cubanmiamiboy

http://enchantedvintageclothing.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Balenciaga-dress-hall.jpg

You just perceived what the real essence and cause of the BNC displays of tricks is all about, ksk04. It is just exactly that...a certain continuation of an old fashioned projection way...something you easily see in those old movies-(like the one I recently posted of Dudinskaya/Sergueev)-or other clips-(I had the same thought when I recently revisited "Limelight" and saw the excerpts of Hayden/Eglevsky). It is a combination that includes tricks, strong technique and on top of everything, a desire to offer an exciting show...a happy moment for people that should continue in their heads way after they live the theater. As I've always said...nothing but "grey"... VERY happy to hear the reports...by now my envy's color is undefined...

Alonso had said that even thought Youskevitch was "THE" partenaire, she had more fun dancing with Eglevsky.

Here..a glimpse of one of those performances in Dennmark...(Miss V really knew how to wake up the danes...toward the end they start screaming as if it was the noisy Havana audience... ) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5F5nFU-ENPc&feature=related And one of her recent SL performances... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypeUwNAxOCA&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-QwzhrVXYE&feature=related

Mmm...tempting. Vacation plans maybe...?

But of course you WANT to see Miss V on Sunday matinee...!!

I’ve been aiming to talk about this for a while and finally this recent post by CubanInUSA was the definitive trigger. I’ve been listening for a while of many complaints by friends and some posters here that the Ballet Nacional de Cuba “is not what it used to be”, that “the quality of the dancers has diminished” etc etc. And this is my time to totally disagree and object to this statement. Ballet Nacional de Cuba is not just the fraction of dancers who recently danced in Washington DC and NYC. The dancers that make up for the ranks of the company from the past and present decade is a magnificent one, and one that has very few-(if any)-competitors worldwide. Who are/were the ballerinas of the Cuban Ballet of the 90’s and 2000’s…? Lorena Feijoo, Lorna Feijoo, Halihaydee Carreno, Xiomara Reyes, Lourdes Novoa, Hayna Gutierrez, Catherine Suaznabar, Yolanda Correa, Anissa Curbelo, Barbara Garcia, Sadaise Arencibia, Yanela Pinera and Viengsay Valdes. And who were/are the danseurs…? Jose Manuel Carreno, Carlos Acosta, Lienz Chang, , Rolando Sarabia, Taras Domitro, Joel Carreno, Nelson Madrigal, Osmay Molina, Isanusi Garcia, Romel Frometa, Karel Cruz, Reyneris Reyes, Carlos Quenedit, Ernesto Alvarez, Dani Hernandez and Alejandro Virelles. This incomplete list-(from the top of my head)-makes the grand total of 28 Principal Dancers-(only two of them retired, former real life couple Jose Manuel Carreno and Lourdes Novoa)-...only 7 of them are still dancing in Cuba. The Cuban Ballet keeps an output of Principals that overflows the input. I don’t think there’s ANY company out there that has that many Principal dancers trained and formed within a national school dancing somewhere else. I don’t know the totality of Russian dancers that became principals-(or were already)-pre or after defections during the 70 years of communism in the Soviet Union, or even if the list could be somehow similar in numbers EVEN if we add the Russians-(and those from the former Soviet republics)- dancing abroad after 1989-(hence not “defectors” any longer per se…like Vishneva, Part or Dvorovenko). I would be surprised if no dancers defect in this American tour, and if they don’t I would be willing to bet that reinforced measures are being taken for sure. If by personal choice, well…then I would be surprised that any current Principal would be back… In any case…join me in my celebration of the CURRENT/ REAL Cuban Nacional Ballet, of which those 28 mentioned Principal dancers-(along with many, many others of lesser rank)-are part of. A curious note. I’m almost sure that Miss V. is the ONLY Cuban dancer, male or finale, past or present besides Alonso that has been for so long in the company without having to defect-(for whatever reasons, political or artistic)- while at the same getting the chance to have international exposure. .

He,he,he...

