SandyMcKean

Since I live a 3 hour drive north of Seattle, I was still driving when the 4:55pm announcement was made. Since I buy single tickets these days, PNB does maintain my email address anymore. With no email, I wouldn't have gotten the announcement regardless. So I arrive at McCaw Hall at 6:00pm to get in line for my senior ticket (I had forgotten that senior tickets can be purchased via phone starting this season). Door was locked. Sign was up saying CANCELLED. I'm oh so sad. Nothing to do but turn around and drive the 3 hours back! 😂

Diamonds is not really part of the program. It is a one time "bonus" strictly for the Gala.

Me too. As I've often said, I am a huge Rausch fan; however, none of us is perfect. If I were forced to find a negative about Leslie, it would be that she can be a bit cool (much like her doppelgänger Patricia Baker). But IMHO that coolness is exactly what you want for Diamonds. Go see Rausch, you won't be disappointed. But I personally wouldn't miss Plot Point for all the tea in China (unless you are a classical diehard).

To each his own, I guess. But I find it strange that someone would dislike Plot Point for that reason. I wonder how they would react if the piece was shown in an non-descript auditorium with a poster that said something like "See a Fascinating Drama in Structured Movement". Would they like it or dislike it?? From my POV, it may technically not be labelled ballet (or even dance), but frankly, I can't imagine anyone not ballet trained being able to do it (at least not well).

Saw the digital performance last night on a big TV (77"). BTW, I sure wish they would implement surround sound instead of the clunky old stereo. Loved it. What a wonderful company we have! I completely agree with seattle-dancer and fun en face that the Lesley Rausch & James Kirby Rogers team was spectacular. I have to believe James is Leslie's "new" partner. They "fit" so well together. Leslie seemed to be beside herself with joy when she looked at him during curtain calls.....like "WOW, he and I can really take things to a new level". Like Fun en face, Leslie can do no wrong by me, so I sat rivetted by her dancing; in particular, her entrance as Odile stunned me. Her transition from innocent white swan to conniving black swan was like Leslie changed not only her costume but her entire personality (frankly I prefer her as Odile 😉). Also totally agree about Angelica Generosa, Leta Biassuci, and Kyle Davis. All three are craft-persons....you just couldn't get a better set of dancers who are perfection in every move with the grace and musicality of these three. And again (!!) I totally agree about Kuu Sakuragi and Jonathon Poretta; I kept thinking of Jonathon the whole time in terms of movement and energy (although IMO, Kuu needs to relax into more natural and authentic expressions of emotion and characterization -- I have no doubt this will come in time). Seeing Louise Nadeau as the Queen was an unexpected delight. I've missed many dancers over the years when they retire or leave, but I've never missed anyone as much as I did Louise (a picture of her hangs over this very desk as I type this....yes, this one from Gibson's Piano Dance: And one last word about Elle Macy. OK, I'm prejudiced, Elle is, after all, my favorite PNB dancer (Leslie is in a class by herself with me); but everything Elle does is exciting, inventive, and in a word....DANCE. Chills went down my spine watching her as the Persian Dancer. Every time she looks straight out at the audience, I swear she's looking right at me, no one else, just me....(actually, it's more like she's looking right through me into my heart hence the chills).

Hopefully I'm not being pedantic here.....but adding to my "read the program notes" comment above..... In Plot Point, it is vital to understand the relationship between the characters and their replicas. For one thing, the replicas do not simply reflect the actions and inner thoughts of their character counterparts; but from time to time, the replicas demonstrate agency of their own.....maybe even root causes. Fayballet.....you won't be disappointed: how Pite uses that iconic music is masterful. (P.S. Also note that the introduced sound effects are pre-recorded, so the replica dancers have zero latitude in the timing of their moves.)

Wonderful.....thanks, seattle-dancer. I've been a huge Rausch fan since her start in the corps when I first noticed her arms (....and then came Dove's Red Angels......WOW!).

tutu, PNB is bringing Plot Point. It's being performed on all dates. LIke Helene, I am a big fan of Plot Point (I've probably seen it 6 times now.....and I never tire of it one little bit). Just don't go expecting it to be "a ballet"; go expecting to see "theater", or "story through movement", or the "power of gesture"......in a word DRAMA (as you've never seen it before). OTOH, I doubt any but dancers trained in ballet can do it justice. I'm jealous.....I want to see it again (and again!). P.S. Be sure to read the program notes....one has to know that Pite is presenting vignettes around a theme, not a through-line plot.

Do we know which cast will be in the 5/12 to 5/16 streaming presentation?

I think you're right. I've seen it from several locations ranging from the 1st row in the orchestra to the last row of the dress circle. Close definitely helps.

I was somewhat surprised by my reaction to this statement. First, Smirnova is my most admired dancer at the Bolshoi (BTW, I've only seen the Bolshoi in cinemas, but I rarely miss a broadcast.) Indeed, she's near the top of my list of ballet dancers in any company with just a handful of others. Of course none of us know for sure what Olga's motives are, but I have to think artistic growth is high on her list. I love the Bolshoi; their abilities blow me away, but they are far from my favorite company. Why? For all their technical abilities, I find the company lacks a deep and varied artistic soul (for lack of a better word). I want more self-expression, deep from within, to go with the impeccable training. I wonderful as I think Olga is, I feel she is a bird of paradise in a gilded cage. This move to the west may open the door of that cage and allow her to fly according to her own sensibilities. I'm greatly looking forward to the types of pieces she will be doing in 3 to 5 years. I expect her to blow my socks off. I think she's going to love free flight vs the comfort of the cage.

