oberon Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 I was hoping this might be a week without cast changes, but already Liang has been replaced on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Link to comment
charlieloki Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 charlieloki saw jewels tonight imho: emeralds was incredibly boring casting sylve along with rutherford is not a good idea pairing hanna with rutherford is not a good idea casting sylve in anything is almost always a good idea sorry, kowroski fans: ms k can somehow manage to look brittle and flexible at the same time -- diamonds does not show her at her best -- the "modern" pieces are more in tune with the stern personna she projects hard to believe, but reichlen received more applause in rubies than weese, who did not seem to be dancing full out, for some reason so it goes -- i won't be seeing jewels again -- except when bouder is dancing in rubies Edited to remove unrelated quoted material. --C. Link to comment
ciara Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 I don't post often but I had to mention the stand out dancing of Glenn Keenan and Antonio Carmena last night in Emeralds- joyful and lush at the same time-Wonderful! I will post later about Sofiane and Maria Link to comment
petrav Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 The "best in show" in last nights Jewels (in what was otherwise a dog of a program) was Glenn Keenan in Emeralds. A debut performance, according to the program , Gleen was all self-assurance and command. She is a strikingly mature dancer yet refreshingly youthful in spirit. No self-conscience mannerisms in her dancing-nary a one. She made mere running memorable. To see her again, I will come back on Thursday. Link to comment
GeorgeB fan Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 What a week a difference make! A week ago I was disenchanted with the performance of Emeralds, but this week Tuesday night performance hit the right note. Rachel Rutherford seem to finally understood the beauty and nuance of her sole. She truly gave the illusion of discovering her arms for the first time. A truly lovely performance. As for Stephen Hanna, he tone down his gestures and became the noble partner we know him to be. Sofiane Sylve was just magical. Jenifer Ringer danced the secondary role of a noble woman dancing in the privacy of her country chateau; Sylve performed as a knowing, elegant, sophisticated lady of the city of Paris. Her walking duet with the fine Jonathan Stafford as was with Ringer and James Fayette of last week the highlight of the ballet. Alina Dronova and Glenn Keenan performed their solos wonderfully in the pas de trois and Antonio Carmena who replace Seth Orza, danced with clear, sharp enthusiasm. Here's a dancer that should be seriously groomed for the rank of soloist. But the thing that pull the whole ballet together for me was the execellet conducting playing of guest conductor Daniel Wachs. Unlike Maurice Kaplow, Wachs slowed down the playing and allowed the delicate phrasing of the music to shine, giving the dancers the real opportunity to bring out all of the beauty in the ballet. Rubies was perform as terrificly as last week with Benjamin Millepied making a very fine replacement for Nikolaj Hubbe. I think the reason Teresa Reichlen was given a bigger hand then Miranda Weese, who gave a near-perfect performance, is simple. We all love seeing a tall, long legged woman stretch, kick and in essence throw those around in unexpected and unusual ways. And when you have a talented dancer performing choreography that seem to have been created simply for that purpose it's no wonder the audience is going to cheer louder. When everything is seen and done, Diamonds is a pas de deux - a spectacular pas de deux, but one never the less. The whole ballet hinders on the superbness of that moment in the ballet. Last week Wendy Whelan and Nilas Martins didn't capture it. Maria Kowroski and Philip Neal came as close as we may possibly can aspect. Kowroski may not have capture the regal elusiveness that made Suzanne Farrell's performance so legendary, but the glamour and intention was there. Of course we would hope for more - but there is only one Farrell and she is not coming back. Also I've notice that Kowroski doesn't have the strongest turns - she's somewhat too slow. Neal did capture for me the elegant, noble cavalier who is in awe of his ballerina. No question towards the end of the pas de deux he began losing his partnering skills, Kowroski almost lost her balance at one point because of it, but in all Kowroski and Neal was light years better then Whelan and Martins. That said, I think Michael is correct - currently there really isn't a ballerina who could perfectly dances the ballerina role in Diamonds. GOD I WISH I COULD HAVE SEEN KYRA NICHOLS!!! Maybe Sofiane Sylve well have a crack at the role this coming spring. Link to comment
