angelica

Best: In contrast to Drew's comment above about Jared Matthews, my best of 2013 was his stellar performance in the role of Lensky in ABT's Onegin this past spring. He was totally believable as the cuckolded boyfriend and heart-rending in his adagio before the duel. I have been following him for several years, finding that he gets better and better (i would support the concept of mitigating circumstances in the Sylvia Act III pas de deux), and so was very pleased to read in today's New York Times that Alastair Macaulay praised his first performance in Nutcracker. Worst: Definitely The Tempest, as many BAs have already said.

I attended the opening of Nutcracker last night at BAM, with Veronika Part and Marcelo Gomes dancing the leading roles. I thought Ms. Part, who seems to get thinner and lovelier with every passing season, was extraordinary--technically secure, radiant, and obviously confident being partnered by the incomparable Mr. Gomes, who lifted her gracefully and effortlessly. A partnership I would love to see more of. The girl who played the young Clara, Adelaide Clauss, was exceptional in her acting, as was Gregor Gillen as Fritz. As always, I can do without those silly Nutcracker Sisters and their ludicrous hats. Worst of all for me is sitting through the battle between the mice and the soldiers, which seems to go on interminably, but I find that true in all productions, not just at ABT. Perhaps the battle is exciting for the children in the audience and that is its raison d'etre. I've been watching Calvin Royal III for a couple of seasons now, and I think he's singularly talented and hope to see him rise in the company's ranks. Again, I cannot stress enough the luminescence of Ms. Part's dancing, whether in a perfectly classical 19th-century ballet or the more complex 21st-century pas de deux choreography of Alexei Ratmansky.

NYCB is the "classic" and for a first Nutcracker that would be my choice. But for a beautiful variant, I would go to see ABT's Nutcracker, especially with the Veronika Part/Marcelo Gomes cast, which is a partnership made in heaven if it would only grow and endure.

I went last evening and also spent an hour in rapt fascination watching Ferri, her toes, her bare legs showing through the slits in her nightgown, her extraordinary ability to convey emotion while standing in absolute stillness. I found Cornejo a less credible actor, but then I would pay to see him walk down the street. There is a moment when he is rolling on the floor downstage really fast, and I was sure he was going to roll right off the stage into my arms in Row A (I suggest seats further back for a more panoramic view), but he came to a dead stop with only a coattail draping off the edge. They are both extraordinary artists, performing in an intense "theater piece," neither a ballet nor a play, and I'm very glad to have seen it, but I can't recommend it unless you're someone who takes pleasure in seeing the details of dancers performing out of their natural milieu, not to mention their gorgeous bodies in underwear.

Megan LeCrone was promoted from corps to soloist in February of this year. Was this series filmed before then? I believe after, because she talks about becoming a soloist and getting paranoid because as a soloist, she dances less and she's always worried. Megan LeCrone was promoted from corps to soloist in February of this year. Was this series filmed before then? I believe after, because she talks about becoming a soloist and getting paranoid because as a soloist, she dances less and she's always worried. Thanks, canbelto, I'll have to go back to those clips. I guess she's worried that she won't become a principal.

Megan LeCrone was promoted from corps to soloist in February of this year. Was this series filmed before then?

It was in New York, Swanilda8, at the old Met. I will never forget it. I grew up going to NYCB in the balcony at City Center, but for this performance my mother bought us seats in what is now called side parterre, and it was exciting to be so close to the stage, even though it was at the side. And it was a school night!

I saw my first Giselle with Struchkova and (?) perhaps Zhdanov, in 1959. I think that most Americans were not well acquainted with Giselle at the time because an audible gasp went through the audience when the wilis chugged across the stage, it was so exquisite.

And then there is Veronika Part. And Stella Abrera. I hope they both dance prominently in the film.

Thank you, abatt, but does that landing make the entire variation "complete hash"? My ballet teacher says that things go wrong all the time in ballet, and that dancers have to learn to "save" those moments. If we excoriate dancers for every fall, misstep, or poor landing, then we're in danger of creating an atmosphere of unforgiving criticism. Of course we want perfection, but perfection in ballet is elusive. I think we would do better to "savor" the good moments.

He did seem to enjoy dancing with semionova and did quite well with her. I thought she was lovely. I assumed he, however was just happy not to be doing his solo, given the complete hash he made of it. It was perhaps the worst thing I've ever seen an ABT performer do, on any level. Oh, my, I picked up the stumble in the beginning, but then I thought he recovered in both his dancing and his composure. I wish we had instant replay because I'm not sure what you found so awful.

