cubanmiamiboy

Here is the upcoming Calendar of Events of the XII International Ballet Festival of Miami 2007, which Mr. Pedro Pablo Pena, its founder and Artistic director, has achieved with great success. Here is also the link to their web site: http://www.miamihispanicballet.com/interna...l_calender.html Calendar of Events XII INTERNATIONAL BALLET FESTIVAL OF MIAMI/ USA-07 Miami – Coral Gables – West Palm Beach – Miami Beach August 31- September 15 Founder & Artistic Director: Pedro Pablo Peña Considered the most successful Ballet Festival in the United States featuring world-wide prestigious ballet companies represented by their greatest stars. PERFORMANCES: ********************* International Young Ballet Medal Winners Performances Manuel Artime Theater (Miami) Saturday, Sept. 8, 8:00 PM ********************* Contemporary Ballet Performances Colony Theather (Miami Beach) Sunday, Sept. 9, 5:00 PM ********************* Classical and Neoclassical Gala Performances Kravis Center for the performing Arts (West Palm Beach) Thursday, Sept. 13, 8:00 PM ********************** Homage to Roland Petit Grand Gala Carnival Center for the Performing Arts (Miami) Friday, Sept. 14, 8:00 PM *********************** Ziff Opera House Carnival Center for the Performing Arts (Miami) Saturday, Sept. 15, 8:00 PM _________________________________ COLLATERAL ACTIVITIES Unveiling of Poster & Dance Film Series Tower Theater – Miami Aug. 31 – Sept. 3 Dance Film Series Miami Beach Cinematheque Sept. 6 – Sept. 9 Camarata de la Danza Dance in the street (Contemporary Performances) Biltmore Way, Coral Gables (Ardex Gallery) Sep. 7, Friday’s Gallery Exhibition fine arts competition inspired by the dance Ardex Gallery Coral Gables Sept. 7- Sept. 16 Dance Workshops Featuring Guest Teachers In MotionDanceCenter (Miami) Sept. 3 – Sept. 14 Ballet Master Classes Featuring Guest International Ballet Master (To be announced) Invited principal dancers only Available for ballet students (observation limited) Jackie Gleason Dance Studio Sept.15 – Sept.16 Theater Box Offices: Manuel Artime: 305 575 5058 KravisCenter for the performing Arts: 561 832 7469 CarnivalCenter for the Performing Arts: 1-866 949 6722 Jackie Gleason Theater: 305 673 7300

Coming from a tradition of a baseball stadium-style feeling in terms of popularity, massive attendance and noisy latin ways of showing devotion for ballet performances in Havana, i usually applaud to exhaustation and whistle and scream "Bravo's" and even go all the way up to the orchestra pit to make sure that i'm heard all the way up on the stage by my favorite ballerina or/and male dancer..BUT JUST IF THE PERFORMANCE DESERVED IT...if not, i still stand up and quietly applaud, but just enough for one courtain call...That's the least that should be done , I THINK , in terms of politeness, (in case we believe in the concept), and still the performers get the whole idea . THIS IS MY PARTICULAR POINT OF VIEW, AND IT CAN , OF COURSE, BE VIEWED IN A DIFFERENT WAY FROM A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE BASED ON DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES.

bart for your aknowledgment of Mme. Alonso

According to Mme. Alonso , she based her Swan Lake choreography for Ballet Nacional de Cuba on "what was being done on the ABT during the 40's", where she boosted her career. Now, i know that she has also based a lot of her choreographic works in her close past collaboration with the Fokine/Fedorova team and her Ballet Russes experience. IIn the "Ballet Russes" documentary there is a little, almost hard to detect, moment in the movie when Baronova is talking about Toumanova , and while describing her technique some short clips are shown. Ond of them is from the Black Swan coda, and it clearly shows Toumanova finishing her fouettes, then her partner's pirouettes in passe position and right then a little snippet of her getting into arabesque position in the left wing, facing the camera, and starting to jump, obviously on pointe, backwards. I will try to find a clip of this.

