charlieloki

the programming on wednesday night ended quite late, but it was a fine and interesting evening on the way out, in an elevator, i heard comments about the extreme length, but also heard "it was worth staying up late for" ballo began very well -- i felt that ms feijoo was comletely in control, and that i could relax and enjoy the piece (this is not always the case with ballo) she is exuberant, looks wonderful and has a lovely stage appearance and technique she seemed to be enjoying herself very much (this piece must be one of the most difficult - from the ballerina's standpoint - in the repertory) mr garcia is nowhere near nycb's level, but was equally exuberant and beautifully attentive to his partner later in the piece, however, i felt that some lack of control on the ballerina's part had set in the balanchine pas de chats were not well-executed, and they are a signature of the piece (who can forget merrill ashley in this part?) i always look forward to seeing this section, and was somewhat disappointed of course, i understand that this was the first performance of the piece and there will certainly be improvement at the next performance, which i can hardly wait to attend i say ignore any apparent problems: brava to a beautiful, spirited dancer jennifer tinsley was so good in episodes - she seems to improve each time we see her teresa reichlen and james fayette did not quite manage the complicated, interesting assembly of bodies in the five pieces section - too much of the ballerinas's upper legs showed, for instance - and the point of the whole thing was lost in a very awkward pose - it needs work jock soto was absolutely wonderful in the musical offerings section, but i thought maria was very bland - the music which ends this section, and the piece as a whole, must be among the best musical endings in ballet the audience went wild for union jack, regardless of the late hour - what can you say? it's simply stupefying nilas martins is a superb soft-shoe dancer and comedian - i think he missed his true calling, which is musical theater (?) what an engaging personality - by the way, ms feijoo is exactly what nycb needs at this point -

the many admirable qualities of this piece were, to me, cancelled out by the implication of violence present in "the end" -- the last section of the piece miranda weese was presented as abused, and worse what will mr. wheeldon do next? has he said it all yet? we should have known in advance what to expect in this program and not have been blind-sided on a nice quiet mother's day in nyc i was so upset that i simply could not stay for some of the afternoon's remaining program "afternoon of a faun", "kammermusik", and "brahms-schoenberg" preceded by "the end"? ballet from two different planets, maybe

gee, folks -- i thought this was an open board i stand by my negative opinions i could respond with negative opinions re your negative opinions, but that is not my style by the way, i probably should note that i was at the actual performance and also watched it via tape the vodka distribution was interesting -- saw some folks going for seconds and thirds --

in my humble opinion, galas are pretty much a non-event - dancewise and otherwise. i did feel that the dancing and the music in last night's performance were not always in sync, which made me very uneasy at times. except for that of the splendid kyra nichols, none of the dancing was beyond nycb's usual level. someone should remark on the sj parker-c bushnell-c askegard connection. to have a pop kind of host, who mainly was a fashion show, dishonored the event - marketing, marketing, marketing ruled. does anyone recall "diamond night at the met", where margot fonteyn hosted an event for a disabled cellist? ms. fonteyn wore an orangey-red full-length sheath gown, very simple lines, with a sensational diamond tiara: a real class act, vocally and visually, for a marvelous series of performances. my personal tribute to mr. balanchine at 100 consisted of attending many screenings of him and his company at the museum of television and radio -- tears were shed there.

yes, farrell fan -- without her it will be a non-event or, she will be made stunningly conspicuous by her absence thanks, mr. martins

i attended a new york philharmonic open rehearsal on thursday morning, april 15 the program was made up of music which is used in the following new york city ballet pieces: bach/webern ricercare from "the musical offering", which is used in balanchine's "episodes"; the berg violin concerto, which is used in robbins' "in memory of...."; and the brahms/schoenberg piano quartet in g minor (orchestral version by schoenberg), which is used in balanchine's "brahms schoenberg quartet" having seen all these pieces many times, i could see virtual dancers superimposed on the actual orchestra as it performed what a treat it was -- a kind of early entree to the coming nycb season this programming could not have been accidental: was it a tribute of a sort to the philharmonic's fellow company across the plaza?

a few years back, i saw albert as the cavalier in nutcracker, along with yvonne borree as sugar plum -- albert was a very last minute replacement in the role (the replacement was so last minute that it was not announced, i believe) -- i had not previously seen him cast in this part he had obviously been thrown into his costume and appeared somewhat nervous, but was truly magnificent -- yvonne seemed to enjoy dancing with him -- she was delightful, which is not always the case -- and they seemed to be a natural partnership -- i wondered why albert was not cast regularly as cavalier, since he was so good, and - lord knows - nutcracker needs sparking up from time to time -- a missed opportunity by nycb, alas -- were any other posters there?

nilas martins and wendy whelan in orpheus at nycb -- this casting would ruin my spring season

thank you, farrell fan re the lyre comment and the others -- i saw the most beautiful noguchi lyre in his studio/workshop (which became his museum) in long island city a few years ago -- also a lot of graham articles which he made for her company the museum has been under renovation, and i believe it is reopening soon it is worth visiting for many reasons -- one of which is the various dance artifacts audience members may have problems with the orpheus legend, but will have no problem with the stravinsky music -- it is stunning

am i the only one left who loves ORPHEUS? the balanchine/stravinsky/noguchi collaboration: when will we ever have a combination like that again? just a few weeks ago, at the museum of television and radio, i was fortunate to see (several times) an early (televised) production with karin von aroldingen as eurydice, peter martins as orpheus and adam luders as the dark angel. the pas de deux (orpheus and eurydice in front of the drawn stage curtain) in which orpheus removes a covering from his eyes, causing eurydice to fall dead, is the most moving scene in any ballet i have attended: both choreographically and musically. i will attend every performance of this piece in the coming season: i hope there will be a change in casting from the most recent performances, so that the original impact of orpheus, which has been lacking, may be achieved. comments?

i was disappointed in the march 17 performance. first off, peter boal is my favorite dancer. i felt that the essential peter boal was not there on that evening. however well he performed in the tharp and forsythe pieces, his persona is not that of a baryshnikov or an evans -- not even close -- and these pieces aren't really effective when cast against type. a piece should also have been included which showed how masterly a dancer he is, but not just in the technical sense. leigh witchel has provided mr. boal with choreography that allowed him to carry us away, beautifully and mystically. probably the key word is: beautiful. mr. boal is a beautiful dancer.