Helene

I would see Cote in anything.

I am so glad you posted, even if you wore yourself out After three in a row in "Jewels" with PNB, and then Agon, La Sonnambula, and Theme and Variations by Ballet Arizona yesterday afternoon, I was on such a Balanchine high that I can only imagine that this is what heroin is like. Of course, in the drug-like-altered-state, I lost track of when I needed to be at the evening performance and missed one of the my all-time favorites, Divertimento No. 15. What a way to kill a buzz.

Thank you for the heads up, dove85. Here's the link to the cast list -- it's a PDF document: http://www.paballet.org/_uploaded/pdf/prod...on/casting1.pdf

I add a third to The Concert, my favorite ballet comedy, although Fancy Free, which isn't a comedy, per se, but has enough funny elements to be one, comes close. Ronald Hynd's The Merry Widow has a lot of humor in it. Push Comes to Shove (Tharp) and before (Adam) have a lot of humor as well; I guess Haydn scores encourage it. I got the impression that some of the parts of Tharp/Robbins collaboration Brahms-Handel was deliberately humorous in parts. There are a lot of ballets where people laugh, even though it's not supposed to be humorous. Often first-time Serenade-goers laugh when the corps opens into first position at the beginning of the ballet.

Mouse, please do post when you see something. It's great to hear what people like and don't like, and when you think someone blew you away or was beautifully expressive.

I heartily disliked Remains of the Day, and liked the book very much, so I'm not really objective, but Rules of the Game is one of my favorite movies, so that's where my vote goes. Which version of Kiss Me Kate?

I'm really envious, tikititatata, but so happy that you posted. I really loved the ballet when I saw it in 2004.

In general among the larger, well-established companies, to quote the corps in Caberet, "Money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money..." Especially if there's an orchestra contract that stipulates that the orchestra has to tour. Michael Kaiser at Kennedy Center made a landmark agreement with NYCB, in which the orchestra will play for only every other tour, which allowed them to swing the deal. There are exceptions, but they seem to be companies like the Bolshoi and Mariinsky, which are large enough to break into touring companies and the home company. Other exceptions are national companies for which part of their charter is to tour their own countries. Although you can hear the grousing in Australia and Canada from a continent away, as Australian Ballet and National Ballet of Canada perform mostly in one to a couple of major cities, leaving vast stretches of the country high and dry some seasons.

I don't think competitions themselves make ballet a sport, but I think they have two ways in which they intersect judged sports: focus on the pyrotechnic and the idea that artistic performances can be scored and stack-ranked, with winner and losers. Which is why I dislike ballet competitions, although I do find one aspect mesmerizing: the round in which every dancer or every couple performs the same choreography. I once saw at least a dozen couples perform the second theme in The Four Temperaments. What makes this tolerable for me is that the piece is pre-chosen for the competitors, and it's a gift to see so many people interpret the same choreography all in a row. But that's why the Compulsory Dance is my favorite round of Ice Dancing (except for the uniformly awful music...)

This is interesting because I'm very slowing reading Ivor Guest's history on the Paris Opera Ballet -- at this rate, it will take a year -- and so far, up through the 1870's, the emphasis is either cyclical or between two competing schools. Taglioni vs. Elssler, the Tebaldi vs. Callas of their time, wasn't close to the first time in the history of the Company where there was a clash of aesthetics. I know I'm taking a little detour here, but one of the more curious passages I read was this: Yikes.

Yes, thank you! Thomas and Lear look terrific too, and what a great photo of Dalis. Lear looks a lot like the great Russian figure skating coach and choreographer, Tatiana Tarasova, in the photo with Flannigan.