Aurora a little while ago i posted the same question here, but in the opposite direction. My only knowledge of the segment contains the series os sautees sur le pointe en arabesque penchee, and when i came to US i found the other versions.... This is the link to the thread i started on that matters...i hope it helps you find the answer to your question. http://ballettalk.in...showtopic=25032 I think it is...at least i haven't seen it in any complete production of any big company. For some unknown reason, cuban balletomanes (me included), call the step "vaquita", ( "little cow", God knows why ), and there are always a big expectaction among the Havana public for the Black Swan , in the same level of the 32 fouetees. Aren't they lovely...? I was told once that it was a "cuban choreographic irreverence"

mmm...yummy!! that's always nice to know..!

Hi bart, and thank you so much for your wonderful and detailed analysis! Well, now that i know that i won't see any original Petipa/Minkus on the reconstructed "lost act" , and that my Nureyev POB version is very well liked among the experts , it's obvious that i will be looking up to rg's suggestion , the 1991 Kirov Komleva/Abdyev production...(it's only on VHS on Amazon, and currently unavailable). BTW bart, ever since i saw for the first time the Nureyev's POB video, i've also been enchanted by the Guerin/Hilaire duo..

On the contrary, i've never seen the "lost act"...and all the reviews that i've read don't give to the Makarova's vision too much sympathy... What about the score...?...one can always make it at least music-worthy

Oh, God!!...the more i read about the NYCB version, the most intrigued i get about it!!

Thank you all for your always wonderful expertisse advisement!...I think i'm gonna keep busy doing some "Bayadere" researching homework ... I just ordered it Good idea...will do. So far this is what i've found: The Makarova staging for the RB (1992) with Altynai Asylmuratova and Irek Moukhamedov. Another Makarova staging for the LSB with Svetlana Zakharova and Roberto Bolle.(any thoughts on this one?) A 1996 VHS Bolshoi production with Nadia Garcheva and Alexander Vetrov.( ..?) Your favorite 1991 Kirov production with Gabriella Komleva and Rejen Abdyev.(ordered already) Well, in fact i'm gonna be comparing all of them with my own first choice, my old Nureyev's POB copy with Isabelle Guerin and Laurent Hilaire. all again!

It was back in Havana 2001, when i went to a performance of Danza Voluminosa, (Voluminous Dance), which i had some reference from a friend who had told me about a little, and also from having seen his director Juan Miguel Mas dancing in a contemporary dance company before. Now, I had been told that they were not a "typical" dance company in terms of weight..( i knew that Mr. Mas was a little over what is considered "normal" for a dancer), but when i saw him i was shocked at first. HE WAS OVERWEIGHT!, and little did i know that they were all actually OBESE. I also noticed lots of surprised faces around me, and i most confess it took me a little bit to get used to the physique of the dancers. Then i tried to concentrate on the story. They presented "Fedra", the tragic griek myth of this woman who loves Hipolitus, the son of her husband Teseus. Now, they did it in a way where they mixed this classic story with afro-cuban mythology, identifying the role of the griek Afrodita with Oshun, the yoruba goddess of love and sex. At the end, they danced to the resurrection of Fedra and Hipolitus in a climax of caribbean rythms and music WHERE THE HEAVIEST OF THE FEMALE DANCERS HAPPILY SHOWED UP WEARING MULTICOLOR BATHING SUITS !. It was very colourful and vibrant, and their happiness, along with the flokloric music, was contagious. Now, it is true that their leaps and jumps were limited, of course, but on the other side, their arm movements were elaborated and elegant. I also remember that at first, when the courtains went up, some people laughed in disbelieved, but after a while the laughing stopped and the general feeling and atmosphere started to change. By the end EVERYBODY was enchanted with the work, and the whole theatre gave them a rounded extended applause along with lots of "Bravos"...I would say that the average weight of the dancers was around 100 kg. It was moving to see them bowing over and over, all sweaty and exhausted, but with such proud faces. I also remember obese people from the public being moved also, screaming and clapping like crazy. It was really magical. I never saw them dancing again...and never heard of them again until now. It makes me proud to know that this non typical cuban company is still working hard out there, and that they are still sending their message of capability, acceptance, and humanity within the very competitive, and sometimes even ferocius, world of dancing. BRAVO!!

