cubanmiamiboy

I think ABT will be bringing Giselle to Miami next season, so i hope to see Julie in the role. She was my favorite Aurora last time, and i love her regal personality onstage.

John Waters' "Female Trouble".

To WHO?!?! Oh, Katalina...you are sooo right...the snow scene is indeed very beautiful, and the flakes are as "blanc" as any of the swans, or willis or sylphs. Confession: Last time i went to New York, and went to see the NYCB production, it was just to see their Snow Scene, which is nicely recreated in Balanchine's version-(although i still prefer the Pavlova/Fokine/Fedorova/Alonso inclusion of the Snow PDD).

Ok...so i went back to Farrell-(just until i get Baronova's)-and i just noticed something. Whereas Villella and Kirkland both mention her in their autobiographies, Farrell hasn't, SO FAR, mentioned none of them. I'm curious if she will...

I wish i could say things the way Mel does...(so polite)-Anyways, totally agree with the above. p.s-Katalina...what i love about Nut productions, is not their resemblance with Alonso's, but rather the following of the original sequence, in which Alonso's and Wright's fit in.

RIP Georgina Bates :foot:

It's against God to morph Clara in something else than the seating girl being amused at the spectacle being offered. Her only task during the 2nd Act., offered back from XIX Century, is that of being a smiling pro, a little innocent girl performing series of clapping and happy nodding. Period!...and then,...Oohh, look who's coming... the sublime, ethereal, sugary, beautiful Fairy and her Cavalier. Musica, Maestro!!

Paul, you're officially my new hero-(you see, Lornita...?)

I know everybody is going very deep on this topic, and no doubt there's high degree of literature knowledge involved, so I want to add my two cents. (Russians out there, listen...)-What about all those beautiful, magical Russian fairy tales back from the middle ages...? When i was a kid in Cuba, the TV used to broadcast a lot of Russian cartoons from the 50's and 60's of the tales...i still remember vividly the magical ethereal aura of them. Thanks to Youtube, they still can be seen by the present generations.-(I showed them to my best friend's little daughter, and she got bored...didn't understand the concept). Still, tales like Beautiful Vasilissa, The Frog Princess, The Snowmaiden, Old Man Winter, Maria Morevna and many others would be perfect to dance. They have everything you would ask for... love, tragedy, monarchy, lakes, snow, you name it...

Don't know whether the latter is a good thing or not. Both ways...Guiding would provide two services. That of protecting the travelers from trouble and dangerous areas-(aren't always such places everywhere you go?)-and that of hiding the dark side of the story-(which at the end it's been fully exposed from long time ago, so whatever). Good or not..?, you decide.

Cuba Education Tours is offering a special tour for the 60th Anniversary of the Cuban National Ballet from Oct. 28 to Nov. 7/08. More info here: http://cubadance.org/index1.php

Hey there! I wish you luck with your enterprise...! I'm not exactly the right person to provide you the kind of information you want with 100 % accuracy, as I'm not myself that knowledgeable on American ballet. Still, as far as I'm the first one to try to answer your question, here's my guess. I hope you'll get more answers from some of BT experts. ASIDE from ABT and NYCB, here's my top 5 list: San Francisco Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Miami City Ballet and Boston Ballet. You can have all kind of info from their websites, or google them too. I'm sure you'll get something out of it. Meanwhile, here's a link to an older thread on the matters. Dig in there. http://ballettalk.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=20237 Good luck!

So i just finished it, and man...was it great to swallow...i practically devoured it!... What a great character.. Oh, BTW, here is a fragment that i had to laugh about when i read it. It was like if she was reading my thoughts. "Twyla Tharp, for instance-people tell me how inventive she is, but i don't see it. What did she invent? She made a ballet with Jerome Robbins for the NYCB, and to me it is chaos. There is no design. One person does one thing, another person does another, a third person does a third...Apparently, there are people who find all this activity going on at once exhilarating, but i am not excited by it. It makes me mad. The dancers were not partnered, they were dragged around the stage by the armpits. I watch it and think to myself. Is it worth to do battements tendus and perspire every day in order to be able to do this? I think break dancers on the street are more interesting, because at least they have their own style" Was Mme. having a premonition or a vision of "Night-pot" ?

