Helene

I attended four Q&A's after each performance of the "Balanchine Centenary" program I saw. I took notes, which I've transcribed below. On 5 Feb (Opening Night) and 13 Feb, both Russell and Stowell spoke. On 7 Feb matinee, Russell, Carrie Imler, and Jonathan Poretta, who had performed that afternoon, were the panelists, and on 15 Feb, Russell spoke alone. In my opinion the session with the dancers was less fruitful, because the audience questions weren't nearly as incisive, and at one point, it turned into a mini whine-fest when an audience member was upset because none of the dancers were outside autographing the book Eleven. (They just all happened to be dancing that afternoon.) Russell and Stowell were fascinating by themselves, and the audience tended to try to sound intelligent. Where Russell and/or Stowell said essentially the same thing in multiple sessions, I didn't list a date. Where there was a quote or something was from a particular session, I noted this. Unfortunately, the half life of my hand-writing is about three days, and I have a wonderful quote from Stowell, "it paid for the down payment on our house" but no context for it and I didn't always note who was saying what. Most of the retirement comments are in the retirement thread. Please don't yell at me if they said something differently on a night I wasn't there, but if you were there at a session and I got something wrong, I'd appreciate the correction. I've tried to break this up into topics: On the program Before she described the programs for next year, Russell said she was sometimes "taken to task for doing too much Balanchine" by some Board members. [Earth to Board: unless you're doing a steady diet of Gounod Symphony, Variations for Orchestra, and Steadfast Tin Soldier, how on Earth could there be "too much Balanchine?"] So they didn't program much Balanchine coming into the Centennial season. She said she'd tried to "starve" the audience so that we'd appreciate it. (15 Feb mat) "Balanchine's range can't be shown in one program or one season." (Russell/5 Feb) The program was presented as close to Balanchine's birthday as possible. [seattle Opera was performing Carmen in January.] (15 Feb mat) Stowell told Russell to stage what she'd like to stage. She deliberately chose a wide range of music and style, from classical to modern to romantic. Russell said after the Sunday matinee that the dancers were sad, and that it was hard to see the program end. On Stravinsky: The composer for the show "Teatro Zinzanni" (I didn't catch his name, and I can't find it on their website), a friend of Russell's and Stowell's called the ballet "music in human form." (Russell/7 Feb mat) Stravinsky said he could see "everything in his music through the dancing." (Russell/15 Feb mat) Stravinsky had started the piece years before, but had suffered a heart attack and put it aside. (5 Feb) "Stravinsky was the only person in the world [balanchine] bowed down to." (5 Feb) On Alan Dameron Russell noted that Dameron is not only a conductor, but also a rehearsal pianist for the Company. (He conducted Divertimento, Stewart Kershaw conducted Agon and Brahms-Schoenberg.) She called him a "real partner in the process," and siad that he not only understood, "the musical structure, but also the inner life of the music." (15 Feb) On staging Balanchine Russell does not think that Balanchine should be staged from video only, but that video should be used as an aid. She uses her own notes to stage, which are a mixture of diagrams, written notes, and counts. (13 Feb) Russell on why they choose the versions they do: "What Mr. B wanted when I was there." "What I saw and heard." (7 Feb mat) "I stick to what I know because I heard [balanchine] explain it." (15 Feb mat) In response to one question about using notation to preserve Balanchine's intentions, Russell said it was the quality of the movement that was important. She said that teaching the steps was this much, as she gestured "tiny" with her thumb and pointer fingers. The worry is that the steps will be remembered, but not the ideas behind them. (7 Feb mat). As a ballet mistress, she said she was fascinated by the details of what Balanchine wanted. When discussing Divertimento she mentioned that there was a place where the steps were off the music, deliberately, and she asked him about this. He told her, and then said, "Someday, dear, you'll be the only one who knows." She then said "Now our dancers know." (15 Feb mat) "I count on the dancers to remember everything I'm saying, especially these two [imler and Poretta]." (Russell/7 Feb mat) Russell said, "If I've done something that doesn't feel right, I've made a mistake," as she explained that Balanchine's choreography always "felt right." (5 Feb) When asked why there were differences in staging among contemporaries, and why some people thing that NYCB is going to seed, Russell sighed deeply and said that there were "disagreements about memories." (13 Feb) Both Russell and Stowell were clear that they had reasons to stage the versions they did -- they heard Balanchine explain what he wanted -- but they by no means were trying to say that these were the "only" or "right" versions. As Russell said, "There were other versions before, and there were other versions after." Every time she stages Balanchine Russell finds new things she's never seen before. (15 Feb mat) On philosophy of changes in the ballets Russell and Stowell were asked whether they made changes. They both said that, no, while Balanchine made changes, they did not. Russell said that Balanchine would tend to let men do the steps they wanted in many of their solos, he didn't change as much for women. (The context was in her time.) She said that she felt that if the dancer wasn't up to the steps, the dancer shouldn't be dancing the role. The only time I think I saw either of them flustered was when some guy in the back asked them why they didn't just change things, like Shakespeare was changed. I actually think I saw shock and horrow cross Russell's brow. She shut that one down quickly. Stowell smiled and said in response, "we believe in integrity." Russell even went back to really bad tapes of the original performances of Brahms-Schoenberg to see if there was anything she needed to clean up. Unfortunately, they were too dark and the figures too tiny to be much help. (That was the one ballet in the program in which she never danced.) The bottom line seemed to be when Russell said "I hope I didn't change anything" (15 Feb mat) and that the choreography was "only as correct as the performance." (7 Feb mat) On roles that they danced and staged Stowell danced the lead in Divertimento. I also have a note from 5 Feb that he also danced Theme and Variations, but Russell didn't list the role as his on 15 Feb mat. He also danced the leads in the first, second, and third movements of Brahms-Schoenberg, and one of the two men in the second pas de trois in Agon. Russell danced in the corps in the premieres of Divertimento and Agon, and later danced one of the two women in the second pas de trois of Agon and the second variation/first pas de deux in the Mozart. She also said she danced a "principal role" in Agon, but I'm not sure if she danced "Bransle Gay" in the second pas de trois, or if she was referring to being one of the two women in the first. She stages all three ballets. Russell and Agon: Russell's role in the premiere was as one of the four girls in the corps. It is in this role that she was pictured on the cover of the brochure, looking as if she was trying to listen to Balanchine, Stravinsky, and rehearsal pianist Boris Kopeikine (not shown), but she said several times that they only spoke Russian, so that she didn't understand them. But, she said, there was "electricity" in the room between the composer, choreographer, and pianist, whom she several times described as a "collaborator" in the effort, and that they "shot sparks off each other." Balanchine was unhappy with the dance for the two women in the second pas de trois, and at the first revival after the premiere, he rechoreographed it. She had just become a soloist* and was cast opposite principal dancer Jillana, who was so insulted at being the counterpart to a "lowly" soloist that she refused to come to rehearsals, and Balanchine re-choreographed it entirely on her. [*Russell repeated this story several times. Once she said