oberon Posted June 3, 2004 Share Posted June 3, 2004 Wednesday 6/2: INTERPLAY was repeated; Lindy Mandradjieff stood out on a fine cast. Joaquin de Luz gave a dazzling TARANTELLA. Jenifer Ringer brought a glamourous air to I'M OLD FASHIONED. Peter's new ballets were well-contrasted. CHICHESTER PSALMS is quite striking visually, with the chorus on semi-circular risers at the back of the stage. All the dancers are in floor-length Grecian tunics, the boys in black and the girls in white. A large corps (24 girls, 12 boys) is employed; there is a ritualistic atmosphere; Korbes & Ramasar (replacing Seth) seem to be the high priestess & high priest of this order...they have some sustained duets in which Korbes displays her beautiful line. Ramasar is the epitome of tall, dark & handsome. The ballet is not filled with steps, but it did draw me in and I certainly would not mind seeing it again. Excellent boy soprano, Jason Goldberg. EROS PIANO is nicely lit. Hubbe is sexy, lyrical, and deploys his partnering skills to good effect...the two women wear satiny body-tights in shades of aqua. Ansanelli danced with passion and clarity; as always she is willing to try (and always brings off) difficult combinations, or risky bits in pas de deux. Out of the corps stepped Ashley Laracey to replace Janie Taylor...much as I lamented the absence of Taylor I must say that Laracey was something of a revelation...beautiful body, interesting face, the presence of an established ballerina, excellent stretch and turns, and an intangible quality that draws you to watch her. Darci and her daughter were there, sitting with Yvonne Borree. The audience reaction all night was very subdued...I was surprised that Korbes did not stir up a bigger reaction as there has been so much clamouring to have her promoted and she danced so beautifully in 3 leading roles. Link to comment
oberon Posted June 4, 2004 Author Share Posted June 4, 2004 Thursday 6/3 - Am I the only person going this week? Tonight I was sorry to find CALCIUM LIGHT NIGHT had been dropped, apparently due to Liang's injury; he had already been replaced in GLASS PIECES. TARANTELLA was substituted, de Luz again electrifying but seeing Fairchild for the 3rd time in this ballet, I found her one dimensional. She also took a bad spill. In GLASS PIECES, which I always enjoy, Wendy & Sebastian Marcovici performed their other-worldly pas de deux beautifully...Sebastian's upper body has become quite muscularized and his long, expressive arms are hypnotic. Wendy's enigmatic expession suggests mysteries behind the steps. I had not seen IVESIANA before and I liked it, though the IN THE INN segment seemed to bear no relationship to the rest of the ballet...Sylve and Albert Evans danced this portion brilliantly, though it looks like an out-take from WHO CARES? Jennifer Tinsley gave an unrestrained, committed performance against the darkly implacable Fayette. It was wonderful to see Janie Taylor onstage again, even if she does no actual dancing in UNANSWERED QUESTION. Oddly, the programme listed her "carriers" as: "James Fayette, Russell Kaiser, Sean Savoye and Gordon Stevens"...Kaiser is - I believe - Margaret Tracey's husband; Savoye left the company about 5 years ago, and I never heard of Gordon Stevens. In reality, the roles were taken by Hanna, Orza, Seth & Angle. The highlight of the opening corps segment was Carla Korbes's incredible hair. Link to comment
Dale Posted June 4, 2004 Share Posted June 4, 2004 Oberon, the Inn section had more relation to the sections that were dropped, which featured looks at Americana, such as "In Hallowe'en" with a fire and brimstone preacher played by D'Amboise. The other dropped section was "Over the Pavements" with Diana Adams, Herbert Bliss and four men. When it was revived in 1961, those two sections were dropped. Balanchine tried two other pieces in Hallowe'en's place, but they didn't stick. (For more, see the Balanchine catalogue or Repertory in Review). Link to comment
Leigh Witchel Posted June 4, 2004 Share Posted June 4, 2004 Gordon Stevens was in the company in the mid-late 80s - I guess through the early 90s. It sounds like that cast list was not updated from the last time the ballet was in repertory - which shows how long it's been gone. Link to comment
Dale Posted June 4, 2004 Share Posted June 4, 2004 I'm pretty sure it was in rep. since Stevens left the company. It was one of Taylor's early roles and Ringer and Kathleen Tracey used to do the first movement. And I've seen Kowroski and Askegard in the second movement. I didn't even look in my program, what a strange mistake. Or maybe it was some strange inside joke. Link to comment
AmandaNYC Posted June 4, 2004 Share Posted June 4, 2004 They had the correct men listed last week for Ivesiana... -amanda Link to comment
oberon Posted June 4, 2004 Author Share Posted June 4, 2004 Dale, thanks for the note about the missing segments of IVESIANA... When I saw the men listed as "carriers" in UNANSWERED QUESTION I assumed it was going to be some sort of alumni one-time-only special event, but as soon as they entered it was obvious the programme was a misprint. Odd, though... Link to comment
Farrell Fan Posted June 4, 2004 Share Posted June 4, 2004 It's very odd that the men were listed as "carriers." At the performance of June 1, they were accorded no such designation, but just listed by name: Jared Angle, Stephen Hanna, Seth Orza, Henry Seth. The misidentification must have been some kind of joke, or maybe an audience test for night vision. I'm impressed anyone was able to recognize those guys. The program might have listed Conrad Ludlow, Jacques d'Amboise, Edward Villella, and Peter Martins and I wouldn't have known the difference. Link to comment
oberon Posted June 4, 2004 Author Share Posted June 4, 2004 The program didn't list them as "carriers"; we have just been calling them that rather than "the four men who carry the ballerina around during THE UNANSWERED QUESTION"... Link to comment
jimmattimore Posted June 5, 2004 Share Posted June 5, 2004 Yes, Oberon, Dale and I were there. I enjoyed the three ballets, but my wife was home sick, and I do not much like "West Side," although I liked the play and the movie. Since I love her, I was glad to see Janie. And I am in concert with the Tessy fans. Have you much more knowledgable than I balletomanes seen "The Company' and "Center Stage"? I would love yor comments. My wife , who is better, and I will see "Raymonda" with Michelle Wiles at the 06/05/ 04 matiness. I keep learning from you experts, and I love it. Link to comment
Recommended Posts