vipa

48 minutes ago, cobweb said:

Going back to abatt's comment from a week or so ago, I have to agree. Take Ballo della Regina. Fairchild is a great dancer, but I'm not sure she's adding anything new at this point. I would rather see fresh faces, such as, in this role, Emma Von Enck or Alexa Maxwell. I wonder, back in the day, what would Martins (or any AD hoping to develop exciting young talent) do in this situation? Fairchild is dancing at the top of her game and delivers sparkling performances, but (at least some of) the audience are eager to see newer faces take on some roles. If, say, Maxwell or Von Enck were cast, that's fewer performances for Fairchild. Or are senior dancers, even when still dancing well, asked to relinquish some roles altogether? I'm not sure what the right, or best, answer is. 

Looking at the women's principal and soloist roster, I can't help but think that the development of talent is not going as well as it should. For principals, the only ones I find consistently exciting are Tiler Peck, Sara Mearns, Mira Nadon, and Indiana Woodward. For the rest: Bouder is not dancing and seems unlikely to return. I feel I've seen Fairchild in the same roles for long enough. Unity is a mixed bag, but doesn't seem as exciting as she once did. LaFreniere has had some great performances and great potential, and some botched and inhibited performances as well. Emilie Gerrity is an excellent, consistent dancer but doesn't take it to the next level IMHO. There are three soloists -- Von Enck, Maxwell, and Kikta -- who are more dynamic and exciting than several of the principals. And Ashley Laracey has a far richer artistic maturity than most of the principals. I accept that Laracey's career isn't going to go any further, and that's okay -- she has more than delivered on the assignments she's been given. But Von Enck, Maxwell, and Kikta should be dancing principal roles now. I am confident that Von Enck will get there, but when? She's ready now. And I believe both Maxwell and Kikta could hold their own as principals as well, I'm just not sure they will ever get there. 

I believe you've summed things up pretty well @cobweb. Fairchild is indeed a fine dancer who delivers, as you say, sparkling performances but she is never going to surprise me with her imagination or musicality. I'm eager to see Tiler Peck in Ballo, not only because I've never seen her do it, but because she will bring something unique and special to it. 

Relinquishing roles is an interesting piece of things. Sterling Hyltin spoke of this in interviews as she was retiring. Mearns (as stated in social media) has relinquished Lilac Fairy and Dew Drop, Fairchild - Dewdrop. My feeling is that dancers have roles and respect is given for seniority. For example (again stated on social media) Fairchild could have dropped Dewdrop from her rep this past Dec. but chose to perform it one more year.

I too find E. Von Enck, Maxwell, Kikta more compelling dancers that some of the principals. As for Laracey, I've said this  before  but I think they should have made her a principal, even though she probably doesn't have a lot of years left, and let Gerrity and LaFreniere mature as artists for a couple of years. 

I haven't seen any shows yet this season, and am really looking forward to next week. Thank you all who post reviews!

3 hours ago, nanran3 said:

Tiler's piece looks wonderful! Can't wait to see it in three weeks...

 I'm on board with that. I'm seeing it on Thursday, can't wait. I hope Mejia stays healthy.

3 hours ago, abatt said:

No.  This is not normal.  It's indicative of  Tiler Peck's inexperience and lack of forethought, in my opinion.   It was almost like a stream of consciousness interview, where she forgot she was speaking to a publication that will be read by thousands of people.  That's proper to say in private, but it is not proper in a NY Times interview.  

I don't disagree, at the same time we don't know exactly what she was asked, and how her answers were edited. I assume it was a much longer interview that was sliced and diced to create what is perceived to be most interesting to readers.

30 minutes ago, Dale said:

I've been picking my way through this. Pleasant nighttime reading. I do find it interesting where Homan goes heavy on a topic and where she just glosses over. For example, she had a page or so on the composer Xenakis and practically nothing on Gelsey Kirkland. She looked closely at Balanchine's use or non-use of Black dancers, quoting from an interview she did with Mel Tomlinson before he passed away in 2019, yet didn't mention Debra Austin, for whom he made an indelible solo in Ballo della Regina. Homan writes a lot about Arthur Mitchell but never mentions the charming pas de deux Balanchine created for him and Mary Hinkson for The Figure in the Carpet. Seems odd not to mention, in the context of a discussion on Balanchine and race, the two times he did choreograph parts on Black women. 

