cubanmiamiboy

I would like to know who did the coaching for the diferent roles, but to be fair the company looked excelent onstage. I was looking at them and wondering how many of those very young dancers were dancing that Ballet of ballets for the first time. If taking that into account and the fact that Giselle was done for the last time in MCB 5 years ago, I think they did a very honorable job.

Ah, cargill...but what didn't Amparito dance to perfection...? No wonder she was one of the "Three Graces" of Cuban ballet..! Do you remember her in "El rio y el bosque"..?

They certainly can, I would say, but for what I could tell, theirs is a mitch-match of stagings. Zulma and Moyna's variations look like as what the Russians are doing-(for what I see in clips). There's so much that can be done with these two characters...if well staged, one can clearly see that they are the two ladies-in-waiting of Myrtha, and even interfere so their Queen doesn't get to be bothered by Hilarion's beggings...sometimes by placing themselves in between Myrtha and the poor beggar. Yeah, I was disappointed to note how fast those two went by over here...

I couldn't believe that the story, name and weight of these two characters had been completely erased from the MCB production and their dancing extremely simplified. I remember the programmes in Cuba from back in the days where not only the two Willis were always identified by their names, but their story was always included in the notes. The roles were looked after, as Myrtha-wannabes, the dancers would luxuriate in the choreography, the music pace was slowed down and grander and the circumstances of the characters' death was always part of the playbills and clearly exposed in their dancing. I was always told-(without really questioning the veracity of it)-that Zulma had died by committing suicide throwing herself from a cliff, and so that's the nature of her dramatic jumping as if suspended on the air, and Moyna had done so by drowning when trapped in the circular motion of a river rip current, clearly seen in her super curved onstage renversees. It was very dramatic, and the effect was rather beautiful from their dancing. Zulma and Moyna...you are certainly missed... Ah..."Giselle", the REAL "Giselle"...

Ah -- I've been thinking about the transition between Petipa and Fokine, and I think you've described the original situation brilliantly. That point of view (it's not about the character so much as it's about me dressing up as the character) would suit Petipa down to the ground, and would make Fokine incensed! How about Ksseshinskaya owning all the roles...? Aurora Bosch was another of our great Myrthas... And so it was Mirta Pla-(RIP) ...and Gladys Acosta-(wIth a brief snippet of starlet Lorena Feijoo as Zulma )

Well, Helene, to be honest here, the whole thing back then and there was about going to see THE BALLERINA...Charin "dressed as" Giselle, or Myrtha, or Swanilda, or Josefina playing out her best "femme fatale" cards as Odile and so on...but it was certainly always about the ballerina rather than the character. It was like a game between the ladies and her fans...like as if saying..."come and see me tonight...you will adore seeing me at 45 pretending-(but not trying to convince you)-of being 16...ah, and I will throw some great fouettes in between, BTW...you'll love it..!" And it never failed to work... (Maybe the superb fouettes and a great Spessivtzeva's diagonal was more important for us than trying to "see" the character/girl...?)

If I was to name the grandest Myrtha I ever saw onstage, that title would be going to the Cubans' sweetheart ballerina, the marvelous Charin. Last Saturday I did run into her at the Arsht Center lobby, approached her and told her so. She modestly smiled and told me "Ah, but that was long time ago..". Now in her mid fifties and also one of the great Cuban Giselles ever, all I can think is how sad and completely unreasonable that such a great stream of knowledge and experience on the classics THE WAY THEY SHOULD BE DONE, and from which MCB could benefit at large is getting wasted right here...in our very city. Definitely changes should be implemented at one point. Charin as Myrtha Charin as Giselle

Some old clips of the late Miss Mendez. Sleeping Beauty. Rose Adagio Sleeping Beauty. Aurora's Solo Sleeping Beauty. Vision Scene. Sleeping Beauty. Grand PDD.

