linsusanr

I posted about the Wednesday performance in the American Ballet Companies forum -- I was delighted. I was in the nosebleed seats, though, and last Friday I was in the orchestra. I got to see a lot more detail. The principals were breathtaking. I have to unfortunately agree that the corps sometimes looked shaky ... in Rubies, especially. They have a part that requires a low developpe to arabesque, and some of the corps looked like they were going to fall over (fortunately, nobody did). Muriel Maffre exits this part by doing the same thing by herself, looking controlled and intense. Her developpes were gorgeous, needless to say.

I saw Jewels on Wednesday, and I loved it! The audience seemed a little sleepy for Emeralds, which was danced very beautifully and dreamily by Lorena Feijoo and Yuri Possokhov. Rubies: Everyone clapped as the curtain came up for this! This is obviously a past favorite! The mood was so much more contemporary and the Balanchine arms abounded. Muriel Maffre was incredible, not only because she is so much taller than everyone else but because she can really command an audience. I can totally see her as the Siren in Prodigal Son, which I never saw her dance, unfortunately. Kristin Long also danced bouncily, but slipped quite far at one point. Thank goodness she recovered beautifully. Diamonds: The audience held its breath and when the curtain came up everyone clapped in awe. The costumes are so lovely, I want one! Lucia Lacarra and Cyril Pierre were the main couple. I will be sad to see them go after this season. Lucia was very fluid and much more restrained than usual, which I thought was great in such a Petipa-like atmosphere. The corps' movements screamed "Swan Lake!" as did some of the pas de deux parts. Diamonds is definitely my favorite one! All in all it was danced smoothly and wonderfully. I'm going to see it again tonight, with a different cast and different seats. I can't wait!

There are so many reasons people love to dance! I know some people who think it's great exercise, others who love moving to music. For me, it's just a wonderful feeling to try to express myself through movement. I happen to love the classicism of ballet and the discipline required. It's like a whole other world. I must admit that my Mom raised me on classical ballet (thank god for PBS!), and she always wanted to learn but never had the chance to. I'm still trying to convince her to go to a basic class. She thinks it's absolutely beautiful and would want nothing more than to have something "take her away!"

Amen, Andrew, Amen. Jonathan's ballet's costumes reminded me of La Valse, but as you mentioned we could not see the whole ballet so we can't tell much of the overall sentiment and plot. I wonder how much more Christopher Wheeldon choreographed for this -- I'm sure there were parts cut out for the movie. It'd be very interesting to see what else there was, and Wheeldon's ideas behind the ballet. It's hard to say, though, since it was choreographed for the sake of the movie with a point to be more or less upstaged by Cooper's number. Comparing the two is pretty much like comparing apples and oranges. I'm just glad that they included both styles, since I'm sure many people enjoyed the "freshness" of Cooper's piece. As long as the movie doesn't make one style out to be superior to the other, portraying both is fine to me. (I agree totally about the bedroom scene, yikes.) I hope that the theme of Jody expressing that other types of dancing are more fun than ballet class doesn't send the message to too many folks that ballet somehow isn't worth it ...

It is a great number, isn't it? I heard that many of the other dancers were from the dancing cast of Fosse, but I'm not sure. It looked like jazz with bits of hip-hop in it. I wish in real life I could just take one class and get a huge routine like that perfectly! I love the movies.

Of course I cry! Some scenes are obvious, like Giselle's mad/death scene, Albrecht dragging himself desperately around her grave, any performance of the Dying Swan. It seems like sometimes I get teary at the most random moments! The end of the Rose Adagio, when Aurora makes her sweeping low bow, makes me feel so relieved for her and so happy. Any part of The Man I Love from Balanchine's Who Cares always gets me, especially when Robert LaFosse danced it with Viviana Durante at the Balanchine Celebration. He really looks smitten the whole time! One big one is from Swan Lake, when the Prince meets Odette and finally puts his arms around her and she looks so scared and frail. The best part is where she starts the frantic little bourrees in place, it always tears me apart. <sniff>

I guess it would depend on my mood, but I'd love to do the first part and last part of Cooper's ballet (the Michael Jackson part with the motorcycle, and the Jamiroquai finale). I could definitely do without the "bed scene!" The "adagio" scene is kind of cool, but the finale is even cooler. Now Jonathan's ballet is great when you're feeling in that sort of more pensive mood. I love Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2, so maybe I'm biased But all the same, I also wouldn't turn down a chance to dance it (even the corps)!

What a nice topic. I must say I really love Viviana Durante of the Royal Ballet as Aurora. I absolutely loved the way she came down the stairs to her waiting guests at the birthday party, looking a bit uncertain and shy but unable to control her excitement. The King and Queen were so much taller than her, too, so the effect of her seeking approval from them every so often was heightened by her going on pointe to be kissed on the forehead. It accentuated Aurora's youth. As the "vision" conjured up by the Lilac Fairy, Viviana's Aurora was delicate and more mature. By the time the wedding came around, she was just glorious. And boy did Zoltan Solymosi as the Prince swoop her up in lifts with ease! He's huge compared to her!