Hi Alexandra...No, in ANY WAY (God forbidden!) do i doubt of the accuracy of the POB version, when actually that's the only one i've ever seen, and i happen to love !....I just thought that maybe, with all the new restagings and revivals and reworkings based on the Stepanov notations that has been taking place lately there was something out there that can be consider superior by the experts and that perhaps i'm not aware of. If not, i will be very happy to be still updated in terms of "Bayadere" accuracy with my old VHS of the POB... Thank you again for your response. As an amateur, I always like to relay on the expertisse...!

I was wondering about "Bayadere" on DVD. My experience with the ballet in video comes basically from the only copy I own, the beautiful Nureyev staging for POB, but maybe i'm getting behind the times, so I want to update myself on this matters and get a hold on whatever is considered now the most accurate version . Any suggestions...? Thanks...!

i most admit that, although having a different opinion about the Snow PDD and the children, i couldn't stop laughing...!! That was great, Mel!

Moderator NOTE: The following post by cubanmiamiboy has been moved from "Links." The article and the topic definitely deserves a thread of their own. Danza Voluminosa. What an inspirational story. I saw the works of this company back in 2001 in Havana, and i clearly remember how amazingly light was the dancing of its members. They were clearly well trained.

Wow...this is an old thread, but i just can't stop reading it...Well. i guess i really have a totally different vision of the "Nutcracker" from national Ballet of Cuba. First, over there is not a seasonal ballet, hence it is performed as a regular ballet with productions off december, as there is not official acknowledment of Christmas. Then, there are no children involved in the production... all the characters are played by adults, "a la" 80's Bolshoi style. Also, no dark designed Drosselmayers. He is just a respectful old uncle without any complex freudian characterization. Finally, no "love story" feeling among characters whatsoever :(Clara/cousin, Clara/Nutcracker and so on) .So, straight to the point, the public's whole expectation from a Nutcracker performance is to go see 2 technically superb Fokine-based PDD, the"Sugar Plum Fairy" and the "Snow Queen/King".

Oh God, yes !...and specially when he grabs that stuffed swan by the neck.. I coudn't believe it when i first saw it , and i would say that this is certainly not "traditional Swan Lake".

No apologies bart! , considering that i agree 100 % with your feeling, even being her hardcore fan. I started going to Mme. Alonso's performances when she was already way past her prime, and i also started noticing that kind of "harsh" look. Then i elaborated my own theory. She started loosing her sight even before her 20's so by the time i got to see her dancing,( and by the time she did this GPDQ), she was already almost blind. An extraordinaire ballerina that only could rely on a super technique (oh, those "battements", and "port de bras"...and that turnout!) paired with a perfect choreographic memory, but without being able to comunicate too much with her eyes...yes, there's definitely a hardish look on her face...but i always think that is a "looking at nowhere" expression due to her blindness...I have also have talked to her...and she definitely projects this "halo" of distance... there is not to much comercially released of her on the market. The most i own is from recordings made by my own from cuban TV back from before i left the island, but you can try this: -"Alicia Alonso: Prima Ballerina Assoluta" (in amazon.com) Tracks: 1. Opening Credits 2. SWAN LAKE: Black Swan Pas de Deux (Alonso, Plisetsky, Guffanti) 3. ROMEO & JULIET: Bedroom Scene (Alonso, Plisetsky) 4. GISELLE: Act II Pas de Deux (Alonso, Plisetsky) 5. COPPELIA: Dr. Coppelius and the Doll Swanilda (Alonso, Pares) 6. DON QUIXOTE: Act III Pas de Deux (Alonso, Plisetsky) 7. Pas de Quatre (Alonso, Pla, Araujo, Bosch) 8. LA FILLE MAL GARDEE: Lisette Keeps her Love a Secret (Alonso, Plisetsky) 9. OEDIPUS REX: Bedroom Scene (Alonso, Lefebre) 10. La Peri (Alonso, Esquivel) 11. CARMEN SUITE: Variation & Habanera (Alonso, Plisetsky) Bonus Features - 1. "Black Swan Pas de Deux" (Alonso, Youskevitch) - December 4, 1958 2. "Pas de Quatre" (Alonso, Hayden, Kaye, Slavenska) - April 1, 1960 Additional Product: Booklet in English - Track Listing, Essay - "Alicia Alonso * An Appreciation", Stills/Photos "Giselle" 1964. DVD. A poor quality B/W release with Azary Plisetsky as Albretch and Mirtha Pla as Myrtha. (in Amazon.com) Also, you can find some clips on youtube. Just type Alicia Alonso. (i just saw "La Peri")

