cubanmiamiboy

Well Simon...with all respect-(and correct me if I'm wrong)-, but I sense that by referring to a "deluded", "elderly"-(45 years old at the time), "blind"-(although in my humble opinion that particular item wasn't an issue at the time of the clip, but again...that's a personal perception)-and "kidding herself" woman about her character portray, well...it certainly sounds to me not only as if you just have completely dismissed both the dancer and the clip, but also as if the bitter attack on the dancer's personal appearance/age/physical dissabily/mental state goes beyond the mere artistic criticism... So I guess that, according to your own stated words, that makes you wrong...?

Simon, I feel the need to reinforce that, as with everything else in life, when I speak, write or share my experiences on something, it should be perfectly clear that this is just me, talking about my perception and how the work adjusts or not to my own guidelines. About the other handful of millions of viewers-(including of course you, Fonteyn and Nureyev)-I don't have the right, nor the desire to speak about. That's why I always try to use the "I perceived", "I felt" and the like, instead of trying to build the criticism against the body of work itself, which I'm perfectly conscious that I'm not prepared for, nor that I'm interested to. I don't argue that what I saw is not the product of a genious...I'm saying that it was unbearable TO ME. But...what's the harm on that, if for each person who hates the thing there are millions who love it...? If the work is good, it will be passed on and alive way after me and my criticism are both long forgotten. Agree with that, but after I have admitted that the movement is difficult and brutal...what's left for me...? Exactly nothing, as in with Valdes and Osipova for you after their difficult, brutally executed fouettes. As you just said...you can't isolate the fragment and speak for the whole thing based on it. ...again, Simon...there's nothing there for me. Fine with that, but a little clarification. I believe that I've read lots of criticism of exactly that point on Alonso right on this board, by very knowledgeable people whose understanding of ballet is way wider than mine. Have I ever say "you're wrong...?" No, because THEY'RE NOT! This is THEIR truth, which doesn't mean that it is THE truth. It is worth to me to express it, discuss it and then try and expose the reasons to why I DON'T share that truth, but it would never occurred to me just to plainly state that... And BTW...about aging dancers "kidding themselves"...well, we could be building a never ending list of both ballerinas and bailarines that would include several-(and great)-Soviet,Italians,French and British exceptional, lovely Giselles/Auroras-(no need to tell their names...we both know them), but also, great modern dance exponents, even that of Cunningham's mentor. Thank God to the fact that they were "kidding themselves", so that many generations had the option either to ignore them or to go and see if there was still something worth in their live performances... Edited to add: Isn't Misha still out there "kidding himself"...? And I do that too, Simon..! That's exactly why I went to see it, and why I go to see the Alvin Ailey company every time they come-(which I loved since the first time I went)...including their upcoming presentation... The point is simple..the more I know about what I don't like, the more I appreciate and reinforce my truth about what I like.

...I wonder if there was even any choreography involved, or if they were just encouraged to pace, stretch, roll and seat motionless as they pleased... Edited to add: Sorry about that. Of course I know this was a choreographic work. I was just being sarcastic. My bad. I think it is a very valid option, for which nobody else gets hurt on the way. Others, like critics, have the advantage of writing bitter national newspaper articles, and so getting their points into thousands of people's heads. At least the "poor" aspect of my option only affects me. I never said that ballet was to stop there. I also love Chopiniana and Theme and Variations, so I DO believe that dance has indeed continued... I don't think that's exactly what I said. In any case, here's my OP. Re: The Don Quixote PDD... ...this is certainly a dangerously generalized statement, Simon. Could I be one of the very few audience members whose Don Quixote PDD viewing wasn't determined by the reasons listed above...? Simon, I won't argue that the ending of ANY dance company is indeed a tragedy to the art form. Now...watching several audience members leave a performance midway, quietly making fun of it-(as I witnessed)- and not even being sure to clap at the end, out of total confusion and disappointment of the entire thing...THAT is a tragedy. Edited to add: This is a short clip of something very close-(perhaps even the same thing...or a variation of it or both)-of what I saw...its time multiplied by 11. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBcwL8ROBAk AND... then...the "music", which was something like... You can actually play both clips at the same time-(the dancing one has no sound)-so you can have a pale idea of the whole thing... ...and so back again to the real deal...

