vipa

This is a hard question. Of course dramatic ballets have to tell a story, but if you look at the 2nd act Pas de deux in Balanchine's Midsummer - that one abstract pas has tremendous dramatic content, without being a "this means this and that means that" piece. My random thoughts are. It is complicated - I know some other BT people will help me with the Balanchine quote of a man and a woman taking hands - how much of a story do you need, In the famous story ballets a structure is imposed that has nothing to do with furthering the story. The principals need a break so the corps girls come in. The greatest ballets and greatest ballet performances allow you to skip over the "this means this and that means that" aspect of things. For me if you have to do that, ballet is not the correct medium. We should not have to translate. I look forward to anyone's input because my ideas are so unorganized

Very interesting interview. Life is strange. I have to admit that the last time I saw her perform with ABT was Swan Lake. It was during the "Moving Out" period, and I was very disappointed. Maybe the Broadway demands are impossible to maintain along with the ballet demands. I know that she was married to Charles Askegard at one point when he was at ABT. She seems like a great lady who has a lot to contribute in many ways. I wish her well.

Thank you so much for your insights into those other schools. I enjoyed the series very much.

I don't know what to make of it.

Thank you - I'd love to see the rest of it.

An interesting omission to principal casting is Sarah Lane. I saw her do a really nice Theme & Variations not long after she joined the corps. I mean a better Theme than I've seen many principal dancers pull off in both NYCB & ABT. I also saw her Aurora in NYC. Lovely, a bit nervous but very technically secure and nice characterization, the audience loved her and I looked forward to repeat performances that didn't come to pass. Where is she?

If you all had to choose between seeing Cojocaru in Don Q or Giselle what would you pick? I saw her SB last year and am in love with her. I've never seen the ABT production of Don Q (I'm not much of a full length ballet person). Is there a lot of stage time for the lead? I'm not a big Giselle fan either, but I have seen it a lot over the years. Bottom line 1. stage time by the female lead 2. opportunity to see other company members shine in variations. What to do?

I'm so excited to have the chance to see Cojocaru again. I'd break my "no more Giselles rule" for her.

I like Mearns in most everything she does, but S&S is one of her less stellar roles, in my opinion. Having Bouder in S&S today would be a great way to end the season. When asked on that question on FB Bouder said Peck was doing Tarentella

Ashley Bouder said on FB that she was doing Stars & Stripes on Sunday with Charles A. Does anyone know if she is also doing Tarentella?

I was there Tuesday, and in the program it looked like Tchai pdd and Stravinsky Violin Concerto were replacing Barber Violin Concerto. I guess there were many stages of plan changes. A few words about the program. Again I say that Chaconne is a great role for Maria Kowroski and again I say that Lauren King is outstanding as a corps member (she did the lead in the Pas de Cinq) I wonder if she'll ever be promoted. Maybe the co. needs her as the go to corps/demi soloist person, but I think she deserves a promotion and the opportunities it would give her. Tchai ppd - wonderful with Tiler Peck and Joaquin De Luz. He combines elegance with bravura. She phrased things in wonderful ways that brought a freshness to the piece, and showed her virtuosity. There was a partnering moment in which her epaulement looked like it came out of the Alina Cojocaru play book (a good thing). Stravinsky Violin Concerto - Love this piece so much. I haven't seen a lot of Krohn and enjoyed her very much in this. She has an intelligent intensity. I'd like to see more of her Glass Pieces - I've seen this piece several times before. It is a piece that IMO has tremendous impact the first time you see it, with diminishing returns there after (I have to admit that I think this of a few Robbins ballets). I probably wouldn't have stayed for this but I was with 2 young women in their 20's. One had never been to the ballet and the other just a few times, and I thought they'd enjoy this piece. They loved it. They enjoyed each ballet but this piece was their favorite. One last thing - One of the young women I was with so thrilled by the evening she was giddy. She is from a small town. She was never in a theater of that magnitude, never seen ballet or much live performance at all. She was saving her ticket as a keepsake. On top of it all she had been admiring the photos of the dancers in subways and on bus stops. My 2 conclusions from this are 1. The ads are being noticed by potential new audience members. 2. I take for granted, way too much, the things I regularly experience living in NYC