With all my respect, I would say that a better product could have been delivered on this project. Personally, i didn't even feel identified with the whole atmosphere of the movie, and although substituing La Habana with San Juan( Puerto Rico) seemed to have been their only way (i assume) to recreate the look of the "lost city", one can always tell that this is the vision of somebody WHO HAS BEEN TOLD how La Habana used to look like, rather than coming from a living experience. Telling the horrible story of exile, family dissolution and dramatic social changes takes a little more researching than what seems to have been done to make this movie... Hint: The ultra-modern La Habana of 1959 was reather similar to the US culture than to its colonial past from Spain. Those country style-Godfather-look-alike family reunions, with women sewing on rockingchairs ... mmm, not very convincing .

HI bart!... Amazingly, i just also found this video this morning, around the same time you did!...(i search everyday for new Alonso footage online )...wow, what a performance... . I've always been particulary fascinated by those great ballet dames, their lives, personalities and dancing styles, so this video is just an amazing experience on the old romantic school in this era of spandex and sometimes sports-like dancing styles...I also found that it's included in the DVD "Alicia Alonso: Prima Ballerina Assoluta",available at Amazon.com , which also include some footage of the "Black Swan PDD" with Igor Youskevitch, another legend and Mme. Alonso's former partner . Of course, i ordered it right away... I saw Mme. Alonso doing "GPDQ" many times, way past her prime ...first with the "four jewels" (Mme. Mendez, Mme. Plat, Mme. Bosh and Mme. Araujo) indistinctly, and then with some other younger figures...Mme. Alonso ALWAYS doing Taglioni ... This version is also in that same DVD.

Wow.. .is it on DVD?

Well, Juliet, if nobody has mentioned Mme. Alonso's "Giselle" yet, then it's my duty to do so !, considering that i just can't get enough of her and everytime i can i try to pass the message of her artistry to whoever wants to receive it ...The last Giselle i saw with her (AT THE AGE OF 73 AND NOT HER LAST ONE! ) in 1993 was as unique as every single one of the maaaaaaaaaaany others that i saw from this XX Century ballet living legend. What can i say that hasn't been already said about her "Giselles"? Only that one can't have a whole accurate idea of this phenomenom just from the 1965 B/W DVD with Azary Plisetsky. Alonso's Giselle live were different everytime you would go and see it...sometimes more shy, sometimes with a little bit more of a "flirt" and sometimes she even would make you "guess" earlier in the first act that something terrible was about to happen later on..like a secret that she shared with the public. Why NBC hasn't released any other "Giselle" performance on DVD, like the one with Vladimir Vasiliev, is something i don't know, and it's a pity. For now, this is the only recorded version on the market, and it doesn't really describe her in this role as she deserves...

Among all the works that will be presented, my biggest expectation is "Jewels". I've never seen the whole ballet live , but i'm familiar with the Opera de Paris production, so that will be an interesting comparisson. In "Aurora's Wedding" i'm hoping to see Mary Carmen Catoya dancing . She's my favorite, followed by Katia Carranza. The Tharp/Costello production sound interesting too...so let's see what happens...