Paquita

I like watching the company is romantic works, and also English repertoire- particularly MacMillan and Ashton because that is where the company's roots lie. Les Sylphides was their first performance, and it is still beautiful every time. I really enjoyed Solitaire and the Dream. Both choreographers have at one time worked personally with the dancers, and the legacy is always being passed down. (I attended a master class taught by Karen Kain on Ashton's style). Cranko ballets are also a favourite.

The classics are also wonderful to watch, however I'm not a fan of Kudelka's revamped Petipa works (Nut, Swan Lake, and Sleeping Beauty will be next). I also feel that the company needs more dancers who are really comfortable with the technical demands of the tutu ballets. Opening night cast is always great, but sometimes the others aren't. As for modern pieces, I'm glad that Kudelka is encouraging the dancers to broaden their range, but the new works comissioned are very hit and miss (as with anything new), so it really varies. I liked "A Delicate Battle" but didn't really enjoy "the Comforts of Solitude" or "the Contract", and don't see those staying in the repertoire for very long.

With all this said, next season looks to be a great mix of all these styles. I'm especially looking forward to Bayadere, Fille, Elite Syncopations, and le Spectre de la Rose.

The NBoC's annual Choreographic workshop is having 2 performances this weekend at the Betty Oliphant Theatre (part of NBS). Company members who have created works this year include Je-An Salas, Stephanie Hutchison, and Rebekah Rimsay. For more info, check the website www.ballet.ca . Tickets are pay what you can ($5 suggested), so it is a great opportunity for Toronto dance fans if you're not busy! I will try my best to go, but I have a few other commitments, so if anyone here sees it please post your impressions! Thanks.

Well for me, good choreography is when I can never listen to the music again without the images in my head (not because I've seen it so many times, it can be after just 1 viewing). Dance is so much about the imagery the audience is left with. Apollo and Serenade are good examples of IMO, perfect synthesis of music and movement. It's strange that sometimes music that seems to "go no where" begins to, after it is set to dance. So there aren't any restrictions on music, I don't think. Some music is obviously more 'danceable' that others, but any piece has potential to made into "successful" choreography.

It's really difficult to define "successful" choreography. There is no formula. I suppose all that is essential is for the choreographer to not only fully understand but also be completely inspired by the music he/she is working with. When the inspiration is not there it really shows- steps are meaningless, random, repetitive. There are story ballets that lead nowhere, and plotless ones that take us to incredible places.

I wasn't able to see it either but would be interested in hearing people's reactions.

Chan Hon Goh has always been a favourite of mine, since I started attending NBoC performances. She is an excellent dancer in both technique and drama, very expressive, beautiful lines, and a genuinely sweet person as well (from the times I have gotten her autograph, or went to her master class). I agree Saveta, she is sublime in Mozartiana and as Tersichore. I also really enjoyed her Tatiana, Ciao Ciao San, and Giselle. I've never seen her Nikiya so I'm hoping she'll be dancing when I go see Bayadere Act 2 this fall.

I saw a lot of Greta last season, and she is also an incredible dancer! She is so confident and one can really sit back and enjoy her dancing because her technique is so strong. I never worry that she'll fall off balance or not finish a turn (I saw her in Sleeping Beauty Act 3- nearly flawless). Naturally, she is made to dance Kitri or in Rubies or the summer pdd of Kudelka's 4 Seasons. She is also growing as an artist, and each performance has added depth. I loved her Juliet last winter, and her terpsichore and calliope as well.

Add Xiao Nan Yu and I'll never be able to pick a real favourite! She is no doubt a very special dancer and person. She continues to outdo herself and makes each role her own. Her stage presence is a wonderful gift that she was born with. I'll never forget her in Solitaire, Serenade, Desir, or Swan Lake.

