cubanmiamiboy

Today Tiler Peck has moved to my top five ALL TIME favorite performances EVER. Her Ballet Imperial needs to be studied by future generations of dancers.

Of course....the older, wiser generation.

I suppose this is, again, a totally subjective topic. I found his baldness too distracting both in Ballet Imperial and Le Palais de Cristal. So this is probably yet another case of having to "agree to disagree". Oh....there's no question about his partnering abilities. He's certainly superb. But yesterday, while watching Prodigal's goons, they reminded me of him.😶

OMG!!! Can we talk about Fairchild's demeanor as if she was dancing in her living room, so calm and in control....Mejia literally FLYING and Mearns luxuriating in her Adagio as if walking on clouds...? Aside from the unfortunate slip and fall of Woodward, it was a Symphony in C for the ages. I kept looking at Megan, and thinking...."how in earth does she look as young and powerful as a ballerina half her age.....? She's a treasure for sure. The right middle ground in between Mearns and Peck. I adore her dancing. Ulbricht made me tear up with his Prodigal. Miriam was LETHAL!!! I ran into Eddie Villella at the lobby, and spoke to him and his wife, and took some selfies. I asked him what did he think of Ulbricht, and he said..."I never jumped that high!" Can you believe the humbleness..? Of course he could and more!!😎

I don't find him attractive, but I know this is a subjective thing.

Edited: Reminder to myself "Keep your mouth shut, Christian...!"

That's probably it. Perhaps I see not the baldness itself, but the lack of effort to conceal it, as an indifference about not being neat.

That's quite a clever way to address his suspicions, IMO ..😎 In any case....he went totally opposite of Copeland Street...

Chan's Apollo was a success. Honest....engaged...elegant. Two thumbs up!! 👍👍 And Tiler...well, what can I say about Tiler. She's Queen Tiler for sure. But....does that always work...? Not sure. She's so secure about her power that she allows herself to quite forget all about it around her, as I noticed today. Whereas Mearns was totally engaged and pleasantly relaxed while dancing for Angle, Peck was in a physical high engaging her dancing not with ber partner, but with the audience. If yesterday I quite "saw" a love story between Sara and Tyler, today Peck was having a blast at the party with her anonymous cavalier. Joseph Gordon danced beautifully, but he was not Peck's lover. Her lover was us...the audience. And so she did all her usual little mouth/eyes tricks. Very cute for sure, and all based in a formidable technique, buy I still pick Sara.

Thank you, Helene. So back to Gabe....I know many think he's hallucinating and what he's saying is purely a "ghost issue". A product of his imagination. I happen to believe he's right.

There was something Kent said when coaching Phelan that struck me. She said that in her entrance there's a sense of anxiety, of search. "She's searching for something...perhaps a child". There's something unique and tragic in mothers faces when they start frantically searching for a missing child. A mix of terror with some self retrain as if not wanting to lose all logic and reason while searching. And they certainly cover entire spaces in a matter of seconds. And the quick sharp turns...it is all there in Sonmambula.

Very much like the Young Girl in Spectre. She's sensing the rose's presence in her sleepwalking.

Tonight Ballet Imperial was absolutely EVERYTHING you could ask for...and then some more. Sara, Tyler and Emily were absolutely breathtaking. Because this is basically a partnering-focused rather than a bravura piece for the danseur, and Angle is an excellent one, he and Sara just sparkled. See...I have always imagined a little story with this ballet...a small story of the last Imperial Family. The main couple , of course , is Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra Fyodorovna. The soloist is the oldest daughter, Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna, just coming of age surrounded by suitors...and the smaller two other soloists, dancing at one point with the Tsar, are the Tsar's two sisters....Grand Duchesses Olga Alexandrovna and Ksenia Alexandrovna. And boy...was the Imperial couple regal! I imagine the careless times of this family surrounded by care free courtiers, with a deeper moment to emphasize the solid, splendid love the Emperor and Empress had for each other...at one point even showing a lost Emperor asking for his wife on each side of the stage to the female courtiers when she suddenly goes out of sight, to then return triumphantly with her in his shoulder after finding her. Again....they were all magnificent. Kikta was radiant, and Mearns owned the stage without having to look for audience validation. The second pas de deux was like walking on clouds. So beautifully done...!! Bravi tutti!!!!👏👏👏👏👏

I'm in orchestra right third row, and have been able to study this Sonmambula up close. I know I will get grilled by saying this, but Taylor Stanley was absolutely misscasted as The Poet. Here's the thing...what does The Poet has to do but looking dashing and prance around like a matinee idol...? Right. Absolutely NOTHING. Stanley might be a great dancer, but dancing he's not doing here....and I'm sorry, but pretty...pretty he's not. I have seen pictures of Franklin on this, and there's definitely a Rudolph Valentino aesthetics going on, which Stanley didn't convey AT ALL. Why then....????

