cubanmiamiboy

Paul, those words are from "Dancing in my grave". It is interesting, because when one reads it, there's the impression that she's merely guessing when in reality by the time she had written the book she must have had an exact idea of how this production looked like, and still she went ahead with her assessment.

Coppelia at Broward. THE CHOREOGRAPHY. This is a tricky subject for MCB's staging. I didn't see their last run, so I don't know how did they decide to handle this in the past, but as per right now I knew this would be a choreographically interesting presentation since the programme only vaguely states "Choreography after Arthur Saint-Leon". Really..?! How can we even think this staging has, even remotely, something to do with what was presented in Paris as back as 1870..? Whereas the staging of Giselle had the name of Villella up front to justify for all the takings on different versions, here we don't have the chance to know who was the responsible hand and mind behind the dances being presented. A faux pas, if I may. I say, hey...it is OK to copy and paste from older, recognized productions. No shame to be felt. Said that, I start by saying that, again, I saw bits of other productions here and there, including an iconic excerpt from Alonso's that I've never seen anywhere else-(good!). Act I Act I was really delightful. Of course, I did miss the extra music that in the Cuban version allows for Swannilda to make a full, triumphant entrance before engaging in the Waltz. Here Swannilda's entrance goes a bit after the waltz has started. Also, I noticed much more mime on this scene than that of Alonso, which includes a difficult variation with Italian fouetes without taking out the mime. The wheat rustle Adagio is very beautiful, tasteful and clear on its message. The one thing I missed here was the rest of the couples that dance along Franz and Swannilda around them, all playing the trick of pretending to really listen the rustle to a frustrated Franz. Here only the lead couple dances, but it was very well done. On Sunday matinée, Mary Carmen Catoya dropped accidentally the rustle way before the ending-(she still needed it !)-and the day was saved by one corps member-(can't find his name in the roster...he is the only black male dancer in the company)-who bravely stepped in front, picked the thing and got in between the two lovers to offer it back. It was all very organic. The Mazurka and Czarda was also done with great spirit. One complain I have, just as another poster noted from Balanchine's version, is that the Czarda was danced by the same Mazurka dancers, with the same mazurka costumes, with I agree is a mistake, since they are totally different dances from two distinctive different places. Act II Act II was very simple...too simple i would say. I think a little more could have been done with Swannilda and her friends in the dancing area. Yes, this act is mostly all about mime and comedy, but I've seen versions were not only the girls, but also the dolls dances are way more developed-(and there are more of them). Here we have only a Chinese male doll, a Harlequin and an Astronomer-(more like a Wizard)-with a telescope. Don't we all remember the great rubber male doll from the Australian DVD...? The comical mime sequences of Swannilda and her friends were priceless. I laughed a lot! Act III Choreographically, the Wedding PDD had its ups and downs, but allow me to explain this. Thing is, the original music of the PDD is longer than the cuts Alonso uses in Havana. For instance, during the coda Cuban Swannilda engages in a sparkling, lovely series of sautés on pointe, with the working leg changing from attitude devant to derrière and right into penchee arabesque all while traveling and turning, followed right away by the fouettes. They duplicated all that here-( well, sans the penchee and the traveling ), with the difference that Miami allows Swannilda to exit in between the sautees and the fouetes while the corps girls dance, in time for her to catch a breath and come back for the fouetes. It was still a HUGE surprise that they included this Cuban segment, for which that was always a highly expected moment in Havana.(Do I have to say how Viengsay does the unthinkable here...? ). The PDD finished with that other iconic final pose of Franz grabbing Swannilda on his back with one hand around her waist to create a beautiful diagonal with their bodies. I thing this is a pretty standard final pose for this PDD for what I've seen in all the versions. This is the coda segment I talk about... To be continued...

Great to hear it was good!!! How was the third act in comparison to the Bolshoi's? Well, BB...remember you came straight to Coppelia via the ultimate staging...the Russian reconstruction. I come from another background, Alonso's mid-century production-(which I suspect has many elements in common with that of Danilova/Balanchine for City Ballet and Franklin's for ABT). Said that, I was pleased with the whole thing...it is very similar to what I'm used to. As a hint, i saw the matinee today with Catoya/Reyes. Whereas Catoya can pull out some great spinning, and Reyes has enough knowledge and background on the ballet, and his pairing with Catoya has been a VERY good idea, I still place the Delgado/Panteado duo in the front line-(the reverse case of Giselle). More details later on...I just came from the Cleveland Orchestra's season finale...Grieg's Piano Concerto!!

You heard it here first, folks. Please, no...

Tonight Jeanette Delgado took a fall during Coppelia's Act III PDD. She was suddenly on the floor, and everyone gasped, but by grace of the muse of dancing, she ended up seated on her bottom in a very gracious, dignified posture...if someone took a pic of the moment it wouldn't look as an accident. She just stood there, smiling and got up right away...to which she kept dancing better than before..! Now I can say I've seen two of my favorite ballerinas taking a fall. Lorna Feijoo in Ballo de la Regina and now Jeannette Delgado in Coppelia.

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous...!! Brava Jeannette!. Bravo Renato! Welcome to my scarce list of favorite Swannilda/Franz.. I'm happy to report that I DO believe in MCB Coppelia. To be continued. Tomorrow, Catoya/Reyes.

Such beautiful words...Mr. Zoritch must have touched more than one soul around... Welcome to Ballet Alert, James..!