Leigh, I'm a real fan of NYC;)

I think that recently NBoC has been on a real shortage of true classical male dancers, which had made developing partnerships a difficult task. Antonijevic is still the only one who can carry a demanding full-length classic. Depending on the ballet, he is usually paired with Greta Hodgkinson (Swan Lake, Firebird), Chan Hon Goh (T&V, Diamonds), and more recently Sonia Rodriguez (R&J). Rex Harrington is probably the company's finest partner, but he can no longer perform the 'prince' roles. He is excellent with Xiao Nan Yu though.

Cote is showing a lot of promise and I think they are trying to encourage his partnership with Ogden. I saw them at this years Bruhn competition, their dancing seems complimentary and they also share a good rapport. He needs to work on his consistency, but no matter what he does it is a joy to watch him. I think people were dissapointed that he didn't win the Bruhn Prize, but he clearly wasn't on the same level as Friedemann Vogel or ABT's David Hallberg. Still, he's one to keep an eye on.

Bei Di Sheng was said to be on a leave of absence, however I haven't heard any updates. I remember that she made a lovely Olga in Onegin. I hope to see her back.

Leigh, do you know which ballets you'll be able to catch this season?

Thank you BalletNut;)

Sorry I couldn't reply earlier, I was on a trip to Chicago! Anyways, sylphide4ever, if you haven't seen this ballet you should try and catch it this fall. I've only seen it on video, w/ Baryshnikov, most of the ballet is male dancing.

I am seeing the fall mixed program for Bayadere as well. NBoC performs Makarova's staging. The other 2 ballets on the mixed bill are A Delicate Battle and the Firebird, which I have already seen. Jewels is not to be missed! I think everyone loves Jewels or at least has a favourite part. Fille Mal Gardee will be great too, and if you like story ballets that's the one I'd recommend. Myself, I'm most interested in the spring mixed program with Spectre de la Rose, Elite Syncopations (a lot of fun), and Napoli excerpts.

I think this question applies most to choreographers and there are some on the board so I hope they'll chime in.

The arts do feed off each other, and the influence of other art forms in ballet is often very evident and makes it more interesting too by connecting different interpretations of the same essential things. Balanchine was quite successful at this, I forget which ballet it was that he was inspired by Byzantine idols (read about it in Vilella's "Prodigal Son"). He had a rich understanding not just of ballet but of other forms of dance and the other arts. I think it is really important for all artists to have a broad knowledge of art and to seek inspiration from outside a singular realm.

As a dance student, when I perform I do get inspiration from things like theatre, sculpture, or even film. I don't really know how to describe the way I translate the feeling into movement though. I think I try and find the essence of the image, what draws me to it, and once that is identified I will decide what it means in dance terms and go from there. It's not really a concious process however, mostly just instinct.

Sorry my response is so vague!

Right now I'm reading 2 books, "Sophie's World" and "Kiss of the Spider Woman". You've probably all heard of Sophie's World. For me, it's a good introduction to western philosophy. I became interested after visiting Greece. The style and language make it easy to follow and still very interesting. Kiss... is by the Argentine writer Manuel Puig. I'm about half way through now. It's almost entirely dialogue which makes it fast paced and one quickly identifies with the 2 main characters. There are little stories within the main story, as one of the characters describes movies to the other (they share a jail cell). It's also been made into a play and a movie, though I haven't seen either.

I'd recommend both books.

I also went to the used book shop and bought:

~"Before Night Falls" Reinaldo Arenas

~ Diaries of Vaslav Nijinsky

~ "La machine infernale" Jean Cocteau

But I haven't started those yet. Has anyone read them and what did you think?

I haven't been yet either, but I plan on checking it out while I'm in that area. It's free anyways, so I'd think that it's worth a visit.

Opening Night airs every thursday from 8-10pm. In the past we've seen some excellent programs. They aired Royal Ballet's Firebird from the Stravinsky Staged program and that is my favourite version, it seems the closest to the original. If you've never seen Kudelka's version, it's worth at least one viewing. The costumes and sets are very unique, but I didn't enjoy the choreography. I can't wait to hear what New Yorkers think of it when ABT performs it this fall. I will be seeing it again too in NBoC's upcoming season, only because it is with La Bayadere Act 2 and A Delicate Battle.

