cubanmiamiboy

It is precisely her LACK of tension what I really see stands out in all her performances... re: her entrechats. My mom-(who's quite far from being a ballet connosseur)-made exactly the same observation.

Aren't we...? Having Michael Tilson and his Orchestra and Eddie and his troupe surrounded by sun and beaches all year around sounds good, right...?

Jeanette's grin is her own. One can't talk a couple of seconds with her without getting it full blown. It's hard, I guess, to mask happiness and joy when it comes genuinely from within. Enough of the martyr-like/Mary Stewart-goes-to-scaffold expresons...!

Yesterday matinee’s leads of "Square Dance" were given to Principal Tricia Albertson and Soloist Kleber Rebello. Mr. Rebello is getting to be more and more one of my favorite dancers in this company- (at least for the Balanchne repertoire). His dancing is super light, airy, precise and very graceful. His legato work during his solo was fantastic, and his partnering greatly achieved. Rebello is a dancer with the obvious limitation of lack of height- (he’s just barely taller than Mary Carmen Catoya)-but again, this is maybe not that problematic in a company made of petite dancers, both men and women, and with the bulk of the repertoire made of Balanchne and other contemporary choreographers works. Still, I am very curious to see if he will be given the lead opportunity during the upcoming Giselles and Coppelias, being a fact that he’s one of the men among ALL bailarines who’s doing the best of the dancing. As his ballerina, Miss Albertson didn’t bring him down yesterday. Square Dance is her natural comfort zone, the choreography and general atmosphere of the piece being as academic, restricted and somewhat impassionate as her usual projection onstage, which worked beautifully here. I really enjoyed the piece yesterday…much more than in some other renditions of the past. Robbins “Afternoon of a Faun” was the real revelation yesterday. Mr. Yann Trividic and Miss Patricia Delgado were a dream couple onstage. Trividic was the epitome of abandon during his introductory sequence of floor stretching, and his postures and gestures in front of the imaginary mirror were done with a high dose of self-indulgence and sensuality. At times he reminded me of some mages of dancers of the past while standing, notably some of the late Mr. Zortch in his “Spectre” poses…body weight slightly shifted to one side, one leg inwardly bended at the knee, the opposite hip rounded out. Mr. Trividic is the one exception in Vllella’s troupe of being a tall dancer. He’s also very slim but beautifully built and very elegant. Hence, all this stretching and exposure onstage became even more revealing. Mss Delgado was his perfect companion. Her ballerina character was nicely created with touches of shyness and contrived desire at the same time. She looked as every minute as infatuated as she was eager to explore those infatuations, both with her danseur and with her own mage in the mirror. I was really touched with both Trivdic and Delgado’s dancing. It is well known that I am a rabid supporter and fan of little sis Jeanette, but here Patricia definitely told me something that makes her dance different and equally beautiful and worthy as her sister’s. When she left the onstage studio quikly walking the small steps on ponte she looked as if she was telling herself…”let me get out of here NOW before it’s too late…” ;-) Trividic/danseur, on the other side, didn’t look too worried after her female companion left. He still had his reflection in the mirror, and that looked to have been enough for him right there and then. Bravis! "Liturgy" bored me to death. "In the Upper Room" was the usual crowd pleaser. That people love all this aerobics displays at any time is well known.

What about getting to see once again the "Kingdom of Laces" apotheosis from the 1886 "Les pilules magiques'..

Because the only thing I would have been able to see if I would had decided to look for another way to downtown was the very end of the performance, "In the Upper room", and frankly, I wasn't gong to get into that much aggravation in Miami's crazy traffic-(which I suspect is not as civilized as NYC's)-for Miss Tharp. Good news is, I made it to the matinee today!-(just came home, but going out right away for the Miami Symphony Orchestra opening season concert...Mr. T's Piano Concerto # 1! ) Will report back from both events when I get back home at night.

Reporting back, but sadly...not from a ballet performance, but from a traffic congestion that made me stay in my car motionless for 40 minutes before giving up and making my way back-(which took me another 25 minutes, BTW). Total time, 1:05 H. to cover 7 blocks round trip, never able to get anywhere near the highway. Yep...that's s what happens when you live n a city where traffic literally owns your life.

