cubanmiamiboy

Neither have I, born a little later...

Thanks for your memories, Natasha. I believe that the first clip actually belongs to that very Puerto Rican tour you remember. Also interesting to note that Williams, from the first clip, was the first black dancer to climb the ranks in the Cuban company.

Octavio Roca defined it as a "beefcake extravaganza". It is Azari Plisetski's "Canto Vital-("Song of Nature), set to Gustav Mahler's Rondo finale from his 5th Symphony in C); This is a contemporary piece for four male dancers and a vehicle for physicality and prowess, as they leap and crawl and climb, up and over and under each other, in bare, bathing-suit types of colorful costumes. This is a work of biceps and bravura, masculinity and muscularity. Mahler's music is perfectly positioned here, with its trumpet flares and swelling strings. The four characters depicted are "Nature", "Beast", "Fish" and "Bird". 1979. ORLANDO SALGADO, LAZARO CARRENO, ANDRES WILLIAMS, RAUL BARROSO 2011. Arian Molina, Jose Carlos Lozada, Serafin Castro, Yanier Gomez http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NHr2-TgCVk&feature=related

I know, Paul! The Cuban Black Swan coda definitely has a great, exciting pathos...fouettes, sautes voyages on pointe, pique turns and flying fish dive! When one hasn't recovered from one flashy moment, the other is on its way already to surpass the preceding one...

I love those tours en l'air on both sides too, Helene and Diane! In fact, if I remember well, wasn't the step reconstructed by Fullington for the PNB Giselle's Peasant PDD male variation, and later on not used by choice...? Natasha...yes, I was very happy to see that the Puerto Rican company is still up and alive. There are several Cuban dancers there, and I just saw they're doing an opening casting. I wish they could build a website too.

Definitely, Birdsall. The creme of the night was with no doubt DQ PDD. Gutierrez and Sarabita were fabulous, and even with the fact that she's a VERY muscular, compact lady-(with ankles and pointes of steel)-and Sarabita looks thinner than ever, they were able to pull the best of them out and present a lovely vision of the old times. They were flashy, in a positive shameless way, but they certainly have the technique and charisma to do so. Still, even more emotional for me was to see our Queen of Accents back onstage, Miss Feijoo, dancing a contemporary-(although classy and on pointe)- waltz to the live music of the piano onstage, which she danced along with husband Nelson Madrigal. Lorna was so lovely and detailed, as usual, although watching Hayna I was able to "see" again the little hints that makes this ladies so unique in style. Absent are those "spaghetti arms" with the over exaggerated boneless undulation and broken wrists, so in fashion now as if all the ballerinas are doing Dying Swan at all times...(I also remember someone referring to them as "twiggy arms"). Absent also is the over worked epaulement...the nowadays ever present frantic desire to always look as elongated and straight and stretched and upward as if they're trying to reach the sky at all times, loosing in the way elegance and softness. Also, there's a difference in the way this ladies treat their bailarines. Contemporary performers usually choose an individualistic approach as if forgetting the male presence onstage, a man to which they're supposed to be dancing to, which would bring then the third quality I appreciate while watching the two Cuban couples. They REALLY are dancing to each other...the audience being relegated to a second position. I always remember Alonso emphasizing this. Then, and please allow me to say this...one can tell that there's not that much of an obsession on the Cuban ladies to look as thin as they can be, loosing in the process sometimes very much needed muscle strenght and ankle power, and THAT, IMO, has always been a trademark of the Cuban female dancers. I'm sure they can be considered "heavy" by today's standards. Anyway...very glad to have been there and reminisce a bit. Looking forward to many more performances of my fellow citizens...!!

Yes indeed, Miss Kaplan. Molina was never flashy like Acosta, a child star like Sarabita or a choice for Alonso's late partnering toward the end of her dancing career like Lienz Chang. He actually rather suffered from Sarabita's meteoric climbing thru the ranks with less casting, but he had this wonderful, elegant, soft demeanor onstage that made him fabulous to watch. By coincidence, while talking to his father-(whom I just met at Feijoo's dressing room)-he graciously invited me to visit him to show me his private collection of amateur videos of the Cuban company, many of which contains Molina's dancing. He happens to live just a couple of blocks away from my apartment..!

My pleasure, diane. Always trying to bring into balletic focus all my exiled fellow citizens...

To all the fathers of this board-(and especially those "ballet dads" I'm sure we have... )-I wish A very, VERY Happy Dad's Day...!! FELICIDADES!!!!! :flowers: :flowers: The concerned father... The glamorous father... The hopeful-(later suffering)-father...

