richard53dog

LOL. Between "Madame" and Sol Hurok? No contest. I would have put on money on NdV every time!

This is true and a bit annoying for Americans . But the flip side is that there was also the feeling floating around that the Sadler's Wells first season in the US gave the company a big boost in presence. To use a 21st Century term they became a "world class" player in one fell swoop. Same thing for Fonteyn. Fonteyn was the lead ballerina in London, the US was looking forward to Shearer because of The Red Shoes. But NY fell in love with Fonteyn and she became a world star.

I see this differently. While the performance is GOING ON it is very rude to enter or leave the auditorium and/or seats. But when the performance is over, it's over. It's fair and right to applaud the performers but if you choose not to and leave instead, that is your RIGHT. No one can dictate that you must sit (or stand...gag me) until the lights go up, the fire curtain comes down, etc. Again ettiquette during the performance is one thing and I feel strongly about that. But curtain calls? For the spectator, they are optional.

No , indeed. And he is evidently not a member of the Veronika Part fan club:

Maybe it's the translation into English, but Rojo's comments seem a bit insensitive and also a bit impractical to me. It takes a lot of resources, as you note, and one wonders how enthusiastic potential supporters will be for an effeort that will begin in 3 years, 4 years, 5 years or whenever. And if she isn't ready to move now, her comments undermine Corella's efforts. Oh well, in an ideal world Spain will have two great ballet companies; let's hope so!

Thanks for the write-up Haglund! I was considering going and then inertia took over. Too bad!

Really. I love Kistler but she's been getting along on her lovely arms and charm for a while now. And Nilas is a distinctly unremarkable performer. I don't think one would have to have an agenda to comment on these things. Martins is walking on a real fine line with these and other considerations

Little Humpbacked Horse??

This is a wonderful story. Imagine that the original piece as Fokine envisioned it is preserved. I'm curious what audiences will make of the performance. After all so many ballerinas have modified the piece over the years. We could have the ironic situation where the original is disappointing to today's ballet goer. I am really looking forward to hearing about Nunez's performance

Pamela, the directors always say they are trying to get the audiences to look at the piece in a new way. But it's really a can of worms, there are really some Regies that are truly trying to make the singers and the audience see something new. Other directors throw any old thing on the stage for shock value. After all there is no such thing as bad publicity (case in point: recent NYCB R+J). I'm sort of on a middle path with this. I'm willing to go along with the Regie if they sincerely try to breathe new life in an old piece. In many, many cases I'm not oppossed to updating or even Konzepts. My rule of thumb is that I don't want the music or the libretto betrayed in a major way (minor discrepancies don't bother me) and I MUST be knocked over by the performance. I HAS to really grab me and take me with it. Another potential problem is that singers are chosen for how they look rather than how capable they are with the music. Ballet has similar issues but there are so many versions of a really popular piece that there is some leaway. Again I get angry if I think the director is just out for shock value with no substance behind it.

Awwwww, I'm real disappointed. I was really looking forward to a Vishneva/Malakhov Manon.

I usually head my way back to NJ!

Also Royes Fernandez. He mostly partnered Lupe Serrano but sometimes partnered D'Antouno.

I basically agree with this but would also point out the tremendous amount of publicity attached to this production. It was an homage to Lincoln K (huh?), all the lead roles were going to be done by students, the production design was going to enhance the dramatic thrust, the open to the public dress rehearsal, the promotions announced during the later part of the run. The media ran with this and generated a lot of buzz, helping to sell a LOT of tickets. But once you've created a publicity beast, it's not always so easy to tell it to be a good beast, go back into it's cage, and go to sleep. For myself, I'm not too surprised at the somewhat expected fallout of resurrecting the Martins incident. After all, woven through Macaulay's article was then theme of violence to women.

But how much ballet is there in the Bahamas??????????????

I'd second Leigh's descriptions. Either or both would be great to see. But watch the casting closely. The RB may "load" the first night, as it did in DC last June. Cojocaru did Aurora, Nunez did Lilac Fairy, and (I think) Sarah Lamb did Princess Florine. Three Auroras in one performance. Hey, it doesn't hurt to watch the casting bulletins!

Van Hamel was on stage last summer in ABT's Cinderella as the Step-Mother so it hasn't been so long since we've seen her. Kirkland , of course, is another matter all together!

You may have thought so but Mr Martins evidently a greater sense of his own value

I get the same error messages

Azulynn, You sound somewhat less than thrilled! Richard

I saw Nunez and Soares in Sleeping Beauty last June when the RB visited Washington DC. I enjoyed the performance very much and would recommend to those that could catch it to do so. I also saw Cojocaru and Kobborg on the same weekend and found them very fine also.

Dale, I'd love to hear more details on the Philly dates. Please share anything you find out . Thanks!

He was also pretty rough on Martins for not providing an effective platform for his dancers.

Mine came on Monday too! Now I have a whole year to misplace them!