cinnamonswirl

Serenade is not being filmed. The ballets being filmed this season are Don Quixote, Troisieme Symphonie de Gustav Mahler and La Sylphide. As for Soiree Balanchine, it's the same problem I always have with POB dancing Balanchine - they just don't understand Balanchinian movement. It's too academically correct and the energy and spirit aren't there. Agon I think is the best. The dancers' personalities really come through and there is some edge. Ganio was terrific, and Dupon/Le Riche in the Pd2. I would love to see Pagliero in the Pd2 because to me she is more suited for Agon than Serenade but I wasn't able to get tickets for that. Serenade needs work. I was completely unmoved by the ending, which is a first. Almost like the dancers weren't really listening to the music. They were listening to the counts but not to what Tschaikovsky was trying to say through the music. All I can say about Prodigal Son is that the Sirens (Letestu, Gillot) are considerably better than the Sons (Belingard, Thibault).

I don't believe Psyche was filmed. La Bayadere was, also with Dupont, but I was told - I'm not sure how reliably - that it won't be released on DVD because the older one with Guerin/Hilare/Platel is still available. (Which doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but whatever.) La Source only played in the US this past month, and R & J hasn't been shown at all yet. There's usually an exclusivity period for broadcast transmissions like that and the DVD can't be released until it ends, so it may be a little while longer. If they are planning to release them at all. Les Enfants du Paradis has yet to be released, and that was filmed in 2010.

Yes, it's done to open the season and for occasionally for other special performances like a farewell (but not all farewells). The word défilé translates to something like parade. A fashion show is also called a défilé.

Thanks for the descriptions, abatt. I'm glad to hear about Lovette. Did Valentino do new costumes for Rubies as well? I can't find any pictures.

Glorious Novikova! I think doing the quatres straight down the stage shows them off better than on the diagonal (although the camera angle is different too, which probably doesn't help). When you're jumping in soft shoes, you use a deep plie, roll through the foot and push off from the ground using your toes. On pointe you can't do that. So you don't get a lot of height, but you do still have to get airborne for long enough to beat the legs. That's what makes it's so difficult. For changes, I think it depends on the type of change, the reason for the change, the individual dancer and their company. This is a relatively small change. Beats make the step harder (a lot harder on pointe), but choreographically it's not a huge difference. The conductor didn't have to take endless repeats while she jumped, for example. Usually changes are worked out in rehearsal, so the dancer's coach, repetiteur, conductor and the other dancers will know what is going on. Of course, there are instances where someone has a fit of pique or spite and makes huge changes on the spur of the moment. Or maybe the atmosphere/politics in a company is such that the dancer does not want to rehearse changes in public and just does them on stage. In some companies, like the Mariinsky (I think), it is normal/ok for dancers to make small changes/accommodations to suit style, technique, personal preference etc. In others, such as POB, it is not acceptable to make changes - everyone dancing the same role is supposed to be doing the same choreography. And why they are making the change is important too. Do they have an injury that necessitates the change? Is it a different version of a classic variation? (Think of all the iterations of Kitri's variation, for example.) Do they just not like the way the step looks? And also, is the choreography copyrighted?

Brief AFP feature on the New York leg of the tour, including interviews with Aurélie Dupont and Brigitte Lefevre, and clips from Suite en blanc and Dupont in Bolero:

Well, Reichlen is not a full-time student at Barnard, so in her case some of the distinction between Barnard and GS is lost. She takes 1 or 2 classes a semester, and I think it took something like 4 years for her to achieve sophomore standing. As far as I know she has not taken dance classes at Barnard. (I've always wanted to ask if she's going to take dance for her PE credit or do a "traditional" sport.) Ringer, Reichlen, Peck and Brown all went to SAB and then joined NYCB. I'm not sure when Reichlen and Peck started college (i.e. the year after they graduated high school, or did they take time off in between like Ringer and Brown), but their college careers are tangential to their ballet training. They did not go through a college dance program and then join a company.

Teresa Reichlen is actually at Barnard. Justin Peck is a GS student, as is Likolani Brown, and probably others as well. (Not that the distinction between Barnard and Columbia General Studies is that important in the context of this overall discussion.)

