angelica

Thanks, carbro. Looks like I posted to Dancers even before reading your post. We were both on the same page, so to speak. Angelica

I also saw this performance and was thrilled to see Cornejo's debut in this role. I understood his partnering in a different way, however. It seemed to me that in his pas de deux with Reyes it wasn't a lack of confidence or engagement with her that caused him to take a less charismatic stance as it was that he was a gallant partner, showing her off rather than himself (very different from some other brilliant male leads). He saved his bravura and charisma for his solos, when he was a miracle of technique. But even then I found him modest. I never get the feeling he is saying "Look ma, no hands," but rather that he has an innate talent and a respect for ballet that drives him to do the very best that he can--appropriately allowing his ballerina to shine in their pas de deux and dancing naturally full out in his solos. Angelica

Hi dancedance 40. I'm glad you enjoyed Sleeping Beauty. Speaking of Stella....[Note: I posted this in the Dancers section of this site, but it seems appropriate here as well, since you're asking about her.] I'm worried about Stella Abrera. She was supposed to dance the title role in Giselle on the Wednesday matinee in July. Then I heard that she was injured and had been taken out for the rest of this season. I also heard that she had been injured three years ago. Does anyone know the extent of her injuries and whether/when she will dance again? I love her and was so much looking forward to seeing her in Giselle. Thanks, Angelica

Hi Kathy, Thanks for your welcome message. Have you ever studied ballet? Who are your favorite companies/dancers? Isn't this a great site to share love of ballet as well as information? Best wishes, Angelica

Hi Pamela, thanks for responding to my post. I'm envious that you danced professionally. I never had the opportunity to do that. But I'm sorry about your injuries. That must be so discouraging. That's why I'm so worried about Stella Abrera. I've been told that she is injured and out for the entire season and that three years ago she also sustained an injury. It's exciting for me to be taking ballet classes again after 30 years of not dancing. As for enjoying performances, I couldn't agree with you more. That's why I am very very selective about which performances I attend. Everything has to be perfect: the ballet, the cast, the seats. I only go to ballets I believe I'll enjoy and I'm rarely disappointed. I follow the New York dance scene via the NY Times and other outlets, so I generally know what's going on. But since I'm a purist when it comes to classical ballet, I don't go to NYCB anymore. I gave them another chance three years ago when I bought a subscription, but I was disappointed and that was that. I should have been born a Russian with hyperextended knees and a perfect turnout! Angelica

Hi Pamela, I'm new to this site, which is a fantastic resource. I'm looking for a very fine video of Giselle. Maximova is one of my two favorite ballerinas of all time (along with Ananiashvili). I didn't know that Maximova and Vasiliev had made a video of Giselle. Have you any idea how I might go about getting a copy? Angelica

Christian, Thank you so much for putting me onto that thread! I will read it as soon as I can. This group is an amazing resource.

I agree that the Met Opera House is huge and the center sections, even first row, are too far from the stage to see the faces of the dancers. My solution is to get seats in the side Parterre (box seats). Even though you lose a fraction of the stage, you don't lose very much, and you're really up close enough to see the facial expressions and the mime work. I like boxes 3, 4, 5, and 6 best. And relatively speaking, the seats are reasonably priced. You pay at least twice as much for center parterre and you're too far away to enjoy it. One caution, however: if you get side Parterre seats, ask for first row only. IMHO, you can't see well from the second or third row in those boxes. Angelica

Hi Bart, Thanks for replying to my post. It's good to know that there are others like me who are trying to do the impossible and loving every minute of it. This web site is so rich that I could probably lose myself in it for hours without coming up for air--the way I could dance 24/7 if given half a chance. My only constraint, and it's a big one, is time--as I'm sure it is for most of us in this information-saturated world we now live in. I do remember the early years at NYCB--Melissa Hayden, Patricia Wilde, Tanaquil LeClerq and her devastating illness; Maria Tallchief, Andre Eglevsky; and also ABT with Alicia Alonso and Igor Youskevich. But I've traveled a long road from there. Fell in love with Gelsey Kirkland, Carla Fracci, and especially Ekaterina Maximova, and then of course, Nina Ananiashvili. As for "If not now, when?" I've been toying with the idea of getting pointe shoes and seeing whether I can recapture any of that facility. Nothing fancy, just a few releves and echappes would make me so happy. As soon as I can find the time.... Does anyone know of a good DVD of Giselle? I have the one with Carla Fracci but they've adulerated the set into a lakeside circle and at the very moment when the corps de ballet does its brilliant crossing of the stage in arabesque plie they show what they probably think is an "artistic" rendering of swans and water. I also have the one with Svetlana Zakharova, and although she has extraordinary extensions, I don't think her expressiveness measures up to that of Maximova or Fracci. Robert Bolle is handsome and does beautiful beats at the end, but I want the perfect DVD of my favorite ballet. Any ideas anyone? Angelica

