cubanmiamiboy

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...?

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. ;-)

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.

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.

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. Program Brahms Variation | Choreography: Robert Garland This Bitter Earth | Music: Dinah Washington / Max Richter | Choreography: Christopher Wheeldon Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven | Music: Arvo Pärt (Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten, 1977) | Choreography: Ulysses Dove Harlem on my Mind | Choreography: Darrell Grand Moultrie Now...I went to their website, and the program they will bring is quite the same as their upcoming NY season one...sans "Valse Fantaisie", which is the one I really wanted to see from them.😒. Grrrr...(why..???)

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). 🙄

I have been following Clifford's videos for quite a time now. My first one was "Valse Fantaisie"-(the second version). I wanted to see how it looked like as Villella has the ballet in MCB, but in it's 50's, original version. The 70's one I have never seen it live, so it was a good comparison point.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10155610178754191&id=647664190

I went to today's matinee, to be honest, just because of T&V...my absolutely Balanchine favorite. Up and coming Principal Jennifer Lauren and fantastic Kleber Rebello reappraised Alonso and Youskevitch roles, and even though she didn't make the speedy chainees from her first variations as devilish and fast as in the clips of Alonso or even Kirkland, she definitely honored the part with dignity. Rebello, in his first variation, didn't complete the whole 8 segments of pirouettes by doing a little walk onstage to the strings music before starting. He completed I believe like 6 out of the 8. The pdd was absolutely beautiful, and the final polonaise truly fantastic. I usually sit in orchestra, but for this performance I chose second tier, so I could follow the choreography intricate patterns. The end of the performance was Robbins' The Concert. Light and not to be taken too seriously, I liked it, even not being too fond of ballet parodies. But one can detect the real artist behind something as simple as this ballet. Witty and just with the right dosage of comedy. In between the two there was a horrid contemporary thing called "One line drown" by one Brian Brooks that really tested my patience. Boring as hell, with a monotone score, it was just a torture to watch.

https://www.miamicityballet.org/performances/program-three Program Three Program Three juxtaposes the old and the new, featuring George Balanchine’s classic masterpiece Theme and Variations, with soaring music by Tchaikovsky, as well as Jerome Robbins’ lighthearted The Concert (Or, the Perils of Everybody), universally acclaimed as the funniest of all comic ballets. This program also features a world premiere by contemporary choreographer Brian Brooks, with a commissioned score by American composer Michael Gordon. Theme and Variations Balanchine / Tchaikovsky Set in a spectacular 19th-century ballroom to the soaring music of Tchaikovsky, this is classical ballet at its grandest. The cast is large, the costumes lavish, the dancing technically demanding yet joyous and serene – and with a thrilling finale. Long recognized as a Balanchine masterpiece. CHOREOGRAPHY George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust MUSIC Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky World Premiere One Line Drawn by Brian Brooks Brooks / Gordon Known for his contemporary work in dance and theater, choreographer Brian Brooks expands his adventurous collaborations with classically trained dancers in his first piece for Miami City Ballet. This new work, One Line Drawn, is conceived and choreographed by Brooks, Inaugural Choreographer in Residence at Chicago’s Harris Theater for Music and Dance, with a commissioned score by Michael Gordon, American composer and co-founder of Bang on a Can. CHOREOGRAPHY Brian Brooks MUSIC Michael Gordon The Concert (Or, The Perils of Everybody) Robbins / Chopin Jerome Robbins’ The Concert (Or, The Perils of Everybody) is universally acclaimed as the funniest of all comic ballets, a light-hearted exploration of human relationships – and the surprising tricks the mind can play while enjoying the simple pleasures of an outdoor concert, complete with folding chairs, rain that comes and goes and an enraged pianist. CHOREOGRAPHY Jerome Robbins MUSIC Frédéric Chopin

Fair deal Helene. In the modern world of transsexualism, sometimes it is very difficult to discern how to call them, and from Caitlin/Bruce Jenner to Alexis Arquette, we can find a fair deal or articles referring to them either as "he" or "she". Early in this article someone referred to Chase as a "ballerina". Since that was this person's choice of wording, based on personal beliefs, I assumed that me calling him a "he" and a male dancer wouldn't be a problem either. At the end we don't even know if he considers himself to be a man or a woman. Professionally speaking I can tell that in many cases they might even carry such questions to themselves EVEN post op. So unless someone points me to a personal reference in which he wants to be called a "she", I will rightfully stick to the "he". Of course...there is also the fact that I understand this is a public forum carefully moderated. I totally understand that I am subjected to Moderators and their guidelines...probably based on their personal beliefs too. I am certainly not questioning my "right" to use my preferred wording out there in the world. I know I can ...but just not here.

Didn't they say the same to Galileo...?😂

I am just adhering to the very first paragraph of the article: "On January 1st, Chase Johnsey resigned from Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo. In a YouTube video, he outlined allegations of harassment and humiliation over his celebrated 14-year tenure with the company, ranging from discrimination for appearing too feminine to being told that he could no longer perform with the company should he choose to undergo a gender transition." 1- He resigned-( he wasn't fired)- over feeling harrassed 2- He would potentially face firing would he undergo " gender transition" -( declaring himself at some point that he wasn't a man anymore, but a woman. Details are not given if a possible sex reassignment surgery could base this transition.) So basically he resigned over alleged reciprocal ill feelings to and from the company executives. Being fired from his position if he's not a man anymore is left as a potential risk. Hence my inference that they might not want an alleged female included.

I hope so too, although if what he wants is being on pointe, then out of the Trocks his opportunities are very limited.

I think that rather than being masculine, they are expected to be, at least, all males. I find that totally understandable. Buttons can be pushed to a certain point, and trans have been featured in runaway shows. Ballet is a different animal as we know. I am sure it will be VERY hard to feature a male to female trans in the Royal Ballet female corps, as they probably want to keep being exactly that....an all female ballet corps. The Trocks want an all male troupe. Chase can sue, I guess, if feeling unjustified targeted.

So we agree to disagree then! Isn't that wonderful?🤗

I respect your opinion, although I don't share it. And no....I won't called a guy with an implanted horn a unicorn just because he feels like one. But back to Chase. For me HE is a dancer, or a "bailarin"-(in Spanish, "ballerino" in Italian). And I would totally understand if you call him a "she" and a "ballerina". And voila, peace out everyone!😛♥️✌️

Humm...sorry to differ, Aurora. You can call Chase-(or whoever)- a "she" if you want to. It is only up to myself the decision to call him a "he" however "indecent" that might sound to you. I don't know how he calls himself right now, but if at some point the issue of my election comes up as offensive I am sure I will be called upon by the mods, just like I just was-( fair deal). And to the issue as surgery irrelevance, the original post states the word "transition", and in th world of transition, surgery is a key element, for which there is a pivotal before and after. We just don't know details here.