Dupont has (had?) an agent. I don't know where he fits in the negotiating process. Perhaps that's part of the problem of her not dancing overseas. I assumed Dupont already met McKenzie and wasn't simply emailing him - or ABT's general email box! - out of the blue. I can't imagine her doing something so forward, but who knows. I do think it would be worth ABT's while to consider Dupont. She is definitely a "name," and while she is 39 injury-wise I think she is in better shape than Cojocaru. Also hadn't Cojocaru had agreed to guest with ABT before they picked up Kobborg? I thought he was a last minute sub. Hopefully some other American AD will see her interview and invite her to come guest.

Overall I thought it was an excellent performance. She did make modifications (omitted some steps, changed the direction of the hops in the Act I variations), and she's never been considered a technician. But she is a real actress. She's like Fonteyn or Ferri in that she has a young spirit on stage. You don't know how old she is unless you zoom in on her face with binoculars. Unfortunately Myrtha was Emilie Cozette. Often I think people are too hard on Cozette, but she really is not on the level, technically or artistically, of the other étoiles (or even many lower-ranked dancers). Pairing her with Ciaravola - who transcends technique - just serves to highlight that.

Great interview with Aurélie Dupont by Gia Kourlas in Time Out New York: http://www.timeout.com/newyork/dance/aurelie-dupont-talks-about-being-the-paris-opera-ballets-shining-etoile I cannot believe ABT turned her down as a guest! WTF! Ok, maybe not for Onegin (not Dupont's best role IMO), but good grief, get her to guest in another role! What is Kevin McKenzie thinking?

Well, a lot of this depends on what version of the ballet a viewer is most familiar with, I think. I did not grow up watching POB's Giselle, but it is the version I have seen most often. I saw 3 performances by the Mariinsky in DC last year, and I prefer POB's. A lot of the things which bother you about the choreography I don't mind at all. In fact I like how the Wilis zip up in 1 smooth movement and bourrée off at the end. And you're never going to get, IMO, lovely Mariinsky arms from POB. Even if the choreography were the same, the style is different and French arms are not as soft and fluid. I do agree that the lightning is a bit dark particularly in Act I (unfortunately these seems to be a widespread probably at POB now, for many different ballets), but I love the dark lightning in Act II. I find the starkness of the wilis against the black floor to be haunting. To me the Mariinksy's blue stage made it look like Act II was set at the bottom of the ocean. As for errors, well, everyone makes mistakes sometimes. Hopefully they don't make too many of them too often. I did not notice Dupont omitting steps on Thursday night (although I did notice Ciaravola did on Saturday). Overall I thought the corps looked very crisp.

^ She's up for retirement in 2014 (after 2013-14 season). One possible replacement that's been bandied about is Manuel Legris. Based on his programming in Vienna, he is probably more conservative. Nicolas Le Riche has also been mentioned. (This is all from Internet speculation - I have no idea if either these gentlemen is even interested in the post.)

He joined the company in 2003. So he's probably around 25? He was promoted to coryphée in 2006. He went to the POB school. I'd say he's pretty well regarded at the Opera, he's seems consistently cast in demi-soloist roles (Emeralds pd3, Paquita pd3, Swan Lake pd3). He's also playing Albrecht's servant on the US tour in addition to doing the peasant pd2. He appears to be on Twitter https://twitter.com/axelibot

Wasn't that Aurélia Bellet as Myrtha? Whoever she was, she wasn't as commanding or imperious as Gillot, but I found her much more menacing. In her last exit before the wilis do the chugs across the stage, she looked out at the audience in arabesque and her look was absolutely bone chilling. As for Gilbert, I wonder if she's not fully recovered from her injury in March? Normally she turns like a top, but she barely managed 1 1/2 revolutions in the attitude turns in the variation, when she usually goes for triples, and she fell off pointe during the hops, tried again, gave up and then ultimately just did the ballonnés as straight jumps. She also looked very wobbly in some of the penchées - definitely not what I normally expect from her in terms of technique. I would like to mention Laura Hecquet as the second solo Wili on Thurs night and Héloïse Bourdon (not Eloïse as in the program) as the first solo Wili this afternoon for particularly beautiful performances (Hecquet's renversés!!). Charline Giezendanner & Fabien Révillion in the peasant pd2 on Thursday were also excellent.

