vipa

Mother in a way but Balanchine tried to bring mom into the 20th century and in my opinion mom has never caught up. Forgive me, I know there are many, many fans of Russian dancers here, but I don't agree and I don't think I ever will. There is a freedom of movement that is appealing but, again in my opinion, so much is lacking in subtle musicality and clean technique. A matter of taste I am sure. I am also sure that my idea of clean technique will be disputed. Again a matter of taste. I preferred - Gregory over Makarova in Swan Lake years ago and preferred Murphy over Vishneva recently. Fortunately there are plenty of wonderful dancers out there for us to argue over and enjoy.

Is Delgado who is listed as a guest Anette Delgado from Cuba? Also is Herrera - Paloma? It seems like a lot of guests. I hear that Bouder is out of her boot. Hopefully she'll be back soon.

Of course NYCB has a few votes, I'd be interested in whether that is because they tour less or if it is NYers who put them top of the list. As a New Yorker I put NYCB at the top of my list. I still love the rep above all else. In recent years, new dancers have renewed the company - Bouder, Mearns and others. In terms of musicality, in my opinion, this company is still the best. ABT - Yes, the stodgy programming is a problem. I like the City Center rep season, but it is too short and the the quality of dancing can be uneven.

I tried to post this earlier but didn't succeed (I think), so forgive me if it shows up twice. THe fouettes described (with the kick) are just the Russian way of doing fouettes - extending side instead of having the stirring motion. I'm surprised Kourlis doesn't know this. Not my preferred way of seeing fouettes but not surprising in a Russian trained dancer.

I read that the Cincinnati ballet had to cancel their Dec. 26 Nutcracker after selling something like 140 tickets in a 2700 seat house. They have also been moving people from balcony to orchestra seats to consolidate the audience for the sake of the dancers. This is one of the companies that really depends on Nutcracker for its budget.

I'm sure others will state it more exactly but a soubrette does "lighter" roles such as Swanilda in Coppelia vs Odette/Odile in Swan Lake. Usually lighter often (but not always) secondary roles. In opera younger sopranos tend to do these roles.

From the little I've seen of Jensen she seem to me to be a very well trained & coached dancer who has a tremendous amount of facility. From what I've seen not tasteless. I'm actually going to see her in Nutcracker tomorrow. I do see the danger of taking the competition route as so well expressed by Mel. On the other hand Zhong-Jing Fang and Sarah Lane both went through the competition gauntlet to be noticed. Both have fans and detractors but I think we can all agree that they are tasteful, intelligent dancers,

Ms. Alovert quotes former Bolshoi and NYCB ballerina Kozlova: I have a few comments/questions - first of all congrats to Whitney Do students from the schools like SAB, ABT etc. tend not to enter these competitions because they see a different career path? As far as company hiring goes, how many competition winners does a company need? How does winning a competition reflect upon fitting into a company? If you need some wonderful corps people who can develop into soloists or dramatic dancers do you need competition winners who are eager to do Don Q ppd? Maybe I am going off to a new topic, but I am curious about the competition winner vs valuable company member thing. Thank you all.

I agree that this is and should be much appreciated money, particularly in these economic times. I just wish that donors didn't feel the need to plaster their names on things. As an aside it will be funny to see how the name is pronounced!

I agree. The lack of tension in her upper body while executing allegro work is lovely. Wow over 100 years ago!! I had never heard of this dancer. A big thanks to cubanmiamiboy, I love this stuff too.

A very big thank you.

The thing about company class when Mr. B was there, was that many NYCB dancers never took his class. They did get the benefit of his coaching, having him choreograph or re-choreograph on them, but a lot of company members decided his class was not for them, so I don't see how company class can be a big part of the picture. There were people like Suzanne and Meryll Ashley who were took Mr. B's class faithfully but a lot of dancers didn't.