Very interesting respnses to the article...Thanks Mashinka! It would be interesting to start a similar thread here... This was mine...

Hi...! Tonight I want to share this two clips from the ballet portions of GLinka's "Ruslan i Lyudmila", with the spectacular Gabriella Komleva-(which I think has the most perfect, crystal clear, pure technique I've ever witnessed either live or on video. (Her Bayadere is among my top three favorite videos ever). There's a lot of Chopiniana in it... Enjoy! “Naina's Maidens,” a ballet portion of Mikail Ivanovich Glinka’s Russian opera Ruslan and Ludmilla was choreographed by Mikhail Fokine in 1917. This rarely performed work was the last that Fokine did before leaving Russia. The piece was intended to show the sorceress Naina and her maidens trying to hypnotize one of the main characters into doing their bidding". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wqpf2UBjhN0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5zSXWZRC28&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7UKNdd_zW4&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnEkZPgFZso&feature=related

Hi, Cuban... Some fellow members of this board I'm sure would expect me to contradict your statement, but reality is...I do agree with it. Long story short, I haven't seen my homeland company since 2001, when I left. Back then the company was facing was it is said to be the very last breath of the old school wave. The "Four Jewels" were not longer dancing-(two of them had passed away, sadly)...the "Three Graces" were in exile after years of neglect and were not actively dancing any longer, and only-(for me)-Miss Lorna Feijoo personified that aura that characterized those great ballerinas. Same with the danseurs, after the departing of Acosta, Carreno and Sarabita. I never got to see Barbara Garcia-(I think she came from Ballet de Camaguey, another company), and as I have said already, Miss V was "the enemy" . Anyway...I've seen the videos and I do agree with Natasha that Garcia and Valdes have strong technique, but to be honest, I haven't seen dancers of the caliber of Esquivel , Josefina, Charin, Acosta, Ofelia, Marta or Sarabita. Miss V could be a potential candidate, but she still misses the "princess" demeanor onstage for the Auroras and Raymondas.

I think you can take the quote marks off. She was good. ...in that particular scene you mean...?

Jayne...the previously "green with envy" changed into black already...

That was exactly the baseline for which I started that "Giselle/Dubois" thread. Giselle is coming up next at MCB, and if there's just ONE ballerina I would have LOVE to see in the role it would be Miss Deanna Seay, who just retired at the advanced age-(by nowadays standards)-of early 40's. For what I could tell, her technical abilities were somewhat diminished compared to, let's say, Jeanette Delgado, but there was something in her way of dancing, in how she projected herself onstage that I, even not knowing nothing about ballet, could tell only comes with age and the relationship dancer/stage. It is certainly a shame that dancers sometime decide to retire afraid of being ridiculed by our youth-centered society Some performances are certainly not for everyone, but I'm sure I would not have standed by myself in line to buy a ticket for the 40'ish Miss Seay's performance. As for many others, there are plenty of Somovas out there.

Tonight I saw the MTV Movie Awards. Natalie Portman was nominated for her Black Swan...how should I put it..."performance"...? Well...the new category-(in which she didn't win, BTW)-was "Best Kiss". The scene nominated, you all know which one is...Of course, the one with Mila Kunis.

Today I went to the closing season of the amazing Seraphic Fire, which picked for the occasion -(“Ein Deutsches Requiem, Op. 45”). It is said that Brahms got his inspiration either from his sadness on his mother’s death in 1865 or from his lingering feelings over Robert Schumann’s passing in 1856. This is a massive production with seven movements-(the longest Brahms ever composed, ranging from 65 to 80 minutes)-and includes a full orchestra, chorus and soloists. The magnificent event took place at the All Saints Episcopal Church in Fort Lauderdale. The Requiem is just a marvelous, dramatic, heavy composition that just "gets" you up there...somewhere. I left the place in clouds. Bravo for the Seraphic Fire..!!!

Yes...let's hope, bart...

