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Balanchinomane

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Posts posted by Balanchinomane

  1. I think the miraculous improvement in the solo violinist can be attributed

    to Arturo Delmoni. I saw him in the orchestra pit.

    It was a terrific performance - Isabella and Daniil can be very proud of

    their debut. I hope they get more opportunities like this next year. They

    are both very gifted.

    Isabella's Odette was thoughtfully sad. She did not rush through any

    passages. Her swan demeanor was birdlike but not overdone.

    Gorak is so elegant and handsome - definite Prince material.

    Sarah Lane was a cygnette and the Spanish Princess and really has

    been outstanding all season long.

    Oh, and if anyone still notices whose Siegfried stays for the party,

    this one did.

  2. The Carnegie Hall series was sublime. I was lucky to sit in

    the 2nd tier side where I could see Gergiev's face and hands.

    He used no podium nor baton.

    As an encore to the 3rd and 4th Symphony he led the

    Nutcracker's Russian dance at Balanchine (breakneck) tempo.

    I have something in common with the Maestro besides a love

    of Tchaikovsky. He goes to my dentist. :D

  3. Please don't misunderstand. I have no objection to Student Rush programs.

    They provide a great opportunity and it's important for theaters and museums

    to attract new patrons.

    The point is there were never so many unsold seats in prime front and center

    areas of the theater. Most of these seats were long gone well before their

    performance date. People are not going because the prices are too high and

    because of the bait and switch tactics of the sales office. They are using the

    same logic as the folks who set airline ticket prices. Saying that certain

    seating is "Not Available" is not the same thing as "Sold Out."

    I wonder what Jerry's 26 ballerinas thought as they looked out at all those

    empty seats. It's very sad.

  4. It seems they are papering the theater top to bottom with $15.00 Student Rush tickets. On Sunday

    the Atrium sold 3rd and 4th ring only so I thought the lower tiers were sold out. The best seat they could

    sell me was the last row center - Third Ring for $51.00. The center front rows were mostly students.

    And there were lots of empty seats in the lower tiers.

    One night last week I had a $31 Orchestra seat - I know of at least 3 student ticket holders in Row A.

    $149.00 seats sold for $15.00 - cellphones lit, jeans and sneakers propped up on the orchestra pit wall.

    This is their target audience? These are not SAB students. At what point in time do they think these people

    will pay $149.00? The website shows Student tickets available for every performance this week.

    For Tuesday's Jewels - you can get Orchestra row D $149, 1st Ring row A $149, 2nd Ring row B $129,

    3rd Ring row B $89. Try to put a $29.00 seat in your cart. Even if it shows available you cannot buy it.

    It's been this frustrating to me all season. I know I don't have to see Jewels 3 times but up until this

    year I could do it easily. ABT was smart not to get involved with the Atrium. You can almost always get

    a last minute ticket for under $50. And weekdays you can sit in the Orchestra for $71. And you can

    choose your own seat at almost all the theater websites. City Opera had that capability at this theatre

    so it does exist. I guess the $100,000,000 didn't include software upgrades. End of rant.

  5. Thanks so much for the photos, rg - what a remarkable line up.

    Chita Rivera introduced them in reverse order of the year they joined NYCB.

    They came out from the right wing to the left - left to the right.

    That monster head is blocking Ansanelli, Weese, Alexopoulos, Whelan and Lopez.

    On the right side it's Nichols, Roy(blond bob), Kistler, Boree, Tracy, Ringer, Kowroski.

  6. Too much of a coincidence that they both fell. My thought was they both slipped in puddles

    left behind from Ocean's Kingdom!

    I had attended the Gala last week and was disappointed that Union Jack had been cancelled

    so I went on Sunday also. It was one of Askegard's last performances and I am going to miss

    him. There was a flower mishap also. Megan's flower fell off her lapel and plopped center stage

    taunting the sailors until Wendy's hornpipe when she delightedly picked it, sniffed it and saved

    the day. Nothing like Union Jack to cheer everyone up. I think Sir Paul would have loved it too.

  7. I wish they would perform the entire Tchaikovsky Suite 3 - the 1st 3 movements are a lovely

    progression to T&V. It would add about 20 minutes and 3 more principal couples.

    What about Robbin's In the Night - think of the casting possibilities.

    In addition to the Tudor works, NY Theatre Ballet also performs Agnes de Mille, also neglected

    in recent years. Remember The Informer with Victor Barbee and Kathleen Moore? Maybe the

    powers that be don't think today's audience is interested in historical themes. ABT has a

    rich heritage of one act ballets that could be enjoyed and appreciated today alongside

    the swans, shades, and wilis.

    My fantasy wish for full lengths are Farrell Ballet's DonQ, Wheeldon's Alice, and

    POB's La Petite Danseuse. Dream casting would include Hallberg and Sara Mearns in Swan Lake.

    I'm suffering from withdrawal already.

  8. I saw him dance with Natalia Makarova in his "The Blue Angel" in 1986. It was the first time I sat

    in the front row of the Met. The critics were not kind but I was in Ballet Heaven.

    Thanks Leonid, for the wonderful clips. His choreography is athletic - almost acrobatic but

    sweetly sentimental as in the kisses in Coppelia. His film work was outstanding too - the dream

    ballet in Daddy Long Legs and Hans Christian Andersen come to mind.

  9. I just got home too. What a great day! The last time I spent 12 hours with Mr B was the Wall to Wall event

    at Symphony Space --- 6 years ago.

    Kowroski is dancing so much - she was wonderful tonight as the Siren and her Mozartiana Thursday was superb.

    The icing on the birthday cake was Stars & Stripes. Ulbricht, Bouder & Veyette pulled out all the stops.

    In the pre curtain speech, Bouder said it was a special night for her as it is her 6th anniversary as a principal, and

    that she and Veyette had performed Liberty Bell at their final SAB workshop.

  10. I've had the same problem - and thought it was just me. I've repeatably signed out and in,

    cleared cache, deleted cookies, it still doesn't change. It reads the time I turn on the

    computer so whole topics and posts are lost in the shuffle. I have a Mac OS6.

  11. The Get 'em in, Get 'em out theme continues in the revamped

    ladies rooms too. At least the one I visited at the City Opera Gala.

    The vanity area is gone, replaced by more stalls. There's mirrors

    over the individual sinks but no area to check out one's hair and

    make-up. I hope the dancer's dressing rooms are more comfortable.

    But that box office looks intimidating. As you approached it, could

    you hear Darth Vader's theme music?

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