12 hours ago, sandik said:

 

It is indeed complicated.  Our local company did Fancy Free earlier in the season, and I was really surprised when I spoke to two young dance writers who felt they just couldn't get past the gender stereotyping, especially the interplay between the woman with the red purse and the trio of men early in the work.  I've always thought it was period byplay, but they felt strongly it was menacing -- that element followed through the whole work for them.

MCB does "Fancy Free" as well, and i do too find the piece outdated-(although not offensive in any way).  My mother, who is 77, on the other side loves it.  She says it reminds her of her childhood and the films of Gene Kelly, who were very popular back in 1950's Cuba. The majority of patrons at the Arsht Center are baby boomers from NYC, and I can tell they really enjoy said work. 

Back to Program II. I went back for yesterday's matinee, if anything just to luxuriate in "Serenade". The Waltz couple was danced by Lauren Fadeley and Jovany Furlan.  Russian girl was wonderfully done by Jeanette Delgado, with the crispness and buoyancy that characterizes her. Fadeley-(who was debuting in the role)-had quite a struggle with her hair, which refused to leg go freely during her falling down sequence. She kept trying to pluck her stubborn hair pin to no avail, and her whole 'do kept tangled while on the floor.  I was seated right in orchestra third row, almost in front of her, and she kept imperceptibly untying it. No success.  It reminded me of similar struggles of many Giselles I've seen with the same problem during the first fall in the madness scene, but unlike the waltz girl, Giselle has lots of helping hands around her-(mainly Berthe)-to complete the task. She finally was able to go her hair freely just when she started spinning, after a little while.

Chase Swatosh was the Elegie boy.  He is a VERY elegant blond dancer with perfect proportions and fluid demeanor.  Loved him.  Dark Angel was a role debut for Jordan Elizabeth Long, a dancer I've been following ever since she was a teen with the Cuban Classical Ballet of Miami, and one of the only two tall dancers of the company-(the other one is Callie Manning). She always gets the Myrtha-type roles, and was BEAUTIFUL here.  The whole company was great. CONGRATS!!

And then I left.

Of course I love "Serenade".  We ALL love "Serenade".  Quintessentially romantic, tasteful and of course... how could Balanchine go wrong with such sublime music to play with...? And just as with "Les Sylphides", I love how the choreographer flirts, very cleverly, with the idea of giving the audience certain "clues" to go and try to build a plot, and of course...there is none. And in between-(and just as with "Les Sylphides)- we have a generous supply of balletic idiom onstage: jetes, petite allegro, turns, adagio and all of it with the great refinement that characterizes Balanchine's works. Tricia Albertson and Reyneris Reyes did the honors, with Jeanette Delgado following.  The whole company did a terrific job.

The rest of the night was pretty unremarkable. I found the Martins thing very boring, and the MacMillan pdd was cute, but not enough to arouse my interest. Glass Pieces was sort of interesting...in a cinematic way, but I wouldn't necessarily want to see it again.  

PROGRAM II. Going tomorrow and reporting back.

Serenade

Balanchine / Tchaikovsky

The first ballet George Balanchine made in America, in 1934, Serenade is one of his most famous and cherished works. Seventeen girls form and reform in kaleidoscopic patterns. A girl enters, late. A boy joins her. After she falls to the ground, another boy approaches her, guided by a “Dark Angel,” and then leaves her behind, to be carried off to a kind of transfiguration.

Endlessly suggestive though essentially plotless, Serenade is impelled forward by Tchaikovsky’s rushing, deeply affecting score.

BEST DRESSED.

Amy Adams in Tom Ford

Blake Lively in Atelier Versace

Evan Rachel Wood in Altuzarra.

Reese Whiterspoon in Atelier Versace

SPECIAL MENTION TO A GOOD RISQUE TRYOUT!!!

Janelle Monae in Armani Prive

WORST DRESSED

Sophie Turner in Luis Vuitton

Sarah Jessica Parker in Vera Wang's bridal dress.

Felicity Jones in Gucci

Octavia Spencer in Laura Boschi

4 hours ago, sandik said:

 

My partner saw the film over the holidays, and said it was a very realistic evocation of that time.  And he liked the costumes.