That's very kind, but it's only because I've been so well-taught by other people on the board and from danceviewtimes and Ballet Review, etc. You need to get out of that PNB forum more often

With the exception of Noelani Pantastico’s and Olivier Wevers’ reprisal of their roles in Rubies – new cast of Thomas and Yin debut Thursday – all of the Principal roles were cast anew for the Saturday matinee. After their debuts in the pas de trois on Opening Night, Mara Vinson assumed the Verdy role, partnered by Lucien Postlewaite, and Maria Chapman danced Paul’s, partnered by Stanko Milov. Vinson’s dancing in the opening and the solo was lovely, particularly her port de bras, but in the pas de deux, she brought her performance to a new level: with full decorum, she and Postlewaite danced the most passionate version of the pas I think I’ve ever seen. Postlewaite has great romantic presence as a partner. Chapman fulfilled all the promise she showed in the pas de trois, with a dusky, soulful quality. The romantic length tulle tutu is the perfect length to showcase her beautiful and expressive feet, and she has the mature quality to be a great match with Stanko Milov. Emeralds in general has a mysterious, unknowable quality to it, and so many performances have been in the vein of the liquid, green flow of the jewel. In the pas de trois Chalnessa Eames reminded us that an emerald is also a faceted brilliant. (She rocked.) Lesley Rausch didn’t have the same burst of clarity, but gave an airier interpretation, which nicely complemented Eames'. When I heard that Jewels was on the season schedule, on my casting “wish list” was Nicholas Ade in the pas de trois. Having learned in this year's Q&A’s that he was retiring due to an injured Achilles tendon, I thought that might be asking too much, but it was a wonderful surprise to see him cast and a great privilege to see him dance the role. He has such presence. Pantastico and Wevers gave a smoother rendition of the main couple in Rubies, and while I enjoyed both performances immensely, I thought the change made it that much better. Imler danced the “tall girl” role, and she was right at home. She isn’t a giant size-wise, but it is tailor-made for her in every other respect, and she gave it command and a devilish sense of fun. Körbes made her debut in Diamonds, partnered by understated Jeffrey Stanton. She is boneless, and she leaves the impression that she is channeling the music. I think she hears differently. Without imposing Swan Lake on this ballet, she showed that there is an amazing Odette waiting. This time I can’t rely upon Tobi Tobias to describe her, but I can say that any New Yorker who is mobile and can afford the trip the next time Jewels is programmed – and Boal said it would be soon – needs to get on a plane and see for him or herself. Her sheer beauty is something you need to see, and at the same time, you can immerse yourself in the riches of this Company, sadly, after 2006-7 sans Barker and Ade, and compare the marvels of Imler, too, in Diamonds. Three perfect casts in Emeralds and Diamonds and two in Rubies (so far), all unique. Moira Macdonald in the Seattle Times was so right to give recognition to five six of the women in the corps who danced in all three ballets, night after night. Kudos too, to the men who dance Rubies and Diamonds back to back. Other notes: Counter-intuitively, the highly ornamented costumes for Emeralds and Rubies looked better to me the closer I got to them, this time about 2/3 back in Gallery Upper. (I saw the other two from the second-to-last row of the Main Floor and back of Gallery Upper, which is virtually Dress Circle far side.) The Diamonds costumes looked better farther back, and they are the least ornamented. (Odd.) But sandik is right – the champagne top layer of the tutus is quite beautiful. Jordan Pacitti and Nicholas Ade were the two guest in the post-performance Q&A, and Ade told us his daughter was born towards the end of May. (Many congratulations to him and his wife, former PNB dancer Paige Parks.) When asked how they survived dancing so much in the program, Pacitti responded, “We have great therapists.” Ade looked at him and said, “physical therapists.” Pacitti added, “That, too.” (☺) Pacitti also spoke about Elyse Borne’s kindness, and how if there was an evening (5-7) rehearsal for the women, and they accomplished what they needed to in less time, she would end rehearsal early. Peter Boal said that with 8 performances he likes to have four casts, but said that time and injuries sometimes make that not possible. I suspect that next times, Jewels will have more casts, because most of the dancers will know their roles coming into the rehearsal period. (I hope that's not just wishful thinking, because I have a few potential fourth-cast members on my wish list.) Boal said that he’s gotten comments from subscribers that if they attend performance A, they’ll see corps members and soloists, not the principal dancers. He noted that it was a great opportunity to see younger dancers, and that when, for example, Carla Körbes is a principal, you could say that you saw her first Diamonds. No kidding, one of the most auspicious debuts I’ve seen over several decades, another being her first performance in Emeralds, not to mention Vinson’s debut in the same role. In that vein, on Friday night, the people sitting behind me expressed disappointment at the beginning of the night that Barker was not dancing in Diamonds. But they were the first ones in my section to jump out of their seats, cheering loudly, and practically jumping up and down for Carrie Imler.

