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cubanmiamiboy

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Posts posted by cubanmiamiboy

  1. 15 minutes ago, Balletwannabe said:

    Least favorite was LeCrone, I hope NYCB brings in acting coaches for these types of roles.  

    Agree. I have never liked LeCrone in anything I've seen her, tutu wise. And Carabosse is a problematic role for her. See...this role has been historically associated with men in drag, and the companies that have women on it usually depart from grotesque-witch to imposing bad fairy, a la Maleficent. And I don't think LeCrone conveys that second idea. 

  2. 1 hour ago, Balletwannabe said:

    I'm here as well.  I loved that last balance. It almost seemed like she was teasing the whole time then brought it out in the last one.  She plays Aurora really sweet and innocent and I love it.   Her penche's have been strong & striking.  

    Sadly...I didn't warm up to her Grand Pas. She looked tense and ended up resorting to a fixed smile. The fish dives were also not good. Her lower leg did wabble the tree times, more obviously on the last, and the lower portion of her body was twisted. I also noticed she got his hand to support hers during the three poses of the dives. That looked a bit like cheating.

    Fairchild still reigns supreme this run.

  3. I gotta say Woodward did beautifully during the first part in all the hard sections. She boosted confidence in the Rose Adagio...even trying for a longer unsupported balance at the end of the last promenade that made her somehow lose a bit of her center, but with no major consequences. Her Vision Scene was lovely as well. 

    Let's see act II.

  4. Peck/Wai Chan last night.

    Tiler was exquisite, because one can tell she owns the music. She's a very musical ballerina, so she can play a lot with the little accents with every fiber of her body, particularly neck, face and arms. Now...if we dissect the ballet down to the two most technical moments, the balances of the RA and the fish dives of the Grand Pas, Fairchild was superior. Tiler's first round of balances was a bit shaky, the second ones with the promenades better, while Megan's were perfectly placed, with no rush and slower...even putting her arms en couronne. There was a little scary moment during the fish dives for Peck and Chan as well.

    The Bluebird pdd was not good, at least during the adagio. He couldn't complete the placement of Florine on his shoulder lift. There were other mishaps all around.

    Didn't warm up to Laracey's Lilac. 

  5. Peck/Wai Chan tonight.

    Tiler was exquisite, because one can tell she owns the music. She's a very musical ballerina, so she can play a lot with the little accents with every fiber of her body, particularly neck, face and arms. Now...if we dissect the ballet down to the two most technical moments, the balances of the RA and the fish dives of the Grand Pas, Fairchild was superior. Tiler's first round of balances was a bit shaky, the second ones with the promenades better, while Megan's were perfectly placed, with no rush and slower slower...even putting her arms en couronne. There was a little scary moment during the fish dives for Peck and Chan as well.

    The Bluebird pdd was not good, at least during the adagio. He couldn't complete the placement of Florine on his shoulder lift. There were other mishaps all around.

    Didn't warm up to Laracey's Lilac. 

     

  6. Sadly, last night was not a match  to the previous night's splendid performance.
    Shaky first round of  balances by Aurora in the Rose Adagio. Better ones during the second ones with promenades.  Legs all over the place during Act III Grand pdd fish dives, and multiple displaced landings by Desiree in both his Vision Scene and Grand pdd variations. Princess Aurora was almost dropped on her wedding night 😞

    Isabella LaFreniere was Princess Aurora. Peter Walker was Prince Desiree.

  7. Can I just start by stating what an incredibly AMAZING Aurora is Megan delivering tonight as I write...?

    - Aurora's entrance, torpedo style!

    - Rose Adagio on spot. No shaking.

    - Vision Scene. Oh so dreamy...!

    To be continued....😎

     

  8. I saw both Schevchenko's and Teuscher's performances of their Black Swan pdd the very same day of their performances, via bootlegs. (😎). I'm happy that ABT's fouetteometer has been dusted off and updated. They both did great, particularly Christine's,  with her pirouettes a la seconde thrown between doubles-( I don't think I've ever seen this done this way).