I'm a huge Bill Irwin fan. Most folks know him from his exquisite comedy, but my favorite Irwin is when he plays characters in Samuel Beckett plays (I find lots of comedy, existential comedy as in absurd, in Beckett). I saw him in "Waiting for Godot" several times in Seattle. Anyone see his famous 1988 run as Lucky with the 2 big roles played by Steve Martin and Robin Williams?? I'd give anything to see a recording of that production, but I don't think there is one. My most impactful experience was when Irwin played Beckett's "Texts for Nothing" in 2002.....again in Seattle (I went every night it played.....each night several folks walked out).

Saw Saturday evening and Sunday matinee of the last weekend. "Before I Was" left me unmoved and uninterested. Sometimes a ballet just doesn't "speak" to me, and this is one of them. I am a huge fan of "Plot Point" and was very excited to see it again. It blew me away as always. If Crystal Pite isn't a genius, then I don't know the meaning of the word. "Caught" is always fun to see. I was very impressed by Melisa Guilliams on Saturday night, but less impressed by Elle Macy on Sunday (BTW, Elle Macy is my favorite PNB dancer....so go figure). But the one thing I wanted to say is: Who is Noah Martzall? WOW! He totally grabbed my attention in "The Times Are Racing". I hadn't noticed him before (maybe because I never had a chance to see him during COVID....although I did do the digital season last year). He has "the feel"; he has the energy; he danced with near abandon.....he's a dancer! This is a guy I will be watching (it's been a while since a new young male dancer has grabbed me....I'm excited). I wonder can he do classical at this level too? I'll be anxious to see. And finally. Amanda Morgan was the "Meet the Dancer" on Saturday evening. She is not only a terrific up and coming dancer, but she is one impressive person. This girl is going places!!! On Sunday afternoon, the dancer to meet was Ashton Edwards who had just finished an amazing tour-de-force in "The Times Are Racing" (her speed was unreal). Another impressive young dancer. She spoke from the heart and was clearly thrilled to be in the PNB company as its first transgender dancer. She trained as a male, and didn't start point shoes until the age of 14 when she self-identified as female. Imagine a professional ballerina in a top company who started on point at 14! She must have worked her butt off; OTOH, as her winning and energetic personality made it clear, she has what it takes to do just that.

Hmmmmmm.... I was thinking of buying a "ticket" to the Ashton program (program 1), but it says "Sold Out". How can a streamed digital program sell out? It also says that the program is available for a "period of time". Anyone know for how long that is?

Some time ago I emailed the Met asking about Met on Demand quality sound. They said, it is stereo. They said they realize it's not the best, but that they were working on finding a way to go from stereo to 5.1. No dates given. I suppose I should try listening with headphones which are, of course, designed for stereo. But what I want (one can always wish 😉) is a more cinematic feel and experience. In addition, one's expectations are likely very different depending on whether one is watching on a tablet, a phone, or other small screen, verses a 75" high quality TV screen with surround sound. When one is watching a big screen from several feet away, the stereo sound from frontal-only speakers sounds very uni-directional and artificial (kind of like miked singers do) compared to the multi-dimensional feeling of speakers in front and behind you. I imagine stereo coming from "way up there behind the screen" wouldn't sound too great either at a cinema during a Met Live in HD streaming performance. Heck, these cinema's often use dozens of speakers with dozens of audio channels to achieve a life-like experience.

I've looked for the answer to this question.......maybe I missed it. As a subscriber to this digital season, will I be able to view the program as many times as I like during the 5 day period or just once? I have a concern too....not enough of a concern to not be very excited indeed to see some ballet (even this way), but I've been very disappointed with the sound quality of the Met Opera digital streams. The Met video is great, but there is no 5.1 sound. It comes in as stereo, and not very good stereo at that. Clearly they have 5.1 and better sound since that is what is piped in to cinemas for Met Live, but for whatever reason (bandwidth?) they don't stream it. I have a good surround sound system and watching the recent Met Joyce DiDonato concert was disappointing to me for this reason. For me, sound quality is vital when it comes to opera streaming, but thankfully it is only a "nice to have" for ballet. In ballet, the visual outweighs the audio for me. Suddenly, another question pops into my head. Will these PNB digital performances have a live orchestra or recorded music? I've gotta think recorded.

I saw this today in the online Guardian: ......and.......

And I've already purchased tickets to every lecture and performance that Giselle weekend. More tax deductable contributions I guess 😦. P.S. I too will take a Giselle over a Coppelia any day of the week!

I am SO bummed out! I looked forward to this program more than any other this season. I have also already purchased tickets for 3 performances.....c'est la vie.

There are many, many things to admire about Ben that's for sure, but what comes to my mind is his never failing commitment to excellence.

Ouch.....I hadn't heard this ☹️. For me, the "Alan unforgettable moment" was his playing of Chopin in Robbin's "Dances at a Gathering".

Could injuries have something to do with this? (I've always greatly admired Margaret's impeccable technique, energy, and sheer commitment she brings to the stage. I will miss this fireball!)

I agree with seattle_dancer....in fact more so. IMO, Plot Point is not to be missed. True, it is not exactly ballet, but only ballet dancers are capable of doing it. For me, it is one of the most mind-boggling performance works I've ever seen.

Cool. I'm going to all of it! Just bought my tickets for 4/16, 4/17, 4/18mat performances too. It's going to take me 6 months to get the Giselle ear/eye worms out of my head......I'll just consider them a special form of Wilis 😉. I guess there are worse ways to die. How exciting!

Seattle_dancer, I'm jealous!