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SPAC 1st week of casting + reviews

Dale

By Dale
in New York City Ballet

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Colleen Boresta

Colleen Boresta

Posted
Posted

I was just looking at the casting for SPAC (not that I'm going. I was just interested to see who would be dancing.) I just can't believe that Darci Kistler is going to dance the Strip-Tease girl in "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue". When I saw Darci in the Rosenkavalier section of Vienna Waltzes at the end of May, she could barely move. How is she going to get her legs up in the air for the high kicks required in this part? I just saw Maria Korowski dance the part in "Slaughter" at the Sunday matinee, and she was magnificent. (So was Philip Neal by the way. He was a wonderful partner as always, and his tap dancing was spot on.) Alistair MacAuley gushed over Korowski's performance as the Strip-Tease girl, and it's one of the few times I agree with him. I walked out of the David Koch Theater on Sunday on a high I'm still on. I just don't know why Darci would want to subject herself to being compared negatively to Korowksi. As I said when I posted about her performance in Vienna Waltzes, I'm afraid few people will rembember what a great dancer Darci once was. They'll only be able to think about her unfortunate performances of her last few years of dancing.

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kfw

kfw

Posted
Posted
I thought about that (regarding Kistler). I think, since she's going to retire next Spring season, this might be something of a farewell to Saratoga for her.

There's nothing like making'em happy to see you go! What a sad spectacle she's making of herself.

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balanchinette

balanchinette

Posted
Posted
I was just looking at the casting for SPAC (not that I'm going. I was just interested to see who would be dancing.) I just can't believe that Darci Kistler is going to dance the Strip-Tease girl in "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue". When I saw Darci in the Rosenkavalier section of Vienna Waltzes at the end of May, she could barely move. How is she going to get her legs up in the air for the high kicks required in this part?

So true. I thought the same thing. I saw Midsummer Night's Dream on Tuesday, with Kistler as Titania, and she barely sketched out the steps, stumbled out of turns at least twice, and at one point she appeared to momentarily forget what came next. No idea why she would want to have people remember her this way.

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audreydoll

audreydoll

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Posted

Darci Kistler did indeed dance the role of the striptease girl last night and she was terrific. I'm sure others with an educated eye for dance might have found fault with her performance but the audience was with her from start to finish and she certainly left SPAC on a high note.

Peter Martins made a nice speech at the start of the evening and mentioned how proud he was to be known on that day as "Mr. Kistler". At the end, the president of SPAC presented her with flowers, as did her husband and daughter. She took her final bow alone in front of the curtain and the videoscreens showed pictures of her from her various appearances at SPAC through the years. Overall, it was a very enjoyable evening.

The photographer Paul Kolnik was near where I sat and took many photos at the end of "Slaughter..." and the curtain calls so maybe these will show up on NYCB's website at some point.

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kabota

kabota

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I attended several performances at SPAC last week. There have been a few casting changes from that posted on the website – de Luz and Millepied did not perform.

I saw both casts in Firebird, and it was so interesting to see the very different and both completely wonderful interpretations of the title character by Ashley Bouder and Maria K. I was quite close for Ashley’s, and her facial expressions and wonderful birdlike flutters and flicks were perfect. She seems to be completely back. (I saw her perform “Other Dances” another night and enjoyed seeing her in a more lyrical light.) I also loved Maria on Friday night. There’s nothing new to be said about her amazing extentions, but I’m thrilled anew nevertheless. She was elegant, vulnerable and completely captivating. The set, too, never fails to inspire.

Other dancers who’ve stood out are Tess Reichlen in Concerto Barocco and Tiler Peck in Other Dances. (And while that ballet is not a favorite of mine, as far as Robbins goes, Peck truly lit up the stage in it. Her perfect technique was complemented by a gracious, feminine quality that was lovely to see in her.)

The gala truly was festive, despite the rain. This was probably the most spirited Stars and Stripes I’ve seen. Bouder, again in full attack, and Andrew Veyette were terrific as Liberty Bell and El Capitan. (Veyette, along with Gonzalo Garcia, has been doing extra duty with the absences of de Luz and Millepied. I believe Millepied will be performing here this week, though.) Veyette, in particular, is dancing with such strength and assurance. He brought the house down in Donizetti on Friday. I’d never seen Hallelujah Junction before, but found the staging of the “floating” pianos and the Adams score quite intriguing. Sterling Hyltin and Robert Fairchild were striking and impressive in the difficult central pas.

Slaughter is such a hoot, and everyone just put their all into it. Darci vamped it up, and with the wonderful support of Philip Neal, really seemed to have fun with the part. The standing ovation at the end was a community’s great thank you to a favorite ballerina.

Looking forward to this week's repertory. Hoping for little rain and large crowds -- surely Coppelia will draw. And greatly missing Sara Mearns.

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DeborahB

DeborahB

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Posted

Looking forward to this week's repertory. Hoping for little rain and large crowds -- surely Coppelia will draw. And greatly missing Sara Mearns.

Thank you for your fine review, Kabota! I'll try to add my two cents when I go to the Thursday matinee and evening performances (staying in Saratoga overnight). I so look forward to seeing the dancers again! I already miss them (and it's just been a few weeks since the spring season ended)

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DeborahB

DeborahB

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I went to yesterday's matinee and evening performances (drove back this am).

I'll keep this brief. The dancers - especially Tess Reichlen in the 4 T's in the afternoon and evening performances, and Maria Kowrowski

in "Swan Lake" in the evening, were all terrific.

That said, I'm not sure how they deal with the heat and humidity at SPAC (especially when there's a lot to

their costume).

Plus the bugs were everywhere (more so than last year, or so it seemed). I even had bug spray on yet still got devoured.

The afternoon audience (lots of very young, badly behaved children, and people talking throughout the performance)

were not attentive. The evening audience were more attentive but still lots of talking (sorry, it's a pet peeve of mine).

It was so nice to see the NYCB after the spring season ended, but SPAC itself is a challenge (mostly because of the elements, and because of

too many people talking). I guess I'm too much of a city gal to enjoy this sort of thing (although I did go last year too).

The afternoon attendance seemed more than half full (good for that huge venue). The evening attendance was sparser.

Saratoga Springs itself is lovely. I enjoyed walking through the town (plus my stepdaughter lives there so I got to visit with her). Lots of good restaurants, and nicely restored upstate NY buildings.

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