Cristian, That's a really cheap shot. I expect better of you. One could equally argue that the "real deal" isn't stuck in a permanently moonlit glade sometime in the mid 19th century, and if dance stopped being "real" then perhaps it has no place in the modern world and Jennifer Homanns is right. You saw a Cunningham Event, I love the Events, but equally I know Cunningham for first time viewers can be very difficult. Why not explain what you saw in full, your problems with what you saw, and instigate a discussion about dance and the wider scope of dance. I love ballet, yet equally I love modern, Cunningham especially, but I know how alienating the work and aesthetic can be - I have no problem accepting that if there's a discussion involved and exchange of ideas, but to dismiss a body of work and revolutionary form as rich and expansive as Cunningham's on the back of one viewing and to pour scorn by comparing to Alonso in Giselle yet again is to not understand or be willing to understand that dance isn't a fixed, generic form that there isn't only one true vision and the idea that anything else is lightweight is regressive. Simon. I have no problem admitting that my real deal in dancing probably got somehow stuck in a permanent moonlight in the XIX Century, although I'm not disqualifying the XX Century at all-(I've certainly had pleasant experiences with Fokine, Balanchine and Graham's works among others). Now, if I was to pick a handful of ballet works to be saved from an imminent destruction of the world by aliens, and they were the only ones to be preserved for a future rebuilding of the art form, with no doubt I would choose those of the past century..150% positive. About Giselle...well, that's a personal thing. Every time I get aggravated with-(to me)-senseless dance stuff, I always go back to the German tale. But that's just me...it is my antidote. At the very end, this is, as with everything else, a matter of personal taste, of course, and as I said earlier...this is coming from a guy who loves long orthodox services and Mamie Van doren in High School Confidential... About that thing that I saw...I have to get back to this board later on.

I DEFINITELY will...as soon as I'm back home. Preview...I ALMOST demanded my money back...literally...due to a certain incident.

...but back to the real deal...

I certainly will, bart...! although you know me...I'm sort of reluctant about modern/contemporary dancing...but always open to watch almost everything... http://www.arshtcenter.org/tickets/calendar/view.aspx?id=8939

...which is why I HATE the over use of the "boys" and "girls" terms in ballet... I always try to talk about "bailarines" and "bailarinas"...

thank you both, sandik and abatt... ...wow...!!

Currently finishing "Apollo's Angels" and savouring Beaumont's "The Ballet called Giselle"...(yum!)

Tonight I'll be watching this company, which I've seen widely discussed on this board, and which I'm unfamiliar with. Knowing the great knowledge of many members here on this troupe, I'd like to know anything that you might add... Thanks in advance...! From the Arsht center website... "Choreographer Merce Cunningham and visual artist Robert Rauschenberg: Two undisputed giants of American culture. See their iconoclastic work from every angle and perspective in an astonishing 360-degree event—created especially for Miami— that re-imagines their legendary mid-20th Century collaborations. First, you'll encounter a new site-specific installation by Daniel Arsham, constructed in the theater's auditorium. Then you'll proceed on to the stage itself where, on three large multi-level sets, 14 dancers, wearing original Rauschenberg-designed costumes, perform Cunningham's dazzling choreography."

Update on Tschen-Fu. Sylvia never got along with him, so she ended up joining my mom's household, where her other female seems to be getting in better terms with her. Now...my own household has currently increased, with the addition of a little guy that followed me all the way home the other night , even crossing heavy traffic streets..(how could I have resisted... ). Now Tschen-Fu has a companion...his name is Benno.

So many ballets for such little time...!-(and so few Principals...). That would certainly prove a challenge for the company...

...AND...in a very interesting twist, on Sunday I just happened to bike by the Fillmore Theater on my way home from the beach, and voila...I discovered that there's also this Company... Kirova Ballet -(no relation to the Kirov, BTW...this is the AD's last name)-which will be doing the Nutcracker and bringing Veronika Part to dance the lead. So of course...I'm going...!

Thank you all for your support in my "becoming Rose" trip.. But back to "Burlesque"...here are two clips, the first one from the opening Cher's number..."Welcome to Burlesque", and the second one her more soulful offering "You haven't seen the last of Me"...(which looks more like the singer's personal statement, BTW) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxnqKjdQM9o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQNnGocNf7Y

I just got the book. A birthday present from my friend... Will report back...

bart...thank you for the support on my posts. I know that I get a little carried away many times, but I certainly have great memories from my homeland, and sometimes I think it's worth to share them. About the cabaret world-(and back to my interest in the film's subject)-it's very interesting that just recently I was just talking to a friend, lamenting the fact that I haven't been able to enjoy this genre in a long time, for which is one that is getting lost-(except probably for Las Vegas). There used to be a place here in Miami Beach at the old Fontainebleau Hotel...a beautiful cabaret that was once home for singers like Frank Sinatra during the 50's. When I arrived in 2000, the hotel was almost in bankruptcy, and the beautiful Cabaret/Grand Ballroom-(designed by Lapidus)-was still offering shows in the old fashion way. I got to see some of them. Later on the hotel went to a multi million renovation and now the charming cabaret is the mega club LIV...one that I can't afford, BTW. Interesting enough, ballet and cabaret were tightly linked during the first years of the Cuban company. Due to the previous lack of male dancers, many of the first bailarines that conformed the ballet troupe had to be pulled from Havana cabarets, and some of the ballerinas ended up making more money dancing in the famous Havana clubs. I have a lot of respect for this women. They work very hard, and many times they're looked at in a diminishing way. About the Jagua Cabaret, well...it dates from 1957...and very little has changed ever since. In Havana there are huge, beautiful cabarets, the most famous one being Tropicana Tropicana in 1956 Tropicana in 2008

