cubanmiamiboy

3 hours ago, MadameP said:

Completely agree.  These fouettes might be executed at a "constant speed" but look laborious and they are not in time with the music.

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.😎

4 hours ago, Laurent said:

I don't think this video is an illustration of your thesis, I don't see a correlation between the constant speed of the fouettés and the pattern of the orchestral tempi. If anything, this is an illustration of a muscular, inelegant execution of this element. There is much more to the proper execution of the fouettés besides executing 32 of them without much travel.

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

11 hours ago, onxmyxtoes said:

CubanMiamiBoy posted this video in another thread, and I thought it was good example to add to this discussion. Here is an example of someone who (IMO) makes the fouettes mesmerizing. There's something about seeing her face whip around so many times in succession and to the music that makes Tiler's fouettes hypnotic. Can't stop watching these

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.

2 hours ago, CharlieH said:

Barker may be tall but her tenure has not been a bed of roses thus far. Hopefully, Part’s hiring will be seen as a positive by the many complainers, including the remaining veteran dancers in the RNZB.

https://www.dancemagazine.com/patricia-barker-royal-zealand-rumors-2521861219.html

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.

10 hours ago, nanushka said:

The original poster's comment suggests to me that Natori was not so much "disguised as a man" merely out of a desire to be allowed into the Trocks but was rather living as a transgender man (i.e. not only for professional purposes) and did not reveal to the company that he had been born female.

But yes, the situation is rich with irony!

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. 

On 2/6/2018 at 2:17 AM, naomikage said:

There is a former Japanese member of the Trocks called Hiroto Natori, and recently he published a memoir. In fact he was born as a woman but he recognized that he had gender identity disorder and was living as a man when he found the Trocks and joined the company without telling the AD and members that he was a woman. After some time with the company, they found out that physically he was a woman so the company told him to undergo a transgender surgery, unless he does not do so he would be fired. He was thinking of transitioning his gender so that was not such a big deal for him but this is an example how it went in this company.  It was only recently, after he left the company and returned to Japan that he came out of being transgender (with this memoir which is very inspiring and a good read)  

I did see the Trocks in February (in Toronto) and September (in Tokyo) and I enjoyed their performances very much, and of course Chase Johnsey shone in those performances so this situation is heartbreaking.

 

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...?!? 🤔

2 hours ago, Jane Simpson said:

Chase Johnsey is joining English National Ballet and will appear with them in Sleeping Beauty this summer.

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

7 hours ago, Drew said:

Versatility is a wonderful quality in a ballerina, but I don't necessarily  look for a ballerina to be great in every role or every repertory. If a ballerina gives a transcendent performance as Odette, then I don't think less of her because she isn't a great Kitri -- or doesn't even dance Kitri. In other words, I'd take Lopatkina in her chosen repertory over more versatile ballerinas, even those of the highest quality, any day.

Other ballerinas I might indeed admire for versatility but for me versatility is one trait--an important trait--but not necessarily more important to me as an audience member than others, though it's admirable when a ballerina is truly exceptional across vast swathes of major repertory. But who exactly is this unicorn? Among American ballerinas Kirkland comes to mind with a few caveats as her career was cut short.  But, say, was Plisetskaya a great Balanchine dancer? A great Ashton dancer? Does anyone care? I sure don't and I consider Balanchine and Ashton to have been the most important 20th-century ballet choreographers by far...But it would be absurd to claim she could do anything, even if it would have been very interesting to have watched her try anything.

I think most of the world's top ballerinas show range of some kind, but delimited--it's range up to a point. I will concede that if a ballerina isn't at all versatile, then for me to admire her as one of my personal "greats"  I would expect her to be genuinely exceptional within her own specialty repertory: Farrell in Balanchine, say, even if I wouldn't have raced to see her in a 19th-century classic...Well, actually I would have, because she was always fascinating whatever she did--and for example was very enjoyable in Bournonville Divertissements, even if she was no exemplar of the style--but I certainly wouldn't expect her to make the impact in those roles she made in her home repertory. No-one would say she was a great "Bournonville" ballerina.