  9. I'm currently in Vienna, attending this Rossini celebration.  It also marks the much delayed debut of Bartoli at the Vienna Opera house. I saw both La Cenerentola and IL Turco en Italia. Words can not describe the electrifying mood in the house. I have seen rare performances which take you to the descriptions of bygone past times in performing arts. The screaming...the bouquet throwing....the endless curtain calls. And all that and more was what I saw here and now. La Ceci sang Cenerentola as if not 25 years,  but 25 seconds had passed since that MET video on YouTube.  And she had to sing an encore of "Non piu mesta", as the audience refused to live the theater even after repeated efforts by all, including Bartoli herself and the ushers. The encore she did for her adoring fans with even more embellishments! It was pandemonium.  A similar scene happened last night with "IL Turco". La Ceci has that power to really do as she pleases onstage. She flirts with her audience...she laughs...she stops the orchestra at times to really enjoy the results of her high notes and it all leads to a performance of a lifetime. The only thing missing was for her fans to carry her around town in arms or for some Russian Grand Duke to present her with some diamonds onstage.

    What a woman....what a performer!! 

    Brava Ceci!!

     

  10. On 5/30/2022 at 12:03 PM, Buddy said:

    Hi again, Cristian, and thanks for your thoughts and comments.

    I've also seen her perform technical 'glitches' along the way but she seems to be well past that as she's gained much confidence over the years. I've seen some of the greats, and just some of my favorites, have their 'spells' but, for me, what's so overriding is their overall qualities.

    Hope all is well with you and your little girl and all your family. I also hope that you continue to see some great ballet.


     

    All is well, Buddy. Girl is growing by the minute. Gotta apologize for being so harsh on Skorik, whom I know you adore. And I understand it. Opinions on ballet esthetics have been divided since the beginning of the art form. We're probably pre conditioned from what our brains got from the art form in our first baby steps as viewers. Cuban ballerinas were never tall, willowy or particularly refined in their physique. On the other side, they were fierce devilish turners. And that footprint have stayed with me ever since. Which is why I'm attracted to the flashing ways of the Osipovas and Bouders of this world. But I gotta give you that no one look as refined and poised onstage as the Russians.

  11. 16 hours ago, FauxPas said:

      People are hoping on other threads that Ratmansky would stage his historical "Swan Lake" for ABT or NYCB. 

    Noooo!!!!! McKenzie's SL MUST stay!!! It is THE BEST suicidal Swan Lake EVER!! That way I'll be having both ways, excitement/historical-NYC/Miami for many years to come!-(.and I'm sure I won't be the only one)

  12. 16 hours ago, Buddy said:

    I've seen her about thirty times live, Drew, and when it gets down to the pure grace and loveliness of her dancing I find her to be quite wonderful. Have I said that before ?  🙂

    I do hope that you get to see many more performances of those that you really like in the years to come.

    Added: Hi Cristian !

     

     

    Hi Buddy!

    I must confess my opinion of her is heavily and permanently permeated by my recollections on the first time I ever saw her dancing. It was many years ago down here in Miami in a pdd's gala, where she pulled a tragic "MistyEsque" Black Swan coda that would had made Misty's own take on the segment look like a Prima Ballerina Assoluta's supreme masterclass in fouettes. All I can say is that she hit the pit's foot light all the way to stage right, right next to the wing before her 10 fouette. It was so bombastic and embarrassing that people gasped. Not only that...but she stopped, visibly dizzy, and without a plan B there was a HUGE amount of coda music loudly sounding while both her and her Siegfried looked confused up there doing NOTHING. I had NEVER seen something like that ever before or after in my whole life. As I say....Misty's efforts look like Prima material in comparisson.

    And also true....I'm not into willowy limbs and posing worship material. I'll take the sturdy short dancer who spins like a daredevil anytime. 

  13. 5 minutes ago, canbelto said:

    Amar Ramasar curtain calls:

     

    Wow.  I can't help but think how symbolic this public display of love by Ramasar's peers is, considering how potentially fatal his involvement in the Waterbury/Finlay scandal was.  I'm happy that he was able to fight back, to be re instated in the company and to have a beautiful farewell after 20 years with them.  Quite an atypical story, I say.

    Bravo!

  14. On 5/23/2022 at 5:30 PM, abatt said:

    Based on what Jaffe said about Corsaire and Bayadere, I guess we won't be seeing Raymonda anytime soon either.

