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BW

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Everything posted by BW

  1. It would be interesting to really know if the economy this year has effected the scholarships given by the summer programs. Summer programs are the bread and butter of so many ballet schools, as well as their companies. My guess is that they have been impacted. In this country, the USA, I do believe that not too many schools have sizable endowments.
  2. Dancing Times Online Thank you, rg!
  3. Yes, thank you drb and thank you, too, tiptoe.
  4. Many thanks drb and carbro for your Erica Pereira reviews - wish I'd been there! With regards to the fan club, my guess is that it was less Long Island and more of her friends and classmates - as well as family - from in and around Manhattan. Am very much looking forward to seeing both Ms. Pereira and Ms. Morgan in the upcoming season.
  5. Had missed this in the casting notes - very exciting for these new corps members to be cast in such roles! Thanks for bringing it to my/our attention.
  6. We, too, attended Saturday's matinee and I agree with BSS. Though I am not enough of balletomane to write in technical terms as to why I felt Miss Hytlin was so lovely as the Sugar Plum Fairy, I can attest to the fact that she was. There's something about Sterling Hytlin that reminds me of Darci Kistler as a young dancer. It may be that it's just her coloring and her face. Hytlin and Stafford did absolutely look very good together. It is extremely important to me to have a Sugar Plum Fairy who exudes both beauty and warmth, and Sterling Hytlin surely did both wonderfully. As for Erica Pereira, I have to admit that I am prejudiced because I am so fond of her and have known her for a long time. Erica was definitely at home in the Marzipan Shepherdess role and made it all look completely effortless through both her grace and speed. She is a natural. It was particularly fun watching her as she morphed from a maid, into one of those glorious, whirling snowflakes, and then into the storybook shepherdess looking both fleet of foot and graceful in this debut performance of hers! There is a quality of lightness to Erica Pereira's dancing that strikes me as exceptional. It is my great wish that one Ballet Talk's excellent dance reviewers will have the chance to report back upon Erica's debut as the Dewdrop Fairy on December 22. I think she will be great. And just quickly - kudos to Mary Elizabeth Sell in Snow and Coffee and Cameron Dieck as an exceptional Mouse! Looking forward to seeing a great deal more of these dancers in this coming season!
  7. I have been using my Bushnell Xtra-Wide (900 ft FOV (field of view) 4 x 21 binoculars for a long time and I find them to be excellent for ballet performances. I wear "progressive" lenses and have never had any problems with these binoculars...and do find them quite sharp. They are auto focus, don't weigh very much and, although not expensive, they are very good. From Bushnell's site it seems they make a newer version... Bushnell Xtra-wide. I bought my first pair at the shop under the NY State Theatre. Naturally where one is sitting will have an impact on the use of any binoculars... In the past I used to sit in the orchestra, but on December 8th I'll be sitting in the Third Ring of the NY State Theatre and we'll see what we think.
  8. - from the most recent Reviews thread re R & J.Thank you, I'm so glad it has finally been publised! Erica Pereira is now a member of the corps! I have no idea if there's been any other acknowledgement but she was told right after her second performance on Saturday. This could not have happened to a nicer, more down to earth, and lovely person.
  9. I fell in love, in a way, with his first book - the one in which he walks across Afghanistan. I'm not going to try to review it, but will just say that Mr. Stewart is a very well read fellow and writes beautifully. His second book - the one about his time in Iraq - is altogether different and just as compelling but in a very different way. They're both out in paperback.
  10. Don't know if you all caught this in May 12th's NYT, an article by Daniel J. Wakin, Live From Washington, Opera for the College Crowd: What a great opportunity (and a smart move!) - and one that I hope will pay off by both building an audience base and ultimately help with longterm funding. Perhaps some of you who read this board will be able to take advantage.
  11. Ever since September 11th, I've been on a Middle East theme - except for a brief aside for Jane Eyre, which I loved. The highlights for me have been The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi, Against All Enemies by Richard Clarke, See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terror by Bob Baer, The Places In Between by Rory Stewart which was breath taking...and I'm now his second book - this one about his time in Iraq The Prince of the Marshes: And Other Occupational Hazards of a Year in Iraq as well as Lawrence Wright's The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 - and I heartily recommend them all for their illumination.
  12. I'd almost forgotten that you all discussed "other performing and fine arts". Had the pleasure of seeing both The Barber of Seville and Il Trittico offsite in a movie theatre in HD and my reaction was "Wow!" I can only speak as a non-aficionado and say that it was a fantastic experience! Although I have attended a few operas both at The Met and The NY State Theatre - both of these performances that I experienced with friends, some of whom were experienced opera buffs and some who were not, were excellent and have conditioned me to go back for more. We are really looking forward to the next season. Bravo for The Met in their forward thinking! Can't help but think that with the proper techniques that the ballet might be well served by following The Met's lead on this.
