Helene

That's exactly what happened with a stage full of NYCB dancers in the Robbins; they looked like ants compared to Astaire and Hayworth.

I think video works very well with opera, because for many operas, the stage picture is static. I saw a superb "Tristan und Isolde' at Paris Opera -- it was a co-production with LA Philharmonic and Lincoln Center -- with end-to-end video projections by Bill Viola. I didn't love all of it, particularly very Esalen renditions of the leads in the first act, but some of the imagery was quite stunning. The opening shots of the sea easily conjured the transporting and the Irish palace that would never get warm. Ballet was used similarly, by Balanchine, in "Orpheus ed Euridice" and "L'Enfants et les Sortileges", for example. I've only seen ballet films and photos at galas, apart from the big screen dropped in by Robbins for "Isn't It Romantic?". That was unfortunate, having NYCB dancers competing with a giant sized Fred Astaire.

PNB concluded it's two extended weekend run of "All Tharp" this afternoon with splendid performances across the board. I was able to see the full program once, and two of the three ballets twice in addition to the stage rehearsal of the lecture demo, and I think the performances grew stronger and stronger over the two weeks, although this could have been simply the subset of the ones I'd seen. My impression of "Opus 111" as a work didn't change much over the run. The work opened before the music, with Carla Korbes and Batkhurel Bold, as one of two central couples, performing some twitching movements, soon to be joined by five other couples, each group representing, according to Tharp, the different voices of the string quintet. Like "Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet", the first movement gets a bit bogged down in the center during the development section. While Tharp's choreography may have been fascinating for dancers to untangle -- as Boal described it, the dancers would perform a dance phrase forwards, backwards, inverse, and inverse backwards -- I didn't find it interesting kinetically. The beautiful, plaintive second movement began with a lovely entrance for Korbes and Bold, who crossed each other in a serpentine walk, and danced most of their roles in mirror imagery. This should have been the place for Korbes to become a heart of the work, but her role was the most disappointing part of it: there was little about the role or quality of movement that revealed anything about her. The choreography looked more than better on Bold; he was electrifying in it. Things picked up in the third movement, which illuminated Lallone's stature and Milov's elegant upper body and arms, and the fourth movement is one of the most joyous expressions of community that I've seen in years. In the first Friday performance, the standouts among the second couples were Jodie Thomas, who dance with crystalline brilliance, and Rachel Foster and Kiyon Gaines, for whom Tharp created spirited mini-solos. By the second weekend, Sarah Orza had assumed Thomas' role and was excellent in it with softer dynamics, and the entire cast was dead on. Lindsi Dec danced Lallone's role and was as impressive in her own way as Lallone; Dec can light up a stage, and she was well partnered by Karel Cruz. The stronger the dancers got, the more differentiated their roles looked. Despite my reservations about the first movement in particular, this is a fine company work. I much preferred watching the dancers in this than in "In the Upper Room", for example. In fact, I kept casting the dancers from Ballet Arizona in it as I watched. In Q&A's, Boal said that at least one artistic director was in the audience, and another has expressed interest. Charlie Hodges, Tharp's rehearsal assistant and UW student architecture and dance teacher, was riveting in the lecture/demo of "Afternoon Ball", but nothing in that setting prepared me for Kaori Nakamura's performance in rep, nor her ability to equal him in this kind of work. (Hodges seems to have a singular kind of energy, and that is ON.) Watching a different cast today, I realized that what is unusual about the way Hodges moves is his ability to isolate body parts and gesture, keeping the rest of his body still, but live. This is not Nakamura's typical style, but that is exactly the way in which she matched him. Watching the triangle between Hodges, Nakamura, and Wevers, I was reminded of the movie "Local Hero", in which the punk girl explains to the jealous punk boy why she is enamored with the straight-laced guy in the suit, and she replies, "because he's different". Although Hodges was hardly a suit, Wevers seemed