sneds

Hmmm...

I wonder when Hubbe was injured?? When I saw the NYCB on the 12th, Nikolaj was replaced by Ben Millipied in Zakouski. It seems likely that he has a chronic problem that was aggrivated recently.

I sure hope he has a quick and complete recovery-I'd hoped to see him dance next week.

On a lighter note-I'll be attending ABT next Wed. and NYCB next Wed, Thurs and Fri, and will report in as best I can!

Kate

A few more comments (brain is slightly foggy after the drive/train rides from PA to NYC and back.

The cast pic from last summer in Saratoga, which must have been taken during the 10 minutes when it wasn't raining that summer, is a great buy at $5. Almost all the current memebers are pictured, along with dogs and offspring. The back has a complete key, indicating who is who, identifying not only the dancer, but their kids and dogs. I thought that was a cute touch!

Random thoughts relating to the picture...how did Russell Kaiser and Margaret Tracey's son end up with such blond hair? Where was Damian Woetzel's dog, Q? LOL-Seth Orza in the (same?) backwards baseball cap-ballet imitating life? No doubt that Jenifer Ringer and James Fayette are/were a couple ) Edwaard Liang front and center...NYCB's loss, Fosse's gain.

Can't wait to come back in two weeks and see more great dancing!

Kate

Hi!

I was also at the matinee (4th ring, Row H, BTW). I'd agree that there was something missing in Wheeldon's piece, but still I thought Kisselgoff gave it a very bum rap in her review today.

People around me seemed to really like the ballet, and IMHO, Wheeldon's attention to detail was one the its real stregths.

For instance-the (real) pianist wearily dragging her music bag (a PBS Ch. 13 bag of course!) in as she walked to the piano; Damian and the crossword puzzle (a while back, when she had an online diary on the NYCB webpage, Helene Alexepoulous mentioned Damian doing the NYTimes crossword); the hideous pink costumes, Seth Orza's "slurpy-sized" cup, which was left behing and eventually finished off by one of the crew.

Among the high points: getting to watch Damian Woetzel do some warm-up barre work-not something one normally gets to see. Forgive me if I was drooling watching those muscles in plies ) Seth Orza's backwards baseball hat-wearing corps members was a hoot! His practice outfit of a t-shirt and cut-off cargopants remind me very much of what many of my male friends wear.

I was not bothered by the female dancer getting hurt-it was clearly intended to be a comical farce. And in another example of detail Damian crunched the insta-ice pack before applying it to the injured foot. It's one of those little things that could be glossed over, but makes it all the more real and comedic at the same time.

The other 3 ballets were also a pleasure to watch. I was disappointed not to see Nikolaj Hubbe in Zakouski, and hope it doesn't mean he is hurt again. Millipied did a fine job, though to my inexperienced eye, he and Margaret Tracey seemed just a tad off at times.

I'd seen Ash before, and no particular comments, other than wondering which of the couples in purple were the Stafford siblings...?

The corps in La Valse, IMHO, was a bit sloppy, but the principal roles were well danced. I especially liked Stephen Hanna and Phillip Neal. There was an obvious, though essentially harmless glitch at the end when the corps women lined up incorrectly for their bows-two rows of 4 on one side and rows of 3 and 5 on the other side. Some miscommmunication I guess )

Anyway, I'm glad I made the day trip all the way from PA to see the new Wheeldon piece. I think it has the potential to grow as the cast gets more comfortable with the roles and fleshes them out!

Kate

Hi!

The cast list may not tell all...it could be that a dancer is injured or was injured when rehearsals were going on for a particular ballet.

Kate

Hi!

A few things...

Alexandra-nice review on Ballet Alert-one minor quibble-you have it listed as 4/11-opening night-actually opening night was on the 4/10.

The Bard's B-your salmon analogy is perfect-it had me howling. Those fish dives looked strange, but I couldn't put it into proper words. You hit it on the head. Now I'll think of flapping fish every time I see Paloma dance!