ciara Posted February 16, 2005 Share Posted February 16, 2005 I intended to add to my morning post but GeorgeB fan summed all up beautifully. I would only add that Maria is luminous in her own right, and whether or not she can hold a candle to Suzanne Farrell did not add or subtract from my total enjoyment of the evening's performance. Link to comment
oberon Posted February 17, 2005 Author Share Posted February 17, 2005 {Note: the pencee girl in RUBIES often gets the biggest applause...it's that kind of role.} Wednesday 2/16 I had such a great time tonight, really it was probably the best performance I have seen during the winter season. When the curtain rose on SYMPHONY IN THREE MOVEMENTS, with its diagonal of girls in white, it was like a breath of fresh air. The ten demi solistes were super, especially Pauline Golbin...I wish Chris Wheeldon would fashion a role for her in his next ballet...she has massive star power. It is always great to see Albert Evans and in this pas de deux, he and Wendy are ideal...elegant and sexy. It also looked like Wendy really enjoyed her little fling with Jared Angle. Sylve was very impressive, and Jennifer Tinsley & Tom Gold danced with dynamic bounce. This ballet looked so clean & crisp, with touches of wit...the score, led by Andrea Quinn, is remarkable and Balanchine has used it to perfection. SHAMBARDS tonight was very powerful...it is possibly the darkest ballet I have ever seen. The score has an eerie undercurrent of foreboding, a creepy lyricism which might accompany a nightmare. But it is also very beautiful. Even the normally ebullient Joaquin de Luz and Daniel Ulbricht seem sinister as they emerge from the shadows looking like they are going to beat the crap out of someone. Fairchild strove valiantly to keep up with Bouder (a pointless effort since basically nobody dances like Ashley right now...) The gorgeous Carla Korbes & and the increasingly muscularized and charismatic Ask LaCour offered a very impressive partnership. The centerpiece of the ballet, the pas de deux for Jock & Miranda, was really compelling...the partnering so fluid yet always with that edge. Miranda looks so vulnerable & beautiful and Jock is - in a word - incredible. What will City Ballet be like when he has gone? They were given a wonderful reception, clearly enjoying their partnership...he kissed her hand and she seemed at one point about to swoon into his arms. Jock's frequent partners must be seeing June 19th closing in on them... I've always liked GLASS PIECES...yes, it has an 80's look but that's OK. The alien couples who drift among the crowd in the opening section included a radiant Rebecca Krohn...may we see her more often, in bigger roles? The other-worldy adagio, as danced by Wendy Whelan & Philip Neal, seems suspended in time...while the corps weaves a BAYADERE-like pattern across the rear of the stage, Wendy & Philip look like exotic angels. Their gestures were ideally matched and timed. The boys in the corps were especially impressive in the concluding segment. Link to comment
Treefrog Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 My husband happens to be in NY this week and went to last night's performance. I gave him the link to this thread, and here is his reply: running to the meetings now, but yes yes yes. It was a wonderful evening, and I am pleased (amazed?) to find that many of the thoughts I had about it were in Oberon's post...maybe I'm not a total ballet dummy! Shambards was my least "favorite" piece, but absolutely what he said. The pas de deux with Soto implied incredible violence... Link to comment
oberon Posted February 17, 2005 Author Share Posted February 17, 2005 Treefrog, I wish you could have been there too! I am still trying to figure out the SHAMBARDS pas de deux...is he killing her or trying to save her? The first time I saw it, and heard the score quoting LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR, I thought Wheeldon had lifted the scenario from that opera and that this was Lucia's brother being horrid to her. Now the segment looks oddly romantic to me - tempestuous, yes, but still romantic (great romances are often tempestuous, IMHO...) There is tenderness here, in a bizarre way...I guess the mystery is part of the attraction I feel towards the piece. Last night I was convinced it was Wheeldon's best work for NYCB to date. But DARK...dark, dark, dark... Link to comment