that it might have been right before she was promoted to soloist, but at the last Q&A she phrased it this way.] In each Q&A, Russell and/or Stowell described the crazy sets of counts that are required to do all but the pas de deux. In one she had Poretta describe the actual counts in the male solo for the first pas de trois, and when the occasional "eight" was spoken, it almost seemed out of place in the "fives" and "nineteens." She and Stowell explained that Balanchine was very specific about the way he wanted it counted: if there was a count of "twenty," it was not the same thing as "four fives" or "five fours." Russell mentioned that the pas de deux isn't counted; instead the dancers take cues from the sounds. That is a rather scary thought, because it was not always smooth sailing for the orchestra. She said a couple of times that part of this is because the orchestra doesn't rehearse nearly as much as the dancers do. (She told a story about performing the ballet in Paris with the Paris Opera Ballet orchestra, in which the union contract stipulated that the actual musicians did not have to come to practice, only the substitutes and extras. Not surprisingly the result was a "disaster.") Russell said on Sunday that it has become easier for the dancers, but not for the musicians. Someone mentioned that s/he liked the mandolin player. Russell agreed and said that Kershaw told her that the player was "completely reliable," unlike one they had years ago, who "blew up." (15 Feb mat) On Opening Night (it was obvious), the second Thursday (she described it), and the last performance Russell noted that the orchestra got lost. She said that the dancers have to keep to their counts and keep going, or the whole thing will fall apart. She said that dancers try pull each other in when they are lost. At yesterday's performance, she said that because the orchestra lost its way during the triple pas de quatre, the places where the three groups of four go deliberately in and out of synch were not clear. When dancing her first role, Russell said that she was in Diana Adams' group, and that her group and Hayden's group could never agree on the counts (when they had the same ones.) She said wryly, but I think seriously, that her group was "always right." (She said that Adams was her hero.) Another thing Russell mentioned about counting is that the pas de quatre groups can't count out loud during rehearsals, because they are dancing on different counts! Russell and Stowell on Brahms-Schoenberg Brahms was staged when NYCB moved to NYST and there was a bigger stage to fill, and that it was Balanchine's response to a new environment and having "more resources" to fill the stage. He kept doing bigger and bigger ballets as the company grew (Stowell and Russell/13 Feb). Russell returned from Germany after staging several ballets there, and Balanchine was anxious for her to see his new ballet (B-S). She saw the second movement, which she fell in love with. Although she believes that parts are flawed and some parts are better than others, she also called it "underperformed and underappreciated," and said that only NYCB and PNB perform it. (5 Feb) Russell said of all of the parts of all three ballets, the hardest in terms of stamina is the second movement of the Brahms. (13 Feb) She also called it "rigorous," "finely tuned," and "fast for a romantic pas de deux" (5 Feb), as well as a "real jewel" and a "treasure." (15 Feb) On the third movement, Russell pointed out that what looks symmentrical in the corps is not: when the corps crosses, the mirrored dancers do not move to equivalent places, and this "keeps the eye moving." (15 Feb) Russell also noted that the only dancer in the Company who had danced Brahms-Schoenberg when it was last presented by PNB in 1988 is Patricia Barker. (15 Feb) Russell and Stowell on Divertimento No. 15: Russell quoted Balanchine several times as having said of the ballet, "I did battle with the Master, and I lost." They do not agree. Divertimento was choreographed for the opening of the Stratford Festival, after Russell had danced her first short season with NYCB and had returned from the layoff. She was in the corps of the premiere. (15 Feb) In two different sessions she said that the second movement lead was one of her favorite roles to dance. Stowell's last performance was as the male lead in the ballet. (15 Feb) After initial introductions during the Opening Night Q&A session, Stowell did something I thought was amazing. He started to speak about Erik Bruhn, whom he described as his role model for the male lead. He described Bruhn's "beautiful line and presentation," and "classic profile." He then twice said that Nureyev came and "eclipsed his career," even though, in Stowell's words, Bruhn had "more elegance" and "sophistication." (I missed his third description.) He lamented the fact that Bruhn is not as well known and remembered as much as he should be. (5 Feb) Imler on Brahms-Schoenberg When asked what her favorite role in the program was, Imler said fourth movement of Brahms, because she had "so much fun with it...it's different...I don't have to think too closely about the steps." Russell said that this was true only because Imler had such wonderful technique, and that "someone else would have to think about the steps." (7 Feb mat) Poretta on favorite roles While Imler described her costume for La Corsaire as one of her favorites because of the sparkles, Poretta said that he preferred ballets like Agon, where he wore leotards and tights, because they are "freeing on the body." He said he loves his Balanchine roles because he "feels so free." (7 Feb mat) Russell on Symphony in C In one performance she danced the first movement, and one of the demis in the third. She was cast in the lead of fourth movement for the first time in the same performance. She came huffing offstage after the third movement, and the wardrobe person stuck a tiara on her head. She stook there waiting for music to begin, and nothing happened. Finally, the conductor started and she went running out. She had never seen the fourth movement, and didn't realize that the conductor was waiting for her to take her place before he started! (5 Feb) On McCaw Hall vs. the Opera House, and Mercer Arena Merry Widow is being revived next year, because Russell thought it was a wonderful piece, and that too few people came to see it at Mercer Arena. (15 Feb mat). Russell said that there was a "more intimate relationship between the audience and the stage" in McCaw Hall, and noted that there was "electricity crossing the footlights." She noted that The Nutcracker exceeded projections by $450K, because people wanted to see it in the new house. As a side question, someone asked her if Stowell had changed the choreography. She said every year people tell them they they like the changes, but except for when it was performed at the Paramount Theater and the entire production couldn't fit, nothing's been added. She said that they got so tired of saying that nothing changed, that now they just say, "Thank you." (15 Feb mat) Someone in the audience asked if the Company was dancing better in the new hall. Russell replied that she thought the audience could see better in the new hall, and that the audience reaction was better, which made the dancers dance better. She likened the move from the Mercer Arena to McCaw Hall to NYCB's move from City Center to New York State Theater, and said that she thought, "the audience was having a great experience" in the new hall. (15 Feb mat) She rued the missing crowds at Mercer Arena, where she said "careers developed" while the hall remained empty. (15 Feb mat). On audience reaction and applause Russell and Stowell praised the audiences for responding so enthusiastically to Agon in particular. Russell said that they knew they were working on a masterpiece, immediate audience acceptance was unexpected. She described the ballet as "most influential," a "pinnacle," and "completely different from anything before or after it." Russell mentioned after the Sunday matinee that evening audiences tend to be louder than matinee audiences, and that they used to think of Friday night as the "tired night." Someone in the audience mentioned that she had just seen the Bolshoi and was taken aback by the interruptions for applause and the number of bows, even in the middle of the piece, and that this wasn't