cubanmiamiboy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A1h6wHDsbg

I know! The thing is that he still gets promoted as the prodigy kid he was back in the days. The pic on the playbill was sort of outdated too... (I guess the myth still is his presentation card... )

What an amazing performance was that of tonight! Wonder boy Bell gave us just la creme de la creme with his Stradivarius. His picks were just the best. Brahms' touching, fragile Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano in A major, op. 100, Schubert's dual Fantasy in C major, Op. 159 with all its beautiful tension between classical order and romantic impetuosity and folk flavored Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano in G major, Op. 13 from Grieg. He had me in the clouds the whole time, and by the end of the performance he had to come and play two encores. He chose a piece by Sibelius-(sorry I can't remember the name)-and Chopin's Polonaise heroïque-(no comments necessary). With that last piece he had the whole house in fire...!! He was partnered by British pianist Sam Haywood.

Not Victorian, rather 50-100 years earlier, but he was also in the film of "Dangerous Liasons" and I thought appropriate for the part. I also LOVE the duel at the end--both for the fencing (thank you Mr. Hobbs) and the filming of it. (But of course, Malkovich is the real star of that film--especially because he makes one see how Valmont could still seduce, WITHOUT being classically handsome.) I would take Miss Close as THE star here...(of course, Malkovich following close... )

This thread has been 70% about "La Sonnambula", 20% on "Western Symphony", 9.9% on "D&A PDD" and probably some 0.1% on "Baker's Dozen". Poor Tharp...

Oh, I forgot. It's about NASCAR.

For me it was more of trying to keep my mind in control against boredom. The running training gets very tedious if you're running by yourself, and Giselle's music would lead me, mentally, to the story. The visual part of it as an entertaining factor was the key element here, and next thing I knew, I had left 4/5 miles behind me.

I like Reeves suave personality and low key Hollywood profile. I think I would enjoy him in a victorian-themed film. He's very easy on the eyes.

When I did marathons before messing up my knee I used to listen to guess what... Giselle!! Visualizing the ballet would kill the anxiety of what was still ahead in terms of miles...

Interesting enough, I've never had a problem with Macaulay's issue. It is in fact the opposite what usually really bothers me.

What I find is that it is not good nor fair that dancers AND AUDIENCES are not having enough exposure to the very grounds of ballet-(like some rare to find in Miami classic/romantic works and the bravura PDD's). Seay retired and I feel sorry that some great roles were missing from her very last years onstage...roles that could have suited her experienced understanding of the phrasing, which made up for the absences that naturally come toward the end of an active career. Soon enough Catoya will probably follow, and on and on and on... Meanwhile, Jeanette and Patricia are more than READY for the Odiles and Medoras and the real Dianas...for the endless spinning and pyrotechnics. Will they have the chance to show their technique...? Will Catoya ever be able to put on a romantic tutu and float to Glazunov' orchestration of Chopin and show that there's some beautiful stuff to show even when triples pirouettes can't be achieved any longer...? Will my client ever get the chance to READ that D&A is a Soviet reworked left over of a XIX Century Imperial Petipa...?

http://www.redcarpet-fashionawards.com/2011/01/17/julianne-moore-in-lanvin-2011-golden-globe-awards/ But she forgot something... http://www.curtainsandcurtains.com/images/P/crystal-beaded-curtain-tiebacks/cerise.jpg

Sorry...double post.

Tonight I went to the circus. Just a little note to mention that, besides the great show being presented, I could definitely spot some female acrobats that just made me think of certain ballerinas,-[like .... or ... ]. Wow...there's definitely a very fine dividing line... The elephants and tigers were beautiful.

Which version ( or mixture ) was used in the Feijoo/Acosta pdd we've both seen? The woman's part, as danced by Feijoo at least, was unforgettable, truly great. As were the alternations in the choreography between sharp lines (Diana the Hutntress) and beautifully floating port-de-bras that would not have been out of place in Emeralds. bart, that's Alonso's staging after Vaganova. (Mme introduces a little bit of mime in the opening sequence, when Diana asks Actaeon "What are you doing here...?" and he answers..."I'm here to hunt..." and then Diana sort of makes a gesture as if saying "Unacceptable. Stop right there...I've had enough of you" -(feeling that this is her personal domain, you know...? ). There's also the famous Cuban coda, where Diana comes center stage in a diagonal of 35 traveling fouettes-(counting the double pirouettes in between)-while throwing arrows which she takes from her back, to then change spots and face the audience to finish ON POINTE after a sequence of triple pirouettes. ( ). Talk about a complicated combination !. Not even Viengsay Valdes has done it as Lorna did, which such attack and cleanness. In any case, here's the divine Lorna and her best Actaeon, the great Acosta.