     

    Raymonda's issue is having a Christian couple as heroes and a Muslim Saracen as the anti hero,  Secondary to that is presenting a Crusader in positive light.  Even if a huge percentage of current ballet attending youth is probably unaware of what the Crusades were, I have always felt that when the ballet is stripped of this two elements, it is completely lost...destroyed. I hate the type of thing that Holmes did a while ago for ABT or now Rojo for her company.  This efforts cry desperation for avoiding the two main issues.  And they look silly and disrespectful to the work and its creators. The last act of Raymonda could be presented by itself in a plotless manner, just as Paquita, in a Theme and Variations fashion.  I can't understand why ABT hasn't done them this way.

  15. 12 hours ago, abatt said:

    Wow, time really goes by quickly.  Your little girl is 5 already!  Such a cutie.

    Since all Russian companies are banned, it looks like we won't see each other at the Kennedy Center any time soon.  Hopefully you will make a trip to NYC for NYCB or ABT at some point.

    Time does flies, dear.  Some years ago at the MET you had you mom-(may she RIP)- and I didn't have a daughter. Life cycle goes on and on.

    I was last in NYC for New Year.  It was a disaster.  All my City Ballet Nuts were cancelled, as were my Carnegie Hall performances. Thank God the Opera didn't cancel, but...the MET masks thing truly put me completely off.  I even had a lady chasing me all over the lobby DOWN TO THE BATHROOMS AREA screaming at me to put my mask on.  Mind you, I was hiding in a little corner by  myself when she saw me from the distance and she came as a bullet and started screaming and pointing her finger at my face.  I tried to run away but she kept chasing me. At one point I turned around and asked her..."Ma'am...if you're so afraid of me giving you COVID...why are you chasing me...why are you on my face right now..?!" No.  I decided after that trip that I would wait for all the regulations to be over and done with before returning to NYC.  And yes...I had also plans to the Mariinsky DC performances. All cancelled now. 

    Hugs to you and Rick, dear.

  16. I went to a couple of performances of this program, which, cleverly, was NOT presented in the order seen below.  Of course they had Prodigal Son last, so by the second time I went to the theater, I timed myself and skipped everything else.  

    I took my 5 y.o daughter, who has always responded very favorably to Nutcracker, Cinderella, Swan Lake and even Rubies from Jewels, and when I looked at her next to me on her seat she was hunched down...still looking, but obviously bored. So I approached her and whispered..."Do you like it..?", and she goes, looking me straight in the eye..."No..", to which I answered back..."Me neither, honey".  She seemed happy that she wasn't on the wrong.  When Prodigal Son came on, we both got up from our dozing off state.

    So yes...we both woke up with the Son and the Siren.  It is amazing how artistic magnificence always stands apart from ....everything else.  It is a unique, marvelous ballet.  Short but extremely artistic and powerful.  You can't keep your eyes off the stage from one vignette to the next.  One time I heard Alicia Alonso say, during a press conference at a Balanchine Gala she organized THAT INCLUDED WALTZ FANTAISIE, that she sensed that the amount of choreography that he used for every single bar of music couldn't be challenged by anyone. No more...no less. That it was a perfection very rarely seen in other choreographers-(I believe she mentioned that maybe Tudor).  And Prodigal Son has unparalleled artistry in great amounts. Yes...there is the stylized, sexually charged Son/Siren duo, but the genius of it all goes to every single corner of the work...from the music to the decor to the masterful choreo. Prodigal Son definitely goes to the top of my "hypnotic ballets" list.

    I saw two casts on it.  Alexander Peters/Down Atkins-(below)- and Renan Cerdeiro/Hannah Fischer. Peters was particularly beautiful to watch.

    Review: Miami City Ballet scores with 'Prodigal Son' mixed bill at the  Kravis Center

    Prodigal Son


    This is a tale of sin and redemption, the story of a young man’s hunger for adventure. It features two legendary roles – the rebellious Son and the beautiful Siren. Their partnership culminates in one of the most sensual pas de deux ever to be seen on stage.

    In this masterpiece, Balanchine borrowed from the worlds of gymnastics and circus. Fearless acrobatics, soaring leaps and feats of strength punctuate Prodigal Son’s powerful themes. You’ll feel every beat of this adventure – every high spirit, ferocious battle and devastating blow.
    “Gauche and cruel, funny and naive, lascivious and tender… It moves with dramatic force through fantastically perceptive and daring episodes, to a conclusion of irresistible emotional conviction.” The New York Times

    CHOREOGRAPHY
    George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust
    MUSIC
    Sergei Prokofiev

     

    Herman Schmerman Duet*


    How much fun can two dancers have on stage? Even more than usual in mini-skirts designed by Gianni Versace. In this ”gorgeous, edible piece”, the dancers show how much they love to dance and invite you along for the ride (The Guardian). World-renowned choreographer William Forsythe crafts complex steps, reckless shifts of weight and moments of laugh-out-loud humor. This is a duet where our extraordinary dancers shine: showing off their playfulness, bravery and technical attack.