Having said all that....A wonderful ballerina from among today's dancers who (I think) does have a legitimate claim to a lot of versatility (though not infinitely so) across classical, 20th-century and 21st-century choreography --dancing memorably in classical and romantic roles AND in Ashton, Macmillan, Neumeier, & McGregor is Alina Cojocaru. I'm not sure what she would make of major Balanchine, but I certainly would seek her out in any and every role.

I actually find Osipova very exciting across a fair swath of repertory, but I'm holding my breath a bit on what she will be like as Odette-Odile --which, as of now, I have a plans to see in June. (Spitting over my shoulder as I type to ward off the evil eye.) 

I'll add that at American Ballet Theatre I think Murphy has proven her value many times over as someone who can be impressive in a very wide range of ballets. Does she "rule?" Probably not. But she is a very admirable ballerina.

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.

11 hours ago, Quinten said:

I agree -- no ballerina should be termed the "greatest" ballerina without having a wide range.  Plisetskaya immediately comes to mind as a good example of versatility, but I know you are looking for examples from today's ballerinas, and that's not so easy.  Will think about it some more.

 

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

From the Smirnova's visa turmoil thread, that opinion stating she is the greatest ballerina in the world stuck to my head.  I disagree, and would like to throw my two cents, from a completely subjective point of view. So here I go.  I can't think of any ballerina who can take the title of "greatest ballerina right now" from the double bill named Natalia Osipova/Tiler Peck. No Smirnova...no Zakharova.,.no Valdes.  Osipova and Peck. The complete package...fierce ballerinas who are wonderful in anything they do, from the romantic to the classical roles to the contemporary, much in the heritage of the most versatile dancers of the past-(like Alonso and Kirkland)

Do you agree...? Do you disagree...? And if so...would would be your pick as the greatest, versatile wise...?

8 hours ago, Drew said:

This program at Miami City Ballet sounds great. Preparing to see Apollo live in a couple of weeks, I've been watching older black and white films/video of the ballet, and I agree that the whole ballet seems more coherent with the earlier scenes ... The ballet as great as it is (and as decisive for Balanchine as it is), always feels a little "historical artefact-ish" to me, but I found watching records of older performances in which the story is intact-and the dancers dance as if the story infuses the steps-helped me make sense of the ballet as a ballet. I first saw Apollo before the cuts were made, but my first strong memories of it are the cut version Baryshnikov danced at NYCB. I suppose it's likely that, in making the cuts he did, the 'story-ness' is just what Balanchine was trying to discard...

I wish there would be a complete record on how the ballet looked like in the 20's, both choreographically and in terms of props and costume design. It is a shame they didn't engage Danilova while she could to film a complete reconstruction of it. The original Chanel costumes are gorgeous, with the three different lengths for the muses skirts, and so are the headdresses. I remember the ballet as it is danced in Cuba, and it has a good share of props, including a chariot with horses up in the sky, where Apollo climbs at the end. There is also no staircase, but a rocky mountain instead.

https://goo.gl/images/SsJJoA

It was a joyous ending for this season, with Apollo, beautifully danced by Renan Cerdeiro and company veteran Tricia Albertson as his Terpsichore.  Every time I see this ballet I cant stop but visualizing the roaring 20's in Paris and Danilova, Lifar and Doubrovska dancing this revolutionary and angular choreography.  The audiences must had been quite shocked I bet.  I truly like this ballet because of its elegance and sharpness.  There's never a dull moment on it.  MCB does it with the original birth scene and ascension to Mount Olympus at the end.

Ratmansky's work came next.  I have seen good and bad from Alexei, and I think this is quite a very enjoyable work, given that it revolves around true balletic idiom.  It is very energetic, quasi acrobatic., so one can enjoy a good share of pirouettes and jetes, and even a beautiful romantic pdd, along Shostakovich music. Two thumbs up.

La Valse is La Valse.  So elegant, so atmospheric... so chic...so Dior's "New Look" reminiscent.  My mother even identified her teen years fashion in the dancers attires.   

I left the theater in good spirits. ;-)

1 hour ago, ivypink said:

Her Prima Bars are no longer being manufactured.