as flummoxed about why he was the odd man out. Until he wasn't. The second part is a solo of reverie by the Hodges character, as he finds inspiration from the couple-from-the-past, after which he loses Nakamura to Wevers. In somewhat similar roles to the ones they had in "Opus 111", I found Lallone's and Milov's in "Afternoon Ball" to be flat and generic. Putting Lallone in toe shoes and waltzing the pair across the stage, did not an ideal make. It looked like Robbins choreography from one of his Chopin ballets, but out of context, and it made them look musty, like old photographs that needed to be dusted off. I found the final lift and exit by Nakamura and Wevers, after Nakamura chooses between the men, to be more moving than anything that Lallone and Milov did. I must be even more of a curmudgeon than I thought, because I was not moved by the ending, in which Lallone, in a long white dress and stage-length veil, delivers Hodges to his death. My conclusion was that this was an unbalanced work. Then I saw this afternoon's performance. Jonathan Porretta danced Hodges role, Chalnessa Eames Nakamura's, and Lucien Postlewaite Wevers'. In this cast in the first part, I thought Eames was the dominant character, which shifted the focus of the work. Both she and Porretta danced full-bodied, Eames sometimes jello-like, the opposite of the equally powerful detached, alienated articulation of Hodges and Nakamura, and they brought more humor to the characters. When Porretta danced the solo in part 2, it was as if he had absorbed the classicism of the second couple, and if he lost Eames to Postlewaite, it was because he had broken a rule of the street by doing so, the rules of the pack of rebellion being as rigid as those of conformity. A more radical change, done with great beauty and subtlety, was Maria Chapman and Jerome Tisserand's performance of the couple from the past. Here were two dancers who were the youthful counterparts of the modern punk characters, and they were truly an ideal, which Chapman embodied through the soft movement of her head on her neck and her shoulders and Tisserand through elegance and ardency. The entire balance of the work shifted and righted itself. I think this is a great, great work, as sound in theater as in dance terms, and the main reason, is that Tharp did it straight, without the knowing, detached wink that would have ruined it. The costume (Mark Zappone) and set/lighting designer (Randall Chiarelli) were integral parts of the success of it. The music in both pieces, the Brahms string quintet and the Martynov, is as beautiful as it gets, and the playing by the string quartet (Pilskog, Frederckson, Ligocki, Agent, and Smith) and the PNB orchestra was superb. I love "Nine Sinatra Songs" unabashedly, mostly because I find all of those beautiful dancers in those beautiful dresses and formal wear irresistible, but also because almost every dancer makes a meal of his or her role. Highlights of the highlights were Lindsi Dec and Jerome ("Bond. James Bond.") Tisserand in "Strangers in the Night"; Dec projecting great warmth, and Tisserand sizzling elegantly from the top of his head to the tips of his toes. Rachel Foster was terrific as the woman in another cast, but William Lin-Yee, new to the company, looked preoccupied with the mechanics of partnering. Carrie Imler and Jonathan Porretta in "Somethin' Stupid" were The Husband and The Wife from "The Concert" reprised; Brittany Reid and Jordan Pacitti were bumbling, but acting in good faith. In "One for My Baby" Maria Chapman did a star turn, as the drunken partner. Dressed in the black, flowing Oscar de la Renta, with the delicacy of an Audrey Hepburn but the stronger beauty of a young Maria Tallchief, she was boneless, yielding, and irresistible. I'm reminded of the tenet that a great actor portrays a drunk by trying not to be drunk, and there wasn't a false note in her masterful performance. The reprise of "My Way", when all of the couples danced harmoniously, showed the strengths of the men in company; Anton Pankevitch was particularly elegant. PNB certainly has at least three casts of "Liebeslieder Walzer" in its ranks. What was especially gratifying was watching Jodie Thomas and Maria Chapman, among the most classical stylists in the company, take to Tharp's challenges and triumph through their classical technique, and to see Jerome Tisserand dancing as well as anyone in the company.

Paul Newman has died at age 83 of cancer. Obituaries: The Washington Post The New York Times Commentary: An Appraisal A First Class Actor, A Class Act Rest in peace, Mr. Newman, and condolences to Joanne Woodward, his children and family.