Thank you for that. Speaking of imports, when watching ABT's Ballo I wished that Bouder or Scheller had been imported, but I guess that's not possible. 2 things I wanted to add for consideration. 1. Peter Martins was not named in the article, but the implication was that others (Suzanne, Eddy V etc) provide better coaching. 2. My thought that is that at NYCB something can be lost in attack and a musical attitude because pieces choreographed on the company make different demands (than Mr. B) Other companies have Balanchine works as the new things they are dealing with. One more question. What does one make of the Macaulay statement that the things learned at SAB are untaught at NYCB? Thank you all.

How much room is there at the top? Also, (and this may be more suitable to a separate topic) it seems that in casting Bouder is not cast as much as she should/could be. Mearns (who I love) seems to be the new darling. Would Bouder jump ship as Ansanelli did to join another co. How would she do in ABT? I'd love to see her in some ABT ballets but maybe her opportunities would be further diminished. Again I apologize if this is the wrong place for a post like this.

Forgive my ignorance but I don't see how it could possibly be lost. I am old enough to have seen it in its last ABT performances. Surely there are still enough people around who performed it. Also, again forgive my ignorance, why would it be such an expensive project? It can't possibly compare to the cost of some other projects (I'm thinking of that work in which Carmina Burana was coupled with another piece ...). I would love to see Tudor's R&J again. This City Center season was pretty sold out, as far as I could see. Perhaps there is an audience for it. I would love a longer City Center season for ABT, but that is a different topic.

I have to say that unless Kajiya improved significantly between Sat. & Sun. I can't see how she could have presented Ballo well. Yes, it was about Ashley's technique, speed & precision, but others have done a credible job - Bouder, Murphy, Ana Sophia Scheller are all examples. I hope Kajiya managed it today - but this is her second year in Ballo and I don't think she should be in the ballet. So unless Kajiya pulled off a miracle today we respectfully disagree. What did you think of Flames today?

I had a slip in my program about Tamm & Kajiya. I agree Tamm did a commendable job. Unfortunately, Kajiya ruined the ballet for me. She just doesn't really do the steps. She fudges instead of hits cleanly, doesn't hit lines in the air quickly enough, and the way she angles her head and shoulders seems all wrong. Yes she is a lovely dancer in general but totally wrong for this ballet. In my opinion she shouldn't be cast in it. The audience response was tepid. I loved Wiles & Hallberg particularly in the pas. The two hands going to one partnered turns were something. They are looking like a couple that dances together often. I appreciate that. I was glad to see Lilac Garden again, after many years. What a masterpiece, only marred by the chatterboxes seated behind me. Gomes was WOW in Brief Fling. I look forward to reading other impressions of this and other performances. Again I thank everyone for their views and opinions, which sometimes make me take another look at mine.

I went to today's Mat. and just want to say that I wanted to do damage to a couple of audience members. I was mid mez and the two women seated behind me and my husband talked quite loudly during Lilac Garden. My husband turned and asked them to please stop talking, and they looked at him as if he was crazy. They kept talking but at least lowered their voices. If they didn't want to see that ballet they should have stayed in the lobby. There - I feel better!

I have absolutely no insight into ABT casting, but there are some ballets TBA. Also only casting for principal roles are announced. It is possible that Stella will appear in soloist roles e.g. pas de trois in Swan Lake or peasant pas in Giselle. I am one of those people who wishes ABT would announce fuller casting, not just principals. Personally I'd love to see her get a shot at Mozartiana

I said the above and think I was misunderstood. First of all I am a big fan of Lane's, I saw and very much enjoyed her Theme twice, wrote on this board my very positive impressions of her Sleeping Beauty, and am very disappointed that she isn't getting a shot at Ballo - still - There are times when I watch her I feel that as a young performer she doesn't always build her variations in a way that is satisfying. Example - 16th birthday variation in SB, I would have loved to see beautiful double pirouettes (finishing in an up position and then closing as Lane can do) and a triple at the end instead of trying to do all triples and finishing with the weakest turn. I saw the same thing kind of thing happen in Flames of Paris and in my opinion it is something Lane has to work on as she matures, in order to give fully satisfying performances. Also, with all due respect as an audience member I do not care what someone does in rehearsal or class. I do look forward to seeing Lane in many roles, I sometimes even base my ticket buying on seeing her name in the casting.

