oberon

True, but I would rather have something than nothing...Kyra & Darci "have to" dance Titania in the 100th birthday season...Carla can dance it for years to come.

And you're right, she is beautiful in the role...

I was at the theatre today and noticed a cast change in the MIDSUMMERs for next Thursday & Friday (15th & 16th)...Carla Korbes is listed as Helena, replacing Abergel.

As Korbes has many admirers here, myself included, I thought I'd let everyone know.

Saskia Beskow reminds me sometimes of a blonde Helene Alexopolous..she same cheek bones, the same VOGUE glamour...

The various comments on Kyra's performance in SCOTCH SYMPHONY are interesting. At 45, we can't expect her to go tearing into things like a Taylor or Ansanelli...besides, it wouldn't suit the role. Her musicality and sense of poetry to me compensate for any diminution of her powers. After her single SWAN LAKE (in the Martins production) she was absent for a long time and I was not sure she would come back. But then she did, and slowly returned to fine form. Then the second baby and again, I was thinking she wouldn't come back. But she has, and I think as the season goes on you will see her level increasing. I look forward to her every performance. My impression is, as with opera singers: as you get older, better to perform MORE than LESS.

It's funny how people view dancers differently; I would not call Borree cute. She is what my partner calls a "broken sparrow" dancer...rather fragile and wistful. I thought the APOLLO on Wednesday was a fine night for her. And Rutherford was

impressive in her debut. We have some new goddesses coming up next week, too...

We have a bunch of new corps people to get acquainted with...I really missed Natanya, McBrearty and Ash...Rebecca Krohn is quite fetching...I first noticed her in her beautiful purple dress in BURLESKE and was surprised last year that she could also be a wonderfully predatory Queen in CAGE. She's a dancer I always keep an eye on.

Miranda Weese really did give a sterling TCHAKOVSKY PIANO #2, didn't she???

I went both Tuesday and Wednesday but haven't had a chance to write til now.

MIDSUMMER was something of an all-star night...10 principals onstage, all dancing very well. Darci seemed relaxed, lovely & confident and Peter Boal danced with great flair as Oberon. Weese & Soto were wonderful in the lyrical adagio, and Somogyi simply brilliant as Hippolyta with a barrage of multiple fouettes so fast I couldn't count them. Amanda Edge was a Butterfly de luxe. And Albert Evans large-scale yet impish Puck was another jewel.

It is always a joy to see Kyra Nichols and she danced SCOTCH SYMPHONY with a sense of contained lyricism; Nilas partnered her very well and had a go at the bravura moments though they don't suit him. Riggins was a pert lass. I thought Borree and Hubbe were excellent in their APOLLO duet, in fact it was one of Borree's best nights. Rutherford & Somogyi completed an attractive trio of goddesses. The ballet seemed fresh and exhilirating. TSCHAIK PIANO #2 with the luminous Miranda Weese was a real treat; she has the uncanny ability to appear both soft and brilliant...I watched her with a feeling of awe. Neal was very fine and Bouder danced well but I have become aware of what it is I don't like about her: her facial expessions tend to be rather goofy which detracts from the beauty of her dancing. I like her better when I don't train my opera glasses on her.

Many standouts in the corps: Hankes, Keenan, the luscious Korbes, Krohn, Arthurs, Dronova, Lebean...Lindy Mandradjieff is wonderfully natural; Saskia Beskow such an elegant beauty. Craig Hall, Orza, Hanna, Amar Ramasar, and newcomer Vincent Paradiso add to the stage picture. Someone earlier inquired about Andrew Veyette; he was here in TSCHAIK PIANO, a fine demi-soloist.

The company looks good, there were fairly big audiences both nights, and it was a pleasure to see these ballets again...timeless masterpieces!

Dewdrop is the role I most enjoy watching in NYCB NUTCRACKER...my first DD was the spectacular Colleen Neary, my second a radiant Heather Watts. I did like Sylve this year for her amplitude and brilliance of everything she did. Weese was also on teriffic form. I was glad to read about Carrie Lee's success, I was sorry to miss her in the role. Bouder is a dancer I have yet to connect with...sometimes I feel she is trying too hard.

Of all my DDs over the years, and I've loved them all, Wendy Whelan and Monique Meunier stand out. Wendy brings that intangible element of "importance" to the role...that these steps and this music are something grand and special, and she is going to show us how wonderful it is and have a fine time for herself doing it.

I loved the way Monique built the role, a bit reserved at first and then gradually the turns get faster, the jumps bigger, the sheer scale of it becomes magnificent. By the end, you are in a state of awe.

It's great to think about all these dancers and to remember the special qualities that have made an impact in this ballet.