 

I read the book, admittedly skimming some parts, and agree. She devotes pages and pages of context to some events/ideas, and barely any context to others. 

9 hours ago, cobweb said:

 If I had been there and then they added in the Levin Award I would have hit the roof!! Clueless indeed. I am there for the dance -- not speeches from the AD, not music lectures, not awards. And when it's a weeknight, that goes double! 

This made me laugh, and I so agree. I live walking distance from Lincoln Center and I still feel that way. I believe NYCB is thinking about performance times. I received, as did many of you I'm sure, a NYCB survey asking what days/times I most wanted to attend. performances, and what days I'd go to matinees. I wonder if they are thinking of changing things up. A number of performance venues seem to be moving start times earlier that 8pm.

9 hours ago, FireDancer said:

Was she off the music or was the music itself slow? If the latter, then it's not her fault... I think someone previously said the rehearsal director was asking for the tempo to be increased, in which case, that would indicate it was not Fairchild's choice.

To me the music itself was slow, and one point the rehearsal director pushed the pianist to go faster. There is no way to know who set/asked for a particular tempo, but many things could be at play. Perhaps it's the first run-through, or there was a need to work on a particular coordination, or ports de bras.Whatever the reason it wasn't performance tempo and at some point the pianist was asked to go faster. I don't think that means anyone was at fault.

Thank. you abatt and matilda. If there are 6 performances of Ballo there are several possibilities with Fairchild, Peck and perhaps Woodward. My guess is Emma VE will do one of the solo roles.  Still I have hope she'll be given a shot at principal On another note, Fairchild's rehearsal post on intagram was noticeably  under tempo. I heard the rehearsal director pushing the pianist to go faster.

1 hour ago, abatt said:

 

Six performances of Ballo.  We now know that Megan will be cast, and probably Tiler Peck.  Hopefully Emma VE will also get a chance as third cast.  However, I could also see Woodward getting a chance at this role. 

 

 

Has Tiler Peck done Ballo in the past? I don't remember her being cast in it, but I could be wrong. 

14 hours ago, Belka said:

Megan Fairchild posted some rehearsal footage of Ballo della Regina with Anthony Huxley today on Instagram. It's not the disappearing stories either, so you can watch it at your leisure!

 I'd love to see Emma Von Enck tackle this role.

Thank you Volcanohunter, for posting this.  A very interesting interview.  Cojocaru is a very thoughtful person and artist.

3 hours ago, cobweb said:

I would be thrilled if Tiler turns out to be a capable choreographer! 

 

I have hope for that! I saw one of her pieces  on the program she presented in City Center, and two of them at Vail. In my opinion they were well constructed, musical and used ballet vocabulary well. I wouldn't say they were memorable,  but she has craft and musicality. That's promising in my book.

Interesting article. I'm a big fan of Cojocaru and her ability to create a world on stage. I was a bit surprise to see a piece on her in the NYTimes, since no plans to perform in the USA were mentioned.

I'm not excited about the first week, but I'm very happy to see that Mearns is back. I wonder if Bouder will be cast in Liebeslieder.

New York also has a few Nutcracker options that are popular even though not performed by major companies. New York Theatre Ballet does a Nutcracker that is short and very suitable for antsy young children. New York City Children's Theater also does a short one, that's interactive. There are others. They are in smaller venues, so kids are up close, and have fairly cheap tickets. Sometimes as low as $12. I'm just saying that people with kids are sometimes looking to give them a taste of Nutcracker specifically geared for children that won't break the bank. 

Sarah Lane is a quality dancer. I'm sorry she isn't with a company. She's made her own decisions for whatever reasons.

12 minutes ago, BalletontheRocks said:

Something I've wondered about for awhile--photos and videos from SAB make it clear that there is a high percentage of Asian dancers in the children's division, yet few to none have made it into the company. The racial makeup of SAB classes changes a lot when going through the years. 

