SandyMcKean

Chalnessa Eames will be performing in a new duet by Twyla Tharp

I'm so glad to hear that.

I don't "miss" dancers that much except during the period when they actually leave. There are exceptions. Louise Nadeau is one, and I know Chalnessa will be another.

I saw her do exactly this at last night's opening night. She might as well have been 32 instead of 42. She is ageless.

Helene, your memory always astounds me.

If PNB does Prodigal Son in the future, it will strange to see others as Siren.

I thought Lindsi Dec did a terrific job as Siren last time. Lindsi is not quite as tall as Ariana, but mighty close. I don't remember if Laura Gilbreath has ever done the Siren, but I do most emphatically remember Laura as the Peacock in the Nutcracker. as well as Laura's recent interpretation in the 2nd movement of Robbins' "Glass Pieces" (a similar sensuous role)......her tall Siren might rival Ariana's too. From where I sit, we are in good hands (legs??.... ).

More directly on Lallone's departure, I can only join the chorus of fans sad to see her go. I've said elsewhere on this board that Ariana was the first dancer who grabbed me so strongly that I started to see her as a person instead of a idealized and generic dancer. Until Ariana, all dancers were essentially faceless to me. I loved to see their "other worldly" perfection, but I never stopped to think that each of them was an individual dancer with an individual and very distinctive style. Ariana changed all that for me. She broke the ice for me, and my "career" as a balletomane began. For that I will always be grateful to her.

I guess we could speculate endlessly about why Ariana and the others are leaving. My preferred guess is that we are on financially hard times. Some older dancers would have to retire in the not too distant future in any case, and certainly principals save the biggest bucks (not to mention opening up promotion possibilities all the way down to line). Perhaps as painful as it is to all of us (primarily to the dancers of course), the "right" decisions are being made. "Right" decisions can be very, very difficult to make sometimes, and it takes true leadership to make them. I'd like to think my guess is the correct one. Certainly no one is happy about all this.

Seattle is known for it casualness. We all tend to run around in Patagonia jackets and shoes that can handle water.....regardless of where we are or where we are going (interestingly, for a place where for 7 months of the year it is likely to rain at least for a while nearly everyday, only tourists tend to use umbrellas).

So Seattle is a good environment for me since I tend to have no inhibitions about how I look. Ballet is in the winter here and so is skiing. A good 3 or 4 times a season I drive straight from the slopes to the opera house......even my face doesn't get washed. I am basically able to close the lift and just make the curtain this way. In Seattle I've always felt right at home. Not to say that some don't dress up, because many do, and I, for one, greatly appreciate it because I think it cool when some look so great. I just have to find other ways to contribute .

Add Stanton, and we're losing all the height of our principal men, with the exception of Mr. Bold.

You don't consider Karel Cruz and Seth Orza tall????? Cruz must be 6'4" and is surely the tallest man in the company.

I'm devastated. I guess the "ballet recession" has finally hit Seattle. Some departures I understand, others I am totally mystified by. I can only hope that this is primarily financially driven.

If anyone hears publicly what the future career plans are for the younger dancers who are leaving, please post it.

Did anyone see this weekend's performances? Friday night there were major debuts in "Concerto DSCH": Rausch and Bold in the pas de deux and Chalnessa Eames, Lucien Postlewaite, and Jerome Tisserand in the pas de trois, to be repeated at today's (Sunday's) matinee.

Yes, please -- particularly about the trio. I think they'd all be a great match in those parts!

I saw the Saturday 3/26/11 performance. I had seen the program 3 times the week before, and I thought I was done, but after a few days I knew I had to see it once more. I choose the 3/26 evening cast primarily to see the opening night cast again in "Pacific" (the cast I thought was the best of the best), and to see Carrie Imler in Concerto again. An extra bonus for me was that Carrie was partnered by Poretta and Griffiths who, IMHO, are the 2 best male dancers in the company to make that fast-paced, virtuoso tour de force click like a well oiled machine. It struck me as advantageous that these 3 dancers were all about the same height. Having seen other casts where those also excellent casts were more dissimilar in height, I was pleasantly pleased to see the possibilities that these 3 smaller framed dancers were able to create. IMO, all three of these dancers are known for their speed (clearly related to height), together they blew off the top of my head.

Another thing struck me. I had seen the dress rehearsal, opening night, and the next day Saturday evening matinee performance -- which were the 1st, 2nd, and 4th 3rd run thru of the program for the company. I was not prepared for the huge improvement I felt existed that following weekend. Not that the level wasn't as high as it should have been the week before, it certainly was, but they took it to an even higher level on 3/26. I was flattened by the realization of how different these 4 works are, and yet the PNB dancers performed each of them at the highest possible level with not only technical skills, and artistry, but also with an enthusiasm and commitment that can only come from dancers who are truly loving what they do.

