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.

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.

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.

9 hours ago, Helene said:

They also said it to Gall, to numerous creationists, to Osborne and other proponents of Eugenics, etc.

I could encounter anyone with an accent in the US and call them illegals. I could insist that people from Puerto Rico aren't US citizens.  I could insist on calling people who are legally recognized as one gender or the other by whatever pronoun I please.  

But not here. 

And since none of us has any right to require documented proof, a strong guideline is to assume the proper status/paperwork unless otherwise proven to the contrary.

Having learned grammar from Mrs. Skewes, I haven't quite gotten used to "they," "them," and "their" when referring to the singular fully, but I find it quite useful, and, at this point, it's as common and accepted as "It's me."

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.

On 1/29/2018 at 6:00 PM, aurora said:

You are simply wrong.

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

7 hours ago, nanushka said:

Again, though, that’s not actually all that Johnsey is alleging. According to him, it is indeed the dancers’ degrees of perceived masculinity that was being policed. He is not trans, and yet he alleges having suffered longstanding discrimination.

 

I am just adhering to the very first paragraph of the article:

48 minutes ago, kfw said:

I hope Chase is able to keep dancing and enjoying it. 

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

2 hours ago, Helene said:

I find it ironic that the explanation used for why gay actors should be closeted or "discrete" is that they have to project the image of hetero-normal masculinity to sell product, and that members of the Trocks are expected to project an image of masculinity, even if this a broader "acceptable" range offstage to sell product.

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.

21 minutes ago, aurora said:

And like that analogy it is deeply offensive and trivializing.

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

9 minutes ago, canbelto said:

Hmm, I always thought it was just etiquette to call people by what they self-identify as. 

For instance if someone insisted on addressing Barack Obama as "Kenyan" wouldn't that be really rude and disrespectful? 

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!😛♥️✌️

27 minutes ago, aurora said:

No. You don't get to decide what to call people according to your own beliefs. If you are a decent human being you call people by the term for the gender THEY identify as.

And I really wish you'd stop bringing up pre- or post-op. That has nothing to do with gender orientation.

 

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.

3 hours ago, Helene said:

The term "shemale" may still be common, but it is as offensive as many other terms that have become recognized as slurs, and won't be tolerated again here.

Sorry about that. It is certainly used in the medical field for pre-op trans patients, although I understand it might had gone out there to become slang. I guess  we can then still use the regular "he" or "she", according to our own beliefs and perceptions. He or she are definitely NOT slur, nor offensive. I still can't get used to use the modern "their" for sure.

23 minutes ago, Jayne said:

A woman, playing a man, playing a woman?  If Julie Andrews could find comedy gold, I think the Trocks could too.  

 

 

 

 

Or he can go ahead and apply for regular female corps positions. There are thousands of troupes worldwide to choose from.

19 hours ago, sandik said:

I don't want to pivot this conversation to a discussion of transgender health care, but there are multiple ways that people transition -- surgery is just one option.  And that's one of the reasons that the company seems to have opened up a more complicated can of worms than they anticipated. 

But I have a feeling that we don't know the full story right now -- I'd have many more questions about their terms of employment if I were going to write about this as a journalist.

I understand-(believe me I do. I worked for a while, as an RN, in a sex re assignment floor). Bottom line is that I'm willing to bet that the Trocks wants to keep being an all male troupe, so he can't stay if he re invents himself as a shemale.

Edited to add: Given that we don't know if he will have sex reassignment surgery-( as I was rightfully pointed at)-, hence my use of the term "shemale", commonly given to anatomical males living as females, or in other words..."pre-op".

10 minutes ago, sandik said:

But I don't think that's a requirement for them to satirize the art form.

Let m rephrase myself. If the AD wants an all male company, then he has no place there after the surgery.

5 minutes ago, sandik said:

But I don't think that's a requirement for them to satirize the art form.

If the AD think it is, then he really has to look somewhere else for a job.

3 hours ago, sandik said:

...they're men performing women's roles. 

And there...you perfectly summarized it.

Oh brother...(rolling eyes.  ).

I went to see this last night. In collaboration with the South Florida Symphony Orchestra, the program included "Appalachian Spring", "Le Sacre du Printemps" and a world premiere. Will be back with details.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10155564552939191&id=647664190

19 hours ago, Quinten said:

Vaziev brings a new Prince to the Bolshoi.  Jacapo Tissi in Swan Lake with Yulia Stepanova and Michael Kryuchkov on January 14, 2018.

 

 

Grigorovitch versions dizzies me. 1000 steps per music bar...all the time, at all times. Agggh...

On 1/16/2018 at 1:09 PM, Birdsall said:

..the physical tree flies up and away from our view b/c we are finished watching it grow as big as we are used to and the projection makes it much larger. And it makes sense for them to be fighting underneath.

Here's a briefly moment of said section, at 0.06. The initial projection with the Nuremberg panorama is also shown.

On 1/15/2018 at 9:06 PM, Josette said:

Great photos! Thank you, cubanmiamiboy!  (I love Stravinsky, by the way.)

 

My pleasure. Here's a promotional clip of the program.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10154935841056090&id=10244171089

I have seen Messmer in some major roles by now. Giselle, Odette, Titania, La Fee from "Baiser..", Sugarplum, etc. Although she has a very attractive presence that makes it a plus for her when she's onstage,  I have always been underwhelmed by her dancing.

1 hour ago, nanushka said:

Also (not quite the same, but I view it as being in a similar spirit) the Nutcracker PDD male variation begins with the dancer basically standing center stage and then tipping over to the left into his first steps. (Some dancers have done this in a more pronounced manner than others, I think.)

Macaulay wrote about it in one of his reviews (from Dec. 10, 2010):

The character of course fits Drew's description of being "boyish," as the adult pair are grown-up projections of the child leads.

Robbins uses a similar path in one of the two male variations of "Other Dances"