was given the most interesting arm and hand movements, often to brilliant comic effect. Sofiane seemed very much at home with this Euro virtuosity and looked happy beyond joy. I don't know if this was my favorite of the Diamond ballets, In Vento was the most moving and Russian Seasons holds some mystery that makes me want to see it more than again. But tonight's ballet was a wonderful entertainment. It makes you very happy!

Mearns magic

The evening began with Episodes and contrasted the company's two extremes, the perfect Balanchinarina Tess Reichlen, weaving through the Master's mystery-puzzle of Five Pieces perfectly partnered by Jason Fowler, and--on the surface--the least likely Balanchine dancer Sara Mearns. Both swim in the music. In the Ricercata a moment of Mearns magic worth the price of admission. After a supported double rotation she lowered her raised leg to the floor. It was that lowering. It made Bach corporeal, the music becoming a dense matter that gave physical resistance to her leg's descent. Well, you've got to see her to know why she is more than just her allure, her perfume.

Carrie Lee

The evening concluded with Andrea Quinn's brilliantly conducted Fearful Symmetries of Peter Martins. While of course this is a complexly structured ballet, I trust my emotions rather than choose to tax my mind. It was Carrie Lee Riggins who delivered the goose-bumps. Where is she most of the time?

I am one of those with no ballet training at all, but who thinks he can see epaulement. Working with the expression "oppositional torsion" used early in this thread I will risk being mathematical (sorry!).

Torsion is a very tricky word, as it has radically unrelated meanings in various fields. But I'll stick with math and physics, since dancing does take place in 3-D, dynamically so, since time/music is also involved. From the math field called differential geometry, which is the framework for the subject, torsion refers to a curve (movement pattern) that deviates from being confined within a plane; in other words, it twists through three dimensions. So it would "fill" all three dimensions. Dynamically, movement (velocity) involved in the process not only involves changing velocities (acceleration/deceleration) but even changes in the rate of these changes. For a real-world example of this latter, imagine you are driving and see a wall ahead: you try to cut your velocity (decelerate) but encounter the wall before you've completed that process. You would experience the effect of a change in the deceleration as a "jerk". I would suppose that this makes mastering epaulement difficult. For both beauty and comfort, the dancer would have to smooth-out (make harmonious) the changes in acceleration. I would guess that music(ality) would be crucial to this. As noted in an earlier post in this thread, ABT's Zhong-Jing Fang has this characteristic, which seems to show as a lingering or after-glow in her ports-de-bras. I would also guess that epaulement is among the strong points of Sara Mearns's appeal, when the conductor gives her sufficient time...

The oppositional part of the description I would guess refers to the asymmetry through the body's center between upper and lower body, determined by the contrasting (counterbalancing) relationship between feet and shoulder positioning. I would "feel" that the oppositional aspect of the torsion would be crucial to avoiding the jerkiness of the (mathematical) jerk referred to above.

As a company cited above for its relative lack of epaulement, ABT's dictionary gives this definition:

Épaulement

[ay-pohl-MAHN]]

Shouldering. The placing of the shoulders. A term used to indicate a movement of the torso from the waist upward, bringing one shoulder forward and the other back with the head turned or inclined over the forward shoulder. The two fundamental positions of épaulement are croisé and effacé. When épaulement is used the position of the head depends upon the position of the shoulders and the shoulder position depends upon the position of the legs. Épaulement gives the finishing artistic touch to every movement and is a characteristic feature of the modern classical style compared to the old French style. which has little épaulement.

The tricky to find dictionary:

http://www.abt.org/education/dictionary/index.html

also supplies photos for both croise and efface.

Alxei Ratmansky, in discussing his new ballet for NYCB in Time Out ( http://www.timeout.com/newyork/Details.do?...oi_and_tell.xml ) also compared Russian and American dancers in this regard

How would you compare Bolshoi and NYCB dancers?

I'm not sure if this is right, but for Russians, the center of movement is more in the upper body; it's lower with the American dancers, so I'm working on relaxing the upper body and trying to get them to move in all directions with their shoulders, neck and head contracting and arching the back and giving much more freedom for the arms. When I choreograph with Russian dancers, I usually concentrate on the feet because I want them to turnout, to be more precise, to straighten every time they step.

Has anyone seen the new Russian Seasons that can comment on whether (s)he can see changes in the individual dancers?

Finally, as she backs away, she gives him a flower, as a final sign of her love. If only the ABT had allowed her to descend into the grave, as a final sign of serenity.

After she gave him the flower, he goes back to center stage and picks up the set of lilies that had been left on the ground, and goes back towards the grave. Then, backing away from the cross, he scatters those lilies till he is left with one last lily, the one she gave to him. Drops it and collapses.