Sorry I can't comment on the Saturday matinee trio.

P.S. I can't end without saying......my oh my....can you believe that Margaret Mullin and Ezra Thomson?? Together or apart, I think the future of PNB is in good hands!

I always imagine Apollo as a tall striking figure. That would argue for Kruz (too tall?) or Orza. I personally think Orza has been extraordinary in the last couple of years in learning how to create character. Apollo would certainly be a test of his growing capabilities in that area. Wevers is such a pro, and such an artist, with such depth of understanding that I've got to believe he will be cast. But the one I'd most like to see is Postlewaite. For my money he is the most talented, in the sense of pure artist, male dancer in the company. Prodigal Son and Apollo would make terrific bookends for him.

Just for the hell of it, I'll list my picks from the corp men just in case any of them get a chance: Thompson, Kerollis, and it would be fun to see Tisserand since he is so lyrical (but I'm not sure he has the "right" look).

A pox upon the house of the audience member who's cell phone went off in the middle of the adagio. Fie

I was there Saturday afternoon too, and of course I felt the same way when that cell phone did its thing. I guess out of 1000 people there is always going to be someone who forgets. Often there is an announcement which reminds folks, but this is not universally done....and in fact, I don't remember such an announcement that afternoon.

Concerto DSCH:......Slightly ragged in parts

FWIW, the performance of Concerto at the Saturday matinee did seem somewhat rougher to me than it did on opening night the evening before.

P.S. Welcome back to Seattle Jayne. I see you timed it just as our La Nina inspired, never ending, cold, wet winter ended this week!

The HD experience was good, but I miss getting a program.

It's not quite a program, but if you go here:

http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/broadcast/hd_events_template.aspx?id=11964

and click on the link "Cast sheet and Synopsis" under the current HD opera being b'cast, you can print off a sort of program (some theaters even pass these out in the lobby before the b'cast begins).

I saw the dress rehearsal last night. Just wait until you see the following in Concerto DSCH...................WOW!!!!!!!!!

Pas de deux
Carla Körbes*
Karel Cruz*

Pas de trois
Carrie Imler*
Batkhurel Bold*
Seth Orza*

Imler and Orza were virtuoso power houses in the extroverted sections 1 and 3, and Korbes and Cruz were heart wrenching creators of art in the introspective section 2. What an incredible ballet.....my first exposure to the hugely talented (IMO) Ratmansky.

Very cool. I'm sure all us PNB fans are tickled pink to see these 2 fabulous dancers land in a place so near, and in a position to contribute to the next generation, as well as being able to express their own personal artisty from a more global place. (I have always thought of Mara as one of the most precise and accomplished ballet dancers around; now instead to see her in the video clip considering costume designs, was a real treat.....a whole new world!!)

Finally, I get to see Apollo not on DVD!! (Yes, I've seen it before but a long time ago before I was capable of truly appreciating it.)

I'll never forget the first time I saw Piano Dance. It was that night that I first really noticed Leslie Rausch. I was blown away, and spent the next couple of seasons angry with her (not really ).......because when she danced in the corps from then on I couldn't watch anyone else.....she always drew my eye.

Within a couple of weeks of Peter Boal's arrival to take over PNB, I just happened to run into him purely by chance. I took a moment to say to him:

"I have only two words to say to you: Leslie Rausch"

I haven't changed my mind. Hopefully I will get to see her in Piano Dance again. I thought at the time Piano Dance was a brilliant piece of choreography. I'm so glad to see it come back.

I greatly enjoyed watching this bart....thanks. I could just eat up Amanda Weingarten......she was so authentic and enrolling. If lived in Miami and had a few bucks, my checkbook would have to come out after listening to her!

P.S. We are so lucky here in Seattle. I've never known a season without an orchestra.

In Canada, Vancouver at least, the encores are on Saturdays and sometimes Sundays. Sandy, doesn't the theater in Mt. Vernon shown the encores on Sunday afternoons? I think scheduling is theater-specific.

Yes and no. As you know (but others might not), the MetHD website lists the performance dates; it lists not only the live b'cast on Saturdays, but the encore dates for the USA and Canada. For reasons I don't understand, the USA dates and the Canada dates are always (or near always) different. It is my understanding that all the "official" MetHD theaters use these published dates. I have not found an exception for the 5 theaters I have gone to in the Seattle area (plus 3 more theaters in the SF Bay Area that I have looked up in the past). But of course there may be exceptions somewhere or other.

