cubanmiamiboy

Oh....I believe Nuñez was SMASHING!!!. I'm a sucker for strong technicians who deliver. I don't have a soft spot in my heart for the weak willowy posers of the ballet world, and Marianela is one of those rare cases of technical reliability at all times. She's one year from being forty, and she can put to shame dancers half her age. Yes...she was a bit too regal in act I, but who cares. Her pointes were even more regal and that's what really matters!. Much after Markova's steps. Roscoe was a wonderful Myrtha as well. Is just that....I don't think I had ever seen THAT situation EVER on a Giselle curtain call! Stories came to mind on dancers of the past...some of them very ego-centered and proud to the point that they would not perform Myrtha or Giselle to certain Myrthas and Giselles out of fear to be outdone. In her memoirs, for instance, Dame Markova says that such thing happened to Mme. Danilova, who would ONLY do her Myrtha to Markova's Giselle, out of the strong friendship they shared. I have seen three casts so far, and they have ALL delivered big time. I'm very happy!!

Scandaaaaaaaal in the house this matinee!!! Julia Roscoe-( Myrtha)- got three huge bouquets to Cuthbertson' sole one!! Oops..! Audience even gasped at the sight. I don't think I would had been very pleased if I was that Giselle...! 🙃

Sir Peter Wrights's RB production charmed me on certain aspects but not on others, both choreogtaphically and structurally. The most alluring first thing my eye caught were the sumptuous sets and costumes for Act I. Both huts, Giselle's and Loys' are beautifully crafted, and the backdrops and lighting revolt around lovely terracotta tones. The medieval attires of Berthe-( Kristen McNally)-and the Court lead by the Duke of Courland-(Christopher Saunders)-are also painstinkly done to the minimum detail. The entrance of the Duke Albrecht of Silesia is done to the soft leitmotif we hear after the first bombastic accords of the overture. In this production the action actually starts right away with the interaction of Berthe and Hilarion. All that, plus Albrecht-(Vadim Muntagirov)- and his squire Wilfred-( Tomas Mock)- entrances are all within the overture music. The triumphant, heroic melody we usually associate in US and Russia with Albrecht entrance is here used for him to reveal his deceitful Loys after coming out of his hut dressed as a peasant. This detail took me to my beloved Cuban production, which also follows this musical scheme on Loys/Albrecht-( although there the whole of the overture is done with closed curtains up until the beginning of the peasants leitmotif). Muntagirov as our Loys/Albrecht last night was oh boy...such a charm!. A veteran now of the famous British company, he's a real joy to watch. His jump is still high, and his entrechats very lovely, with wide open legs while in the air, reminding me of those of the great Soloviev. Oh...and he doesn't cheat on his Act II diagonal of triple turns on l'air! (You know...like many dancers who start the first turn with their bodies already half turned). He's also a gentleman, showing his ballerina first and foremost. Don't we all love that....? Miss Nuñez, our Giselle, is another veteran by now and definitely one of the current top ten world wide ballerinas. She shows leisure in her dancing, making obvious that by now she can focus on her characterization rather than her steps. She's an incredible turner, and her pique menage circle of her Act I her Pas Seul was grand. The one thing I frowned upon a tiny bit was at the pace she did her diagonal of sautees on pointe. A bit too fast, although always controlled. The mad scene was interesting. Here Sir Wrights's choice is to put the whole court as witnesses of the whole affair up until Giselle's death, after which they depart the stage. Other companies make their exit earlier, usually having only the peasants witness her demise. So here Bathilde-( Christina Arestis)- watches curiously all the evolutions of her fiancee. She's not terribly worried. Upset, yes....but not worried to death for sure. When the Court lives, it is more of a "ok...this is over...show is done" instead of "Oh Jesus...what a horrifying thing we just saw...!" More to come on Act II.

Ok, so Marianela, still kicking high and strong! Act I is done, and she still rules on. More to come next.

Hello there!! Anybody going....? I just arrived to the city, and will be going the whole week to the Giselles. If you're at the theater, hit me with a message! 🙂

But again....Peck's body has never been on the "offending" side of the spectrum. She has never been on, let's say, Kathryn Morgan's shoes, nor does she belongs to the Joy Womack/Megan LeCrone/Oksana Skorik/Svetlana Zakharova "ideal" shape club-( one that has never been favored by me, btw). Her body has the curves, but not heavy.... she's not super tall, but neither short. And because there are really not noticeable "faults" on her physical appearance, she has been lucky to be left along on such matters. That besides the brilliance of her dancing, of course.

LeCrone

I also think she has always held one "in the middle " type of body. Never too skinny....never too "not skinny".

I was quite surprised at all this obsession with the "Wendy Wheelan look" when I came to the States, having grown up with the idea of a "ballet body" along the lines of Cynthia Gregory, Martine Van Hammel or Ashley Bouder. The first time I saw Wendy onstage I must confess I was shocked. It wasn't only how they looked. They also appeared -(to me)- weaker in jumps and turns.

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I have gone to a couple of performances-( chamber music)- and only a health questionnaire was required. It will be interesting to see, though, how many of the non vaccinated patrons will be so eager to attend performances as to get a nasal swap each time.