Barbarita is just 43...she's just starting...see? The problem I notice, Natasha, is that as soon as a certain ballerina or danseur is promoted and announced it on the site-(back when there were stil efforts to keep it current)-then, boom!, he or she joins the long list of exiles. I think they stopped the efforts of accuracy after the leaving of Correa, Carreno Jr. and more recently Frometa. It's just that the list is never completely "accurate" per se with the non stopping migration... Miss V has been the only list "veteran" for a while as I can see... And while in the subject of Barbarita, here are some other clips... In Chopiniana http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WXzaSaASnM&feature=related In Nutcracker http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGGC5pJo1Qo As Odette in her transformation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYVEHT047q0&feature=related As Lissette-(Fille Mal Gardee rehearsal) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYs_VSfGXN4

Yes indeed, Natasha...! Barbarita is the last ballerina that was taught by the late Fernando Alonso. She's the oldest of them all... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlQX9VxLu7s&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8K1GSktoJ-Q&NR=1

Tonight I went to a wonderful opera recital at the University of Miami Gusman Concert Hall. I usually don’t review recitals, but this time I will make an exception, because the woman who stood up there for two hours literally stole my heart. She is the young Fort Lauderdale soprano Miss Nadine Sierra. I’m not afraid to predict right now that this dazzling brunette beauty is really on her path to an spectacular entrance onto the operatic stage. For what she said in between songs and arias, she inherited her voice from her Portuguese grandmother and her Sicilian father. Miss Sierra is a truly lyric soprano capable of tremendous coloratura-(her “Ah, Je Veux Vivre!” was just exquisite), and it looks as if she’s already exploring the spinto soprano repertoire. The program consisted on the delightful “Ruhe Sanft-Zaide” by Mozart, “Ein Traum” by Grieg, “Quatre Chansons de Jeunesse” by Debussy, “Cuatro Madrigales Amatorios” by Rodrigo, “Bachianas Brasileiras # 5” by Villa- Lobos and “Beautiful Dreamer” by Stephen Foster. The main courses of the night were the “Ah, Je..”, the “Caro Nome” and her spectacular rendition of “Oh mio Babbino Caro”, which put the house on her feet. Lovely voice, beautiful girl, and next she will be joining the Adler Fellows at the San Francisco Opera for the 2011-2013 season, where she will sing main stage roles. San Fran people here…KEEP AN EYE ON MISS SIERRA!!!

I agree with most of the comments above, and couldn't agree more with the one related to Alonso's diminishing technical abilities at 73. On the other hand, I firmly believe that the performers ultimate goal is to provide pleasure to those on the other side. As simple as that, I can only say that, whatever the reason was, I have NEVER experienced in my WHOLE LIFE such a satisfied, live, electric environment like the one she was able to provide with her almost non existent technical skills by the end of her active career. For me that's the only thing that matters. I'm sure some people here were able to see the very last years of Nureyev career, which for what I've read, were pretty much in the same pattern. I would be willing to bet that almost no one would go back in time to knowingly erase those viewing moments even if they belong to the "sad" chord. Exactly. Just as I've said before; a commanding, even if technically diminished performance, could prove to be a success. A technically perfect, boring one...now THAT'S a sin-(and we all know about those...I'm sure...) Just saying...

I was recently watching this clip of Osipova and Vasiliev in the Bolshoi's Corsaire, and was very surprised to notice that the role of the slave-(or Ali during Soviet times)-is gone, at least from this particular clip. Does anybody knows if they suppressed it all together..? I know that this secondary role in the Pas de Trois was very enhanced by Chabukiani, even gaining a name, and eventually took over the whole Pas, suppressing Conrad thanks to Nureyev and his contemporaries, but now that companies like ABT are back to the original trio scheme, I find surprising that he's completely gone, and the variation is danced instead by Conrad-(for what I know, Gerdt was too old to carry it on...right...?). Can someone shred some light on the subject...? Thanks in advance!

