nysusan

I don't get it either. Maybe it's wrong to say that "I don't get it", just that I can't sit through it. Every one of those waltzes was beautiful, and beautifully danced. I loved the intimacy of the first part, like you were a fly on the wall witnessing a private moment between this group of friends in old Vienna. BUT - by halfway through the first part I was engaged in a battle to keep my eyes open, and I was not alone. Bizet was the perfect wake-up call. Having seen this on Tuesday it was interesting to me to contrast Korowski's 2nd movement with Whelan's. I adore them both, but they are such different dancers. Korowski was much more expansive & expressive, while Whelan realy seemed to carve out the movement with exquisite phrasing. "Charming" describes Ringer's first movement perfectly, and Bouder & Milliped once sailed through that killer 3rd movement. She takes that breakneck speed and still makes it look like she has all the time in the world, the clarity of her dancing is beautiful. The one thing that disturbed me was that during the coda, when the corps make that horseshoe and all 4 ballerinas were front & center, they seemed out of sync. Since no one else has mentioned it on the board, maybe it's just me, but I could swear that Ringer was behind the other 3 and I found it to be very distracting. I liked Walpurgisnacht even better this time. It may be "minor Balanchine" but it's better than just about any new work I've seen recently!

I LOVE Astaire & Rogers. They are both so glamorous, their movies are like a glimpse into another era. And, of course they are wonderful dancers with incredible chemistry between them. I was stunned when I heard that Rogers had no formal dance training. Most people think Top Hat is their best work, and I agree. I also love Shall We Dance, The Gay Divorcee and Follow the Fleet. Have fun!

This was my first time seeing Walpurgisnacht, La Valse and Sonatine. I especially liked the dancing in Walpurgisnacht - Nichols & Askegard, of course, but I was also really impressed by Mandradjieff and the 2 female soloists. Were they Riggins & Walker? I loved the style (and stylishness) of La Valse, but found Sonatine to be pretty dull. I liked the french dancers, just thought there was nothing special about the piece. I agree that Bizet was the evening's highlight - especially Whelan and Bouder. They were each amazing in their own way. I have loved Whelan since the first time I saw her (it was only a couple of years ago & I've only seen her in a few things), but despite the consensus on this board I had my reservations about Bouder last season. Last night she was absolute perfection in the 3rd movement. I'm going again tomorrow night, can't wait! :bouncing:

There is SO much to look forward to this season - Zakharova and Marquez, certainly, but I'm also looking forward to the Balanchine program. Already got my tickets for the May 27th performance where Part and Meunier are both dancing. The one thing I was sure I'd go to this season was the Wiles/Hallberg Swan Lake - even planned to take a day off work to see them. Then I found out that I have to be out of town on business that day so I will have to be satisfied seeing them in Pillar. I am kind of dreading Raymonda - between the excepts they performed at City Center and the description of the new production in the brochure I have a very bad feeling about it - but I'm going to see both the Nina/Carreno and Murphy/Corella cast, so we'll see! I'm also going to see a lot of Nina this season, in addition to her Raymonda I'm going to see her in DQ,with Bocca in SL, and in Mozartiana and Ballet Imperial. Unfortunately I have a lot of business travel scheduled this spring but when I'm not traveling or at the Met I'm going to try to make my way across the plaza and use my new 4th ring society membership to see some NYCB this season...

I think that without a school of their own ABT will always turn to international stars to make up their roster of principal dancers. I started going to see them in the late 60's, and I remember seeing Fracci and Bruhn back then. But even before that, weren't American principals a rarity? Sure, there was Nora Kaye but weren't there also Alonso & Youskevich?

Miliosr, thank you for the report! I'm not suprised that Hallberg made more of an impression than Wiles. They're both wonderful, but IMO Odette/Odile is the most difficult role in all of ballet. Aside from technique, there are so many levels of the character that have to be thought out and conveyed to the audience in a cohesive manner. I've seen some great Odettes and I'm very demanding in my expectations when I go to see SL. Sometimes I have to remind myself that Fonteyn had already danced the role for 20 years before I saw her, and I think even Makarova had been dancing it for 5- 10 years before she came to the west. It's a role most ballerinas really need time to grow into.