I keep thinking that "La Sonnambula" is one of those ballets that has suffered a diminishing of intensity with the changes it has been subjected to, from the title change-("Night Shadow" being a more mysterious, less specific than "La Sonnambula", which instantly drives your attention to this character, when in reality this is not really "her" story, but more of a romantic, evocative tale)-to the less elaborated costumes compared to those of the original. Also, looking at the time frame back when Balanchine choreographed this, it was probably very attractive for some sectors of the European audience to see such tribute to a pre-war less troubled, luxury life that had to be paused for a while. In general I think all this ballroom-type affair and Barons and the like was something also that the audience in the old continent would feel more identified with...and now more than sixty years later in America this is a vocabulary that many people-(me included)-don't see as real as it was, but more of an antique type of thing. I liked Lauren in the role, ALTHOUGH I have to say that now, comparing her to Kronenberg, I can appreciate the more intense take of Jennifer. Kronenberg's steps were longer, more ample...really giving you the idea of running on pointe "looking for something". Lauren, on the other side, reminded me more of the pic. of Danilova...same down to the back wavy beautiful flocks floating all over when turning. Isanusi was the best Baron-(he's good at acting)-, and Manning the best Coquette-(a super attractive woman who can definitely turn heads at any party, on or offstage). Agree with Jack about Rebello's Harlequin-(watch for those Grand Ecartes, bart..perfects for the Chinese dance in the Nutcracker, and his fearless diving into the left wing). I also hope you also get to see the twin sisters Esty in the Pastorale, so you can appreciate their weird mirror-dancing-type effect. From the three casts I saw in the D&A PDD, I also hope you get the chance to see Rebello in the part. His was the closer approach to the Soviet-type style so needed here-(Actaeon's variation not having been too changed by the choreographer from the standard one). The reworking of Vaganova for the female solo doesn't allow for a lot, and when the old choreography is flashing in your mind as this blander version goes on-(same with the coda)...well, not a good thing. Western Symphony has one of the most exhilarating Grand Finales I've ever seen. This mass of dancers pirouetting at the same time as the curtain goes down is beautiful. bart, watch for Patricia Delgado and her big hat in the Rondo. Delicious. I'm also curious to see if the person responsible for the Programme notes will consider informing the West Palm audiences about "the couple in the Flintstones costumes" piece-(I swear that's how it was referred to by my client when she asked me about it) At the end, I must say I agree with mcbfan. Another great performance by MCB, which I'm thankful to have here. I might try and catch the Sunday matinee West Palm performance. See ya!!

Wow...how IMPRESSIVE!! (Thanks, iwatchthecorps for the heads up... ). This is MAJOR. Hum...I'm really curious to know if our loud out crying somehow got to the right place. Just wondering.

Here you summed up the real deal, Patrick. This is true. When my mother told me about the school censorship of the Greek-Roman nude sculptures, and then I asked her what was her position about it, her answer was. "Me...? I'll try to keep my job and make sure the armed security person is always near by in case I'm attacked..." That was when she taught in a troubled area where some youngsters couldn't keep their head up during her class, being as high as they could be. When you are in front of a classroom where the students don't have any problem on calling their professor "b..." in her own face...who cares about The Laocoonte...? At the very end, truncated education will always be part of societies. Just as Tom Sawyer is not being mentioned in some schools, so is not Darwin in others, so it is up to the family first and then up to the student later on to fill up in the gaps. It could also happen the opposite, when you will have to put aside some things that were part of your childhood school curriculum and ended up not being that useful...(I had to take Marxism-Leninism from the age of ten all the way to college, always excelled in the tests and at the same time was being raised as a catholic boy at home, so I had to learn to play the "make-believe" game). Let me add that human being will always be biased, and masterpieces-(in more than one art form)- were and will be treated sometimes accordingly. This is maybe not THAT close to the topic being discussed, but...hasn't also ballet to some extent fallen into biased views...? Think of Lifar's works, and how we always get to his political side when discussing the why of his absence from American companies repertoire-(aside from other factors). Today's society doesn't allow for public bonfires any longer, but they can keep going on in our heads, and we still do them following current correcteness...whatever that might be at the moment. Life is a continuous process of self-education, and you will keep choosing what goes in, what should be left out and what's missing so you can catch on.

Just came home after tonight's performance in Broward. Great to see ol' friend Jack !! . Jack and I tried to fix the world tonight...(the ballet world, that is...)-but to no avail, on the way coming to our own version of Miss Homan's infamous epilogue. Just a note. During one of the performances in Miami, I happened to run into a client of my job place, who happens to be a big contributor to the company, but one that doesn't has a vast knowledge of the art form. This took place on my way out of the theater. She called me and very interested asked me: "Cristian...what was that piece danced by the couple wearing the Flinstones-type costumes...?" Aside from the "funny" side of it, the real, sad reality is that the information being requested was nowhere to be found either on the 44 pages long programme nor in the playbill. Rushed up I answer something along the lines of "this is Balanchine's-(she knows at least who Mr. B is)-own staging of a different piece...an older Russian choreography of the same title...the music is by an Italian composer ". I mean, I know this is a supremely raw description of the whole Petipa/Vaganova-Pugni/Drigo-Balanchine/Villella affair, but I didn't have the time for the explanation, nor was she interested I think. Also, I decided to drop Balanchine's name because the only official source for this piece I've found is that of Villella's autobiography. My point here is that it is definitely unfair and completely unacceptable that a paying audience gets to read in the night's playbill the scanty lines of "Diane and Actaeon" as the sole explanation. I mean....we can't even clarify who really choreographed this...so what about the non-connoisseur public...? Will be back to talk a bit about tonight's cast for La Sonnambula, which was a little different at those of the Miami performances I saw.