I've been digging a bit on different approaches to the ballet before tonight's opening, so I went back to some of the biographies i own that have something to say on the subject. Alonso, Danilova and Kirkland are some of them. Particularly interesting are the scarce words of the latter on Balanchine's version. This is what she has to say: "I also knew that Balanchine would adapt the concept to his vision of pure dance. The story and the characters would be encased in plastic. I made a plan with myself; I would leave the company before dancing in this production. Danilova's somewhat old-fashioned approach was to be wed to Balanchine's modern sensibility. I knew the inevitable outcome of such a marriage would be a stylistic travesty, a waltz of dolls. I had had enough of glorified triviality. His Coppelia was a major hit that summer without me. I had no regrets about not appearing in that one..." Any thoughts from those familiar with this staging...?

OMG, yes, Natasha...THAT was annoying..!

BB...funny you just said that. I remember some seasons ago, when FGO did "Flute" the last time I knew, after the whole thing was done, that I wasn't prepared for another run of it for a long time ahead... . Perhaps if I was to be in a charming little Viennese baroque theater and with the right costume and settings designs-(no modern historic transpositions, please!! )-I could bring myself to get immersed in the allure of the times and it could work, I guess....

Tonight I went to a wall broadcast of Don Giovanni-(the 1979 film with beautiful Te Kanawa as Donna Elvira)- and once more, I confess my inability to place Mozart over the more dark, bombastic sounds of other opera composers. Mussorgsky's work gave me, musically, a different kind of depth I miss from Mozart's flourishing melodies...

Miss Zien has been LOOOOOOOOOOONG due..!!! She SHINES whenever she dances..! I don't get it...

Good to see he's moved on.! Go, Willy...!

Why am not surprised..?

Remember it is a late 50's logo...-(an aesthetic sign of the times...? )

Would love to know about it too..! And btw...what happened to that fragment of Kirkland in the PDD with Misha that used to be on Youtube...? She was MAGNIFICENT on it!! (I suspect she would have been MY ballerina would I had had the pleasure to watch her live.. ) Her sautees on pointe at the end of the variation, as well as her balances were beautiful there...

Coppelia is the name given to a huge Havana parlor dedicated to serve ice cream. It was also known as "The Ice Cream Cathedral". This is its logo. They have manhy other Coppelias around all over the country. This one is from my city, Cienfuegos... A while ago a Cuban family in Miami decided to revive the tradition, and they opened a small place here, using the same logo as its Havana's sister. Here's its logo...

Do you guys remember-(just as with our Odiles and Giselles)-who was your first Swannilda EVER...? (Live I mean..) What about your very favorite...?

Reviving this old thread as I'm trying to "connect" with COppelia in preparatioon for the MCB upcoming performances. I think Lydia Lopokhova was considered a great Swannilda, and I believe reading in her biography that that was the last role she ever performed...

Are they still trying to push that...?

Thanks, BB for the heads up. Perfect casting, no complains. On the other side, i would have LOVED to see Rebello as Franz, perhaps with Arja...

The problem being that kids-(and many adults, as I realize)-can't draw a line between the "fun" and "funny" concepts. The classes that I remember the most in the past-(my music class, literature, history and Spanish language)-were captivating, fascinating, and many other things, but not particularly "fun". When interest rose, you would get very passionate and attentive, but I don't remember any effort on the teacher's side to make it any "fun" at all. Lately I've been exposed to suffer a dosage of this concept, when Bernstein's daughter came to town to give some sort of lecture on music along the New World Symphony. The whole thing was hard, sad to watch. The majority of people were laughing, and then the wonderful Tchaikovsky's music became just a background for her one woman show and non sense. It was awful, and yet, as I said, people were just laughing their hearts out. I spoke to a member of the orchestra about it later, and she kind of apologized about it, and said that Miss Bernstein does all that nation wide to "get to the masses" on the classical music subject. Question being...is that really the only way...? Does EVERYTHING has to become a Jay leno show on this earth to have a chance...? I guess I'm TOO old school...

Renata...you might get to see Alonso's recreation of the Ivanov/Drigo "Magic Flute"!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuWn7fvncyc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRLSy0jThPk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pCDWN1Xd2U http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJl4-t_GlyI

Yes, but...aren't we teaching our youth how to MASK a yawn any longer...? I did learn as a kid, and I still occasionally do it during less than engaging social situations. Yes, yawning can come unexpected, but then there's a difference in between doing it explicitly, loud and with open wide mouth regardless of who's in front of you and doing it discreetly by covering your mouth and lowering your head. Family is responsible for teaching those tricks. re: teaching methods. I come from old school too, and fear of teachers was very likable to be linked with classroom quietness, but then, back then and there classes were not supposed to be fun. The teacher's message was always "It is your choice...you either cooperate and learn or I'll make your life miserable and and you won't pass"

CNB doesn't has "seasons", as the majority of companies worldwide do. The company performs all year around, dividing itself in two big groups at times...one for the touring and one to stay home. A little late, but here are some of the company's current year performances. JANUARY -Nutcracker. Alonso after Fedorova/Petipa/Ivanov/Tchaikovsky -The Magic of Dance. FEBRUARY. -Coppelia. Alonso after Petipa/Saint-Leon/Delibes MARCH. -Swan Lake. Skeaping/Alonso after Petipa/Tchaikovsky APRIL -The magic Flute. Alonso after Ivanov/Drigo MAY -Paquita's Grand Pas. Alonso after Petipa/Minkus JUNE -Les Sylphides. Alonso after Fokine/Chopin/Glazunov JULY. -Gala Performances AUGUST. -The Legend of the Big Water. Eduardo Blanco/Miguel Nunez SEPTEMBER. -Gala Performances OCTOBER. -XXVIII Havana International Ballet Festival. NOVEMBER. -XXVIII Havana International Ballet Festival. DECEMBER. -Nutcracker. Alonso after Fedorova/Petipa/Ivanov/Tchaikovsky http://www.balletcuba.cult.cu/paginas/presentaciones.html