oberon

I've never understood why most concerts/operas/ballets at Lincoln Centre cling to an 8:00 curtain. I suppose in "olden times" one had to have time for a pre-performance dinner in the manner of THE AGE OF INNOCENCE. And then arrive fashionably late. But today, I imagine many people grab a bite after work and are ready to be entertained by 6:30 or 7:00. Starting at 8:00 means many patrons who live outside the city have to leave before the end of longer operas to make train connections. The earlier curtain time on Tuesdays at NYCB has been beneficial for me because I can usually be home by 11:00 and better able to face the 6:00 AM alarm clock. Now adding a second early night makes it even better. I'd like to see a general starting time of 7:00 during the week and 7:30 on Fridays and Saturdays.

I echo carbro's gratitude for the great stories, naomikage!

My impression is that Ansanelli had every opportunity possible at NYCB, both artistically and in terms of performing frequency. Looking over my programmes from the last couple of seasons, she danced almost every time I went! Aside from Balanchine rep, she was (along with Wendy) a muse for Christopher Wheeldon who gave her wonderful roles in POLYPHOINIA, MORPHOSES & CAROUSEL. Her mention of a rather hurried preparation period for Aurora suggests to me the notion that she was not originally cast in that role; if she really worked the role up in two weeks, more power to her: she was a wonderful Aurora. If she wants to dance Giselle, Gamzatti, Kitri, etc. she can't do it at NYCB. I am very sorry to see her leave; she is one of my favorite dancers and I loved being able to see her on a nightly basis.

Yes, Kathleen, you are right - I never saw Fayette miscast in anything. He was especially memorable in SERENADE, Intermezzo of BRAHMS-SCHOENBERG, in EPISODES, DANCES AT A GATHERING, first movement of VIENNA WALTZES, IN THE NIGHT, and as Titania's cavalier in MIDSUMMER. He was developing his acting abilities as Drosselmeyer, having started rather blandly - in the course of the run last year he was already finding the keys to his characterization. And he made an excellent impression in CHIAROSCURO. These roles will of course all be reassigned and I'm sure other people will do just fine in them, but images of Fayette in these ballets - and most especially in SERENADE - will remain vividly in the memory.

I don't think it's productive for students from SAB to be maligning dancers in the Company, or those who have recently retired. I don't think anyone, including James Fayette, ever thought of James Fayette as a virtuoso dancer. He was rarely, if ever, cast in roles that called for lots of steps. He was a wonderful partner (as several of the ballerinas there have told me) and an intriguingly "American" presence. SAB students, and everyone else, should know that several people who work at NYCB in various capacities read what is written here. It is perfectly fine if you can't find anything good to say about one of the dancers, but it might be more prudent to say nothing. Besides, there are several people who would argue that Fayette was NOT the worst principal at NYCB!

rkoretzky, that is great news about the big turnout for NYCB's SPAC performance last night (big turnout...good pun for a ballet company??)...hope the remaining performances attract good crowds. Last Summer when Peter Boal & Co. were up at Jacob's Pillow, Peter gave a "Pillow Talk", an intimate mid-afternoon interview and Q & A. He said that his Company had just returned from a gig in Venice and that something exciting happened while they were there: David Michalek proposed to Wendy. Can't think of a more romantic place to pop the question than Venezia! David's a photographer; his portraits of Wendy and of Miranda Weese are used in the NYCB Playbill. I assume Wendy will continue to use Whelan as her stage name. Do many established ballerinas change their name after marriage? We could have Darci Martins, Jenifer Fayette, the recently retired Margaret Kaiser, and at ABT Irina Beloserkovsky, Amanda Gardner and Julie Barbee.

Carbro, I love your description of Janie Taylor. She has so many qualities that would not seem to integrate but somehow with her they are meshed into one of the most fascinating dance personalities I have ever encountered. But, SONNAMBULA isn't in the rep for this Winter, at least not on the website. Or has it been added?

I'm so happy for Wendy! Actually, Peter Boal announced her engagement last summer at Jacob's Pillow but I was afraid to write about it here for fear of being "snipped". It was quite a romantic story. And a very NYCB idea to have Jock do the catering!

Now we read on the Bolshoi forum how that Company's 2-week run at the Met is sold out. Our two "local" companies (ABT & NYCB) bust their butts and perform to houses that are seldom anywhere near packed. So who are the people who are mobbing the box office to see the Russians? Are they bored with Balanchine, listless because Nina's not at ABT, only going because it's "THE BOLSHOI"? Is it because the Bolshoi is so rare here?

A friend of mine went to the box office at 11:00 AM Monday to get standing room and was told that they would not sell S.R. until all seats had been sold. He came over to see me at work, distraught...an older gentleman for whom standing in line is a physical torment. He was demoralized, having waited for his beloved Bolshoi to return to NYC and planning to see each ballet twice. Did anyone else experience this?

If NYCB were to do domestic tours, what cities could support a week-long stay? Places like Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, etc have resident ballet companies. Would NYCB coming to town detract from the local company's efforts? How big an audience is there these days for classical ballet in general? Of course hard-core dance fans in those cities would be happy to see both the local company and NYCB but what percentage of seats can be sold to hard-core dance fans? Also, it is not reasonable to compare SPAC to Jacob's Pillow; the Pillow is a very small venue and offers a wide range of dance presentations, from classical to tap. It is close to Tanglewood and people who week-end up there can take in a BSO concert and a Pillow performance on consecutive days. A sold-out house at the Pillow is a mere fraction of a SPAC audience.