    CHOREOGRAPHY
    William Forsythe
    MUSIC
    Thom Willems

     

    After The Rain Pas de Deux*


    Two dancers move slowly, precisely, falling into each other and performing lifts of gorgeous geometry. This soft, melting duet is a window into a relationship full of tenderness. You’ll fall in love with the MCB premiere of this Wheeldon classic “that feels like one long, sweet exhalation” (The Standard, UK).

    CHOREOGRAPHY
    Christopher Wheeldon
    MUSIC
    Arvo Pärt

     

    The Source**


    Claudia Schreier’s second world premiere for MCB, after 2020’s Places, is an original, human story about relativity. Expect a rich and thoughtful journey from this collaboration between the “skilled and sophisticated” Schreier and innovative director Adam Barish (The New York Times).

    CHOREOGRAPHY
    Claudia Schreier
    DIRECTOR
    Adam Barish
    MUSIC
    Riley Mulherkar, Frank Zappa, William Grant Still, Alexina Louie and Julius Eastman*/arr. Gary Sheldon

     

    *Company Premiere
    **World Premiere

    Prodigal Son, After the Rain Pas de Deux and the world premiere are performed to live music.
    Recommended for ages 4 and up
    Duration: 2hr 19min (including 2 x 20 min intermissions)

     

  17. On 4/16/2022 at 10:21 PM, Jack Reed said:

    Just wondering if your experiences of MCB Emeralds includes Catoya's realization of the lead?  It's easy for the stillness of this world-beneath-the-sea ballet to be sleep-inducing, but she made it softly royal, elegant, among other qualities, for this old Verdy fan:  I remember being riveted and awake.

    But, yeah, pomp, tragedy, or iciness are alien to Diamonds.  Even in New York, pretty far from the beach, the Diamonds woman was a little lost in her own world, aloof, yes, a major facet of the woman, Farrell, it was made on;  doesn't the pdd have some of that built-in?  She doesn't always need him, proceeding across by herself, and he can admire her from upstage, lucky guy...  or is my memory burnishing what I saw?  

    Your memories of Catoya are real. She danced a wonderfully dreamy Walking pdd. 

  18. Miami City Ballet - Jewels - IWEISS

    Mar 18 – Apr 24, 2022

    Jewels opened last month, and  will close next weekend.  I attended a couple of performances here in Miami and will attend a couple more in Broward.  I have never been a fan of Emeralds, which I tend to find a bit soporiferous, and Rubies...well...it's quite fun to watch, although it doesn't really fit in the aesthetics I search for within the art form. Diamonds I always feel it as a Jayne Mansfield if Theme and Variations is Marilyn Monroe, although the pdd is certainly unique and very beautiful.  MCB does a very nice, fast, elegant Diamonds but without the "grandeur" mannerisms I've seen it permeated with by the Russians and even by NYCB sometimes. I have seen the ballerina in Diamonds dance with wrong pomp and ceremony, or even in a quasi tragic manner like Odette during her White PDD. No no.  The impression I get from this lead is more of a subtle being.  Not an "on your face" icy Russian Tsaritsa, but more of a demure and somehow lost in her own world Russian noble woman. Perhaps a bit aloof...perhaps longing for her lost past and maybe for love.  I have to say MCB women can't really fit into the Smirnovas or Zakharovas of the world, because they are built different and they dance different.  There's just too much sun and beach and Cuban rum around here, so no Ice Queen for Diamonds. 😉

     

  19. 19 hours ago, dirac said:

    This was assault in front of an international television audience. Smith should have been escorted from the building. Not only did that not happen, he was allowed to ramble self-pityingly for what seemed like hours without even having the orchestra start playing over him, which is the Academy's usual way of extending the hook.

    Smith is a darling in that rotten habitat. Can you imagine if the assaulting fist would had been Kid Rock's, for instance..? Oh dear....we would had seen Rachel Meaddow and Don Lemon ask for a guillotine to be brought from Paris to have a public decapitation in front of the Hollywood sign.🤣🤣🤣

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