Odd that it appeared today, instead of last Friday and Saturday, when it could have convinced people to go see it. (Feh.) It was on the front page of the "Arizona Living" section, right above the Sudoku puzzle, which may very well be prime real estate. In the matinee pre-performance Q&A, a woman asked timidly, "Is your Danish guest going to perform today?" and Andersen had to tell her not at the matinee, but at the evening performance. (When he asked the audience if anyone had been to an earlier performance, he seemed surprised at the number of people who raised their hands.) I didn't get the same impression as Mr. Nilsen, but he reviewed the first of three performances, and I saw the last. Hübbe has a very strong stage presence, and his interpretation is more extreme than Zejnati's was in the opening scene the last time the Company performed Apollo, but I'm not sure in what Robbins he found the resemblance. (The Dybbuk? [which I've never seen]) I had no trouble focusing on the muses. I wonder if Hübbe hadn't been a guest whether people's reactions would have been the same. Zejnati's name was in the printed program for Apollo; I don't even remember an annoucement that Hübbe was replacing him nor a slip in the program. I seem to have fallen under the Curse of the Hübbe: he replaced Lund in La Sylphide when I was in Copenhagen, and Zejnati in Apollo here Serenade is "fluffy Romanticism" and at the same time is "Swan Lake with all the boring story parts cut out"? An interesting confusion of styles and periods, but okay... Okay, class, welcome a new student to Alexandra's History of Ballet, Richard Nilsen of the Arizona Republic.

If you're viewing on DVD's, the "chapter selection" option is a great timesaver, because if there's a song, it's usually the chapter title, and you can forward through any of the plotlines to go straight to the dancing. I, too, love Top Hat, especially "Cheek to Cheek," with the great, shedding feathered dress.

Just as a note, US ballet fans who, because of geography, haven't had a chance to follow the Mariinsky closely, may have seen her Odette/Odile in the PBS Wolf Trap broadcast of a live performance of Swan Lake during the 1986 Kirov tour. Her name is usually transliterated as "Chenchikova" in the US press.About Ms. Tchyentchikova/Chenchikova, Anna Kisselgoff wrote, My impression of her from that performance was that she is a stylistic opposite of Somova, at least in the descriptions I've read. It doesn't surprise me when a teacher tries to force a pupil to look like him or her, but it does seem odd that Chenchikova would encourage Somova in the direction in which she's been described, when it isn't close to her own or the tradition.

