cubanmiamiboy

Aggh. What a mess. I really bought one ticket, for Osipova's Giselle. Other than that I guess I will decide on daily basis if I feel enough inspired to watch any other performance.

So I just looked it up. Valdes is 42, and that's extreme to American standards of ballet-( and even more for a Kitri).

So he went the same way as Petipa, right...? I know there are many choreographed "ballet for opera" numbers in the Stepanov. And just like Mr. B's...we might never see them revived...

Which is the version Alonso staged in Cuba around that same time, leaving intact its grand pdd. Both Fedorova and Leon Fokine were her teachers.

How about Marianela Nuñez...? Is she enough international ...? enough versatile...? Young enough to be a current technical competition of Osipova or Peck...?

Your typical Cuban ballerina, pretty much in the lines of Xiomara Reyes or Viengsay Valdes. Short, legs of steel, great turner, fouettes and pirouettes for ages... always on spot...but not within the general likeness of current elongated, willowy Russian prototype.

Well....Farrell definitely ruled in NYC. Now..at the same time there were other dancers out there from her generation who probably had a more international exposure-(which is probably the same situation with Peck today). Back in the 60's, 70's, early 80's Soviet ballerinas were still pretty much enclosed, and hence didn't have the opportunity to become international rulers. Great Cuban ballerinas were dancing, but sadly....very few saw them. If I were to mention names from that generation I would give Fracci and Makarova-(even though I believe Sizova or Komleva were superior). Nina, yes... definitely a ruler, but she has retired already. I'm trying to get those from today-today.

You mentioned a key point vital for this discussion, which is how international are or aren't this dancers. From what one can gather in biographies and autobiographies, one key element for the most famous, generation- defining dancers of the past to have come down in history as such wasn't sometimes a superb technique, but rather an ample exposure to transcontinental audiences, companies, dancing styles and choreographers. I'm basically thinking of Danilova and Lifar...who, even if according to many of her peers were not exactly amazing technicians, were able to explore an ample array of the dancing spectrum to a vast international audience....and for a long time-( I believe longevity plays a VERY important role too). Others who were great technicians also benefited from this same international career in a variety of styles-( Markova, Alonso, Nureyev). Hence, Peck is in a great disadvantage with, let's say, Osipova.

Oh Robbie, Robbie...😈

International status weights quite a lot in how do I perceive the ballet world female "rulers" of today. That and the ability to arise interest both in audiences and choreographers.

Ir am so saddened to read about his passing. Mel was one of the first enthusiastic souls from this site that I truly enjoyed debating and sharing opinions with. He had so much knowledge about mid century American ballet and always had a first hand experience under his sleeve to ilustrate his topics. As Atm711 rightfully said, he will certainly be missed along with Carbro. RIP Mr. Johnson.

I can be the first-( and maybe only one)- to scream out a loud "Bravo!" after a dancer's particularly difficult technical favorite sequence, the first-( and maybe only one)- to welcome a Giselle's entrance in places where it seems not to be customary and also one of the first to make a quick exit after the first general curtain call, not staying for the now customary individual calls where milking applauses seem to be more and more fashionable. So no...if the performance was a mediocre one, no reason for me to stand, but rather make a quick exit after the first general curtain.

Hummer...strange. They look synchronized on mine.

If that working legal didn't whip to every single count of music all the way to a perfect 32 in total synchronization, then I must be living in another dimension.😎

Oh, and I DONT agree with your disagreement either, but that's the beauty of this board....the green light to "agree to disagree"...😎

I have always loved when a ballerina tells her audience how musical she can be by really twirling her leg along each of the counts of the 32 fouettes, whichof course...it is only achieved by doing singles. As high tech as the multiple pirouettes are during fouettes, the effect really loses momentum by deviating from the musical count. Here Rosario Suarez exemplifies this @ 3:18

Yep...she has really mastered them, so she certainly goes to a higher level, one that will never be reached by the likes of Seo or Copeland.

Very interesting article, CharlieH. The old ABT issue of ingrown talent vs outside hirings seems to weigh in this case. I hope Part doesn't get to be seen as one of those who , according to some views, come from the outside to steal spots more deserving of local talent. I wish her luck.

There are still dancers who have "ruled" de world of ballet in the grand scale, more than others who have given a more constricted career, repertoire wise . I'm thinking of the cross-country oceans artists...the multi company dancers, the endless searching souls, the fierce technicians...the larger than life personalities. I'm thinking of the likes of Markova, Nureyev, Fonteyn, Alonso, Baryshnikov, Kirkland, Polunin, Osipova. Those who seem not to have an end on their searching, and in the process achieve a phenomenal ability in everything they do.

I'll pass. Valdes is 40 already, so I don't know how much more energy she might have left to pull a Kitri at this stage of her career. Their production of Giselle is quite old, a mid century staging by Dolin/Alonso that did substitute a wonderful reconstruction by Mary Skeaping-(which included the rare Fugue of the Willis). If anything, go to see some charming details that are otherwise nowhere else to be found , like the original fast music ending finale-( instead of the arranged-for-Pavlova melancholic one used by ABT, and imported by Baryshnikov)-, or the 1920's Spessivtseva diagonal at the end of Giselle's Pas Seul in act I, inherited from Markova/Alonso. Expect also some cuts in the music, specially at the end of Giselle's initiation scene in act I,-(which you can see follows the pattern if this section in Markova's old film). I'm sure many will think of this production outdated, and will find some port de bras and other technical particularities somewhat old fashioned, but it'll be a good comparison point between what's left of the production that reached the West via Spessivtseva and Markova vs. the usual take that we all know , which basically cones from the mid century Soviet Union productions via Nureyev, Baryshnikov and Makarova after their defections . Another thing...will they use the Kennedy orchestra...? They might not have the money to do so, and if so...canned music could be. Not very appealing.

Gotcha. So she went on with penile implant surgery not because of the Trocks. I suspected that such case would had been VERY extreme...🤔 Obviously the troupe wants just biological males in their ranks.

Wait wait. Enlighten me, please here, cause I'm a bit confused. So this was a biological woman who joins this company disguised as a man who wants to perform women's roles and then the company catches her and ask her to get a penile implant in order for her to wear a tutu...?!? 🤔

Can you provide a link...? Now THAT is some news. So...Carabosse "in travesty"?-(which is fairly common)..Lilac..? maybe even AURORA..???? 🤔.

I actually agree very much with you about Cojocaru. She has had a very long and brilliant career with a wonderful spectrum of roles. She's definitely one tough competition for that "Uber versatile" Prima title. I must say that I notice that, even from the examples of the past, it is in the romantic repertoire where the best ballerinas have had the most troubles to fit in-(as with Plisetskaya and even Osipova in some people's eyes). Cojocaru, on the contrary, has always been the undisputed queen of those roles. No doubt.

But even Plisetskaya was known for not having really mastered the romantic roles, like Giselle or even Taglioni in Grand Pas de Quatre.