the case with PNB. [Not that the applause in controllable, but certainly the bow protocol is.] Russell said that Balanchine didn't like applause in the middle of the piece, that it should be more like a concert, and he even had a note in the program of Divertimento asking people to hold the applause to the end, which didn't work. But she did note that the dancers love the applause. She also said that someone asked her why in the Mozart the dancers start dancing before the music started; of course she replied that the applause was drowning out the soft music. Russell did say that when she staged ballets at the Kirov, the bowing and applause protocol was similar to that at the Boshoi. She said it didn't bother her there, and that while American audiences might find the Kirov/Bolshoi norm to be over-the-top, they probably think that American audiences are too uninvolved. (15 Feb mat). On TV versions of ballets Russell said that Balanchine often restaged versions of his ballets for TV, which took into account the size of the stage, camera perspectives, etc. When Russell was staging in China, she heard familiar music coming from the other room. It was a rehearsal for Allegro Brilliante, being staged from a film version, which made little sense on stage with a proscenium. [she didn't say if it was the Tallchief or the Farrell version they were pirating.] Balanchine changed the ending of Four Temperaments for television, and Russell preferred the original ending. Balanchine gave Russell permission ("That's okay, dear) and to use the long version of Apollo. She said she would not have done this without Balanchine's permission. [Tallchief tells a similar story in the documentary "Dancing for Mr. B."] (13 Feb) On choreography and Balanchine's influence The reason Stowell did all of the full-length story ballets was because the company needed them. Stowell said that when choreographing, he is on the "hunt for someone who's willing to be an instrument...in this process, they're like gold...You can't get 24 people to have that relationship." Russell then said that "Suzanne Farrell wasn't the greatest dancer in the Company, but she would do anything for [balanchine]." Stowell described his first view of Balanchine's choreography when San Francisco Ballet brought Concerto Barocco to Salt Lake City; he described the ballet as "bodies shaped by time and space." Stowell said he "learned so much from Balanchine's constraints" and architecture. He described Balanchine's use and re-use of the classical vocabulary in terms that Balanchine probably would have appreciated: "subtleties like a great chef taking the same piece of meat and giving different flavors to it." (13 Feb) On the job of being Artistic Director and running the school Russell listed the parts of the job that she loved as working with dancers and the school, especially working with "little lumps of clay." She said she meant no disrespect for the students, but that it was great to be able to work with them to turn them into dancers. She mentioned that next year they will be taking into the Company a girl who started at five in the Bellevue school, a first. (15 Feb mat) One of the things that they wanted to create after they came was to have Production shops, and gradually they did. (They had this in Germany.) She said she believed that if "the dancers feel beautiful, they'll dance beautifully." She had lots of praise for her shops, and said that many of the backstage people had been with the Company for over twenty years. (15 Feb mat) She noted several times that the original costumes for Brahms-Schoenberg were badly built and "looked like horse blankets", and after the re-design was scrapped in a budget cut, Larae Hascall [pronounced Lor RAY'] and her staff rebuilt them for relatively little cost. When asked how they found their dancers, they said that 65% of the women have come out of the school, and while Russell said that Suki Schorer recommended Jonathan Poretta when he was studying at SAB, many of the foreign-born dancers, seek them out. Batkhurel Bold took company class with them at the Kennedy Center when they were touring, Le Yin auditioned, etc. (7 Feb mat) Russell said that the school does not teach Balanchine technique, but they teach with a "Balanchine foundation" and take from lots of influences, so that the dancers can "go and do anything." (7 Feb mat) On casting Two things she listed that she didn't like: attending finance committe meetings and casting -- "if you want to find a way to make a whole group of dancers unhappy, do the casting" and that "it's hard not to get distracted by trying to make everybody happy." She explained that she needed to give dancers roles "to develop dancers for the future...to give them the role they needed in their phase of development," which is why she couldn't cast only principals in major roles. (5 Feb) She noted that she finds that there "are so many dancers who deserve opportunities." (13 Feb) She also talked about other considerations when casting: distributing roles so that any dancer wasn't overworked in one program, matching heights, matching strengths. She said that the dancers don't really get to choose their partners, but that they have to take romantic break-ups into account, and said that divorces are "very trying." She always does at least two casts and tries for three. (13 Feb) On 13 February Kylee Kitchens made her debut in the third (Adams) variation in Divertimento, a role that had been danced by long-time Principal Dancers Patricia Barker and Louise Nadeau. In Russell's words, "I have to put young dancers out there." She noted Kitchens' "regal quality," that her performance was "not finished," but "if we don't shove her out there she'll never get the opportunity." On being a Ballet Mistress Russell told the story of someone who had called the PNB box office after she and Stowell first arrived. They explained to the caller that Russell had been Ballet Mistress for Balanchine, and the woman replied, "I understand he had a lot of those." (Feb 5) On other topics Someone in the audiences noted that PNB dancers tend to be tall. While Russell said that they like long lines, they didn't set out to have a tall company, but that once tall dancers know the Company is willing to hire tall, they all want to apply, and, "if you have tall girls you need tall boys..." (15 Feb mat) Russell said that her first choice company was ABT, but that for the time, she was considered too tall. She said that too much talent is missed with a height limitation of 5'3"-5'5", and that "quality of dancing" and "personality" is more important. (15 Feb mat) Someone in the audience praised Batkhurel Bold, and said that it was nice to see him smiling. Russell noted that he is shy and replied, "you have no idea how hard I've been working to get him to start to smile" and offered to pass on the praise. She also noted that his entire name is "Bold," but that wasn't okay by INS standards, so he took his father's name and added it to his, and that his parents are both dancers in Ulan Bator. (15 Feb mat) All PNB performances are filmed; some are taped over, the rest are saved for the archives for union reasons and go to the Lincoln Center Library. According to Russell and Stowell, their camera is on its last legs, and there's no budget for another. There is no footage of Russell staging Balanchine's ballets for PNB. [she didn't mention if she's been filmed anywhere else.] During the Opening Night Q&A, there was a man who sang the premiere of Liebeslieder Walzer. [He didn't mention his name, but he had a deep, sonorous speaking voice.] He said that he had to have surgery, and his brother got to do the piece on tour with NYCB. Russell had a lot of praise for Angela Sterling [formerly a PNB soloist], the company photographer, who was also named photographer for the Dutch National Ballet. (15 Feb mat) The Company will not be touring before they leave PNB (budget issue). Russell said the main reason to tour was "to impress the audiences back home." (15 Feb mat) Russell danced with NYCB and Robbin's Ballet USA. (15 Feb mat) One audience member asked if they would ever come back to take a role. Russell laughed and said that Ariana Lallone and Olivier Wevers persuaded them to let them film them in Souvenirs, and that the dancers showed the film at a Company party. In Russell's words, "it wouldn't be pretty." (15 Feb mat)