Ballet Arizona's season-ending Balanchine Festival consists of two programs: A: Divertimento No. 15, Apollo, and Serenade. B: Agon, La Sonnambula, and Theme and Variations, which was this afternoon's program. In the matinee pre-performance Q&A, Andersen spoke a bit about dancing in Agon. He said it was necessary to count -- and that he hated to count -- but some of the cues were little pings and plunks, and you couldn't count on hearing the orchestra. He also mentioned a brain-twisting progression of sequences - 4's, 6's, 3's, 7's, etc. The first time I saw the Company perform Agon was in the Orpheum Theatre, to a tape. Now that the Company has moved back into Symphony Hall for the majority of its season, they were accompanied by the Phoenix Symphony. I could be wrong, but I don't think the orchestra was up to it, at least the entire piece. The beginning sounded rough, and I was lost in the first pas de trois. (But the dancers weren't, so they must have been counting.) As it progressed, it seemed to get better, or at least more familiar. There was a single cast this time, a bit of a merger, with Kendra Mitchell pairing with Ginger Smith and James Russell Toth in the first pas de trois, Kenna Draxton flanked by Robert Dekkers and Ilir Shtylla in the second, and Natalia Magniacaballi partnered by Elye Olson for the first time, at least in the regular season. Although Mitchell is a little taller than Smith, they make a very fine pair; they both share an energy in addition to clear, clean positions and transitions. It was great to see Toth again in the Sarabande; his timing and phrasing are very natural for this role. Dekkers and Shtylla had great energy as well, and they played off each other beautifully in the the Bransle Simple. Although Draxton hit the big balances in the intro, she did not look like she was dancing full out or at full extension. She was a glory in it last year; she didn't look 100% this time. The few times I watched Olson, he looked like he was approaching the choreography a bit squarely. He was trained at Houston Ballet Academy and danced with the Houston Ballet and Ballet West before joining Ballet Arizona; he's not stylistically Balanchine, at least yet. Magnicaballi was gripping in the role, so I'm not sure how much I would have watched him had he morphed into Arthur Mitchell. It always astonishes me to see dancers inhabit this role in particular as if there's nothing to it, and she does, as if it's as natural as breathing. About 45 minutes later, Magnicaballi reappeared as The Sleepwalker in La Sonnambula, but only after the rest of the cast had set the stage. Kanako Imayoshi was a dangerous Coquette from the outset, her spine registering the entrance of the Poet, and sending a forboding chill. Sergei Perkovskii embodied the faux hostly graciousness turned steely murderer when his property was threatened. In the scene were the Guests pair off to their own liaisons, each couple established a different dynamic before exiting the stage, leaving the Poet alone. after he was rebuffed by the Baron. There was nothing ethereal or otherworldly about Magniacaballi's Sleepwalker on her first entrance. She was "live", as if locked in a coma and trying to send a beacon to the outside world to which she was attuned, but to which she couldn't communicate. She was so physically present, yet unreachable. As for Cook, I kept thinking of Romeo; he was convincing as a lover, but he didn't convince me he was a poet. That should come with time and experience. There was an annoucement before the ballet started that Robert Dekkers would dance Harlequin. Since he was also listed in the cast for the first Divertissement dance, Pastorale, I'm not sure who danced in that piece. (Toth, who was listed for today's Harlequin, was in the other cast of Pastorale the last two nights.) The women in Pastorale -- Heather Haar and Karen Wojtowicz -- were delightful, light and effortless. Kendra Mitchell and Vitaly Breusenko were beautifully matched in the Pas de Deux. Although the roles suggest Commedia, Breusenko had an energy and a twist that made me think he’d make a great Bluebird. Dekkers was fantastic as Harlequin: a big, muscular, virile, and not remotely jester-like reading. Paola Hartley and Astrit Zejnati followed with another superb performance in Theme and Variations. Both Hartley and Zejnati take an elegant and straightforward approach to the ballet, letting pristine placement, turnout, and understated musicality speak for itself. It's always remarkable to see the "bones" of a work, without ornamentation or unneeded drama. The corps and demis looked very fine. This company does this ballet at the highest level, in my opinion. I think conductor Timothy Russell was trying to kill the Company, particularly Hartley, with quicksilver tempos in allegro, but she and they didn't miss a beat, even though this is the third day in a row she's performed the role, and she had Sixth Variation in Divertimento No. 15 and Russian in Serenade last Thursday and yesterday afternoon. In a post-performance Q&A after Jewels, Boal noted the very difficult fast tempo taken in Rubies, and said that it keeps the dancers on their toes, and they appreciate it. Given the applause by the dancers to the conductor and orchestra at final bows, they must have been especially appreciate of the especially fast tempi. The playing was lush, though. I liked Hübbe so much better in this full version of Apollo than I did when I saw him in the truncated one at NYCB. The evolution of Apollo was so much clearer. On the whole, and I really loved this, he is not a completely polished uber-god, even at the very end; in the final solo and the apotheosis, there was still untamed energy and roughness. There’s still growth left, which makes mythical sense, because it’s not as if the grown Apollo was perfect, and in the historical sense, because it was Lifar who was the original. Describing the dancing is almost irrelevant, because it was the physical characterization that was so impressive. I have mixed feelings about the muses. Kanako Imayoshi’s Polyhymnia and Tzu-Chia Huang’s Calliope were terrific when they danced together, before the variations, and with explosive energy after the pas de deux, tempering to a dead-on perfect starburst with Magnicaballi and the final climb. I thought Huang danced well in Calliope’s solo, but her shoes were so, so loud as to be distracting. I always feel that Calliope gets the short end of the stick variation-wise; regardless of who dances it, I never get the impression she ever had a fighting chance, unlike Polyhymnia, who only loses it at the end. I doesn’t make sense to me to note occasional and fleeting bobbles, but there were a few too many in Imayoshi’s Polyhymnia, which surprised me, because she whipped off the mirrored en dedans pirouettes after the pas de deux with great energy, speed, and amplitude. I never found Natalia Magnicaballi’s Terpsichore convincing. There was something fussy and overwrought about it, particularly during the solo and in her hands, and I wasn’t sure what she was trying to teach Apollo. She and Hübbe seemed to be on different pages, as if there was something she was trying to articulate to him that wasn’t getting across. Then, 30 minutes later, Magnicaballi began what was a ravishing performance of Waltz Girl in Serenade, with sweep, unmannered phrasing, and dramatic arc. She also did a great barrette toss. [insert Randy Johnson joke here.] Magnicaballi was matched by two great performances by Paola Hartley as Russian, and Giselle Doepker as Dark Angel. Hartley capped a remarkable six-performance run, and seemed to get stronger as the day turned to night. Doepker is very tall –- I wouldn’t be surprised if she is 6’ – and she has enormous span: when she was turned in arabesque in the last movement, the space she covered was huge. But her uniqueness lies in the way she uses her arms. There are lots of swirling arm motions, in both the opening movement and in the Dark Angel scenes in the fourth. Doepker moves her arms rhythmically, like rhythmically satisfying pirouettes. The movements have breath, sometimes a slight delay, and then a twirl. She doesn’t make a gratuitous arm or hand movement, and her musicality extends to her fingertips. I was glad to see Joseph Cavanaugh get a featured role as Fate Man; he has a very strong dramatic presence, even standing still he is compelling. He’s the Guest in La Sonnambula that draws the eye. One remarkable moment was at the end: before his eyes are covered, and he leaves Waltz Girl, they look at each other. There was no melodrama. His gaze was direct and riveting; it said, as Andersen described Agon earlier in the day, “It is what it is.” So, what about Divertimento No. 15? I now have a huge lump on my forehead from banging my head against the table for being such an idiot and getting the start time wrong; it was 6pm instead of the usual 8pm. I saw the end on the monitors. (I need a do-over.)