I was there this afternoon. 1st I'd like to say something about the audience, it was very kid heavy. The woman in from of me had 2 children in the 6 to 10 year old range. The boy kept leaning over and whispering to his mom. The girl kept standing, leaning over the rail & sitting - up and down, up and down. The usher had to come in and tell the woman to keep her daughter seated. This was all a bit distracting. Contrast this with the couple next to me who had 2 children. The youngest, I found out was 3. They were great. The 3 year old sat on his dad's lap during Magic Flute. When something "bad" was to happen in the ballet, the little boy would blurt out "Oh, No." It was quite funny and also impressive that he was so engrossed in the piece. Other than these outbursts of concern, the boy and is sister were quiet and still. On to the ballet. I should say that I got "day of" discount tickets at the Atruim. Concerto Barocco - I've always liked Abi Stafford in this ballet (did she used to do the other violin?) I though she started out shaky by was fine. Ellen Bar, whose dancing I'm not very familiar with, had a nice attack to her movement. During corps sections I found my eye drawn to Lauren King once again. She bring a radiance to every thing she does and fills each moment. My favorite corps dancer of all time (well she and Gina Pazcoguin). Magic Flute - I was pleasantly surprised. I found it most enjoyable, of course enhanced by the cries "Oh no" that I mentioned above. Tiler Peck - wonderful technically, musical, good characterization a pleasure all around. De Luz was also terrific. I'd love to see those 2 do Theme and Variations. Maybe they've done it already, but I haven't seen either in that ballet. The whole cast was enjoyable in the ballet. Re the children on stage. I'm always impressed with how these kids know how to be on stage. The entrances in which each little girl gave her hand to her partner was lovely. Stars & Stripes - Well -- Ashley. Coming onstage bursting with energy and joy. It doesn't get better. Her variations were super fast, clear, charming, amazing ... Andrew Veyette had a lot of good moments, but he didn't sail through it technically and seemed to lose steam along the way. Erica Pereira still looks like the best student in the class, to me. Nice pirouettes, but something is not yet there IMO. Gwyneth Muller replaced Savannah Lowery (a shame that Lowery is injured - this part has her name on it). Muller doesn't have much of a jump and was not very impressive. Daniel Ubricht never disappoints. Great movement quality, beautiful double tours, he can get to a position just a hair before anyone else and freeze that moment in time for you. He'd be great for the lead, but given the nature of the partnering in the pas de deux there is no woman short enough for him to do it with. I don't mean to sound nit-picky. I apologize if I do. This was a fun afternoon at the ballet that left me smiling on the way home.

Agreed. I saw both Wiles and Murphy in T&V around the same time and there was NO QUESTION in my mind which dancer I preferred. I guess Murphy isn't going. Looks like a small group. Are they really taking Riccetto to do Fancy Free only?

I believe the half hour earlier start is 7:30 (instead of 8:00). I love the intermissions being cut to one. It's nice to be able to get home a bit earlier. I think the early start and finish will work great for some (like me). For people who find getting there at 7:30 impossible and but don't mind a late finish, the other nights are a better option. I think it's a good idea to offer those optionns

I wasn't there Tuesday, but was on Wednesday. Tyler Angle gave the curtain speech. It was not a big deal at all, so I don't want to over analyze it. It was a charming couple of minutes of introduction to the evening, nothing more nothing less. I liked it, but I can't imagine that it would either draw or repel audiences. I was thinking of the Dennis Wayne company of many years ago, I think it was called "Dancers". My husband was a member. Each company member (a small co.) had to step forward and give a brief, cute bio of him/herself. The challenge was international touring. Most dancers had to do it phonetically! Anyway, that was annoying. The NYCB intro IMO was at best a short treat and at worst innocuous. I think I should get a prize for off topic connections!!