While backstage last night with Lorna Feijoo at the CCBM gala I was able to chat a bit with Molina's father-(I hope I'm able to post this "non oficial" thing here...is really harmless, I promise..)-and he told me he's fine and still dancing in a company in Puerto Rico-(no website available, sadly),and that he was to dance Apollo today over there, staged by Nilas Martins. He also cited Molina's complete aversion to the cold weather among the main reasons for him not joining a top American company up north back when he was offered the chance. I'm happy to know that "the prince"-(as Mme.Alonso used to called him)-of the Cuban ballet is still active and onstage. I wish the best for him. Certainly loving memories I have of him and Feijoo's magical nights back in Havana. From the next press release I also realized that another ex Principal of the National Cuban Ballet, Mr. Romel Frometa-(Viengsay Valdes' long time partner and her Basilio in the Cuban DQ DVD)-is also dancing currently there, along with Miss Bettina Ojeda, another ex member of the CNB. Interesting also to notice that Jimmy Gamonet-(ex Miami City Ballet resident choreographer and ex AD of the now difunct Gamonet Ballet)-is working with them, bringing is version of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" "What is it with mythology that it always seems so fascinating? We lose ourselves in the tales about the gods who become infuriated and descend to Earth to change the course of things, nymphs who drive us crazy, and narcissus that were born as a result of vanity. Our species is all about the myth. And so, the next mise-en-scène of Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico (BCPR) promises to be a feast for the imagination and a challenge for corporal movement, because the two pieces to be premiered are, precisely, a fusion of ideas. “Apollo” was composed between 1927 and 1928 by Igor Stravinsky and choreographed by master Russian choreographer George Balanchine (co-founder of the New York City Ballet) in 1928. This would be the first time that BCPR presents this piece that tells the story of Apollo, the god of music in Greek mythology, and his three muses: Calliope, the muse of epic poetry; Polyhymnia, the muse of rhetoric; and Terpsichore, the muse of dance. For the montage, the répétiteur of the Balanchine Trust and longtime principal of the New York City Ballet, Nilas Martins, traveled to Puerto Rico. Martins is a renowned figure in international ballet and the son of ballet legend Peter Martins. “This is the second time I’ve worked with the company and it’s always a wonderful experience to teach something from scratch and then see how in a short period of time they are able to attain enough confidence to create within the boundaries of the choreography,” Martins said about the ballet in which only three female dancers and one male dancer take part. “There is much emotion, character and interpretation,” he adds. In addition to “Apollo,” the audience will be able to enjoy the world premiere of the ballet, “Midsummer Night’s Dream” by renowned Peruvian choreographer Jimmy Gamonet de los Heros, in collaboration with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra concert series, conducted by maestro Rafael Enrique Irizarry, and featuring Coral Lírico de Puerto Rico directed by Johan Herrero. The general conduction of the Symphony Orchestra is by its principal conductor, maestro Maximiano Valdés. The musical score of “Midsummer Night’s Dream” was composed by Félix Mendelssohn and is based on the work by William Shakespeare. The scenography is by Checo Cuevas and David Higgings, and the costume design is by Gamonet himself. Guest artists include, Romel Frómeta, Osmay Molina, Ana Serantes and Eloy Ortiz from Andanza Dance Company, whereas ballerinas Tania Muñiz and Betina Ojeda will head a dance company of 45 with Carlos Cabrera as artistic director". http://www.elnuevodia.com/Xstatic/endi/template/imprimir.aspx?id=1218871&t=3

Oh, no...I meant in Havana..! ...and yes, THEY were insane about it...

Thanks for the clip, Quiggin! Why am I not surprised about the ballet being rehearsed..? ( Was I thinking it could maybe be some Forsythe...?..No...not really... ) Interesting...at the very last seconds of the dialogue, Araujo and Delgado discuss the final pose of Aurora's variation. When Araujo notices the way Delgado chooses that very pose, she asks-intrigued-WHO taught it to her it, or where did she take it from...at one point asking her.."Was it Alicia..?" Then, they go back and forth about the way it used to be and the way the pose is being held nowadays, and when Araujo advises her to choose the modern one, she then says, "And if they ask you who was responsible, make me guilty...by the time they do it I won' be here..."

Definitely a VERY tough lady, Natasha! The times I've seen her spaking she even comes out as harsh. Here she is in a completely challenge to her natural persona.

I have even seen a heavily stretching of the right leg all the way back to the head-(instead of the simple, elegant developpe devant)- while the ballerina is in that arched/horizontal/lifted position, which always makes for the whole skirt to open. I never really liked it, for which it looks too modern and gymnastic. It was really a revelation to see how the simple passage becomes a completely different animal after Markova's correction.

