nanushka Posted July 16, 2017 Share Posted July 16, 2017 10 hours ago, alexL said: Yes, I regret for not seeing her more often when she was dancing the role more often. It seems like she's moved on to dance more principal roles now. She did dance it when NYCB last did Jewels, in fall 2016. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexL Posted July 16, 2017 Share Posted July 16, 2017 3 hours ago, nanushka said: She did dance it when NYCB last did Jewels, in fall 2016. Yes I did see her last year but I think she was cast in the role more frequently before. I think I've seen Lowery and Kikta as well and they were all underwhelming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen O'Connell Posted July 16, 2017 Share Posted July 16, 2017 (edited) 17 hours ago, alexL said: Yes, I regret for not seeing her more often when she was dancing the role more often. It seems like she's moved on to dance more principal roles now. “I’m weirdly possessive of it. That’s my ballet!” This quote from a recent NY Times piece on the Lincoln Center Festival's presentation of Jewels suggests that Reichlen isn't necessarily eager to give up the role. I'd also suggest that her great performance of it has either given the role principal status, or perhaps restored it. Balanchine created the Tall Girl role on Patricia Neary; I think she may have left the company while still a soloist, but she did perform many principal roles. I think it's notable that both the Times and NYCB have showcased Reichlen's Tall Girl rather than the principal couple in their promotional pieces about the ballet. (Here is NYCB's: http://www.nycballet.com/ballets/j/jewels.aspx) Edited July 16, 2017 by Kathleen O'Connell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexL Posted July 16, 2017 Share Posted July 16, 2017 33 minutes ago, Kathleen O'Connell said: “I’m weirdly possessive of it. That’s my ballet!” This quote from a recent NY Times piece on the Lincoln Center Festival's presentation of Jewels suggests that Reichlen isn't necessarily eager to give up the role. I'd also suggest that her great performance of it has either given the role principal status, or perhaps restored it. Balanchine created the Tall Girl role on Patricia Neary; I think she may have left the company while still a soloist, but she did perform many principal roles. I think it's notable that both the Times and NYCB have showcased Reichlen's Tall Girl rather than the principal couple in their promotional pieces about the ballet. (Here is NYCB's: http://www.nycballet.com/ballets/j/jewels.aspx) I think you are right. It was initially a principal role but lately it has been danced by soloists except Reichlen. Is it simply because there are more tall soloists than principals? I'm glad to know that Reichlen has a special attachment to the role. For some odd reason I thought she'd prefer to be the lead in Diamond (she is wonderful in it as well). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nanushka Posted July 16, 2017 Share Posted July 16, 2017 (edited) 33 minutes ago, alexL said: I think you are right. It was initially a principal role but lately it has been danced by soloists except Reichlen. Is it simply because there are more tall soloists than principals? I'm glad to know that Reichlen has a special attachment to the role. For some odd reason I thought she'd prefer to be the lead in Diamond (she is wonderful in it as well). Neary was not included in the iconic (and gorgeous!) publicity portraits taken with Balanchine and the costumed female leads, though both Verdy and Paul were included from Emeralds. That doesn't necessarily indicate how he conceived of the role, of course, and it's certainly a substantial part. Reynolds' Repertory in Review indicates that it was subsequently danced by Karin von Aroldingen, Renee Estópinal and Marnee Morris. Edited July 16, 2017 by nanushka Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen O'Connell Posted July 16, 2017 Share Posted July 16, 2017 (edited) 25 minutes ago, nanushka said: Neary was not included in the iconic (and gorgeous!) publicity portraits taken with Balanchine and the costumed female leads, though both Verdy and Paul were included from Emeralds. That doesn't necessarily indicate how he conceived of the role, of course, and it's certainly a substantial part. Reynolds' Repertory in Review indicates that it was subsequently danced by Karin von Aroldingen, Renee Estópinal and Marnee Morris. Indeed, she wasn't - so here's a nice 1967 Martha Swope studio portrait of her in her Rubies togs, courtesy of the NYPL: https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/841285b0-9f98-0130-3e79-58d385a7bbd0 Balanchine did create challenging and iconic Tall Girl roles, but I don't think they were privileged roles in quite the same way that say, Symphony in C's second movement ballerina's is. To me the Rubies Tall Girl is akin to the second ballerina in Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2 - a big deal, but not the biggest deal. Edited to add: Just for fun, here's a page full of Swope's 1967 publicity photos for Jewels. There are quite a few of Neary, but she's always solo. (Again, the photos are from the NYPL's digital archives.) Edited July 16, 2017 by Kathleen O'Connell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexL Posted July 16, 2017 Share Posted July 16, 2017 All I can say is Reichlen definitely made the role the biggest deal for me! Does anyone know how tall Patricia Neary was? I wonder how "tall" the dancer has to be for the role. It seems like majority of them are 5'8" and taller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen O'Connell Posted July 16, 2017 Share Posted July 16, 2017 9 minutes ago, alexL said: All I can say is Reichlen definitely made the role the biggest deal for me! Me too! That's my clue that she's either transformed