Thank you so much, bart! I'm looking forward to this.

What a night! First, congratulations to five dancers whose promotions were announced by Peter Boal between "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" and the Pas de Trois from "Emeralds": To soloist: Rachel Foster Benjamin Griffiths James Moore Seth Orza To principal: Lucien Postlewaite :flowers: to all! (Speaking of flowers, the bouquets last night, given to each woman in a principal role, were gorgeous.) Boal also paid tribute to Jane and David Davis who helped found PNB's predecessor and have been company supporters since that time. When I looked at the cast list for "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" and saw Jonathan Porretta cast as Morrosine, I knew we were in for a treat. Not only did he do an extended exit alternating between Da Classical Bomb and Looney Tunes, but in his dialogue, he did a great imitation of an exaggerated Russian accent, including some dead-on pronunciations exactly as some of my relatives would have said. As Striptease Girl, Korbes was alluring in the first pas de deux in pink, but in the second, in black, kicked it up another notch: from the first high kick, she was the ultimate seductress, with the face of a Madonna. Stanton was charming as the Hoofer and a deft comedian in the "death" scene. I was tempted to cry out "One more time!" when Kiyon Gaines and Josh Spell did their short tap riffs. What a great ballet to start with for a gala, a good-natured parody danced with infectious enthusiasm. The "Emeralds" Pas de Trois was danced to perfection by Benjamin Griffiths, Lesley Rausch (first solo), and Maria Chapman (second solo). The three embodied the harmony of the music and choreography. It was at this point that I realized that it was as if the dancers were continuing the peak they reached last season, and it was a joy to see these roles danced by three who could just as easily have danced the lead roles in the ballet. The final piece in the first half was excerpts from the Third and Fourth Movement of Twyla Tharp's new "Opus 111" to Brahms' String Quartet No. 2 in G major. This time in costume, the dancers went full out to the dynamic playing by orchestra members John Pilskog, Ingrid Freerickson, Scott Ligocki, Betty Agenty, and Page Smith. The second half opened with Christopher Wheeldon's "After the Rain Pas de Deux" I was expecting a pretzelly kind of Wheeldon ballet, and I was surprised and captivated by the openness of the choreography and the slow, rich unfolding of what felt like a narrative ballet. Korbes' dancing was lush and heartfelt, and she looked superb with Batkhurel Bold, whose role brought out a welcome expressiveness, particularly in his upper body. The closer was "Symphony in C". Carrie Imler danced the First Movement, and, for her, time seemed to stand still as she danced each movement completely, from head to toe, regardless of tempo or challenge. Her feet are a marvel of precise placement and form. This was every more evident in the Fourth Movement coda, when all four ballerinas dance together. Jonathan Porretta danced exuberantly in the third movement. The demi-soloists across the board were very fine. William Lin-Yee and Abby Relic made company preview debuts as demis in the third and second movement, respectively. Sarah Ricard Orza was particularly authoritative as Abby Relic's counterpart. The corps was on double-duty, as Anspach, Brunsen, Dec, and O'Connor danced first and third, with Reid and Kitchens dancing first and then fourth demi-soloist, and the corps in the second movement doubling in the fourth, joined by 12 professional division students. I'd like to note one performance that I found striking: the first woman in the corps of the second movement appears upstage in silouette to lead the row of six. Liora Reshef's epaulment in that opening phrase was breathtaking. Throughout the movement I was struck by her rounded, fluid arms and the soft movement of her head and shoulders. Watching the fourth movement of Tharp's Opus 111, I saw a sweetness that I never expected from Tharp and a vibrancy that I did. But in addition, in that movement there was a sense of community. Not the "this is a democracy and everyone's the same and will do everything in parallel" community, but a type reminiscent of the one in Robbins' "Dances at a Gathering." In fact, the entire gala evening was about company, from the theater kids in 'Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" to the harmony of "Emeralds" to the Tharp to the emotional resonance of the Wheeldon, to the grand company ballet of them all, "Symphony in C". What a night and what a gift.