NYCB only spends 3 weeks a year at SPAC. It is not a huge investment of time or energy for them because mostly they do pieces they've just done in NYC so there is not the need for long periods of rehearsals. Audience-building (and audience "keeping") is something all our performing arts institutions are facing. Friends of mine who were Met Opera subscribers for 15 years did not renew for the coming season; they just weren't interested in the rep/singers on offer. It will be interesting to see if those who purchased Sunday matinee NYCB subscriptions for the season just ended in order to be sure to see the farewells of Boal & Soto will renew. Did they see enough "good stuff" to make them want to go back? I wonder how much the availability of DVDs of very fine performances of opera/ballet have caused some people to favor staying home in White Plains on a Friday night to watch Angel & Ferri in ROMEO rather than trekking in to see it "live" at ABT? I imagine hard-core ballet fans will always make the effort to get to live performances, but the more casual ballet-goer might be able to satisfy their need to see dance at home, saving an evening of fighting traffic, parking expense and getting home well after midnight. I did not mean to infer that Baryshnikov at this point is artistically viable, but that his name would be enough of a draw to sustain an engagement in a smaller metropolis. My friend in Hartford is a peripheral dance fan, had never seen Baryshnikov, and was curious. Last year, Nilas Martins took a group of NYCB dancers to Hartford for a single Sunday matinee performance which was, according to friends, well-attended and very enjoyable. But could Hartford sustain a week of NYCB?

I did see a performance once - can't remember where - in which Bathilde and her ladies came on at the end and found Albrecht staggering around in front of this grave in an old cemetary and dusted him off and led him away.

Dwindling audiences for the performing arts are simply a fact of life in this country. The Metropolitan Opera has been operating for the last 5 or 6 years at far below capacity - only Saturday matinees sell-out, or Renee Fleming. ABT, on the few nights I have been there recently, has acres of empty seats. One night we were given tix by one of the dancers and sat near the rear of the orchestra where there were 7 or 8 rows completely empty...sitting upstairs one can see the big swatches of empty seats on all levels. It does not surprise me in the least that NYCB can't fill SPAC and it is unreasonable to think that they could. It would be lovely if they could do more domestic touring but I assume the various venues would be wary of booking them unless some local patrons gave guarantees. I remember a couple years ago a friend in Hartford called me, dismayed that a Baryshnikov "& Friends" evening had been cancelled due to inadequate sales. Baryshnikov?! Inadequate sales?! I mean, if that name doesn't draw, what dancer would?

Lampwick, I love "In the Night". Each couple (there are 3 couples) dance to a different Chopin nocturne and each duet has a slightly different feel. The women's dresses are really pretty and the lighting is very "nocturnal". Hope you enjoy it!

I see Merrill Ashley (and Sean Lavery) almost every time I go to NYC Ballet. They sit together near the rear of the orchestra and - I assume - go back during intermissions to tell the dancers what was good or bad about the performance they've just seen.

Back to the Hilarion topic: once he finds out the truth about Albrecht (the sword), is he right or wrong to expose Albrecht for what he really is? I echo carbro's question: when does Albrecht realize he loves Giselle? Is the whole charade and a romp with a village lass just a game for him and does he know that of course he'll go back to Bathilde? I think Hilarion is motivated by genuine love for Giselle; his bitterness is a natural result of seeing this dude waltz into town and steal his girl. As for Albrecht, I think it is remorse - that most poignant of all emotions - that brings him to realize not that he loved Giselle but that she genuinely loved him. And continues to, despite his lies, even after death. I think Giselle's willingness to save him becomes even more moving if we see that she is doing it despite the fact that he most likely was not in love with her but is now wracked with guilt. Then it becomes more an act of forgiveness than of love. Does that make any sense?

Is Hilarion a bad guy, really?

It must have been a memorable performance in so many ways, and thank you RK for the great description. Has Ringer ever danced the BARBER before? When I went to MIDSUMMER at NYCB in late June, I ran into a friend during the intermission who has been "away" from NYCB for a few seasons. He was thrilled with Kyra's Titania and then he asked: "Who was the guy partnering her in the pas de deux?" It was James Fayette, I replied. "What a perfect partnering job he did!" my friend said. Who'd have thought that would be the last time I'd see James onstage?

Kyra Nichols joined NYC Ballet in 1974 so she is presently tied with Merrill Ashley for the longest career of a ballerina with that Company (31 years). Kyra recently danced, quite beautifully, Titania in MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM and the opening movement of BRAHMS-SCHOENBERG QUARTET.

Thanks for the information, Leigh. I guess if the weather's OK we will give it a try.

David Hallberg...don't underestimate his acting talents.

Has anyone been to SummerStage? What's the performing space like? Do you need to get there early? Are there seats or do you need to bring chair/blanket/etc?? Thanks in advance for any feedback.

One of NYCB's finest partners! He was especially wonderful in SERENADE. I was looking forward to seeing him take over some of Jock's repertoire.

Well, to me it is one of the signature moments of classical ballet...of dance in general...of the arts altogether! I was told about it by the person who "introduced" me to ballet and thought it sounded intriguing; I finally saw it {as BAYADERKA - National Ballet of Canada @ NYS Theatre...late 1970s...Mary Jago (hurrah!) and Frank Augustyn (bravo!)} and it made a profound impression. Now even hearing the music brings tears to my eyes. Hypnotic? I'll say!! And yes, that opening shot of TURNING POINT is a very beautiful way to draw a movie-going audience into the world of ballet. If there are wobbles or flaws, I just don't care. It is the structure of the piece, the idea behind it, and the bloody gorgeous music that speaks directly to the heart and soul.