Natalia Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 The Kennedy Center has revealed that Ashton's The Dream will be among the offerings on the April 15/16 mixed bill, during its annual spring season. No word yet on the other ballets on the mixed bill. http://www.kennedy-center.org/events/?event=BOBSE Link to comment
Natalia Posted November 30, 2013 Author Share Posted November 30, 2013 The remaining ballets in the mixed bill program (besides Ashton's The Dream) have been announced: Mixed Repertory(4/15 & 4/16)Les Sylphides (Fokine/Chopin--orchestration by Britten)Aftereffect (Gomes/Tchaikovsky--Souvenir de Florence, 1st Movement)The Dream (Ashton/Mendelssohn) Interestingly, the mixed bill had originally been promoted to be a 'tribute to Shakespeare'; that designation has been removed. Could it be the Ratmansky's The Tempest was in the original plans, pending the outcome of its premiere in NYC a month ago but did not pass muster to go on tour? It's suddenly not a Shakespeare Evening. Hmmmm... Link to comment
Natalia Posted January 29, 2014 Author Share Posted January 29, 2014 Casting now up for the April 2014 Kennedy Center engagement: http://www.kennedy-center.org/events/?event=BOBSE Kent, then Reyes, for the two THE DREAMS. Hee Seo will lead both performances of LES SYLPHIDES...hmmmmm..... DON Qs may be a bit underwhelming, although I'm sure that Boylston/Simkin will set-off the fireworks at the Sat matinee. Ditto Vasiliev (with Herrera) on the Sunday afternoon. Link to comment
Colleen Boresta Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 I saw Simkin in Don Q during the Met season in 2011 and he was wonderful - both in his dancing and his acting. HIs Kitri was Kajiya (did I spell her name right) and I thought she was miscast in the part. She's more of a lyrical, romantic dancer. I think Boylston will be a very good Kitri. As a matter of fact I'm almost positive my subscription ticket for Don Q during this Met season is for Boylston/Simkin. I always thought Kitri was Herrera's best role, but I haven't seen her dance it since 2004. I really enjoyed Vasiliev in Don Q (with Osipova, no longer with ABT, which I am very disappointed about) last year. If Herrera can still dance Kitri like she did back in 2004, she and Vasiliev should put on quite a show! We're talking about Don Q, not Swan Lake or Giselle or Sleeping Beaiuty. I just looked at the ABT performance calendar and I see that Reyes/Cornejo are also dancing Don Q. I saw them dance this ballet twice and both were excellent. I also saw both Reyes in The Dream and she was very good. I have never seen Cornejo dance Puck live but from watching The Dream on dvd he's probably the best Puck dancing the part today. That being said, I saw Simkin dance Puck in 2011 and he was fantastic. It was like he lived in the air. I think Puck is one of Simkin's best roles. His Oberon was Cory Stearns and Simkin/Stearns had fantastic chemistry in 'The Dream'. I hope Simkin and Whiteside are as good togetherer. By the way, I found Oberon to be one of Stearns' best roles. And I have been impressed by the performances I've seen Whiteside give at ABT. And yes, I was right. I will be seeing Boylston/Simkin in Don Q this spring. Link to comment
Natalia Posted February 1, 2014 Author Share Posted February 1, 2014 Thanks, Colleen. It seems like Boylston/Simkin will be the DON Q of choice (at least, MY choice...ha-ha) this spring in DC. Link to comment
koshka Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Got my ticket for the Sat matinee yesterday--hope the casting doesn't change! Link to comment
volcanohunter Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 The Kennedy Center is waiving handling fees on remaining ABT tickets. Mention code 176523 if ordering by phone. Link to comment
YouOverThere Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 The Kennedy Center is waiving handling fees on remaining ABT tickets. Mention code 176523 if ordering by phone. There are also some $39 orchestra seats for 4/15, 4/16, and 4/18. Tickets have to be purchased by 4/12. Discount code is 176509. You can't use both offers on the same ticket purchase. Link to comment
abatt Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 Just looked at the ABT casting page. Stearns is replaced in Sylphide and Don Q. Anyone know what happened? Ah well, more work for Gorak and Gomes. Link to comment
ABT Fan Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 Sorry to see Stearns is out, but happy to see Gorak gets another Les Sylphides. Speaking of Gomes, I think he lives about a block from my office and I've seen him on my way to work a few times. This morning I noticed his strong, dancerly walk before I realized it was him. I must have smiled like a school girl when I passed him. Even on the street he is a sight to behold. Not a bad way to start the day. Link to comment