Fonteyn & Makarova. I never saw Plisetskaya live, but I'm sure she would qualify as well! Suzanne Farrell is one of the greatest dancers I've ever seen, certainly up there with Fonteyn & Makarova in my memory. However I don't consider Farrell an assoluta because I think that if we're going to confer a title from the imperial Russian era, the ballerina has to have been acclaimed in the classical & romantic repertory. As for current dancers - nobody I've seen, certainly nobody currently at ABT or NYCB. I was really impressed with Pavlenko when the Kirov was in DC recently, but one performance does not make an assoluta. I will, however, give her my vote for the ballerina most likely, with Cojocaru also a contender!

Has there been any update on the Bolshoi's planned U.S. tour? I hope they stop in NY!

Nobody saw Wiles/Hallberg or Part/Gomes in the Sat & Sun matinees? What a shame! I was planning to see Wiles in her NY debut, but it turns out that I have to be in CA on business when she is scheduled to perform. And Part isn't scheduled to dance Swan Lake in NY at all. I was hoping to hear some impressions from their Chicago performances...

Hi Jack, I really enjoyed my weekend with MCB, and I don’t want you to think that I didn’t like Seay’s performance. I thought her dancing was lovely, and I think the slow tempos may have been due as much to the conductor’s preference as anything else. I just felt that the slow tempo of the orchestra combined with the delicacy of her dancing and the awkwardness of some of the mime made the staging seem a little forced. I didn’t notice it in the next 2 performances, so perhaps the conductor made some adjustments ( or maybe my ear adjusted). Anyway, I’m looking forward to catching one of their programs next season, but this time I think I’ll try to see them in Miami.

I’m pretty sure I saw the Royal Ballet’s Giselle in the late 60s with Fonteyn & Nureyev, but my memory of that one is pretty fuzzy. Ditto Fracci & Bruhn with ABT. The first performances I remember clearly are of the old ABT Blair production with many different dancers - starting in the early 70’s with Fracci/Bortoluzzi, Gregory/Denard, Gregory/Nagy, D’Antuono/Kivitt, Makarova/Nagy, Makarova/Baryshnikov, Kirkland/Baryshnikov, and Tcherkassky/Nagy. I really loved that old production. I remember the first act scenery used to look kind of crowded at the State Theater, but it was such a clear, traditional production that really let the story come through. I'm so glad to have the Makarova/Baryshnikov/van Hamel tape! Then, fast forward to the 90’s. There was no staging credit for the production I saw with Ferri/Bocca or for the most recent ABT production with McKerrow & Belotserkovsky in 2002, but it seemed pretty similar to the Blair staging. I really think ABT should include it in the rep at least every other year (maybe they could give R&J a rest to make room for it!) I also saw the Bolshoi’s Lavrovsky production in 1975 with Vasiliev and a young Ludmilla Semenyaka (she was remarkable - right up there with Makarova & Kirkland as my favorite Giselles) and La Scala’s production in the early 80’s with Fracci & Nureyev. I just saw 3 performances of MCB’s Giselle with Seay/Guerra, Catoya/Ilyin and Lopez/Gamero. I thought the production was a little awkward in it's integration of mime & dancing, and the orchestration could have been better but I still found it to be a very enjoyable production and a worthy effort for a company making it’s first foray into the classics. In the second act, when all the wili’s come out at Myrtha’s command they are all wearing long veils that are magically whisked off & out to the wings simultaneously. I thought it was a very simple, yet effective moment.

I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Being “an experienced ballet-goer” has nothing to do with it, being “in awe” is what it’s all about. I must have seen 30 or 40 live performances of Swan Lake and when I see a great one it still robs me of my senses and I find it impossible to be crtitical or analytical. I’m not fond of McKenzie’s staging, but it’s hard to be objective when you love a ballet so much, and you have a strong idea of what it should be. It’s good to hear that it can still have the same imact as my first SL had on me! My favorite parts are the 2nd & 4th act adagios, and I think that’s where McKenzie’s staging is the weakest. I’ve never seen Hererra & Carreno in SL but I’d bet their Black Swan pdd was spectacular!