No, I haven't seen Korbes actually "dance" in any NUTCRACKER this year...not even a flower!

Did anyone see the 2nd Fairchild SPF?

Did Miranda dance 12/20/@ 5:00??

Meunier as the Snow Queen...must have been super!! Monique, if you read this...I LOVE YOU!!!! (is that permitted??)

Side topic: who remembers (and liked) Baryshnikov's staging of NUTCRACKER?

I have been to 3 NUTS and there were empty seats although the "money seats" (orchestra & 1st Ring) seemed pretty well-filled. Didn't they raise prices this year? Also it seemed there were fewer "off-peak" (lower priced) dates than in previous winters. Hopefully NYCB won't do what the Met has done, raise prices to a level where lots of people who would like to go simply can't afford it. The Met then had to resort to offering student discounts to help fill up the house. But...what if you're not a student??

The amazing thing, really, is that 4th Ring Society seats remain $12 and the membership only $15. For me, this is a huge bargain. But I wouldn't complain if the seats were raised a bit...they are less than 1/2 price as it is.

Sorry to hear about Miranda, saw her in both parts (SPF & DD) and she was at peak form. Hope it's just the sniffles or something...

Not to say I don't like the movie versions, I like them alot. But I do think some of the choices are bad...like inserting that silly bit about Aragorn riding off a cliff and then having his horse lick his face and then the long ride back to Helm's Deep. What does this addition do to enhance an already thrilling story? Better to have left such things out and included the scenes of Saruman at Bag End: the whole drama of the quest, the victory, & destruction of the Ring and all that the hobbits must endure and overcome, only to return home and find evil on their own doorstep: that, for me, is one of the most powerful and chilling concepts in the books.

OK, someone give me $1,000,000,000 and I'll make my own film versions...with Russell Crowe as Tom Bombadil.

Well, the 3 big changes made in the first two films were:

Arwen riding out from Rivendell to bear the injured Frodo. It never happened. Arwen hardly appears in the books at all. She is the personal force behind Aragorn's quest and his reward for victory at the end of the epic.

Aragorn riding a warg off a cliff: it never happened.

Too much emphasis on the Eowyn/Aragorn "romance"; Aragorn pities Eowyn but does not love her and he remains ever true to his Arwen in all things. The whole idea of Arwen "leaving" Middle Earth on the "last ship" is also an invented situation. She remains at Rivendell throughout the saga and is only mentioned when she sends Aragorn the banner.

I guess the director thought there was not enough women/romantic situations in the books and so enlarged Arwen's role and gave Eowyn's infatuation a hope of being reciprocated. I look forward to seeing the third film to see how these parts of the story are worked out.

If you can find a videotape of the San Francisco Opera's televised GIOCONDA from 1979 you will see a very entertaining performance of the ballet featuring Martine van Hamel. This is not available commercially but many collectors will have it, taped off the air. It was a famous night as the leading singers, Renata Scotto and Luciano Pavarotti, were having an on-going battle backstage.

The only problem with the books, and also with the movies is: they are too short!

Tolkien said once in an interview that this was the main complaint he received from readers. I have read the books thru more than a dozen times and while I love the movies, they quite honestly don't do the books justice. Too much is left out, and too much is altered. Still, a heroic and wonderful effort on Jakson's part.

Millepied is a dancer I greatly admire and while his partnering has been improving and I have noticed a slight bulking up of the upper body, he needs to continue to develop those skills. From watching her, I would guess that Ansanelli might be a handful for a less-than-experienced partner: she can be a bit wild, which is what makes her exciting.

When I first started seeing Philip Neal, he was a skinny kid and not very adept at partnering. Over the years he developed the shoulder and chest area and became far more confident. His long partnership with Nichols is a testimonial to his hard work. They are a great match-up.

Say what you will about Nilas Martins, but I think he's a pretty good partner and am often reminded of his father's partnering style...confident hands and a sort of calm control.

Soto remains the king of partnering; Fayette seems to really be into it, and Marcovici has been coming along nicely. Steven Hanna and Seth Orza always look like they know what they're doing.

Another week of casting has gone up on the NYCB website and Fairchild does have another SPF (28th @ 1:00) again with de Luz.

Helene,

The nice thing about 5th Ring is you can get really close to the stage even though you are way up...in S.R. you are central but very far away. I don't mind looking "down" on the stage...you can see the patterns of the corps work and keep an eye on some of the girls in the back row.

Ob

It's funny how differently we see dancers. I don't find any mystery or allure to Fairchild, and no fey quality either. To me she is at the cute stage, with big eyes that make her endearing. She dances well enough but I am not bowled over by her. She took a bad spill during 8 EASY PIECES...everyone falls, it was no big deal although I had the feeling she was pushing too hard. There are not that many roles, at this stage, that I would really want to see Fairchild in. Maybe as she matures she will become more interesting, as Abi and Janie have. (They have become FAR more interesting!!)

