GeorgeB fan

I would have loooove to have seen that...and the description of his performance seem be very into keeping in how I would have thought he would have danced it. Missed chance! I could be wrong but I get the feeling that has a lot to do with Peter Martins. I think when he views Apollo he is still thinking of himself in the role so he cast accordingly...blond...classical...Adonis. It will be interesting to see who he will cast in the role when the ballet comes back. For years and years only Boal, Hubbe and Nilas Martins danced the role at City Ballet. With both Boal and Hubbe now gone I can't see Nilas - who for me personally was the weakest - dancing the role exclusively. Or at least I would hope not.

Maybe I shouldn't be surprise, after all both Neal and Evans have been with the company respectfully for 23 and 22 years...most of those years as principal dancers. So they are at the age in which retirement isn't that far out of reach. But I'm still surprise and sadden by it. Both of them in their own individual ways are wonderful dancers and brought so much to the State Theater and to us audience members who has enjoyed them for so many years. Philip Neal while never in the huge spotlight along with other male dancers is pure classical in terms of presentation on stage. A total gentlemen, an excellent partner and more talented then he's often given credit for. I mean technically speaking other male dancers may have been better...but I don't ever recall coming away from a Philip Neal's graceful performance disappointed. He was very steadfast and every company needs that and for me there's no shame at that. I often wondered what type of Apollo he would have been like. Perhaps he performed it. I don't know. If he had I never had the pleasure of seeing it. Perhaps this is a stretch - maybe I'm playing with it because of their height and dark hair - but I can't help imagining if Neal played the role he would very much be in line in the way that Jacques d'Amboise must have performed that legendary role. But as I said that's probably stretching it. I've always wondered about Albert Evans in the role of Apollo. I always got the sense he would have been fabulous in the role. Now here's a terrific dancer. Noble and naturally regal, Evans has PRESENCE. He has strong masculinity and yet he present it with relaxing elegance and theatrical style. And with the retirement in recent years of Soto, Boal, and Hubbe, among others, he's the most gifted male partner currently dancing at City Ballet IMO. The man knows how to make his ballerinas look glorious. With him they're completely in safe hands. Agon, The Four Temperments, Puck - oh God PUCK - he has placed his stamp on roles that for me I won't be able to imagine anyone else dancing it as well anytime soon. Both of them will surely be missed! Brava!!

Thanks Hans. I didn't know. I'm gonna check it right now!!!

Alright you wonderful ballet experts....start talking about your memories so I'll be able to enjoy reading them!! What made her so special and unique in this role??

A few years back I brought a VHS tape with Dowell and Makarova dancing this pas de deux. From the moment I witness it I fell in love with the ballet...and I've never seen a full production of this ballet either live or on tape. And yet...the beauty and poetry of that single pas de deux has stayed with me. I'm totally enchanted. I've read about the ballet. How it was created and how it's regarded as one of Ashton's finest masterpieces as well as being one of the finest roles ever created for Lynn Seymour - generally thought of as one of the finest dramatic ballerinas of her generation. But unless Dowell - who I understand owns the rights to the ballet and only permits the Royal Ballet to dance it - allows another company to perform it here in America (around the NY area where I live) it's doubtful I will never see the full ballet unless it becomes available on DVD. So my imagination had to take over in imagining what this sublime ballet would actually be like seeing it live or further expanded on video. Seeing this video of Seymour and Dowell from the original production...words escapes me. It was breathtaking. With Dowell and Makarova I witness two gifted dancers performing a beautiful pas de deux...but with Dowell and Seymour I beared witness to two flesh and blood human beings caught up in the power of improbable love. One a youthful boy hopelessly in enthralled, the other a mature, elegant lady allowing herself - if just for a brief moment - to indulge in that rhapsody knowing full well it was impossible and yet incapable at stopping herself. The harmony between Seymour and Dowell and the emotion seeping from them was powerfully felt and entirely believable. I'm no expert - so I leave that to others - but never once did I get the sense that Seymour was overacting or being melodramatic. All I witness was a lady conflicted with this overflowing sense of love but because of her station in life knew it was a love that couldn't be embraced. But for that moment she allowed her emotions to override her reasoning. And it was sublime to watch. She and Dowell was simply magical. Thank you Simon!!!!

