cubanmiamiboy

http://www.calgaryherald.com/entertainment/Review+Alberta+Ballet+dazzles+with+Quixote/10239106/story.html "Hayna Gutierrez impressed the moment she appeared on stage, her recognizable lines and clear contour commanding instant attention. Her Act III grand pas de deux with Gomez was stunning, including a fabulous set of centre-stage fouettés that brought the house down. I do enjoy Gutierrez’s composure, comic acting and splendid sense of timing, in addition to a natural stage demeanour of prima ballerina sympatica, to which we can all relate with her every move. Jaciel Gomez dazzled with both his solos and pas de deux. His ability to seemingly hang in space, suspended in mid-grand jeté is thrilling, and while completely solid in long-leggedly bedazzling technique, it is the warmth he naturally exudes from the stage that charms the most".

I believe Gomez comes from one of the last waves of defectors from Alonso's company...? And yes.. Alberta Ballet is lucky to have Gutierrez. It is such a shame that none of these Cubans ever stay in Miami...

As a layperson not versed in dance, I enjoyed Thursday's performance. I particularly enjoyed Hayna Gutierrez as Kitri and Jaciel Gomez as Lorenzo. And, I thought the costumes were gorgeous and the lighting was very good. I'm glad you liked Gutierrez' Kitri. She definitely knows the role very well from her Cuban ballet years. She has one of the best pair of steel legs I've ever seen and the type of physique I really love to see in female dancers ...and she definitely knows how to nail those pointes like very few ballerinas. Her fouettes were always single, but text book perfect...never rushed, always on time. She was one of my favorite Kitris of all time.

I'm glad you liked the clips, Peggy. Mendez, along with her great generation of dancers, was pivotal in the way ballet took form in my mind. They really knew how to make magic happen, and they totally nurtured the off stage protocols-(like the stage door fan gatherings). It was wonderful to hear, within one's circle of friends.."so and so is dancing tonight..!", and the excitement at seeing your favorite-(or not)-dancers' names written outside the theater walls for given performances. I truly miss it. From the SB clips, during the last one-(the grand PDD)-there's a fantastic moment, from 4:40 to 4:49 where one can really see the mature Aurora and her prince do that slow promenade with hands extended, as if she's fully acknowledging her whole court as their future queen.

Javier Graupera Miranda and Laura Pérez-(23 and 25 y.o)-have defected in Mexico and made it to US. Cuban Classical Ballet of Miami's AD Pedro Pablo Pena is supporting Graupera Miranda, who made it to Miami. Miss Perez went to Houston. http://cultura.elpais.com/cultura/2014/09/27/actualidad/1411844082_316645.html

Giselle. Josefina Mendez and Cyril Atanasoff. Paris Opera, 1979.

SNL...?

Some comparison from past models... Yuri... Rudi... MIsha...

Edited: (Side note): I know I complained a lot, but...I'm already missing Eddie down here...

There are not many clips of Eddie out there to have an idea-(for those who didn't get to see him live)-of his dancing. I've always been an advocate for the masculine demeanor in ballet men, which seems to be less and less in vogue. Villella seems to be the perfect example of of how a guy should move and look like onstage. Take note, Russians. Here's a very unorthodox version of the PDD.

"The Making of Morphoses II" http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/09/13/4344947/miami-city-ballet-tranforms-itself.html “I wanted to change the repertory, introduce new works..." Lourdes Lopez. "Although Lopez, who also danced at New York City Ballet, emphasizes a continuing commitment to Balanchine, she programs fewer of his ballets — just three this season. And she has added a broader range of contemporary choreographers and audience-friendly works" Re: the new board... "There were 11 new members as of last spring, and the troupe recently added two more: Charles Adelman, a former chairman of Morphoses" Edited: Gotta love the "audience-friendly works" part...

I saw Phillips tonight performing at the Miami Ballet Festival with Irina Sapozhnikova.They danced a lukewarm Black Swan PDD. (The photo below is the two of them in DQ..)

Foolishness...

A very funny lady, may she rest in peace. I really enjoyed her raw humor-(which made many uncomfortable). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NmVoqmfH0M

(Yawn)

Well, nice to see you back, Miss Giannina! You're certainly missed..!

Go see this if available. I went last night. It is dark, slow and at times depressing, but very good.

Green light to the Skoriks of the world..? . So if the Skoriks of the world want to dance for themselves (as opposed to the theater), go for it! . But that's the tricky aspect here. The Skoriks of the world are out there,being payed for their dancing and promoted endlessly...not merely doing it for themselves. On the other side, of course nobody should limit themselves in a dancing medium when wanting to have a good time. Through my long history of club hopping I've seen many of my friends being shy and afraid to go to the dance floor. Nothing that a couple of cocktails can't resolve!. After a few of those and some encouragement...hell yeah, you have all the Taylor Swifts of the world out there!

Well, you do, if professionally speaking. Otherwise, you can always have the Skoriks.

Green light to the Skoriks of the world..?

Yeah, she's cool and everything, but I got the same bad taste feeling watching her do those "comic" moves with her swan tutu as when I see the type of stuff in the line of the Miss Piggy/Nureyev thing . I guess I do have a black and white/square position as what to expect when someone has a tutu on. I'm probably too serious about the art..don't have too much tolerance about the ever present efforts to try to make everything in this life look "cool" or comic. It is all to me the same, either being the Burnett/Villella stint, or the Nureyev/Miss Piggy or the late night talk show clownish false attempts at steps or positions when interviewing a dancer just to get a few laughs from the audience. "Agggh" in my book..

Good luck to Mr. Bocca. I had the pleasure to see him dance many times in Havana, in the early 90's. He was just astonishing.

A Giselle with capital G. Gorgeous dancing...wonderful confluence of strong choreographic heritage on both sides of the leading dancers, and the magnificent sets and costumes of the Royal. I'm in.

Welcome back, Hi and welcome back, Perky! Isn't Venice just fabulous...? Just like a fairy tale place...