That said, I always go to the ballet WANTING to like everyone...her (Fairchild's)Marzipan on Sunday was pretty nice and is the type of part that suits her, for the moment.

Hysteria? WHAT HYSTERIA?!

One of the problems with on-line forums is, you can't always get the tone of what is being expressed. If we were all at Starbucks sitting around chatting about "missing" dancers nothing would seem hysterical in the least. Remarks that seem a little melodramatic in print would, in conversation, be just passing remarks.

It's not like I'm pacing around my apartment worrying whether Robert is injured, sick, abducted or otherwise...

I think standing room is only slightly less than the cheapest seat to discourage people from buying S.R. and then grabbing an empty seat. I suppose most people at the box office see that they can stand for $15 or sit for $17 (5th Ring) and probably figure they'd just as soon sit for the $2 difference.

Inattentive, chatting, snoring, coughing, eating & drinking, singing-along audience members are so low class.

Parents should also realize that children have very short attention spans and while they might like to watch the growing tree, mice, even the snowflakes, they do tend to get restless during the divertissement.

Once we sat near a couple who brought 2 small kids to BAYADERE, of all things. The children were horrible, talking, eating, jumping up and down. An usher came over during the intermission and told the couple that there were numerous complaints. They apologized profusely but during the next act they continued to let their brats misbehave. We had moved to the other side of the balcony but it was not far enough...

I've been going to Act II of NUTCRACKERs for the past several seasons...after all, that's where all the real dancing is. I don't need to see the Mouse King 5,000 times.

It usually works out perfectly...I get a standing room ticket on my lunch hour and when I get off work the intermission is underway. I go upstairs and usually can find a seat when the lights go down. I get to see all sorts of SPF/Cavalier/Dewdrop combos. By the way, a dancer friend of mine told me the Marzipan choreography is the toughest part of the Balanchine NUTCRACKER. Any comments on that??

So to answer your question: no, there is no special 1/2 price ticket...but standing room is only $15 and to me it's a bargain. This Sunday I will take a late lunch and see Somogyi/Boal/Riggins/Mandradjieff. Life is good.

This topic is cute, but I was there at the VALSE-FANTASIE when Tewsley was injured mid-performance and there was nothing cute about it. Four of my favorite dancers are presently on the "injured list" and if it's frustrating for us, the fans, think how the dancers must feel. When your whole life is about moving and you're forced to be still, it must be devastating. And then there's the long road back, trying to regain your previous form. Recently Weese and Ansanelli came back from severe injuries and both are dancing very well. The career is short enough as it is, but enforced "down time" must be a dancer's worst nightmare.

Tewsley did dance at the opening night gala, SYMPHONY IN C 1st movement and was looking good. He is announced for another NUTCRACKER, so we'll see...there is a bad flu bug going around NYC so some of the dancers might be sick rather than injured.

Last season he danced TCHAIKOVSKY PIANO CONCERTO #2 with Whelan and I think it was one of the greatest things I've ever seen in 30+ years of ballet-going. They both danced beautifully and had a wonderful rapport.

I went to Act II of the 5:00 today (12/14) planning to see Ringer/Tewsley/Kowroski. But when Jenifer came out for the adagio, her escort was Philip Neal. Maybe they announced this replacement prior to the first act; it was not mentioned on the cast change slip in the programme. I was sorry not to see Tewsley but Neal was as always a perfect cavalier; his bravura dancing is more dutiful than inspired but his partnering smooth as silk. Ringer to me is much more than a pretty face; I find she always brings an unexpected dimension to each role. In SERENADE, OPUS 19 and esp. IN THE NIGHT she manages to make a living personality out of abstract dance. Today she and Philip drew me in to the adagio; one gesture, where Ringer gave a slight flick of the wrists when opening her arms in the supported back bends gave me a little frisson...just a tiny touch but I'm always going to keep that "picture" of Ringer in my mind.

"Legs" Kowroski was having a smashing go at Dewdrop, extension to the ceiling and some nice balances. Ulbricht had one flashing triple jump thru the hoop but glitched the next one (Candy Cane). Fairchild was a very good Marzipan but my opera glasses kept wandering to Mandradjieff and LaBean who were backing her up. DeLuz was Tea, Hanson Arabian and a very attractive pairing of Hankes and Orza in Spanish.

Things haven't gone smoothly for Tewsley since he joined; the very few times I've seen him he's been a real prince so I continue to go when he's announced. Wishing him and the other "missing persons" all the best.