 

Oh WoW. So no more "American ballerina in Russia" and no more Prima bars...? This doesn't sound promising...🤔

At the very end of the whole vlogging thing one can tell  there is her desire to promote her Prima chocolate bars. And I'm sure many of those around her weren't happy to be unpaid members of her marketing campaign 

I have been following her vlogs lately, and I must confess I was quite shocked to see her ranting about what seems to me just the regular ups and downs of any job environment at any place or country. We all have encountered laziness, preferential treatment, jealousy and everything in between virtually everywhere we work. Still we don't go on to film our complaints for a public YouTube video for everyone to see. I would expect that each and every single member of the troupe were asked for permission to be filmed while taking class, and I'm sure more than one unhappy colleague checked her complaints next morning. Throw in the mix that she's dealing with a VERY enclosed environment-(meaning Russia)- in which they still take pride, and then you have a perfect formula for disaster. 

She has vlogged just a couple of tmes since her move to Korea, which sort of tells you that she hasn't done too many exciting things over there. 

Stay away from Copeland's.

Best movie of the year I saw was absent from the Oscars: the little gem called "God's own country". Gary Oldmam speech giving thanks to America was very beautiful. Kimmel was his usual clawnish self.

I wish they could brig in Polunin among all possible candidates. THAT would be something to see. Otherwise there are some others I know would be totally wonderful for her: Bolle, Muntagirov, even McRae. From ABT I would love to see Cornejo, in this stage of his career, being given the task. I know he would be his beautiful self even with La Osi.

On 2/28/2018 at 2:19 PM, ABT Fan said:

Yes, it will be a difficult season without Gomes. I'm dreading it. Hallberg is already a permanent guest artist with the Australian Ballet; given his near-career ending injury and long recovery a few years ago, I doubt he's looking for any other "homes"; my guess is that he's permanently dialed back for self-preservation. I wonder if Cirio will return to English National Ballet again to guest as he did last Fall through January. Lendorf is still injured and has recently been replaced for their Asia tour in March. I also don't see anyone of Gomes' or Hallberg's stature in the ranks, and I think many here will agree with you. That's why I favor a male guest artist, or two, this time around. 

My God. I'm doing all this work arrangements to be able to attend the Giselles and Harlequinades.  I just hope Osipova at least sticks to her performance.

On 2/17/2018 at 4:16 PM, sandik said:

I think you'd be better served by continuing to follow your original idea (see as much as you can of everything) -- I don't love everything I see, I don't even like a big chunk of what I see, but if I don't see it, I don't know what people are doing, where they're going, how they're exploring the art form.  Aside from the obvious element (you might miss something wonderful), if you don't keep looking, you won't see the breadth of the art form is.

Eventually, those changes will affect how people dance the work you do see, but you won't understand how those changes happened.

I did so, and I rarely leave a bad offering until the end-(the worse scenario has been dozing off, as with in ABT's "The Tempest"). This time though....it was just too much of the uninteresting stuff. It was getting on my nerves.

http://www.smdcac.org/events/dance-theatre-harlem

Dance Theater of Harlem returns to South Florida after an almost twenty-year absence from our stages. Arthur Mitchell’s famed Dance Theatre of Harlem graces us once again with an eclectic and dynamic ballet repertoire.

I went to see this against ALL my usually great instincts, mainly out of a self imposing mantra I have followed throughout the years.."Watch everything...the good, the not so good and even the bad"-(so I can really appreciate how good is the good). Also, Peck and Millepied were listed as choreographers for some of the pieces. And then...I left midway Peck's-(😶). 

Thing is...I can't help but to keep listening to that little voice that says...."I have seen THIS stuff done by ballet dancers, better shaped and better trained, and better choreographed",sometimes EVEN in tennis shoes-("In the Upper Room" always comes to mind, even not being my cup of tea). And then Ailey's "Revelations", or even my recent successful exposure to Graham's "Appalachian Spring". No...I am not totally divorced from contemporary works, but tonight the standards were too low-(at least to my taste). 🙄