I went to the Sunday matinee and also found Part's performance in Sylphides exquisite. The surprise for me was the ease with which Semionova and Stearns seemed to dance together, as if they were truly in tune with each other and enjoyed dancing together. They could make a nice partnership in the future, perhaps bringing out the best in each other and rising to the high expectations we have of both of them. Stearns has the most perfectly proportioned body for classical ballet, as well as a gorgeous line and a handsome face. I'm sorry I missed him in Month in the Country, given Drew's comments above.

I have been advocating for Stella Abrera's promotion to principal for lo these many years. She has come back from a career-interrupting injury stronger than ever, and truly deserves to dance the leads in the great classical ballets. I hope someone at ABT is listening to the critics, because no one there is listening to me.

I saw last night's program also. I thought that T&V was fiendishly difficult and was amazed that any dancer could get through it (and I realize that only a rare few can and do). Semionova could do the steps, but I felt her performance was shallow. I don't even know how to define that, except to say that she danced without expression, with a pasted smile on her face, without individuality. I was impressed with Cory. He gets better all the time. I prefer, however, to see him with his beautiful shock of curly hair, not the cut and gelled style he wore last night, which did make sense given the military-like costume, but still. I would have walked out before the end of The Tempest, but for the fact that it is discourteous to everyone and the person I was with was enjoying it. The costumes were as bad as they get. Ariel looked ridiculous in the while body suit with the red-orange coxcomb, or whatever you call it. There was hardly any dancing, although Sarah Lane was exquisite in the small amount of dancing she did. Reading the story in the program notes in advance, I realized that there was no way I could remember the story and sure enough, I had no idea what was going on onstage half the time. A total waste of time, talent, and financial resources.

Are you talking about when she is standing in fifth on pointe with her back turned slightly to the audience, arms raised in front of her face to the sky and she arches back? Whenever she does that, I swoon! No, onxmyxtoes, the one I'm thinking of wasn't done as part of the rehearsal itself. She took herself off to front stage right and tilted her head so that her cheek rested on the top of her right hand, with her left hand raised just below the right. I don't even remember whether she was in an arabesque or down on one knee. But any pose Veronika takes, including the one you describe above, will make me swoon.

At the recent Guggenheim Works and Process program on ABT's fall season, one focus was on the discovery of the Benjamin Britten score for Les Sylphides. If I remember correctly, they said that David LaMarche had hand-copied all the instrumental parts for the musicians. What a labor of love! I wondered at the time whether all that effort was worth it. I saw the dress rehearsal yesterday, and my conclusion is a resounding "Yes!" I thought the orchestration was rich and gorgeous and that the orchestra sounded wonderful in the work. Perhaps playing in the smaller Koch Theater also makes a difference in the resonance of the sound, because the ABT orchestra isn't as large as the Met Opera Orchestra and perhaps the Met is too large a venue for the ABT orchestra to achieve its best sound. In the intervening years, I'd forgotten how beautiful a ballet Les Sylphides is. However, I thought the principals in in the first cast left a lot to be desired and look forward to seeing the Veronika cast on November 10th. Ms. Part at one point struck a romantic pose that was iconic. I tried to imitate it at home, but without any success.

Even Makarova spoke of dancing at Indiana University (okay, one time). . Angelica, where did you hear Makarova talk about dancing at Indiana University? Because I was in that performance with her, and if she spoke about it somewhere, I'd love to hear it! In fact I just happened to post about it on another thread here recently. It was in the early 1970s, and she and Ivan Nagy were guest artists with the Indian University student dance company in Giselle (I danced one of Giselle's Friends). I believe that the faculty member who directed that production was Kenneth Melville, formerly Royal Ballet. It was quite an experience! Posted Yesterday, 03:45 PM Stage Right, I'm pretty sure it was on this board and believe it was in one of the interviews on the video that Janneke recently posted in the Dancers thread under Makarova. Thank you Janneke, the dancing was breathtaking! I didn't listen to all the interviews, but I think that in one of them she mentioned performing at IU in 1972. I have copied the video here, but if it doesn't play, then please go back to Janneke's original post. The funny thing is that I just missed her. We moved to Bloomington in 1973 and stayed until 1980. Moderators, I hope it's okay that I copied the video. If not, please delete it and Stage Right can go to the original post. Okay, there's my answer. You need to go back to the original post.

Even Makarova spoke of dancing at Indiana University (okay, one time). . Angelica, where did you hear Makarova talk about dancing at Indiana University? Because I was in that performance with her, and if she spoke about it somewhere, I'd love to hear it! In fact I just happened to post about it on another thread here recently. It was in the early 1970s, and she and Ivan Nagy were guest artists with the Indian University student dance company in Giselle (I danced one of Giselle's Friends). I believe that the faculty member who directed that production was Kenneth Melville, formerly Royal Ballet. It was quite an experience! Posted Yesterday, 03:45 PM Stage Right, I'm pretty sure it was on this board and believe it was in one of the interviews on the video that Janneke recently posted in the Dancers thread under Makarova. Thank you Janneke, the dancing was breathtaking! I didn't listen to all the interviews, but I think that in one of them she mentioned performing at IU in 1972. I have copied the video here, but if it doesn't play, then please go back to Janneke's original post. The funny thing is that I just missed her. We moved to Bloomington in 1973 and stayed until 1980. Moderators, I hope it's okay that I copied the video. If not, please delete it and Stage Right can go to the original post.

