nysusan

I've seen Paul Taylor 3-4 times now, including 7-8 different works of his. They all left me cold (at best) except Promethian Fire. I've seen it 3 times now, and I enjoy it more and more each time. To see it performed in Battery Park, in NY on Sept 11 was really special - it was the perfect way to close the day. And I agree that mixed bills are a great idea. I went to that performance because I wanted to see PF, and I discovered Buglisi/Foreman In NY, the Taylor company will be performing PF again in City Center's Fall for Dance festival on October 1st .

I went last night. I don't have time to write a full review now, but wanted to let you know that they pulled Red Angels and subbed Herman Schmerman. So, Korbes and Suozzi out & yellow costumes in. Wendy & Peter were wonderful. So were Corella & Reyes, and the two Joffrey dancers who's names I can't remember at the moment. Plus, ABT fans got to see Carlos Molina again, partnering 3 BB ballerinas in Who Cares. All 3 were good, none were Balanchinian, Feijoo was outstanding. :offtopic: sorry, I know

Any news on casting for the fall U.S. tour? I'm specifically interested in the Boston performances. Thanks, Susan

ABT now has casting listed on their website. No Tuttle or McKerrow as previously noted, but we get Nina in 2 performances each of Les Sylphides and Mozartiana, Part in Mozartiana and Ferri in 2 performances of VII. And Kent is back

I've never seen Pharaoh's daughter, but my curiosity has been piqued by what I've read on other ballet boards. I'm still not clear on the rules for quoting from other boards so I'll paraphrase a little from danze.co.uk and criticaldance.com (moderators please feel free to delete anything you find to be inappropriate) According to what I've read, Petipa choreographed Pharaoh's daughter in 1862. I believe the original ballet is lost, the current Bolshoi version is by Pierre Lacotte and I don't think it makes any real attempt to "reconstruct" the original choreography. It has been described as "a sumptuous extravaganza" and tells the story of a young englishman who dreams that he elopes with a pharaoh's daughter. I know I read more about it but can't find the info right now, maybe someone else can elaborate. They're scheduled to perform it in London later this week so there should be new articles & reviews showing up soon. I saw Spartacus back in the 70's - it would be great to see it again, also the Queen of Spades (about which I know nothing!) I just don't expect anything like the 3 week season they are enjoying in London, or like the one they had recently in Paris, and I'm trying not to hope for too much!

You are not alone. I actually scheduled a family trip to Florida to coincide with a weekend's worth of MCB's Giselle to get my fix. I'm very much looking forward to it's return to ABT's rep for their 2005 Met season. Hopefully it will be the familiar version rather than some "streamlined" new staging by McKenzie where Giselle turns out to be a figment of Albrecht's imagination... :angelnot:

Do you mean the latest version? Don't forget they currently have three Romeo and Juliet's at their disposal. Unfortunately I'd bet that they will bring their newest verion, which I have absolutely no desire to see. I just scheduled a trip to Boston to see Raymonda & Don Q, so my wishlist for NY would be Swan Lake, The Bright Stream & Pharoh's Daughter

Leigh, you're right - personal preferences & past experiences definitely play a big part here. I'm not as bothered by the Kirov's dancing von Rothbart as you are, perhaps McKenzie's "Swamp Thing" has lowered my expectations. Although if I got nothing else from McKenzie's production, Nina A's performance last month reminded me how powerful the mime can be, and how much much I miss it when it isn't there. That's certainly a flaw in the Kirov's staging, and the ending is absurd, but despite it's flaws I still think the Sergeyev production is a good one. It's one of the few that really gets to the heart & soul of the story. Put that together with their stunning lakeside scenes and the conviction that each member of the corps brings to even the smallest role and I'm happy. Especially when you compare it to the other productions out there. But you have a point. I think I remember a post by Alexandra saying that the most radical thing an A.D. could do these days is to stage a traditional production of Swan Lake. Don't I wish someone would!