  13. Well, let's not split hairs here... Whether the editor gave it the title or not - 99% of that article discusses the dancers and speaks to how well they performed. I'd have to guess that many weren't enthralled with other aspects of the production...though I have to share that two people to my left in the orchestra loved the sets - so "go figure", as they say!
  14. Yes, thank you, indeed, BSS! However, Natalia's excerpt leaves out the very important contrast that Popkin draws - because she's left out this portion: "the ballet has furnished an effective vehicle for a group of the company's most talented young dancers." Michael Popkin's piece titled "The Kids Are All Right" goes on to draw out this observation by writing In my reading of this review, I feel the thrust is much more about what was "right" with this performance and much less about what so many feel was wrong with the production.
  15. Carbo, thank you for putting it this way. I couldn't agree more.
  16. Just read the article and I agree with you, Farrell Fan. I thought it was inappropriate to say the least. As I kept reading I couldn't help but wonder if Macauly had some sort of vendetta with Peter Martins...then I wondered if he'd succumbed to the ever bubbling blood feud depicted in R & J...then I wondered if he thought he was in the House of Lords...or that he'd been hired by Rupert Murdoch to infiltrate the NY Times???drb, it's true in some spheres of British life they do seem to thrive on airing dirty laundry but this seemed to be a real grasping at straws kind of attempt to "understand" the meaning behind the real slap used in this production. Honestly, there were a number of things in the production that I didn't like, but as I said in my earlier gushing post - they fell by the wayside when Romeo and Juliet danced together... I wonder why this critic appears to need to dwell upon this so much? Me thinks he protests too much. P.S. zerbinetta, we must have been posting at the same time... Great minds and all that.
  17. And it's amazing how those photos can be improved when you use iPhoto, for example.
  18. For me, the answer is in the dancing.
  19. drb, I can't really come close to your description but... Erica Pereira made that ballet for me. Yes, I know her but I clearly was not the only one who felt that way in New York State Theatre today. She was astoundingly wonderful. Ethereal as a dancer - perfect, lovely, light as a feather, graceful and completely natural in her performance. It didn't seem like a performance - it seemed real. As an actress - well, let me just tell you that people were crying. CRYING! She was amazing. She could be child like, in the beginning, and then shy, while when she became a young woman in love - it was as though it was all happening right then and there. It was completely believable and breathtaking. Everyone around us was talking about her and asking who she was... I wish I had the words to describe her performance properly. Erica's Juliet was compelling in all ways - as an actress she was excellent while her dancing was breathtaking. The young man who played Romeo, Allen Peiffer, was well cast - his acting was very good in the second act. To me in the balcony scene it was so clear that they were in love. Their pas de deux was so lovely - I wish I could have filmed it. The critics may not like Martin's actual ballet (and there were parts that I did not like either...some of the costumes (not all, thankfully) were really not attractive and the set was very sort of expressionist/simplistic style... It served it's purpose OK...but when the second act started it didn't matter what the set was - your eyes were on the two young lovers who were clearly and desperately in love.... The death scene was very moving... When it was over, there were standing ovations...bravos....curtain calls. It was a real success for Erica. I really hope that some of the press covered it because you'd have to be blind not to see her astounding talent. She was so truly outstanding because of the combination of her acting and the amazing quality of lightness to her dancing. All you could say was "Wow." She took your breath away. My appologies to the other dancers who stood out, particularly Daniel Ulbricht - my heart was too stolen tonight to talk about anyone else. Brava Erica and congratulations to Peter Martins for picking her to dance this role!
  20. In today's Newsday.com, the article written by Appollinaire Scherr, "Love of ballet keeps tiny dancer on her toes": The Swan Lake video is from Erica Pereira's performance at Ballet Academy East, while, obviously, the slides in the photo gallery are from rehearsals of Romeo and Juliet. Will be attending on Sunday and can't wait.
  21. And you'll note that apprentice Erica Pereira, who is 18 years old, is dancing the role of Juliet on Sunday, May 6th.
  22. Thank goodness it's finally "official"! As the mother of an old friend of Ms. Erica Pereira's, I'm thrilled to be able to say out loud how happy we are that she's going to be performing the role of Juliet on May 6th! 3 cheers and merde! :huepfen024: Can't wait to see the performance. :grinning-smiley-001:
  23. In today's paper, 2/22/07, To read more: Chief Dance Critic I didn't know John Rockwell had retired in December, though I had noticed his byline missing. Thought you all would be quite excited by this news - but I know see there is already a discussion! Please forgive my excitement and delete away!
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