Helene

A photo of Angelica Generosa and James Moore rehearsing Lopez Ochoa's "Before After":

Margaret Mullin interviewed Theresa Ruth Howard before the panel discussion for her podcast "Beyond the Barre." I was shocked to notice the running time, because time flew by for me listening to it: http://www.premierdancenetwork.com/season-two-interview-with-theresa-ruth-howard/

Wendy Whelan on "PIctures at an Exhibition":

That's usually an issue if the ballet is performed after intermission.

The original Prodigal was Serge Lifar, and Balanchine choreographed "Prodigal Son" in 1929. Villella wasn't born until after Balanchine moved to America.

A fantastic photo of Batkhurel Bold:

More photos:

Please discuss professional reviews in the "Writings on Ballet" forum -- the company forums are for discussing what you see.

And it's clearly been updated since I posted. I've updated the link in the original post. Here's a screenshot of the current cast list:

You are so right, and Moore and Pantastico are dancing all three performances of "Opus 19: The Dreamer" opening weekend Casting is up -- as always, subject to change -- and the casts are the same for all three performances. There are going to be some tired dancers come Sunday, June 4! https://www.pnb.org/season/16-17/exhibition/ (scroll to the bottom) Link to downloadable spreadsheet -- edited to add, updated, since it's been updated on the website: Pictures at an Exhibition -- Week 1 23 May 17 (2).xlsx

Funk is a quite different genre. If this is meant to be shorthand for something else, it's not welcome in this discussion.

Hip hop as a rule relies on complex lyrics and rhythmic interaction between the musical beat and lyrics. Many hip hop lyrics would put opera librettos to shame and is the equal to the lyrics of many "high" art songs. I think conflating hip hop and pop music is not accurate.

You may be right; on my monitor, the dancer longer more elongated than Moore, although I was thinking that role would be perfect for Moore.

Dylan Wald is front and center, with Steven Loch James Moore in the back left, and, at the end, Benjamin Griffiths to the right:

From PNB's Facebook:

I don't see anything about "high art" in the mission statement. And I look at the Kennedy Center Honors site, and the list of honorees is hardly lacking representatives of popular culture. I suspect the Eagles would laugh at being called high art.

Just like clockwork: after a couple of days of sun and warmth in the last few months, Seattle seems to have jumped from winter to summer, and: I just got an email from PNB to say that Nutcracker tickets are on sale today, and PNB subscribers get 20% off. (I suspect they had already chosen the on-sale date, but part of me wonders...)

Plus people talk to Copeland. She's had a far more diverse exposure than Peck, for example, as a spokesperson, in classes, through outreach programs, and in public appearances. She's also a force on social media. A comfortable and unchallenged audience is not what I think the country's self-proclaimed arts center should aim for.

I can't say how much Nunez is indicative of Royal Ballet style/training, but while I wouldn't call her a Balanchine dancer, she did not have the mannerisms and imposition of a dominant style that I've seen from other companies, particularly the exaggerated backs and uber extensions. While "Diamonds" might be "Swan Lake"'s cousin in the pas de deux -- and "Raymonda"'s in the final movement, with its character dance influences -- it's neither of those ballets, and that is often the default when non-Balanchine companies do it, and that's often most evident in their casting. (In general, Kitri's need not apply.) I particularly appreciated that everything was controlled by and radiated from her center, and she didn't break the axis or the line, which is rare in general.

Everything Marianela Nunez did was from her live core. That she added a whiff of Black Swan to the end of the pas de deux as she boureed away at the end was too delicious. She and the four Demis, Claire Calvert, Tierney Heap, Yasmine Naghdi, and Beatrix Stix-Brunell, put me in such a happy place, that spending three hours in the dark on a precious sun-filled Seattle day and knowing I've got work to finish when I get home can't put a dent in it. Nunez is Da Bomb.

The Royal Opera House is encouraging us to tweet our impressions. I don't think they really want me to, apart from really liking the corps and the pianist. As Tall Girl, Melissa Hamilton really shone in the last movement, where the choreography is non-stop. The challenge of Tall Girl in the first movement is the same as in Flamenco: you have to be able to nail something and increase the energy when you're still. Steven McCrae did what Rubies men do when they don't get that energy from their partners: he projected forward. The key to the leads, especially in the past, is that it's a conversation, and you have to feel the electricity between them. Sigh.

It's first intermission at Sundance cinema in Seattle. Stix-Brunnel's arms were lovely in the Verdy role. Laura Morera was stunning in the Mimi Paul role . Both of the women in the trio, Emma Maguire and Helen Crawford, were superb. The taller of the two, did the second solo like I'd never seen it before. On the whole, the performances were individual, very well thought out, with details galore, and there was terrific energy in Emeralds, which can often drift off into vapors. Patricia Neary is a force of nature. Balanchine would have been surprised to learn that he trained and danced in France.

There's a difference between reviews and dance criticism. Sometimes what is written will include both. But given space limitations, it's exceedingly difficult to write dance criticism in most newspapers, for example, which insist on limiting pixels to conform with their printed versions, and looks what happens every time Macaulay goes beyond what you describe. ETA: While we might bemoan the lack of great critics, what we have is a critical mass of commentary. However good or bad it is, we have a lot of data reflect how dance was experienced and seen and who was seeing it.

That's true of most review, and it's true of much art.