Figurante

A review of ABT in Othello in Los Angeles, Sunday the 15th. http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/enter...cle_1767933.php

I have just begun to read A Queer History of Ballet By Peter Stoneley. It, thus far, has mirrored my dance life to a tee!

Since I could find no official published news about Fall for Dance, even through individual companies, I took this picture of a displayed poster outside of City Center that lists (some?) the companies/organizations that will be involved! They include: Manhattan Theater Club National Theater of Greece Pennsylvania Ballet Paul Taylor Dance Company Morphoses the Wheeldon Company Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater American Ballet Theater New York Flamenco Festival New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players Sadler's Wells The Kirov Ballet & Orchestra Gypsy Fall for Dance I can't imagine that these are the only companies involved, as there aren't 28, as stated on the website. But at least we get a little idea!

Has there been any official news about Joffrey Ballet's Artistic Director situation? Have they appointed anyone yet? It is getting rather late... n'est pas?

Definitely great news! Especially excited about Sarah Lane and Yuriko! I am now waiting anxiously for Hee Seo ...

I chose #3. It really makes no difference whether it's blocked programming or not, or what ballet's the companies perform. They are all under rehearsed, performed sloppily (with the exception of a few principals/soloists), and is difficult to sit through in general. It's enough for anyone to return their ticket and buy a cheap bus ticket to Boston Ballet, Washington Ballet or Pennsylvania Ballet to go see a quality production. I believe any ballet can be made into something beautifully compelling by a dancer. Even the stereotypical long boring ballet's (Liesberger Waltzer, Dybbuk, for example) can be made beautiful by the company if they just had a little more integrity. I found it interesting that Dybbuk (a Robbins piece, therefore rehearsed by outsiders from NYCB) looked much cleaner than the other two bills for the program. Doesn't that say something? I hate saying it, but the Times got it right when they reviewed Miami City Ballet as a better Balanchine performing company than NYCB. I have been nothing but dissapointed, not to be a debbie downer or anything. Of course I have my staple favorite dancers, but sometimes, they alone cannot save the entirety of the ballet.

Pennsylvania Ballet has purchased land in a $5.5 million dollar transaction for its new headquarters around Vine Street. After demolition and construction, the whole job should be done within three years. The city of Philadelphia gave Pennsylvania Ballet $1 million for the acquisition and renovation of the new facility They are even considering a black box theater, which is becoming a staple trend for larger ballet companies in the nation. How exciting! Playbill Arts Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia Inquirer2

I believe Looking at the Dance is one of the most comprehensive critiques of Balanchine's ballets on the market. It has been a while since I have read his literature, but I ran into someone at one of the NYCB performances of Raymonda Variations, who said that he sat next to Denby, and that it completely changed his outlook on ballet in general. I was in awe. I would kill to sit amongst such a critic! Does anyone have any other good bootleg, or other recommendations on Denby's writings?

I am so happy to hear this! both of these individuals are amazing and will have so much to offer the members of the studio company!

I could not be happier about this new appointment! Finally a critic who will tell it like it is! No more feeble brown nosers for City Ballet.. cheers!

Well this is superb. Luckily I will be able to make the July 2nd show and give a full report!

Not you, not me, but I'll bet she finished to rousing cheers. "Someone like Ashley Bouder?" Name one! I dare you! Haha! Cheers to that!

I agree with some other members. The 32 fouette is a staple. Granted, half of the dancers in North America can barely do 16, but still. It is so well known, that I actually disagree with choreographers/directors who change the turns into something else because their dancer can't pull them off. If they can't do them.. why are they doing the role? This past season, I saw ABT do Swan Lake in the new Miami Performing Arts Center, and pretty much flatlined when Paloma did her fouettes for Odile. I was outraged. She got around okay, but who honestly wants to look at some just THROWING (and I mean throwing) her arms around?! Her entire torso was crooked, her passe in more of a jazz pirouette position, etc. It was a travesty. now, someone like Ashely Bouder can REALLY do fouettes; and with integrity.

