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cubanmiamiboy

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Everything posted by cubanmiamiboy

  1. I have seen the three attempts at restoring the original fourth act wedding/temple destruction, namely Makarova's, Vikharev's and now Ratmansky's. This is the most comprehensive one.
  2. Leave that SL on where it is, my friend!!😍 That double suicide in profile with the heavens apotheosis while the swamp thing is convulsing on top of the rocks is iconic!! And then....I can go back and forth between that and my home company 's great recon....😎
  3. True. But because I dislike so much the usual narrative that Latin automatically disqualifies someone from being white-( the perennial "they were many Latinos at the party and a few whites")- without knowing that many of those whites ARE actually Latinos, I usually check "other", and write "Caucasian". It is up to them to figure what do I mean by that.πŸ˜‚
  4. Of course generalizations are always a bad idea. For instance...I am Cuban by origin, just as my two parents and four grandparents, and I have successfully traced the origin of the families of the four of them back to the 1700's, having come to Cuba from France, Spain and England. On my maternal grandfather's side-( the English, Barnstaple, one)- they are all blue eyed blondes, a trait that went all the way down to my mother and the three of my first cousins. I only inherited the blonde. But...long story short, there's a difference between race,. ethnicity and COLOR. The notion of either "Latin or white" is ridiculous, because you can have the whitest skin and the bluest eyes and still be born in a Latin country and have three generations of Latins behind you in your family, particular in countries colonized and inhabited by an array of European nationalities.
  5. Hello Jack...long time no see!! I have also become nostalgic. I just saw Serenade and Theme and Variations by City Ballet, followed by Serenade by MCB, and yes...those faster, crispier performances with spitfire Catoya bouyanty coming out encircling the corps, back when we still hwd Eddie, are certainly missed.
  6. Aaah....so there must have been then two different tours. Although if Kent is reporting, by the time she finished writing her autobiography, that this was her ONLY opportunity to see the Hermitage, then even if Kirkland and Kent were together in yet another tour, where Kirkland made the observation about the marble and the slippers, still contradicts Kent's account of have never been in the museum.
  7. Edited to add that now I've been corrected in that the dancer Kirkland speaks about was Von Aroldingen, not Kent. Original post. Maybe you have also observed little details here and there that seem to contradict a recollection of an event from dancer to dancer..? Event in question. NYCB tour of Russia during Balanchine's lifetime. Gelsey narrates a passage in which she observed Balanchine holding Kent by her arm and both of them wearing paper slippers while walking the marble floors of the Hermitage. I just finished Kent's recollections of the tour. According to her, she missed the only one opportunity she had to visit the Hermitage because when she finally made it there, it was closed as it was October Revolution Day celebration, and the museum was closed.
  8. That would be entertaining in a case of a boring performance of Swan Lake. Trying to locate the guy in disguise as a maiden, venturing into pointe shoes and a tutu.😎
  9. Yes...someone echoed the "Gelsey Brava" scream. Undeserved it this time, IMHO.
  10. I have attempted to write this three times since last night, and three times I erased it. If I let myself go all the way, I usually come out as bitter and too harsh. But long story short. Last night was off. Everything was off. Serenade was off. Mearns was off. Orpheus as a ballet doesn't work any longer and Theme and Variations was off. T&V particularly. Fairchild had problems with the turns and placement during her first variation. Huxley cheated on his pirouettes, LeCrone looked aesthetically harsher than ever and unmusical...and even two Corps women collided toward the end...I believe right before the Polonaise. I was reading John Martin review of the first performance of NYC at City Center in 1948, and of course....he deemed Orpheus as follows. "Certainly it is worth the time, effort, money and possible expenditure of wrath, for such esthetic satisfactions do not happen along too frequently in a life time of theater going". vs "a regular choreographic fourth of July celebration. Roman candles and pin-wheels which follow each other more or less in straight sequence against a definitely light weight musical background...". That is, Symphony in C. Of course, there will always be an audience for everything. For "The Nose" vs "La Traviata"....for Scandinavian teak vs Hollywood Regency and so on and so forth. But when Pavlova said once..."I only dance with musique dansante", she established the definitive line of demarcation. But even myself, the ultimate lover and advocate of musique dansante, have been transfixed by the beauty of Bugaku -(stabbed to death by the PC and now probably buried forever by the Powers that Be). Orpheus wasn't Bugaku. The greatest thing it has is that it has been untouched. Meaning that by looking at such a Midcentury aesthetics product, we can visualize and appreciate the streamlined process that went through other works like Apollo and The Four Temperaments. Martin gives the audience member an ultimate advise regarding Orpheus. "The advise here, if you're inclined to be irascible about art-(πŸ˜‚)- is to buy two sets of tickets and see it twice. The first time to get acclimated, as it were, and the second to enjoy it". I did so. Second time coming up tonight. Let's see, Mr Martin.