I have that tape, atm711, and have watched it several times. Her portray is one of the most realistic I've ever seen. No glamorous diva demeanor, nor young spitfire dancer showing off either. Just a simple suffering woman mourning her last lost hope. Right when she stands up after falling on the floor for the first time in the mad scene she looks as she has aged considerably from just a few minutes ago... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hV3X42IxoEk&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbEZR99hW70&feature=related

This is a post that I’ve been longing to make, with thoughts I’ve been wanting to share for a while. And it is about My ballet...Giselle. Giselle is, as I've said many times here, a work that is deeply engraved in my soul for many reasons, some of them very personal. For once tt was my very first live ballet-(at least being done by a professional company)-, and until today it doesn’t cease to “get” me all the way for the simplicity and very human design of its story. So let’s get down on the subject. I was recently sharing that amazing clip of Osipova dancing the “initiation” scene of Act II with my friend. I don’t think I’ve EVER seen a ballerina with the ballon she shows in this clip, where she literally seems to be pulled up and down by invisible strings while in her jumping sequence right after the Grand Pirouettes. Her elevation is just astonishing. Then we saw her beautiful Spessivtseva’s solo from Act I, and toward the end I found myself wondering…”why is that I sitll don’t “get” her performance…”...“what’s missing here…?”. I had been thinking about this for a while, and trying to get in touch with the inner feelings that make Giselle such a unique item for me-(all this while picturing Villella’s ballerinas in the upcoming MCB production…)-, when suddenly I knew EXACTLY what it is that I haven’t gotten from recent Giselles. I’ll explain. Back in Cuba, when I started getting familiar with the ballet, Mme. Alonso was still dancing some fragments-(specially the entrechats sequence and final scene from Act II, as well as the Mad Scene, in all of which she still excelled very well way into her 60’s, particularly her entrechats, which I have NEVER seen done with such speed). Anyway...along with La Alonso other aging ballerinas were also very active within the Company-(Josefina, Aurora, Loipa, Charin, etc…). The thing was that while they were still performing, there were not too many opportunities for younger dancers to take over the role. The result was a curious one. The Cuban Giselle changed, and the changes happened in front of my eyes. The character took a different air, and for me-(and I’m sure for thousands of Cubans too)-the woman who stood out of the left cottage onstage and commanded the stage for the next two hours was not the one described by de Saint-Georges. My first Giselles-(and so the model from which I started comparing all subsequent interpretations)-was not an innocent young girl having her first love affair. All the ballerinas that danced the role during my first ballet years were, just like La Alonso , middle aged women usually older that her partenaires. And THAT’S how the design of my OWN Giselle started to take shape. My Giselle was not-(still isn’t)-a young girl. She is a fourtish aged woman trapped in the circumstances of her solitary, miserable life, which is all about about taking care of her increasingly aging, possessive mother. She probably had hopes and maybe a love affair back in the days when she was younger, but now it is even harder for her to get out of the house because of her ailing mother Berthe, who has never allowed her to fully live her live, as she is very overprotective and demanding. All Giselle’s friends are married already, and so she’s the official “old maid” of the village, but one that is still famous for her beauty, charm and dancing skills, qualities that doesn’t go away even with her age. Suddenly this mysterious guy shows up...a younger, high spirited lad who drags her away from the solitude of her house and life…and then suddenly Giselle is back to feeling a little bit of a hope...feeling beautiful and desirable again. The rest of the story we all know how it gets, and that’s why it made more sense for me to see her going mad when discovering that this very last hope was just a lie vanishing before her very eyes..that her real, cruel destiny was just to age alone in her little cottage while taking care of Berthe for the rest of her life...that once more life was making her its own toy. In this aspect I always related Giselle’s story and character more as a Blanche Dubois than a Juliet. The wisdom she shows in the original libretto at the end when she gestures for Bathilde to take Albrecht away from her also reinforces this idea. Giselle, just as Dubois, is-(at least for me)-a mentally ill, aged woman trapped in an unrealistic dream enhanced by personal insanity that ends up as a nightmare. Young ballerinas have NEVER been able to bring that picture to my eyes. La Alonso was the ultimate master on this story. Just a thought...