Eric...there's thread somewhere asking for which ballets one would love to be brought back to life, and I remember I mentioned both the Ceccett/Ivanov/Baron Vietinghoff-Scheel/Pashkova/Vsevolozhsky's "Zolushka"-(Cinderella), supervised by Petipa and with the gorgeous set designs of Matvey Shishkov ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cinderella_-title_role_-Pierina_Legnani_-1893.JPG http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3b/Cinderella_-Fairy_Godmother_-Maria_Anderson_-1893.JPG http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cinderella_-Set_Design_-Matvey_Shishkov1893.JPG ...and the Petipa/Golovin/koreshchenko "The Magic Mirror"-(Snow White, which I believe was the last role created by Petipa for Kschessinskaya...No photos available online). I always think of this two ballets as the long lost sisters of Sleeping Beauty

I'm not that excited with Program One. I must confess I was expecting for Eddie to do a more interesting selection for the opening, but he just went with reruns of ballets that have been presented repeatedly in the last years. I will be there, but I'm feeling cranky already. Edited to add: Miss Jeanette...do a MIRACLE!

Helene...and what did they use as the coda of Giselle's Pas Seul...did they used the diagonal of pirouettes...?

What about the recent PNB Giselle...? Having brought back nice chunks that had fallen into oblivion certainly makes it for it to be included in the list. The one ballet I would love to see being revived is La Fille Mal Gardee. Although I feel really lucky to have Alonso's staging after Nijnska-after-Gorski/Hertel engraved in my head, I wish I could see a major revival/reconstruccion of it one day.

The diagonal done by; Miss S. Miss F. and Miss V. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bAy7zA535s

Last Sunday I made it to the season opening concert of the New World Symphony, under MTT. The program started in a high note, when the strings made their way through the intricate, lightning-fast passages of the Overture to Smetana's opera The Bartered Bride, with an energetic, razor-sharp performance that led Tilson Thomas to have the string section rise for a bow of its own at the end. Then the young Spanish pianist Javier Perianes joined the orchestra for Schumann's Piano Concerto-(what a beauty, my God!). Perianes plays in a very interesting manner, his hands close to the keyboard, the total opposite of the theatrical, keyboard-pounding virtuoso. The Schumann concerto, of course, doesn't call for much keyboard pounding, and Perianes' touch was so articulate that the complex cascade of notes in the first and last movements came thru clearly over the orchestra, despite the pianist's quiet style. But there were times when more robust playing seemed called for, as in the third movement's triumphant coda, with the piano and orchestra engaging in a beautiful, joyous dialogue . Here Perianes’ playing contrasted sharply with that of the orchestra, which gave muscular accounts of the orchestral passages. Then came the world premiere of James Lee III's "Sukkot Through Orion's Nebula", a work intended to evoke the spirit of the Jewish harvest festival and the arrival of the Messiah from the Orion constellation, as described in the Hebrew Bible. This was a weird sounding piece comprised of ten minutes or so of music which , I must confess, bored me to death. After Lee then came Janáček's "Sinfonietta", a 1926 work written to celebrate Czech independence, which called for extra brass players, so the orchestra was joined by young musicians from the University of Miami's Frost School of Music. Such added weight of brass can be accompanied by a loss of precision, but that was not the case on Sunday. Deployed around the small auxiliary stages that stand above the main stage, the brass gave a performance that was stirring without crowding out the rest of the orchestra. In the “Queen's Monastery” section, trombones and tuba achieved a rounded, refined tone in the chords with which they accompanied the beautiful melodies in the strings and winds. A complete triumph, once again, of Mr. Tlson and his troupe. Bravo!

