cubanmiamiboy

30 minutes ago, Helene said:

He, like we, is entitled to his own opinions, but not his own facts.

Exactly. It is not for someone to say "God doesn't exist" as opposed to "I believe God doesn't exist".

He's certainly voicing, aside from his own, a good part of society's opinions, including well known religious sects. Controversial but very much present.

So I see he has voiced his opinions on transsexualism. And particularly on ballet.

Happy New year, BT'rs! May God provides a bountiful year for you and your loved ones, with plenty of health and good fortune.

I side with much of what Clifford says about staging, particularly about tempi, costumes and lighting. He mentions crashing with Zakharova and Lopatkina when staging Jewels, and I can see why. Some of the Russian tempi are dreadfully slow....almost soporific. And according to the videos, it looks like he was one of those "sharpies" of ballet. His quickness was evident.

He keeps mentioning Kent and Farrell as best choices of AD. I think it would do good to try to get as much of their input before they're gone.

12 minutes ago, AB'sMom said:

Thursday, January 17 at 7:30 p.m.
Isabella Boylston
James Whiteside
Stella Abrera
Thomas Forster

Friday, January 18 at 7:30 p.m.
Sarah Lane
Carlos Gonzales
Misty Copeland
Calvin Royal III

Saturday, January 19 at 2 p.m.
Skylar Brandt
Daniil Simkin
Hee Seo
Alexandre Hammoudi

Saturday, January 19 at 7:30 p.m.
Cassandra Trenary
Tyler Maloney
Christine Shevchenko
Blaine Hoven

Sunday, January 20 at 1 p.m.
Isabella Boylston
James Whiteside
Stella Abrera
Thomas Forster
 

As this is (hopefully) the final cast list, after quite a few changes, I need to choose two casts to see. I’m definitely seeing Boylston/Whiteside/Abrera/Forster. For the second, I’m leaning toward Brandt/Simkin/Seo/Hammoudi. There are still a lot of unsold tickets. I wonder if it’s because It’s coming so quick on the heels of Nutcracker. 

Harlequinade is much of a soubrette-driven ballet, deprived of the technical fireworks that people usually look forward to. I found it charming, but I wouldn't necessarily travel again to see it. And then....it has been only some months since they put it, so ...

Best.

Ratmansky's recon of Harlequinade. It is good to be reminded of how Imperial productions used to look like.

Ashley Bouder/Joseph Gordon in Coppelia. She's definitely my type of dancer. Legs and ankles of steel.

Osipova's Giselle and Bolle's Albrecht. They are real artists. I didn't care for their partners.

MCB's Nathalia Arja as Dewdrop, Jennifer Lauren as Sugarplum and Kleber Rebello as cavalier. Spectacular.

MCB' s Ballet Imperial. They know how to dance this.

Herman Cornejo in "In the Upper Room" 

Alvin Ailey's amazing end of season program, with the ever revered "Revelations"

MCB production of "The Cage". Fascinating piece!

Worst.

Megan LeCrone/Andrew Veyette in Nutcracker. Just painful to watch, as I said earlier.

Jessica Lang's Garden Blue for ABT. Horrid.

NYCB firing of Finlay, Ramasar and Catazaro. Just very sad and unfortunate.

McGregor's "Afterite" featuring "Misty the photographer"...😂😂😂

On 12/29/2018 at 10:18 PM, canbelto said:

I also wonder what they'll do if they have a dancer of color wear the blond powdered wigs. IMO that's the kind of wig that only works for very fair-skinned dancers. 

Carlos Acosta refused to wear it.

42 minutes ago, canbelto said:

Well LeCrone is someone I cant imagine as SPF. During the regular season she is almost cast exclusively in leotard ballets. She has struggled with injuries as well 

The Dewdrop was Gina Pazcoguin who is coming back from a major knee injury but was IMO the best Coffee. 

Thanks for your thoughts and too bad you didnt catch another cast. I tend to avoid final week Nuts bc in my experience fatigue sets in and performances get sloppier.

Well ..I really didn't have that many options, as my week had been basically packed. I HAD to put Damrau's Violetta, Netrebko/Beczala/Rachelishvili's A.L, The Rockettes and Ailey's finale at City Center before the Nuts...so I was left only with the matinee. 😪

On 12/30/2018 at 4:10 PM, canbelto said:

Did anyone go to the final week of Nuts? How was it?

I went to a very unfortunate Sunday 29 matinee. Leads were LeCrone and Veyette, who looked SO uncomfortable during their pas de deux that it was almost painful to watch. LeCrone's facial expressions was very harsh, which her extreme makeup didn't really help, and the very few times she attempted a smile it came out more like a facial angst.

Veyette looked heavy.

I was just praying that the over the shoulder lifts would get done. They did with no accident, and when the Adagio was finally over one could tell they we're IMMENSELY relieved. Too much tension, shaking hands...nervous partnering etc etc.

The Candy Cane lead missed on one of the hoop turns, the Marzipan lead lost her balance during the soutes on pointe, and the Spanish dance male lead-(a black guy)- totally lost track of the tempo during his final turn, and landed with no music altogether. The one highlight of the show was the girl who danced Dewdrop. If I can find my playbill I'll mention her name. Her and the adorable kids who played Fritz and the Prince were the warm touches to an otherwise insipid performance.

On 12/27/2018 at 4:20 PM, Fleurfairy said:

Yes, the slide is one of those magical moments that fits perfectly in The Nutcracker. Even after seeing Balanchine's version 100 times, I'm still struck by the effect. 

After seeing that Collier/Dowell version, I understand why they eliminated the scarf trick. She looks very unsteady. It was probably too difficult to pull off while looking effortless.

