aurora
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Posts posted by aurora
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1 hour ago, Batsuchan said:
I went to the matinee with Shevchenko/Lendorf as the leads and Teuscher/Hoven as Mercedes/Espada. Shevchenko was fantastic!! Gorgeous extension, really nice balances and lovely adagio dancing in Act II, and fouettes to die for (complete with opening/closing the fan) in Act III. I was also very impressed with her characterization. In the past, she hasn't struck me as having the biggest personality, but she really sold the character of Kitri this afternoon and had some nice chemistry with Lendorf.
There were a few bobbles in the performance--some small partnering difficulties, and at the beginning of the Act III variation, she dropped her fan--but it some ways, it was more impressive than a perfect performance, because Shevchenko didn't let these little mishaps faze her at all. If she was nervous, I couldn't tell. As my friend said, it looked like she'd danced the role several times.
I will write more later, but I also want to mention that Teuscher made a killer Mercedes and Queen of the Dryads. I have never been so relaxed while watching Italian fouettes; it looked like Teuscher could've easily done another set of eight. Rachel Richardson was an extremely charming Amour, and Zhiyao Zhang was a spectacular lead gypsy. I hope to see him dance Don Q one day!
I agree on everything!
I'd just like to add that Rachel Richardson's shoes were ASTONISHINGLY quiet, which at the met opera house is no mean feat.
and that the fan drop preceded a totally fantastically danced solo--it was like "take that fan!" followed by a coda with doubles with fan above head...
Also, please get rid of the hair metal gypsy costumes ABT--I'm too busy laughing to watch!
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28 minutes ago, Kaysta said:
Maybe I'm naive, but I didn't once think of gang rape during the scene in question in Odessa. At least not a physical rape. I thought of it as depicting a woman who had no control over her own fate. She was imprisoned by her place in that culture. I really don't mind ballet getting dark, so long as it's not obscene, like Abatt described above with the Scarlett piece.
See, I don't find the (ugh) "boob jiggling" obscene because if I recall correctly, the woman wasn't bothered by it. This can be problematic in itself, but the female dancers were not treating this as a moment of offensive groping (so far as I remember it, I saw it once and thought it totally unmemorable as a piece). So while you might find it obscene to see boobs grabbed on stage, I personally would find it less offensive than the repeated trope of a woman being physically abused/manhandled by a group of men against her will (which it sounds like this was since she apparently slapped one at the end?)
I'm not for censorship either but I have to say I also find I'm rather over rape/abuse of women as a plot device in new ballets. (And I adore Ratmansky).
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If you didn't move from the times article to the instagram post and the ongoing--well I'm not sure what to call it--with Macaulay, it is probably worth reading
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8 hours ago, sandik said:
Ok, went back and looked at Pacific Northwest Ballet this year. We've had two works by female choreographers: Brief Fling by Tharp (a revival) and Her Door to the Sky by Jessica Lang (a premiere). As far as the rest of the artistic team is concerned:
Benjamin Millepied's Three Movements had costumes by Isabella Boylston. His Appasionata had scenic and light design by Lucy Carter
[SNIP for length]
Out of 18 works, two were choreographed by women. Eight had women designing (or co-designing) costumes. One had scenic design by a woman. Three had lighting design by a woman.
Their technical director is a man, and almost all the regular production crew are men. Their stage manager is a woman, and the stage manager before her was also a woman. The head of the costume shop is a woman, and almost all of the crew are women. Their executive director is a woman, the heads of development, marketing and community education are women, the principal of the school and most of the faculty are women, the conductors are all men, the CFO is a man, and the IT manager is a man.
Some of this sounds pretty conventional (women sew and men build), but they do a pretty good job in several other departments.
And of course the Millepied 3 Movements is even more conventional, in that it was him having his live-in gf at that time do the costumes.
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Gemma Bond (ABT corps) is also a Choreographer.
She has not however seemingly received the commissions of some of her male peers thus far.
She is putting on 2 performances at the Joyce in July, which might be of interest to those following this topic.