I saw the film. Portman was interesting, and definitely way better than in Black Swan. The costumes designs were very tasteful.

No major blockages at the Arsht. I always seat in Orchestra, and there's good visibility practically from every angle.

Happy New Year and yes...many thanks to all those involved in the making of this forum, especially to our dear Helene. It has been a pleasure to be here all this years. Cheers and Feliz 2017!!!❤???

Thanks for the clips Quiggin. I often don't understand why some pieces are being kept "lost" given that video record exists of them. I loved the Kaye clip.

I went to the Nut on NY's eve, and saw  the leadings by Fairchild and de Luz. Oh...what a pleasure it was to watch their dancing. She threw a couple of handfuls of "snow" while on the two traveling lifts during the final group tableaux. I think that, would I be living here, I would be one of her happy fans. My mother-(who usually has a kinder eye than mine for ballet)- found her not enough delicate. Me, on the contrary, found her wonderful to watch. My type of ballerina.

De Luz wore a shiny paper hat during curtain calls. That was so cute.

I didn't love Megan LeCrone's Dewdrop. Found her too leggy and not enough crispy and fast for the role demands. 

Indiana Woodward wonderfully nailed the sautes as the Marzipan lead and Antonio Carmena's grand ecartes were great as Chinese.

Happy New Year everyone!!!???

I l

On 12/31/2016 at 3:08 PM, volcanohunter said:

. If they have a particular genius, which is a rare and precious phenomenon, I'm not about to chastise them for lacking universal versatility. 

I love your term..."universal versatility". And we could be talking ages om the subject. I guess I just find puzzling the now common phenomenon of a Principal ballerina being totally absent from entired seasons due to her-(perceived.. self induced...unfairly placed upon...?)- inability to dance this or that role or to master certain aspects of the art form technique. And then...even more puzzled to find a generalized over benevolent attitude toward technique display mediocrity-(yes...I used such term, and even without being able to lower myself in a decent plie). 

Watching phenomena like Skorik's story-(I witnessed her very VERY disastrous beginning live)- and the way we are being told to be patient and just keep waiting for an onstage developing progression-( which has happened, don't get me wrong...I did see her recently in Raymonda)-of the dancer's skills makes me scratch my head. I just can't cope with the simple facts that 1- The AD knows the dancer is underskilled. 2-The audience know the dancer is underskilled and 3- The dancer knows the dancer is underskilled and 4- That this should be accepted as the norm. And that we get into the "let's hope someone does it right at some point". Frustrating. 

2 hours ago, volcanohunter said:

Many things look much less impressive when performed by a short dancer. There are plenty of instances where Balanchine's "I like tall: you can see more" observation comes into play. I wouldn't expect any dancer to be able to perform every Sleeping Beauty fairy variation with equal facility. But it goes without saying that casting a dancer with wobbly ankles and gummy feet in a role that requires lots of hops on pointe is foolish, and since banana feet are a ballet fetish today, those hops have really suffered as a result.

I have deeply analyzed the "complete" ballerina phenomenon. Back in the days I think BALLERINAS-(notice my capitals), were expected to be very multifaceted. Dancers like Alonso or Tallchief or Kaye or Markova were required to dance an ample array of repertoire, and be GOOD at it, from T&V to Giselle to Firebird to Coppelia to Rouge et Noir to Jardin aux Lilacs and everything in between. But again...back then, the title of "ballerina" was very respected and hard to get. Only a handful of women in the world had the privilege of enjoying such status. Nowadays there are hundreds of companies...hundreds of "ballerinas" and a lot of flexibility on how this or that role "is not suited" for such and such dancer. I do not agree with that. I believe that such status should be only be enjoyed by the dancer who can excel in all styles and ballets. A dancer who CAN NOT do a petite allegro should NOT be a Principal. And all this is just to note that the majority of dancers who can be proficient in both adagio and allegro-(and jumps and turns and hops for that matter)-are usually petite, strong and with strong pointes and ankles. Osipova epitomizes, for me, the Alonso ideal of the XXI Century. A ballerina I could watch on EVERYTHING. I find TOO MANY so called Principals of today extremely undeserving the title, eg....the Skoriks of the world-(and I am sure we all know who they are in our local companies).

