Dale

I wanted to clarify something. I think it would be narrow to put the focus on YAGP or any other competition in this discussion. It might not be fair of me to speak for Victoria, but I didn't get the idea that she was blaming YAGP for the high extentions (let's not get on the subject of that competition again). But rather why were there so many dancers with those high extentions in classical variations at a competition? Is it an explotation of a facility that should be used as spice, not the meat, of a dancer's art. I think it's very tempting for companies to use dancers with a particular gift as an attraction - "Come see the girl who can turn! Just $95. See her turn like a top. She can turn more than four times in a row." Who is that? Gillian Murphy. "She the girl with the rubber legs!" Zakharova. "See the boy who can jump and turn like a mad man!" Corella. "See the girl with the longest legs in history!" Kowroski. The people come, so the AD puts the dancer out there as much as possible. Not a Giselle? Don't worry. Want to see her in an evening-length Swan Lake even though she can't really handle the techical demands of Act III? It's not important. Oh, you say there aren't enough turns in this masterpiece to satisfy your desire to see the turning boy turn? We'll add some more. It doesn't matter if it doesn't go with the music.

I saw two La Bayaderes, including Monday's with Cojocaru's second performance. She might been one of the tiniest dancers I've ever seen. And she's so light. But unlike many light dancers I've seen, she also has a very light attack. I have to admit I have a personal preference for dancers who displace their air around them, who have a certain weight to their movements (no matter what size they are), so Cojocaru's performance really wasn't an ultimate experience for me. But I did find it a very satisfying performance, especially in her two confrontations. With the High Brahmin, not only was her Nikiya not interested but was offended and disgusted. She was strong all throughout the first act - her delight in Solor's love, the split-second reaction to Gamzatti's taunts and the impulsive reaching for the knife, and her wonderous solo in Scene III. Maybe her success in those scenes were due to her strong realistic acting (important in her McMillian rep. at the Royal, but criticized in the most recent Ballet Review for turning up in Giselle). However, Cojocaru wasn't cool enough for me in the Shades scene. And while she is strong technically, I didn't find her diagonal of turns dominating enough. That section was many of the highlights of Ananiashvili's portrayal on Wednesday night. Ananiashvili's characterization was naturally less girlish during the first act (with her acting looking a little more scripted) and more commanding during the Shades section. Both Gamzatti's were strong. I thought Abrera's was the more rounded performance. Murphy was flawless in the Act I classical solos, while Abrera surprised me by foutteing to the left in a sort of strange way. In the last act solo, Murphy threw in several multiple turns (more than 3), which I thought impressive but too much. Abrera was as sinuous as a snake - smooth, smooth, smooth. I have to admit to going to Wednesday's performance to see Monique Meunier and Veronika Part as two of the Shades (Anna Liceica did the first variation). But was rewarded with Meunier in the D'Jampe again and Part in the pas d'action. The trio had a triumph in the shades. It seemed a meeting of like minds and style - musicality, lushness and beauty.

