cubanmiamiboy

From the MCB website: "Baker’s Dozen – Twyla Tharp, with her “prankster’s sense of humor” (The Times), flings a dozen dancers onto the stage – hustling, spinning, shimmying, yet romantically inclined – to the irresistible stride piano of the immortal Willie “The Lion” Smith. Program II also includes La Sonnambula and Western Symphony" Scheduled Dates Adrienne Arsht Center: January 7-9, 2011 Broward Center: January 14-16, 2011 Kravis Center: January 28-30, 2011 http://www.miamicityballet.org/performances.php Will be watching, of course. Edited to add Balanchine's "Diane & Actaeon PDD"...not officially being listed in the booklet/website, but included in the performances AND in the playbill-(which I guess makes it "official" enough to be posted here)

bart...for some reason I just saw your post right now...! (sorry for not having got it earlier). Wow..it is so interesting that we BOTH had the same EXACT experience with Arja!! For me she was the BEST thing on this MCB Nutcracker run... Brava!!

OMG...only three days before curtain rises to give way to MCB program II. Once more, I'll face three new to me ballets, two Balanchines and one Tharp-( ) In this thread I would like to gather ANY info/input you can give me about "La Sonnambula"...anything, from past performers to what to expect, what do you recall...you know, whatever can shred some light on the ballet. I thank you guys for always being so responsive to my inquiries. I will open two other threads for the other two ballets on the program, Western Symphony and the Tharp one...( ) So..who wants to start...?

So there I was, all bitter already after almost having given up to the West Palm's trip. Getting out of Miami Beach was a nightmare...the traffic didn't move, so I told my mom that if I couldn't make it to I-95 by 6:30 pm, I would then turn around and give up-(the performance was to be at 8:00 pm, and I didn't even had tickets). So finally I'm on the highway, and by 7:50 I was already in my seat-(don't ask me at which speeding did I get there...).bart...you know about the traffic situation down here, so I'm sure you can "feel" me.. The Kravis-(love that building...way more than the Brodward Center and even more than that absurdity/monstruosity called Arsht Center)-was packed, and soon enough, the performance started. So I'm listening to the overture-(or course, canned music...by now a too common feature in ballet performances, so nothing that I wasn't expecting)-and when the curtain rises, I'm already dreaming-(c'mon...this is Swan Lake after all!)-,but too soon, I'm afraid to report. Act I Act I revealed a troupe that wasn't too engaging in the dancing and an uninteresting choreography that almost put me to sleep. Of course, there was the expected jester-(is he part of the Konstantin Sergueev' legacy?)-, but to be honest, he was one the highlights of this production. Benno was there also, as the male lead on the bland Pas de Trois. There's not a lot that I can think of to make this review more interesting, for which there was NOTHING more interesting presented. Perhaps-(actually Im positive)- this have to do with the fact of having seen probably hundreds of Swan Lakes in the course of my life span in the island, via a choreography that still retains many great chunks of the one choreographed and premiered in its four acts in Havana in as early as 1954 by Mary Skeaping-(also responsible for the even earlier Nutcracker premiere). Since then, Swan lake has been a staple of the Cuban repertoire, and along with Giselle, one that I got to see all year around, all the time, every year. The choreography of the first act's waltz is one of those chunks, in the form of a great pas de six for six couples, whith very daring lifts and a an spectacular triple fish dive-induced grand finale. So then, when I saw the Russians version with all those little, obscure, busy steps, I was almost in the verge of yawning. Another miss-(not the last one, and not an uncommon one in some productions I've seen)-was the unchanging light pattern for the end of Act I, where it should be suggested by darker tones that the sunset is happening, so the night-where the next act takes places-is approaching. Act II The lake scene backdrop was way too bright, with shades of blue for the water, nothing in the romantic line. Then Von Rothbart appeared, one sorcerer that was too small and short winged-(and with almost no makeup)-to be properly scary. Here I must say that I would definitely take The Swamp Thing at any time over this poor little bird. And THEN one of the major absurdities happened. Some swan-maidens got out! Right there, along with Rothbart's presentation, some corps girls made an impromptu appearance, which according to the choreographed moves was apparently supposed to give the audience clues as what had happenned to them in terms of being under the spell and captivity of this evil entity. The sad result was that the much anticipated and beautifully choreographed entrance of the corps of swan-maidens-(one of the few pieces of Ivanonv' choreography that seems to be respected in almost every Swan Lake on earth)-was completely diminished…its magic totally broken. To be continued. Im tired, but I really want to write some more, if you guys still want to read it...