Welcome to Ballet Talk. I hope you can follow in the footsteps of your countrywoman, Pacific Northwest Ballet's Carla Korbes!

Soloviev. Sizova's or Kolpakova's Aurora?

In her blog Culturalist, Claudia La Rocco notes that Project Runway finalist Jillian Lewis is designing the costumes for the Brian Reeder-Pam Tanowitz collaboration for Ballet and Modern Meet Uptown in the Works in Progress Series at the Guggenheim, Sunday-Monday, 21-22 September 7:30pm Full disclosure: Lewis is my favorite designer of all of the PR contestants , although I did like the guy who did all those lovely, drapey things, too. Some footage and sketches of Lewis' work is on the blog page. But the even better news is:

That "Vienna Waltzes"/"Mozartiana"/"Who Cares?" program was amazing, especially the first two ballets. When it was broadcast on PBS in NYC, there were technical difficulties during "My One and Only", and I forever remember this solo with that message displaying on screen part way through. (I didn't watch that videotape too much, noooooooo.)

Tonight Twyla Tharp spoke at a lecture/demonstration of the two new works that will premiere next Thursday. Both works were performed with basic lighting and in practice clothes, with the exception of a prop train for Ariana Lallone in "Afternoon Ball", the work to Vladimir Martynov's "Autumn Ball of the Elves". I was struck by the second part of the third movement of "Opus 111", set to the Brahms String Quartet No. 2 in G major. In it, Tharp has created a role for Ariana Lallone, sensitively partnered by Stanko Milov, that only could have been made for her, a character-inflected one that sets off her strengths and in which she dances radiantly. Tharp's assistant, a student and teacher at the University of Washington, Charlie Neshyba-Hodges danced the central role in "Afternoon Ball". I was riveted by his continual morphing between classical and modern dance movement. Every contrast Baryshnikov made in "Push Comes to Shove" was second nature and seamless for N-H. He'll perform with PNB at least for three performances in the first week of the program; James Moore dances the Saturday matinee (27 Sep). I'm hoping to see the Moore cast in week two; I'm looking forward to seeing how this role translates to a classical dancer. Some fleeting thoughts: it was GREAT to see Carla Korbes on stage again!!!!! In one movement of "Opus 111" Carrie Imler and Jodie Thomas danced side-by-side, bringing back memories of their graduating school performance in 1995. After dancing rather languidly in the first three movements of the piece, Imler did one of her astonishing invisible accelerations into warp drive in the fourth, always amazing to see. I'm thrilled to see that Jodie Thomas and Josh Spell will reprise "Forget Domani", for me one of the highlights of the original production. In "Nine Sinatra Songs" William Lin-Yee makes his company debut partnering Rachel Foster in "Strangers in the Night".

It took a couple of times before the link worked for me -- could be my connection -- but here are more details: Lance Bass (NSYNC)/Lacey Schwimmer Toni Braxton (singer/actress)/Alex Mazo Brooke Burke (host/actress/entrepreneur/celebrity mom)/Derek Hough Rocco Dispirito (chef)/Karina Smirnoff. Maurice Green (sprinter)/Cheryl Burke Kim Kardashian (actress/model)/Mark Ballas Cloris Leachman (actress)/Corky Ballas (new) Cody Linley (actor)/Julianne Hough Susan Lucci (Erica Kane!)/Tony Dovolani Misty Max-Treanor (volleyballer)/Maksim Chmerkovskiy Ted McGinley (actor)/Inna Brayer (new) Jeffrey Ross (comedian)/Edyta Sliwinska Warren Sapp (football player)/Kym Johnson For devotees of annual ballroom dancing competitions aired on PBS back in the day, Corky and Shirley Ballas were always among the top contenders. According to his website Corky Ballas is not only the father of Mark Ballas, but the dancing father of most of the US trained dancers on the show.

Helgi Tomasson. This was shown in movie theaters last December, taped then as well. Unfortunately, in Canada is played directly against National Ballet of Canada's live "Nutcracker", and I don't think there were very few people there when I saw it. I loved Maria Kochetkova.