I must be missing something here - why would McKenzie come out for the last act in sweats?

Yes, many thanks for the info on these tapes! Last summer I went to the Lincoln Center library and asked about viewing the Dance Collection archives. They told me they were only available to students and journalists, not to the general public. I let it go at that because my free time really doesn't correlate well with the library's hours and there were still a lot of old videos from the circulating collection that I hadn't seen. I guess I will have to make an issue of it soon, if it means being able to catch a glimse of Kirkland's Giselle again after all these years, and the Corsaire pas de deux with Nureyev. Not to mention all the other treasures it seems the collection holds!

:offtopic: , I know, but I just saw Whelan tonight with Peter Boal's studio company and I absolutely love her! I, too am more of a "tutu ballet" fan, and a classical vs. neoclassical or modern fan,but there are exceptions. I don't love her because she's so skinny. I love her because she's so skinny & muscular & angular and she makes it work. I've only seen her twice so far and I love the way she uses her angularity to such great advantage. She creates indelible images & imagery and that's something I really missed with most of the dancers I've seen recently at NYCB. I miss that boldness. In some ways she reminds me of Karin Von Aroldingen, another dancer with a very "untypical" physique that I loved in her time.

I just returned from the Friday 3/19 performance and I have to say that with the exception of the second piece of the evening (Mopey) E Johnson perefctly summed up my reaction to the program. Having taken a long hiatis from NYCB viewing I wasn't familiar with Boal and even though this program may not have played to his strengths I really feel that I got to know him a little better as a dancer. I didn't care at all for Mopey. No problem with Sean Suozzi's dancing, I just didn't get it. Herman Schmerman was my favorite part of the evening. This is the 3rd piece I've seen by Forsythe & I just love his work. I'd only seen Wendy Whelan once before - last year in Martins' Swan Lake. I detested everything about the production but I loved Whelan. Here, again, I just couldn't take my eyes off of her.

Did anyone see Michele Wiles as Hagar in Cleveland?

Musicality is very important to me, also plastique and the ability of the dancer to convey emotion through the choreography. Affectations can be very distracting, I’m especially annoyed by wristy dancers. My least favorite dancer of all time is Eleanor d’Antuono. I thought she looked downright ungainly at times, and her facial expression always looked phony to me. These days, the dancer I try hardest to avoid is Paloma Herrera, but she’s a special case. She’s so talented, but she looks like 2 different dancers. She’s gorgeous from the waist down with those beautiful feet & legs and her wonderful, precise footwork but from the waist up, there’s nothing going on. Her spine seems very unpliable and her port des bras lack expression. The funny thing is that I saw her in some “modern” ballets at ABT’s last City Center season and I liked her much better in that light. It was like she just let the dancing flow once she didn’t have to worry about looking like a ballerina. Re: Nureyev, I was lucky enough to see him with Fonteyn & the RB in the late 60’s, and the memory of those early years always allowed me to forgive his garish later performances. One of his later performances that I absolutely loved was in the mid 70’s at an ABT gala. He did Corsaire with Kirkland and it took my breath away. They had such chemistry together, and his ardent pirate played so well off the delicate persona she presented.

You will find varying opinions about Dvorovenko. I like her a lot. I haven't seen her in R&J but I'm sure she'd be a wonderful Juliet. On the hand, Ferri is absolutely extrordinary in this role & so my advise would be to find a way to make it to one of her performances (Mon or Tue eve) instead of the Wed mat. Unfortunately I'm going to be out of town those nights, so I decided to try McKerrow & Steifel at the Wed evening performance. I'm sure Dvorovenko will dance R&J for years to come but you never know when Ferri and/or McKerrow will decide to hang 'em up.

