theo

I am writing about Ballet Theater of Maryland's (BTM) performance of Romeo and Juliet this past Saturday for two reasons: 1- just in case any of the company members frequent this website, they can read how wonderful their performance was ; 2 - Ballet lovers in Maryland and the surrounding area know that there is a wonderful local company out there that dances and acts their hearts out, and that there is worthy alternative to schlepping in to DC to the Kennedy Center (a wonderful venue and quite worth the schlep ) if they want to see some good ballet theater a bit closer to home.

BTM is a true local company whose dancers are mostly from the surrounding area (MD, PA, VA and DE). They do not rely on guest artists but rather on their own talent, and boy can they act!

Most of the company members, including apprentices and trainees, participated in this production, which was choreographed (really) by the company's Artistic Director, Dianna Cuatto, who has a respectable resume. The music was Prokofiev, of course, and was recorded, but the quality of the recording was excellent and the volume was just perfect.

Romeo and Juliet were danced/portrayed by Joshua Burnham ( ballet master) and Nichole Seitz (ballet school administrator). In three words- they were wonderful. In three more- they were moving. I did not expect to be moved to tears by this local production and when I saw the tissues being sold I giggled a bit. But you know what, had I bought them, I certainly would have used them. Note to self.

I was not alone in my display of emotion, which was evident to me when the house lights were turned back on following the curtain call, during which a standing ovation was rightfully provided by the appreciative audience. I heard multiple comments during pauses for applause on how wonderful every body was. I will go as far as to say that I believe that many in the audience were a bit blown away. At least I know that those in my general vicinity were. I was sitting front row center and could see every breath the dancers took, and every expression on their face and in their bodies. This was the real deal my friends.

Other primary characters whose portrayal must not go unnoticed were, Lady Capulet, who was perfectly and movingly portrayed by Kathryn Carlson (She is worthy to play this role for any company any where, and I’ve seen lots of them) ; Mercutio, who was strongly and amusingly portrayed by Brain Walker, and Benvolio, who was perfectly portrayed by Stirling Matheson. Dancer Caldar Taylor danced/portrayed Tybalt in a way I have not seen before. He was loveable in a sense. He was initially blank until he interacted with his cousin Juliet. This is when his intricate and interesting face lit up. It was a good effect.

There were other wonderful characters, but the ones I’ve just mentioned are the most recognizable to readers since this production had a few additional characters that don’t appear in any other production of this ballet, or this story.

About those interesting characters; “Fate” is carried out by a gypsy and two tarot cards, (“The Lovers” and “Death”). I was not sure if this would work but for me at first but as the production played out, it certainly did. The influence of those characters on the fates of Romeo and Juliet were tangible to me. Kudos Ms. Cuatto for what she herself describes as her personal contribution to the telling of this story.

In conclusion, every member of this production who was visible on stage, gave their all and it showed. This is the second time I have seen this company perform and I can say with confidence, that I will go back to see them again. They are my new home town (I'm from NY) favorite.

I started this thread in hopes of providing some exposure for Baltimore Ballet. I have seen them dance a couple of times and thought they were at least worth mentioning. I new if I added "ABT" in the thread people would read. What I did not expect was the direction the tread took. I have sat back and watched while things got a bit ugly and began to feel guilty for ever having spoken. But I'm glad to see that at lest some redemption has been possible. Tonight I see another local Maryland Company, Ballet Theater of Maryland. And I'm very much looking forward to it. I'm a New York Girl who's used to the likes of ABT and NYCB. I've seen Foteyn and Nureyev, Marcia Haydee and Richard Cragun and Suzane Farrell dance live. Yet I am not a ballet snob and I never turn a blind eye to a hard working local company. Dance is a beauty to behold and who are any of us to pick apart those who work so hard to bring to the beauty to us.

My 2 cents

Ouch almost forgot! The other two ABT guest artist were Puanani Brown and Alys Shee. Alys was the Firebird and once she loosened up a bit, she was interesting, in a good way. Puanani is a very pretty young woman with lovely lines. I apologize for leaving these lovely ladies out of my first post, especially considering the title. ABT and ABT II dancers have done guest appearances with Baltimore Ballet a few times. Maryland is home to a lot of secret talent!