Good cause, but Help. Me. Now.

You mean there are other dancers in this DVD besides Cojocaru? (Well, and Bonelli, Avis, and Watson.)

I have really enjoyed the Nin-Culmell songs, in particularly how he finds the voice in each type of song. I was struck by how a couple of the Catalan songs reminded of "Songs of the Auvergne." On the Opera-L list, Janos Gereben just posted a link to the Spanish website for Nin-Culmell's opera "La Celestina", not performed before his death, that will premiere in Madrid on September 19. http://celestinaopera.com/opera.htm

National Ballet of Canada tickets go on sale today, including tickets to "The Nutcracker". http://www.national.ballet.ca/performances...mailsource=4850

For me, the "test" of "Sleeping Beauty" is how Aurora's Vision is danced.

It looks like I'm going to have to start hoarding vacation and frequent flyer miles, especially if Osipova dances at ABT. (Now if ABT would only go back to NYST...) Laid-back approach: 1 Control freak approach: 0

He's exquisite. I couldn't have expressed it any better. There's a generosity to his dancing and to his partnering, and a complete lack of self-consciousness of his placement and technique. No matter how technically demanding the steps or bravura the role, there's not a hint of "ta-da", like when he continues from the landing of the tour jetes in one direction right into steps in another, phrasing without pause, in the "Spectre de la Rose" clip, where the transition from solo to partnering is seamless. I particularly love how in the final arabesque, it's not about his leg or his foot: it is an expression of his whole body as she sleeps and his perfume envelops her.

Many thanks for the review, cygneblanc I'm looking forward to reading your thoughts on the next program. When I first saw "Brahms-Handel", it was ready-made for me to love: it featured my two favorite male dancers, Ib Andersen and Bart Cook (dancers about as different as night and day, except for size and their inherent musicality), an at-peak Maria Calegari, and Merrill Ashley, as well as a number of great soloists, and an anticipated collaboration between Robbins and Tharp. What I saw was a disappointing mush to what I agree was dull music. (Maybe in its original, the Handel is more interesting.) Not even Andersen/Calegari/Cook/Ashley could save it, even seeing it with them three times.

If Rachel Moore was in the loop, I'm sure the contract was signed before the info got out.

Just a note, if you're ordering from amazon from Ballet Talk so that our site earns the commission, If you don't order via the search box next to our logo or from the Ballet Talk Amazon Mini-Store from the top toolbar, Ballet Talk will not get a commission on the sale. Creating a link after using the search box and posting it here does not persist the ID that attributes the purchase to Ballet Talk. We do earn commission through amazon Marketplace sellers ("Buy new and used from $..."), from sign-ups for amazon.prime, and for the new "Video on Demand" feature.

What great news for the ABT dancers! A new Ratmansky work might boost attendance at some of the triple bills, and, hopefully, he'll be adding some full-lengths to the rep. "Bright Stream" would get me on a plane

For most companies, "Nutcracker" is a cash cow, and spending money on extra scenery in Act II is rarely done. Balanchine moved the Sugar Plum Fairy's solo from Grand Pas de Deux to the beginning of Act II. If moving the music around is heresy, Nahat has a venerable precedent. Using Balanchine terminology to describe the music. I've always felt that Tea and Candy Cane, both shortish and high-energy, were not well placed next to each other, leaving the longish, delicate Marzipan to follow what is usually the most rousing music and virtuoso dancing, to be followed by the longish Polichinelles. I can understand why in Balanchine's version, Maripan and Candy Cane aren't switched, because that would put two movements with kids back-to-back, but, with the caveat that I don't know if Tchaikovsky was doing anything with key or structural progression and the following would sound off or sour (even with applause breaks), but this is what I've always envisioned: Spanish (gotta have a warmup) Coffee Tea Marzipan Candy Cane Polichelles Flowers What is the musical sequence in Ballet San Jose's version? In the Links section, dirac and Mme. Hermine post links to articles on Ballet San Jose when they find them. But we'd love to hear from SJB watchers here.