Because it was done without any device. It was just Collier keeping her balance as humanly possible while being dragged by the scarf. I wonder if the Imperial production used a device a la Balanchine or if they did it a la Wright. 

One less pioneer... 

RIP Miss Osato.

21 minutes ago, canbelto said:

 I think the company that does the most ur-text Ivanov is the Royal Ballet.

 

 

Balanchne's SPF variation vs. Ivanov:

 

And Bejart.

19 minutes ago, Kathleen O'Connell said:

Is Balanchine's version of the grand pas really Petipa/Ivanov's choreography "preserved"? I've always been given to understand that Balanchine either used or made reference to some of the material in the original pas, e.g., the shoulder-sits and the effect of the slide, but that the choreography was in essence his. But I'd be happy to learn otherwise.

No...it is not. I was referencing to Sir Peter Wright's or Alonso's . They both come from direct links to the Imperial Ballet-( Sir Peter Wright's via N. Sergueev/Markova and Alonso having learned it herself from A. Fedorova, an Imperial era dancer). 

Both are pretty much preserved and well passed into the XXI Century. 

On 12/21/2018 at 7:50 AM, California said:

That's fascinating, especially after seeing the photo of  the original version. It looks difficult, so it's understandable it disappeared in later versions. But I wonder why Balanchine didn't use the original scarf (as the Royal seems to have made that work), instead of the floor slide or whatever he used to pull her along.

Even so, as the skarf hasn't appeared before or seem to have any particular dramatic purpose, it still feels gimmicky. Historic, but gimmicky.

I have always loved that section in the Collier/Dowell video, and think it a shame they've decided to excise it. Balanchine probably remembered it and recreated it with much success, I'd say. When it happens, no matter what, there are always audience members who gasp in awe. I believe many of then don't really realize about the sliding device.  So...I really hope that it never becomes "politically incorrect"🤔

On 12/23/2018 at 6:51 PM, Rock said:

I can't help it, I'm in cubanmiamiboy's camp. I may be PIC (politically incorrect) but to me generic is generic. The Chinese dance in anybody's version is not about the choreography. 

Thanks for the support 😉.

Anyhow...keeping my ruminations on these 5 Nuts, I almost forgot to mention my EXTREME disappointment at the absence of the children's chorus during the Snow Scene. They follow the notes, but with instruments instead. Totally underwhelming.

13 minutes ago, Kathleen O'Connell said:

Or, I gather, Shiryaev.

Probably. 

So three good chunks of the original are preserved in pristine condition: grand pas, candy cane and prince mime. Quite good, I'd say 

4 hours ago, Kathleen O'Connell said:

 

Deleted: I was pointing at the same issue as Canbelto.🙂

14 hours ago, dirac said:

I hope everyone has a lovely Christmas day. Here is Yuri Soloviev's Bluebird to start things off on the right foot, as it were. His lady is Emma Minchenok.

 

 

Divine Soloviev! The best entrechats in the history of ballet.

Merry Christmas, everyone!!!🎄🎅⛄😍

23 hours ago, Helene said:

 

I find Tea charming regardless of headdress and eyebrow style because the choreography reflects the music so brilliantly, but, then again, there's almost nothing about costumes, wigs, or make-up that are essential to me to make find something charming, unless they're dressed as an animal.  Charm to me is almost always in the music, choreography, or expression of the dancers, not what they're wearing.  But I'm not everyone.

But this is The Nutcracker...not Agon, Helene! Some of this divertissements are massively weighted on their visuals. The dancing part of the Chinese dolls is almost non existent. Their charm lays, realistically, on the very items they are being deprived off, namely costumes, wigs, mannerisms and charm. If they next get rid of the guy's hat and/or braid for the same reasons, then....well, we can still watch him do the echapes.

But still....🤔

I see the theater is one of those surviving "atmospheric theaters", so popular during the late 20's.  We have one down here...complete with a taxidermied peacock and all !🤗

17 hours ago, Helene said:

I don't think we're going too far with this stuff.  There are many ways to depict nationalities, and some rely upon far more stereotypes than others.  I don't think that it is desperation not wanting to offend: it is respectful of other people who have not been considered in the equation and are asking to be considered. 

A decision to be historically accurate, which could mean the intent of the creator, is separate from whether the depictions sting and are offensive.  

Helene... let's then ban "I love Lucy". Desi's Cuban epitomizes the word "stereotype".

Reality: It is a comedy show...I don't identify...it is harmless...etc etc.

Tea without the "geisha" wigs and pointy eyebrows was charmless.

On 12/14/2018 at 1:35 PM, abatt said:

Hmm.  Who will get  her roles this spring? 

Jesus ..my ballet traveling incentives keep shrinking, ABT wise. .😶

One of the things that troubles me the most in relationship with music-ballet steps is how often dancers seem to luxuriate in some sort of syncopation, meaning that they deliberately make the steps in the weak part of the musical accent...usually behind. The effect is risky, because if the dancer has a wonderful musical training, then he/she is able to catch up just in time for important, pivotal rythmic moments of the choreography.

Two of the best examples of this are, for me, the Willis advancing sautes in arabesque and the initial section of Theme and Variations, during the initial tendus of both dancers. In both scenarios I usually note the placement of the foot in the weak part of the note-(or syncopation)- hence looking  a bit odd on my eyes. 

I think there is a part in the Valse Fantaisie Clifford/Paul coaching video where he mentions something on the subject.

35 minutes ago, mille-feuille said:

Ooooops! Thank you! 

😉

2 hours ago, mille-feuille said:

• the addition of the snippet of Swan Lake music in Act I.

I think you meant Sleeping Beauty..😉