socalgal

Oberon - He is charming and young. It will be fun to watch him develop. He seems much shorter than Peter Boal and I wonder if this might confine him to certain roles due to his height? More like Tom Gold? But his sunny masculine demeanor is reminscent of Villella.......IMO

I returned for the Saturday matinee of "Jewels" and am glad that I did. It was a step up from much of Wednesday evening opener. There were a few casting differences with Sofiane Sylve and J. Stafford replacing Ringer/Fayette and Dronova and Riggins with Carmena as the trio in place of Bouder, Fairchild and Higgins. Sylve was lovely but somewhat austere in the beautiful "tip toe" walking PDD. I would like to see more of Carmena. He captured my heart on stage with his beaming smile and airy grand jetes. Yvonne Borree and Ben Millepied were a more subdued pair in Rubies. And Tess Reichlin again continued to bloom in the tall role. But it was Maria Kowroski who came away with the prize. Her performance left me in awe of her technical perfection and her depth of allure and romantic ideal......I was blown away! It is not like I have not seen her perform before. I just felt this particular performance was exceptional in artistic totality. Askegard partnered her with complete adoration. When a dancer can transport you to another dimension through their dancing, it is truly special........infact, it is what it is all about.

Just needed to tell all of you at BA that have raved about Sofiane Sylve....I have joined your club!!!! Tonight she was the star of the evening in the 2nd movement of Symphony in C. She is glamorous and dances with amazing expression with absolutely beautiful technique. I will definitely go see her dance anything.....what an incredible addition to NYCB. All I can say is unbelievable. The night also belonged to Maria Kowroski with Charles Askegard in "Thou Swell" That ballet was worth watching just to see her dance. Good night!

I have heard that Farrell Ballet Co. will assemble dancers and be traveling around in the summer months....does anyone know about this? Was this announced publicly anywhere? I was so sorry to hear that the winter tour was canceled....

Wow....what a remarkable difference thursday's performance was from Wednesday opening!!!! I agree with Art's comments above. It was my first time seeing Taylor as the Russian Girl and she was breath taking.....And Maria was also lushous in her Serenade role with the veteran Ms. Kistler turing in a lovely performance. Her artistry made up for a certain lack of physical thrust as the Waltz girl. The Stravinsky Violin Concertor was super and Stars and Stripes showed that everyone was alive and well....The audience was off their feet at night's end!

She is recuperating from an injury and doing well......she would be pleased you asked! WE all wish her a speedy recovery...go Sarah!!!

He danced in Emeralds last night at OCPAC....looking forward to seeing more of him this week!

Yes, Tewsley danced! He was a stand out in my eyes and partnered a cool Rutherford in Emeralds. Ringer's performance was with her usual flowing pharsing but just seemed tired. And Bouder was a standout.....her attack did not bother me....atleast she had energy and her style is growing by the minute. Your eyes are drawn to her on stage always. Lots of young ones in corps of Emeralds...well, in everything....it was obvious to me who were the senior corps dancers throughout the night. In Rubies, Ansanelli was a replacement for Weese, who is injured. She and Damian did a respectable performance but not at the top of their game IMO. (but I love Ansenelli in most everything she dances) Tess Reichlin did a commendable performance in the tall girl role in Rubies. A great role for her! Wendy Whelan was glorious in Diamonds. I admire her artistry and she was partnered nicely by N. Martins, who was not on the original cast list for this night.(?) It did seem that Wendy was having trouble with her left foot. She danced cleanly but conservatively towards the end. The corps was ragged in part throughout the evening. I agree that the tempos were slowed and the total night was lackluster in general.....audience allowed one bow infront of curtian for principles and the lights quickly went up. It was an early night. The new sets for Emeralds and Rubies were fine. Diamonds sets were lacking any creative design to highlight this jewel of a ballet....But I can see where there has been discussion over this from NY fans..... So onward and upward to tonight! I will miss Miranda in Serenade .....and Polyphonia and was dissappointed that she did not dance Rubies last night. Wishing her a speedy recovery....

PABallet performs John Butler's version of "Carmina Burana" Their last showing of this ballet was in winter '03 and it is a regular staple in their rep. They also have live chorus with soloists joining the dancers on stage. Very thrilling!

Hey, someone just invited me to Sat. matinee....definitely getting my NYCB fix! And would love to hit L.A. for a weekend performance of Wheeldon's "Carnival of the Animals"......we'll see......Thanks art076....... great to know the tkt. specials....

Jacqueline - so sorry we don't have same day tkts.....enjoy....the casting is so strong and it is such a treat to have this company for so many performance too. :party: :party:

Kudos to Jen Gall! She will be missed at PAB.......

I keep checking PABallet's web site too. Alas, no changes or much updating yet. There was a newpaper article regarding the new season and the addition of both Zachery Hench and Julie Diana to the PABallet roster for 04-05 season. Looking forward to seeing both of these wonderful dancers in the Balanchine program in November!

thrilled at the casting and the programs I am seeing....any BAniks going Wednesday, THursday and/or Friday evenings? I'll be there!

Thanks for the official casting for Japan tour. Can you tell by the cast listing for "Serenade" which roles will be danced by which of these female dancers?

Thanks Leigh, I will check it out

If anyone knows the casting for NYCB's Orange County up and coming performances in Sept/Oct. I would love to hear! Thanks !

Boy, do I like your thinking !!!

I began reading this Robbin's bio yesterday also! And am loving it.....

It's funny, but you know who comes to my mind as a quintessential all american dancer on the female front is.....Tina La Blanc who is currently with SFB and previously with Joffrey! She has charm and spunk yet can turn around and take on those elegant roles with beauty and intelligence. She is open and athletic, a dancer who can do anything~ she is uncomplicated and fresh. In addition, I would also have to mention Darcy Kistler fitting this bill. :rolleyes:

The Kirov's performance of "Sheherazade" on their latest tour left me agog.....I was lifted off my feet. Igor Zelensky put me in the 'hot zone'! :shhh: Thanks for reminding me of Bejart's "Bolero" ... (Oh my!)

Paul Taylor is definietly a National Treasure in Dance!

My first Giselle was the one that had the most impact on me! I was so young but remember this one performance so well, it was that exciting! Ulanova dancing Giselle took my breath away. Not many Giselle's have compared to my first viewing and I have seen many........

Was not Arpino's "Clowns" ballet (Joffrey Ballet 1968) an anti-war statement?

Marcia B. Siegel's piece on "Swan Migrations" in the Boston Phoenix gave such clarity to issues I have been struggling with after viewing Pennsylvania's new SL. She seemed to ask the right questions and delved into historical perspective to gain a better grasp on changes within the art of ballet making. Her essay put much of this Swan Lake debate into an intelligent discussion about what was so attractive about Chris Wheeldon's new version of a revered classic. I was in awe of her observations and am so glad to read such an enlightening critque. Following my own personal viewing PABallet's SL, I did catch a performance of ABT's production two days after. It was clear to me while watching ABT's SL that my perceptions of Swan Lake had been changed forever upon seeing the new Wheeldon version. Siegel gave me a fuller understanding about the comparisons of old and new. I love tradition in ballet and was very confused as to why I was so wonderfully taken into the fantasy of Wheeldon's new version of Swan Lake. It made sense to me (the old lightbulb going on). Thanks Marcia!