And standing has its own consequences: Daniele Gatti, on Tour with Royal Philharmonic, Upbraids Florida Audience Following Concert (Tim Page) (I don't see the article on The Washington Post website [yet], but you can view this on andante.com without having to register.)

There is a version of Allegro Brilliante that is commercially available from VAI on VHS and DVD: A 1964 performance with Maria Tallchief and Nicholas Magallanes is available on a VHS tape entitled, "Maria Tallchief - Her Complete Bell Telephone Hour Appearances." A second VHS tape, "Maria Tallchief in Montreal," contains Balachine's Pas de Dix with Tallchief and Andre Eglevsky. Both are available on the DVD "The Art of Maria Tallchief." They are available in stores and through the VAI website: http://www.vaimusic.com/VIDEO/DVD_4234_694...Tallchief.shtml

In several of the Q&A's, Stowell and Russell mentioned several things about their retirement and the search for a new Artistic Director. First, they said that after the announcement, they expected someone in the audience to ask about it on Thursday, but no one did. Friday was the first time anyone brought it up. They both said, and Russell, who did the Q&A this afternoon alone, reiterated that when they first came to PNB, they believed anything was possible and that there were no limits*. They said that they came to realize over time that there were limits, and twice said that they hadn't felt like they'd done enough. (Money is a big issue they cited repeatedly, but they also thanked the Board for its support over the years.) They said that the next AD should come in believing anything was possible. Today Russell said it should be a young person, although I don't know what age they'd consider "young." On Friday, one of them said that they believed that the person must be verbal, and must be able to articulate his/her vision. *In discussing McCaw Hall Russell told a pertinent story: while Stowell had seen the old Opera House before they moved to Seattle, Russell hadn't. Glyn Ross, the former GM of the Seattle Opera, invited them to see a performance of Madama Butterfly. During the first act Russell started to weep and when Stowell asked her what was wrong, she said "we can't build a ballet company in this house. We have to leave!" (As it turned out, it was possible to get a "new" house; it just took 25 years.) They did say that they were thinking of leaving earlier, but they didn't want to leave until the Company was in the new building. They are both part of the search committee, but didn't want to hand pick their successor. They tried to give the Board suggestions and guidelines in the search, but they want the Board to be bought into the choice. They really managed to keep a good secret, and from some of their comments, it sounded like the Board, at least the inner circle, knew for a while. They said they'd be available to consult, but they don't want to "hover" over the new administration. As far as what they'll be doing next, Russell said that she would continue to stage, but would "pick and choose" where she would travel to. (She mentioned St. Petersburg and Paris as places she'd be happy to go, and a couple of cities that she would prefer not to.) Russell said that at one time she spoke both German and French, and doesn't anymore, and she'd like to regain these languages. (When an audience member asked her if she used Labanotation or any other formal notation system, she said she never had the year to learn a system.) She also said that she and Stowell have friends across the world, but that the only time they saw them while they were working was when their friends travelled here. Russell said that they wanted time to reflect. Stowell said, and Russell quoted him again today as saying, that they could not have done the job had they not been raising three sons, who would bring them back to reality with their everyday needs and non-ballet interests. Russell and Stowell had a philosophy about staging Balanchine. They wanted to stage ballets in the version that was danced when they danced, or in Russell's case, also when she was Ballet Mistress for NYCB, because they heard what Balanchine wanted directly from Balanchine. They noted that this gave their dancers consistency, unlike "that other West Coast ballet company" that Stowell mentioned, where five different stagers would stage versions from different time periods. (Chaconne and Mozartiana are the only two Balanchine ballets I can think of in PNB's repertoire that were choreographed after they left NYCB.) Stowell said that one of the reasons he wanted to retire is that when he gave advice to his son, Christopher, about dancing and staging Balanchine, his son told him, oh that was then. So it's time for the next generation to take over. I think there's a very good book in their story, not to mention a documentary or two.

In the Q&A Francia Russell told us what next year's programs would be. She said that the Marketing Department will announce this soon: Stowell's The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliette (set to various selections by Tchaikovsky, a verylovely version of the story, and different in tone because of the music) Balanchine Centenary program: Four Temperaments, Prodigal Son, and Symphony in C. Stowell's Nutcracker, although too many people think of this as Maurice Sendak's Nutcracker. All Stravinsky Triple Bill: Stowell's Firebird, Balanchine's Apollo (she said Friday night that they only perform the full version), and Tetley's Rite of Spring. Merry Widow. I can't remember who did the choreography -- I'm thinking an English guy, not Ashton -- but I saw the ballet at the Mercer Arena and didn't log it (argh), and it was really wonderful. American Choreographer's Program: New Paul Gibson ballet, a Christopher Stowell Ballet (I think a repeat of the one he did last year that I didn't see) and Caniparoli's Lambarena. Closing: Silver Lining. I'm disappointed, but Russell said it was an appropriate ballet with which to end, because every dancer in the Company is in it.

Which performance(s) did you see? Your location says "Ohio." Was this part of your visit? Did you get to see Dance Theater of Harlem on tour or any other dance or music while you were here?

The last performance of this program was this afternoon, and in many ways it was my favorite of the four I saw. There were other individual performers that I may have liked equally well or better, but, specifically in Divertimento and the first movement of Brahms-Schoenberg, it was the difference between being at a buffet and picking five favorite things with different tastes and textures that are complementary, and eating a wonderful Thai curry on the second day, after the spices have blended together. Except for the "Theme" men, the cast for Divertimento was the same as on Opening Night. Jordan Pacitti was paired with Paul Gibson; this was the first time I'd seen Gibson in the role. I think the pairing was more effective, given their relative sizes, than Pacitti with Maraval, who is quite a bit taller. Gibson and Mara Vinson were beautifully matched in the first pas de deux, and Jodie Thomas seemed much more relaxed and open in the fourth. The revelation was Pantastico. She seemed nervous on the Opening Night, but this afternoon she defined her space and had enough time, and all of the movements flowered. She was luminous in the pas de deux as well as the solo. But at the same time, her performance blended beautifully with the others, to create a whole garden, in which no color or perfume overwhelmed the others. She was magnifico and fantastico and all of the other "co's." I'm glad I got to see Gibson again in the first pas de trois of Agon, but the real treat was Mara Vinson's debut in the second pas de trois, who put an individual stamp on the "Bransle Gay" solo. I was happy to see the timing restored to the very end, where the catch and final pose was done right on the music. According to Francia Russell in the post-performance Q&A, the head touch to knee in the pas de deux was in the choreography. (She didn't mention the head behind the knee, but that's another story.) According to Russell, the pas de deux performed today by Louise Nadeau and Olivier Wevers "got the essence of what Mr. B wanted," and the audience rewarded the performance with a huge ovation. In other performances of Brahms-Schoenberg, the first movement second lead had been danced on a huge scale by Lallone and Imler. Stacy Lowenberg, in a debut in the role, took a very different approach, and her elegance was the perfect balance to Nakamura and Stanton's lead couple. Lowenberg was very much of the same world as the leads, and it gave unity to movement. Pantastico and Wevers in the second movement and Imler in the fourth were terrific again. So were Barker and Bold, but there was something more rich about this afternoon's performance of the movement; the transitions appeared more vivid and the movement built wonderfully until the end. Alexandra Dickson was replaced in Divertimento and Agon on Friday night, but it looked liked she danced as one of the three demis in third movement of Brahms-Schoenberg; this afternoon she was replaced in the Brahms, the only role for which she was cast. I hope everything's okay. All of the dancers may not have gotten every role they wanted or many performances of the roles that they did get, but it was a remarkable feat of casting. Of all the principals and soloists, only Oleg Gorboulev (second pas de trois, Agon) had one role; all of the rest had at least two principal or featured roles. As did Mara Vinson, Stacey Lowenberg, Kylee Kitchens, Jordan Pacitti, and Maria Chapman from the corps. It was a tough program for the men in the corps; only Brahms-Schoenberg had a males corps, with four dancers in the first and eight dancers in the fourth movement. I hope that the next time around, Karel Cruz gets a shot at the male lead in the fourth movement of Brahms-Schoenberg, partnering up with Carrie Imler.