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10154499149574191&id=647664190

Petite allegro is one of the sparkling highlights of the art form. Very tall, hyper extended ballerinas do have a generalized difficulty achieving it. 

7 hours ago, jsmu said:

This is CLASSIC, Jayne. 'the asparagus ballerina.' I'm stealing it instantly. Just what I loathe above all else: tall anorexics with hyperarches and hyperextensions, no strength, no petit allegro, no passagework, no feet, no agility. When cubanmiamiboy talks about Jeanette Delgado being 'muscular' and 'short,' that is only by comparison with asparagus dancers who have imposed a truly dreadful orthodoxy on what a 'ballerina' is supposed to look like. And we remember what Balanchine said about asparagus to LeClercq........

Amen amen and amen to to all that.  Although I think we are a minority here though...

Jeanette Delgado is certainly muscular, more than the majority of ballerinas I have seen in my years as a balletomanne.

Ballerina Leonela Gonzalez from the Cuban company in a New Year's magazine advertising, ca. 1952.?

https://m.facebook.com/groups/127793327330818?view=permalink&id=1046180115492130

I truly adored this man and his music, and I saw him once in concert. Too young to depart...only 53. RIP George.

"The untold story of Cinderella's mother"...Humm..not sure about this being a good idea...?

Please, allow me to wish all of you a happy, merry, WONDERFUL Christmas along with your family and friends.  I love celebrating it.  Spent too many years in Cuba where the word was quasi forbidden, and so now I go over the top with it.  Las night we went to my aunt's house-(including baby Lizzy)-and we had a big dinner which had its traditional rice and beans cooked mix-(congri)-and pork of course.  The big dinner in the Cuban tradition goes on Christmas Eve-( called "Nochebuena")-rather than Christmas Day. There are traditional midnight masses where people go after dinner, but we skipped that and we are going instead to church today. Again...MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

12 hours ago, jsmu said:

This. More AND MORE common, and hello? All one has to do is watch Tallchief, or Alonso, or Hayden, or Verdy, or any of the scores of great past ballerinas, to realize that with less fancy shoes and far worse stages they did FAR BETTER in pointe work than most 'ballerinas' these days. If the girl can't hop on pointe she shouldn't do Marzipan; it's rather like casting a girl who can't turn in Allegro Brilliante.....uh, NO..............

You are so right about the goddess Maximova (talk about freakin' strong feet!) Do you know her Don Q, I think, coda where she does EVERY fouette with hands on her HIPS?!?!?

Yes!! I have seen it. Katya was indeed in the League of The Greatest Ones. 

BTW...I went to the Nut last night again...and allow me to note that it was a very special performance, due to the fact that it was Elizbeth Cristina's very first ballet attendance. Yes...we took her the very night before her two months birthday. She behaved WONDERFULLY...slept thru the whole thing and ate a lot during the intermezzo. No cry...no drama. Even a mother next to me was pointing at her telling her hyperactive 5 yo daughter that "look...even the little baby is keeping quiet". I know she can't even see a thing at this point...BUT SHE CAN HEAR THE BEAUTIFUL TCHAIKOVSKY'S SCORE!!??? 

Veterans Albertson and Reyes did the Grand Pas-( my mother cried...they DO know at this point how to manage amazing stage projection in compensation for a declining technique), and I couldn't agree more about the beauty of their dancing. 

Nathalia Arja NAILED Marzipan' sautes on pointe, and as usual...Snow and Flowers were the real stars of the night. BRAVI!!! 

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10154485811289191&id=647664190

What a wonderful description. I have seen ballet all around Europe and US, but to be honest...it is at the MET that I still get that rush of anticipation I remember very well from my student days in the post cold war era Habana, where-(as I have written so many times here)-it was the art form what kept me and many of my University classmates confident in the notion that beauty and soul indeed existed besides endless blackouts and shortages of food. ❤❤❤

1 hour ago, sz said:

 I think dancers tend to give any challenges their best attempts rather than admitting, I shouldn't be dancing this part. 