They look like prom/homecoming dresses from Shein to me... https://images.app.goo.gl/AEdKcwLCfjQi1qtB6

Not only that...but he's obviously heavier, and probably towards the end of his career. A spectacular one for sure-( as a partner even more). But wigs and head pieces have been a recurrent complement of the art form. Not that much nowadays, but still something that should be still retained when in need. Perhaps it is that this is the very first time in all my years as a balletomanne that I see a classical piece -( and one SO important like Ballet Imperial)- danced by a bald danseur. But perhaps others are more used to it than me. Maybe it has happened more than what I think....? You're going to hell for this. 😂 See you there.😎

I hadn't seen Tyler Angle in a while....and I see he's bald now. Have to say, his baldness, onstage was distracting to me. The only bald dancer I had ever seen was Renato Planteado at MCB, but he would wear a neat hairpiece for his classical roles, and sporadically would go natural for his contemporary ones. Are you used to bald danseurs...? Gotta say it was not s good look for Angle. Thoughts...?

Yes. SJP opened the night, wearing Carolina Herrera. Lots of fuss for the new "Who Cares..?" costumes, also by CH. I personally disliked them, as they look rather cocktail hour than ballet costume. The ballet is looking less and less ingenue and more and more ballroom. Now it only needs the heeled shoes for the women. Peck was wonderful in her first solo, and Bouder looked heavy. Among the onstage singers there was Vanessa Williams. Glass Pieces is out of my liking frame whatsoever, so I can't really comment on it. There was also a short documentary on the 75th anniversary that I felt was more aimed at PC than to bringing to the screen the email group of surviving members of Balanchine's era. Food was overrated.😎

I was also yesterday at the performance, and again tonight at the gala. Danchig-Waring was beautiful in Apollo. I have a complex relationship with the ballet. Long story short, I got to see a "new" Apollo at NYCB when I first saw it 22 years ago in US, which was before I saw Villella's staging. The Apollo I saw in Cuba-( unauthorized by the Trust)- was the 1940's version Balanchine staged for Eglevsky and Alonso. Full sets, golden sandals, wig for Apollo, chariot in Olympus, birth scene...the whole nine yards. The ballet was further supervised by Lifar-( close friend of Alonso)- in the 1960's. So this Apollo at NYCB is a total different animal. Enjoyable for sure, but it always leaves me as if they're playing excerpts in practice clothes. Still, as I said....D-W was all one can ask for in the role. La Sonmambula has never been a favorite of mine. Perhaps Kent was able to revive the role to grand levels, but to me it seems that , aside from the sleepwalking scenes, including the finale, the rest hasn't really survived well the test of times. I have seen pictures of the original scheme, and just like Freddie Franklin said, the loss of the fantastic headpieces and the tux pants for the men quite diminishes the glamour that the party scene allegedly had in its origin. Phelan was ok in the role, but definitely not what I have read both Danilova and Kent did with it. His male counterpart I had never seen...but he didn't look, aesthetically, up to what the role was said to convey, again.... according to Franklin. Ballet Imperial ....you can never go wrong with it... particularly for its exquisite score. Mearns was beautiful on it. Thank God she's one of the very few ballerinas I have seen that doesn't feel the need to show a frozen smile in everything. She was perfection. Kikta....not that much. She looked -( to me)- tense .

Why not...?

I sort of like the idea that he's using a word many can't seem to accept as a reality: QUOTA. If you're a minority in today's America, you SHOULD ask yourself if you're being part of a quota at your job place without being told you are.

I'm saddened to hear this news. Miss Tomalonis was always very kind in the way she handled this forum. She was part of that badge that was so pleasurable to interact with-( PopularLibrary, Leonid, Carbro, etc...), and will certainly be missed. RIP

This "no credit" thing is such a typical Soviet thing...🤣 One day in the future a screenshot of the "Ballet by Cesar Pugni" and no choreographer will look so ridiculous.

Ditto

I was there as well on Sunday. She was definitely better then.