I can tell you from seeing him tonight at Symphony Hall in Phoenix, whose acoustics were reworked during last year's closure, and where the sound of most of the women's pointe shoes was Bolshoi loud in the Balcony, that I couldn't hear Hübbe land at all. On the other hand, I barely noticed the pointe shoes this afternoon from the very back of the Orchestra, even with full corps and demis in Theme and Variations, which leads me to suspect that it's not the part of the hall in which to hear the Symphony play.

In addition, in the pre-performance Q&A, in response to a question from the audience, Andersen said that Apollo was his favorite ballet. He also said that he taught the ballet the way Balanchine taught him, which is the full version. Hübbe is performing the role, and I'll see him in this version for the first time tonight.

Ben Huys was quote about his experience dancing with Balanchine in this article from 28 May in the Arizona Republic.

Maybe that's why the Symphony sent out little boxes with fortune cookies... I hope everyone who chooses the Symphony opener feels guilty and writes a big check to the ballet

Since there's already a thread in the NYCB forum for reviews of the SAB Spring Workshop here and there was such a good question in this post, I've renamed the thread "Perfect Ballets." I tend to think of perfect ballets as either those I want to see over again as soon as they are finished or those that make me want to go straight into a darkened, sound-proof room to ruminate upon for days. For me, these are Symphony in C, Square Dance, and Liebeslieder Walzer.

Today I received a brochure in the mail for the Vancouver Recital Society's summer chamber music series called "Combustion." In their "Frequently Avoided Questions" page, one of the FAQ Q&As was: Do only music snobs go to these concerts? No. We don't discriminate. We have all kinds of snobs coming to these concerts. Coffee snobs, art snobs, chocolate snobs, snowboard snobs, hockey snobs. Everyone is welcome.