It was my very first Opening Night Gala! It was very exciting. I'm afraid I'm not that great at describing performances like some of the wonderful folks here on the board, but I'll tell you that I had a lot of fun! I was inspired to work even harder in class the following day (and still am). Here are my thoughts/descriptions of the first half of the evening. I hope to write about the second half when I'm not so busy! The evening opened with the orchestra and audience in a very reverent rendition of The Star Spangled Banner. Everyone got to their feet and sang. What a fitting tribute -- I realized that I had guessed right that Balanchine's Stars and Stripes would be the finale. The actual program started with The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude, which is one that I saw first a few years ago and enjoyed immensely. This one, headed by Julie Diana, was certainly wonderful. She is very much a buoyant dancer, dainty yet full of energy and precision for the number. Aquilarco was an interesting, more modern dance with latin flare. Stephen Legate and Kristin Long presented a few flamenco arms and even some basic salsa! Ms. Long did some death-defying leaps into Mr. Legate's arms, which drew gasps from the audience. This was a very rousing number, full of continuous movement. One scene from Nacho Duato's Without Words was portrayed very movingly by Katita Waldo and Parrish Maynard. They seem to have really grown into this role -- when it was first performed awhile ago, the dancers hadn't appeared to have fully captured the unique, flowing movements and strong emotions. These two interacted very tenderly, as if afraid of losing one another. It was quite powerful in a very lyrical way. The biggest surprise and treat for me of the evening was Muriel Maffre in The Dying Swan. I thought I was going to cry during parts of the short piece. I had never seen it danced live before, and Ms. Maffre used her long arms well to accentuate the Swan's beauty and fragility. She seemed to me a swan who didn't want to die yet, but had resigned herself although she fought feebly and exuded sheer desperation at some points. Wow. The pas de deux from Paquita ended the first half, with the fiery Lorena Feijoo and elegant Vadim Solomakha. They looked wonderful together, Solomakha's light jumps and softer style a nice complement to Feijoo's almost commanding, noble presence. I was very pleased to see a time-honored, very classical pas included in the program. You can't go wrong with Paquita! All right, Part II to come later ... [ February 01, 2002: Message edited by: linsusanr ]

For more remarks on Lacarra, check out the link posted today for the SF Chronicle's review of the Opening Night Gala. Dance critic Octavio Roca comments on her "insolent extension" and "sensual calligraphy" of her line ... After all, the piece "Light Rain" was also described as comprised of "torrid sexual partnerings" -- yikes! Just thought this might be of interest! Personally, at the Gala, I wished that the biggest applause didn't go to Light Rain, but to Maffre's Dying Swan. She was lovely. What a treat!

I just saw SFBallet's Opening Night Gala last night and Lucia Lacarra was cast in the excerpt from Light Rain, a very tribal/primal modernish piece. She was well cast for it, since she really is the sensual, I-can-bend-in-any-direction ballerina. She really captures the audience; I noticed that the applause was greatest for that number the entire evening (besides the Stars and Stripes Finale). I think that she has unfortunately been somewhat typecast in the earthy, gorgeous femme fatale role, however. I saw her in Agon as well a few years ago, when she had just joined the company. I remember being really impressed, and that was after seeing Darcy Bussell dance it, too! Since then, however, I have been somewhat concerned to see her bring the extremely fluid lines and over-extensions into more traditionally classical works (Giselle). I just didn't think that they fit at all! She seems to always have that very intense, primal look in her eyes. (I haven't seen her in Sleeping Beauty, though ... so I can't comment about that one!) All in all, however, I think she is very unique and is very captivating -- in the more modern roles. One dancer I think can really distinguish between femme fatale and fragile Odette is Yuan Yuan Tan. She is amazing!!

Wow, Jeannie, thanks for the clarification and details! I remember wishing Dick Button would just leave! I'm in California, so I guess I won't hope for any broadcasting of the Jackson competition ... But I can hope, can't I? As for Ms. Healy, I didn't realize that she retired so early. I do remember her wonderful appearance in one of the Vienna New Year's Concerts a few years ago where she danced a Josef Strauss Polka Mazurka. She was gorgeous in that one, and I was glad to see her dance.

I also wish that at least one ballet competition were shown on television. I remember a long time ago one was televised on PBS, with a 13-year old Katherine Healy winning the gold (can't remember which competition it was, I was very young). Does anyone know if any competitions will be on TV this year? *sigh* What would we do without PBS -- and it doesn't even broadcast much ballet anymore BW, I agree with you about the advertising dollars. Just wait for the Super Bowl and Olympics -- advertising melee!