Symphonic Variations - definitely. Also Monotones. They're both such masterpieces that their beauty shows through even flawed performances. I had problem's with ABT's casting of the female roles in Symphonic Variations last year, I hope they keep it in repertory and work out the casting in the future. They only live performances I've seen of Monotones I & II have been by ABT's studio company & the recent Joffrey performances. All were good enough, but none were as good as I think they could have been. My favorite so far was the last Joffrey performance I saw with Michael Levine, Samuel Pergande & Valerie Robin in Monotones II. Even though there was a jarring fall in the middle, this performance came closest to fully realizing the otherworldliness of the choreography. I don't agree with putting Swan Lake into this category. I've seen not one but several performances that were transcendent - technically sound, visually beautiful & emotionally satisfying - as good as (I think) a performing arts experience can get. The Royal Ballet's production in the late 60's/early 70's with Fonteyn & Nureyev, any number of performances of ABT's old Blair production with Makarova & Nagy circa 1974-76. And just this past January - Pavlenko/Zelensky with the Kirov. I can agree that none of the current productions of Swan Lake are as good as they could be. The Kirov's comes closest to my ideal, but I miss the mime, and of course - there's that happy ending.

The website said that performances go on "rain or shine". I decided to pass tonight - I'm not willing to sit in the rain! Maybe the weather will be better tomorrow.

Is there any news on a Met season? Any dates?

Funny, that's EXACTLY what I was thinking! I'd also love to see ABT revive their production of Les Patineurs, and tackle Monotones (the studio company did it last year, but I'd love to see the main company do it - the casting possibilities are endless). On the other hand, who could argue with GeorgeB fan's desire to see Wendy Whelan in MonotonesII? Let's just hope the NY companies add lots of Ashton to their repertories this year! :yes:

Thanks for the info. I guess I must have caught this on TV at some point, maybe tuned into a Dance NY or PBS broadcast in the middle because I don't remember some of the other pieces that are listed. After seeing Monotones at the Ashton Festival I was really looking forward to watching the tape again, so it's a shame that it doesn't exist!

I thought I remembered seeing this on video, possibly with Vergie Derman in the female role, but I've searched my collection, Amazon & DVD Talk and can't find it anywhere. Does anyone else remember this, or was I dreaming? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Susan

Anthony Dowell was cast as Armand's father last night, and received a huge ovation upon setting foot on stage. Alas, there was no Sibley sighting.

and Pavlenko. Possibly also Ananishvilli...

The evening started with Dante Sonata - afterwards, during intermission, I heard lots of people talking about how old fashioned and “Grahamesque” Dante Sonata was - I didn’t think so. Despite the flowing costumes, bare feet and obvious influence of Graham and Duncan, I thought this was definitely ballet as opposed to modern dance. I found the imagery still very effective,and very appropriate to our time and I realy liked the way that Ashton presented the ravages of war without taking sides. There were no winners in this scenario. Angela Paul as the lead female “Child of Darkness” was a standout. Nothing could have prepared me for the impact The Two Pigeons would have on me. When the ballet began I thought, how charming! Ashton certainly is a master of character, and of idiom. This is lovely. A tad predictable, perhaps. A little dated and pre-feminist. Okay, we have an artist imposing his idea of perfection onto his model/lover. She's a beautiful girl, deeply in love with the great artist but she refuses to be objectified - she is an imperfect human being, not some abstract idea of perfection. But then act I descended (however beautifully) into a pat scenario of the ever faithful woman dealing with the man’s wanderlust, and I thought - what a pity. It probably didn’t help that the girl was portrayed as a virginal symbol of bourgeois values - beautifully danced but no sense of sexuality or womanliness from her - as opposed to the sexual allure and abandon of the gypsy girl. The second act caught me completely by surprise - the intensity and nastiness of the gypsy camp ( so much more believable than ABT’s gypsys in DQ!), and the tender lyricism of the final pas de deux. It was so powerful, even though you could see that final image coming a mile away, it was still heartbreakingly beautiful. I did find myself questioning the underpinnings of the plot (In the poem the wandering pigeon knew that he was just off on a brief adventure & would come home, here I felt that if the boy had been able to beat the gypsy man & keep up with the gypsy women our poor young girl would have been sitting out on the balcony searching for the skies for her mate for a very long time...). But still, the ballet moved me to tears, and I’m not the weepy type! Ashton’s incorporation of the bird movement was masterful, and very effective as a metaphor. The images he created were beautiful, and the dancers were wonderful but I found myself so caught up in the story and the beauty of the dance that I was rarely aware of technique - though I couldn’t help but notice how high and beautiful Vallo’s extentions were, and what beautiful line both she and Chao had. Asta Bazeviciute was ravishing as the gypsy girl. I’m so glad I was able to see these companies, and these great works, and so sad at how empty the Met was again last night. I am a big fan of big stars and bravura dancing, but to think that there’s such a limited market for masterpieces like these is disturbing.