She'll be in Paris dancing Fille for most of the US tour.

So exciting! Féliciations, Mlle Ould-Braham! 2012 has been a great year for long-over due promotions. Now if POB would just promote Thibault ...

Ekaterina Kondaurova is now listed as a principal on the Mariinsky website! http://www.mariinsky.ru/en/company/ballet/troupe/

^ Wheat. If you can hear the ear shaking then it's true love. Swanilda doesn't hear it rattling, and neither does Franz, but he lies and says he does. She knows he's lying and runs off.

ITA with Natalia (for the most part!), and oh yes, Tikhomirova absolutely stole the show! A wonderful softness to her jumping (isn't the music for the Folie variation actually from Sylvia?) and gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous sauts de chat in the coda. She got just as much applause during the bows as Kaptsova and Ovcharenko. Nikulina and Vorontsova were also lovely, but I was not as impressed by Anastasia Stashkevich (as Dawn). I actually didn't like Kaptsova very much. I was hoping to like her - there some wonderful clips of her Aurora on YT - but she just didn't have enough charm or personality. She wasn't bad, just not as good as I was expecting. She does have a very nice quality of movement though. I thought she was best in the 2nd Act. She looked like she was actually enjoying herself. I know Alexandrova isn't a soubrette, but she has tons of personality so I hope that comes through this weekend. (And her final jump in the coda should be spectacular!) You can tell Ovcharenko is young -- some of the (very difficult) partnering in the 3rd act wasn't as secure as it could have been, and he still has that young, coltish quality. He also has about 3 expressions, but he's so cute and seems so genuine that one doesn't mind! The costumes are very nice -- beautiful bold, bright colors -- and the doll's dress in Act 2 is absolutely lovely. Although I'm not sure how the jester-like Folie costume with the polka dots and poms poms fits into the overall scheme! I I was also interested to see how close (very close!) the first 2 acts are to Balanchine's version. Balanchine's 2nd act is a little funnier, IMO. The mazurka and czardas and Swanilda/Coppélia's Spanish and Scottish variations are quite different, but overall they are indeed very, very close.

The women's in Rubies look like they're going to go clubbing. In really cheap dresses. The costumes for Diamonds are lovely though (but Karinska is still tops!)

I had been depressed because both the Kennedy Center and POB programming for next season seemed disappointing/not to my taste, but the KenCen season is actually turning out to be quite good. My faith in Michael Kaiser is restored! NYCB's Program A looks fantastic. For Program B, I wish they were bringing a different Balanchine (they just brought Vienna Waltzes a few years ago - maybe 4 years), but of course it could be worse. Thanks for the news, Natalia!

I like Double Feature. It's not a great ballet that I want to see over and over, but it's cute and makes for an entertaining evening.

I'm pretty sure fouettés existed before Legani. She was the first to starting doing 32 consecutively as a party trick (as it were), but I don't think she invented the step. Also, while I wasn't Cecchetti trained, I think that in Cecchetti, a fouetté (when referring to a turn) normally refers to a fouetté rond de jambe en tournant (usually en dehors) -- what we usually see in Swan Lake. Certainly in common ballet parlance Cecchetti fouettés and Italian fouettés are not the same. In terms of "Swan Lake fouettés," Cechetti fouettés (dancer opens to croisé devant) are distinct from Russian style fouettés, which open straight à la seconde. The "correct" term for an Italian fouetté is grand fouetté en tournant. They are definitely very different steps and are usually taught at quite different points in the curriculum. They are both fouettés in that in both cases the leg is whipping/fouetté-ing, but a fouetté can also be a jump. I have noticed an increasing tendency among pros to replace Italian fouettés in variations (Le Corsaire, the fairies' code in Beauty) with Cecchetti fouéttes en dedans (as opposed to the more usual en dehors). Similarly, in the Makarova Gamzatti variation, Gamzatti does Italian fouettés en dedans and then Cechetti fouettés en dehors -- but Nuryev has her do Cechetti fouettés de dedans, and then Cechetti fouettés en dehors. (Sorry for hijacking the thread.)

Video from Style.com about the new costumes: http://www.style.com/stylefile/2012/04/backstage-at-the-ballet/