Hi, Makvala! Glad to have you over here. BTW, Florida Grand Opera announced their upcoming program already, and i will be going. I hope to get some tips from you!

And still, with the current conversion, the cheapest deal would be no less than $55 US dollars, (including S/H)...Damm,is ballet expensive..!

I just notice than in EVERY excerpt of every one of those old videos, the music seems to be so fast...Then, i find the overall effect of their madly fast dancing very attractive...

True. I have lovely memories from Mme. Alonso's staging of "Lilac.." in Cuba. Many years later, i saw it again here in Miami by Eddie's troupe...yes, beautiful indeed.

Thanks, Naomi for the info!. It's certainly a pity the lack of releases from CNB...Whole generations of stars from the 60's, 70's, 80's and even 90's were never filmed, and hence, are being forgotten, or worse than that, totally unknown beyond Cuban balletomanes's memories..There are always, as we all know of course, the ever present efforts and success to sneak tiny video cameras on performances, and thanks to that, whole collections of Cuban ballet from those marvelous decades are currently and carefully held in private hands, (you know who you are, so thanks, boys! ). But anyways, here's an official production of Don Quijote, presenting an outstanding ballerina, Viengsay Valdes, and her great partner, Romel Frometa (be aware of those names, new yorkers, for their upcoming visit!). I just hope that this is just the beginning of future releases. Here is the link to the French website who's selling it. I ordered mine already. http://video.fnac.com/a2260308/Don-Quichot...p;Nu=8&Fr=0

Being Taras Domitro placed as Principal in SFB, i only hope for the best to Hayna and Miguel Angel. I'll keep my fingers crossed... BUENA SUERTE, MUCHACHOS!!! Meanwhile, here's a pic of Hayna as Aurora and Blanco as Desire while taking a bow at their last performance with the CCBM. The lady with the flowers is Mamicha, the Artistic Director and heart of the Company. http://www.flickr.com/photos/26624336@N06/2657685824/

Oh well, after Tharp's "Night-pot" and "Britney: the Ballet", why not?...insects, dead bodies, Hanna Montana, Bush...see...? many options...

He,he...this is sounding like a family discussion on naming a newborn...

Ok,l knew this but now it's official..Domitro is the only one out of the three latest Cuban defectors to get to be principal in San Francisco. There are some YouTube videos of Taras Domitro that make me think we might be in for something pretty special. BTW, WHO is Adiarys Almeida, his partner in some of those videos? Love to see her on stage! Adiarys is also an ex Cuban National Ballet dancer. Upon her defection a few years ago, she danced as a Principal with the Cincinnatti ballet, and she's also a member of the Cuban Classical Ballet of Miami. A very lovely girl, who now will venture into Angel Corella's venture as a Principal with his Corella Ballet. I really hope for the best for her. Buena suerte, cubanita!! Meanwhile, here are a couple of pics. First, this is Taras Domitro (Taritas) in his "Flames of Paris" costume with Kate Kudow at a Cuban Classical Ballet of Miami performance. Note the blood spot on his right knee. Result of one of his monster landings.http://www.flickr.com/photos/26624336@N06/2654334061/ And this is Adiarys Almeida, with boyfriend and partner Joseph Gatti (also ex Principal at Cincinnatti Ballet and now going to the Corella Ballet too as Principal) Their costumes are from "Satanella PDD". The pic was taken also at the same performance of the Cuban Classical Ballet of Miami. http://www.flickr.com/photos/26624336@N06/.../in/dateposted/

Ok,l knew this but now it's official..Domitro is the only one out of the three latest Cuban defectors to get to be principal in San Francisco. I'm very, very happy for him, and i really hope that he spread the Cuban style up there. Bravo Taritas ! On the other side, I can only pray for Hayna Gutierrez and Miguel Angel Blanco to get the green light to stay right where they are right now...If only... Anyways, let's wait for official news, which can't be delayed for too long.

This issue has been debated also among the asian community: Where are all the Asians swans? ...as an Asian-American audience member, it makes me think, “Where are the dancers that look like me?..." http://www.8asians.com/2008/03/04/in-balle...he-asian-swans/