cubanmiamiboy

This is opening tonight. I might just leave after "La Source" (which I've never seen...). I very much dislike In the Upper Room, and I'm not familiar with Martins' piece. Any background...?

Forgettable, tiresome choreo...aggh.

Merry Christmas for you and Vadim, dear Natasha!!

So it is today that we Cuban open our presents. It is the Three Kings day, and so toys are being handed by parents in the morning.after the kings stopped by in their camels during the night, and the Christmas tree is ready to be taken down tomorrow. During my childhood days, and from 1959 up until present day, this celebration was forbidden and suppressed in a public way, although it continued to be celebrated privately and within the catholic church micro communities. So, FELIZ DIA DE REYES!!!

Huum...all that dragging across the floor...

The post was an easy one to understand, so I don't see how it gets confusing. The poster implied that the players were playing inadequately soft, soft as ballerinas in tutus usually LOOK LIKE onstage, instead of roughed up strong players.

I wish Balanchine would had left the whole pas as it is right there, with both variations in between adagio and coda. Usually-(at least here in Miami)- by the time Sugarplum is already into her variation, the screaming parents are still cheering their little angels, so the variation looses its momentum. Also, by having kept the whole thing, there would had been an extra opportunity to show the bailarin, who really has a couple of moments on stage to shine during the coda-(the sequence of pirouettes a la seconde and the sequence of jete menages). I really can't understand why he decided to shorten up one of the very few grand moments of this ballet.

January first is sort of a sad date for the Cuban community-(57th anniversary of the abandonment of government by General Batista and subsequent taken of power by the newly Castro dictatorship). Still, we all always hope for each year to be the last one. With that and all other types of hopes, I wish this wonderful balletomanne community all the prosperity and great wishes for the new year. May all your dreams come true!!. HAPPY 2016!!!!

Knox was Dewdrop with Messmer as Sugarplum, and they looked pretty equal.

Indeed Merry Christmas, dear Helene. I was on duty both on Nochebuena-(the traditional Cuban Christmas' eve celebration)-and last night too. Still, we had roasted pork in the unit, as in mandates the Cuban tradition. ;-)

I attended a couple of performances of the Nutcraker down here-(Balanchine) right after seeing a couple from City Ballet. In the second one I got Messmer as Sugarplum, and she danced it beautifully.

I went to last night's performance-(yes, I'm in the city for a few days...wanted to catch the City Ballet's Nut and perhaps "An American in Paris"). Mearns was Sugarplum and Peck danced Dewdrop. Miss Peck was wonderful. She really nailed all the technical tricks, and something I noticed..she seems to like to luxuriate in her balances, but in a way that the subsequent steps don't suffer. They are there, perhaps in a tiny faster approach so they are always on spot-(unlike other ballerinas, like Viengsay Valdes, who ends up suppressing whole segments). I really liked her dancing, at least in this role. Very energetic and fast...just as I love my ballerinas. The Sugarplum adagio later on with Mearns and Tyler Angle didn't look to me as polished, I particularly didn't "get" Angle. He lacked elevation in his sequence of jete menages. By the way...what's up with the "transformation scene"..? During the traveling bed segment, MCB usually has a flowing backdrop that covers the scenery changes, which dramatically opens up with the big accord to reveal the snowy forest. Last night all the changes happened in full view...the Christmas three being pulled up and the side props of the forest lowered down. It really diminished the transformation effect. I will try to catch another performance, so let's see. Cheers and Happy Holidays everyone!!

Great! I will be there from the 24th to the 29th. Anybody else going..? PM for cell phone.

Ok. I'm already scheduling my days off work for Raymonda. Who else is going..? I would love to meet..!!! :flowers:

Vsevolozhsky's 1892 original designs.

I find the tempi dragging as well, particularly during the snow scene. (BTW...I don't think I've ever seen so man pas de chats thrown into a segment!).

Interesting to see Burlaka's recreation of the Imperial production. I still much prefer Balanchine's choreo for both segments.

I'm VERY confused. I went on Saturday the 5th to the movie theater. Was this a recording or a live performance..? Kelly Ripa conducted, but she had like two different outfits at different points, so I don't think it was live.

He,he...it is so funny to see how the Ivanov choreo for the pas stays intact in all versions up to the point of those devilish over the shoulder jumps and fish dives. That's when the choreo gets creative for a few seconds. ;-) Kuddos to the Royal for keeping it, although having decided against the ballerina being pulled on pointe over the shawl a la Collier. (Brava Leslie!)

Paris is a city I have visited a few times, and have enjoyed tremendously, and will always be a hell of a fun, wonderful, sparkling place. I'll be there soon. My prayers and support to this magnificent jewel of the world.

I feel this was not a good programming. Fancy Free and Viscera were just very weak selections, and the white compression of B's SL-(don't know how to put it in a different way)-is, by now and like it or not, not "enough Swan Lake". It looks more like a mid century curiosity. We need Jewels-(the whole thing)-back...Ballet Imperial, Theme and Variations...even Valse Fantaisie, which I enjoyed tremendously. Please, please...Lourdes...STOP putting so much weight on modern or pointe-less numbers!!

It was very interesting, dirac, as it was based on a real story. Now, the much more REAL story is how the director confronts the spectator to the fact that the prosecuted were common SS officials, whom at the time, and having never been touched by the West Germany government during Nuremberg, were enjoying a retirement, a pension and a national de facto effort on forgetfulness. The imperative statement of "this is the first time a government will prosecute its own soldiers" says it all.

Oh my...where have I been..? I didn't know they were a couple.

I went to see this last night. Catch it if available.

As for me...I really pray that this hideous thing falls into perennial oblivion.