*First time in role +Guest Artist # SAB Student MAY 20-25, 2003 TUESDAY EVENING, MAY 20 AT 7:30PM [Quinn] Concerto Barocco: KOWROSKI, van KIPNIS, FAYETTE [ingraham, Danielson] Intermission Ives, Songs: *KÖRBES, WHELAN, ASKEGARD, NEAL, *HIGGINS [Grant, Nolan] Intermission Guide to Strange Places: KISTLER, WEESE, SOMOGYI, ANSANELLI, TAYLOR, SOTO, NEAL, MARTINS, MILLEPIED, MARCOVICI WEDNESDAY EVENING, MAY 21 AT 8:00PM [Quinn] Symphonic Dances: BOREE, HÜBBE Intermission Morphoses: WHELAN, ANSANELLI, WOETZEL, SOTO [Chiu, Mills, Mandel, Eggar] Intermission Symphony in Three Movements: SOMOGYI, van KIPNIS, A. STAFFORD, EVANS, GOLD, HIGGINS THURSDAY EVENING, MAY 22 AT 8:00PM * Note change in order. Symphonic Dances: BOREE, HÜBBE Intermission Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2: WEESE, NEAL, REICHLEN, TINSLEY, RUTHERFORD, J. STAFFORD, *VEYETTE [Walters] Intermission Carnival of the Animals: LITHGOW+, VERHOEST, ASKEGARD, NICHOLS, FAYETTE, BORREE, RUTHERFORD, van KIPNIS, HIGGINS, REDPATH [Grant, Walters] FRIDAY EVENING, MAY 23 AT 8:00PM [Moredock] Interplay: KÖRBES, RIGGINS, KEENAN, BOUDER, HANNA, HENDRICKSON, CARMENA, *VEYETTE [Chelton] Intermission Ives, Songs: KÖRBES, WHELAN, ASKEGARD, NEAL, HIGGINS [Grant, Nolan] Intermission In G Major: WHELAN, *TEWSLEY [Grant] SATURDAY, MAY 24 AT 2:00PM [Kaplow] Coppelia: BORREE, WOETZEL Waltz: EDGE Dawn: A. STAFFORD Prayer: HANSON Spinner: van KIPNIS War & Discord: ASH, HENDRICKSON SATURDAY, MAY 24 AT 8:00PM [Moredock] Chaconne: NICHOLS, NEAL, EDGE, CARMENA, NATANYA, BESKOW, FOWLER, RIGGINS, ABERGEL, GLOBIN, la COUR, J. STAFFORD Intermission Morphoses: WHELAN, ANSANELLI, WOETZEL, SOTO [Chiu, Mills, Mandel, Eggar] Intermission In G Major: WHELAN, TEWSLEY [Grant] SUNDAY, MAY 25 AT 3:00PM [Kaplow] Coppelia: BORREE, WOETZEL Waltz: EDGE Dawn: A. STAFFORD Prayer: HANSON Spinner: van KIPNIS War & Discord: ASH, HENDRICKSON MAY 13-18, 2003 TUESDAY EVENING, MAY 13 AT 7:30PM [Kaplow] Swan Lake: Odette/Odile: SOMOGYI Pr. Siegfried: MARTINS Von Rothbart: la COUR WEDNESDAY EVENING, MAY 14 AT 7:30PM - GALA Guide to Strange Places (New Martins - Preview): *KISTLER, *WEESE, *SOMOGYI, *ANSANELLI, *TAYLOR, *SOTO, *NEAL, *MARTINS, *MILLEPIED, *MARCOVICI Intermission Carnival of the Animals (New Wheeldon #1): *LITHGOW+, *VERHOEST#, *ASKEGARD, *NICHOLS, *FAYETTE, *BORREE, *RUTHERFORD, *van KIPNIS, *HIGGINS, *REDPATH [Grant, Walters] THURSDAY EVENING, MAY 15 AT 8:00PM Hallelujah Junction: TAYLOR, MARCOVICI, MILLEPIED [Grant, Moredock] Intermission Symphony in Three Movements: WHELAN, van KIPNIS, A. STAFFORD, EVANS, GOLD, HIGGINS Intermission Guide to Strange Places: KISTLER, WEESE, SOMOGYI, ANSANELLI, TAYLOR, SOTO, NEAL, MARTINS, MILLEPIED, MARCOVICI FRIDAY EVENING, MAY 16 AT 8:00PM [Kaplow] Donizetti Variations: BORREE, HÜBBE [Grant, Moredock] Intermission Agon: KOWROSKI, SOTO, BOAL, McBREARTY, HANSON, SOMOGYI, HANNA, FOWLER Intermission Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2: WHELAN, TEWSLEY, TBA, TINSLEY, RUTHERFORD, TBA [Walters] SATURDAY, MAY 17 AT 2:00PM [Quinn] Carnival of the Animals: LITHGOW+, VERHOEST#, ASKEGARD, NICHOLS, FAYETTE, BORREE, RUTHERFORD, van KIPNIS, HIGGINS, REDPATH [Grant, Walters] Intermission Sinfonia: MARCOVICI, KÖRBES; TAYLOR, FAIRCHILD [Grant, Nikkanen] Pause Concerto Barocco: BORREE, SOMOGYI, FAYETTE [Delmoni, Ingraham] Intermission Symphony in Three Movements: WHELAN, van KIPNIS, A. STAFFORD, EVANS, GOLD, HIGGINS SATURDAY, MAY 17 AT 8:00PM Guide to Strange Places: KISTLER, WEESE, SOMOGYI, ANSANELLI, TAYLOR, SOTO, NEAL, MARTINS, MILLEPIED, MARCOVICI Intermission Concerto Barocco: BORREE, SOMOGYI, FAYETTE [Delmoni, Ingraham] Pause Sonatas & Interludes: KOWROSKI, SOTO [Chelton] Intermission Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2: WHELAN, TEWSLEY, TBA,TINSLEY, RUTHERFORD, TBA [Walters] SUNDAY, MAY 18 AT 3:00PM [Quinn] Donizetti Variations: BORREE, HÜBBE Intermission Carnival of the Animals: LITHGOW+, VERHOEST#, ASKEGARD, NICHOLS, FAYETTE, BORREE, RUTHERFORD, van KIPNIS, HIGGINS, REDPATH [Grant, Walters] Intermission Agon: KOWROSKI, SOTO, BOAL, McBREARTY, HANSON, SOMOGYI, HANNA, FOWLER

Do you mean Balanchine's one-act version as well? Or just the full-length ballet?