Ok....so I guess no NYC for me for a while. This is not the best time to return anyhow.... I'll wait.

It is very nice hearing back from you, dear Drew! I really hope to meet you again in the future, for the Mariinsky DC performances or in NYC once something really good comes up. Please...read the book. It goes really fast and has s very engaging structure. Be well, dear!

Confessing my total inability to "get" this. Same with the Trocks or any other related "funny" takes at ballet. Oh well.....

Its been a hell of a time. Horrible in so many ways to even attempt to recount it. But we all know all of it quite well I'm afraid. And I haven't seen any live ballet. Nobody has, or course. I can't stand online viewing. For anything, particularly for book reading, ballet performances or even films-(I'm a hardcore cinema fan, and even that has been greatly diminished lately). Anyhow...if there's any consolation to my lack of traveling and live performances viewing, it is that I reverted to literally eating books. Devouring them at light speed. And some ballet books have made it into my bookathon. "The Legat Legacy" is one of them. The book is comprised of Nikolai Gustavovitch Legat's own memoires translated for the first time from Russian to English in 1936 by Sir Paul Dukes, and here subsequently re edited by Mindy Aloff with the wonderful addition of the words of our own RG, Mr Robert Greskovic, which in his great Introduction gives us a masterly summarization of the life and immense influence on the art of teaching of the late ballet pedagogue, along with corrections on some mistakes from both the original Russian text and Dukes' translation. Legat's thinking is basically that of his immense respect and utterly admiration to his own teachers, Johannsen and Cecchetti, but particularly Johannsen, whom he considered the base and center of everything the world knows today as the Russian ballet school. Then there's also a wonderful account on Legat's own father-(a great dancer himself)- and a few, sad words on his prematurely departed brother...although he doesn't dwell on the issue of his suicide. We are given spicy, colorful descriptions of celebrated classmates. The famous/infamous ballerinas of the Imperial stage are all in there...with special warm words to two opposites: Kshessinskaya and Pavlova. the former one for her unparalleled technique-(only matched by her Italian rivals)- and mutual onstage empathy, and the second one for her uniqueness, warmth and purity in which she conducted their loved artform. Both of them cherished by Legat as true friends. Later on there are accounts from some of his most distinguished pupils, telling us about the uniqueness of his method. The way some of them refer to the mystique and mystery of his communication codes-(not understood by many, but like a wonderful Pandora's box wide open once someone was able to grasp it)- quite reminded me at how some Balanchine's alumni speak similarly about his classes. If anything...everyone seems to agree on the fact that his classes were not for everyone, but rather to perfect the finesse of the already accomplished dancer. Hence the name..."Class of Perfection", which he initiated in Petersburg and continued in London. I enjoyed tremendously the book. The words of those who "got" his teaching speak of an unmatched, witty class genius, and one that England didn't really know how to handle-(Dame deValois wasn't too kind of the man, although she admitted he was s genius). If you haven't read it...do so. Highly recommended.

Welcome back!!🥰💪

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Perhaps. Down here in Miami where is ultra competitive, the struggle is real.

I saw Vikharev's recon once. If I'm not mistaken I believe I remember seeing them.

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It is not a secret than certain chains of hospitals, like the one I work now, don't hire new grads. There are others than do...but not that many. Usually a nurse starts in a nursing home or home health setting to eventually jump to a hospital. With a couple of years on one's back, at least management can guess the nurse has been at least in one code blue. All this, of course, if you depend only on your resume...and you don't have someone who gets you in-( as it was my case many years ago). In other words, and to link this with the ballet discussion. I hope that, if a quota starts in SF ballet, that they somehow can pair said quota with real talent. Otherwise the whole thing will be a sad travesty.

Got a little lost here. Sorry, Helene.😆 Nursing is a black and white thing. Hospitals don't hire new grads. They don't want newbies in a code blue. So that's why I wonder if things are getting more....relaxed, now that there's pressure from all types of new diversity boards or diversity managers. As per ballet, well.... Swan Lake is not a code blue, and nobody's gonna die after seeing Misty and her 12 traveling fouettes. But hey....they definitely opened a whole Pandora's box.

And.... I'm both Latin and gay. And boy...would I hate if I would know that I'm part of that hiring quota and not because of my long nursing resume....🤨 But I guess I'll never know. How does the hiring part approaches that on your workplace...? After you tell the hired party that they are hired....do you tell them that they're part of a quota...?

I wonder if they would pull another Misty Copeland number. (And no...no need to get into a discussion about her....again. We all know all very well all the "in favor" or "against" theories that her controversial appointment as Principal generated) I am a nurse, and in my hospital there is a hiring quota for nurses. Certain amount of LGBT and certain amount of certain minorities are to be hired. I wonder if they can start doing that in ballet as well....

What a disgrace. Nothing was proved and still he was cancelled and vilified. And now he killed himself. This is horrid. Bring on the acussers. Publicly. Ask them to publicly prove their case. Yes. Publicly because the vilifying and destruction of their lives and careers was public. So if there's no prove, that needs to be seen in public too.