Joubert's skate was technically brilliant in parts -- he landed all of his jumps, including some beauties, including a 4T and a 4T/3T combo, and a nice 3A. His spins are fast and well-centered, but they are almost all pretty standard sit-spin variations. His footwork is Morozov, which is starting to get old, and doesn't do much for his circular sequence, but he skated the entire program with energy, concentration, conviction, and good quality throughout. Plushenko had the worst skate I've seen in three or four years from him. He just didn't have it. He popped his first 3A attempt and tripped and fell when he tried to land it. He popped the next 3A attempt, and then followed with a gorgeous 3A, to which he added a 3T/2L, and another gorgeous 3A solo jump at the end of the program. His opening 4T/3T/2L was landed tightly with a turn out, and I'm not sure all of the jumps were rotated fully. (But he's been getting full credit for that landing since '03 Worlds, so I don't think that alone would have hurt him.) His 3Z was okay, but he fell on a 3F in which he didn't have much speed or flow on the entry. His straightine footwork was brilliant. His spins were not particularly inventive, with loss of speed, travels, and some pretty sloppy positions. The real program was that he improvised much of the latter half of his program to up the technical elements, so that it was a disappointing program with a few jump elements as highlights. I like this program when he skates the choreography. Although Klimkin fell on a 4T after landing a 4T/3T, and had two flawed attempts at a 3F, the rest of his program was brilliant. He doesn't thrash out back cross-overs to or pumps to gain speed; I was astonished to see that his slow cross-overs were timed perfectly to the rather slow music ("Dr. Diesel"), and yet he flew across the ice. He had choreography, transitions -- including a bent leg spiral that covered half the ice into a 3T -- inventive and unusual spin combinations -- including camels in both directions into a 3S from no speed at all -- footwork, controlled arms movements that came from his back, and carriage. If there was a complete package at Budapest, it was he. Lambiel had great energy, a lot of pizzazz, and fabulous spins, but he really wasn't listening to the music. There's a slow, plaintive melody in the middle of his program, and he skated through it as if it were last year's Chocolat. I found his program a bit busy for the music, but he's a delightful skater to watch. Dambier opened with a stupendous 4S and he closed with a wonderful 3T, but in every other jump element, there was at least one issue with the landing. He doesn't take the natural curve of the blade into his movements, but takes a severe angle in, and he had tight landings on too many of his jumps. His spins were rather mediocre and traveled, and he stepped through his footwork instead of gliding through it. He has more dramatic arms than most skaters, and his program was nice to watch, but while he may have landed more triples than Klimkin -- he did not match Klimkin's 4T/3T and 3A/3T, however -- he doesn't have the all-around skills that Klimkin has. I would have ranked it: Joubert Klimkin Lambiel Plushenko Dambier but I don't get to vote

Wevers has been stellar in the Balanchine Centenary, most notably in the second movement of the Brahms, but also as one of the "Theme" men (with Christophe Maraval) in Divertimento No. 15, and as Louise Nadeau's partner in the Agon pas de deux. If we hear about the dates out here before the casting goes up, I'll add them to the thread. BTW, Carrie Imler was also trained in the miracle garden of CPYB, but she would have left for the PNB school somewhere between '92 and '94; she graduated into the Company in '95.

Myrna Kamara was given a wonderful review in the Carolina Ballet production of Prodigal Son; article is in today's Links, fourth post from the top.. (The second mention is a the end of the article.) Andrea Long did a wondeful performance of Calliope in Seattle during Dance Theater of Harlem's recent tour.

Unfortunately TV revenues are the driving forces in the major professional sports, and even some non-professional sports, like figure skating. Teams without mega media contracts must compete with teams that do, and the push for attendance is key. What baseball and hockey find is that people like to see the offense side of the game, the big "score." In baseball it's the brute who stands behind the plate and reams the ball over the wall who's the hero, not so much the manager who manufactures a run here and there. (In some stadiums, there's a fireworks display, if the home team hits a home run.) And it's certainly not the pressing defense. In hockey there were articles about the demise of the game as we know it when NJ Devils' coach Jacques Lemaire implemented the "trap defense" with the club, which reduced shots on goal for the other team. Every attempt to cut down the offense -- raising the pitcher's mound, reducing the strike zone has been met with fan complaints of boredom. On TV it's hard to see how good defense is the counter to offense, but all the guy at home sees is the guy with the bat against the pitcher, or, in hockey, limited sections of the ice. Plus kids are used to the instant gratification and high scores of video games. Power translates all too often into steroids. It's easy to see why baseball players would use them, especially designated hitters. There's not much running around, and if you can hit the ball over the fence, you only need to do the victory jog around the bases. And if you strike out, that jog is a lot shorter. It's hard to imagine that they'd do hockey players much good, because those players need to retain speed and quick reflexes, but professional hockey in North America, alone among team sports, has a crowd-pleasing distraction for its fans that has nothing to do with scoring: the well-defined fight conventions that are a cross between boxing and professional wrestling. Ballet is competing with all of this, and the men in ballet are being compared to artificially enhanced bruisers. No wonder ballet attempts to show that the men are the "Spud Webbs" of the performing arts.

According to Francia Russell and Kent Stowell, Artistic Directors of Pacific Northwest Ballet, in a Q&A after tonight's Balanchine Centerary program, dancers Noelani Pantastico and Olivier Wevers (which they pronounced like "waivers"), will dance the second movement of Brahms/Schoenberg Quartet with NYCB in May. These two dancers are worth seeing, especially in these roles. Patricia Barker will also be part of a lecture by Maria Tallchief on Firebird, but Russell and Stowell didn't give any more details.

Tonight's performance of Divertimento # 15 had two debuts according to the posted cast list on the PNB website, one of which, Kylee Kitchens', was confirmed by Francia Russell in the post-performance Q&A. The performances of all three ballets had a different feel than the last two times I saw them, most specifically in the Mozart. Tempe Ostergren was quick and charming in her solo, in which she reminded me of Roma Sosenko (retired NYCB). In the pas de deux, she looked a little corps-like -- ex., stopping in a position that was meant to blend with other couples -- but she's young and that should go away with more experience. Lowenberg's solo was strangely phrased tonight: it was like phone messages in which words are pre-recorded and strung together, getting the pronunciation right, but not the phrasing. On the other hand, she was more elegant in the pas de deux than last week, when she was superb, showing even more legato phrasing. Chapman again was magical in LeClerq's role Kylee Kitchens made her debut in the 3rd variation, Adams' role. She had a small bobble at the end of her solo, and a partnering mishap in the opening of the pas de deux in which she was facing upstage instead of downstage after some supported turns. She seemed nervous, and this isn't a surprise, since she follows Barker and Nadeau in this role. But in this case, anatomy was destiny: she has long, straight legs and Adams' clean line. The role is a work in progress for her, but this was a gallant debut for a young, elegant dancer. I found her performance the most interesting of the three, because she didn't impose anything on the role, but captured the essence of the movement with integrity. It's such a shame that she won't get another chance to dance the role this year; I hope her success will give her more opportunities like this one. Brava to her! Unless she substituted for someone else last Saturday or last night, this was also Imler's debut dancing the sixth variation. There were phrases I liked better when Nakamura performed them, as well as general finish in the movements, but Imler gave a very different kind of performance than I had seen in the program -- she played with the music almost as counterpoint, as if she were hearing the it for the first time and was responding to it, and she danced the pas de deux with abandon. Bold has partnered Imler in many major roles now, including Swan Lake, and she dances as if she doesn't need to look at him or anticipate him: she just assumes he'll be there and goes headlong into the movement. Her gamble paid off every time. She had enough time in the solo to play with it, despite the tempi, and the dynamic changes made it looked like a fresh piece of choreography. This was a variation on the casting to date: young dancers anchored by the youngest principal woman, instead of an experience veteran, and it was well-balanced with five very different, but complementary, young dancers. In the corps, I noticed Brittany Reid's dancing and energy for the first time; she danced fully, even when she was upstage, facing backwards. Agon featured another wonderful performance by Barker -- alas, the last time I will see her in this role this year -- and a performance by Pantastico of "Bransle Gay" that was even better than her debut in the role. She, like Imler, played with the steps, and it was breathtaking to watch. It is great to see these two young women take ownership of these great roles. Jordan Pacitti was noteworthy as one of the two men in the second pas de trois. I hope that the next time Agon is revived that he is given a chance at the first pas de trois role. Nakamura danced the first movement of Brahms Schoenberg Quartet with much more ease and fluidity than on Opening Night. Her upper body was soft, and her legwork was relaxed and clearer. It was a lovely performance, but she and Stanton didn't quite create the perfumed world that Vinson and Bold did last week. Imler danced the second lead on a grand scale, matching the energy and sweep of the four corps men with their big jumps. Nadeau and Maraval danced the second movement, and I could once again indulge in Maraval's beautiful arms. In the Q&A after the performance, one attendee said that Nadeau looked like she was floating. Russell said that the reason was that Maraval was such a good partner, but then went on to say that Nadeau was a "dream to partner" and that all the men in the company want to partner her. [so even if I can't say anything nice about her dancing, I can quote other people that I respect saying nice things about her and her dancing.] Barker gave another understated, luminous performance in the third movement, this time with Batkhurel Bold, who with his big, flexible jumps, beats, and rhythmic double tours gave the solo its due. Melanie Skinner's dancing as one of the three demisoloists was unusually soft and radiant. This was in striking contrast to her performance in the first pas de trois in Agon, in which she could have blended right in with Renee Estopinal and Wilhemina Frankfurt or any of the tall, spiky leotard ballet girls from NYCB in the '70's and '80's who specialized in the role. I wish she had been given an opportunity for a try at the Agon pas de deux. This has been a wonderful program for her; I'm sorry I missed her in Divertimento. Lallone and Milov danced the fourth movement. Milov has that fantastic character dancing background from his Eastern European training, and this most self-effacing dancer, even in La Corsaire, got a personality transplant, and became the gypsy king. Yowza! Lallone started with her arms akimbo, and I thought she was going to match him, and that it would become Agon, the Sequel, but then she went all Kitri on me! Still it was a fun, dynamic performance. If only PNB could dance this program for another week!