Yes, what you say about the recreational popularization of ballet is absolutely true, Jayne, but the students of today are the audiences of today and tomorrow. Moreover, colleges and universities with ballet departments bring professional dancers to their campuses for performances. Even Makarova spoke of dancing at Indiana University (okay, one time). When audiences need dancers as much as dancers need audiences, we will have reached an ideal balance. We are still educating the audiences. And we do not yet have the state-aupported academies to train our dancers. It costs a small fortune for a dancer to get proper training--at least as much as an ivy league college education.

I'd like to weigh in on the subject of the future of classical ballet. When I was in college (in the 19XX's) there were very few schools of higher education teaching ballet. My school taught modern dance as part of the physical education program, but there was no offering of modern dance classes for full credit, and a complete disregard of ballet as unworthy of college students. My own take on that is that modern dance was acceptable at the college level because of Martha Graham's use of the Greek myths as the basis of many modern ballets, and Greek myths were definitely "worthy." Whereas ballets were based on fairy tales rather than fine literature. Certainly no one in this country was dancing Onegin then. In addition, there was a misinterpretation of Balanchine's exhortation "don't think, dear, just dance." If ballet was considered at all outside of the inner circle, it was considered to be rote learning for which you didn't need much of a brain. All this changed after Nureyev defected in 1962 and suddenly dancers became celebrities. Parents began to encourage their children to study ballet. Fast forward to 2013 and there are a gazillion colleges and universities with ballet departments. Dance Magazine has an annual issue devoted entirely to higher education offerings in dance, of which many, if not most, are ballet. Even Harvard has a ballet company, although it is student-run and not offered for credit (just wait a few years). All this is by way of saying that many more young people are studying ballet and taking it with them when they go off to college and then on into their adult life. In addition, more and more adults are studying ballet, either for the first time, or returning to a childhood pleasure. Several schools in my area have ballet classes for adults which are very well attended. Of course I would like to see the audience for ballet grow. I like ABT's policy of having special pricing for people 30 and under and perhaps other companies have such policies too. I think if the country can get the economy rolling again, more people would be able to afford to attend performances. As for the new technology with which everyone is obsessed, dancers themselves have Facebook pages and Twitter feeds, which are carefully followed. What I would really like to see is that ballet be venerated here as it is in Russia. Although I don't see that happening, I do think ballet has at least two legs to stand on for the foreseeable future.

I think, onxmyxtoes, that you can safely sell your ticket.

The Guggenheim Works and Process programs usually run from 7:30 - 9:00 New York time. However, the time has been known to vary in the past (a little more, a little less), but not greatly. Thanks Angelica. Do you or anyone know if tonight's program will be identical to last night's? The programs are usually the same, but last night's had some spontaneous decisions about where to stop certain tapes that were being shown (one unexpectedly stopped by itself at an opportune moment), so it's possible that tonight's program will be a bit more finessed. Also, since the moderator and the interviewees are speaking extempore, the questions and responses might be couched differently. But it will basically be the same, especially the excerpts danced and the dancers. If anyone believes otherwise, please speak up for onxmyxtoes!

The Guggenheim Works and Process programs usually run from 7:30 - 9:00 New York time. However, the time has been known to vary in the past (a little more, a little less), but not greatly.

I just found the answer to the first question on the web site. There are several different performance extras, including Q&As with the production people and artistic staff. Does anyone know about the seating? I love to sit up close, but does anyone know whether that's a bad idea in that theater? This theater at the Signature Theater Complex has excellent seating. Every seat is fine, except for a few on the very sides. I would not want to sit up too close here. For plays the front row is right up at the stage. Don't know if they will reconfigure in any way. Probably not. Go to the web site and look at the seating chart. The theater is the Diamond Theater. I have a seat in row "G" for my viewing, which gives one a bit of perspective, especially for movement of any kind. I've sat in almost all the areas of this theater and there really isn't a bad seat anywhere. Many thanks, mimsyb. That's exactly what I needed to know!

I just found the answer to the first question on the web site. There are several different performance extras, including Q&As with the production people and artistic staff. Does anyone know about the seating? I love to sit up close, but does anyone know whether that's a bad idea in that theater?