It was last week, tuesday- thursday. I didn't make it either, but I heard it was excellent.

In other NBoC news, they are filming Kudelka's Firebird. I'm not sure if it is for a video or what, but I'm guessing that it will air on CBC's new season of "Opening Night" so watch for it!

No, it's not happening b/c there wasn't enough money to pay for it. Instead, the Canadian Opera Company had some free open air performances I think.

Thank you all for the info and details! I'll be sure to check it out this summer.

Can anyone give me some info about this ballet? I've never heard of it before. They're showing a video of a performance of it (not sure which company) from 1959 at the CBC Museum in Toronto and I was wondering if I would like it. Thank you!

You might be interested in reading this recent interview with Jillana (she could do 32 fouettes en pointe at age 6! Now I'm feeling terribly behind!). Here's the link:

http://www.criticaldance.com/interviews/ji...lana020603.html

Here at NBoC Romeo and Juliet was the seasons biggest success and certainly a highlight for me (Greta Hodgkinson and Geon van der Wyst). I also will remember Xiao Nan Yu's opening night performance in Solitaire and her incredible balance and extension in Monotones II. Rex Harrington's Apollo was wonderful as were the 3 muses, Chan Hon Goh, Greta Hodgkinson, and Sonia Rodriguez. Apollo is now one of my favourite ballets.

Other highlights for me included:

The Stars of the 21st Century gala, in particular Dovorovenko and Belotserkovsky's Tchaikovsky pdd, and Jamie Tapper and Johan Kobborg in Giselle and Flower Festival.

The Erik Bruhn Prize. Lots of talent especially from ABT and Suttgart.

My short visit to NYC which included NYCB in Concerto in Five Movements, In the Mi(d)st, and Who Cares? and ABT's Corsaire (Corella was amazing!).

What's New? NBoC's The Contract...

Trends? NBoC this season IMO, was at it's best in the smaller ballets by MacMillan, Ashton, and Tetley than in the very classical (Paquita, Sleeping Beauty).

I was in town for the weekend and attended the friday (21st) performance. Since I don't regularly see NYCB and am not too familiar with all the repertoire, I'm not sure what to say! I liked Concerto if Five Movements very much though. I enjoyed Prokofiev's music and thought Robert La Fosse understood it quite well. The choreography is very 'busy' at times but not overly so, if that makes sense at all. I liked his use of the domino/wave effect in the beginning. It creates a nice contrast to the parts that are done in complete unison. Maria Kowroski is a stunning presence. She is very commanding of the stage- evening taking he bows! Wendy Whelan and Jock Soto seem to dance well together ( I also saw them dance an excerpt from Polyphonia on A&E), they have a good rapport and their pdd was quite moving. Tom Gold gave a lively and vibrant performance, nice jumps too.

In the Mid(s)t looked a little under-rehearsed and the dancers weren't always together- I think at one part the women were in a deep penche or 'needle' and one of the dancers started to get up too early and brought her leg back quickly which kind of ruined the effect. There were some interesting passages with lifts, but I prefer the Mahdaviani ballet I saw last year, Appalachia Waltz. Generally, the dancers seemed a bit uninspired. But I think this ballet might look much better with more time and more performances.

Who Cares? was a lot of fun. All the dancers let loose here and the corps looked great. Tons of flair and intricate footwork (especially in "I Got Rhythm"). I loved Balanchine's choreography. Jenifer Ringer's solo was a highlight for me. It's a great ensemble piece and everyone looked fantastic, lots of energy.