From a Marketing standpoint, just about any business or organization that relies upon direct marketing will mail as long as the mailing breaks even. Once a "package" -- brochure, letter, offer, etc. -- is successful, it will be expanded outside its target audience, until that segment does not break even. So donors spread to high-end subscribers to low-end subscribers to frequent single ticket buyers, etc. Also, when doing physical mailings, by adding names, the incremental cost can go down if the higher quantity qualifies for the postal sorting rates, which are discounted in the US, and lower printing costs per thousand. There are two main reasons why there are "suggested" donations: first, many people don't remember how much they donated from year to year, and rather than let people make it up, they want to pressure people to at least match their past donations, and second, people tend to choose from the "middle" of the menu. If there are four-five suggestions, and these are customized, chances are the amount/range donated last year is second from the bottom -- the bottom number is a lot less than the last donation, and who wants to be seen as being "cheap" -- and they hope that the recipient will choose one of the two directly above. An alternative is a pre-printed form, in which one of the options, usually at the bottom, is a checkbox ("I would like to contribute/renew at the same level as last year ([computer fills in last year's amount]). Telemarketing solicitations are another story -- either they are made by staff, students, or volunteers, or they are run by professionals, who get a commission or flat fee for the successful call. For a while, non-for-profits were hiring high-level development and grant-writing folks by offering them a cut of any new money they raised. I'm not sure if this is as prevalent as it once was. If they offer premiums and they are smart, they will allow the donor to check that s/he would not like to receive anything of value. In almost every arts organization there are membership levels that give access to discounts and/or priority on single ticket sales and the tchokas shop, invitations to working rehearsals, fancy parties and access to donor lounges (for big spenders) -- i.e. warm and fuzzy "affinity" benefits. These are generally considered "costless," which is rarely the case, if only in the static they cause the organization. I must say that I would be annoyed at a fund-raising campaign for a "royal" anything. I know a Princeton graduate who told me that the school insisted on three contact names and addresses at graduation, so that they could hunt him down for donations for the rest of his life. My alma mater is a bit more low key. My standard response to phone solicitations is that I don't respond to them, only to mail. In response to this, I was once asked by the caller in a very pissy tone if she was wasting her stamp by sending me mail, and I told her she'd have to decide. I am ruthless about pulling donations where I get rude responses in general. I told a solicitor from [small musical group in Seattle] that I had donated to the org through my company's annual giving campaign -- we are allowed to designate to which 501©3 orgs the funds go -- and the man asked accusingly "Are you sure?" They've been off my list since. (I never received a response from the organization after I wrote a note to point out the attitude of their fundraisers, because if I had received an acknowledgement that this wasn't the face the org wanted to show, they wouldn't have lost me as a donor.) I wrote a note to [arts organization in NYC metro area] objecting to them using my work number for fundraising when I had given it to them in case there was a problem with my ticket order, and I got a high fallutin' note back about how many of their donors "prefer the convenince of being called at work." My (private) response is not fit for this board, but I never donated to them again. The [local college] student who called for a donation for the World Arts programs was on shaky ground when she asked "So you don't want to donate now?" when I told her that I donate with my subscription renewal, but she didn't challenge me again when I repeated myself. The funniest subscription solicitation was a call I got last night from [locale theater org]. A very friendly guy was giving me his spiel, and I stopped him mid-sentence, telling him, "Stop! Wait! I'm the wrong person to be talking to! I hate theater! My friends offer me theater tickets all the time, and I always turn them down! I don't want to waste your time!" We had a good giggle over that.

From the Seattle Times, second-to-last paragraph: Whew!

I can only hope that Russell will continue to stage Balanchine ballets in Seattle. (Maybe she'll even do stagings at OBT.) If there's one consistent aspect of her professional life, it is as a stager. She'll also stage a triple bill of Four Temperaments, Prodigal Son, and Symphony in C next fall. Both Russell and Stowell said that Liebeslieder Waltzer is their personal favorite of Balanchine's ballets. I very much hope that they'll end the 2004-05 season with this ballet, and if they have to pay tribute to Stowell as choreographer, that they avoid a full-length Stowell ballet, and start the final program with a shorter Stowell ballet, and end with LW. PNB sent out their first renewal notices a couple of weeks ago with no fancy brochure or program listing for next season. I thought at first that this was a good Marketing gauge to see what percent of their subscriber base would renew, sight unseen. (I was one of them.) I also thought this might be a good way to save printing costs. Now I wonder whether the brochure has lots of references to their retirement, tributes to them, etc -- Opening Night and special "Farewell" performance = two fundraisers -- and if they stalled with the brochures and official announcement until after the opening of the Balanchine Centenary.

After reading this announcement in the Seattle P-I posted in links today, after I recovered from the shock, my first thought was, "Please, Ib Andersen!"

Reviewing Thirteen in The New Yorker critic David Denby wrote one of my favorite critical descriptions of all time, a sentence that transported me immediately decades back to early adolescence:

In Seattle people will stand for just about anything music related, as if we should be honored by artists who are willing to visit our little frontier town. When the Symphony was still in the Opera House, limited to a Monday/Tuesday schedule, a lot of top-notch performers wouldn't come, because that would mean committing to two weeks from their schedule instead of one in order to rehearse with the orchestra, so it was a bit more understandable. People will stand for visiting dance companies, but not so much for Pacific Northwest Ballet, although it does happen occasionally. What happens more than not is that Francia Russell, the co-artistic director, will get a standing ovation, like she did at after the Balanchine Celebration Centenary program, and the soloist musicians -- usually violin or piano -- will get the biggest ovations of the night.

Karin von Aroldingen did a wonderful staging of Liebeslieder Walzer for the San Francisco Ballet in 1998. I suspect that Suzanne Farrell could stage it as well, having danced at least the Diana Adams role. In a Q&A after a recent Pacific Northwest Ballet performance, artistic directors Francia Russell and Kent Stowell said that this ballet was their personal favorite of Balanchine's ballets. I'm not sure if either danced in the ballet -- I suspect Stowell did -- but Russell was one of the first stagers for NYCB under Balanchine, and if she weren't able to stage it herself, she would be able to assess the quality of someone else's.