Let's see...? Eureka!! Patrick...it was just that...100% capacity reached... Forget me, people...another premature senior moment. Now, Patrick...I'm all ready for you. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Let's see...?

I specially LOVED her renversés in her solo. Also, I noticed that she introduced those "Balanchine pas de chat"-(what's the correct term for those...?)-in her final diagonal of the coda, before the pique turns... If anything, she looks FEARLESS..! (a quality I ABSOLUTE adore in ballerinas...) And yes..she's got THE body...

And it is very weird, because I just figured how to access the "blocked posters" page-(never used that before, hence didn't even know the phyisical location of the application)-and the list is accurate, meaning no one is there...! I wonder what the problem is...

I was just recently informed by a poster that he seems to be blocked when trying to PM me. I don't even know how to block anyone, nor have I ever tried to. How do I fix this...? Thanks!

The thing is...how can he name her to be "The Greatest..." if he hasn't been able to see the whole range of this era's ballerinas...at least onstage...? "The greatest ballerina I've ever seen live" sounds better to me.

re: Margot's eyes. The first time I noticed how beautifully she puts those to work was during the final fish dive in the SB clip. She has a particular way to keep looking at Somes even her face being almost on the floor. It was like she was saying "You KNOW I'm watching you, so you better keep me safe...!" or "Oh, I'm so in love with you...look at you, all uncomfortable and still trying your best to make me look pretty..." Her distinctive blinking gives her innocent portray a cute amount of naughtiness...

I'm oficially done with all this touring companies FOR GOOD!...and I'm serious.

No, he means by 'The Great' the same thing as 'the Greatest', it's just a more theatrical thing to say 'The Great'. Gramatically it's all right, just a bit annoying. In this case also, since he wants to emphasize her 'a great ballerina' is probably not quite enough, but he should be content with 'one of the greatest ballerinas' or 'one of the two or three greatest ballerinas' (in that case, he wouldn't even have to say 'American', which is pretty much beside the point these days anyway, since everything is more accessible than in past epochs. But critics are sometimes able to promote performers they want to by hyping them up, so it's no big deal really. That's probably all it means. Thanks Patrick and Happy New Year!!

Which was the last "ballet film" before this..."Center Stage"...? Edited to add: No...that would be "Mao's..." Well, the point when I asked, if it was "CS" then we're going into a slow but ascending line.

"The great ballerina"...?...Why is that I notice an uncompromising feeling here..? He avoids to go too far as to name her "The GREATEST ballerina", or to be too soft to write "A great ballerina"... Is "THE GREAT..." phrase grammatically correct...? What is he really saying here...?

...and more to come...!

More little treats for all of us...!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jzu8ozOnE_M&feature=sub

My pleasure! Glad you guys loved it. Happy 2011 !

I finally got the re-run of the concert, which is playing right now...!! "An der schönen blauen Donau" is on...(Blue Danube...one of my all-time winners..! ), and four teen ballerinas in Sylph-like costumes are dancing with four young male dancers...so beautiful...

Will do...

Thanks to my local PBS station, I was just informed that there will be a performance of Swan Lake by the State Ballet Theater of Russia, tomorrow at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach. The last time I saw the complete ballet-(Odile included)-was when the Cuban Classical Ballet of Miami performed it. MCB, as we all know, bears Balanchine's compressed white act. bart...will you go...? http://www.kravis.org/index.cfm?&fuseaction=performances.detail&performance_id=1313

For those who enjoyed the Fonteyn/Somes Sleeping Beauty clip, here's some excerpts from Giselle Act I. Note: The soundtrack is NOT that of Adams music. I just muted the clip and hummed the music in my head. Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzLfpGDLAhk&feature=sub

My pleasure, Bonnette. Here's the show Grand Finale... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYKRuH4z3IY&feature=related