Thank you Kate for the descriptions. With Martins, you've seen one Adams ballet, you've seen them all.

Thank you Sneds. Was the dancing the Wheeldon in a classical style? And was the Martins ballets like the other ballets he has done to Adams (Slominsky's Ear Box or Fearful)?

I loved this graph: "Which is more than you can say for the excrescence I took in at B.A.M. the night I got back from Paris. It was the Ballets de Monte-Carlo’s Cinderella, directed and choreographed by Jean-Christophe Maillot, whose works, we’re told, have been performed in London, Rome, Madrid, Paris, Brussels, Lisbon, Cairo, Mexico, Rio de Janeiro, São Paolo, Hong Kong, Seoul, Manila, Tokyo, Brisbane, Beijing, Shanghai "and more." Not every plague, apparently, can be contained by the World Health Organization." I don't agree with his conclusion at the end of the article. For one, even from my Balanchine-centric position, I don't think it's fair to insist that Balanchine is the cure-all for all companies all around the world. Other companies have their own heritages. Secondly, I don't know how he connects that conclusion considering the ballet he saw at POB. It seems unfair to make such a judgement after seeing just one ballet. And one ballet performed by Monte Carlo.

Did anybody go to the gala?

On the yagp web site, most of the pictures feature ultra-high extentions, over stretched jumps and contorted line, even in tutus. Probably not a good sign. For me, it depends on the dancer. I had heard Cojocaru used her extentions like her former classmate, Svetlana Zakharova, but I didn't think she over-did them to the extent the Kirov dancer does. I think it is hard to tell where her crotch is due to the costume, same with the picture on the link.

There is one with Platel on one of those Nina Ananiashvili and Friends tapes. It's put out by VAI - http://www.vaimusic.com/VIDEO/69213_Ananshv3.shtml It's much more, as you put it, Russian style. I also think there is one on the Russian Ballet series with historical items. I can't get to the tape now but it was with Soloviev [a great model of Russian style] with Kolpakova, I think, or another female dancer.

Hi samsara...Everybody looks at things a different way. They have what I consider touchstones in a performance of a ballet - things they look for and judge in a performance. But why don't you tell us more about how Corella's performance moved you. I have to admit, that Monday night I concentrated on Cojocaru's performance because I had never seen her dance before. I thought Corella's performance was fine, everything we've come to expect from him. And agree, Corella had a moving moment during the wedding scene where he wants to resist marrying Gamzatti. However, we disagree about Meunier. As a dancer, she moves me. You might disagree, but I think she's lovely and currently is in very good shape. That's the shape she is. And she's every inch the ballerina. But any size she is is good enough for me. Her magic is in the way she moves, her musicality, her joyousness, her imagination, and - yes - her technique that allows her to express herself. I hope she will get the opportunity she most rightly deserves at ABT.

I think we need to be careful with rumors etc... on dancers moving elsewhere or hirings. See our gossip rule on the sticky at the top of the New York City Ballet forum. Thanks. Now, on to week three!

Welcome brokenwing. I hope you will continue posting on what you see. Your post about SAB is very interesting. There appears to be as many views on the direction of SAB as there are about the direction of NYCB. The school has taken some hits recently (the New Republic article from last season and Jenifer Homans' article in the New York Times). The comment about learned mannerisms is interesting. Some people I've spoken to feel what Balanchine wanted on stage after the dancer graduates from SAB is not what he wanted when they were at the school. He wanted clean Imperial Russian technique taught in the school. But once a dancer was in the company, he could take that strong technique and twist it, speed it up, turn it in etc... However, now that company style is taught at the school. From articles, I have read that there are several former Balanchine dancers and SAB teachers who were not pleased with Suki Schorer's book on Balanchine Style, saying Mr. B never intended those twists he had in his choreography to be taught to the students.