RachelsDream Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 Having seen a performance of Shambards while in New York, I didn't really see any violence. In my mind I thought it was indicative of possibly the Romantic era of ballet not existing anymore - I thought the pas de deux showed the rise and fall of this movement in ballet. I then thought that the de Luz/Ulbright and Fairchild/Bouder section was the rise of neoclassical ballet, and that one day soon it could be a fading movement in dance. But those are just the silly musings of a ballet student and avid NYCB lover! I think this might be one of the most interesting ballets I have ever seen - and I will always remember Soto and Weese in the pas de deux - pure abandon on Weese's part. Link to comment
Annemd Posted February 18, 2005 Share Posted February 18, 2005 Poor Megan for dancing next to Bouder in Shambards. Link to comment
oberon Posted February 18, 2005 Author Share Posted February 18, 2005 Thursday 2/17 EMERALDS again wove its spell...it is very refined and introverted and so tends not to grab the audience. Rutherford and Hanna have ironed out some slight partnering issues since the first performance, he now somewhat more solicitous and she somewhat more yielding. Both danced their solo passages with the right poetic feeling. Sylve is larger and more sophisticated than Ringer, but perhaps less intoxicating. Jon Stafford looked fine partnering her. In the Pas de Trois, Dronova and Keenan danced very well and Antonio Carmena practically stole the entire show with his gallant, sturdy presence and technical assurance...he so clearly displays the joy of dancing. Millepied & Weese brought out the witty, jazzy inflections in RUBIES...they may be a slight mis-match physically but they really looked like they were having fun. And tossing off the bravura passages with a sort of casual brilliance. Reichlin looks great and danced with clarity; the three pencees were not quite as steady as last week but she sure knows how to hold the stage. Maria K & Philip Neal were both at their best in DIAMONDS; Philip seemed nearly back to pre-injury form, lighter and more buoyant, while his partnering gave Maria total freedom...her extension is uncanny yet never seems forced, and she seemed to be taking a more lyrical approach than the last time I saw her in the role....a bit softer and more sustained in the arms and upper body. One unbelievable balance just about killed me. It was an exciting performance which the (very large) audience showered with applause. Saskia Beskow looked so striking among the DIAMOND demi-solistes...and in the corps, Korbes stood out for musicality and a feeling of quiet rapture. All night, the corps seemed especially strong. This season I've been watching Andrew Veyette quite a bit...he is a clean dancer and a good partner and an all-American guy who works hard to fine effect. Another person I've been noticing is Katie Bergstrom...very pretty dancer. Everyone, in fact, was looking good. Link to comment
Bewe921 Posted February 20, 2005 Share Posted February 20, 2005 Poor Megan for dancing next to Bouder in Shambards. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Ashley is an athlete. Megan is the girl next door. Link to comment
hbl Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 Thursday 2/17 I pretty much agree with Oberon's assessment of Thursday night - except for Emeralds. I know many on this board (and elsewhere) think it is one of Balanchines masterpieces. I just find it BOOOOOring (in the Jo Anne Worley voice from Laugh In). The music is boring. I thought sylvie was boring. The only good thing about it is that you are only an intermission away from Rubies. I thought Weese, Millipied and Reichlan were outstanding. I very much enjoyed their performances. Weese was witty and joyful and full of sass. Perfect. Reichlan, with those incredible legs makes the second role just wow. And speaking of legs..... watching Kowroski was almost - not quite - but almost like watching Farrell. I just kept remembering Farrell as I watched her dance, she so reminded me of her while at the same time making the role her own. Disclaimer - I am maddly in love with MK. If I were only 35 years younger ...... and a lot better looking ..... Link to comment
oberon Posted February 21, 2005 Author Share Posted February 21, 2005 Yes, between Kowroski & Reichlin is was a night for great gams at NYCB... Link to comment
Bewe921 Posted February 22, 2005 Share Posted February 22, 2005 Yes, between Kowroski & Reichlin is was a night for great gams at NYCB... <{POST_SNAPBACK}> There is a pair for everyone, small, medium, large and extra big. Link to comment
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