Balanchinomane

I knew I was in for a rough night during the pauses between the first 3 ballets. There was a woman in my row lighting matches to read her program. As they burned down to her fingers she discarded them to the floor. And not an usher in sight. I guess they could not stand to see what was going to happen both on and off the stage. Musagete is terrible. It is so poorly crafted and tasteless and completely unworthy to be presented by this Company in this Theater. If it had been abstract or the subject matter had been different we could just shake our heads and say another bad ballet--another good idea gone wrong. But we are taking this as a personal affront to everything we know about Balanchine. He was a fulfilled and happy person. The only obstacles in life he could not overcome were illness and old age. The portrayal of him as this moody tortured soul cuts deep. That this was supposed to be a tribute is mystifying. I wish I knew how the dancers, present and past, think about this debacle. I hope they start to speak up soon.

Yes, Charlieloki, Agon was perfect. But don't deprive yourself of some nice performances. The M&M Ballets are so interesting - and it was nice to see Darci - I 'll never tire of seeing Darci. Symphony in 3 Mvts was not as good with this cast - mainly because Sofiane was not in it. Weese and Evans were excellent in the Pas de Deux. Before you left I wonder if you heard the woman yelling Woo-Woo-Woo with the applause. She was sitting behind me and kicking my seat, so it wasn't a perfect evening for me. Well there's only 11 more performances and I'm going to 5 of them. Hope you will go too. And don't forget to thank Peter Martins for hiring Sofiane. She is brilliant in everything she does and it's so exciting to see her career unfold. We are very lucky indeed.

Well, you folks had me so depressed just thinking about SPAC and the grim future for Dance in America. I took a walk to Bryant Park to see Broadway Under the Stars. While the orchestra played a medley they showed a big screen montage of clips from movies based in New York City. The two scenes that got the most applause and cheers - now this is a crowd of about 10,000 people -were the Jets from West Side Story and the 3 sailors from On the Town. So at least our pal, Jerry Robbins is appreciated by the Masses. So now I feel a lot better. Good Night.

Yes - the DTH version is also 1 act and has a similar Wedding Scene at the end and as the final music swells and soars the Firebird is hoisted by wire up to the rafters. It is a thrilling sight. On Tuesday night I trained my binoculars Center Stage but no Bird appeared. However the tableau is gorgeous. I have read that Fokine's original production had the Firebird preside over the wedding on a high platform and Karsavina was afraid of heights. It may have looked like the scene in Act 3 of Swan Lake when Odette's image appears high upstage and spoils the Party.

I loved Miranda's performance too. She had the perfect balance between balletic elegance and Broadway pizzazz that make Who Cares so enjoyable. She was a sub for Borree but I think scheduled for Sat night as well. And how about Carrie Lee Riggins subbing for Sylve? Wasn't she great? Nilas was so protective of her - like a big teddy bear. And she polished off those turns in My One and Only like the best of them. Did anyone see Korowski Saturday night ? Sofiane had subbed for her in Western and Ives - hope she's OK.

He really is a Jekyll and Hyde character. He interviewed Barbara Horgan at Wall to Wall in March. He was kind and respectful and really encouraged her to talk about her experiences with the Company. I think she is reticent about talking publically - and he really drew her out and got her to talk about her past and her current work with the Foundation. It was a charming interview and I was surprised it was the same person who wields his poison pen.

You can draw some ideas from Balanchines Stories of Great Ballets ---- He said the Host is an elderly man and the Sleepwalker is his wife. I think she's an unresolved spirit like a Wili, haunting her husband's home. Maybe his flirting and unfaithfulness led to her death. Maybe he had killed her too. In the last scene the light upstairs goes out as the guests are looking up at the window. Does that mean the Host has retired, not caring about the trouble he has caused? Why did Jerome Robbins end Dances at a Gathering with the same gesture? Maybe there should be a sequel. There could be a detective like Colombo show up at the house to investigate the murder. Think about it. Mark Morris would do a great job.

Enjoyed Tuesday's performance very much. Ballo was terrific - almost marred by the smattering of applause whenever someone exited the stage or posed for 3 seconds.....after each principal took a stop-the-show bow it seemed to subside and the whole cast enjoyed the well deserved applause at the end. The cleverness of Square Dance is sometimes underappreciated. It really is a gem ---I can't help thinking it should have tutus - maybe because the music is so rich and courtly --- but perhaps Balanchine didn't want costumes to detract from the Dance. La Sonnambula had such magic and mystery - what a great cast - Tinsley and Hall and Tom Gold certainly stood out. Whelan and Boal were a dream. It was so wonderful to see Mr Fiorato be acknowledged. What a treasure he has been. And the great news is at 90 years old, he is not going to retire. So Italian Night concluded with a shower of flowers and many curtain calls for the Maestro. The only thing missing was the Tarantella. And Mr Fiorato probably could have provided us with that too.

This is my first posting so please forgive me any technical glitches. Just returned from LC and wanted to tell someone what a wonderful way to spend a Saturday afternoon ---- Divertimento was near perfection - no one fell, slipped, or tripped and every one of the dancers looked like they were happy to be there. Lots of smiles and straight lines. The Ladies were Stafford, Boree, Rutherford, Bouder and Ansanelli. All beautiful. The courtiers were elegant and charming - Hanna, Higgins, and Tewsley. The guy to watch here is new soloist Stephen Hanna. He's tall, handsome, technically very good and has such a great stage presence - I predict he 's going to have a great career. I wonder if Jacques d'Amboise was this good when he was a soloist....... Stabat Mater was a pleasant surprise --- I hadn't seen it and had heard that it was a Real Sleeper, if you catch my drift. but I really enjoyed it. Very unique set and and very, very good dances. The cast was Borree, Kistler, Weese, Millepied, Soto, and Martins. They were truly engaging with eachother and though the variations were almost all solos and pas de deux, they all were working as an ensemble --- the only thing I would change are those awful velvet Capri Pants the men wore - especially the bright red and acid green - mercifully Jock was wearing black. Four Temps was good as ever --- Fabulous casting --- Boal, Whelan and Askegard, Evans, and Reichlen. Teresa Reichlen is someone to watch --- she was Choleric and she was great in the 2nd movement of Episodes on Thursday. Mr Fioroto conducted with his usual flair - looking forward to the May 18 celebration in his honor. He is a real Treasure for the Company.