I still have high hopes for Lane's potential. I don't think that it is really a matter of falling off pointe. I think it is part of a planning & execution problem that also appeared in places in Lane's SB. She goes for a lot and will, for example, do a series of beautifully shaped multiple turns, repeat the sequence nicely and then the 3rd time (which should be the big pay off) she falls short and doesn't quite make it. Those moments leave one feeling somewhat unsatisfied. It's almost as if she feels that she has to do the most difficult thing she can all of the time in order, to prove herself - a problem that often afflicts young dancers. I agree that Copeland looked great all night. I am glad to see her being used so well. I also agree that Reyes is a delight - confident, mature, lots of technique and that Cornejo showed maturity in many ways when he was young. I just meant that for me Lane & Simkin are dancing like young, somewhat unformed dancers who, in my opinion have a lot of beauty and potential. I am touched by that, and at the end of the evening I found myself happy to witness complete artists. Personally, I feel Lane & Simkin can get there. Even if they don't I am still glad to see the start of the journey.

I agree about Wiles, but don't think she should be criticized if the conductor failed to give her tempi that would let her zip through the choreography. I also agree that her attempt to flirt with the audience came through as coy, forced and saccharine. Hallberg, on the other hand, used the slower tempi to dance absolutely huge, bringing razor-sharpness to what we often see as blur. When he stopped a pirouette on his very high 3/4 pointe, extending his working leg and pausing, I had to catch my breath. It may not have been exactly the right phrasing for Ballo, but under the circumstances, I savored it. Points well taken. I am going to see Sat. Mat. & have high hopes for T Pas with Wiles & Hallberg. I have my fingers crossed for Kijya in ballo but I still think she is miscast (I saw her in it last year), I hope she proves me wrong. In respect to Brief Fling - I haven't seen it in years and found Reyes quite delightful. I find that I say this often after seeing her perform, she flies somewhat under the radar so I am constantly surprised & delighted anew. A flaw in me not in her.

I went tonight and found thrills and disappointments. I just want to say a little about Ballo at this point. I was very disappointed in Wiles and Hallberg. I had expected Wiles to ace this piece. I found her being overly cute in presentation (very un-Meryl Ashley) and lacking in the speed and sharpness that the ballet requires, as a result she looked sloppy and a bit sluggish. Hallberg seemed way out of his comfort zone. The four soloist women were terrific - Copeland, Riccetto, Seo & Underwood, and I thought Zhong-Jing Fang a stand out in the corps. I am curious to read other impressions of this ballet & the others. I'll post my thougts about other pieces later, I'm more curious to read other impressions - just one silly thought that came to me at the end of the night Lane/Simkin might grow up to be Reyes/Cornejo - not exactly but maybe you know what I'm getting at. Also, thank you all for your opinions and insights. I love reading these posts.

I was at Sunday matinee. The only positive of "Citizen" was that it reminded me that first class, professional artists will do their best and make as much as they can of a substandard work. The commitment and skill of the dancers on Sun. afternoon reminded me of this. It is true of all quality performing artists be they dancers, musicians, singers or actors. "Leaves" was a joy in many ways. "Theme" is a ballet that I love. I also know it is full of difficulties for the principals (also for the 4 main corps women, a difficult part). In my opinion Kajiya should not have thrown into it. Surely ABT had other alternatives. Hallberg was also not at his best. Perhaps the change in partner threw him.

One question after attending Sat. Matinee. How did Stallings get a piece presented at ABT's very limited rep season at City Center?