My combination family/ballet weekend in Ft. Lauderdale was lots of fun. I was able to catch 3 casts in Giselle on Friday & Saturday night & the Sunday matinee. It was so heartwarming to see Edward Villella address his audience before each performance - not from up on the stage but standing at the front of the orchestra leaning against the pit, patiently explaining the story of Giselle and answering audience questions. This was the first time I’ve seen MCB and I think he’s done a wonderful job with the company, I enjoyed all the performances immensely. This is a solid production of Giselle, though not without a few minor problems. The scenery looked a bit crowded on the stage but the biggest problem for me was the orchestration. I know that MCB usually performs to recorded music and having an orchestra to accompany them is a very big step forward, still I thought the score sounded pretty thin. On Friday night, they also sounded like they were playing at a very slow tempo. This coupled with Seay’s very fragile & inward looking Giselle really made the first act drag for me. I also think the dancers were having difficulty integrating the mime with some of the musical cues, especially Trividic’s Hilarion. For instance, he knocked on Giselle’s door before I heard the sound of knocking, and mimed hearing the hunting party’s approach before we heard the horn. This all combined to make the score sound very old fashioned and melodramatic to me, but things improved greatly in the second act and in subsequent performances. All of the dancers did a good job, and I agree with most of Jack Reed’s & Justdoit’s impressions, but for me the undisputed highlight of the weekend was Mary Carmen Catoya. She and Renato Penteado were great in the peasant pas on Friday. Her penchee was beautiful and the way she hit & momentarily froze her balances was perfectly suited to the presentational nature of this pas de deux. I was a little concerned that her style might be too showy for the title role, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. I thought she and Mikhail Ilyian presented the most complete performance of the three I saw, and the most emotionally engaging. Her first act was wonderful, she was a charming and vivacious Giselle – shy at first, and delicate, but ultimately a very normal peasant girl who wasn’t going to let her physical ailment keep her from the joy of life. It was easy to see why Albrecht and Hilarion were both in love with her. Her balances were still stunning but this time she let the music flow through them and stretched them just long enough, never so long that it distracted from her characterization. Her mad scene was very well acted and her dancing in the 2nd act managed to be both otherworldly and emotionally grounded. There was still a lot of woman left in her wili. When I saw Sunday’s casting I was thrilled that I would get a chance to see Iliana Lopez and Franklin Gamero. I wasn’t disappointed, they are both extraordinary artists and Lopez was certainly the best technician of the 3 Giselles I saw (i.e. both Seay and Catoya had trouble with the hops on point in the first act solo). Lopez’s dancing was very elegant and nuanced, she is obviously a world class ballerina however I didn’t love her in this role. This is certainly a matter of individual taste but I thought her style of dancing in the first act was far too grand, IMO she carried herself more like a princess than a peasant and I didn’t feel any vulnerability in her Giselle. I kept watching her and admiring her dancing but I found myself wishing I could see her Aurora instead of believing in her as an innocent, unworldly peasant girl. When we got to the second act it was a whole different story. She and Gamero presented a sublime portrait of love and forgiveness. Her dancing was very soft and ethereal with gorgeous flowing arms. Giselle is a very difficult ballet to master, and requires a different approach from the neoclassical repertory. I think MCB has shown that they are ready for it and as they gain experience in the romantic style they will continue to grow into it. I was very impressed with this company and will definitely try to schedule my future family visits to coordinate with their performances. Next time I hope to get a chance to see one of their mixed bills.

Yesterday I received a brochure for ABT's new "Trio" subscriptions. The cover had a photograph of dancers in the new Raymonda costumes. It is available as a pdf on their website: http://www.abt.org/pdfs/met_trio_brochure.pdf Between the new costumes, the description of the ballet as "...a beautiful young women's struggle to choose between Jean de Brienne and the Saracen Knight...", the posts regarding ABT's poor performances of the Grand Pas in DC and my recollections of their sketchiness at City Center, I'm kind of afraid of what McKenzie & Holmes have in store for us this spring Why can't anyone be satisfyed with reviving a masterpiece in it's traditional form anymore?

