cubanmiamiboy

Ok.  I repeated tonight, if only originally for "Walpurgisnacht", which I saw from a box on the left.  For Baiser I went up to the second tier, to enjoy the company of our fellow BT'r Natalia-(hey Natasha...always a pleasure to have you over here!). Did the upper visual angle help me to better "see" the ballet tonight...? Maybe.  who knows. Last night it bored me-(although not as much as "Polyhonia".  Tonight I liked it, but I still  don't love it.  

Ok.  Here I go with Simone.  I still don't "get" her, and I still can't understand why she got all this roles-(Odette, Giselle, Titania and The Fairy)-in such rapid succession...and all of them in opening nights. I notice that she has a tendency to DANCE heavy.  She doesn't seem to be fluid in petite allegro, and he looks quite compact, body frame wise, Now, I know by experience that this doesn;t necessarily equals heavy dancing.  I saw many Cuban ballerinas back in the days with such frames...thick legs...ample torso/waist and there were still very airy.  Some famous men in ballet have had the same airborne quality with similar big bodies-(Andre Eglevsky or Yuri Soloviev).  Anyhow...I might like Messmer at some point, but definitely not tonight.

The character dancing I found dull.  I couldn't help but to remember great similar stuff I have seen like the village scenes of" Petroushka". 

Lauren Fadeley in "Walpurgisnacht". Simone Messmer as The Fairy and Jordan-Elizabeth Long as The Mother in "La baiser". Curtain calls for "La baiser". 

 

Thanks Drew and Natasha for your wonderful recollections. Garcia was very loved by the Cuban audience, and she was indeed a turner like almost anybody I have seen-(just look at the clips of Giselle or Tarde en la Siesta). She lost her battle with cancer too soon. May she RIP.

1 hour ago, Natalia said:

 The irony here is that she is cast  in the main pointe-shoe  role, yet a top classicist, Jeannette Delgado, dancer "character"!

I really don't get it. I was once seated next to both sisters, who were watching their peers onstage, and I briefly approached them and congratulated them for the years of wonderful dancing they have given us. And to my question of " When will we be seeing you guys onstage again..? We miss you!..perhaps "Giselle"..?" , Jeanette answered.."Oh...maybe". It turned out...none of them were nowhere to be seen during the running of either Giselle, Swan Lake, Midsummer and now "Baiser"-(Messmer got the opening nights for all of them, and Jeanette just landed the character bride of "Baiser")-and for that matters...in any major role, all the way up to this season's Serenade-(Jeanette/Russian girl).

I remember the same situation happening toward the end of Mary Carmen Catoya's tenure with the company...until her contract wasn't renewed and she vanished into thin air...no farewell performance...no confetti...nothing. And she WAS one of the top classicist of the troupe. Jack Reed might agree with me.

And then...when you see this video...you wish you could had witnessed instead Balanchine's version, which the all seem to love in the conversation. According to their accounts it was lavish. Oh...and the interpolation of "None but the lonely heart"...❤❤❤

A completely forgettable experience for me. Interesting that the most valuable sequences toward the end of the ballet are not even Ratmansky's originals, but rather iconic flashes of some great ballets of the past-(including Nijinska's famous pyramid of faces for her Les Noces). Natasha told me that there is an explanation by Ratmansky on this, but really...without having such explanation, the ballet comes out as a dull bore with untinteresting choreography played against an even more uninteresting backdrops. And then you go..."Oh...but that diagonal line is Giselle's...and that pyramid is just like Les Noces...and wait...that pose is...SERENADE!!" (Oh yes..I guess one ought to know what Ratmansky has to SAY about his choreo in order to "get it". Otherwise is very awkward). Well...I didn't see the Works and Progress thing...so on first impact it was not good. Simone Messmer was totally underwhelming.

Walpurgisnacht was the only enjoyable section of the night. What a quick, brilliant ballet! Toward the end the stampede of loose multicolored haired women is a great thing to watch, and Arja's fast footwork in her petite allegro was up to the challenge of the choreography.

That Pholyphonia thing was soporiferous.

More to come, but...if I come back tomorrow, it will be to repeat the ONLY highlight of the night...the beautiful "Walpurgisnacht", which I had never seen before. What a delicious piece!!

Oh...and to see my friend Natasha again, which I always have so much fun with.???.

1 hour ago, Buddy said:

Nous attendons. 

Allez-vous être là ce soir?

I know...i know the title is not in french in this production, but it has such a balletic historical connotation that I couldn't resist the translation.

Anyhow. Ratmansky's premiere opens up tonight. Will be there to report back.

???

On 2/4/2017 at 4:58 PM, anettefan said:

To her fans, she will perform in Paris, Salle Pleyel, from July 6 to July 20 with the Company, tickets are already on sale. The repertoire is the same as last time, Giselle and Don Q, there is a gala in homage to Alonso on July 6, pas de deux I assume, and she will open and close the Giselle runs, on July 7 and 12. She will be in Don Q on July 16 and 19.  Her partner, as usual, Dani Hernandez. This is a partnership not seen at Ballet Nacional de Cuba in a long, long time, perfect.