Today's matinee was the second performance of the (first) Balanchine Centenary program; the company did not perform Friday night. There was a flier in the program that announced a second Balanchine triple-bill for next fall: Four Temperaments, Prodigal Son, and Symphony in C. In this afternoon's post-performance Q&A, Russell said that PNB intends to celebrate Balanchine throughout 2004. (They will also dance A Midsummer Night's Dream this spring.) The principals cast for Divertimento No. 15 was completely new this afternoon, and they danced a much calmer performance. Christophe Maraval and Jordan Pacitti danced the "Theme and Variations" men. They were equally strong, although Maraval was more vivid because of his fluid arms, which I think are the best in the Company. If every ballet dancer had an extra ounce of his strong, supple arm movements that frame his face and upper body, the ballet world would be a more aesthetically pleasing place. I am partial to Alexandra Dickson's clean technique and unexaggerated, classic positions. I found her arms strangely rectangular in the first variation (Kent's) solo, though -- is that really the way the choreography goes? -- but they were soft again during her pas de deux, which was full of her usual graciousness. Barker danced the third variation (Adams'), and while I wouldn't quite call it fussy, it seemed as if she felt she had to add or comment to the movement. While Barker shares Adams' height, the shape of her legs is very different than the films and photos I've seen of Adams, and her approach was a bit rococco, and for me, not very satisfying. Two young corps dancers made their debuts in the ballet. Stacy Lowenberg danced the second variation (Hayden's) in a warm, direct style, with very clear shapes and positions in both the solo and the pas de deux. Maria Chapman in the fourth variation (LeClerq's) was a great stroke of casting: LeClerq's dancing has been called "witty," and I found that NYCB dancers often tried to impost wit on her roles. The wonderful thing about Chapman's performance was she played it straight, and by doing so, the wit was clearly conveyed by the juxtapositions in the choreography. These were great debuts in very difficult roles. Kaori Nakamura's evil twin, who danced the first movement of the Brahms on Thursday, was nowhere in sight this afternoon in the sixth variation, which, of all the roles, is the once most condusive to a heavy technical approach. Instead, as she started her variation, her upper body remained soft and open, while her legs performed miracles of speed and precision. Later in the solo there's a section where both her arms and legs change position in rapid succession, which she performed with quicksilver lightness. I feel privileged to have seen see her; it was a "brought tears to my eyes" GREAT performance, and tears don't come that easily to me. In Agon, Noelani Pantastico, who danced the second pas de trois, looked grave; she must have been concentrating and counting furiously, because I've never seen that expression on her face before. She got the first audience "gasp" in the ballet during her unsupported balances in the opening to the pas de trois, which she danced with Amazon Men Christophe Maraval and Oleg Gourboulev. It can not be easy to look powerful next to these two men who move big, but she did match their energy and remain the focus of the movement. I'm not a fan of Louise Nadeau's. The pas de deux she danced with Olivier Wevers suffered from the type of bobbles that take away from the sense of invinceability and one-upmanship; these were not the kind of mistakes that felt like the dancers were on the brink, which I've seen blend into the roles effectively. It wasn't a particularly interesting performance on her part, and while it had a few mannerisms, like emphasizing how far she could splay her legs, nonetheless, towards the end I started to think this was better than Darcey Bussell's exaggerated attempt during the Balanching Celebration in 1993. I thought too soon: she went into the arabesque penche at the end of the pas de deux, and proceed to reach her nose to her leg -- a la Farrell in Symphony in C -- and then sickled her neck so that her head started to move behind her standing leg, as her face turned a shade of scarlet. This "trick" was too much to bear. :green: If Mara Vinson weren't making her debut as the second lead next Sunday, I would sit out the ballet rather then watch Nadeau dance this again, but instead, I plan to close my eyes and listen to the music. Vinson did make a stunning debut this afternoon in the first movement of Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet; her dancing was just what the movement needed: big, clear, and calm -- a mature portrayal for such a young woman -- not to mention those lovely feet. Whether she was alone on stage, alone with her partner, Batkhurel Bold, or dancing amidst the corps, she remained the focus of the ballet, even when Ariana Lallone -- terrific again -- was onstage. The first movement is quite long, with a lot of musical development, and the audience grew at bit restless. While the second soloist gets a lot of sweeping movements and big jumps, the female lead's role is more subtle and tempered, and it's a rather thankless one. Noelani Pantastico and Olivier Wevers danced the second movement and provided the second stunner in a row: she portrayed a joyous, romantic woman, and he, through his eyes and attention, was an ardent lover. The sweep and passion in their dancing was breathtaking, and they were supported by lovely performances by Kylee Kitchens, Maria Chapman, and Stacy Lowenberg. When he danced with the three women after Pantastico's first solo, he looked like he was telling her best friend, and her sister, and her cousin how happy he was, and it was very disconcerting when he ran offstage after Maria Chapman! Out came Pantastico again, radiating the sunniness that was so characteristic of Patricia McBride, who created the role. Jodie Thomas and Le Yin danced the third movement. They physically resemble Kent and Villella, but, unfortunately, she was often obscured from my side of the orchestra by Melanie Skinner, one of the tallest women in the Company, who with Chalnessa Eames and Alexandra Dickson, danced the three soloists, parallelling the three women in the second movement. Thomas started out stiffly in the opening partnering, but her solo was soft and light, and she retained these qualities until the end of the movement, including when she was partnered. Much of the first three movements reminds me of A Midsummer Night's Dream in feeling and temperament, if not steps: the young lovers in the second movement resembling Hermia (another McBride role) and Lysander, the female lead in the "Andante" as Titania, and in the first movement, the second soloist a more civilized version of Hippolyta -- both roles created for Gloria Govrin and danced at PNB by Lallone -- and the leads having more than a touch of the second act pas de deux. Imler and Herd were as fantastic in the "Rondo alla Zingarese" as they were on Thursday. Four young dancers staked out four major roles in the Balanchine cannon in the Brahms, and another three made impressive debuts as leads in Agon and Divertimento No. 15. It occurred to me that apart from NYCB, I don't know any other company that could cast eleven major Balanchine female roles with such success in three ballets, using only three principal dancers, having trained all but three, and with only one dancer -- Pantastico -- dancing more than one role.