This whole business on tickets and websites really gets me on my nerves. After many years of theater attending, now I just go the same day of the performance and buy tickets. Many times I've seen whole sectons of theaters being "sold out" online-(the cheaper ones)-with availability for the most expensive ones. Then you go on the same day of the performance, and the same online sold out section is still available at the box office. It is shameful that this could be an strategy to try to sell the most expensive seats, but at the bottom line there is the fact that I've NEVER seen a performance completely sold out in US OF ANY KIND. On Friday afternoon I browse the cyber cultural scene and decide what I want to see that same evening and just go. Also, many times organizations sale rush tickets-(like MCB)-at half price for the upper levels 45 minutes pre-performance. I usually buy them and then I seat in orchestra wherever I spot an empty seat-(which is usually the 99% of the cases). For instance...this weekend I plan to attend the Miami Symphony Orchestra, MCB, NWS and Festival Miami. That will be in the course of three/four days, and I don't have tickets for any performance yet...( haven't decided when will I go to see what yet...)

Can we compare...? I just wish the ballet could be danced again with the right speed, attack and sharpness. I would love to see either Valdes or Osipova in the role. Jeanette Delgado from here was very close to the ideal. Miami City Ballet Tulsa Ballet Semperoper Ballet http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGDC5ZA0vRI&NR=1 Het Nationale Ballet

I have that video...

Time to confess we're both traveling in the same boat here, Natasha...

I've always been under the impression that many changes and substitutions and bravura additions have been Soviet-born, being instituted by ether Rudy or Misha post defection. About Albrecht duality of steps during his pre-floor collapse # 2 all could add, if this is of any relevance, is that as long as Dolin was still visiting Havana and restaging and refreshing with Alonso the ballet, neither step was ever part of the section. At this point Albrecht usually gets out and keeps circling the Willis territory asking for mercy, and then dances a little in between the begging, but always in circles with a heavy load of miming until Giselle gets out to join him in the diagonal of little traveling lifts in arabesque. As long as 1980, when Alonso danced with Vladimir Vasiliev-(and Dolin again coached her)-he didn't do neither brises nor entrechats. He was coached then by Ulanova, but they decided to follow the Dolin-Markova version once again.

Here's a clip of Osipova doing the hops (at 1:21), while guesting in Siberia. Here's a clip of Osipova in another Russian production; the hops start at 4:07: Did she add them because of Western influences?? Do other Russian women do the hops now, too? California...there are two diagonals being discussed here, actually one right after the other one. The sautes on pointe are done by all ballerinas, both in Russia and the Western world. The other diagonal, the one I am so fond of and only survives in a handful of companies-(mainly after stagins done by Dolin and Alonso)-is the one that concludes Giselle's Pas Seul, when she runs back to her starting point to her back left wing and starts a madly fast diagonal of pirouette/passe/chainee. It's generally believed that this diagonal was incorporated by Spessivtseva.

I'm very pleased with last night's performance. As I said, Miss Dagmar Moradillos is probably the very last example of the old Cuban ballet schooling still active, and to be able to see her onstage with Toto Carreno was definitely a treat. I was talking with a friend of mine, and doing some basic math, we were able to get to the conclusion that Miss Moradillos should be around her late forties, probably even 50. Hence, her Giselle, although technically diminished at points-(naturally)-exceeded in artistic development and shades. Her mad scene really looked as if belonging to a mental institution...a hardcore one. I was also very pleased that my friend could see the different accents of the Cuban version retained from the past, so he can compare it with what will be presented by Villella's company. Everything was there...Berthe's complete mime scene narrating the Willis' tale, the pre-Myrtha scene in the forest with the boys playing dice and being scared away by the dancing spirits...the diagonal of pirouettes/chainees of Act I, the triple attitude pirouettes on pointe after the Initiation Grand Pirouettes, the full Fugue of the Willis and the original fast music ending vs. Pavlova's slow latter arrangement. Now, the real deal came at the end of Act II. Right when Carreno was making his entrance to start his dance within the Willis domain-(he tried to do Misha's diagonal of brises)-he suddenly retreated back and dissapeared into the back wings. Little later on, it was obvious that he had been injured as some point, probably during his last leap into the wings after following Giselle when she commands him to stand up-(her Minkus variation)-because he never came out during the killing attempts of the Willis and the begging sequence with Giselle. Even more...he was still absent during the diagonal of little lifts used by Giselle to keep distracting her sisters. Furthermore, and here's where I closed my eyes in pity-Miss Moradillos was completely by herself miming the very isolated moment when she kneels to embrace Albrecht on the floor. she did the whole thing with an imaginary partner. It was very moving to see this ballerina in her very last performance going through something like that...dancing such an scene with a ghost partner. At the same time she was the total trooper, keeping the intensity and drama of the moment at its hight. Suddenly, the miracle happened. Just as she was going to her grave by herself-(I was convinced she would be forced to do the whole scene by herself)-Toto reappeared miraculously from the wings and suddenly grabbed her and lifted her and took her to the grave, where they did the most moving farewell scene I've seen in years. She received a closed ovation...many flowers by her peers and a very respectful kneeling gesture by Toto-who's her junior by some years. I was really hoping that some of Villella's ballerinas could had been there last night to take some mental notes. Brava Dagmar...Bravo Toto!!!