"Julio Bocca - The Best Don Quixote of the History" surfing once again - happily - and I came across this. i think i've died and gone to heaven!! i mean my GOD!!! I've always been a huge fan of Bocca and regard him as one of the very best I've ever seen on stage. But I came late to the world of ballet and so by the time I discovered him - while still technically terrific - you could tell time was catching up to him. I wasn't witness to his robust brilliance. Seeing this video I was just overwhelmed. I can't even describe some of the feelings I was experiencing while watching it. He was confident, strong and thrilling to watch. But there was an added sense of total abandonment. He appeared to be raw and reckless and bold. He had a marvelous present of unpredictability. Not only was you unprepared at what was going to happen next...you got the belief he didn't know what he was going to do next himself. It was almost as if he was making it up as he went along. He was sooooooo in the moment. He is simply awesome!! The tape is scratchy and it becomes very blurry at the end but his brilliance shines through. Its the ABT production as staged by Baryshnikov and while I'm thrilled to death to have that DVD of Baryshnikov and Cynthia Harvey dancing sublimely together, I wish, I wish, I had Bocca dancing the full version. Enjoy!

There is another LaScala version on DVD with Alessandra Ferri. I don't have the details of the DVD on hand but I know that Bollo dances the peasent pas de deux. It's a pretty standard version and I wasn't all that impressed with the guy who danced Albrecht but Ferri is wonderful and her Mad Scene is simply superb. There's a reason why she is often hailed as the foremost dramatic ballerina of her generation and this DVD I think proves it.

Surfing the web...not much to do...a little bore. And then I came across this! A 1984 live videotape performance of Jerome Robbins' masterwork with Suzanne Farrell and Afshin Mofid. I was totally startled. I don't know why but I never envisioned Farrell dancing the girl. I guess I always viewed Farrell not only as Balanchine's muse but also because when I think of her I see noble, regal...woman. But I must say she's glorious in this role and Mofid was just as remarkable. I never heard of him but he's very good. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=10...ncing&hl=en# Take a look before the video is taken down. For some reason whenever I posted a link to a video on the web eventually it disappears.

^^Thanks for the correction volcanohunter

I agree with you...that is a small amount. But if Martins & Company was smart, with this small amount of dances being offered by Balanchine and Robbins, they could make certain these ballets are strongly well rehearsed, properly casted with dancers who would give the ballets the strength and beauty they richly deserved, it could be a major plus. We may not have as many Balanchine and Robbins we would like to see in a season, but if the ones we do see are perform superbly...it's worth it in the long run. IMO - one of NYCB's major flaws is that the ballets of Balanchine and Robbins appears at times to be under rehearse. It's not that the dancers can't perform the steps...they just don't seem to have the proper time to understand the steps and the reason for them. Because they perform so many weeks in one season and have so many ballets to dance in that one season, the company doesn't seem to give the dances enough time to truly disgest the choreography and truly make it their own. Maybe by giving a small amount of ballets to perform in one season the company could focus more on proper rehearsal. Could be wrong...what the hell do I know??

Oh don't do this to me!! I've fantasized about Nichols dancing in "A Month in the Country" like FOREVER with Nikolaj Hubbe as her partner. Never happen of course. Not just because Kyra and Nikolaj are now retired but because I don't think Martins would ever allow an Ashton ballet to be performed at NYCB but also because Anthony Dowell - who I think has ownership of the ballet - only allows The Royal Ballet to perform it. As for the "Seven Deadly Sins" I would LOVE to see that ballet. But isn't that one of great "lost" Balanchine ballets? I don't think anyone including Allegra Kent herself remembers anything about the staging or the choreography. But in general I would adore to see some of the older ballets - that many posters have already mention - come back. Many of them I've never seen perform on stage but I've certainly read about them and have seen many wonderful photos. They may not be among the great Balanchine/Robbins ballets but if stage correctly and coached properly and sandwiched in between tried and true popular ballets, I'm sure many new audience members - like myself - would highly enjoy them. Not to mention I'm sure the dancers would love performing ballets they're not use to dancing. It would be like discovering a new ballet by an old reliable master. It seems to me to be a win-win situation.