I assume Viengsay Valdes, who might be 40 by now, or maybe pushing it, won't be dancing too much longer. Then Delgado would be Alonso's senior ballerina. 

Off topic...I find cute that we have two Cubans...one in Miami...the other in Havana...both Principals and with such similar names. Annette Delgado and Jeannette Delgado.?. A collaboration among the two companies would be wonderful. One only hopes...

The Mariinsky needs to come to DC with their "Ondine"...

Second variation, first clip-(after Lifar)- is Jorge Esquivel, from Cuba. The ballet has been continuously performed there sans permission since de late 1940's, as danced by Alonso and Eglevsky. And that is how I got to know it. Imagine my shock the first time I saw, around 2001..NYCB, the bare staging, the absence of the birth and Parnassus scenes and the white tights.?

As Soledad, Puerto Rico 1979, @ 9:35)

As Mme. Taglioni. Grand Pas de Quatre.

Bodas de Sangre-(Bood's Weddings)

70's, 80's and 90's Havana favorite ballerina Marta Garcia has died.  

http://cultura.elpais.com/cultura/2017/01/29/actualidad/1485686997_458100.html

Garcia was a consummated technician, but more than that, a superb dramatic ballerina who was able to move large audiences with her histrionic skills.   She was always extremely gifted in characterization, and became famous interpreting those roles which required great demand of facial expressions. She was a truly master of the face as a vehicle and used this skill with no shyness at all to enhance her always thrilling performances. Garcia was also a master in those ballets which required some Spanish flavour. She was particularly superb in the Cuban version of Lorca’s Bodas de Sangre-(Blood Wedding), which became her trademark . Another ballet that she shined in was Alberto Mendez’ “Tarde en la Siesta” (see link above, on second post), a romantic homage to XIX Century Cuban female society, to the unique music of Ernesto Lecuona. This wonderful ballet at times pays homage to the great Antony Tudor, and it’s has been a trademark of the Cuban Company for many years. Garcia created the role of Soledad-(Loneliness), which describes the tormented soul of the woman.  It is hence fitting to report that Mr.Tudor was seen standing after a performance of Marta’s Soledad clapping feverishly, to which he then made the coment:. "What a wonderful "HAGAR" Marta Garcia would have been” .  I had the opportunity to see a lot of her dancing well into the 90's. Her Giselle was ravishing...her Mme Taglioni in Grand Pas de Quatre...exquisite. Garcia gave me many wonderful moments on enjoyment during my formative years of ballet viewing. 

RIP Mrs Marta Garcia.

As Giselle-(she pas past 40 here)

Pas Seul and Mad Scene-(hers has been THE mad scene I have always used in my mind to compare all the rest i have seen ever since. It was magnificent)

As Swannilda, with hubby Orlando Salgado.

As Lissette-(Fille Mal Gardee, after Nijinska for BT/Hertel)

Thanks for the Heads up Helene! I will check it out next time i am in the city.

4 minutes ago, Josette said:

I saw Lorena Feijoo dance one of the most glorious, heartfelt Giselles that I had ever seen about five years ago - such beautiful, expressive arms...

And all that considering she doesn't has the elongated, fragile frame so favored for this role. She is rather muscular, broad shouldered. I loved her as Odile, Kitri and Myrtha. I only saw her once in Giselle, here in Miami, and she was indeed beautiful against prototype.

I saw the very beginnings of Lorena's career back in 1990 in Havana. She was a wave a fresh air from the aging stars of the company, but she was never blessed by the Powers that Be. She was never allowed to dance Giselle, and by the time she defected she was the black sheep of the Cuban ballet. Hence, she was never allowed to go back, unlike her peers Acosta or Carreno. During the mid 90's she was really a rising star. Glad that she could find in SFB the niche she didn't get in Cuba.

As Myrtha, 1990.

As Kitri, in US.

Carmen, with the Cuban Classical Ballet of Miami.

William Tell pdd. Early 90's.

17 hours ago, dirac said:

 

They were at the Liberty Ball and the Freedom Ball, I believe.

❤❤❤??????

16 hours ago, cubanmiamiboy said:

 

"Your" point might not be "their" point. I guess that to each its own, and I can tell you that such performances are very much enjoyed by their audiences.  In Cuba the Mad and death scene in Giselle are a tight comunion in between dancers and audience. The more dramatic and intense Giselle and her peers make this scene, the more the audience gets worked up, and viceversa...and that usually spirals upper and upper to the point of madness in the whole house...on and offstage. The first time I saw the tepid reaccion during my first Giselle in US I left very dissapointed. I truly miss the excitement and craziness of all that. ?

