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

Paquita

Senior Member
  • Posts

    434
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Paquita

  1. On a side note: In the NBoC's upcoming fall season, there will be another pairing of a full length ballet and a one-act piece- The Cage and La Sylphide! Giselle and Stravinsky Violin Concerto were enjoyable but made for a very long program, especially considering that Kudelka presented his "Contract" alone, even though it is just under 90 minutes and has no intermission.
  2. Thanks for the heads up! This website lets you see the cover photo and the September one.
  3. Maybe not the best example, but one name that popped into my head was Rasta Thomas.
  4. As far as I know, Lise-Marie Jourdain will still remain in the company.
  5. Second Soloist Jean-Sebastien Colau will not be returning to the NBoC this fall. Media Release He was only in the company for a short 3 years, but he will be missed. His Baroness in "An Italian Straw Hat" is still fresh in my mind. He had comic charm- and good pointe work to boot! I wish him all the best in Germany!
  6. Paquita

    Ulyana Lopatkina

    Thanks for posting that, drb. Those photos are great, and it is interesting to read about her opinion on the 6 o'clock extension (especially with the recent discussion about it on this board) and the neoclassical repertoire.
  7. For me, it started after I had been studying ballet for a year or so. I was a late beginner at 13, so unlike my friends who took ballet at 6 or 7 years old and got bored with it, I was fascinated with the logic and repetition of ballet class. I had terrible stage fright, but I loved working in the studio and had an excellent teacher who patiently taught me everything I needed to know. I started attending performances at the NBoC, the first being Manon with Greta Hodgkinson, and I borrowed lots of videos at the library. It made me appreciate the discipline of ballet even more, and I was delighted when I recognized famous ballet music that was played during class. I found this board around the same time, and I chose my screenname because I was learning my first solo that year from "Paquita" (also my first tutu, which was very exciting!). I continued to dance throughout high school and also taught as well. I am currently working on my undergrad degree and taking ballet recreationally at the University and at Toronto's Dance Teq (drop-in classes). No one else in my family ever studied dance seriously, but there are a lot of musicians in my family, which made getting involved a little easier.
  8. Thanks for drawing our attention to that, Alexandra! I remember during the NBoC's 50th anniversary season they gave a series of master classes. Karen Kain led a class focusing on Ashton and she taught us the "Fred Step", so it's great now to read about it in so much detail.
  9. Ostrich, you are in for a treat! I saw Vogel perform in Toronto at the Erik Bruhn Prize, 3 years ago when he was a young soloist. He performed 2 pdd: Giselle Act II and In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated. I remember he was absolutely stunning in both pieces, and his Albrecht was especially memorable. His technique was impecable- soft lines, quick batterie, nice jumps, and good partnering skills on top of all that! That year, there were several other very talented young men competing: Guillaume Cote (NBoC), David Hallberg (ABT), Ask La Cour (RDB, and now NYCB), and Gonzalo Garcia (SFB). I was personally rooting for Cote, since he is Canadian, but I was thrilled to see Vogel win the prize, as his dancing had such a unique quality. Please post your impressions of his performance as Florimund. I would be interested to see how he is doing these days, now that he's a principal dancer.
  10. Yes, it's great to know that they have set a date for the Toronto premiere! I can't wait! Fall 2006 is also when the NBoC will move to the new opera house- Four Seasons Centre for the Arts. It will be wonderful to see this production in the new venue.
  11. The NBoC has been invited to perform Four Seasons/Firebird at the Playhouse Square Centre in January, following their Swan Lake performances at the Kennedy Centre also that month. For more information: National Ballet announces further touring to the U.S.
  12. Hopefully the rest of the casting will come up soon, as the premiere is fast approaching! I'm interested in finding out who will play Don Quixote himself!
  13. Congratulations to Sonia! This is fantastic news for her! Any word on whether Chan Hon Goh is also cast in the role?
  14. I saw a mixed program the Imperial Russian Ballet in Toronto a few years ago (if indeed, it was the same company- there are so many troupes with similar names: http://www.aha.ru/~vladmo/imperial.html). They had some very talented soloists, but it is still a relatively small company and Swan Lake requires a very solid group of dancers that performs the classics frequently... I think it's hard to go wrong with the Kirov, but then again, you could be pleasantly surprised by the smaller company! I don't think Toronto balletgoers have ever been faced with such a decision! So consider yourself lucky:)
  15. NBoC Altamira Summer Arts The NBoC has announced their program for the annual free outdoor performances at the Harbourfront Centre's CIBC stage. There will be 2 company premieres, both works by Kudelka: "Full Circles" and "Romeo and Juliet before parting". Has anyone seen either of them? The latter was created for Sylvain Lafortune and Peggy Baker for Rhombus Media video in 1990. The website does not give any info about "Full Circles". I am getting tired of seeing Kudelka's Swan Lake, but it will be nice to get a preview of La Sylphide and how it looks on this new generation of dancers. I would love to see Chan Hon Goh as the sylph.