On Thursday I saw the opening night performance of PNB's Balanchine Centenary Program (Divertimento #15, Agon, and Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet. There was a car down on a three-lane street a few blocks from the theater, and traffic was backed up to the highway. I missed the beginning of Divertimento and came in only as the 5th variation (man's) was beginning. In the Q&A after the performance, Francia Russell said that we had been a good audience. Unlike Speight Jenkins, of Seattle Opera, who says that to all the girls, there seemed to be a note of surprise in Russell's voice. When an audience member said, "That's because we were inspired," Russell described the dress rehearsal as uninspired. The tone of the performance was apparent by Noelani Pantastico's performance; she dances the killer 6th variation, choreographed for Patricia Wilde. It seemed like she was trying to not fail at this part, rather than dancing it from within. (Conductor Stuart Dameron was trying to murder her with the tempo, which didn't help. This time Stowell didn't shout out to the conductor that it was too fast, as he did in NY during PNB's City Center debut in 1996. This time it might have helped.) Pantastico is a dancer who did not seem nearly as nervous dancing Odette/Odile or Aurora, the two biggest roles of the classical repertoire. The NY cast had all of the "big guns" -- Hitchen (1st var), Apple (2nd var), Derieux (3rd var), Barker (4th var), and Tobiason (6th var) -- and they danced brilliantly and, seemingly, without nerves. (Apple was noticed by the NY critics in this ballet. All but Barker have retired or left the Company.) Stowell, as evidenced by his outburst, was more nervous than his dancers. As important as those performances were, and I don't mean to suggest that Russell/Stowell have any less respect for the traditional classic repertoire, I get the impression that the Company on the whole knows that this Centenary Celebration program is the most important they have ever done in their lives until this point. (The exception was Louise Nadeau, an experienced performer.) Here was the first ballet in the program, a make or break moment. Of the Opening Night cast, Le Yin breezed through his variation, but it was Mara Vinson who grabbed the opportunity and shone in Melissa Hayden's role. Vinson has danced all her parts this season with a full-bodied approach. No matter how fast the tempi, she seems unperturbed, and dances full out without seeming rushed. This has been a great season so far for her. In the Centenary programs, she's also cast in Hayden's role in the 2nd pas de trois in Agon in the last performance of the season (Sun, 15 Feb 1pm). From the Second Tier I couldn't see who was making all of the noise, but I suspect these were Company members and dancers from the school, because it sounded like an ABT audience -- cheering, clapping, whistling, and "woofing" after each variation and pas de deux, which ruins the musical transitions, but supported the dancers and willed them on in this difficult ballet. [Edited to add: In the Q&A after the 7 Feb Sat mat., Francia Russell said that 50 members of the touring Dance Theatre of Harlem were in attendance; that certainly explains the enthusiam and professional courtesy. PNB members went to see DTH's Friday performance.] In the way-too-empty nosebleed section, there was audible sighing from everywhere. When I moved to my regular seat in the Gallery Upper after intermission, the sighs during the performance were more pronounced. There was a moment towards the end of the pas de deux in Agon where Barker goes into arabesque penche position, with Stanton lying on the floor, and after the final pulse of the extension, it sounded like the entire Main Floor made a collective sigh. [Edited to take out "develope into penche", which is not the correct move.] Who'd have thought that Divertimento #15 and Agon were ballets that would cause fifty-five-year-olds to "woof" in appreciation, and that Agon with it's difficult 12-tone score would be received as an exciting, even fun ballet? Barker, who danced the pas de deux from Agon with Stanton in the NY performances, was even better than six years ago. Regardless of the number of roles that Stowell and visiting choreographers have made for her, it is this role that looks like it was choreographed for her. It fits her style, energy, flexibility, control, and body type like a glove, and her smile seems genuine in it. This is the triumphant role of her career. I think Gibson's performance of the man in the first pas de trois was in the same lofty universe as Boal's. His characterization is less elegant, but more competitive, and there's steely technique and placement behind the softness of his dancing. He makes and connects shapes beautifully. I knew there was in for trouble when Nakamura danced a rather academic second pas de trois lead. There was nothing wrong per se with the performance, but it did not bode well for Brahms-Schoenberg. Lallone opened the first movement with sweep and panache, and Nakamura, who had danced softly and beautifully in The Nutcracker, had reverted to a jarring "correctness" and a tense upper body. Lallone so ruled the first movement that the main couple was an afterthought instead of a contrast. (I'm really not a Lallone fan usually, but she was fabulous in this role. She dances Rondo alla Zingarese in other performances. We'll see.) More trouble came in the second movement. Louise Nadeau was radiant, and she created gorgeous shapes in lifts, but to me, she posed too much. A dance photographer would have been in heaven, because he would have made great snapshots, but it was not great dancing. I am dreading seeing her Agon pas de deux. In the "tall" cast for the third movement, Barker, with a very different style and emphasis, danced softly and elegantly in Allegra Kent's role. Milov was a lovely partner, but seeing such a big, soft dancer in the male solos was disconcerting. Carrie Imler was a star in the Rondo alla Zingarese movement, and in the best sense: through the fullness of her dancing and the integration of character and movement. (I'm sitting on my hands wanting to talk about her "amplitude," but that was listed as one of the top reviewer descriptions to avoid ) Casey Herd was a lot of fun as the male lead. His performance as one of the two men in the second pas de trois in Agon had paled against Jordan Pacitti's, his authoritative partner's, but he was a lot more dynamic in the Brahms. While tall, he's a bit compact nonetheless, and he didn't have d'Amboise's sinuousness that is exploited so well in the choreography. But it was a vivid performance that offset Imler's tour-de-force brilliantly. Among the corps and demi roles standouts were Rebecca Johnston, who never cheats and gave her corps roles in Divertimento No. 15 clarity and integrity, Karel Cruz, who, luckily for me, was paired with Johnston in the Brahms so I didn't have to split my attention, Nicholas Ade, Jordan Pacitti, and Lucien Postlewaite in both the first and fourth movements of the Brahms, Maria Chapman as the middle girl in the second movement of Brahms and one of the four girls in Agon, and Kara Zimmerman, in the first and third movements of the Brahms. I'm looking forward to seeing a few more performances of this program. I'm hoping that the dancers have calmed down a bit, that Russell and Stowell approve of their efforts so far, and that Divertimento #15 regains some of its bloom. The dancers are certainly up to it.

Second week casting: If the grid is consistent, then the Divertimento #15 roles are: Women: 2nd variation (Hayden), 3rd variation (Adams), 6th variation (Wilde), 4th variation (Le Clerq), and 1st variation (Kent). Men: Theme soloist, 6th variation (Magallanes), Theme soloist. Thu, 12 Feb Divertimento #15: Vinson, Nadeau, Nakamura, Thomas, Ostergren Porretta, Yin, Gibson Agon pas de deux: Nadeau, Wevers 1st pas de trois: Porretta, Chapman, Rausch 2nd pas de trois: Nakamura, Gorboulev, Maraval Zimmerman, Kitchens, Lowenberg, Dec Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet Vinson, Bold, Lowenberg Pantastico, Wevers Barker, Milov Imler, Herd Fri, 13 Feb Divertimento #15: Lowenberg, Kitchens, Imler, Chapman, Dickson Maraval, Bold, Wevers Agon pas de deux: Barker, Stanton 1st pas de trois: Yin, Dickson, Skinner 2nd pas de trois: Pantastico, Pacitti, Herd Zimmerman, Reid, Rausch, Brunson Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet Nakamura, Stanton, Imler Nadeau, Maraval Barker, Bold Lallone, Milov Sat, 14 Feb eve Divertimento #15: Vinson, Barker, Nakamura, Skinner, Dickson Maraval, Stanton, Wevers Agon pas de deux: Barker, Stanton 1st pas de trois: Porretta, Kitchens, Lowenberg 2nd pas de trois: Pantastico, Pacitti, Postlewaite Chapman, Reid, Rausch, Brunson Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet Vinson, Bold, Imler Nadeau, Maraval Thomas, Yin Lallone, Milov Sun, 15 Feb mat Divertimento #15: Vinson, Nadeau, Pantastico, Thomas, Ostergren Pacitti, Yin, Gibson Agon pas de deux: Nadeau, Wevers 1st pas de trois: Gibson, Chapman, Rausch 2nd pas de trois: Vinson, Gorboulev, Maraval Zimmerman, Kitchens, Lowenberg, Dec Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet Nakamura, Stanton, Lowenberg Pantastico, Wevers Barker, Bold Imler, Herd

DTH was definitely worth seeing. There's another performance tonight (Saturday) at the Paramount. For those who miss Andrea Long from NYCB, she's cast in Serenade. (She danced Calliope in Apollo last night.)

I totally agree