abatt Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 Gomes got the Don Q, but I like him more as Espada than Basilio. . Link to comment
rg Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 Stearns was out of YAGP, apparently he's injured. Link to comment
abatt Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Did anyone go to ABT last night? Reports? Link to comment
angelica Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Did anyone go to ABT last night? Reports? abatt, there's a wonderful review of last night's ABT performance on the Haglund's Heel blog. Vivid description, pros and cons, it's a don't miss review. Link to comment
kfw Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 I saw yesterday's dress rehearsal, and it doesn't seem fair to review it, but I was pleased and surprised to see Sarah Lane as one of the fairies in The Dream. I don't know the company well enough to have recognized anyone else except the principals :Reyes, Whiteside, and Simkin. Are soloists usually cast as fairies in this ballet? Link to comment
YouOverThere Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Did anyone go to ABT last night? Reports? I did! I did! Unfortunately, I don't know where my program disappeared to. I'm getting ready to move, and my place is in shambles. The program started off a bit slow, with the dancing in Les Sylphides a bit less than the crisp standard of last year's ABT visit to the Kennedy Center. It's a ballet that's little more than a dance exhibition, so every imperfection is noticeable. They used a man from the corps as the male dancer, and it took a while for him to get comfortable. Lots of little extra steps to get his balance after the first few jumps off the solo. There was a little wavering amongst the corps and some spacing issues. Aftereffect, like the program in general, started off slow, and at first I thought that I wasn't going to like it. But it eventually got cranking, with some nice athletic dancing for the men. I was unable to discern a theme, however. The Dream was by far the best of the 3. Again, the start was a bit disconcerting since the ballet begins in the middle of the story. But that was quickly forgotten,as the dancing was up to the previous ABT standards. Julie Kent was very impressive as Titania and Herman Cornejo was outstanding as Puck. Unfortunately, the orchestra wasn't good at all. The tuba player totally muffed an important passage (and was almost as bad the 2nd night) and the horn players also clanked some notes. There were overall balance issues, with the strings being way too weak. ETA: I just read the Washington Post review, and I agree with basically the entire review. Link to comment
SimonA Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 I saw The Dream opening night but missed the first half of the program. It was a joyous performance of a beautiful, warm, funny, tender and moving ballet. There aren't enough superlatives in the language for Cornejo's Puck, who stole the show. The pas de deux, for me, didn't quite ignite. Kent was stylish and idiomatic, with gorgeous epaulement, but her dancing was somewhat careful. Gomes' technique wasn't perfect, either, as he had some trouble holding the attitudes in the mirror adagio (in the "Y pose"). Still, minor quibbles in what was a buoyant performance. And, yes, the orchestra was somewhat sloppy, but I'll take the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra any day over ABT's often wan, listless, and scrappy in-house band. The children's chorus did have a false entrance in the coda, which was somewhat distracting... Link to comment
SimonA Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 All remaining orchestra seats for the Sat and Sun Don Q matinees are being discounted for $35. Offer Number "177159." http://www.kennedy-center.org/events/?event=BOBSE&promotionno=177159 Link to comment
abatt Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 Wow. That's a great discount. Almost makes me want to jump in the car and drive down to DC. It was really not too bright to schedule the engagement for Easter weekend. Link to comment
Kaysta Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 All remaining orchestra seats for the Sat and Sun Don Q matinees are being discounted for $35. Offer Number "177159." http://www.kennedy-center.org/events/?event=BOBSE&promotionno=177159 Wow, thanks for the link! I'm headed to DC (unexpectedly!!!!) tomorrow for the matinee. As I live right outside of Philly, it's only a 2 and 1/2 hour drive for me. Can't beat 35 dollar tickets. Too bad I was going to go into work tomorrow to catch up on stuff and now I'm heading to the Kennedy center. It's my first time seeing Don Quixote. I also have tickets to the Wednesday matinee on 5/14. Link to comment