Not so long ago this production had a better farewell by Giselle. After her return to the grave, he approached it and she, from on high (She, freed from the Purgatory of Vengance, had risen), gently showered him with a final Benediction of lilies. I'd rather see this ending restored than demand a new production: remember what this A. D. did to Swan Lake.

...I kept wishing for Veronika Part as Myrtha; this role is tailor-made for her commanding and regal presence. Why isn't ABT making better use of her talent?? ...

I agree re comments about ABT's Assoluta, Veronika Part. She was Myrta in Diana's legendary Giselle of last season. Since they've known each other since school days they naturally had a great rapport. Part was Myrta in the Wednesday matinee performance with Irina Dvorovenko. While Irina's Act I was beautifully danced she got much deeper into the role in Act II playing off Veronika's powerhouse Queen. It is a shame that McKenzie didn't grasp the value of pairing the two native Leningraders.

Still, I have to say this was the best Myrta I've seen from Michele. She is cast in it frequently, probably b/c she is tall. But jumping isn't usually her strong suit. Yet tonight her technique was excellent, with confidence and ease, and she did project power (not fair to compare anyone other than, say Lopatkina or Alexandrova to Part). Although I must admit to not watching her every moment, as I was glued to that single entity a/k/a Diana/Vladimir.

Also quite admirable tonight was Sascha Radetsky's very well danced Hilarion. By not overacting (which would have been a sin in the presence of the non-acting, instead real, leads), he was a more sympathetic character. It was almost a crime that Giselle didn't save him too. But then again, she was in a two-person zone... Both Maria Riccetto and Zhong-Jing Fang were fine as Michele's juniors. Ms. Fang has a very special way of phrasing with her arms, giving them a moment longer in final poses, as if to let them sigh. Diana Vishneva is ABT's only Giselle under age 30. Their two best, Amanda McKerrow and Alessandra Ferri, are gone from the role. During the matinee McKenzie tested Sarah Lane to the max by casting her as one of Giselle's six friends. I know that Fang and Lane are even younger than Diana, but time's a wastin'.

Diana and Vladimir

Early in Act I Vladimir Malakhov's hand touched Diana Vishneva's sleeve. And Giselle reacted and there it was, a rush from (in my case) long ago, the memory of the first engulfing moment of Love. This wasn't going to be a Giselle about interpretations or acting or even choices. The special relationship between these dancers in real life was what we got. A partnership on par with Ferri and Bocca. Of course everything wonderful about Diana's technical skills was present, just better, even more. It was not the weakened Malakhov of their Romeo and Juliet a couple of summers ago, but rather the Vladimir of the three perfect Giselles with McKerrow nearly a decade past. The great flexible back was here, backbends nearly to the floor.

Through the standing ovation and curtain calls they were still there. I wonder if they'll even remember the response. But I will always remember this Giselle.

I orginally posted this on a Jewels thread because it is primarily about that ballet. In effect it gives a story to the ballet, that was especially valuable in viewing Emeralds, which had somewhat lost its way as it appeared in 1998's NYCB production. It was interesting in that in order to get to his goal, Diamonds, Mr. B. found himself in the very unexpected world of Emeralds.

Thanks to flipsy for providing story context from the content of the songs.

Time Out has posted an interview with the choreographer in which he discusses the back-story for Russian Seasons, and the way he saw various dancers in order to individualize their choreography.

..I'm trying to give the dancers the stories behind the songs, but I don't want it to be literal. ...

I take them [the stories] from the words, which are very beautiful, but in a very naive way.... "Postovay" talks about the soul wandering. I have Jenifer doing the soul and three men as angels. In "Dukhovskaya," one of the girls is upset because her boyfriend didn't come home from the war, so it's mostly sad. It's a Russian thing. You don't find happy women in Russia. They are always complaining or crying. [smiles] Doesn't mean that their life is so difficult. It's just the way they think.... The closing song, “Posledniaya,” is so beautiful and sad....It says that we want to grab everything we see but we actually need only a little piece of earth and four walls at the end. [He crosses his arms like a corpse.]

Comparing American with Russian dancers:

I'm not sure if this is right, but for Russians, the center of movement is more in the upper body; it's lower with the American dancers, so I'm working on relaxing the upper body and trying to get them to move in all directions with their shoulders, neck and head, contracting and arching the back and giving much more freedom for the arms.

http://www.timeout.com/newyork/Details.do?...oi_and_tell.xml

The audience at tonight's premiere of Mr. Ratmansky's Russian Seasons for New York City Ballet more than made up for NPR's journalistic embarrassment. His new work was greeted with sustained applause and cheers, reaching maximum volume each time Ratmansky appeared for a bow. And the dancers looked radiantly happy with what he'd just given them. If Bolshoi doesn't want him, ...!