I'm not sure if this have already been posted and I'm not sure even if it should be posted - I can't remember the rules. But I just watched Baryshnikov and Markarova dancing - IN IT'S ENTIRELY - Jerome Robbins' marvelous creation for them, "Other Dances" on YouTube. I've never seen the original cast before and I must tell you it is sublime. I had tears of joy watching them.

I just got the brochure in the mail. According to it, the following will be appearing: Herman Cornejo Marcelo Gomes David Hallberg Paloma Herrera Julie Kent Gillian Murphy Veronika Part Xiomara Reyes Michele Wiles

I just read Sarah Kaufman's article and why I haven't read the nine pages of comments - and perhaps what I'm about to say have already been mentioned - but it appears that Ms. Kaufman is somehow placing the blame on the current state of ballets on Balanchine's shoulders as if it's all his fault when in truth he has nothing to do with it at all. If he possess a huge influence in which other dance makers follows his style of choreography as some type of blueprint that isn't his fault...it's those choreographers who doesn't appear to possess a unique, individual voice they can call their own. Yes Balanchine has a huge shadow and yes perhaps that shadow is difficult to overcome...but that's when the new generations of choreographers need to step up to the plate and try and discover their own voice, own their style and their own matter of creating dances that goes beyond Balanchine and his style of ballets. If they can't discover their own unique language I don't see why we need to tear down Balanchine and somehow place the blame on his shoulders. Maybe I'm over simplifying, I don't know?? But it wouldn't be the first time someone had to fight against an accepted style of ballet that appears to be norm and was able to overcome that huge influence and create a style that is uniquely their own and become wildly popular with the ballet audience. I mean isn't that exactly what Fokine had to do in regard to Petipa? Petipa influence was mammoth...perhaps even greater then the current influence Balanchine possess today, but somehow Fokine made it a mission to fight against that influence and create a unique vision for ballet and was very successful. We just need another Fokine-type choreographer(s) who have the talent, gut and confidence to strike out on their own creating works that speaks of their own taste, style that goes beyond Balanchine. IMO.

What?? Albert Evans not casted as Puck?? How sad!! Hooray for Teresa!!!!!! Perhaps this performance will finally convince Peter Martins to give her principal status...which she richly deserve!!

While I'm thrilled that McKenzie is bringing back a full-length Ashton ballet...why did it have to be Sylvia?? I'll be honest I simply don't care for the ballet. For me it's so boring and uninteresting. It feels like a patch-work that was never fully completed nor realized. If ABT was going to bring back Ashton...then why not bring back his sublime La Fille Mal Gardee?? What a beautifully charming ballet. The staging was wonderful. The critics like it. If I remember correctly it was a favorite with the audience. And it was pretty clear the dancers simply enjoyed performing it. And when the dancers are seen to be enjoying themselves...it makes the ballet experience just that much more exciting. Currently ABT has a truck load of dancers who could bring magic to the roles of Colas and Lise. I would love to see Corella and Reyes once again dancing those parts. Love to see Herman Cornejo and Sarah Lane. Oh there is just so many dancer partners to pick from!! Maybe next season!