The two main maitres and right hands of Alonso are Mme. Loipa Araujo and Mme. Maria Elena Llorente. The company was supposed to be taken by the late Mme Josefina Mendez, who was the closer to Alonso, but Araujo and Llorente are equally hardcore vigilantes of the mid-century stagings of the classics that Alonso has so carefully kept. On the other side, the company will keep its current guidelines and politics.

Loved it..! (It happens at 03:16) ...and then.."No, you SHOULD stay on pointe...if possible..!" (@ 4;51) Brava Markova! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvIdAIoKmF8&feature=relmfu

Yes, Paul...she is wonderful. What I find fascinating about her is not that a picture of a the super strong technician, but rather the special attention she gives to the music and the musical accents in her movements. There are always little movements of head, neck and eyes that she places right at the very precise musical moments, hence giving momentum to the phrase. Sometimes one can really tell when the dancer KNOWS musical counts and tempi or not...many times the magic of a moment is totally broken by trying to achieve that extra pirouette or a longer balance. Lorna, on the contrary, was a digital clock with her choices of steps. Sadly, I don't have that Tchai Pas you refer to with Woetzel. and yes...she was indeed wonderful on it. I can just imagine how would she had been in Theme and Variations would she had had the opportunity to dance it.. Here she is in the nowadays very neglected Grand Pas Classique with Sarabita. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZTRr-nDmQY Diane and Actaeon with Carlos Acosta. Black Swan PDD with Sarabita And a bit of a presentation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AShdPq6YCg4

BB...Gutierrez was definitely struggling at times with the high notes, although she has definitely been working in her upper registry. One can tell that she's projecting her voice from down her diaphragm up and out with caution, instead of just attacking the note with plain throat. Her strongest point was the middle registry. I would say she could excel way more in mezzo roles. Her Ombre legere was delightful...she did all that fioritura exchange with the flute very well, but as I say..cautiously. What I notice is that she WANTS to sing coloratura very badly, and is not shy about trying out loud. I like that in a performer...she's not afraid of the challenge.

Thanks for loading that clip, Paul! How interesting...Miss Efremova executes those arabesque sautes voyages on pointe that define so much the Cuban Black Swan coda. I think that this used to be a very popular step back in the days and now is being neglected. Fonteyn also does them in her Sleeping Beauty PDD coda, Katya Maximova in the ballroom sequence of Aniuta and Mia Slavenska in the Kitri variation shown in the BRdMC documentary. I would be curious to know if that's a rather difficult step to execute by a ballerina, being that the reason for its current absence in choreographies-(Obratzsova in Aniuta does the hops in flat foot instead...) RIP Mr. Dolgushin.

Lorna was the one ballerina whom I really enjoyed at full in every role, and she really knew had to be a crowd pleaser. Of course, now that she's pushing 40 I can't expect for her to deliver with the same level as 15 years ago, but I know she still will be wonderful. Watching her dancing with Sarabita again will be like jumping in a time machine... And about the whistling, well...going to a ballet night in Havana could made some unfamiliar members to think they are in a football game instead Oh, how do I miss that too...

Last night I took my friend and my mother to a recital by Cuban coloratura soprano Eglise Gutiérrez at the University of Miami’s Gusman Concert Hall, who sang along with with Elaine Rinaldi, artistic director of Orchestra Miami, at the piano. I have seen Miss Gutierrez before with the FLorida Grand Opera, and was very pleased with her choice of songs and arias. We had a great night, which ended up wth late-late roasted pork at Versailles restaurant. A very Cuban night indeed! The programme was as follows. Eglise Gutiérrez, Soprano Elaine Rinaldi, Piano Piangeró la Sorte Mia from Giulio Cesare Georg Friedrich Handel Tornami a vagheggiar from Alcina (1685-1759) Zdes’ horocho Sergei Rachmaninov Ne poi, krasavitsa, pri mne (1873-1943) Villanelle Eva Dell’Acqua (1856-1930) Après un Rêve Gabriel Faure (1845-1924) L’heure Exquise Reynaldo Hahn (1874-1947) Ombre légère Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791-1864) Intermission Oh, quante volte from I Capuletti e I Montecchi Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835) El Tra lala y el Punteado from Tonadillas Enrique Granados El Majo Discreto (1864-1916) Elegia eterna Enrique Granados Maja y el Ruiseñor from Goyescas Enrique Granados Canción de la Paloma Francisco Asenjo Barbieri from El barberillo de Lavapiés (1823-1894) Mi vida eres tú Ernesto Lecuona (1895-1963) La Niña de Guatemala Eduardo Sanchez de Fuentes La Volanta (1874-1944) Corazón El Clarín Gonzalo Roig

So overdue for Big Red...Congrats, Katya!!