Dear cubanmiamiboy, I understand very well; I used to do that too. But at this point in my life I find myself saying more often, that oft-quoted but increasingly meaningful cliche (cliches become such because they are only too true) "If not you, who? If not now, when?" So not only am I dancing again but I'm attending more performances of ABT--seven this season, which for me is a lot because for many years I had neither time nor money and I could say to myself "Well, maybe next year." But now I have the time, the money, and the inner voice that whispers to me and tells me to go: see Cornejo dance both Basilio and Albrecht; see ALL of Ananiashvilis performances (because she is far and away my favorite dancer of all time and, after all, how much longer will she be dancing?); see Stella Abrera make her debut in Giselle--which now she won't, alas, because of an injury. Stella, if you read these posts, please know that I love you and hope that you will be on stage again soon. Angelica

Thanks, Giannina, for your cordial welcome. There are very few people who know anything about ballet where I currently live in Westchester County--even the teachers don't know much about performance history--and it's a treat to find knowledgeable people who love ballet as much as I do. I'm going to stay on this one site at least until the end of ABT's Spring/Summer season in order to see how much time I can devote to it. But after the season I will probably join the other site also, as I'm very interested in "talking" with adults who are studying at a later age, like me. In my "adult" intermediate ballet class, the word "adult" can mean anything from early 20s on up to 70+ (one 71-year-old started at age 40, and she's quite good) The classes are "open," and the teachers tailor the classes to whoever shows up! I'm interested to hear how other adults feel about taking class with 20-year-old semi-professionals. Also it will be nice to connect with others who, like me, love it enough to persist despite time constraints and logistical issues (neither rain nor sleet nor [something] of darkest night....) Best regards, Angelica

Hello, my fellow ballet fans. I've been following ballet for the past 58 years, from the end of the careers of Danilova and Markova up to the present day. I always wanted to be a dancer but my parents did not permit me to pursue it seriously. In the days before Nureyev's famous leap to the West, ballet was considered to be, in some circles, in the words of Boris Lermontov of Red Shoes fame, "a second-rate profession" (in the film he was speaking of ballet composers, not dancers). Certainly that's no longer true, thank goodness! I have followed most of the great companies, at least those who perform(ed) in New York; witnessed the famed partnerships of Fonteyn-Nureyev, Maximova-Vasiliev, Fracci-Bruhn, their legatees, and now, at last, Reyes-Cornejo. Is anyone as excited as I am that Cornejo has been given leading roles in major ballets this season? I saw him dance Don Quixote last Wednesday matinee and he was the perfect partner, never upstaging Reyes in pas de deux, but always presenting her gallantly. When it was his turn to solo, he was a miracle--spinning out turns and jumps with incredible grace and ease, and also with modesty. I can't wait to see him dance Giselle with Reyes, who was a charmer and certainly his equal technically. Back to me for a moment. After a 30-year hiatus of not taking classes, I started again a year ago January in a local studio. I'm now taking four-five classes a week. I will never recapture the height and suspension in jumps that I had 30 years ago, but I'll say this: one of the things I was regretting most about aging was the loss of the agility I had always been able to count on; but now, with ballet classes, I've regained my agility in life activities, e.g., walking, running, sitting down and getting up from the floor--abilities you take for granted until you begin to lose them. One thing I'd love to know is what is happening to Stella Abrera. I saw her last year as the Lilac Fairy and said to my husband "She's going to be a principal next year." I even bought a pair of her autographed toeshoes. Well, I see that this year she hasn't been made a principal, but they were going to give her a Wednesday matinee Giselle and I immediately bought a ticket (over and above my ABT subscription). Then I heard she was injured and was taken off the casting for the rest of the season. I'm so sad because she is a beautiful dancer and I was looking forward to years of seeing her dance. I'm glad to be a new member of Ballet Talk and look forward to reading posts from those who adore ballet as much as I do! Thanks, everyone, Angelica