Thursday, June 8

The Bolshoi's AD

Alexei Ratmansky's Russian Seasons seems yet another hit in a remarkably fruitful run of Diamond Project creations this season. The ballet is for twelve dancers, well, stars, to an often beautiful and always danceable twelve-section score by Leonid Desyatnikov. Everyone seems to get individual treatment from the choreographer, or at least each looks very distinct. Yet emotions, always front and center in this work, run the range from sad to joy for each. Much what you would expect from the creator of the Bolshoi's summer Met hit, The Bright Spring.

There is color-coding in this work, that reminds a bit of Robbins. A Robbins-like use of folk themes too. If I can trust my memory: Orange (Whelan/Evans), Red (Sylve/Ramasar), Green (Ringer/Stafford), Magenta? (Stafford/Hendrickson), Amethyst (Pascoguin/Carmena), Blue (Dronova/Suozzi). Wendy Whelan gets to be sad the most and often Ratmansky explores her lyric side. It is also a major role for La Sylve who receives the most virtuosic (but not only) choreography: think Masha Alexandrova! Abi Stafford looked absolutely radiant.

About half the sections include singing by mezzo Susana Poretsky, wonderful in that Russian sort of way. A grade of F to the person making decisions about the program notes. A little summary about what each song was about would have been an immense help to figuring out the story (with such well-drawn characters there must have been one). The last was clearly liturgical in nature, for which Wendy and Albert switched to white, as if for a wedding. Yet if it was a wedding it was an emotionally complex one, with more than a hint of sadness or contemplation to it.

Other sections featured some beautiful violin work by Arturo Delmoni. Of course Maurice Kaplow conducted. Everything should be first class for Mr. Ratmansky.

The audience responded with sustained cheers and applause, which peaked in volume when Mr. Ratmansky was brought on stage. Once the curtain finally closed the powers-that-be only permitted four curtain calls. Again, the loudest was the one for which Ratmansky joined the dancers. A fifth would have been a sure thing, and why was there no solo call for the choreographer?

I didn't fully understand what was going on. But the choreography was so individual and inventive, and worked so well with the fine score, and brought such life to the dancers, that I'd love to see Russian Seasons many more times.

M&M, R&J

The program began with three short works. This time Charles Askegard partnered Tess Reichlen in M and Rebecca Krohn in &M. Teresa has now found the Love Story in Monumentum and those Balanchinian arms/hands/fingers grab it and never let it go. This is wonderful. Rebecca Krohn gave another fully-realised performance of Movements, but a feature in Playbill says she was coached in both M's by Susan Hendl. I look forward to seeing each in both.

Yvonne Borree danced Juliet in the balcony scene with beauty and joy and was rock solid. Why not, with Romeo danced by super-partner Tyler Angle? He is having a sensational break-through season. They received a fitting ovation.

Big Bird

Maria Kowroski gave her third performance of the season. I loved her first. Did not see her second, which was apparently not so well-received except by Mr. Rockwell. In #3 I was again moved by the profound changes this bird underwent after receiving the Gift of (giving) Trust from Prince Charles Askegard. There seemed a moment of near-mystical experience for Firebird. Later, after her rescue of the prince she became a stage-filling new being. Rachel Rutherford was a magnificent bride, really dancing the part, and radiating beauty. What a lucky guy, this Ivan!

[Admin note: this post was originally in the PNB forum on a Jewels performance thread, but it warrants a thread of its own.]

Reading of these wonderful performances of Jewels I was lead back to Laura Jacobs's "Balanchine's Castle" in The New Criterion, written eight years ago. Since that publication is usually a for-pay-only read these days, I was surprised to find that the article is still freely available in its entirety.

http://www.newcriterion.com/archive/16/mar98/jacobs.htm

Jacobs in this article elaborates on Croce's theory that relates Jewels to Cluny's Unicorn Tapestries. Quoting Suzanne Farrell's autobiography Jacobs says

Balanchine took her to the Musée de Cluny to see The Lady and the Unicorn tapestries. Of the sixth tapestry she writes: “He loved the title A Mon Seul Désir [“To My Only Desire”] and said he wanted to make a ballet for me about the story of the unicorn.” It seems safe to say that “Diamonds” is that ballet, or rather, that Jewels is, that it was the white glow of the unicorn that Balanchine chased into the forest, only to find himself in a thicket of haunting and hunted creatures.

At NYCB's 1998 recension, Emeralds, especially, had lost its way. Jacobs tries to bring it back by explaining

“Emeralds” finds Balanchine deep in the poetic realm of Coleridge and Keats—it’s an enchanted forest filled with Darke Ladies and muses on the make—and in the compositional genre of hunt and vision scenes (Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty) and twilight gardens (Serenade). It is a work of trance and transparency. You feel you can reach through the green of “Emeralds” and grasp nothing.