Just a few quick notes from saturday's performance, which was a great show. The evening belonged to Angel Corella, even though he doesn't have that much 'stage time', he made it count during the pddat in Act 2. His variation was full of energy and attack. His turns also seemed to go on forever. In the coda, his switch-split leaps (that's what we used to call them in gymnastics) are so high, and he travels halfway across the stage with each one! And of course the pirouettes with the working leg going into a deep plie were a hit with the audience. His manege was just amazing. I don't know whether I like the bringing of the working leg down during the end of pirouettes though. Ethan Stiefel kind of brought his passe down in the middle of his pirouettes, but not quite down to coup de pieds, and then brought it back up to passe again and it looked a bit awkward. Overall though, I was extremely impressed with his clean jumps and extension (as usual). It was a little competitive between Ali and Conrad in the pddat, and I felt a bit bad for Stiefel because the audience was much more responsive to Corella's performance, though I thought he danced wonderfully as well.

Malakhov delivered a great performance, though he opted not to do the assembles into grand plie, he does the best manege of grand jete en tournant that I've ever seen- effortless, light, stretched. Xiomara Reyes was also very light and delicate. I'd never seen her dance before, and I think she's a delightful performer with lots of potential too. Gillian Murphy's variation included a diagonale of triple and quadruple pirouettes- wow! Nice to see Michele Wiles' after the Erik Bruhn competition. She danced with a big (but not cheesy) smile. Not sure who danced the 1st odalisque variation, it was supposed to be Maria Ricetto but someone else danced.

Julie Kent was beautiful, a bit off in the 1st Act but stunning in the rest of the ballet. Her grand pirouettes a la second (en dedans) were always flawless.

By coincedence, NBoC's regular conductor, Ormsby Wilkins was conducting here!

Wish I was staying in NYC longer, to see Giselle...

I saw ''Centre Stage" when it came out in theatres and haven't watched it again since. What bothered me about "Centre Stage" was that it completely perpetuated ballet stereotypes. It's true that many of the 'characters' (i.e. rebel ballerina, gay male dancer) are common in the ballet world, but the ones portrayed in the movie were over simplified, 1-dimensional. It encourages people to categorize dancers, but few dancers fit perfectly into one of these pre-defined personas. (Our tendency to do this simplifying and categorizing thing bugs me a lot! It's a total rejection of individuality. And it's not just in films like these. Open a magazine and you'll see '5 types of guys who blah blah blah...' or quizzes to find out who you are- are there are only 4 options!). It makes people say "oh, she's one of those dancers. I've got her all figured out." Other than that, the unrealisticness of Jody getting into 'ABC' with poor turnout, and some of the cheesy lines, I agree that if it gets the public interested in ballet, great! And a lot of the younger dance students I know loved it along with my non-dancer friends! I guess it comes down to, what do we have to do to sell ballet to a large audience? Should it be dumbed down and infused with flashy choreography/costumes/music and sex scenes to attract the public and make money? Or does that devalue the initial meaning of the art?

I prefered "Billy Elliot", not for the dance sequences of course (which were disappointing), but for the story (not just the main plot). The acting here is much better than in "Centre Stage". (Jamie Bell was great, I thought). The ballet scenes aren't realistic though: boys don't wear ribbons, girls don't usually wear tutus to class, and auditions are quite different now. If you watch it with a ballet critic's eye, then it's a failure. However, if you watch it for what it is- a regular movie that just happens to be about ballet, directed and produced by people that aren't experts in ballet- it can be entertaining.

As for the notion that the movies film critics like are usually "not as entertaining". I have to agree and disagree (this is a little off topic). If one's idea of entertainment is non-stop action and special effects, then yes. But critics have to study a lot of film theory (or so I should imagine) and their tastes are more cerebral than the average viewer. They look for good acting (not just good looks) and cinematic technique and probably some originality (what hollywood lacks). After watching blockbusters all the time, it takes a while to train one's eye to appreciate the subtlety of foreign/art/independent film. But I think it's well worth it. Some critics however, can get overly pretentious and give a film 5 stars just because it is abstract and from Europe. Sometimes I agree with critics, but sometimes the films they praise are verrry slow (i.e. Cannes' camera d'or winner "Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner"- I really wanted to like it, since it's Canadian, but boy was it slow! Or another Cannes winner "Rosetta"- cinema verite style takes getting used to).