Now this is a performance I got to SEE!! Have those two every danced together in a large scale ballet like Giselle or Swan Lake before?? I've always felt they would be a perfect match Yes I've noticed that as well. :

Personally I'm all for innovation and introducing new elements into the classics. Ballets should represent the time in which they are presented. However when that innovation becomes more paramount to the essence at what made the classic so great in the first place we get into trouble. The innovations should honor the classics - not take over. SWAN LAKE Overall I believe Kevin McKenzie succeeded at blending the tradition with the modern. I enjoy the prelude in which we see how Odette is captured and transformed into a swan by Von Rothbart. I like how McKenzie split the role of Von Rothbart for two dancers (the seductive Baron and the Creature from the Black Lagoon ) I enjoy how McKenzie have only four princesses instead of the standard six who are candidates for Siegfried to marry and I like how McKenzie made the divertissements more clearly representing the nationality of the four princesses - how he had the Master of Ceremonies escort each princess to seat close by Siegfried and the Queen Mother just before a divertissement is perform in a matter that shows this is the folk dance of her country. My only major problem with the production is that it should have been a THREE act ballet instead of a TWO act ballet. Blending the first two acts makes perfect sense to me. But for me the blending the third and fourth act created a problem. By doing that it seemed that everything in the fourth act was too rushed. I never got the sense of the depth of feelings that Odette felt at realizing that she was doomed to be forever a swan thanks to Siegfried's betrayal and I also don't get the depth of feelings of Siegfried's remorse for betraying Odette. Her forgiveness also seemed to be an after thought in order for our lovers to quickly kill themselves and end the evening. I like McKenzie's Swan Lake. He streamlined things in the ballet that deserved to be cut - IMO - and added touches that made the ballet interesting and new while maintaining the essence of the original source. If he would have simply kept the third and fourth acts separate, I think instead of his Swan Lake being very good, it could have been near flawless. THE SLEEPING BEAUTY What can I say about this??? I think this is a perfect example in which innovation clearly took over the classic. The innovations didn't help this classical ballet - it simply hurt it. From the sets, costumes, staging, casting, the things that was taken out and the things that was unnecessarily added simply - once again IMO - didn't help the ballet at all. There was so much wrong for me that I can't even begin to explain the several problems I personally had with the ballet. The sad thing is that I have a great deal of anticipation. For the ten years that I've been going to ABT, I've been hoping for a new production of this ballet. So when it was announce that a new production was in the making I was overly excited! Perhaps too overly excited as it turned out to be. I had great expectation and this production did not come up to my imaginery standard. It didn't help that before I saw the production at the Met I purchase the Paris Opera Ballet DVD version of Rudolf Nureyev's staging of the ballet and oh my God!! Talk about a production that was lavish, brilliantly staged, with innovations that remain respectful to the original source. After seeing that on DVD, how in the world could ABT compete with that??? Innovations should respect the original production of the classics. When it does - it works out beautifully. When it doesn't - it doesn't always achieve the desire ending the many in the audience had hope for. On a sidenote I wish McKenzie would replace The Merry Widow ( a ballet I personally don't care for - it really isn't all that good) with Frederick Ashton's La Fille mal gardee - a wonderful ballet that I would love to see Herman Cornejo and Sarah Lane dance the lead roles. I think they would be adorable.

Here's hoping someone will be gracious enough to give a review of Feb. 16th evening performance of "Afternoon of a Faun". I would love to read the opinions about the pairing of Janie Taylor and Craig Hall. The pairing seems promising but there is no guarantees. Pretty please, pretty, pretty please.

Its about time and bravo for him!!! :huepfen024:

