aspirant

Has the company stopped the practice of having the free Open-Air performance in August that gives the smorgasbord of the season?

I'm of the opinion that "passionate advocat" and "critic" are not synonyms and actually is problematic with the way that dance is written about. There is a place for both (and many other permutations of the way to put movement onto the page) but if you ascribe advocacy to people who are meant to form a critique it is a complicated and slippery slope. Luckily, everyone gets to be as passionate as they so choose--regardless of the discipline. (Please move if inappropriate and too far off topic)

Interesting that Character Dancers are often the most experienced of the company and the RDB grooms people to have such experiences at various points in their career (occasionally younger dancers or injured dancers find their way into character roles that are generally reserved for the veterans).

Adding to the lament of Hall being overlooked, as I've been appreciative of his ability to dance not only from the neck-down but also with his face, I cast another vote for Apollo. I'd like to see Scheller as the siren in a little while. I think that she has the capacity to inhabit the role with a steely resolve.

I'd suggest MIXTO on Pine and 11th--still a five minute walk to the theatre, but just far enough to avoid the theatre crowds pre-show. It is great Latin/Carribean fusion in a casual atmosphere that includes cloth napkins and a wine menu.

For those curious, Guidestar publishes the reported tax documents for 501c3 organizations and it is open for anyone to look at once you've registered (free). You can get the general operating budgets as well as salaries for several of the top employees and other noteable information.

The title is also the direct translation of the mime: "You I Love", which gestures to the intended then to the speaker and then to the heart. This is the spoken text of the movement that is used when teaching the ballet.

It would be difficult to skip Manon in this category. Having seen it with a friend as a first-go at the ballet world, he exclaimed at the end "Well, the harlot got what she deserved!"

Etudes. You don't get much more corps than that!

A little late to the game, but I'm of the opinion that the folks in Copenhagen aren't trying to keep their Bournonville a secret by not putting it out for the general public. The costs of paying royalties to the artists is most likely a sticking point in negotiations which is why there weren't DVD's available at the festival--a location where there would be an obvious audience of international interest.

I certainly think that Hall is up to the challenge and I'll be glad to see him featured in this and hopefully more rolls.

If anyone knows where Johnson pops up, I'd be all ears.

You can easily get a seat if you arrive early. The policy last year involved herding the cattle into the fenced-off area for a while, delaying the "house opening" time and a few cranky folks. They sell concessions.

There are four new soloists. Izabela Sokolowska is also included in the group.

I suppose I was just taken by the timing of it all. I suppose it could be considered a 'rebuilding year' but that might take me into some horrid sports metaphor which we could all do without!

Is it just me or has there begun a small rash of people changing places going on--PNB, NBoC and English National will all be getting new AD's in the next few months, Royal Danish seems to have re-settled after their musical-director game. Is it something in the water?

Peck is a teeny, teeny thing. 5'2" is a generous estimate IMHO. There seems to be a rash of apprentice to injury happening. Surely some of it is due to the unforgiving Nutcracker machine but both LeCrone and Laurent suffered time off [snip].

The Dross. that we have is a fan of switching the eyepatch from eye to eye every other scene just to keep the audience on their toes. Thus far the AD hasn't yet noticed (after 4 years of flip flopping)

The young Apollo of the Friday evening performance made me revisit the dark/fair question again. There is no question that Fabrice Camels is appolonian in stature (approaching 6'5" I think, but I was way in the back) but he casts the opposite shadow that Martins did with his Danish locks. He was, nonetheless, quite confident and appropriately quiet at the right moments. I really enjoy square dance with the caller. I think that we often forget it is okay to laugh at the ballet, and adding bits about President Bush amdist the rants were fine by me! I also think that Square Dance should be reserved for summer season, outdoor performances. There is something to be said for mirth mixed with the flying creatures and a warm, breezy evening that makes this ballet more than simply a gorgeous demonstration of technique. Tarentella was pretty spunky, each of them trying to outdo the other (as is appropriate in this case). I think that Wilkins is a gem in character roles. I wonder how much Simon was influenced by her time in Copenhagen last semester or if it was just the Napoli-esque costumes that had my mind thinking Bournonville.

In the DVD commentary, VT states that the images that roll during the credits are mainly research material that was dug up during pre-production. I'm agreed that it is certainly a forced "just in case you missed it" moment and certainly is the largest reason to dislike the film which, prior to the oh-so-obvious lesson at the end left at least a little room to draw conclusions.

A bluebird to remember (and hopefully to see again sometime soon!) is Olivia Goodrich/Lavery (not sure which she is going by. She performed this role at the SAB workshop a few years back and was spectacular.

Octet is another bland attempt by Mr. M in my opinion. The patterns and some of the steps are vaguely reminiscent of Balanchine ballets--so you can spice up your evening trying to locate the various points of connection. Aside from that, it will be a good chance for the men of the company to flex their muscle and test their endurance--tis a lot of back and forth with pretty much the same six combinations in backward and reverse order.

The first performance (free and outdoors at the Citadel/Kastellet) is on August 21st

I'd vote Tiler Peck (in sticking with the 'not quite yet in the company' tradition of identifying talent)

Fairchild. Reichlen: check and check. Movin' on up, the both of them. Ulbricht is certainly a virtuoso, but runs over the line with the cheese-factor occasionally for my tastes. Hyltin, Lowery and Laracey I'd like to see do more than just stand in the back. From last year's workshop performance, Goodrich and her bluebird should also be making their mark in the next few seasons.