Sneds, I don't understand the point you're making. If we can agree that most dancers at NYCB spent at least 2 years at SAB, do you think their training reflects SAB or the other schools they attended?

Martins was trained mostly at the Royal Danish school. Woetzel was part of Clifford's Los Angeles Ballet at 15, before he came to SAB. Neal went to a boarding school that had a strong ballet program and Evans received early training from a school in Atlanta. Soto also studied at the Westside ballet school in Los Angeles (where Monique Meunier, Melissa Barak and Anna Liceica also trained at the Balanchine-style school run by former NYCB dancer Yvonne Mounsey). There are many examples of NYCB who went to SAB in their early-to-mid teens only after getting strong training elsewhere. That's not to diminish SAB. In the NYTimes review of Somogyi's Swan Lake, Kisselgoff points out that Somogyi studied with Nina Youskevich (the article says in NY but I believe it was in New Jersey, where JS is from). However, Somogyi studied at SAB as a young girl and was even Clara in the Nutcracker. It goes both ways. But there are quite a few NYCB dancers who come to SAB for "finish" before joining companies. And it is not unknown for an AD to have a dancer from the outside to go to the company school before joining the company.

From the company web site: Peter Martins Interview On Thursday, May 15, radio station WNYC (FM 93.9) will air an interview with New York City Ballet Master in Chief Peter Martins beginning at 2:06pm. Mr. Martins will discuss his work with composer John Adams including their newest collaboration, Guide to Strange Places.

Is this the new June issue, or May?

Ask and you shall receive -- the New York Times reviewed the program on Saturday: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/09/arts/dan...ce/09TUDOR.html

Some of the critics who were there are not from dailies, so the reviews might come out in a week, two weeks, a month etc.. from now. Personally, I was extremely excited at the idea of the program and delighted in its realization. The intimate theater added greatly to my enjoyment of Jardin aux Lilas. All the little looks, shifts in posture, and details were easily observered. One of my favorite moments came when Christina Paolucci (in the brown dress) catches Carolina and Her Lover together. It was great to see her eyes and the look on her face, the delight in knowing a secret. Then in comes Ursula Prenzlau (in white) and shows great humanity and taking Caroline's hand and literially standing with her in her shame and humiliation. Cynthia Sheppard was a very real Caroline. It was refreshing to see a real woman (with a real woman's body) in the part. The men made less of a impression on me. One thing I noticed...while most of what I've read about Tudor is about the acting or rather the digging for emotional depths of the characters, there is hardly a rest in the ballet. Dancers were almost always moving, which makes the freezes that much more effective. Fandango was in interesting piece. It's a shame it is not done more as each of the five ballerina parts had a distinct character. It's fun without overplaying the jokes and it requires sharp footwork. Why doesn't ABT do this? I didn't find Judgment of Paris a really brilliant work. It seems to me the fun is in the cast, such as when Lucia Chase and Agnes De Mille used to do the parts at ABT galas. My favorite piece was the reconstructed Les Mains Gauches. The cast features The Oracle (danced by a woman), The Woman and The Man. The costumes were beautiful - consisting of satin jewel-colored tunics (long and bias cut for the women). The man was in ruby red with a sort of guitar (I think) on the front (very much like a Yves Saint Laurent dress), the woman was in emerald with the same thing on the front and the Oracle was in pearly gray. The choreography is classical with a few modernist touches. There is a definite 50s feel (it was made in 1951) but I also found it timeless due to its strong but simple gestures. There is a great moment (showing how Tudor can make a strong statement economically) when the Oracle has her back to a black curtain. To her left, a hand (The Woman's) sticks out and the Oracle goes to read the palm. Immediately a large red rose is pushed out, representing love. Just as quickly it is gone and on her right, another hand pops out. As she reaches to read the palm (The Man's), a noose pushes out. Later, the man "kills" the woman. It is unclear what has happened. Are the Oracle real, is she plotting with the man. I found the ballet very strong, with a surealistic bent, and I'm disappointed I won't be able to see the ballet again on Saturday during NYTB's Dance on a Shoestring program at the company's studios. (www.nytb.org for the time and address).

Yes, thanks for that. And for conjuring up the vision of Farouk in leopard panties!

Interesting thing about the ABT Spring season -- Welch is the most represented choreographer (other than the "after Petipa" productions).