I just found a couple of rare clips from Miss Pla. I thought they could be of interest for those who got to see the dancing of our great late jewel. Sleeping Beauty Coppelia Nutcracker, with Rafael Padilla

How interesting. I met Miss Serrano a couple of years ago here in Miami, and asked her a couple of questions on her tenure with BT-(I wanted to know how some roles and choreographies had been done during the late 50's, early 60's, as I'm very interested to note all the changes that Misha brought with him from the Soviet Union). Anyway...Serrano's demeanor is VERY austere and serious...she really looked as if she could start dancing Myrtha and killing men right there and then. Rather imperative also, IMO. And she's not tall at all... The great, late Mirta Pla-(NCB), as tiny as she was, was both a wonderful Myrtha and a lovely Giselle. The next clip is from 1963.

I'm glad that you mentioned Myrtha's entrance, carbro, because that was exactly the trigger of my OP..! Miss Delgado DID perform those bourrees...as little and liquid. When she was going behind the props, I seriously thought they had perhaps placed her in a movil device for her to look as if floating. When she appeared onstage and crossed it, I realized that it was just her artistry speaking right there and then... Re: Fonteyn. I still hold firm in my believe that those mid-century dancers had a different approach to technique, as if they would enphazise more in speed and strenght-(both qualities present in those great bourrees)-rather than pose and perfect placement. I think the classic example is in how did they use to do super fast pirouettes in cou de pied, instead of the elevated beautiful leg in passe which becomes sort of slower to turn

I think they are very real....

I just came back from the matinee with Albertson and Cerdeiro. May I retract from my former words on Cerdeiro...? Well, I was proved wrong, people... More to come...

Villella sat with Linda at the "Imperial box". I was seated at his right, in the next box. He barely clapped at all, and by the second act they were gone.

Tonight I finally saw "Giselle"...Or, let's rename it...I saw "Giselle AND Albrecht" ! More to come after casting # 3 tomorrow...

If anything, there have certainly been ballerinas not comfortable with Giselle's role, instead choosing that of the Queen of the Willis. Danilova was one of them. Aurora Bosh from CNB was another. Apparently it is harder to be sweet than mean!

Here we go again...the ever present "anchor-mimicking-ballet" old story...Agh, it's getting so tiring and flavorless by now... The clip was wonderful though-(thanks a lot, CM..! ...Isn't Miss V wonderful...? ). Miss Arencibia never looked to me like a Cuban trained ballerina back when she had just started. Tall, skinny and languid, with long, thin, hyper extended limbs, little jump and exaggerated port de bras, she reminded me more of the Russian typical dancer. Perhaps she's a bit stronger and flamboyant by now...?

Because she was not a ballet dancer. She was a ballerina.

RIP Miss Golikova.

V is sort of a veteran by now, let's take note...even by age.

MOD BEANIE ON: On the MCB thread, Cristian raises something that deserves a thread of its own. So I created just that. Great clip, great question. Thanks, Cristian. MOD BEANIE OFF Tonight I went to see "that ballet called Myrtha" . Out of the whole thing, I witnessed its leading lady arriving onstage under a veil as if she was literally floating . Is everybody here familiar with that kind of unique, magnificent, liquid bourrees a la Fonteyn arriving at the ball in her "Cinderella" video...? Oh well...in my 25 years of ballet viewing I DON'T RECALL having seen them until tonight...BRAVAAAAAAAA LA BALLERINA!!

Ah...MY people... I fell proud. Thanks, Helene, for your kind words..

No, Helene and bart. The Delgado sisters are Miami born and raised-(and they both speak perfect "Cuban", BTW... ). Yes, I'm a little un-aggravated about the Giselle issue by now. Whatever it is, everybody knows who's who and which dancers are constantly pushed in your face while others keep waiting. Same situation, different company. Still, the fact that Giselle is such a rare animal in the MCB zoo makes it for a very frustrating case, given that the two best dancers in the company won't be dancing the leading roles. And then instead you get Cerdeiro, that kid that still looks like an apprentice onstage...?!...and next to veteran Albertson..?!?! This again will take me back to my Blanche Dubois case scenario that I used to imagine back in the days. I'm going tonight, of course, to see Myrtha. Danilova wrote in her book that it could be easy for a Myrtha to steal the performance from Giselle, given that the two roles used to be given to Principals. Tonight is the typical scenario. We'll see. Edited to add: Extra, extra..!! Ok...I came back from my first performance. The ballet presented was "Myrtha" More to come when I'm done with the three castings...

No Miss V....?