Chocomel

Never claimed to be an expert. Just thought I'd post my impressions. Sorry to offend. Quietly and humbly backing out of the room now.

I went to the World Synchronized Skating Championships last weekend, and one thing that struck me was how the top teams could make themselves look as if they were all the same height and body type, while, in fact, there's a very big range, even among the teams that are more uniform in height. The corps didn't manage this on Saturday. There was nothing wrong with the dancing itself, which was great -- Margaret Mullin was especially splendid -- but it wasn't a group yet.

Could you expound upon this for me please? I enjoy that the dancers look different and are various heights and body types. They are all in sync, but I find different qualities in the different dancers in the corps and I relish exploring and identifying those qualities. Of course, maybe it's because I'm the mother of a lovely, young, talented, aspiring Asian dancer, and I loathe the thought that her dreams might be dashed because she doesn't fit the right type.

Excellent news!

I'll start with my usual disclaimer that I don't know much about dance, and therefore these are all just my uneducated impressions.

I enjoyed Kaori Nakamura and James Moore on Friday night, but I wasn't moved as I was when I saw Noelani Pantastico and Lucien Postlewaite dance it last year. Kaori did become Juliet for me, except her boyish haircut was a distraction and kept me from really seeing her as a desirable young maiden. Sometimes she seemed like an adolescent tomboy, and sometimes she seemed like a 30 year old woman. James Moore never became Romeo for me. He was just James Moore dancing a role.

My husband raved about Chalnessa Eames as the nurse, but my memory of Jody Thomas was better in that role.

I enjoyed Carrie Imler in the role of Lady Capulet, and I can't even remember who I saw perform it last year. She became her mother to me, or as I imagine her mother would behave.

Then I brought my daughter on Saturday night. Carla Korbes and Lucien Postlewaite were transcendent. Again I was moved to tears. Carla was Juliet and Lucien was Romeo. Just WOW! This ballet belongs to Carla. After seeing it 3 times, the impression I have is that it is a ballet of arms. So much of it is acted with the arms, and I have never seen a dancer with better arms than Carla. I hang on every movement of her arms -- they express so much emotion.

I hate to compare Kaori and Carla because I felt they were two very different Juliets, but I would want to see Carla do the role over and over again. Even if Kaori danced it with Lucien, I don't think I would want to go a second time. Although I enjoyed her energy and intensity, her short hair was too distracting to me.

Ariana Lallone danced Lady Capulet, and although her dancing was dramatic, I didn't feel the mother connection like I did with Carrie Imler.

Saturday night had Carrie Imler as the nurse. I loved her in that role, too! The magic difference was that I believed she loved Juliet. She wasn't just a funny character, she was Juliet's nurse. The character made sense to me for the first time. I thought Chalnessa's nurse just seemed grossed out that she was next to a dead body.

Another delightful surprise was Karel Cruz! His long, tall lines made the Friar a larger than life character. My daughter said she preferred Olivier's, but I thought Karel Cruz's grief and dread were palpable. This performance demonstrated why he deserved this promotion.

There is always so much to watch, and I think I caught something interesting. Maybe someone can confirm this for me . . . Friday night when Mercutio kissed Lindsi Dec's character which leads to the fateful fight, it looked to me like she acted angry and egged on the fight. Saturday night when he kissed her, it looked like she enjoyed it, which made Tybalt angry and led to the fight. I thought it was interesting that two different reactions could lead to the same result. Did I really see it, or did I make it up in my mind?

I was blessed to be able to see both Friday night and Sat night performances. I loved being able to compare them. Such a treat!

Thank you so much for sharing this. I really wanted to be there. I shed tears just reading your description.

I went to the Sat. night performance. At the Q&A afterward, Peter Boal said that due to illnesses and injuries, 19 PD's had danced that night. Yet what was amazing is that the unison was fantastic! I would have never known. What a great group of PD's they have this year!

And what a great program! How fun to see so many principals and soloists all in the same program!