art076, thanks for the info on Cinderella. I'll have to convince my cousin to spend the night in the city instead of trying to catch a midnight train home (don't want her to turn into a pumpkin, and missing the last act is not acceptible!) And thanks so much for the reviews, I can hardly wait till Tuesday to see the Royal! I'm very dissapointed that we won't get Giselle, but eagerly anticipating Scenes de Ballet & all those excerpts. Guess you can't have everything :shrug:

Thank you so much for the reports, I can't wait to hear about their Giselle! If anyone can help me out with an idea of how long their Cinderella is - my cousin and I are going to see Cinderella in NY at the Met, and she's trying to figure out which train she'll be able to catch home to Long Island - any estimates as to how long Cinderella is (including intermissions)? Thanks, Susan

Le Jeune Homme et la Morte - what fun that was to watch!

Now wouldn't that be interesting. That would be a fascinating road to take the next time some choreographer feels the need to put their stamp on S.L. and decides that the Petipa/Ivanov choreography and original libretto need updating. Riffs on the theme of a classic are welcome, it just pisses me off when they change the story and/or choreography and still insist on calling it Swan Lake instead of, say - "Odette's Dilema" or " Swan Lake in the Studio"!

As GeorgeB Fan noted, the diversity of Ashton’s genius is awe inspiring. This was beautifully illustrated by the opening program of the Ashton celebration on Tuesday. Presenting his futuristic, minimalist “moonwalk vision” of Monotones I & II on the same program as a work that displays the character development and drawing room charm of Enigma Variations and the bravura abandon of Rhapsody was brilliant. Unfortunately, I’m not sure that Monotones & especially Enigma Variations benefited from the cavernous dimensions of the Metropolitan Opera House, but I’m very glad to have had the opportunity to see them both. The Joffrey opened the evening with Monotones. I love these pieces and thought they negotiated the technical challenges well, but I didn’t really feel that sublime otherworldly quality so much, especially with Monotones I. I’m going to see it again tonight, and may comment more later. Enigma Variations was second on the program, performed by BRB. This was a beautiful, carefully detailed ballet. Early on I found myself thinking of Seurat’s painting “A Sunday Afternoon…” - it was like a tableau from another time, a slice of a different, more genteel world captured in an old photograph. The ballet was like a small, quiet portrait that developed slowly, and while I loved the choreography of each vignette and the wonderful, subtle performances, I have to admit that for me, the whole added up to less than the sum of its parts. It was charming, but not something I would rush out to see again, or recommend to a casual ballet – goer. I especially liked the dancers who played Elgers, his wife and his daughter (I think it was supposed to be his daughter – the girl in white with the red ribbons). I adored Rhapsody – the romantic rush of the music, the bright, futuristic, pop art sets, the ensemble as well as the star turns. I really enjoyed the enthusiasm the whole company brought to the performance. Kumakara was fun to watch, but I was fascinated by Durante. I do not have a long history of watching Ashton ballerinas in this type of ballet, but after seeing ABT do Symphonic Variations last year watching Durante breeze through the choreography at breakneck speed with such grace and delicacy was wonderful. I absolutely loved those skimming bourres, the way she coupled those incredibly fast steps with unbroken flow in her arms and upper body – none of the brittleness ABT’s ballerinas displayed in SV. Yes, GeorgeB Fan, I think ABT should grab Rhapsody for Cornejo and a couple of other men on their roster, but they’d also be well advised to bring Durante or Cojocaru in for some guest appearances…

I did - K- Ballet was stunning in Rhapsody last night, and very well received. The Met Opera House was 1/2 empty, and gave the Joffrey & BRB a pretty cool reception however they really came alive for Rhapsody and gave K-Ballet a very enthusiastic ovation. I'm trying to catch up with work today, l'll post details later in the week Susan

Good question. Is this at an oudoor venue in the park? I haven't been to a performance in Central Park in years, but I definitely want to go to this one!

K- Ballet was stunning in Rhapsody last night, and very well received. The Met Opera House was 1/2 empty, and gave the Joffrey & BRB a pretty cool reception however they really came alive for Rhapsody and gave K-Ballet a very enthusiastic ovation. I left my program at home, so I can't give you the casting but Tesuya Kumakawa and Viviana Durante are scheduled to dance the leads again tonight. The choreography, sets and performance were all wonderful - I would love to see them do Rhapsody again but unfortunately this is their only other performance, and I can't go again tonight