And Sascha had an "h" is his name, BTW. Not sure where his name comes from, since Sasha (no h) is the Russian nickname for Alexander.

Kate

Hi!

Hmmm...I guess my view of "Theme and Variations" is colored by my increasing dislike of the ballet. Just not one of my favorites, so I probably wasn't paying as much attention. The male corps was definately way off at the end though-the tours were sequential instead of simultaneous.

Was it my imagination or did Ethan and Ashley have a near miss on the final lift....

My friend and also noticed the sweat stains because we both had seen Ethan in the same role at City Center, and the problem was even worse there. I wonder if it would help to have him put the tunic on at the very last minute.

I'm glad to hear that someone else though "Sleeping Beauty Act III" was still sleeping. LOL, with those costumes and that set, I can't really blame the dancers for being under inspired. Let be more specific about Piccone-I was impressed by his spot on turns, but the rest was nothing special. LOL, I must thank Paloma for prividing an excellent illustratio of her faults that I was tyring to explain to my friend.

So, I would agree with most of ther previous review. Just count me as "Theme and Variationed" out!

Kate

Hi!

It's late so just a few tidbits on tonight's (well, now last night's peformance).

Unfortunately, I don't think things have gotten much better since the opening. "Theme and Variations" is not one of my favorite ballets, and it was not very well done tonight. Ethan Stiefel was off-his piruoettes traveled considerabley and my friend thought he was off from the music a lot. The female corps was sloppy to start out, but got it together. However, the male corps finished off very out of synch.

The Paul Taylor piece was my favorite of the night. Marcelo Gomes stood out in his cigar-chomping role. I found Sascha Radetsky's costume a bit distracting with the bare legs, but oh well.

The dancing in Sleeping Beauty Act III was fine, but I definately prefer the NYCB (Martins ??) version and costumes. The cherub supported sheet/curtain was distracting and out of place, IMHO.

Guisepee Piccone was fine as the Prince-all but one of his piruoettes were spot on, though he seemed to have a bit of trouble with the series of fish dives--they were a bit slow and Paloma's position was not very pretty.

Paloma was OK, with a few wobbles. Not much feeling in the dancing , IMHO, though.

I believe Sascha Radetsky was making his debut as the Bluebird, and with the exception of one slight stumble on his exit, he did an excellent job. I've seen higher flying bluebirds, but he caught the essence of the "flying" arm movements and lyrical jumps (what are those "jumps" called, BTW??). Gillian Murphy was excellent as the female blubird.

All in all a nice evening, but not a great one.

I'm very interested in what other people thought...

Kate

Hi!

Actually, I remember reading in an article that Daniel Ulbricht is about 5 ft 6, and that was at least a year ago. I believe he is only 16, and many guys continue to grow well past that age. Thus, I see no reason wny Martins would "give up" on him at this point.

There are definately short men in NYCB, and for that matter ABT (Angel Corella being one). While a company certainly can't stock up on short men, a larger company like NYCB would seem to have the space to take the occasional shorter talent.

Kate

Hi!

Some thoughts about Ulbricht...

I noticed that Gold, Millipied and Hendrickson are all listed in next week's casting list. Millipied danced the cavalier already this season, so one would assume he is not injured. However, Gold and Hendrickson may well be returning from injuries. Ulbricht is still dancing in at least three or four performances a week.

I wonder if NYCB is holding off on offering Ulbricht an apprentice contract until after the Nutcracker so he can dance in as many performances as needed.

If I remember correctly, apprentices can only dance in ~5 ballets a season, so a contract would prevent Ulbricht from dancing in place of injured dancers on regular basis. Thus by holding off on a contract NYCB can actually get more dancing out of him )

Kate

Kate

As I remember Damien Woetzel replaced Jock Soto when he tore a calf muscle during a performance a couple of years ago. I can't offhand remember which ballet it was, but I can look it up in my scrapbook this evening.

Kate