Dances at a Gathering: The 14 year old ballet student I brought with me who had never seen a PNB performance was most impressed with Jodie Thomas who stepped into Apricot girl for Chalnessa Eames, and Lucien Postlewaite who danced brown. I thought Miranda Weese brought a great personality to green girl. I'm sure everyone has known that type of pestering flirt. Mara Vinson showed more personality in mauve girl than I've ever remembered seeing in her other roles, and I loved the way her legs just seemed to get longer and longer during each développé and arabesque. But my eyes were most drawn to Sarah Ricard Orza, blue girl. She had a young, innocent quality with such fluid, delicate movements. For the men, I expected Jonathan Poretta (brick) to be the one I would watch, but it was Seth Orza (purple) for me. He was powerful, but tender. Karel Cruz (green) seemed happy, like he was having so much fun. To be honest, I didn't even notice Jordan Pacitti (blue) was in it until the very end, which surprised me because he has been so amazing in the last couple of programs I've seen. Kaori Nakamura danced pink girl with a fun energy. I loved how the choreography had the girls exiting in some odd positions -- upside down, diving offstage, etc. It was fun.

After the Rain PDD: We had Rachel Foster and James Moore. This was the favorite dance of all 3 teens that were with me. Although I thought it was amazing, I'm afraid that I still wondered what it would have been like if Carla Korbes hadn't been injured. Rachel is so muscular, but Carla has a more womanly and feminine quality that I think would have been nice in that piece. I hope that doesn't sound like I'm taking anything away from Rachel Foster, because she was excellent.

Symphony in C: I can't even begin to tell all of the substitutions, but for the lead roles 1st Movement stayed Carrie Imler/Stanko Milov, 2nd movement stayed Louise Nadeau/Olivier Wevers, 3rd Movement became Kaori Nakamura/Benjamin Griffiths, 4th Movement stayed Mara Vinson/Seth Orza, I think. My favorite part of this was all of the corps work. Wow! They were so well synchronized! It was a thing of beauty! Once again, my eyes were drawn to Sarah Ricard Orza, who danced one of the pairs on the side. At one point they did penchée arabesques, and Sarah Ricard Orza's was so long and straight and pointing straight up. It was gorgeous. And how fun to have all of those principals on stage dancing together side-by-side surrounded by a whole corps. Spectacular! I would love to see this piece several times. There is just so much to see!

Lindsi Dec

The tallness thing would be interesting here. So far the Romeos they've fielded have been medium sized.

I'm thinking that Mara Vinson might get a turn at this.

Karel Cruz with Lindsi Dec? Should be good chemistry there.

And Kaori has been so strong lately.

I'm wondering who else might get a chance at it...

My wish list (hey! a person can dream, right?):

Carla Korbes (I'd say probable barring unforeseen circumstances)

Maria Chapman

Rachel Foster

Lindsi Dec

Sarah Orza

Liora Reshef

I personally think you need to reconsider and come for the Romeo & Juliette. It was honestly the best version of Romeo and Juliet I've ever seen in any form. So moving!

Also in Act 1, I thought the unison parts weren't in sync for the 6 ladies dance.

I'm not 100% sure, but I don't think the choreography expects them to be in unison. Each of the "Guests" in Act 1 is expected to have a sort of "fugal" start of a phrase rather than strict unison. Maybe someone else has the definitive answer to this.

Thank you for responding. I hate the feeling that I'm talking to myself.

Yes, I know that dance is a fugal feeling, but there are unison parts that I thought weren't in sync. Still the dancing was gorgeous. I'm going to the Oregon ballet this Saturday night for my first time ever, and I'm looking forward to familiarizing myself with that company.

I saw all four performances this week,

I hope you'll give us all the details!

At "Les Sylphides" in Phoenix last weekend, during the opening tableau, before any dancer had moved, the 70-something behind me announced to her friend (and the entire main floor) -- "This music is so beautiful. I could just come to listen to the music."

A little later in the Wheeldon, she informed us all that "That must be what's-his-name."

We attended last night and saw Nadeau/Cruz. I admit to going in with low expectations because a friend had attended opening night and told me it was long and boring. We had seen it twice 2 years ago and had loved Carla Korbes in one and Le Yin in the other and I wondered if anything could match those. My daughter had seen Louise Nadeau in a dress rehearsal two years ago and told me she hadn't been impressed. Well, let me tell you that after her performance last night, my daughter now understands the difference between a dress rehearsal and the real thing!