Last night she took part in a show at the 92 street Y which I didn't know about unfortunately until after the fact, focusing (appropriately enough for this topic!) on female choreographers: http://m.92y.org/Event/129995
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Ashley Bouder is starting to choreograph and is very invested in promoting female choreographers.
It is an issue that she has been speaking about a lot lately, and the Ashley Bouder project recently did a triple bill titled “At This Dance, Women Take the Lead.” (which Macauley rather panned in terms of the choreography which he found trite):
http://www.marieclaire.com/culture/features/a26026/ballet-sexism-problem/
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17 hours ago, California said:
Very glad I had already bought a ticket for this performance. Such a treat to look forward to!
me too! I can't wait!!
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I'm actually surprised Ashley Bouder hasn't made it into this thread before now, so as a tonic to the above I give you this:
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9 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:
dirac, I'm so glad you posted this as I just finished reading that article in the Times.
I was pretty dismayed by Ratmansky's answer that he doesn't see a problem. Those three female choreographers he sites may have the same talent that he, Wheeldon and Peck have, but he misses the point. Their work is not performed as frequently in as many (major) companies and given the same level of critical attention as the three men's. I think a lot of folks would agree that you cannot be considered a "major choreographer" without similar opportunities and exposure as these men. Also, Ratmansky's argument that Graham and Nijinka are still performed are both irrelevant and hollow examples. Graham is not a ballet choreographer and this is a discussion explicitly about classical ballet. And (seriously?), Nijinska is rarely performed nowadays. And, saying "she will have equal opportunities" after a female's talent is discovered or "arrives" demonstrates the problem! How can you "arrive" if you're not given a chance (or enough chances) to showcase and develop your work? How do you deem someone to have talent if they've never been given the chance to create something and eventually on a big stage? Was Peck considered to have "arrived" when his very first ballet was commissioned? (Having talent and great potential is not the same thing as having "arrived".)
And, Wheeldon doesn't know why there is a problem? Really?
I have to say I found Ratmansky's response the worst, but he was also the only one who thought to even mention any female choreographers and give them any press. Is it tokenism? Probably.
I'm hoping at least a bit of the callousness of the phrasing "I don't see it as a problem" has to do with speaking English as a second language, no matter how fluently.
I'm interested to see how (if?) Bouder responds. I imagine she won't be thrilled with any of these responses.
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2 minutes ago, California said:
Gillian just posted on Instagram that she has a calf injury:
I'm glad she's given a time estimate and an indication of her injury. We often don't know, which I understand but it causes rumors to swirl and concern to grow! Good that this sounds not terribly serious or long term!
I wish her a rapid recovery and look forward to hearing reports from those of you going to the DC run!
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1 minute ago, angelica said:
I think of the role of Purple Rothbart as a stepping stone towards larger roles. I remember when Marcelo Gomes first danced it and then leapt into principal roles the next year. I don't remember the others who were on that trajectory, but I know there were some. Sterling Baca danced the role last season and then became a principal dancer at Corella's Pennsylvania Ballet.
I agree, at least it can and has been used that way on more than one occasion.
I can't remember for sure--Maybe Cory? Whiteside is one of the principals who does both and may have picked it up before Siegfried.
David may have even done it before Siegfried (though I really hated him as purple Rothbart!)
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1 minute ago, sandik said:
I saw the "Votes for Women" scene from Mary Poppins a couple of times this summer during the election campaign -- a lovely moment during some hard times.
Hear hear!
I watched it rather a few times after the election ended as well
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On 12/27/2016 at 3:36 PM, Fleurdelis said:
Calvin should be a prince, not a sneaky villain. Siegfried would have been a much more natural fit for him. Hope it happens someday.
I agree Siegfried would (will? fingers crossed!) be a more natural fit, but on the bright side it is a good role, both in terms of learning to develop a charismatic character (a lot of his featured roles thus far have been pure dance) and in terms of some nice dancing, and he seems very excited about it!