Karinska's costumes for the ballet are both loved and not-so-loved by viewers. Jacobs explains their association with the ballet's "story", beginning with, but going beyond

The lighting design of Ronald Bates and the costumes of Madame Karinska work in brilliant complicity; Bates makes palpable poetic weather of his lighting, which Karinska’s costumes either sink into (“Emeralds”) or bounce out of (“Rubies”) or refract (“Diamonds”). And so the French-opaline greens that soften and blur the edges of “Emeralds” create a plush and pillowy space, a netherworld love-nest. The sharp red of “Rubies” practically vibrates against a cindery light; it’s a red with black in it, royal and radical at once. And the snow-crystal radiance of “Diamonds” is underlit with a blue as pale as a vein in a slim white wrist.

This is a long, complex article; I've given these quotes to whet the appetite. If for no other reason, it is worth a read for the shocking--and moving--statement by Edward Villella in its final paragraph.

Wouldn't it be great if Kevin McKenzie read this, and the other current thread about a number of dancers leaving the Mariinsky... and was able to add 1 + 1? Talk about a company that needs a young ballerina infusion! Can there be any doubt that Evgenia would spell instant full houses?

Just posted are two of Fairchild/de Luz in Donizetti and four, especially moving, of Whelan in In Memory of....

According to Diana Vishneva's site:

Nov 12 2006 Boston (USA): Mariinsky (The Waug Center) Swan Lake

Nov 1 2006 Chicago (USA): Mariinsky (Audit. Theatre) Swan Lake

Oct 28 2006 Ottawa (Canada): Mariinsky (Nat.Arts Centre) Swan Lake

Oct 22 2006 Costa Mesa (USA): Mariinsky (Orange County) Swan Lake

Oct 17 2006 Costa Mesa (USA): Mariinsky (Orange County) Romeo & Juliet

Thank you for this form of a review! It will be a wonderful resource to take along, as I will be attending all (I hope) the performances of Sylvia at Lincoln Center this summer, and most likely they won't post casts in advance.

Re your remarks about Carla Korbes in Diamonds:

...one of the most auspicious debuts I’ve seen over several decades, another being her first performance in Emeralds

Now you know why I've been in mourning...

...

But ... did you LIKE it ???

The three Apollos that I've liked most live are Martins, Zelensky and Acosta. I never saw Villella's, but did see Nureyev's and many others since, some immensely admired on these pages. As to the Gala performance and those since at the Met, I think the Met's stage, built to amplify sound, is not good for this ballet. It belongs on Mr. B's stage across the court, one built to silence thudding shoes. Remember how quietly large Mr. Martins used to land? And Suzanne? For me, Paloma's noisy landings broke any spell of lyricism she might have had.

In an imperfect world...

Multi-act: Giselle and La Fille Mal Gardee(Ashton's version)

Single-act Story: Davidsbundlertanze(Balanchine) and A Month in the Country(Ashton)

Single-act Abstract: Serenade and Symphony in C

Playbill has posted photos of the Nilsson Tribute:

http://www.playbillarts.com/news/article/4673.html

You may see a photo of the first cast's sisters in ABT's program. Playbill has just posted the program's Cinderella feature on line. It includes a detailed history of the story:

The earliest documented version of her story dates from around 900 A.D. in Tang Dynasty China, although researchers have tracked down ur-Cinderellas as far back as ancient Egypt, where a sandal of gold was the telltale footwear.

http://www.playbillarts.com/features/article/4612.html

Mikhail Lavrovsky discusses performing the role of Romeo in his father's ballet Romeo and Juliet in Georgia Today:

http://www.georgiatoday.ge/article_details.php?id=1353

A quote (he has much more to say in the full article):

...17-year-old Romeo is passionate and inexperienced, and obviously it has to be performed by a young dancer. There is a catch though because you ought to have been through a lot in your lifetime to be able to put the message across. You have to be emotionally mature to portray young enamored Romeo. But this is what art is for – to take us to a surreal, phantasmagoric world. If you were trying to convey reality in details, you would end up with a chronicle, a diary of events and not a work of art. Art and hope are related, and they show and magnify every image, and then vividly present philosophical and social aspects to the public. This is definitely an ‘over-reality’. So you have to have lived in order to portray a youngster in love....

He was in Georgia to help Nina Ananiashvili set the ballet on the company that he directed from 1983-5. The newspaper reports that the premiere received standing ovations and that the audience was well-behaved.

I can't believe no one found this, but it's been all over the figure skating boards, where Alexei Yagudin is a huge idol. But ...

Yagudin and Somova marry

Yagudin was one of my favorite skaters, and I wish the couple a happy life together!

Aleksey says that he will propose to Alina as soon as he feels the desire to tie the knot.

"The Queen of Spades" with Nikolai Tsiskaridze is now avalable on DVD:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B...9320734-4733555

It is also available at American Amazon, release date June 13:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FBHSK...&v=glance&n=130