Helene, as far as the Mt Vernon (well north of Seattle) theater goes, they do change the encore dates. However, the Mt Vernon theater is not an official MetHD theater. It is one of the few (2 or 3 I think) theaters in the country the Met calls "associates". I believe that is because these few theaters don't meet MetHD sound standards. So perhaps these "associate" theaters have more flexibility -- I presume there is some agreement btwn the Met and the "official" theaters that requires the theaters to show the performances at the advertised dates.

Yes, I did. It was a joint production with Seattle Opera; so those of us in Seattle saw it first in 2007 (different singers of course). The highlight for me was Paul Groves as Pylade. The opera itself is a bit too dark and heavy for me......but at the same time that is appropriate for a Greek tragedy. I found the "too often" use of chains to be distracting.

If you don't like 10am, you can always go to the encore performance normally held about 10 days later on Wednesday night at 6:30pm (3/16 in this case in the USA). As far as I know, all the theaters do both showings.

I liked Hathaway's approach to hosting, actually -- I thought it was direct to the television audience, and less pompous than several past hosts, but not silly. She did seem to have perhaps one dress too many, but I thought she looked lovely in them all and so wouldn't want to pick.

I couldn't agree more. I thought Hathaway was superb. So unpretentious I thought. She's someone I'd love to have at a dinner party.

Great post Liotarded.

I would only add one thing.......none of us should lose sight of the fact that of all the classic ballet stories that could have been used, the film makers chose Swan Lake with it's highly unusual "dual-personality" of the white and black swan being danced by the same dancer (and IMHO on some level even in the story the 2 characters are 2 sides of the same coin). One might not like how the world of ballet is depicted in BS, but you have to give the film makers credit for taking that basic dual-personality idea and running with it.

One might get the impression from these stories and others that being a movie star is a grueling endeavor.....

I've actually worked on a number of films with big name stars on location. They often work far harder than one might think.

I can't see the defunding of PBS ever becoming law. Sure the House passed this, but that is just Republicans flexing their recently acquired muscles (note this bill passed the House pretty much on strict party lines). The new Tea Party members will insist on provisions like this. Cooler heads will prevail in the Senate.

Seems to me that 3 quite distinct things are being conflated in this sub-discussion:

1. Black Swan is an accurate representation of ballet itself.

2. Natalie Portman as a good ballet dancer.

3. Natalie Portman worked hard to prepare for this role.

My original comment had to do with #1. I still don't see that the film makers pushed the film as a docudrama of ballet itself; yet it seems to me that most of the criticism I read in BA about the film centers on this misconception.

Frankly in regard to #2, I find it hard to believe that folks criticize Portman's dancing technique. No one claims that Portman is an accomplished ballet dancer. For heavens sake, she is an actress. If I see a film like "The Wrestler" should I expect Mickey Rourke to have the same skills as a real wrestler? What's amazing is how well Rourke and Portman as actors were able to create the illusion as well as they do.

#3 has nothing to do with the film or ballet. It is simply a human interest story of how dedicated to their craft some actors can be. This part of the publicity could be just the same if some actor worked hard at skiing to make a ski movie, or worked hard to get into a role that portrays a rock star.

One can either like the movie or dislike it (personally I liked it very much), but please let's not criticize it on the basis that it does not accurately reflect the actual world of ballet. The Nutcracker isn't an accurate reflection of the typical 19th century aristocratic Christmas Eve either.

Kathleen Kim as Chiang Ch'ing

Three cheers from me too. What a lot of punch in a small package! (She was spectacular as Olympia in "Tales of Hoffman" too.) Frankly, for pure drama, I thought Kim was the most powerful thing in the opera. I had to keep telling myself that this was not the living, breathing woman from hell: Madame Mao

I love what this production does with the three translators as mini Greek chorus.

I'm totally with you on this. They reminded me a great deal of the 3 Rhinemaidens in The Ring with their interesting harmonies and "other worldliness". Their singing alone was not all the power; their hand gestures somehow had more than expected and tremendous impact.

I see most, if not all, of the MET HD b'casts -- 1 or 2 a year, I see a second time. I will be seeing the encore performance of "Nixon in China" on March 2nd for sure! John Adams amazes, and Sellars astonishes.

Poretta was scheduled to dance this (as well as the first act Dancing Master) for Sunday, but was replaced. (haven’t heard why).....

On Saturday night at the Q&A, Boal mentioned that Poretta was not injured in any way, but rather that on opening night he developed a rash because of some chemical in the Jester's costume (which presumably keeps him from wearing it again).