Besides stretching oneself is good for a dancer (no cheesy pun intended--I can't think how else to put it!)
Kudos to him! I look forward to seeing him in it. We could use some more dancers who can really sell purple Rothbart! I wish him the best of luck!
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8 minutes ago, miliosr said:
And Leslie Caron and Jane Powell. There's still a few people left from that early-to-mid 50s M-G-M generation of dancers and singers of which Debbie Reynolds and Zsa Zsa Gabor were a part.
I love Leslie Caron especially (Gigi!!)
Apparently Patricia Morrison is also still alive--101!
This branches out from your original parameters a bit but also alive (yay!):
Janis Paige (from Silk Stockings)
Glynis Johns
Doris Day
Angela Lansbury
Jane Powell
Mitzi Gaynor
Rita Moreno
And of course not in musicals but there is Olivia de Havilland (100!)
Great site: http://thefilmexperience.net/blog/2015/7/27/200-oldest-living-screen-stars-of-note.html
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1 minute ago, dirac said:
Many private individuals are required to submit to drug tests, rightly or not, so welcome to fascism (not that I'm inclined to make jokes about that just now).
Many dancers are faced with tenuous employment and a career that can end prematurely overnight. Precisely the sort of circumstances that might engender a turn to various substances in hopes of improving performance and speeding up recovery from injury and daily wear-and-tear. I'm not advocating drug testing, mind, but nicolc is correct to point out that people have to be open to education for it to succeed, and education alone is not always effective.
Oh I'm not joking about it either.
I pretty much agree with everything you have said, and I have no problem with educational programs directed at dancers and their health. I just don't think requiring drug testing is an appropriate response.
Except where drug use could impact safety (train drivers, pilots, etc.) I don't see why it is anyone's business.
I think its intrusive and would create a situation where dancers are treated like children even more than is currently the case (big brother is watching!)
We know what is best for you!
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16 hours ago, nicolc said:
I disagree wholeheartedly. Scarce resources should be spent on the health of the dancers. Mandatory drug testing should be done at all feeder schools that are connected to professional companies as well. ;) You can not leave this up to Artistic Directors as they can have a conflict of interest of sorts. For example, teachers and/or artistic directors are involved in recreational drug use as well or encouraging unhealthy eating disorders by praising students for looking "really good and working hard", when in fact they induced vomiting right before class. Education is key, but is only effective to those who are open to receiving it.
Sounds like most of you want a police state.
I think you are going to get one soon, enjoy it.
Dancers are private individuals, making not very good money. It's ridiculous and fascistic to force them to submit to drug tests.
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13 hours ago, Drew said:
Unfortunately, I don't see ABT often enough to be able to answer the question about Forster. (I come up to NY for short visits when budget and schedule permit.) But I have twice been very pleasantly struck by his dancing during the Fall season, once dancing in something by Welsh that I did not otherwise care for and here again in Monotones. It's just a quality of movement that catches my eye. Hard to describe...maybe slightly sensual or at least weighty, yet graceful and fluid. I have also seen him dance roles like the High Brahmin in Bayadere, but haven't seen him in any choreography that would 'test' his chops for more traditional male leads. I do find myself curious about his development (or lack thereof) since I've enjoyed his dancing and he is tall which has to be a plus. I remember one fall season fans who saw him in Sylphides complained he came down rather heavily from jumps...I didn't see those performances, and I don't think he has even had that many opportunities in roles of that kind. Others who have seen him more over time or many times in one season may have other thoughts...
He was made a soloist only a year (and a few months) ago.
He doesn't particularly seem to have stalled to me. He hasn't yet taken on many principal roles, but his rep does include parts often danced by principals (the ballroom von rothbart for ex.)
I'd like to see more of him but I'm not despairing yet!
