cubanmiamiboy

"Say it once and say it loud...I am a balletomane and I am proud..!!"

I know...just as with Julio Bocca. Their last rendition done in Havana. I have my Messenger on all the time in case my friend can connect...(usually after midnight, so let's see...)

The Wilis are the ghosts of all those who never got through to a live person, and expired. That's why they are so vengeful and don't listen to anyone anymore.

I did see "Le Combat" In Havana sometime in the period between 1999-2001...Loved it, but didn't see it again. Since I left I've been told it has been danced pretty much regularly... This are pics from one of the performances from 2005. http://jgimage.smugmug.com/gallery/352853_...#14061260_7DVZQ

Oh, dear Roy...only in Havana, of course, the eternal "Land Of Contradictions" ...!!!

bart...tickets were sold in the national currency for Cubans, US dollars/euros to tourists. As usual, 90 % of the performances are sold to nationals, with a price that is basically symbolic-(like 5 cents of a dollar, according to the current conversion). The venues are big-(see pics below)-and ALL performances were 100 % sold in just a couple of hours after they went on sale, but still, the salaries of dancers and other staff won't be profits from theater selling, so I also wonder how does that works out... http://www.elpais.com/recorte/20081204elpe...icano_noche.jpg http://www.penultimosdias.com/wp-content/u...eatrohabana.jpg

Wow...such a historic event. I just got notice from a balletomane friend in Havana that it was a nightmare for him to get tickets. I'm very excited, as this is the first time Cubans will be able to watch this Company live. I replayed my friend's e-mail with a note, asking him to try to take notes that he can send to me, so I can post them. I even told him that it would be great if he could sign in on the board and do the work himself, but I know he has some kind of "special arrengement" to have access to the internet, and I think he is granted some reduced online time, which he uses basically to send e-mails. Also, he's not that fluent in English. Anyways, if anything I'm THRILLED that he and some other friends will be able to watch "Manon" for the first time..!! "Directed at present by Dame Monica Mason, an ex ballerina of the company, the Royal Ballet will be in Havana from July 14 to 18, in two of our main theaters and performing two different programs. On days 14, 15 and 16 in the Gran Teatro de La Habana, it will offer a performance which includes the ballets Chroma by resident choreographer Wayne McGreggor and A Month in the Country, by Sir Frederick Ashton. This program is completed with a divertissement including the pas de deux Spring Voices and Thais, by Ashton, Romeo and Juliet and Farewell by Mac Millan, and Le Corsaire by Petipa. Chroma was created in 2006 and got the coveted award Oliver the following year to the best new dance production. It is a contemporary play aiming to take the physical capabilities of the dancers to the limit in keeping with the insurgent score written by Joby Talbor and the White Stripes. On the other hand, A Month in the Country is a poetic choreographic recreation of the novel with the same name written by Ivan Turgueniev the plot of which revolves around the arrival of tutor Beliaev to Natalia Petrovna’s place and the love triangle created with the young Vera. Premiered by Ashton in 1976, the play has the exquisite music by Chopin arranged by John Lanchbery and it is a beautiful example of the aristocratic style of the English choreography. During the divertissement the public will have the opportunity to enjoy the anthological duet of Romeo and Juliet by MacMillan, a play premiered in 1965, based no the notes by Prokofiev, by the famous duet of Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev; El adiós is an excerpt of the ballet Winter Dreams, also by Mac Millan, and music by Tchaikovsky inspired in The Three Sisters Anton Chejov, premiered in 1991 by the Russian Irek Mujamedov and the English Darcey Bussell; Spring Voices, duo created by Ashton for the production of the operetta The Bat by Johann Strauss in 1977 in the Covent Garden, was premiered by Merle Park and Wayne Eagling and it’s a bubbling recreation in keeping with the spirit of the “king of waltz”; Thais, also by Ashton and coming from the lyrical genre for it uses the famous Meditation of the opera with the same by Jules Massenet, was created in 1971 by Antoinette Sibley and Anthony Dowell; finally, the well-tried pas de deux of the ballet Le Corsaire, touchstone of the academic techniques that Fonteyn and Nureyev made popular. The performances on July 16, conceived as homage to the Cuban prima ballerina assoluta Alicia Alonso will be special. The dancers of the Royal Ballet and the Cuban National Ballet will share the well-known duets of the ballets Giselle, Tema y variaciones, Don Quixote and The Black Swan, besides Spring Voices and Farewell. On days 17 and 18 the performances of the Royal Ballet in Havana will take place in the Karl Marx Theater, with the full staging in thee acts of the ballet Manon by Kenneth Mac Millan, performed by Tamara Rojo and Carlos Acosta –as guest artist– on the first day, and by Alina Cojucaru and Johan Kobborg on its second staging. Manon was premiered by the English company in 1974 with choreography by MacMillan based on the novel written by abate Prevost History of knight Des Grieux and Manon Lescaut, which also inspired the operas by Jules Massenet and Giacomo Puccini. The choreographer used the music written by the French author, although he didn’t use the music of the opera but other less-known pieces, with arrangements by Leighton Lucas. Its original performers were Antoinette Sibley and Anthony Dowell as Manon and Des Grieux, and David Wall as Lescaut. Ballet in three acts and lasting a whole night, Manon has the sumptuous designs by Nicholas Georgiadis and it’s an eloquent sample of the sophisticated, magnificent style of the English ballet. The cast visiting Havana includes 96 dancers with all the first figures of the company. This visit is part of the summer tour of the Royal Ballet, which also includes performances in Granada and Washington. In order to the performances of the Royal Ballet reach a greater number of people, giant screens will be placed in front of the Capitolio –for the three performances in the Gran Teatro– and near by the Karl Marx Theater –in the case of the last two performances". http://www.cubarte-english.cult.cu/global/...0face&tipo= THANK YOU, DAME MASON!!!