I finally got to watch the Fosse program I taped, and I found it exciting since I hadn't seen any of those numbers before. I knew a lot of the songs, however. It was a lot of fun, but I kind of wished that there was more dancing. The singing and posing were great, but there seemed to be a lack of full-out dancing. When the tapsters in white suits finally broke out into a group dance at the end of that number, I cheered! But I agree with dirac about the Sing, Sing, Sing finale. There were some really neat spots, but also parts I could have done without. Also, I wished I could have seen more of Edwaard Liang. I found myself hoping that Ben Vereen would move out of the way so I could see Edwaard dance more, but his costume was so dark that he blended into the background anyways! All in all I did have fun watching the program, it's good to remember that there's other types of dance out there other than ballet!

Thanks, dirac, for your comments! I would be a total amateur on Fosse compared to you, but I taped the PBS special and am going to watch it this weekend. I wanted to see the actual show when it was on tour, but it got cancelled due to the 9/11 situation. I'm just hoping that the PBS version will at least give me more of an idea of the show!

I don't read Cosmo, but that's really awful! Thank goodness I know some guys who would go to the ballet by themselves, and definitely with a date or friends Alexandra, let us know if you do send the magazine a letter, and whether they give you a response. I'm thinking about writing as well!

I just wanted to say that I watched the broadcast of Barbie in the Nutcracker this past weekend, and I enjoyed it. It was especially neat since I am currently dancing snow and flowers in my school's production. I really wish that they had incorporated more dancing, but the pas de deux at the end made it all worth it for me

I thought Muriel Maffre was a wonderful Carabosse at San Francisco Ballet's Sleeping Beauty. She is a principal dancer with the company, and I thought it was unusual since there are resident character dancers. Parrish Maynard (a principal) was also cast as Carabosse, but not on the night I was in attendance. It's interesting SFB cast both men and women for the role. What I liked tremendously about Muriel's Carabosse was her capability to show indignance, anger, but also a deeply wounded pride when her character is not invited to the festivities. She really shows she is hurt, yet holds her own. I found it very touching, which is something new for me in watching a Carabosse.

Wow, Alexandra, that's really something. I can't say I've experienced anything like that (yet)! I just wanted to put in a word about the whole cell phone ringing bit. I know it's really annoying, but I'm sure some well-meaning people simply forget once or twice in their lives to turn off their phone before the performance. I usually have subscription tickets, so the crew of performance attenders is generally the same. If they like ballet enough to get a subscription, I would hope they wouldn't mean to leave their ringers on! By the same token, I have a little story to tell, too. It was a symphony concert, actually, and during the piano concerto the pianist was starting the most lyrical and emotional part of his cadenza. The symphony had totally dropped out, so it was just the soloist. Right as there was a pause in the melody, someone's phone went off with "Toreador" from Carmen! I felt so sorry for the pianist (who went through beautifully)! But for some reason it was so very funny. Many of the patrons near me smiled and grinned, but of course kept quiet and enjoyed the rest of the piece.

Hello! I am a subscriber to the San Francisco Ballet, so I have seen Ms. Lacarra quite a few times ... I have always enjoyed her fluidity, like you described. I've only really seen her in neoclassical and modern numbers, though. In these she is almost predatory, and very sensual. I can't take my eyes off her! It'd be very interesting to have seen her Aurora, though. When I saw Sleeping Beauty it was Joanna Berman who danced Aurora, and she seemed to have absorbed the role well.

Hi! I agree that this couple has a wonderful presence together. Did you see the Dance Magazine from last February that featured them on the cover as dancing sweethearts? There was a story on them as well. Also, it's great to hear you're getting a new dog!

Juliet, did you go to the NY library to watch it? I see you're from Annapolis ... Being a west-coaster, I have no idea how long it takes to get from there to NYC. Or do you by chance have a copy of it?? Thanks to lara and Mme. Hermine for the call number and library info. I don't know how I'll get out to New York these days, but you never know! -Susan

My local PBS station got back to my query about the program, and it seems that I can't get a copy from them since they don't have one! This is what they wrote: "Lincoln Center never sells any of their programs on tape. The shows are not produced as TV shows, but as "live coverage of a live arts event," and have broadcast rights for 1 telecast only. This is done so that each program only costs a few hundred thousand dollars to produce, rather than several hundred, and allows Lincoln Center to produce 4-5 shows a year rather than just 1. Stations immediately erase their tapes after the single broadcast. sorry for the bad news." This is an FYI for anybody else who is interested in past Live from Lincoln Center broadcasts. I'm so sad! -Susan

I just found the name of the program after scouring PBS' vast site: "A Lincoln Center Special" featuring NYCB from "Live from Lincoln Center" ... the date was October 10, 1983. Now the question is whether I can access this somehow! :rolleyes: Ever hopeful, Susan

I'll try asking PBS very soon ... Do either of you know the actual name of the program? Thank you for your help! -Susan