I got a sense Suzanne Farrell was clearly enjoying herself. If anyone was a stone face it was Tony Bennett. During his honor when Quincy Jones was speaking about him, Farrell keep trying to interact with him - smiling at him whenever Jones made a kind remake about Bennett, but Bennett made no expression in fact he looked as if he was totally disregarding her. It wasn't until the performing aspect of his tribute did Mr. Bennett came to life. Farrell also interacted with Julie Harris. It was endearing when Kevin Spacey told about one of Harris' fellow acting students said to the teacher after asking why do you wish to act and said that its better then ballet, both Harris and Farrell turn to each other and laugh. As for her segment, when Caroline Kennedy introduce her dancers to perform Divertimento No. 15, the camera gave us a side shot of Farrell with her hands to her mouth. Clearly she was surprise her dancers was going to perform in her honor. The two shots we got of Farrell during their performance was obviously a teacher watching her students perform. I felt she was deeply moved and clearly enjoyed herself thoughout the evening. So sad I didn't get to hear Arthur Mitchell and Maria Tallchief speak about Farrell. I especially would have loved to hear what Tallcheif had to said. Wasn't she the dancer who made the infamous statement upon leaving NYCB, "I don't mine being listed alphabetically, but I do mine being treated alphabetically." Wasn't that the statement that made the dance press aware that something was amiss at NYCB back in the mid-sixties concering Balanchine's "obsession" over Farrell? Clearly Tallchief has come around. One thing I could've help but notice was that during the film segment of Farrell's I saw that she performed Jerome Robbins' Afternoon of a Faun. TOTAL SURPRISE!! When I think of Farrell, I only view her in Balanchine. I know that Robbins made 2 or 3 ballets on her, but I just don't see Farrell in Faun. How was she in that ballet and whatever ballets did she perform in of Robbins??

Obviously the audience nor the dancer wish to slip and fall during a performance. Mainly for two things: 1) It destroy the flow of the choreography and more important 2) One slip or misstep could and has ended the career of a ballet dancer forever. But the thing I love the most is the reaction of us the audience to that dancer who falls. If he or she gets up all most at once and finish the movement we greet them with a huge applaud of encouragment as telling them, "we still love you and we admire that fact that you continue on despite your slip!" Because unlike an actor who forgets a line of dialogue in the theater or a singer who forgets a lyric in concert, if they are clever enough, they could cover it without the audience noiticing it. But if a dancer messing up - BOOM - they are right on the floor, no chance of covering up that mistake from the audience and you know the dancer must feel embarras. So when the audience shower that dancer with applauds hopefully in our small way we give the dancer in question a sense of understanding and respect for the exceptionally hard work it takes to give the audience the illusion that what they are doing is effortless when in fact it isn't!

I saw Balanchine's one act version just once with Miranda Weese and Nilas Martins and I JUST LOVE IT!! Shame its no longer perform as often as it should because believe me Martins' version is just...hmmmm!! That God for PBS, because that's where I saw it and after seeing it on Television - trust - wild horses couldn't get me to pay money to see that performance live!! As for ABT I enjoy it very much. I just wish it was a fuller version then just two acts. I could be wrong, but it seems that American companies fells that American audience are incapable at watching a full four act ballet. Everything they stage a classic that has four acts they always it seems to reduce to just two acts. To me not only do we miss some important elements in terms of character development but to me its rather insulting to think that American companies think audiences are not able to seat though. "Let's not bore them! Rush, rush, rush!" I can see why maybe comparing the first two acts, but I would have loved if Kevin McKenzie would have keep the third and fourth act intact. The fourth act gives the audience the chance to see the Prince express his regards at dooming Odette to a life of being a swan and it shows Odette slowly forgiving him and both their decision to kill themselves in order to be together. You don't get any of those fine details in McKenzie production. Mainly because the corp send too much time dancing in front of a backdrop, so the behind the scene crew can loudly remove the huge set of the ballroom scene in order to continue with the ballet.

Miranda Weese

This season at City Center for ABT could have been dubbed, "The Season of the Corps de Ballet." At the Nov 5 evening performance of The Green Table, Isaac Stappas brought a interesting interpretation to the role of Death. Instead of being a Death that was full of terror and menace, Stappas' Death had the strange mark of sadness and resolution. Sad that he was causing so much death, but resolute to the fact that this is what he must do. Not that he was without menace. I enjoyed watching him terroring Julio Bragado-Young's sleazy Profiteer. Kristi Boone performed a powerful woman. I could go on, the truth is the entire cast was fantastic!! It wasn't until after the performance did I realize that the entire cast was made up of members of the corp. Add to that other terrific individual performances of the corp in other ballets, no question ABT posses one of the strongest ensemble of dancers anywhere. And thankfully not just for the dancers but also for the audience, Kevin McKenzie gave them many golden opportunities this fall season to shine wonderfully as individuals instead of just as an ensemble!