I went this evening and had a great time. I thought the curtain speech by Tyler Angle quite charming. I like this gimmick. I had never seen Danses Concertantes before and found it very entertaining. I'd like to see it again. Megan Fairchild was spot on technically and delightful in every way. Veyette was excellent too (Angle mentioned in his curtain speech that Fairchild & Veyette are now engaged to be married). Corps member Lauren King was a stand out for her radiant presence and clarity of movement. I love Maria Kowroski in Monumentum & Movements, and I love the ballets more each time I see them. An artist friend who had never seen the pieces before strongly associated Movements with Matisse. Maria K. for me has the right balance of depth, humor and beauty for the works. Who Cares was a total pleasure. Tiler Peck & Amar Ramasar were sublime in "The Man I Love" pas. The connection between them, lifts, moments of suspension added up to a totally fulfilling audience experience. Peck was also wonderful in the "Facinatin' Rhythm" solo. She didn't have the same abandon that Patty McBride had, but she made it her own and was great. Hyltin was very expansive in "Stairway to Paradise" and it worked well. Her pas "Who Cares" also was nice. Scheller's "Embraceable You" pas seemed a little cautious, but was good (I love that pas). Her solo was not quite there for me. The "My One & Only" solo is for a turner, and Scheller is, sort of. She turns really well and did it, but didn't sail through it. For me Scheller is a fine, fine technician who is a nice performer and delivers the goods but she never has the "go for broke" quality. Ramasar was a great partner in each pas. I love his movement quality. There are dancers who can maybe turn more or who have cleaner double tours, but his movement quality and charm sell me. Don't get me wrong, he doesn't fall short technically, it's just that I know other dancers can do more dazzling technical things, but I don't care. One last comment, Savannah Lowery was a stand out in "Who Cares." I love the way she devours space. She was a joy in the piece. I think this fall season is great. I might quibble with the rep or casting but I love that NYCB is there. One last thought - this program reminded me of the genius of Balanchine! What a great thing.

Thank you for that information. I missed the live show. I'll be checking into "music and the arts." I'll post if I notice it there (unless other BTer posts first).

Team of Rivals is a great book. It really gives a good picture of the time, the people involved and the political positioning of all. A wonderful page turner of a book that I just read is Isabelle Allende's new novel - The Island Beneath the Sea. It takes place in Haiti prior to and during the Haitian revolution and then moves to Louisiana in the early 1800's. It is interesting in how timely it is.

Every dollar that goes to the arts doesn't go to something else. The Koch name - some people will continue to call it State - others will mispronounce it - others will have no idea who the person is. The vanity naming seems pointless.

One of the things that I loved about Cynthia Gregory was the way she used balances for musical phrasing throughout her dancing (not just in Rose A, but in general). She didn't just balance in just the big "ta da" moments but really used her ability to balance. For me she showed what pointe work was all about. But that's another topic. Thanks for posting her Rose Adagio.

Great news!

Thank you Nanarina, I'm not familiar with Tanranda. Could you give some insight?

I don't know that you'll have seen him, but I'd suggest Steve Paxton, one of the developers of Contact Improvisation. That performance practice has had an astonishing affect on the development of contemporary dance styles, both performance and choreography. I have not seen him, but will do some exploration! Thank you

Hopefully they all left for their own reasons. I know that Karin Ellis-Went has child, that may have been a factor. I wish all well.

So many interesting comments. I've come up with my tentative list of 10 greatest: Fonteyn, Fracci, Farrell, Allegra Kent, Alina Cojocaru Fred Astaire, Nureyev, Bruhn, Baryshnikov, Gary Chryst I think each of these were game changers, transcendent performers and/or had a major influence on those who came after. I'm trying to come up with a male performer who is still dancing.