Lesley Rausch

[SandyMcKean]

From time to time, we all find a young dancer who somehow "grabs" us. For me that dancer is Lesley Rausch. She first stunned me in Paul Gibson's "The Piano Dance" a couple of years ago. I haven't been able to keep my eyes off her since.

Does anyone know the status of her back injury? Will she be able to dance in any of the remaining All Premiere program at all? I went last Friday, and will go again this week, but I very much hope to see Lesley this time in "Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven" (she was scheduled to dance last Fricay, but was not able to).

[sandik]

If I understand the rules of the board correctly, we can only discuss information that is in the public domain. At the Q&A after last Friday's performance, Peter Boal mentioned that she had been dealing with a back injury, and had pushed to come back a bit too quickly. He didn't mention any specifics about the injury, or about her time frame.

Jordan Pacitti is also out, with a 5th metatarsal break in one of his feet. Boal mentioned that it's a 6-8 week recovery time until he's back in the studio, and that Pacitti was familiar with the process since he'd broken the same bone in the other foot previously. Everyone in the audience winced.

[Helene]

From time to time, we all find a young dancer who somehow "grabs" us. For me that dancer is Lesley Rausch. She first stunned me in Paul Gibson's "The Piano Dance" a couple of years ago. I haven't been able to keep my eyes off her since.

Same here. And she's equally impressive in the classical (as opposed to neo-classical) repertoire, with beautiful epaulement.

I hope she and Pacitti, another extremely gifted dancer, heal soon.

[SandyMcKean]

At the Q&A after last Friday's performance, Peter Boal mentioned that she had been dealing with a back injury, and had pushed to come back a bit too quickly. He didn't mention any specifics about the injury, or about her time frame.

I happened to be there that nite too and heard him say that also (in fact, it was I who asked him that question )

Perhaps someone at PNB who reads this board can give me an update on Lesley.

(Perhaps I'll just go to the 11/12 matinee.....that's the last possible day she is scheduled for -- besides Carrie Imler is dancing in that performance.)

[Helene]

I saw two performances of The Nutcracker this year. I'd just started a new position and couldn't write them up at the time, and apart from the stellar performances of Colby Lewis as young Clara, superbly danced and acted (both times), a sensuous Peacock by Carla Körbes that could have made gay men and straight women switch to the other team, and a Dr. Stahlbaum by Anton Pankevitch that could have been a training video for all operatic Eugene Onegins, the adult Clara of Lesley Rausch was the standout among the casts of both.

There are three things I'd like to mention about her performance: in arabesque her expansiveness is in all planes. In the scene that opens Act II, where Clara and the Prince ride in a boat throughout the overture, and where the Principals can easily run out of mime, her pacing was not only patient, she did not once succumb to damsel in distress: if there was a storm, she'd weather it with her Prince.

The third was the most impressive, which is her beautiful epaulement. The high moment was during one of the turning overhead lifts, where her arms and shoulders followed the swirl of the lift. It was stupendous.

[sandik]

I'm very glad to hear good things of Rausch -- I missed seeing her perform in the Dove for the mixed rep, and didn't see her in Nutcracker, so am hoping she's prominently placed in Swan Lake.