I must add that I totally agree with Kristoff's #1 choice. As a kid my first encounter with "Charlotte's Web" wasn't through the book, but the old cartoon/movie, and I still have beautiful memories of it.

This are two clips of Alonso's production of Petrushka. The doll is danced by Primera Bailarina Barbara Garcia. Another ballet I'm missing a lot... I hope you'll all enjoy it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H93Hami8I5o...feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QBJ-mWGZTU...feature=related

Now, if anything....THAT dress...!! When she finally sat she swept the tulle-( or whatever the fabric was)-all over the arms of her seat with one quick arm movement...it was adorable

Thanks Jose Luis for your review of Bayadere ! It seems as you had a great time. re: Adiarys. I do know her, and I can tell you that she is personally just as charming as she is onstage. I often have the chance to see her dancing, as she is also in the roster of the Cuban Classical Ballet of Miami. I've seen her Black Swan-(actually a whole Swan Lake)-, and yes... she is indeed very exciting. I was searching for a thread I thought existed already about her, but couldn't find it...(maybe it never did, I'm not sure now...), so I will open a new one. (Mods, please, if an older one is out there somewhere, move my post).

Oh, no Jack...I meant in a video clip...althought the idea of the Black Swan coda LIVE does indeed sound wonderful to me. Now, I know that THAT would be close to surreal...but yes, even if presented as a stunt, it would have been very exciting. Hey...I even felt that presenting Part going on pointe was meant to be perceived as a mere stunt, to which people responded applauding and cheering.

...just a little addition to this-(I know, I said I was done with the subject, but I can't hold my fingers...). My BIGGEST complain is just how...uninteresting were Letterman's questions. If this whole thing is previewed by both the interviewer and the interviewee, then the choice of questions wasn't quite right. Even if Part is not that language-fluent, even if Letterman is not a ballet connosseur, even it the audience is "average"...something more exciting could have been said...(like even mentioning/promoting some current/future performances). A BIG plus would have been to have presented a fragment-(just like they do with THE MUST of the guests, either actors or ahtletes, of let's say Veronika's Odile doing the 32 fouettes. I don't think that would have taken that long, and I BET it would have been A PLUS for the audience, even for the average one. (Hell, it STILL does wonders to me...). Just a thought...

Oh, I know, I know...and I do apologize, Deborah if I sounded too harsh...(and this is WITH my own language limitations...you should see me arguing in Spanish!! ). Again, I do recognize that a step has been made. I came to the US in 2001, and this is the first time I see a ballerina on national TV. Agree with the hope that this might open some other doors. You were right. I do not watch TV...I don't even own a TV. I watch my ballet on my laptop, so I also want to thank BT for giving the hint on Miss Part appearance. I went over my mum's to see it. Frustration comes at the knowledge that Veronika Part, one of the most exquisite current exponents of one of the most beautiful art expressions in history gets way less coverage than Paris Hilton or Tara Reid... BTW, thanks Tony-(Mendez)-for initiating all this. Your exquisite sister-(RIP Miss Josefina Mendez)-must be smiling up there...good job!

There's an old thread on this, but I'll repeat myself to add again: Enid Blyton's collection.

That is totally circumstantial, and it basically belongs to the "to who" concept. I know MANY people for which Plato is a "no-name". Umm...after being booked at the Mariinsky, where CERTAINLY NOT EVERYBODY GOES, a TV show definitely looks smaller to me. It's an honor, and a truly shame if the happening of it is considered a miracle.(Not to you, Deborah, but to whoever brings the much needed money for Letterman and even Part to survive and live) Again, circumstancial...again, to some...certainly not to me, and I think I might not be alone... I know, I know...definitely agree on this 100 %. In other words, "IT'S BUSINESS AS USUAL" Same here. Peace out !