I had the opportunity to see both the 2:00 and 8:00 shows last night (Saturday) ... I have to admit, I was not all that impressed with the corps of Raymonda Variations. The set, however was beautiful, especially in comparison to other companies, and the costumes were equally satisfying. Raymona Variations is a very puffy ballet. I noticed that a lot of corps girls lost their of steam and got really sloppy even before the variations started. Perhaps this is because so many of the ballets at NYCB are under-rehearsed and thrown together last-minute. Especially in this ballet, I found the corps to be rather unmusical, and spastic, with too many distracting mannerisms rather than having the certain "Raymonda-quality" that I was so craving. As far as the variations went, standouts were Abi Stafford and Ana Sophia Scheller, although some of Stafford's mannerisms were rather distracting and unnecessary for her variation. The other girls seemed to get through the variations, but nothing was compelling or memorable from their performances. I remember Alina Dronova's 1000 watt smile, but that is all. Bouder and Veyette were remarkable. Bouder's phrasing, as mentioned by other members, is both exciting, and compelling, but sometimes I get the feeling that her phrasing is so exquisite, that she may be rather bored in the piece. She definitely has all the technical components down in the ballet. I also found Veyette to be visually pleasing as well. Those two male variations are KILLER, and he pulled through without too much of a struggle. As I was watching the ballet, I seemed to notice many different subleties between other company's choice of choreography versus NYCB's version. Are these just changes on Martin's part? Or perhaps the other companies? Or is this really how the ballet is supposed to be set? It is hard to know what the correct choreography is. I value such things, and when I see extreme differences between companies, it makes me worried that Balanchine's legacy is becoming more dilluted by the season. ******************************************************************************** *************************** Dybbuk is an incredible ballet. It is too bad that they chose to make it the second feature in the program, rather than the last... (it would have been a great closing bill.) As a member of the audience, I could tell this ballet was VERY well rehearsed (most likely due to the fact that it is a Robbins piece.) The group of corps men were extremely together. Their cohesive-ness as a group was note-worthy. Rachel Rutherford was sensational in the ballet. She is a true woman onstage, and is perfectly suited for this role. Joquin de Luz was also very fitting for the ballet. His rendition of his "enlightenment" portion of the ballet was incredible, reaching the apex, when he dies. I was somewhat dismayed by some of the lay members of the audience. Hearing murmurs of how long and boring the ballet was made me distraught. Perhaps the ballet was rather long, and does take a while to get moving, but I still felt it was adamently compelling. It really makes a difference when you know what you are looking for when watching a ballet. I feel as though some just come to the ballet without even reading the iceberg tip of the ballet's description in the program. I know that some artistic directors give pre-performance speeches to audience members before the show starts. Perhaps this would aid the audience into being less bored and more informed. ******************************************************************************** **************************** I admittingly say with regret that I was displeased with Stravinsky Violin Concerto. I believe it may have been the casting. Nothing was incredibly wrong with Hyltin, but I felt her presence was weak, especially for this type of role. Matins really disappointed me. His performance was almost aloof. The attack of the ballet was missing in his performance.. the passion. The only comparison I can think of is plain, cold, oatmeal. Even Kowroski seemed off. Her movements were floppy, and lacked the integrity she usually has. The somewhat saving grace of the ballet for me was Amar Ramasar. He had the energy and gumption needed to sustain my attention. He was a little overly smiley for my personal taste, but his execution in general was refreshing. On a side note, the corps boys seemed to struggle with being musical. ******************************************************************************** **************************** Saturday night's full lenght Jewels was much less of a disappointment than the 2:00 show. Emerald's actually blew me away. The corps was meticulously together, perhaps a wobble or two in there, but nonetheless, strong. I was particularly impressed with Megan LeCrone in the Emerald's Pas de trois. She has a dominating presence onstage that is unbeatable. Robby Fairchild really surprised me. I was having a hard time picturing him in a pas de trois, but he sailed through with flying colors. Rutherford, again, was cast beautifully for the Emerald's pdd. She and Hanna have a beautiful pleasing aesthetic, although when alone, Hanna somewhat faltered. I was less impressed with Sara Mearns. I felt her port de bras was sensationaly out of character for emeralds. I did like Ask la Cour, however. Their pdd was beautiful, despite my picky reservations on arms. ******************************************************************************** **************************** Rubies has always been my favorite, therefore I am biased. Bouder's debut was incredible! Flattering us with her phrasing once again, but this time, she was more in character than in Raymonda Variations. It was extremely refreshing! Millepied was less impressive, but with a dominating force like Bouder, it was hard for me to really focus on him. He didn't have some shaky area. The only one I was not pleased with was Savannah Lowery. Her rendition of the Rubies tall girl left me shocked. Her facial expressions were overly cheesy, rather than the sultry strength the role should portray. It was also very mannery, which I dislike, and there was no attack to her movements. Slush. The corps boys had the necessary attack to compliment the choreography and music, which you don't see very often. ******************************************************************************** **************************** Diamonds, the closing bill, was somewhat refreshing. The corps girls really had things together. The only small instance that there was a problem was when someone fell, but she was back up in a flash, and I had forgotten about it until just now. Unfortunately, I was again displeased with Kowroski again. There was no integrity in her steps. Diamonds pdd is not incredibly difficult, and there is so much emphasis on just walking. There were so many moments of ignorant apathy, it made me sad. Yes, she can panache to one hundred and eighty degrees, but if she can't walk with integrity, it means nothing to me. ******************************************************************************** **************************** In any rate, I suppose I am rather picky in what I like to see in certain ballets. I hold my standards from earlier generations when things were different, as Mr. Balanchine was still alive and kicking, and meticulous detail was placed upon every step. Everything was though out down to when you should breathe. Perhaps youth, as Martins has hailed, is not all it is cracked up to be, or perhaps, as I had mentioned earlier, Balanchine ballet's are being taken over by technique and becoming dilluted as the years go by, rather than having the focus more on the music, which is where it really should be, as quoted by Mr. B, himself.

I thought this was an interesting article on a ballet that will be created from Radiohead music and performed at the Endinburgh International Festival in Scotland this summer. Here is the link... http://p243.news.mud.yahoo.com/s/launch/20...launch/44481927 I can't imagine what kind of ballet this could be, but it is sure to be interesting!

Here is one more short link... http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2007/05/31/sleeping-beauty

PA Ballet's performances appeared to have been a success based on the reviews I have posted below. I had the opportunity to see both ABT's Sleeping Beauty and PA Ballet's. PA Ballet's rendition was much more pleasing, and had less pyrotechnics than the ABT version, which was undoubtedly less distracting and kept the interest solely in the dancing/dancers rather than ABT's version where the focus was mainly on the 'magic' and odd flamboyancy of the production. http://www.philly.com/dailynews/features/7780066.html http://www.philly.com/inquirer/weekend/theater/7823057.html http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.../706040337/1004 http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2007/06/...st-like-a-dream

Valerie Amiss, soloist with Pennsylvania Ballet, ended her 14-year career this past Saturday as Princess Florine in The Sleeping Beauty. http://www.nj.com/news/gloucester/local/in....xml&coll=8

Hello! Happy to join ballet talk.... I am currently a dancer and avid ballet-goer. Looking forward to everyone's posts! -Figurante