Last night I attended the performance of Baltimore Ballet's mixed bill which featured Pas de Quatre, Romeo & Juliet Balcony Scene and The Firebird. First let me say that I saw this company perform two years ago and they are much improved. Thanks in part, to some ABT help, some new blood and also some better fitting costumes with the exception of Juliet's. A baggy sagging long sleeved night gown does not work for the balcony scene!

Aside from Juliet's costume, the only other negative was the quality of the recorded music. Pas de Quatre in particular was obviously a recording of an old record. It was a bit distracting. On to the good news: The two stand out performers for me were ABT II's Aaron Smyth and Baltimore Ballet's Marianna Zschoerper. According to the program, this was Marianna's first performance with this company. She had lovely stage presence and light movement. She was a pleasure to watch. Aaron Smyth shone most brightly in this hometown production. I hadn't realized during the performance that he was from ABT II and I wondered, "where the heck did he come from" I will be interested to see if and how he progresses through ABT. He very well could be one to watch. There were children in this production, which I did not expect, but they were fun and their costumes did them justice. There was one very small young girl who rode on the back of one of the older male dancers who I thought was an eye catcher. All in all, I enjoyed the show. A hometown performance in a cozy venue is a nice way to spend an evening. And by the way, Mr. Catbas, the founder and artistic director of this company, did an amicable job as Romeo. I didn't want to leave him out.

Hello all, I attended the Friday evening performance of Romeo and Juliet and watched the ballet from the front row. Here's the cast:

R & J - David Hallberg and Gillian Murphy

Mercutio - Jarred Matthews

Tybalt - Issac Stappas

Benvolio - Danil Simkin

Paris - Sacha Radetsky

Lady Capulet - Maria Bystrova

Lord Capulet - Roman Zhurbin

Rosaline - Luciana Paris

Harlots - Isabella Boylston, Stella Abrera and Jessica Saund.

I have not seen ABT live for over 10 years but have been able to keep in touch on line by viewing websites like this one. Let me begin by saying that David Hallberg is everything I have read about. He did not disappoint and was, in short, amazing. Gillian Murphy was a surprisingly lovely and poignant Juliet. Her extensions are to die for and she just moves beautifully.

Issac Stappas was a great Tybalt and he drew lots of applause from the audience, especially at the final Curtin calls. Jarred Matthews also drew lots of applause for his portrayal of Mercutio. I enjoyed his performance as well.

Then there was Danil Simkin who did not steel the show (as I've read he does sometimes) but rather, fit in very nicely indeed. He was perfect Benvolio and I'm sure is a fabulous Mercutio as well.

I would have liked to have seen Sacha Radetski in a more substantive roll, but I have to say that out of all of the performances of R & J I've seen over the years, he was probably the most evil Paris. I say that in a good way because he was a presence rather than a nusance, which is what I am used to seeing in the roll.

The Harlots were all pretty cool. Isabella Boylston, who was replacing Misty Copeland, was a particularly excellent harlot I thought. (I mean that in a good way!: wink: ) She brought the perfect amount of playful mischief to the roll. Stella Abrera left me thinking that, like Sacha, she also needed to be doing something more substantive.

Maria Bystrova was interesting as Lady Capulet. Her emotions were powerfully portrayed as she grieved over Tybalt's death. Roman Zhurbin simly, WAS Lord Capulet.

It was a wonderful evening all and I cried my eyeballs out at the end, as did my mom (it was her birthday) and I could swear I saw my husband wiping his eyes although I'm sure he will deny it.

The only down side of seeing a performance from the front row of the Opera House is that you have to crane your neck to see the feet well if your less than 5’7’’. I’m 5’6” and so left with a bit of a stiff neck but it was well worth it! I believe a Ballet Talk member warned me about this part a couple of months ago.

I hope others will write about this, and other performances the see or have seen.