I'll try my best to catch tonight's performance. Hope to see you there, Jack!!

So here I go again. Aaagh...I still can't believe I deleted my last night's long post... WESTERN SYMPHONY Western Symphony was like a nice wave of fresh air after the middle section of the night’s program-(will talk about it later on…toward the very end of the review). I truly enjoyed the “Wild-Wild West”-like sets, and ditto for the costumes, with the saloon girls-like lovely fluffy tutus and gloves for the girls and the cowboy regalia for the boys. Now, WS is obviously not a pretentious ballet-(at least not in the way of Balanchine’s “big guys”[symphony in C, Serenade, T&V, Jewels etc…)], but truly a very colorful, enjoyable one, somehow in the lines of Bourree Fantasque. Among the four sections of the ballet the one that I enjoyed the most was the second one,…the Adagio, closely followed by the very last one...the Rondo. The Adagio was very interesting, and I would like to ask to the more knowledgeable “balanchinized” members of this board if my impression of this part of the choreography is somehow in the right track. This Adagio starts with the male dancer making his appearance onstage guiding a group of girls as if they are the horses of his carriage. Right after this a Pas de deux takes place, but one with an interesting twist. It looked to me as if Balanchine was trying to either mock a formal, traditional Pas de deux in the Imperial old fashion, or either as if he was paying some type of tribute to them...…or both. The whole choreography definitely had a pseudo-comical undertone, and at times it occurred to me that he was trying to make some fun-(in a respectful, but jokingly way)-of “Giselle”, judging from the ballerina's cossed arms position-(just like a willi)- when she appears onstage to the way that the whole PDD finishes-(which was almost as a carbon copy of the very last moments of the romantic ballet...arabesque penchee and everything)-, after which she goes away bearing, again, her crossed arms. Then there is also a grand, heroic variation for the bailarin-(just as in every old PDD)-, and even the position that the corps girls take on each side of the stage on parallel lines, suggests those of the Corps in Bayadere or Swan Lake. There’s even a moment when some of the girls pull the two dancers away from each other..again just like in Giselle. It was very interesting, and there was definitely a comical approach to it. I wonder, again, if this is some sort of parody. In any case, it was very cute. I approved. (The XIX Century guy has spoken, people... ) The Rondo was great, the highlight of it being the ballerina’s appearance with that huge, extravagant feathered hat-(LOVED it!), and in general the happy feeling of the whole thing. My favorite dancers were Katia Carranza and Renan Cerdeiro on Friday during the Adagio and Patricia Delgado and Yann Trividic in the Rondo the same day. Carranza knew how to make the best out of the comical side of her section, pulling out some great faces and dropping the right accents here and there, and P. Delgado doesn’t need a lot of effort to light up the stage…she just goes and plays her own sultry, inhibited self, always making sure that we know she’s happy just by being up there. The cast was as follows: Friday: Allegro: Kronenberg/Guerra Adagio: Carranza/Cerdeiro. Kuddos to Cerdeiro, a Corps member who did a great job partnering Principal Carranza. Scherzo: Albertson/Panteado Rondo: Delgado-( )/Trividic Saturday: Allegro: Albertson/Cerdeiro Adagio: Catoya/Reyes Scherzo: Manning/Rebello Rondo: Kronenberg/Guerra DIANE & ACTAEON PAS DE DEUX This last minute addition to the program wasn’t too successful in my eyes. The thing is that, whoever staged this version of this tour de force-(Balanchine or Villella)-ended up with a blander version of Vaganova’s take on Petipa. To me the difference was probably more obvious, for which the version danced in Cuba-(one that I got to see countless times)-has been heavily amplified in the tricks department. So then when offered this simpler staging, it just left me cold. This is a soviet-style-(made from Imperial left overs)- PDD, made to display an ample, difficult range of pyrotechnics on shameless showy dancers, and I don’t think MCB has ever been too interested in those type of things...nor that they really know how to treat them. Curiously, the Entrance-(which shows the bailarin first unlike in Vaganova’s)-the Adagio, Diane's variation and Coda were different, but Actaeon’s variation was pretty much the standard one we all know. Here I want to clap to Corps Member Kleber Rebello, who danced the part BEAUTIFULLY on Friday. He was truly a revelation. People…let’s watch out for this guy. The cast was as follows: On Friday, Catoya and Rebello-( )-, and on Saturday P. Delgado and Panteado. BAKER’S DOZEN. This bored me to death. I can’t wait to read Jack’s and bart’s impressions. Cheers!

Oh...what happened here...? I wrote something last night and double checked right after and it was fine and posted before closing my laptop. Now it is gone... I wonder if I hit something before turning off the computer and accidentally deleted the post. Oh well...I will rewrite it tonight.(didn't save it either... )