  16. I think the hardest part with Chopiniana is getting a sense of the romantic style and being able to evoke a certain mood. I can imagine a Chopiniana with swayed backs and heavy footwork- what a nightmare! But I have been lucky, and have never witnessed anything of the sort What I meant when I said it's hard to do a bad Chopiniana is that the ballet has such a harmonious form that as long as the dancers perform the steps correctly then they will probably give a satisfactory performance. In the case of some other ballets, the choreography may be bland on its own, requiring exceptional skills (technical or dramatic) from its performers to bring it to life. I'm not sure if that makes sense? I'm probably also biased because of the good experiences I've had with the ballet. Sometimes when I see it, I feel as though the ballet dances itself, as absurd as that may sound! That's a good point about the wrists in Scotch Symphony. I wasn't sure if they were supposed to be breaking the line at their wrists or not, because only a few of the dancers were doing it.
  17. I went to the performance last night and enjoyed it. It is always exciting to experience a student showcase, and NBS's Betty Oliphant Theatre is a nice, intimate venue. CHOPINIANA This is one of my favourite ballets, and I think it showed the talents of the school's female dancers very well. The structure and choreography are so poetic. It's hard to do a "bad" Chopiniana. This version was staged by Sergiu Stefanschi and Elaine Fisher. The girls looked well-rehearsed and had a fine sense of the phrasing of the music. There were some zombie-like faces in the corps, but there were other dancers with very lovely expressions. Catherine Maitland danced the second mazurka with beautiful ease and delicacy. She is a tall, willowy dancer and at times her arms looked a little too limp. However, she was a pleasure to watch simply because of her sunny stage presence. She seemed to be more connected to the audience than anyone else on stage, and clearly expressed the joy of dancing. The valse was danced by Marissa Parzei. In the nocturne she appeared a bit nervous (understandably!) and tense, but for her solo she was much more relaxed and gave a clean performance. The poet was danced by Mathew Crockard-Villa, a slender young man with wonderful proportions. He has a very nice line and excellent, weightless jumps. His expression was a little flat, but will likely develop more with experience. His partner was Antonela Martinelli. She looks like a very powerful dancer, and at some points in the prelude her arms could have been gentler. She is a very expressive dancer though and definitely made the performance her own. The corps did a good job- the formations looked perfect and the pointework was for the most part, soft and light. BRAHMS WALTZES This is a modern solo by Peggy Baker to a series of piano waltzes (op. 39). The dancer I saw was Anja Meierhofer, a mature and sensitive artist. She dances barefoot, with her shoulder-length blond hair let down, and wears a long dark velvet dress. It is quite a long piece for one person, but she managed impressively well, not showing any tiredness near the end. Her performance was very musical and she was able to be completely free in her movement while maintaining control of her body. GAZEBO DANCES This is a ballet that Kudelka created on Ballet Met in 2003. The programs tells us that the work makes "reference to the gazebos and bandstands found in town squares across rural America, where town bands played every summer." There seems to be some sort of narrative, but it is hard to make out. A group of young people gather in a square and engage in energetic dances. Light flash in the background, and I felt like they were perhaps at some sort of carnival. The boys are dressed in preppy khakis and red polo shirts, and the girls are in simple shift dresses. The overture is a exuberant piece for five boys (they looked very young, I don't think they were part of the graduating class). Next comes a waltz, with 4 couples. The dance is playful, and at the end they are in a circle playing something like spin the bottle. The central pas de deux was elegantly danced by Catherine Maitland and Brent Parolin. It is a haunting duet where the woman covers one eye and the man covers his mouth throughout. Maitland, who we saw earlier in Chopiniana looked much more mature here. She has a very strong technique and a lyrical quality to her dancing. The final piece is a Tarantella with the complete ensemble. I wasn't crazy about the choreography, but the ballet was appropriately chosen, I thought. It suits a youthful cast of dancers well. SCOTCH SYMPHONY This was the high point of the evening for me. I thought the dancers gave a stylish and polished performance (except for a few dancers with broken wrists-one of my biggest pet peeves). The pas de deux was danced by Courtney Gibbs (currently an apprentice with the company) and David Prottas. They gave a neat performance that looked very professional. But I was most impressed by Isabella Gasparini who danced the soloist role in the first movement (wearing the red kilt). Her formidable technique and genuine and charming demeanor made her stand out from the rest. She is very petite and a lovely allegro dancer. Her diagonale of brises was stunning and the way she carried her upper-body was very refined. One thing that struck me in this ballet was one part in the pdd that reminded me of Swan Lake. I know that Balanchine was referencing La Sylphide, but the way the male corps would turn and prevent the man from reaching the ballerina also brought up images of the white acts of Swan Lake for me. It was great to see that the theatre was sold-out and that all the students' (and staff's) work during the year went to creating a wonderful and successful spring showcase!