This performance greatly exemplifies my point. (I was there..btw...it was 1991, Alonso was 71 at the time and was still dancing the role). I guess it is difficult to understand for someone unfamiliar with it the electrifying feeling of a packed house full of screaming ballet fans-(90% of them youngsters). One thing I can assure. As I said...it was palpable that the dancers onstage did feed themselves from such offstage performance, and they would try to keep the emotions on full range. The excitement of those ballet viewing days has been unparalleled later on.

7 hours ago, volcanohunter said:

The noisy reaction of Russian audiences leads me to conclude that they're just missing the point.

"Your" point might not be "their" point. I guess that to each its own, and I can tell you that such performances are very much enjoyed by their audiences.  In Cuba the Mad and death scene in Giselle are a tight comunion in between dancers and audience. The more dramatic and intense Giselle and her peers make this scene, the more the audience gets worked up, and viceversa...and that usually spirals upper and upper to the point of madness in the whole house...on and offstage. The first time I saw the tepid reaccion during my first Giselle in US I left very dissapointed. I truly miss the excitement and craziness of all that. ?

33 minutes ago, volcanohunter said:

 

We'll have to disagree about the Cuban version because it strikes me as unwarranted pyrotechnics. The way I see it, any Giselle who inspires whoops from the audience has failed in her duties to the ballet.

The "whoops" are certainly characteristic of Cuban audiences. We are loud, and we also whistle, scream and "Yeaaah's" our dancers. Guilty of it, I confess-(oh...how do I miss it). The same sequence with the same steps done by the same company could be then appreciated, let's say, at the Garnier, and due to the more than likely fact that you won't see a similar response from the French you might find that, indeed, there is beauty on it. ?.

Here is a comparisson.

Cojocaru

Barbara Garcia (CNB)

1 hour ago, volcanohunter said:

 

I'm not sure exactly what you mean, because it seems to me Markova did these on demi-pointe. Unfortunately the camera didn't capture all of her feet, but at certain moments you can see her flexed toes. But again, I would mention that Krysanova and pretty much all her Bolshoi colleagues do this on full pointe, although they don't "spin" exactly the same way Markova did. In the most recent film by the Royal Ballet Marianela Nuñez finished the sequence by turning on pointe.

I will have to go back to it, although I almost swear I saw her on pointe-(I might be wrong though). Even though II still much prefer the more difficult approach of double tour en dehors in attitude that Cubans do-(which is also briefly seen in the rehearsal sequence of this scene done by the Russian ballerina on "The Red Shoes"). Edited: I just saw it again...and yes...the camera cuts parts of the spinning feet although I am almost sure they were raised on pointe.

1 hour ago, volcanohunter said:

 

Ekaterina Krysanova rips her necklace to pieces pretty routinely. Mind you, that Virsaladze necklace is pretty flimsy, but even so, I think it's least likely to survive a Krysanova mad scene. 

I love it the way Markova does it...which reveals real FURY-(an interesting depart for the usual goody goody Giselle). Too many Giselles just go for plain abandon at taking it out and droping it on the floor.

What a shame that we don't get to see any of Myrtha's choreo though...?. And how about that ripping of the necklace?!?! That was VIOLENT, man!!  ? I think I have only seen a similar sequence in that video of Osipova when her necklace got tangled in her hair and she ripped the whole thing apart.

Wow, wow, wow...THANKS  A LOT  for this little jewel, Jane!!. I have been wanting to see this for a long time...ever since my interest for this ballet aroused after listening to the countless references made by Alonso of her idol.  I could see MANY choreographic references of the Cuban version to this video-(which is severely cut, although the main dancing parts are pretty much intact).  It is interesting to note that the version that is being danced right now in Havana was staged by Dolin in the 60's, which substituted the older 1950's done by Mary Skeaping-(and with it we also lost Skeaping's staging of the Fugue of the Willis).  When one think that both Dolin and Markova came to this ballet via pivotal cornerstones of it during the 30's-(Markova via Sergueev and his notations and Dolin being taught the role by Sppesivtzeva)- it is clear that we might bee seeing here stuff that is closer to the Imperial version that what we have come to know, which I think is pretty much what Nureyev and Baryshnikov rooted later on.  For instance...I remember an interview in which Dolin says that the lifts in the adagio were not part of the standards back then, or the famous Sppesivtseva coda of pirouettes now almost defunct in most companies.  And then...TALK ABOUT FAST CHAINEE TURNS!!  Oh my...they look SO beautiful the way she does them...so close and fast. Another detail missing from today's stagings, and here present, is during the Initiation scene, when Giselle completes the series of grand pirouettes and goes into a fast triple spinning.  Nowadays ballerinas do them in demi pointe, whereas Markova does them in full pointe. Wonderful.  I could go on and on with the little details.  I just LOVE Giselle.

Thanks again Jane for the heads up!!!