Jump to content
This Site Uses Cookies. If You Want to Disable Cookies, Please See Your Browser Documentation. ×

Golab17

New Member
  • Posts

    5
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Golab17

  1. Thank you for the compliments Paul, it's nice to communicate with someone who is as enthusiastic as myself about Ballet. You are correct about being "poorly Used' by OBT's adminsitration. I was also privy to some of the insider goings-on on and off for several years at OBT. My outrage is more for my friends who were dancing in the company rather than myself....Watermill, Mckenzie Fife was hired by Mr. Canfield and kept on by Mr. Stowell, a minor point surely, but still an important one. Most major companies strive for a unified look for the majority of their dancers, with the larger companies having the luxury of some "unusual" body types. ABT's corps are remarkably similar from across the footlights. It's one of the truisms in the ballet world in this country. Once you cross over to Europe it's a little difffernt. I was in Paris last year and managed to catch several Paris Opera ballet performances. They had a remarkable range of body "types" on stage. To tell the truth I was quite surprised because I would hve guessed they would be hardline homogenized. I especially liked a little tiny redheaded girl with an enormous leap (french names escape my memory easily).
  2. It was Stowells (sr), and after witnessing his "performance" in NYC and meeting him as well as other miscellaneous links in our lives, I must say I am most distinctly not a fan. Allison is an interesting dancer, picked by Mr. Canfield after having been not dancing for some time, in college and not at all a typical dancer (small head, long neck, skinny, no boobs hyperflexible). This is not to say that she is none of these things, but she did not look "typical" at all. One of Mr. Canfields strengths was picking dancers that had something to offer on stage sometimes in spite of their "untypicallness". Vanessa Thiesson (sp?), Allison, Allegra Lillard and many others were notable in their power and flexibility as artists as well as dancers. Many other artistic directors would have looked past them to a more "usual" physique at a loss of depth and variety in dance quality and artistic ability. He picked dancers badly also, for unknown reasons..there were a few dancers, especially among the men, who were mystifying choices. Having seen Company B first on Mr. Taylor's company and just plain prefering it as danced by modern dancers rather than Ballet dancers, I do understand how ones opinion of a work can be shaped by your initial experience of it. I feel that such a work was a boon for the audience to see, but so far beyond the capabilities of most of the dancers as to do the work a disservice. In all a good thing, but only as a matter of degrees. Audiences have to be well-educated, or they gain a warped idea of the art form. Imagine Company B as performed by OBT when Chris Demillier, Alexandres Ballard, Allegra Lillard, Brett Davi, Fabrice Lemire etc..were there. That would have been something...
  3. My goodness, people actually read and reply!! My thanks everyone for not biting my head off regarding my grumpiness. In reply to mr. Parish's e-mail asking for details of the program, i'd have to say that Alison Roper was fabulous! For a dancer not even remotely trained in a "Balanchine Style" she was drop dead gorgeous and technically superb. Nice to see a dancer that looks like a woman as well as a ballerina. Their guest artist from PNB who's name i'm forgetting as I can't find myj program (spanish or hispanic name i believe) was great...a little strained, but I was told that it had been some weeks since he had a day off as he had just come from PNB's season. The middle two pieces by Mr. Tomahsson and Mr Stowel sr were interesting only as examples of a million other pieces I have seen just like them. Twilight was as cliche'd a pas as i've ever seen, with lovely dancing of course, but hardly exciting or nuanced choreography...perhaps it was meant to be seen with something else, but as it was by itself there seemed to be little context. Duo Fantasy is an older work I was told, and did indeed have a terrific set piece in the square "room" center stage. However the seemingly endless high kicks and splayed torso's served little purpose except as a potential perfume ad, perhaps with some even more naked sulking models instead of ballet dancers. I love company B, indeed I was lucky enough to see Paul Taylor's own company do it, and I do feel that it's alot to ask of young people to try to embody. Lark Hassdedt (sp?) was terrific, but so much was skated over or lost. In regards to the other replies to my e-mails, I understand that it takes a while to "set in" as it were, to find your feet as a new director, however I wasn't speaking of Mr. Stowell so much as I was speaking of the persons on the Board and running the company's business side.
  4. So, after years of Canfield has the company actually changed? IT's certainly gotten "younger" in look, with only a core number of dancers able to actually carry themselves on stage with weight instead of looking like students. This hasn't changed really. They do more Balanchine now...but for those of us who do not worship every drib and drab of choreography of Balanchine, this can be as boring as g-strings and rock music. How long before Mr. Stowell runs off to take over PNB? OBT seems to be maintaining it's hostile and exclusive behaviour towards the rest of the dance community in Portland...perhaps because senior administration was "trained" by Canfield and his behaviour and don't know any different way. What about all the Alumni who live and work in Portland? It was nice to see Mr. Thomasson (director of SFB) at the first season...loyalty towards one's dancers even after they have moved on is professional behaviour. I was not all that excited by the first season. At my age i've seen a great deal of Ballet and dance, and other than a so-so reading of Rubies it was a dissapointing evening. Call me a grump....
  5. Anyone know if Mark Goldweber is still working for Joffrey? Anyone care to comment on how he is doing??
×
×
  • Create New...