Louise Nadeau was ethereal. What I noticed most about her dancing was that it was precise and crisp. I guess I expected a bit muddier from someone who is about to retire. Please forgive me! My daughter said she only did 28 fouettes rather than 32, but they were gorgeous. Her acting was excellent, too. I loved her sassy Odile. What a tease!

But an even bigger surprise to me was Karel Cruz. He is a star! I completely believed him as the regal prince. His dancing was beautiful and easy. So relaxed and yet powerful. We had no fear of him falling out of any turns. He nailed it all. And what a presence onstage with that height and those long legs. Wow! I'm looking for him to be a principal. (Maybe in the fall?) I loved watching him!

But the highlight of Swan Lake for me is always the Swans. That choreography intoxicates me! I want to watch each dancer and yet I want to view the whole corps at once to see the intricate patterns and movements. I could watch it for hours without getting bored.

I also look forward to that swan pas de quatre, but last night it was a bit disappointing. They seemed to fight and pull against each other. I hadn't seen that happen two years ago. Also in Act 1, I thought the unison parts weren't in sync for the 6 ladies dance. That was disappointing, too.

Some other highlights were Jonathan Poretta, who should give clinics on how to exude personality onstage and command all attention; the princesses in ivory were lovely; Rachel Foster and Benjamin Griffiths in Neapolitan; and Maria Chapman as Persian. Throughout the performance the people I kept noticing were Benjamin Griffiths, Liora Reshef, Jordan Pacitti, and Maria Chapman.

I also loved the curtain call when Louise Nadeau didn't notice the rose for Karel Cruz and it dropped on the ground. She saw it and picked it up and gave him a kiss as the curtain fell. Really sweet moment.

My daughter left bubbling with excitement in the car on the way home, wishing she didn't have to wait until Monday for her next ballet class. I wish we could attend more performances, but our schedule won't accommodate.

On a side note, they did announce asking for people to silence their cell phones, which seemed to work since not one went off that I could hear. However, the people behind me felt that any music prior to the curtain rising meant they could still talk. Ugh. I love the music. Please don't talk over it.

I thought I'd just point out that the 4/11 matinee appears to have changed from Imler/Bold to Vinson/Orza.

If they're going for a younger demographic, maybe they need High School Musical -18 (or whatever number they're on now)- The Ballet. Or maybe they need to pull in boys and they could do "Halo- The Ballet."

I found this article interesting.

http://www.portfolio.com/culture-lifestyle...le-Ballet-Scene

I didn't realize that Benjamin Griffiths has been fighting cancer. Here is an interview on KUOW.

http://kuow.org/program.php?id=17060

I had to swap my tickets from the 1st Saturday to the 2nd Saturday because of scheduling problems, and I was disappointed to see that none of my favorites were dancing -- Carla Korbes, Maria Chapman, Louise Nadeau, Jonathan Poretta, Lucien Postlewaite, Batkhurel Bold -- None of them would be there. Seth Orza was in Emeralds, Kaori Nakamura was in Diamonds, and Lindsi Dec was in Rubies, so I was still looking forward to it. PNB has such a wonderful company and I've never left disappointed.

We loved it. All of it. A friend had told me earlier they thought Emeralds was boring but they all enjoyed Rubies and Diamonds. Emeralds was MY favorite of the three. My daughter joked that I liked it best because green is my favorite color. Maybe. But I suspect that our seats had something to do with it, too. We usually sit off to the side in the upper gallery, but for this we had wonderful orchestra seats toward the middle. I loved the shapes and patterns of the choreography. It reminded me of a beautiful kaleidoscope that was shifting and changing constantly. I'm not sure I would have seen it the same way from the side. The beautiful and graceful arm movements had me mesmerized. Seth Orza and Mara Vinson were beautiful, but I couldn't keep my eyes off Rachel Foster. She just drew my attention. Also, Lindsi Dec shone. And I admit to wondering how my favorites might have danced the lead roles. My daughter said Liora Reshef drew her attention in Emeralds.

