NYCB to present Romeo and Juliet in 2007

[Farrell Fan]

rg's account is the way I understood it. The "elsewhere" I referred to in my post was the Kirov.

Unfortunately, it did not become a done deal.

[volcanohunter]

if mem. serves and sources were reliable, it seems that around '04 when farrell was asked about staging DON Q for nycb she understood that the kirov ballet was interested in staging the work and at that time remained committed to that request from st. petersburg. what happened then, and how much was expressed 'interest' and how much a more formal deal i cannot say.

what one can say is that the kirov 'plan' did not come to pass and that farrell decided to do the staging herself in concert w/ nat'l ballet of canada.

the rest is recent history.

Sorry to keep discussing this when the intended topic is Romeo & Juliet, but I'm a bit confused. Why not stage Don Q for the NYCB, Mariinsky, NBoC and any number of other interested companies?

[Klavier]

Unlike some, I don't object to the music. There is a particularly wonderful moment in the balcony scene in which Prokofiev manages to convey the idea that "the earth moved" more convincingly than in any other piece of music I've ever heard.

I have grave doubts about the ability of most NYCB dancers to put this sort of ballet across dramatically. It's not that I think that American dancers are inherently incapable of acting, it's just that they often don't know how... When watching American dancers perform narrative ballets, particularly of the fairy-tale variety, I often get the feeling that they're vaguely embarrassed to be portraying a fairy queen, pirate or bluebird...

I have even greater doubts about Martins' ability to choreograph a piece like this...

I share some of your feelings, but Romeo and Juliet is a universally beloved love story, having nothing to do with fairy queens, pirates, or bluebirds. It's a story that's very much in Americans' blood, being often taught in high schools and familiar to many Americans if only through West Side Story. I think it's fair to say that few other Shakespearean plots are as well-known in this country. And the Romeo I saw at ABT last season was danced, with no signs of vague embarrassment, by the very American David Hallberg.

Certainly too NYCB has experience with story ballets like MND which also has its fairy king and queen, and it has done this work very well on the three occasions I've seen it there; not to mention George Balanchine's The Nutcracker , which is NYCB's bread and butter and as much a fairy tale as you can imagine. As for Romeo, I think NYCB could supply appropriate dancers for the character roles - like Mercutio, Tybalt, Benvolio - and could have some very convincing Juliets in dancers like Jenifer Ringer, Janie Taylor, Sterling Hyltin, or (based on what I've heard) Sara Mearns. I think they'd have more problems casting a dashing, young, romantic Romeo. Who could do it? maybe one of the Angle brothers?

But I certainly agree with your "greater doubts" about Martins. It's not only that the Swan Lake was so bad, with those dreary sets and the overpreponderance of the Jester. (ABT's Swan Lake has its unconvincing moments, but its first act is a triumph next to NYCB's.) But what bothers me more is the way Martins seems always to be abusing his power by taking on such large choreographic responsibilities. Had he invited a guest choreographer or used/adapted an established version, I don't think there would be so many negative feelings here. Just my $.02.

I also love the Prokofiev music.

[volcanohunter]

And the Romeo I saw at ABT last season was danced, with no signs of vague embarrassment, by the very American David Hallberg.

I certainly never meant to suggest that all American dancers are necessarily poor actors. Obviously ABT does have American principals, as do companies abroad, but for some reason or other they are a minority in companies that are heavy on narrative ballets. I mean, there must be a reason why 72% of ABT's principals, 78% of San Francisco Ballet's principals and 82% of Boston Ballet's principal are not American. (I'll be the first to state that this sample is not scientific.)

Perhaps it's because Americans are used to being self-effacing. One thing I do remember about that NYCB broadcast of Swan Lake was part of the conversation between Beverly Sills and Darci Kistler where Sills asked about a hypothetical scenario in which Kistler found herself at odds with a choreographer. Without hesitation Kistler replied that she would defer to the choreographer. Certainly this is not always the case. In a South Bank Show program about Sylvie Guillem it was implied politely by others and more bluntly by herself that she never hit it off with Kenneth MacMillan because she was not willing to defer to him in this way, at least not until he gave her a convincing reason. Perhaps this difference in approach is why American dancers sometimes strike me as having less dramatic teeth. Or maybe Americans are simply less demonstrative by nature.

I have definitely seen dancers looking embarrassed in certain works. I've never seen an American look comfortable doing Spectre de la Rose, for example, whereas dancers like Manuel Legris have no inhibitions about that ballet's, um, flowery mannerisms. I've also seen many Sugar Plum Fairies that were less than regal, Kitris that were less than fiery and Giselles who weren't completely heartbreaking.

The acting in The Nutcracker is minimal at best, particularly for the adults, so I wouldn't count on that providing good training for a tragedy like Romeo and Juliet. Sure, all Americans are familiar with Romeo and Juliet. But can we honestly say that American actors put Shakespeare's play across as convincingly as their English colleagues? This sort of thing requires specialized training and practice. I don't see how narrative ballet is any different.

I'm sorry to sound like a self-hating American!

[Helene]

What I notice out West is that among the younger dancers at PNB, the CPYB-trained dancers like Carrie Imler, Noelani Pantastico, and Kara Zimmerman have the uniformly best sense of drama on stage. While Imler and Pantastico have danced the leads in full-length narrative ballets like Swan Lake, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, and The Sleeping Beauty -- and Imler a mean Le Corsaire pas de trois -- Zimmerman has danced small solos. When she dances a variation in The Sleeping Beauty, for example, we see more than a series of steps beautifully phrased: we also see where she fits into the stage picture's world. Mara Vinson did the same in Aurora's first act variation, and she was trained at the Kirov Academy. There aren't enough PNB dancers who trained there for me to know if this is common to students from KA. But while there are always going to be natural actors and actresses among students trained anywhere, I suspect there is institutional training in which this is emphasized.

[Klavier]

Perhaps it's because Americans are used to being self-effacing. ... Or maybe Americans are simply less demonstrative by nature.

And I thought we were all supposed to be loud and obnoxious!

[bart]

What I notice out West is that among the younger dancers at PNB, the CPYB-trained dancers like Carrie Imler, Noelani Pantastico, and Kara Zimmerman have the uniformly best sense of drama on stage.

Callie Manning, a CYPB-ite at Miami, also has the quality. She can even "give" layers of drama and characterization to roles that can go either way, like her Mercedes in yesterday afternoon's Don Q.

As to generalizations about "national types", I suspect that Americans are, and have always been, much more socially/culturally conventional than we like to believe. So many of our young people seem to behave naturally and comfortably only in a very narrow range of peer-approved group activities.

That's what I love about young American ballet students: they are actually rebels, quite counter-cultural, despite the conventions and constraints of the art they choose to pursue.

[volcanohunter]

And I thought we were all supposed to be loud and obnoxious!

A single day spent driving through the streets of Rome would convince most Americans that they are actually among the most hung-up people on earth

[dirac]

One thing I do remember about that NYCB broadcast of Swan Lake was part of the conversation between Beverly Sills and Darci Kistler where Sills asked about a hypothetical scenario in which Kistler found herself at odds with a choreographer. Without hesitation Kistler replied that she would defer to the choreographer.

I remember that interview well. The expression on Sills' face was priceless; that was obviously not her line of thought!

[carbro]

So much for the 2006 discussion on the R&J! Pre-premiere opinions continue here.

And with that, this thread is closed.