This is the third time I start to re-write this, having erased the other two way-too-long posts. I'm trying to define why was I so non satisfied with the show... A lot of things can be said back and forth , but I came out with a better idea: KEY WORDS... So, forgive me if I'm not explicit enough, but I'l try to do my best. Here I go... High vs. low standards, language barrier, little on-air time, cultural issue, profits, average public concept, Swan Lake/drama/betrayal/jump/mat/suicide/giggling/, ABT-money, Letterman-money, Part-money, plans, productions, actresses, Maryl Streep, Sophie's Choice, giggling?!?!, giggling, Paris Hilton, beautiful, runaway nameless models, public education, Lorena Feijoo, Giselle, TV show, charm, high vs. low standards-(yes, again), cultural issue, films, numbers, today, silly comedies, millions, quality cinema, non existent, giggling, Harry Potter, ballet, spiritual, grand, mistery, ballet mocking, vulgar, sick and tired... and then, I could be on and on and on...but better not... I don't mean to go against nobody's opinion in particular...I just think it was my time to ask to "agree to disagree"

...when, while watching a famous variation from a newly acquired DVD-(or a recently uploaded clip)-.you have a deja-vu: "Oh, I've seen THIS variation danced just like that...Oh, I know !...19( )..production of (ballet's name) with (dancer's name) by (company's name)". Oh, and then it doesn't take you more than a couple of seconds to know right away...

Part was beautiful. Letterman was nice. The whole thing COULD have been definitely more interesting...And yes, there was some sort of mocking gesturing during Letterman's "partnering" segment, which I didn't like...(sorry, but yes... I DO take ballet THAT seriously, which is why I've always avoided Nureyev's PDD with Miss Peggy ). Usually actors/actresses talk about new roles, new projects. Nothing here. And then, about Swan Lake, the only think that's being said revolves around a mat...?!? ...but again, Veronika was TRULY beautiful.

...try to walk turned out...and HOPE someone is looking and that they'll think you're a dancer, OMG! This is SOOOOOOOOO true, bart!! Cristian, I think you mean Peggy. But I confess to having done this too. Not to mention trying a bit of the "brooding Prince walk," which I first learned from videos of Erik Bruhn. Well...now I know I'm officially falling asleep...Dear bart, I SWEAR I saw your name on that post (It's a good thing when the boss is not around, right...? :lo Anyway, and to add to the matters of the turned out walking, is even more gratifying if is at the night at the ballet, and EVEN MORE if the cute old lady asks you: "are you a dancer...?" (Am I sounding too ridiculous...? ) Hey, I'm flattered! (Sorry, I tried to delete some of the quotes but it kept coming out wrong and I'm too tired to figure it out!) Make that seven Giselles Peggy...! :blush: Here's another one: You own eight Swan Lakes, seven Sleeping Beauties, five Giselles, two each of La Sylphide, Cinderella, Coppelia, and approximately 45 more assorted dance DVDs -- and feel deprived. Make that seven Giselles, Peggy...! And wait, cause I DO have to add this one...when three of your best male friends and you, knowing certain recording by heart, mock four ballerinas as they talk about "The Romantic Era", a la SNL's rendition of The View. Of course, the best is when the leading character, wearing big glasses and scarf, ends up owning the whole thing by not allowing anybody else to talk...dialogues repited to carbon copy...

1963 Visconti's "El Gatopardo"...nuff said.

...try to walk turned out...and HOPE someone is looking and that they'll think you're a dancer OMG! This is SOOOOOOOOO true, bart!! Cristian, I think you mean Peggy. But I confess to having done this too. Not to mention trying a bit of the "brooding Prince walk," which I first learned from videos of Erik Bruhn. Well...now I know I'm officially falling asleep...Dear bart, I SWEAR I saw your name on that post (It's a good thing when the boss is not around, right...? ) Anyway, and to add to the matters of the turned out walking, is even more gratifying if is at the night at the ballet, and EVEN MORE if the cute old lady asks you: "are you a dancer...?" (Am I sounding too ridiculous...? )

...and bravo for the nurse who declined administering the drug to Jackson. It is the nurse job to brake the chain of medication errors/negligence/abuse. We need more of those nurses around, even if they get constantly screamed and abused by doctors and patients.

...try to walk turned out...and HOPE someone is looking and that they'll think you're a dancer OMG! This is SOOOOOOOOO true, bart!!