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On 10/23/2016 at 1:21 AM, fondoffouettes said:
The Millepied. A second-rate choreographer managed to fill an hour of music with pleasant, repetitive, somewhat atmospheric dancing. This was a real disappointment for me. I lost count of how many pas de deux Gomes and Boylston danced. Maybe 5 or 6? They all looked so similar and had no striking, memorable images, so it's hard to say. Lots of swoony schlock. It was clear to me that this is a choreographer with a limited vocabulary and very little sense of how to construct a narrative. The costumes and scenery. Oy! Translucent colored shapes moved around above the dancers and really didn't add much at all. The men were all in PJs -- white ones for the good folks, black ones for the villains. All in all, this piece lacked drama and choreographic inventiveness. The finale was just kind of embarrassing in how it tried to sell itself through bright costumes and the entire cast executing uninspired steps in unison. It was kind of depressing to listen to such an incredible score accompanied by such pedestrian choreography. I can't imagine ABT bringing this piece back anytime soon.
So I finally saw this last night, and I agree with pretty much everything (except about the costumes, which I didn't mind, but agree the bright ones at the end were a "I've run out of ideas! I need a finale" move). I'm also not sure I could call the dancing pleasant past a certain point (due to the extreme repetitiveness you noted)
I didn't think Arron Scott was poor (as did someone else--Abatt I think?). But his dancing was one of the small bits of enjoyment I found in this (though the whole pirate section was derivative of Corsaire and Birbanto's choreography).
Alistair McCauley is always going on about how choreography should show the music in a new way...
By those standards it was "effective" because I'd never felt how schlocky some of that score is, or can be at least.
The entire thing felt like an overlong dream ballet in a musical (think Oklahoma). It had cheesy music, schematic story telling, silly plot twists and exaggerated happiness and sadness.
Except that Agnes deMille was a good choreographer. And if I'm going to see a temptress in that sort of thing, I'd much rather see Cyd Charisse.
It was also MUCH too long. The person next to me walked out, as did the person in front of me. At that point (about halfway through) I thought, "well it isn't good but it isn't bad enough to walk out on." A bit later, I really wished I had joined them.
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12 hours ago, volcanohunter said:
Services charges at La Scala are steep: 20% for online and telephone purchases, 10% for purchases made at the box office. I have never used the telephone system, but it sounds positively arcane. The online system allows you to choose your seats. The vast majority of seats at La Scala fall into the top price category: the entire orchestra and the first row of nearly all boxes, excepting the side-most boxes of the fourth ring. The second row of center boxes in rings 1-3 are also top price. If you want to sit in a box, choose the front seats, otherwise you won't see much. Likewise, only the first row in the galleries offers a decent view. In old opera houses I try whenever possible to sit immediately behind the cross aisle, although at La Scala this is fairly far back in row M.
http://www.teatroallascala.org/en/box-office/tickets-prices/prices-2016-2017/tariffa-balletto-2.html
In addition to the good information already provided by volcanohunter let me add that while it is a bit nerve-wracking that they insist on mailing you the tickets (pick up was only an option if it was quite close to the date), they came quickly. Almost shockingly so, considering the Italian postal system is not known for reliability or efficiency. I received mine within a week!
The boxes on the side (unlike say side boxes at the Met) are totally obstructed view with some seats facing away from the stage.
In the boxes facing the stage (what I did) there are 3 rows of 2 seats. The back ones might be a bit undesirable but the first 2 rows are fine. The seats are of varying height so you will be higher than the people in front of you.
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2 hours ago, California said:
Several people have mentioned the Milan performances of Ratmansky. On their current web site, it's scheduled for July 11-21, 2017:
http://www.teatroallascala.org/en/season/2016-2017/ballet/swan-lake.html
Does La Scala have any sort of Friends program that gets to buy tickets earlier? If you pounce on the day single tickets go on sale on line, is there a reasonable selection of seats?
Other than the Paris performances noted above, have any other tour visits been announced anywhere? I would really like to see this and perhaps this is the time to visit Milan. But it would be great to know where/when it's touring, if there are plans. No hints that I've seen of a US visit or staging on a US company.