My understanding is that the younger children are those who are able to commute, and enroll in the SAB at an early age. There is  weeding out, and dropping out process and only some of them move on to the pre-professional division. There they are joined by students from summer intensives who have been invited to stay the year. 

1 minute ago, Tapfan said:

Wasn't Ashley Bouder pretty advanced in her training before she started attending SAB?   And Tiler Peck and Quinn Starner were comp kids. 

Many students are pretty advanced in their training before starting at SAB. There are dancers in the company who were comp kids, (Mearns is one), however they weren't recruited or given scholarships via competitions. The way into SAB is by auditioning for the summer intensive and being invited to stay the year. The amount of time spent at SAB before being asked to be an apprentice varies. Sometimes it's short. There are also a few company members who grew up in the NYC area, and went all the way through the school. I believe Ashley Hod received most of her training at SAB. In any event NYCB doesn't recruit from competitions the way some other companies do.

I saw the movie today. So many good points have been already been made. I'll just add a few thoughts. I enjoyed it and think it's worth seeing, but ultimately found it a bit unsatisfying.  As others have said, it is  film about Bernstein's relationship with his wife  Felicia. A relationship made complex because he was gay and she always knew it. The flaw in the film, for me, was that there was no deep dive into Bernstein as a person, other than his sexual orientation. Felicia was the a way more complex character, and Carey Mulligan gave a wonderful performance. The movie ended rather abruptly, which I guess makes sense, since it was about their marriage. Once Felicia was no longer there, there wasn't much to do but show Bernstein working, flirting with men and partying. Still, all and all, an intriguing movie.

21 hours ago, BalanchineFan said:

I saw Erica Periera and Daniel Ulbricht in Nutcracker today. They gave a good show. Loads of children in the audience, like the other matinee I attended.

It was interesting to see the different choices they made. Ulbricht hangs in the air, rather than doing multiple beats on his cabrioles. It's clean and surprising. He just sails, airborne. Ashley Hod was lovely as Dewdrop. Sharp, clean and expansive. I remember her SPF from five years ago. She was nice then, but she's a different dancer, now.

I think I prefer this Marie and Prince. They seemed more ebullient, happy. Or maybe it's because school is out. One little Angel got a little behind and really took off to catch up.

I have never seen so many beautiful dresses for little girls. The audience is slaying.

Thanks for this review BalanchineFan. I'm always glad when Ulbricht is allowed to expand beyond the Candy Cane type roles. 

1 hour ago, On Pointe said:

Thank you for the information.  I was starting to think it was a state secret!

India Bradley did an episode of the podcast, Conversations on Dance, a couple of years ago and spoke about mother's background, as well has her own early training.

On 12/15/2023 at 8:42 PM, cobweb said:

I just love Debra Austin in that video (on youtube) of Ballo della Regina!

Debra Austin was a wonderful dancer. It's not Balanchine but I love her performance of La Sylphide at Pennsylvania Ballet. Here's one short example. There are other longer excerpts on youtube.

Wendy Whelan gave quite a shout out to India Bradley on instagram after her dewdrop performance. "the Nutcracker just birthed an exciting new #dewdrop"

https://www.instagram.com/p/C0r8a8hpLcW/?img_index=1

10 hours ago, FauxPas said:

On Saturday night, Ashley Laracey looks like a seasoned, commanding principal ballerina - not an aging soloist.  Balances were secure, port de bras was finished and lovely and she was technically in command throughout.  Nothing extra - just beautiful line and aristocratic elegance.  Laracey projected a mature, queenly presence that radiated serenity and grace.

Thank you for this report. I've been a fan of Laracey's for a long time. She is amazingly consistant it the radiance, grace and beauty she brings to every role she does. IMO she should have been promoted to principal with the last batch.

So many great performances this year. The ones that come to mind immediately are:

Sara Mearns and Tiler Peck in Tchai PC2. I felt privileged to have seen them both

Emma Von Enck in Rubies. What a star turn for her.

I'm sure I'll think of others.  

Just to add. I won't be attending Nutcracker so would love any reports. I know tickets are high and it's selling well, but if you get there I'd love a report.