I saw ''Centre Stage" when it came out in theatres and haven't watched it again since. What bothered me about "Centre Stage" was that it completely perpetuated ballet stereotypes. It's true that many of the 'characters' (i.e. rebel ballerina, gay male dancer) are common in the ballet world, but the ones portrayed in the movie were over simplified, 1-dimensional. It encourages people to categorize dancers, but few dancers fit perfectly into one of these pre-defined personas. (Our tendency to do this simplifying and categorizing thing bugs me a lot! It's a total rejection of individuality. And it's not just in films like these. Open a magazine and you'll see '5 types of guys who blah blah blah...' or quizzes to find out who you are- are there are only 4 options!). It makes people say "oh, she's one of those dancers. I've got her all figured out." Other than that, the unrealisticness of Jody getting into 'ABC' with poor turnout, and some of the cheesy lines, I agree that if it gets the public interested in ballet, great! And a lot of the younger dance students I know loved it along with my non-dancer friends! I guess it comes down to, what do we have to do to sell ballet to a large audience? Should it be dumbed down and infused with flashy choreography/costumes/music and sex scenes to attract the public and make money? Or does that devalue the initial meaning of the art?

I prefered "Billy Elliot", not for the dance sequences of course (which were disappointing), but for the story (not just the main plot). The acting here is much better than in "Centre Stage". (Jamie Bell was great, I thought). The ballet scenes aren't realistic though: boys don't wear ribbons, girls don't usually wear tutus to class, and auditions are quite different now. If you watch it with a ballet critic's eye, then it's a failure. However, if you watch it for what it is- a regular movie that just happens to be about ballet, directed and produced by people that aren't experts in ballet- it can be entertaining.

As for the notion that the movies film critics like are usually "not as entertaining". I have to agree and disagree (this is a little off topic). If one's idea of entertainment is non-stop action and special effects, then yes. But critics have to study a lot of film theory (or so I should imagine) and their tastes are more cerebral than the average viewer. They look for good acting (not just good looks) and cinematic technique and probably some originality (what hollywood lacks). After watching blockbusters all the time, it takes a while to train one's eye to appreciate the subtlety of foreign/art/independent film. But I think it's well worth it. Some critics however, can get overly pretentious and give a film 5 stars just because it is abstract and from Europe. Sometimes I agree with critics, but sometimes the films they praise are verrry slow (i.e. Cannes' camera d'or winner "Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner"- I really wanted to like it, since it's Canadian, but boy was it slow! Or another Cannes winner "Rosetta"- cinema verite style takes getting used to).

I think the 180 degree develope in Giselle won over the audience and turned off the judges. I also found it a bit out of place, her upper body was beautiful though. I think they felt a bit pressured to deliver the 'tricks' after all the other couples did showy pieces (black swan, grand pas classique, paquita).

She certainly is an incredible dancer with a whole lot of potential! I saw her recently in the Erik Bruhn Prize held in Toronto. She was partnered by Friedemann Vogel (also excellent) in the Giselle Act 2 pdd, and In the Middle Somewhat Elevated pdd. I was really impressed by her range and versatility- she looks equally at home in romantic and contemporary pieces. She also has a develope a la seconde up to her ear in Giselle, and her extensions seemed to go over 180 degrees in In the Middle..- it brought the house down! Quite an interesting and dramatic performer. She didn't win (prize went to ABT's Michele Wiles) but it was very close I think, and her partner won the male prize. I think there is a biography of her on the Stuttgart's website.

I just found out where I had heard the music before- on the NYCB workout video, for the tendu excersize!