 

 

Oh, I can imagine ballerinas are not fond of admitting they have trouble mastering the very base of their art form: the pointes. I just notice that falling off pointe is getting more and more AND MORE common nowadays, and that we as audience are also getting into the trend of placing the beauty of ballet in its "gorgeus" posing segments-(look, hight of the dancer...port de bras...slow tempi to over show...and so on and so forth)- rather than what they can do to their feet. Not me though...I was just watching the clip of Grand Pas de Quatre, and Goooosh, Alonso's balances, Kaye's entrechats, Hayden's turns and Slavenska's crispness are just RARITIES in today's ballet. Osipova and Valdes are exceptions, IMO...and thank God they are some still around. I am sure Brianza, Kshesinskaya, Sppessitvzeva or Toumanova would be happy to watch their turns and jumps.

2 hours ago, Lidewij said:

I think that Vasiliev adapted the choreography for Anyuta on stage. Kaptsova and Nikulina also don't do the sequence on pointe.

He must kad known that not everybody had the amazing technique as his beloved Katya.

I finally made it to the Nut last night and aside from the fact that I had to move across the whole Opera House due to some noisy offenders I had right next to me-(a whole family...stroller and everything in between and yes..it is a curse that follows me no matter where)-I had a great time.  I really welcomed Jeanette Delgado's Sugar Plum-(hadn't seen her I think since a couple of seasons ago)-partnered by veteran but still great Renato Panteado.  I friend of mine-(an ex dancer from Cuba)- who was also at the performance  txt me later on that Delgado "exuded BALLERINA" while dancing, and I couldn't agree more.  It is hard not to be permeated by her buoyant, grand dancing and her obvious joy at being onstage.  She definitely doesn't has the languid, elongated lines of a Mariinsky ballerina so much in vogue nowadays-(she is VERY muscular in her legs and short of stature)-but she really masters a particular way of captivating an audience both with her steely technique and signature joyful demeanor. 

Panteado was also wonderful to watch.  I suspect he is right in line with Tricia Albertson for the next wave of retirements due to his age, but really....just as with the now departed Catoya, he's very much more technically capable than many of this company's youngsters.  Both he and Delgado really mastered the great accents of the pdd to their advantage...the double shoulder lifts and the final fish dive.  Loved them.

Shimon Ito danced the Chinese and every time I watch someone in the role-(Ito included)-I really miss the great Alex Wong and his over the top Grand Ecartees here.  I have NEVER seen anyone doing such ecartees with the ballon and elasticity as Wong did them, always touching his feet with his hands.  The soloist of Marzipan wasn't able to master the sautes on pointe which  seems to be a weakness of many ballerinas nowadays-(there is a video of Obratzova not doing them when traveling backwards in "Anyuta" vs. the great late Katya Maximova who did them on video for the record).  I DO go for the "DO NOT DANCE THE PART IF YOU CAN'T DO SAUTES ON POINTE" mantra-(And that also applies, aside from Marzipan, to Giselle and Kitry in her Dulcinea variation)

Snow and Flowers were wonderful as usual.  The tempi in Miami is faster than City Ballet's and I have no complain about it.  It must had been Villella who settled the way he wanted this ballet to be danced.

Going back on Friday. ;-)

I will skip this. Saw it in Petersburg and although it was more...digestible than Anna Karenina, I wouldn't even watch it twice. I really have no recollections of it..other than the weird minimalistic sets.

BEST.

Best of the best: SUPERB Alina Cojocaru in La Sylphide-(White NIghts)

Regal Katya Koundarova in Raymonda-(DC)

Tricia Albertson in Giselle-(MCB)

MCB's production of "A Midsummer's night dream"-(even with its controversial underwater setting)

The whole Mariinsky company in Jewels-(White Nights)

Assaf Messerer's Swan Lake production for the Mikhailovsky-(SP). One get the impression as if watching a museum specimen behind a glass. I love vintage stuff.

MCB's Nutcracker. Always a joy and a reminder of why do I love so much the art form.

The Bolshoi production of Giselle-(Moscow)

WORST.

A whole year without MCB's most beloved ballerina, Mary Carmen Catoya.

Ratmansky's Anna Karenina-(Mariinsky. Boring choreography revolving around endless adagios. A total waste of time and resources)

Martin's Barber Violin Concerto-(I don't have ANY recollections of it whatsoever)

Tharp's In the Upper Room-(MCB. It is not about the company, but the piece itself.  I just hate it)