Hello and Happy New Year to all BT members and readers. I am curious about the ABT website and the subject of Sascha. Supposedly, Sascha's return to ABT as a soloist was effective on Jan 01, 2010, yet I still don't see him posted in the soloist section of the website or anywhere else for that matter. If you see his name appear as a cast member for a particular performance however, you can click on his name and his old bio comes up?? In contrast, Simone Messmer's promotion (CONGRATULATIONS Simone!) was effective on the same date that Sascha's return was supposed to be, and her picture has been added to the appropriate section of the website and his has not. Anybody know why?

Curious.

I'm afraid you're going to have to be patient. When casting is posted, it will be noted in this thread.

Were ABT to post it now, you couldn't really count on it holding up for two months anyway.

Understood. I'll sit tight. Still urks me though since the NY 2010 casting is already posted. 'Tis what it 'tis. I'll continue to keep my eyes open. Thanks Helene.

Hi fellow ballet lovers. I think this question had already been asked about a month ago, but I thought I'd give it another try. Anybody...at all...have any idea when ABT might consider posting the casting for Kennedy Center 2010? I'm taking my mom for her birthday, we have front row seats and I am crossing my fingers for good cast. I would not be disappointed to see any ABT dancers in whatever combination, but I have my secret hopes for who will be dancing on the night we are attending. Clues would be fun. Answers would be better!

Theo, DanceView is not available on line. It's a publication of the same team that produces DanceViewTimes on line. DanceView tends towards longer articles and interviews. kfw recently posted about the Autumn 2009 issue, here:

http://ballettalk.invisionzone.com/index.p...mp;#entry258073

I checked to see whether the DanceViewTimes online review included this photo, but it did not.

Here's the DVT review, by Leigh Witchel:

http://www.danceviewtimes.com/2009/06/a-mo...debut.html#more

Witchel is much more positive about Osipova's Giselle than Cargill.

Whatever magic she worked on David Hallberg – or he worked on himself – let it remain. He outdid himself from the moment she came onstage and I’ve never seen better from him. He’s always been beyond reproach technically, but the clarity and honesty of his performance pushed him from an excellent dancer to a great Albrecht. Hallberg didn’t play Albrecht as a cad – that would have been unsuited to Osipova’s reading. He was genuinely in love with Giselle; both showed their attraction with a few telling moments where they briefly stopped their dancing among the peasant and just gazed at the other, dumbstruck. He knew the moment the hunting party reentered that trouble was imminent, and that he had a hand in it.

Thank you Bart!

Unfortunately, parachuting in for occasional guest appearances is probably not the best way to develop relationships with partners or the company around one--or, indeed, artistic depth in general. For that reason, I was glad that ABT continues to pair her, for the time being, with Halberg rather than experimenting with different partners.

Drew, could you expand your thoughts about Halberg as a partner for Osipova -- especially those which would help her as she enlarges her rep? (I ask as one who has not seen Osipova on stage but has seen Halberg.)

Edited to add: DanceView just came in the mail -- with a lovely Gene Schiavone photo of Osipova and Hallberg happily bounding across the stage arm in arm. Mary Cargill's review of ABT's Spring season at the Met contains praise for Hallberg's "well-nigh perfect" dancing -- some reservations about Osipova, "a slight emotional blank"-- but nothing about their partnership per se.

Hello, forgive me for being somewhat ignorant but I don't get Danceview in the mail and I checked online and didn't see the picture you were talking about. Oddly enought, I didn't see how I can subscribe to a hard copy version recieved by mail. Call me tired from a long commute and a hard day!

Can you direct me or send me a link so I can see the Pic.?!

Thanks.

Yes, you will be able to see feet. I am a long-torsoed 5'4", and I can see feet if I sit up straight!

I love love love my front-row subscription seats.

Thank You koshka. I am 5'6''. Longer legs than body but sitting up straight should be easy enough. Can't wait!

Hi. I will be attending a performance of R&J in January 2010. Is the view OK from the front row? Just want to know if I'll be able to see feet! Any advice in this area is helpful.