Rubies was fun and pretty, but Lindsi Dec was magnificent! She sparkled and glowed. I wished I'd seen a different couple dance, though. I was disappointed by Miranda Weese. I guess I expected more.

Diamonds was beautiful as well. I also thought the chandelier should have been bigger for such a big stage, but chastised myself for being ignorant about such things. Kaori danced with presence, authority, warmth and a twinkle. She looked like she was having fun. I didn't see much connection between her and Jeffrey Stanton, and he just seemed off. Almost scared or something. Maybe I'm making things up, but my daughter said she always thought he seemed to just keep himself from falling. I remembered how Le Yin danced in a Swan Lake I saw -- such power, confidence, authority. I found that lacking. My daughter thought Diamonds was boring. I enjoyed it, but it was my least favorite. Again, I was drawn to Rachel Foster, Lindsi Dec, and also Brittany Reid.

We had 2 cell phone incidents in our show. The woman who sat next to me turned around and hollered, "Shut up!" at one person with an obnoxious cell phone. (I was mortified.) She never clapped the entire time, and left before Diamonds. She kept talking about the Opera, so I guess ballet wasn't her cup of tea. But still, I felt quite thankful that I hadn't been near anyone with perfume that would set off my migraine, which happens with my usual seats, so I was happy.

Just my uneducated impressions. Thanks for listening.

I'm just a dance mom, but I'll share my impressions from Saturday night's performance.

A Garden - This was my favorite. I love Baroque music. I love the point/counterpoint, the symmetry, the unflagging rhythm, lack of excessive emotion. It evokes feelings of peacefulness, pleasure, and enjoyment in me. I thought the choreography hit all of the qualities of the music perfectly. The movements were so simple and clean and executed the same by each dancer. The music and the dancing were completely satisfying to me. I didn't understand how brown and black costumes fit with the title or with the music, but other than that I was thrilled.

M-Pulse - The costumes for M-Pulse, however, were stunning. The ladies were in shimmering jewel blue and the men wore coppery shirts.

It bothered me that the music started out as a recording and then went to the orchestra. The orchestra was amazing all night, and the composer would have served her piece better to have trusted them rather than a recording. In comparison to the depth and richness of the orchestra's sound, the recording was dimensionless and dull. Other than that, I did enjoy the music.

Lindsi Dec was amazing. Maybe it was the color of the costume, but a couple of times I was transported to the first time I saw the Peacock dance from the Nutcracker and was blown away by her slow, sensuous movements. She did the same for me in this piece.

The dance was so full of energy. I enjoyed the parts where there was real coordination of movements, but otherwise it felt like the dancers were dancing to their own M-pulses. This was my daughter's favorite of the evening.

3 Movements - I loved the choreography in this piece. I loved the interchanges between male and female dancers. I don't know what Millepied was going for, so I'll say what my impression was. The mood was as though everyone is so busy all the time that they didn't have time to really connect or enjoy life and each other. The men wore something that resembled dress shirts with a tie, and the women wore dresses or skirts and blouses; the colors were all shades of gray. Dancers rushed around, couples seemed to bounce off each other rather than really connect with each other. I didn't enjoy the music, but the dancing was amazing. Carla Korbes was gorgeous as usual. Maria Chapman, Seth Orza, and Sarah Ricard Orza were the other dancers that stood out to me.

One Flat Thing Reproduced - I had seen this in the spring. I hated the "music" but I found the choreography interesting. Seeing it for the second time, I hated the "music" even more and found myself thinking that I was an idiot for subjecting myself to it a second time. I had considered leaving before it began, but Peter Boal's belief in the work, and the fact that Carla Korbes was doing the Q&A after the performance convinced me to stay. I resorted to plugging my ears. Again, I found the choreography interesting, but not really something I would want to see again. As you could tell by my favorite of the evening being A Garden, I want to have a pleasant experience when I come to the ballet. Seeing it once was "experiencing art." Seeing it a second time was unnecessary. A bit like using a really nasty squatty potty in China. OK, I had the experience, now take me to the real restroom. Sorry. I know Peter Boal really wanted us to embrace it, but I guess I'm not as evolved as I should be. My daughter enjoyed it more the second time, though.