Thank you. We posted the full release here earlier: http://www.balletalert.com/forum/showthrea...&threadid=10648

Ari, I too would be interested to know the sequence of events regarding Klein's involvement in the ballet and why, now, a press release has been issued and more mention of the costumes (which are not that great) has been made. It could be that the company went back to the designer to sponsor the Met season and offered a more-public thank you than the notice in the program. I was ready to write this off (not that I don't think we should all be watchful for these sort of things, I'm happy there are people like Watermill who stand up) as I ignore most of those dancer sponsorship notices in the program. However, McKenzie mentioned CK and Calvin Klein, almost awkwardly, during his opening comments at Monday's gala. And not in the same way he usually thanks Movado. This sounded like a commercial.

Sneds, I agree with you on the HereAfter solo for Corella, it was much too short to get a sense of what the ballet was like and Angel's fans would have been better served with a more conventional pas de deux or solo. As for the choreography of the solo, it would have made Spartacus proud. Lots of jumping, turns, a few rolls on the floor and several Christ-like reaching poses. As a gala, it was a little ho-hum. It was great to see Dvorovenko at full strength. She was glittering in the La Bayadere pas d'action. Her high extentions were in full display during the Italian fouttees. She made Stiefel look like an extra, but he and Corella had the Harrison ballet at the end of the program to get their shinning moments. The Leaves Are Fading pas de deux continued my Tudor tutorial of the week. I wish they would do the full ballet again. I had a more positive view of Gomes in Esmeralda. He was very smooth in his solos and partnered Herrera in his usual gallant manner. Yes, he cheats a little on his tours, but they are consistent and flowing. His jump had loft with ease. I didn't see that Herrera missed any taps on the tamborine and she even showed some nice musicality. Regarding Diana&Acteon, I thought both Murphy and Carreno performed extremely well but a little something was missing when they danced together. It's probably not fair to judge as it was only the adagio and coda. He always really reacts to his ballerina and sparks off that raport, while she is much cooler. Still, both had the audience in the usual frenzy, with Murphy continuing the trend of the evening with very strong fouttees. I have mixed feelings about Don Q pas de deux a quatre. I guess it is all right during a gala but sometimes ABT performs with too much of a wink and a giggle. All four performed their parts technically well and with comic timing. After the laughs, the Swan Lake Waltz started slowly and, as Sneds wrote, was really nothing much. Belotserkovsky did what little was expected of him well. The last few times I've seen him, he has a looked a little shaky in his turns, but had no such problem Monday night. The Harrison ballet is what it is. I don't have as much problem with it as some people. And it afforded me the only look of the evening of Veronika Part, who is looking in better shape than she did last fall.

MAY 6-11, 2003 TUESDAY EVENING, MAY 6 AT 7:30PM [Kaplow] Chaconne: KISTLER, MARTINS, EDGE, CARMENA, NATANYA, BESKOW, FOWLER, RIGGINS, ABERGEL, GOLBIN, J. STAFFORD, la COUR Intermission Interplay: RUTHERFORD, RIGGINS, ASH, MANDRADJIEFF, HANNA, HENDRICKSON, ULBRICHT, J. STAFFORD [Chelton] Pause Sinfonia: MARCOVICI, KÖRBES, TAYLOR, FAIRCHILD [Grant, Nikkanen] Intermission In G Major: KOWROSKI, NEAL [Grant] WEDNESDAY EVENING, MAY 7 AT 8:00PM [Quinn] Swan Lake: Odette/Odile: KOWROSKI Pr. Siegfried: ASKEGARD Von Rothbart: FAYETTE THURSDAY EVENING, MAY 8 AT 8:00PM [Kaplow] Swan Lake: Odette/Odile: *SOMOGYI Pr. Siegfried: MARTINS Von Rothbart: *la COUR FRIDAY EVENING, MAY 9 AT 8:00PM [Moredock] Swan Lake: Odette/Odile: KOWROSKI Pr. Siegfried: NEAL Von Rothbart: SETH SATURDAY, MAY 10 AT 2:00PM [Kaplow] Swan Lake: Odette/Odile: WEESE Pr. Siegfried: BOAL Von Rothbart: SETH SATURDAY, MAY 10 AT 8:00PM [Quinn] Swan Lake: Odette/Odile: WHELAN Pr. Siegfried: WOETZEL Von Rothbart: FAYETTE SUNDAY, MAY 11 AT 3:00PM [Quinn] Swan Lake: Odette/Odile: KOWROSKI Pr. Siegfried: NEAL Von Rothbart: FAYETTE