cubanmiamiboy

Well, now that we're on the subject, i've found that quite a few of these "college educated" people don't even know who was the first man to orbit the earth, (to go to the outer space). For some reason A LOT of them keep mentioning Armstrong, instead of the soviet Yury Gagarin (1961).Go figure...

Oh, well...what about the fact that i sometimes have to explain to some of my clients that Cuba, where i am from, IS NOT A COUNTRY SITUATED ANYWHERE WITHIN THE CONTINENTAL SOUTH AMERICA, AS SOME SEEMS TO STRONGLY BELIEVE, BUT RATHER AN ISLAND JUST A FEW MILES AWAYS SOUTH OF SOUTH FLORIDA?!?!?! Talk about fifth grade geography.

Thank you, Mr. R.G for your always wonderful explanations.

Oh, sorry for not being very clear...this IV Act only exists in my mind... also, is just that i'm not particulary fond of the "Vals bluette"... , and i have a tendency to see choreography (IN SWAN LAKE'S IV ACT), second to music...

Welcome Niamh!..That's interesting what you do. You could perhaps bring up some subjects for topics on ballet costumes. I think it would be interesting...

This sounds really interesting and innovative.... I have to wonder how the dancing is going to be incorporated around such a thing. Hmm... Hmmm...

Hi carbro: Does it adds...?...Well...the fiancees contest WAS PART OF THE STORY SINCE IT WAS FIRST CONCEIVED ...Giselle wasn't interested in Hilarion neither, and he's still there, so is Abderrakhan in "Raymonda", and so on...Besides, isn't the ballroom scene a party FOR S. TO PICK A WIFE AMONG...EEHH...SOME PROSPECTIVES ...?...Only one candidate, (the lady in black), doesn't sound right to me, and leaves S. with very few choices...(forgive me, again, Petipa ). I just don't like the fact that the storyline was somehow altered for the 1895 revival, and the whole concept changed from "picking a wife in the ballroom a la Cinderella" to "here comes Odile, which S. is gonna choose right away no matter what"...It looks forced to me. This is all even without getting into the subject of omission of some beautiful music, "Andante con molto" included.

Those who have read my posts know that Mme. Alicia Alonso is my idol. I also usually admit all the critics regarding her political oriented position in Cuba. I know... But there were also political oriented ballet creations...oh, God, they were SO BAD...and those old enough to remember this kind of phenomenom in the Soviet Union before 1989 can give testimony of what i'm tallking about. I remember, particulary, one HIDEOUS creation during the 60's and 70's..."AVANZADA", that had Alonso and some other female dancers dressed in green cuban militar uniforms to describe the "new" woman/comrade in the socialist society.. on pointe...IT WAS AN ABOMINATION, TOTALLY HORRIBLE AND BORING TO DEATH... Mariano should know what i'm talking about...

I would have left the fiancees variations and their strong logical sense and meaning of their characters in the storyline rather than the national dances, which i really don't care about too much...(forgive me Petipa! ). I would also ( )have preserved the russian dance and its sensual cadenza for Odile as a way to catch Siegfried attention before the PDD. The TPDD would have stayed as well.

Interesting. On the other side, i would say that my favorite IV Act is the 1877 one with ALL THE T. MUSIC AND NO "VALS BLUETTE" ON IT!!. It also has an extremely elaborated choreography for the corps, with an effective and smoth final transformation of swans into human form during the suicidal-related apotheosis...

Sometimes i wonder also about the nature of this "Pas de Six"...Six princesses?, what about their story?...Was Siegfried supposed to dance with them, or they were supposed to be solo variations?...What about the "Andante con Molto"variation...was it intended to denote a particular dramatic issue regarding one of the princesses...? Was Odile contemplating the whole "Pas" in the original T./Reisinger production...? ANY INFORMATON WHATSOEVER? I hope Mr. Mel Johnson or Mr. R.G would show me some clues...

Where can i see it?...is it comercially recorded?

I think "La leyenda" is based on the Alonso/Plisetsky production...

Hi figurante! It must have been out of Miami, and just the PDD, because i think this is the first time that MCB does "Aurora's Wedding" (I could be wrong, so correct me please if i am)

Hi, and welcome ! . I'm sure every cent you're spending in your aspiring prima ballerina is well worth it...KEEP UP THE GOOD SPIRIT!!!.

Wow..those are excelent news...He's such a high caliber dancer...When i left the island in 2001, he was at his peak with the BNC, and he just had been ranked as the "new Baryshnikov". It's been tough on him for a while with all his knee injuries and surgery and personal situation regarding his ex position at the BNC ,but now that he joined the MCB i really hope that this will be a new chapter on his life with lots of success. I will be there, for sure, at every of his performances, to scream and whistle like i used to do back in Havana. He SURELY deserves it. And for his upcoming web site, BRAVO RICHARD D'ALTON, AND KEEP UP THE GOOD WORKING !!!

God, i SO HATE that bed WANDERING AROUND BY ITSELF!!!. ..For some weird reason, everytime i have to get throught it i can't stop thinking about "The Exorcist"!!!!

Thanks for this information, bart. It is for sure something too look at, since they will probably be dancing "Diamonds" here in South Florida too... Good! That's always very nice to hear, so let's hope for some serious Wu/Zou job!

Hi bart: I thought of your perception when i found this quote from Mme. Alonso "The difficulty was in dancing with partners, knowing where to find them without my eyes on the stage. They sometimes used special lighting effects to guide me. But the biggest difficulty was always coming off the stage, trying to find the wings and the curtain drops,"

Yep.... ah, and let's not forget (now that we're in the John Waters subject), to take a look back at "Pink Flamingos" too ...thanks for the reminder...Now, back to topic, any thoughts on the new movie anybody...?...What about John Travolta's part...? ( I haven't seen it, since i'm not particulary interested in "Hairspray", but since there's a topic already about the musical...)

Ciao Maximiliano!!!... That was a beautiful report on your life as a student. I really wish you the best in the future. You're very young, and have endless chances. Just enjoy what you do as much as you can, and the rest will come naturally... I was amazed one time at another Maximiliano, (Guerra, the argentinean dancer). Perhaps i'll get to see you too one day all famous on the stage...? Keep up the good working !!!!

THAT WHOLE ABT'S "SWAN LAKE" PROLOGUE, (STUFFED SWAN BEING GRABBED BY ITS NECK INCLUDED), IS JUST PLAAAAAAAAAINLY AND HOOOOOOOOORRIBLY HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDIOUS!!!... PETIPA MUST BE ROLLING ON HIS GRAVE!!!!! PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE, TAKE IT AWAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!

Hola!. Hope you enjoy this place and its wonderful people... WELCOME HOME!

I like them too...