I don't know if there is any friends program, but I bought the day they went on sale and while there weren't a ton of seats, there were enough to choose from and I was quite pleased with what I got!
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59 minutes ago, volcanohunter said:
I have not seen it yet, but Alexei Ratmansky's reconstruction of Swan Lake is very high on my wishlist. It is being performed next March-April in Zurich and in May at La Scala. Unfortunately, both cities are very expensive to visit, but if I were able to choose, I would go with Zurich, because from what I have seen, the company there is stonger, and, with apologies to our Italian members, Milan is boring (by the standards of Italian cities!).
I did see it (in Milan) and I would highly recommend it.
I would also argue (apologies Volcanohunter) that Milan is not boring. The Brera is one of the great art museums of the world, and there are many other excellent smaller museums as well (the Poldi Pezzoli is a favorite of mine). There are also many wonderful churches, including ones designed by Bramante and more early christian structures than generally survive in Italy.
Milan also has the only decent metro system in Italy (not a lot of competition there--those of Naples and Rome are atrocious although I love both cities), excellent food and is generally the least expensive place to fly to in Italy from the US thanks to a plethora of direct flights from NYC (Both Delta and Emirates).
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In Macaulay's accounting of things, though, he reported that the two Ashtons -- Sylvia and La Fille mal Gardee -- were the two worst-selling items of the season. Ratmansky's not responsible for that and it's a sad day when Ashton has now become a tough sell in New York.
Macaulay's comments about Cory Stearns are right in line with general thinking on this board -- that he excels in sinister character parts. Macaulay references Stearns' performance in Firebird and Stearns earned some of his best reviews ever for his performances as the sinister Moor's Friend (Iago) in The Moor's Pavane.
Agreed. I think they need to make a concerted effort, if they schedule Ashton again soon (and I hope they do, I don't want another what--12 year ?--hiatus for Fille) to advertise it better. Really promote Fille especially as a family friendly event, which it most certainly is.
Sylvia had issues this year--first ballet so they were a bit rough around the edges, hit by an injury to the ballerina who excels most in the role in her first performance, which by all accounts was therefore somewhat compromised (Murphy). I think that she really is the only natural Sylvia they currently have (maybe Polina? who pulled out pre-season!). It is a great part but not, without some more coaching, a great fit on anyone else in the company at this moment. It has also been done with some frequency lately. Perhaps scheduling it and Fille was too much Ashton for an unfamiliar audience.
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Here's the link:
Since I attended only one performance this season (Swan Lake with my beloved Veronika Part who unfortunately was underwhelming), I should not be allowed to comment, but I am going to say anyway (because this is not an opinion but fact) that financially the season was a disaster. With the exception of Misty's performances, Ferri's geriatric Juliet and a couple of Vishneva's outings, tickets for everything else were widely available across all the sections. The main reason? If you ask me, it's the abundance of hapless Ratmansky's ballets dominating the repertoire and the absence of true stars that could justify shelling out $125-$150 for a decent seat. Just my not so humble opinion, of course, but I personally am not going to pay a dime for a Ratmansky production ever again and am not willing to attend anything that doesn't have at least one real international superstar on stage.
well, I'm glad you aren't in charge. I think Ratmansky is brilliant. But opinions are well, you know.
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Isn't it interesting that Lendorf's injury led to Cirio being cast as Colas, which was his most significant lead role of the season. Similarly, last season Abrera's Giselle was only possible because Semionova was injured. That Giselle was a key component to her rise to principal, in my opinion. The moral of the story: while injuries are quite unfortunate, they potentially give new opportunities to dancers to demonstrate all they can do. The question is why does it take a major injury for McKenzie to cast new people in roles.
1 debut per season due to injury does not mean that it takes a "major injury for McKenzie to cast new people in roles."
Cassandra Trenary, Gorak and of course Copeland have all debuted in major roles in the same period. As have lots of other people since almost everyone was a debut in Fille (except Gillian).
ABT has a new website!
in American Ballet Theatre
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If that was the case, it isn't now...