I only saw Jewels once before, about 30 years ago - so I don't exactly remember the original sets. I LOVED the new set for Rubies, I thought the glitteringly modern design was perfect for the music and choreography. I could have done without the tie dye in Emeralds but aside from that I thought it was fine. The only set I didn't like was Diamonds - much too fussy & all that blue swirling around. I just kept thinking rhinestones... I'm dissapointed to hear that the hanging jewelry wasn't visible from the 4th ring. I'm going to see it again on Saturday and will be sitting in the 4th instead of the 2nd. Wonder if the change in seating will effect my opinion.

I saw Cavello in Etudes at the Kennedy Center a few weeks ago. She was fine, but I thought her upper body was quite stiff and she looked like she was concentrating REALLY HARD to get through all the tough parts . But get through them she did. Should be an interesting SL, I look forward to reading about it.

There is about 15 minutes of footage from Marguerite & Armand on "Fonteyn & Nureyev: The Perfect Partnership". I watched it again a few nights ago, it is so beautiful. I believe it is still available through Amazon. It also includes footage of them in Les Sylphides, Romeo & Juliet and Le Corsaire Pas de deux

I went to the Sat eve & Sun matinee performances. This was the first time I’d seen the RDB, and I really enjoyed them. I grew up on Erik Bruhn’s staging of La Sylphide for ABT, which supposedly was based on Bournonville’s choreography. It’s been many years since I’ve seen it, yet I feel sure that I’ve never seen it danced this way before. I loved those beautiful arms, so soft and low, as well as the buoyancy & lightness of their lateral movement. There were many other lovely stylistic details that really added to the atmosphere and the look of this production. I regret not being able to see the first cast, but I really enjoyed both of the casts that I saw. Mads Blangstrup was my James in both performances, and I liked his dancing and his characterization. A little of the arrogant lord of the manor, but just a touch. Still likeable, actuallly he was quite impetuous & romantic. I preferred Amy Watson’s Effy to Maria Bernholdt’s. Both danced beautifully but Bernholdt was too coquettish for me - her personality was almost too similar to the Sylph’s. Watson was a lovely Effy but definitely more earthbound. I liked both Madges, but preferred Mette Bodtcher. I never cared for ABT’s practice of casting men as Madge - I always found it too campy. I thought Bodtcher’s performance was very naturalistic, and just chilling. I would be hard pressed to pick a favorite between Bojesen and Schandorff as the Sylphide. Both were beautiful and ethereal, and both portrayed her as a playful, innocent creature - which is the only way I can imagine the role. To my mind, though, I found Schandorff’s Sylph somewhat flirtatious with perhaps even a hint of seduction. As if her innocence was more a lack of understanding of the human world, not a child vs. woman type of innocence. Even if she couldn’t understand the gulf between her world and James’s, she did seem aware that the gulf existed. I definitely felt an undercurrent of mischievousness to her character. Not scheming or manipulation, but somehow an awareness, a sense of knowing. Maybe a sylph who was both innocent and yet slightly sophisticated at the same time? It really doesn’t make sense, but that’s the best I can do at explaining my take on Schandorff’s sylph! Bojesen’s Sylphide seemed much more innocent and childlike, which is the approach I tend to prefer. Both of them danced the role beautifully, I marveled at the lightness of their dancing. Bojesen’s Sylph seemed particularly windswept, yet when I look back it’s Shandorff that I remember. Her slow turns in arabesque, her amazingly pliant feet. That’s a detail that I really noticed in her performance. A lot of the sylph’s footwork was not on point, and she still looked like she was gently flying or hovering above the ground. Her feet were just so soft, the way she worked through that footwork it looked like she didn’t have a bone in them. I really liked the production as a whole, the decor, scenery, all the little details. If I have any complaint at all, I think it was a little bit static. I couldn’t put my finger on anything in particular, but looking back I agree with Ari’s comment about James lacking a sense of joy or awe at the sylph’s world. I remember being very moved, and much more struck by the tragedy in past performances (Baryshnikov/Kirkland comes to mind), but then that was a very long time ago.... I like Etudes, and it was good seeing it again but coming after La Sylphide the difference in style was very jarring. Napoli (act 3) was like a burst of sunshine, I’ll have to add missing the full length production to my list of regrets... hopefully the RDB will return soon, and maybe even add a stop in Manhattan to their tour plans.