kfw Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 All remaining orchestra seats for the Sat and Sun Don Q matinees are being discounted for $35. Offer Number "177159." http://www.kennedy-center.org/events/?event=BOBSE&promotionno=177159 Wow, thanks for the link! I'm headed to DC (unexpectedly!!!!) tomorrow for the matinee. As I live right outside of Philly, it's only a 2 and 1/2 hour drive for me. Can't beat 35 dollar tickets. Too bad I was going to go into work tomorrow to catch up on stuff and now I'm heading to the Kennedy center. It's my first time seeing Don Quixote. I also have tickets to the Wednesday matinee on 5/14. That's so cheap I'm almost tempted to go, and I don't really even like Don Quixote. However, if you're not familiar with the Kennedy Center, beware the $22 parking fee. Use one of the garages across the street, next to the Watergate, and you can save $10-12. Link to comment
YouOverThere Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 It was really not too bright to schedule the engagement for Easter weekend. And schedule another dance performance (Washington Ballet) in the same building at the same time. Link to comment
YouOverThere Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 All remaining orchestra seats for the Sat and Sun Don Q matinees are being discounted for $35. Offer Number "177159." http://www.kennedy-center.org/events/?event=BOBSE&promotionno=177159 Wow, thanks for the link! I'm headed to DC (unexpectedly!!!!) tomorrow for the matinee. As I live right outside of Philly, it's only a 2 and 1/2 hour drive for me. Can't beat 35 dollar tickets. Too bad I was going to go into work tomorrow to catch up on stuff and now I'm heading to the Kennedy center. It's my first time seeing Don Quixote. I also have tickets to the Wednesday matinee on 5/14. That's so cheap I'm almost tempted to go, and I don't really even like Don Quixote. However, if you're not familiar with the Kennedy Center, beware the $22 parking fee. Use one of the garages across the street, next to the Watergate, and you can save $10-12. On-street parking is free on Sundays. Just give yourself time to drive around a little to search for an available space. Downtown will probably be crowded during the day (though this week's heavy rain may have spoiled the cherry blossoms). There are also parking garages on I Street between 21st and 22nd and 22 Street between I Street and Penn. Ave. that charge $11 on evenings and weekends and are less than 2 blocks from the shuttle stop. Link to comment
YouOverThere Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 All remaining orchestra seats for the Sat and Sun Don Q matinees are being discounted for $35. Offer Number "177159." http://www.kennedy-center.org/events/?event=BOBSE&promotionno=177159 Wow, thanks for the link! I'm headed to DC (unexpectedly!!!!) tomorrow for the matinee. As I live right outside of Philly, it's only a 2 and 1/2 hour drive for me. Can't beat 35 dollar tickets. Too bad I was going to go into work tomorrow to catch up on stuff and now I'm heading to the Kennedy center. It's my first time seeing Don Quixote. I also have tickets to the Wednesday matinee on 5/14. That's so cheap I'm almost tempted to go, and I don't really even like Don Quixote. However, if you're not familiar with the Kennedy Center, beware the $22 parking fee. Use one of the garages across the street, next to the Watergate, and you can save $10-12. On-street parking is free on Sundays. Just give yourself time to drive around a little to search for an available space. Downtown will probably be crowded during the day (though this week's heavy rain may have spoiled the cherry blossoms). All remaining orchestra seats for the Sat and Sun Don Q matinees are being discounted for $35. Offer Number "177159." http://www.kennedy-center.org/events/?event=BOBSE&promotionno=177159 If they ran any discount for Saturday evening I'd go for a 2nd time (I already have a ticket for Sunday). There are more than 500 tickets left for Saturday evening, over 600 left for the 2 matinees. Link to comment
YouOverThere Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 All remaining orchestra seats for the Sat and Sun Don Q matinees are being discounted for $35. Offer Number "177159." http://www.kennedy-center.org/events/?event=BOBSE&promotionno=177159 I wonder what list they sent out this offer to. I usually get notifications of offers like this. Link to comment
Recommended Posts