Looking forward to hearing the thoughts of people who are so much more knowledgable than I am. Oh, Helene posted while I was composing! Thank you for your thoughts.

Maria Chapman has been a faculty member for the Georgia Youth Ballet's Summer Intensive:

http://www.times-herald.com/close-up/Arts-...ainment--488929 [June 19]

Georgia Youth Ballet will wrap up its three-week Summer Intensive Workshop with its annual Summerfest performance on this evening at 7:30 p.m. Nearly 40 dancers from seven south metro counties will perform numbers from classical ballets and modern works. The dancers have been working with nationally-renowned guest faculty, including Maria Chapman (Pacific Northwest Ballet), Foye DuBose (Alabama Dance Theatre), Katherine Gebler (Alabama Ballet), B J Hilbun, Emily Lannan (Atlanta Ballet), Paulo Manso de Sousa, and Kathyrn McBeth (Atlanta Ballet).

In a Q & A session Peter Boal said he was able to talk Brittany Reid out of retiring.

Also, in my 8 Encores e-mail this morning, there are 2 other dancers who are leaving. I don't know if they are retiring or moving on.

Your very last chance to see departing principal dancers Noelani Pantastico and Casey Herd and corps de ballet dancers Rebecca Johnston, Kara Zimmerman, Alison Basford and Adrienne Diaz on stage with PNB!

As a PNB Nutcracker mom, I have to say that this production has become tedious for me. Perhaps any production would be the same. I really don't know. That's why this year we bought tickets to the Christmas Eve "Nutty" Nutcracker. What a delight! How funny it was for Where's Waldo to pop up in every scene! We giggled our way through the snowflakes having a snowball fight. The dancers all seemed to be having such a great time, and the audience certainly was. How funny to have various Christmas tunes seamlessly sewn into the Nutcracker score by the amazing PNB orchestra. Thank you, PNB, for not taking yourself too seriously! You helped make our Christmas Eve one of the best ever!

Thank you. I'll hold out the hope that it will only be for a year of healing and he'll return in the future.

Le Yin is no longer listed on the roster

Any word on where he is yet? I don't know the internal workings of the company, but I will miss him on stage. His portrayal of Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake was my favorite. He moved me to tears.

Thank you so much, Helene. I really appreciate your expertise.

I saw the Choreographers' Showcase, but, alas, not the school performances in the afternoon. I'm so sorry I missed Eric Hipolito in Swan Lake; I thought he was a standout earlier in the season as one of the students who danced with the Company. He and Andrew Bartee are listed as Level VIII Men, not in the Professional Division. I could have this wrong, but I thought that the numbered levels were on a parallel, non-professional track after a certain age, and VIII is the highest numbered division. Hipolito is such a lovely dancer, and it would be a shame if this means he will not be dancing professionally.

Yes. Thank you. I hadn't noticed they were in level VIII. I wonder if they will go on to PD next year?

I haven't seen all of the student performances since 1995, but of the ones I've seen, I've been waiting for new choregoraphy that puts the PD students on the map since Carrie Imler looked like a star in whatever she danced in that 1995 performance. I thought that happened three times in this workshop: for Leah O'Connor, in the second part pas de deux in Kiyon Gaines's Infinite Intricacies, for Liora Reshef and Andrew Bartee in Olivier Wevers's Liora and Andrew, and for whoever the dancer was in the peacock blue unintard in Melissa Barak's Of the Name They Do Not Speak.

One of the most exciting dances for me on Saturday (beside the one dd was in ) was in the second Student Performance when the Men's Division did a dance choreographed by Stanko Milov. It was so strong and masculine. I found it so visually interesting.

I know that Peter Boal has said that the reason the Showcase was done this year on the Professional Division students was because of the extra heavy schedule for PNB this year, with all of the new work in the Celebrate Seattle Festival, but I hope PNB gives it at least another year in this format. In the curernt climate, it won't be often that these young dancers will have works set on them, but they really deserve to have pieces that bring out their best qualities.

I think I heard Peter Boal mention in a Q&A that the Choreographers Showcase will be in April next year.