  18. Just wondering if anyone went/is planning on going? http://www.nationalballetschool.org/pages/...s/showcase.html The program this year is: Chopiniana (Fokine) Brahms Waltzes (Peggy Baker) Gazebo Dances (Kudelka) Scotch Symphony (Balanchine) I have tickets for saturday evening.
  19. I imagine the "scrambled eggs" refers to all the gargouillades the ballerina must perform. To quote Kay Ambrose: "You do so much with your feet that you don't know what you've done."
  20. From what I have read, I get the impression that Kudeka is not semi-retiring. He would rather allow himself more time to focus on choreographing. In the press release he says, “The role of Resident Choreographer will give me the opportunity to find more stories to tell." By stepping down as AD, he will have more freedom to travel and set his ballets on other companies as well. I think it will be difficult for another choreographer to step in as AD. Kudelka always seemed to want *his* choreography to be the star of the company.
  21. Yes, it would be nice to see Ogden and Cote paired more often. Hopefully that will happen in the future. One thing about Kudelka is that he really discouraged the whole "star system". He didn't want people attending the ballet to see a particular dancer or a certain star couple. His choreography was supposed to be the main attraction. As a result, he seems to discourage long-term partnerships. Once the media started writing about Ogden and Cote as a rising ballet patnership, they were paired with other dancers. Kudelka is a prolific choreographer, but I find his work uneven. I enjoyed his Cinderella very much, but did not like what he did with Swan Lake. However, I think that most people would agree that he is stronger and more comfortable with choreography than he is with administrative duties.
  22. It looks like the future NBoC is going to be a very youthful company. In addition to forcing Lamy's retirement, Kudelka managed to promoted Heather Ogden and Nehemiah Kish to principal before the end of his term. Both are very promising dancers (Ogden has already proven herself on many occasions), but still very young. The new AD will need to hire several more dancers in the next few years. I wonder if they will expand their apprenticeship program or just hire more dancers from abroad? The Kimberly Glasco affair left a bitter taste in many people's mouths. I think a lot of Glasco's supporters are glad to see Kudelka step down. (During the whole fiasco Kain stood by Kudelka's decision....). I don't think Kudelka's influence will completely disappear though. Since it has already been established that he will be the resident choreographer, the new AD's vision will have to be somewhat compatible with Kudelka's style. Just to add my 2 cents, having seen many of Lamy's recent performances, I believe she should have been able to stay in the company, at least until they moved into the opera house. She is still in very fine form and it is a shame she will not be given the opportunity to be able to perform on the new stage that the company has been waiting for for so long.
  23. Veronica Tennant might also be a good candidate, but Kain has been more involved with the company during the last few years. What a shocker!
  24. Well, in the new opera house they are going to need more dancers since there will be more performances. A dancer of Lamy's experience can be "replaced" by say, 4 corps de ballet members for the same price. The same argument was presented in some of the new articles regarding the Kim Glasco affair. It is certainly a flawed argument of course. Lamy was one of the few dancers left to have worked with Erik Bruhn and many of the company's influential choreographers. Her knowledge and artistry are invaluable. I haven't heard anything about her coaching at the NBoC or anything like that, which is a shame. If she is being forced to retire to make room for a generation of younger dancers, then she should at least be able to pass down her expertise IMO. It reminds me of Evelyn Hart's recent departure from the Royal Winnipeg.
  25. There's an interesting article on Lamy here: http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2005...tire050504.html It seems that it was primarily a financial issue on Kudelka's part. As with Glasco, it appears that seasoned principal dancers are too expensive to keep. I have been taking her class at Dance Teq for about a year now. She has said in class that she would like to focus a lot more on teaching now. She will still be dancing on the side, she mentioned an upcoming gig with Robert Glumbek. Perhaps she will continue to perform in Roberto Campanella's "ProArte Danza" group? (the new company's performances have included Rex Harrington and Evelyn Hart among others). I will certainly miss her as a performer, and hope that she does not disappear from the stage. She is still in very fine form, as we saw in her performances in Etudes.
×
×
  • Create New...