Alexandra Posted December 26, 2003 Share Posted December 26, 2003 Which dancer in your home town company is its Most Valuable Dancer? Could be your shining star, or the One Who Never Gets Injured, or Mr. Dependable, or Ms. Ethereal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Parish Posted December 26, 2003 Share Posted December 26, 2003 At SFB, it's probably Damian Smith -- he's not only a great dancer imself, he's the cause of great dancing in others. "Great partner" doesn;t begin to indicate how musical he is, how attentive he is.. And he always really GETS the ballet -- his whole way of moving can change, depending on hte tone, style, quality that's called for. And he has a huge emotional range -- he can be really funny (he nearly stole the show as Camacho in Don Q), he can be ferocious, lyrical, cruel, generous, radiant, bitter, classical, modern.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msd Posted December 27, 2003 Share Posted December 27, 2003 For Cincinnati Ballet, especially during Nutcracker Season, it's Valentine Liberatore, who wore many, many hats (and shoes). He served (admirably) as children's rehearsal coach, is the most wonderful Herr Drosselmeier or a scary-silly mouse king. He toured w/the Company when they took Nut to Anchorage and to Detroit, MI, serving as kid's director in these cities (where he had to take it on faith that their home studio was preparing them for their roles). As a character dancer, his pantomime skills are surpurb, and his enthusiasm for the children and their part in Nut was genuine and gratifying. Looking forward to see him in Princess and the Pea...as a not-so-lovely lady! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmattimore Posted December 27, 2003 Share Posted December 27, 2003 NYCB:Janie Taylor. Lots of charm and just a great dancer. Happy 2004 to all. jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traviata Posted December 28, 2003 Share Posted December 28, 2003 Paris big ballet star is, in most opinions, Marie-Agnès Gillot. She's 28 years old and she still doesn't have the title of "etoile". Nobody can understand it. Just to give an example, during the traditional Paris Opera Ballet parade (known as "defile"), she is the feminine artist who is the most applauded, even more than etoiles. The male dancer the most applauded is usually Nicolas le Riche, who is a great ballet star, currently at his top. But I must confess, my favorites are Agnes Letestu and Jose Martinez . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helene Posted December 29, 2003 Share Posted December 29, 2003 In Seattle, I would say Nicholas Ade (Pacific Northwest Ballet). He invests all of his roles, mostly corps roles, with energy and commitment, and he's even drawn my eye away from Paul Gibson I was privileged to see him perform the lead in Dumas' Scripted in the Body, a speaking/dancing role, this past March. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalMia Posted December 29, 2003 Share Posted December 29, 2003 Iliana Lopez and her husband Franklin Gamero, are Miami City Ballet's MVPs by a landslide. They have been with the company since a year after it's birth, and have been the glue that holds it all together. I don't know what will happen when they retire next season . Their last performance of Sugarplum and Cavalier was Sunday afternoon. She broke into tears during bows, and so did everyone else, It was absolutely touching, and beautiful. However, Iliana taking over as Ballet Mistress will be a wonderful new direction for her and the company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Treefrog Posted December 29, 2003 Share Posted December 29, 2003 (edited) For Joffrey, I'd still have to say Maia Wilkins (I said this last year, too). Incredible presence and presentation. On the male side, Willy Shives (again). (Having been away over the weekend, I didn't see that Sid Smith in the Chicago Tribune has the same opinion -- about Shives, anyway.) Edited December 29, 2003 by Treefrog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbro Posted December 29, 2003 Share Posted December 29, 2003 I'm afraid that I also will nominate my nominee from '02: Marcelo Gomes. Versatile, always "there", always giving -- to his partner, his choreographer, his audience, always terrific. And for the women, Wendy Whelan, for pretty much the same reasons. I hope Wendy recovers soon enough to qualify for a "three-peat." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Fashioned Posted December 31, 2003 Share Posted December 31, 2003 It's a tie between Mireille Hassenboehler and Sara Webb for Houston Ballet. I have yet to see something I don't enjoy seeing Hassenboehler in (even made "Garden of Mirth" somewhat watchable), and Webb becomes more and more charming each time I see her perform. Webb continues to grow into her roles, and I can't wait to see her in La Fille. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nysusan Posted December 31, 2003 Share Posted December 31, 2003 I have to second Carbro’s nomination of Marcelo Gomes - he seemed to partner almost all of ABT’s ballerina’s this past year and he made all of them better with his solid presence (especially Herrera). My list would also include Amanka McKerrow for hanging in there! She dances so rarely these days, I remember an exquisite “Leaves are Fading” pas de deux with John Gardner at the Met, and her Hagar was wonderful. I only saw one performance of NYCB this year (ok, in the last 10 years!!), but what I saw was Swan Lake with Whelan and Woetzel. Didn’t care for the production, but I thought Whelan’s performance was beautiful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
underdog Posted January 2, 2004 Share Posted January 2, 2004 Wishing Wendy Whelan a full recovery. Those boots don't work. You have to keep the weight off with crutches until its fully healed. If your toe turns in its very hard to correct. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Happy New Year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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