My experience has very little-(actually nothing)- to do with high, complexes theories and deep moral thoughts. I don't really care, nor do I now, if the woman texting, or the other one eating candy or the third one shaking the rattle are beautiful human beings. For that matters, the three of them could have been as amazing as Mother Theresa and I still would find their behavior totally disruptive, disrespectful and invasive. Gosh...seriously...it's really time to stop being so over condescendet and remind people of which basic principles of manners-(those we're all supposed to learn at home, as kids)-are to be applied once you step in a Opera House. The other stuff about murder and stealing and the rest of the commandments is certainly subject for endless discussions, but honestly, I don't think they would be appropriate stuff for this thread. As for the rest, as Helene says, there's always the circus.

Olesya is impressive...!!

That was not the end, dear Helene. The sad zaga to be found here...

I have redirected my and Helene's OP from the Mark Morris forum because it really belongs here. At one point as was so sick of the whole situation that I stood up in a rage and went out to call the usher on the lady with the cellophane bag-(yes...not one candy, but a whole bag). Once I got his attention and explained the situation, I got the shocking news. This is the dialogue that went on between the usher and me. You be the judge. "C-Hi.I need your help for a second please... U- How can I help you? C- I need you to come with me and tell the lady sitting in front of me to please stop making noises. She has spent the entire performance compulsively eating candy from a cellophane bag. I understand that the theater policy calls for not allowance of food and drinks during performances... U- I am so sorry I can't help you. For this particular performance food and drinks have been allowed. C- Since when did the Arsht Center changed the policy...? U- It s not the Arsht Center, Sir...The Mark Morris company, who rented the theater, has the right to institute specific policies for their performances, and we were advised that they would allow drinks and food inside the hall during their performances.There's nothing I can do about it" I was-(still am)-in complete shock...so SHAME, SHAME, SHAME ON YOU, MMDG...!!! Sans comments after this...

It's all about marketing, bart. When you see commercials of Miami or reality shows all you are presented with is the massive input on the club scene and weather/beaches stuff, with some incursions in the plastic surgery world-(as in "Nip&Tuck"). When I came here I decided to explore the city and its neighborhoods, and so how I've found so many interesting places and hidden culture holes here and there. Anyway...Mark Morris. Sadly, I don't have that much to say about it, because honestly, it didn't completely fulfill me-(although I must confess I wasn't naive about what was I up too... I just like to go everywhere and learn something from every experience). Festival Dance, to Hummel's Piano Trio # 5 n E Major, Op. 83 was a pleasant piece with some classical language on it-(turned out bodies, pointed feet, pretty arabesques etc...)-, with alive and light dancing and a happy feeling, which reminded me a bit of "Dances at a Gathering" sans pointe shoes. It was cute stuff, somewhat folk dance driven. "All Fours", to Bela Bartók's "String Quartet No. 4", and V, to Schumann's "Quintet in E Flat for Piano and Strings" both bored me. One of them-(can't remember which one)-had an excessive-(to me)-amount of floor crawling, and that was it...When a dancer starts rolling and crawling and standing motionless I start to lose it. In the meantime I decided to fight my neghbours...one lady in the front texting compulsively, another on my right eating non stopping out of a cellophane bag and a third one on my back holding a baby who decded to play...WTH A RATTLE!!!..yes, mid-performance. I wanted to shoot myself, but that, my friends, goes to that other forum on theater behaviors.