  11. Amen. Which makes me wonder....what would had been his reaction to Angle's choice, would he had been faced with it
  12. Orpheus..!!!!😢😢😢 Talk about vintage....
  13. A note of appreciation for Miriam Miller. Her lethal Siren towered over the Prodigal like I haven't seen in years. She's so tall!
  14. Now that a lot of conversations are going on about Apollo, and I've been reminiscing of the only way I knew it-( before videos..., before coming to US), here it is. Unauthorized and staged by Alicia Alonso and her powerful memory. (The Trust wrote her, offering a coached, authorized version. Her answer.."No, thanks. This is how I learned it from Balanchine himself in the 1950's, and this is how's going to stay here). Of course....we all know the subsequent changes the ballet had from the one she danced with Eglevsky and Nora Kaye to the one with D'Amboise to finally the version for Misha, which we're all seeing this season. A little detail. In the 1970's Lifar went to Cuba and coached Esquivel in the role. Again.... unauthorized. Enjoy.
  15. The tree ballets presented today have had re invention history. I personally see it more with Apollo, being more used to Villella's birth/Olympus/stairway staging and Alonso's even older one with full sets, costumes and headdresses, so I cannot help but feeling it lacking. Ballet Imperial, I have seen it with tutus at ABT, many years ago...but this badge of unsurpassed performances by Peck and Mearns will be next to impossible to top, so they will stay as THE ones. La Sonmambula...well....I think is the one that have suffered the most. From old pictures and the accounts of Sir Freddie, it is obvious that it originally had a more surreal ambiance and more luxurious costumes. Mme Danilova with her long black wig and accentuated makeup...paired with her elaborate , tassels infused nightgown and Sir Freddie with his elegant black tuxedo-("we didn't have tights!"), plus the bizarre animals headpieces for the party ladies and the original design of the divertissement characters obviously made for something different as to what we're presented today. The sets were also different...less realistic...more surreal as well. However...the finale is still very effective. And a million questions ensue, because this ballet is all about what we don't know. We don't know who the sleepwalker is...we don't know what type of relationship she has with the Baron...we don't know what sort of strange things might be happening up there in the tower, and we don't know for sure what type of occult, even evil rituals will the participants of the space -( the Sleepwalker, the Baron and the deceased Poet)- engaged in when the curtains go down. It's neo-Gothic, and quite effective. And I'm sure Allegra was splendid in the role. She had the right personality in real life for the role. It is known she has been involved at times in her life, on a personal level, with various beliefs systems, so I'm sure she was able to convey the right sense of danger, uneasiness and tragedy necessary. As she said.... dancing the role she would be "getting signals"😎
  16. Even more now knowing of her personal issues. I really hope for the best outcome for her family, and will always cherish this OUTSTANDING performance she gave us today.
  17. Today Tiler Peck has moved to my top five ALL TIME favorite performances EVER. Her Ballet Imperial needs to be studied by future generations of dancers.
  18. I suppose this is, again, a totally subjective topic. I found his baldness too distracting both in Ballet Imperial and Le Palais de Cristal. So this is probably yet another case of having to "agree to disagree". Oh....there's no question about his partnering abilities. He's certainly superb. But yesterday, while watching Prodigal's goons, they reminded me of him.😢
  19. OMG!!! Can we talk about Fairchild's demeanor as if she was dancing in her living room, so calm and in control....Mejia literally FLYING and Mearns luxuriating in her Adagio as if walking on clouds...? Aside from the unfortunate slip and fall of Woodward, it was a Symphony in C for the ages. I kept looking at Megan, and thinking...."how in earth does she look as young and powerful as a ballerina half her age.....? She's a treasure for sure. The right middle ground in between Mearns and Peck. I adore her dancing. Ulbricht made me tear up with his Prodigal. Miriam was LETHAL!!! I ran into Eddie Villella at the lobby, and spoke to him and his wife, and took some selfies. I asked him what did he think of Ulbricht, and he said..."I never jumped that high!" Can you believe the humbleness..? Of course he could and more!!😎
  20. I don't find him attractive, but I know this is a subjective thing.
  21. Edited: Reminder to myself "Keep your mouth shut, Christian...!"
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