Last night I went to see it. Cher was the main reason. I love her, I've been in her concerts and onstage she's a powerful force that keeps screaming "SHOW WOMAN!!" like few do. I was a little reticent to make my way to the cinema-(I had seen the whole story line via previews, and I knew there was not much more to add to it...it was just as simple as it seemed, and also never having been a fan of musicals, nor of Christina Aguilera, well...I did the math). I was proved totally wrong. I ACTUALLY ENJOYED THE FILM!! . To start with, there's Cher. SHE is the one who basically keeps pulling the strings of the whole body of this thing, and she really knows how to do it. You can see her singing-(two numbers), fighting, being sarcastic, shredding a tear here and there and even violently smashing something into another character's car window at some point, and yes...she does it all very well. But hello...you just can't get over the fact on HOW FAAAAAAAAABOLOUS she still looks!! OMG...The camera definitely loves her. Christina is a minor force, of course, but not bad at all. She's 30 here, but just in the best tradition of Pickford, she can still pull a 13 YO easily...(her character is probably around 18 or 19, I think...). And then, she sings and dances POWERFULLY. A good thing about the film is that it doesn't get too complicated with no reason. It revolves around just a few characters using a sweet story line and done...when you realize it is over. You've been happily entertained and wanting to get the films' soundtrack when it's available. There's a little extra element that dragged me to the movie theater. When I was a teenager, and started to go out, "Jagua Cabaret", in my hometown, was the place of choice-(I inserted a real pic that I just found on the internet). It is a very alive genre in Cuba-(still is, even after the late taking over of the dance club thing). There used to be a hairdresser friend that worked doing the girls hair and makeup. We used to be a little group of teens with no money, and we used to climb an outdoor wall to gain access to the place, and once there, our friend the hairdresser would sneak us thru the stage door, via the dressing rooms. Many nights I stood there before the show watching all those glamorous girls getting dressed and chatting. It was a magical place, I remember, and so this film was sort of like a trip to memory lane during those "formative" years-( ) I think I'm becoming Betty White's Rose with all my stories every time, right...? Anyway...go see the film. It's a good one.

RIP Ilyaballet...Welcome Ilyaballet1 !

Last night I went to the FGO uber-traditional-(let's thank good reasoning, finally)-and luxurious production of Turandot. The one thing I want to underline here was that the loudest cheers of the night were reserved for our very Cuban soprano Miss Elizabeth Caballero ,who gave one of the most powerful performances I've ever seen of the slave girl Liu. If you have not heard of Miss Caballero, then you're missing what I assure is just her absolute meteoric rise to fame. She possesses one of the most exciting voices in opera today-(that I've heard)-, and her future looks set to be a series of extraordinary successes. Here in Miami I already witnessed her superb capability during her amazing Lucia last season . Her voice is very warm, steely and thrusting when needed, then subtle, reflective and diminutive as the score changes the demands it places on the singer. Liu’s first aria “Signore, ascolta!” with its Chinese pentatonic construction, was extremely moving, even if she moved away a little from its usual meltingly tender pianissimo. Her second aria, “Tu che di gel sei cinta”, was the most glorious piece of singing of the entire evening, you could have heard a pin drop in the auditorium as her POWERFUL voice arced through the Ziff Opera House in glorious waves of sound. Apart from proving herself to be an accomplished vocalist, she is also an intensely moving actress. During curtain calls, she totally stole the show. I felt bad for Miss Lise Lindstrom, last night's Turandot. My mom whispered to me what she saw as a very unconfortable situation between the two sopranos up there, to which I riposted..."That's what this is all about...excitement, rivalry, cheers, drama..." I love it...! Viva Elizabeth !!!

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In order of priority... Miami City Ballet Cuban Classical Ballet of Miami Florida Classical Ballet Arts Ballet Theater of Florida Ballet Etudes Miami Youth Ballet Saint Petersburg Classic Russian Ballet ...yes...my own Nutcrackthon...!!

bart...I think they're also doing Miami...! (Isn't this the same company I saw last year...with that ballerina "Romanova" in the leading role...I wonder?) If it is, then they dance a watery staging of Vainonen's, which is nice to see it still danced after so many years...(I particularly like his Pas de Trois to the Marzipan's music)

Wow...!

Yes indeed...