the role or really plumbed its full potential. Maria Korowski has also danced the Rubies Tall Girl, although I don't know if it was when she was in the corps, or as a soloist or principal. She was a soloist for something like five minutes before being promoted to principal, so who knows ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nanushka Posted July 16, 2017 Share Posted July 16, 2017 (edited) 1 hour ago, alexL said: All I can say is Reichlen definitely made the role the biggest deal for me! Does anyone know how tall Patricia Neary was? I wonder how "tall" the dancer has to be for the role. It seems like majority of them are 5'8" and taller. I agree she's fantastic in it! Don't know about Neary's height. I often wish there were a database somewhere with stats on every dancer, including height. (Someone with too much time on their hands really should start working on that...) Edited July 16, 2017 by nanushka Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen O'Connell Posted July 16, 2017 Share Posted July 16, 2017 Ballet Baseball Cards ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nanushka Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 1 hour ago, Kathleen O'Connell said: Ballet Baseball Cards ... Brilliant!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AB'sMom Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 I would totally buy/collect those! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandik Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 (edited) 3 hours ago, Kathleen O'Connell said: Ballet Baseball Cards ... Yes! Now what do we want to know? Height, apparently, but what else? My choices: training companies danced for, with dates roles danced (would have to be truncated somehow) roles created (probably just an asterisk on the "roles danced" listing) What am I missing here? Edited July 17, 2017 by sandik Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexL Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 3 hours ago, Kathleen O'Connell said: Ballet Baseball Cards ... Take my money!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canbelto Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 As of now Sara Mearns is injured and hopes to be well enough to dance Diamonds. But she couldn't finish her Saratoga assigmments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volcanohunter Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 On the Bolshoi side, Semyon Chudin was injured mid-performance on June 12 and has withdrawn from all his performances since then, including a series of galas in Mexico over the past week. Perhaps, as with Mearns, his aim has been to rest and recover in time for the festival. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen O'Connell Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 8 hours ago, sandik said: Yes! Now what do we want to know? Height, apparently, but what else? My choices: training companies danced for, with dates roles danced (would have to be truncated somehow) roles created (probably just an asterisk on the "roles danced" listing) What am I missing here? Head shots, staged studio portraits, or performance photos? Physical cards or eCards that one flips through in an app on one's phone? If the latter, there's no need to truncate anything: disclosure triangles, tabs, and hamburgers are a thing. Since I'm all for sharing the joy of the art form, I think I'd forgo engineering the kind of scarcity built into the baseball card market, not to mention predatory in-app purchases. Next on the list: fantasy ballet. Pick your roster and your repertory and watch your season crash and burn as injuries mount -- or soar to new heights with unexpected promotions ... I really do have half a mind to do the cards ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nanushka Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 23 minutes ago, Kathleen O'Connell said: I really do have half a mind to do the cards ... A phone app is a brilliant idea. Start a GoFundMe page, I have no doubt you'd get a lot of support from many on here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen O'Connell Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 Gathering the data (and keeping it up-to-date) would probably be a heavier lift than building the app! Also, dancer buy-in would be a MUST simply as a matter of respect, leaving aside whatever rights (to images, e.g.) and AGMA issues might be lurking out there. I'd pitch it as an audience development tool rather than a money-making opportunity. But it could be done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABT Fan Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 22 hours ago, Kathleen O'Connell said: Ballet Baseball Cards ... There would go ALL of my free time.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRR Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 On 7/16/2017 at 5:27 PM, alexL said: All I can say is Reichlen definitely made the role the biggest deal for me! Does anyone know how tall Patricia Neary was? I wonder how "tall" the dancer has to be for the role. It seems like majority of them are 5'8" and taller. Tell that to Kevin O'Hare. Ironic that Neary has had to cast "medium" height girls in her part ever since Yanowsky retired the role. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayne Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 I thought Melissa Hamilton was too short for Tall Girl when RB broadcast earlier this year. Now I know why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandik Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 17 hours ago, Kathleen O'Connell said: Head shots, staged studio portraits, or performance photos? Physical cards or eCards that one flips through in an app on one's phone? If the latter, there's no need to truncate anything: disclosure triangles, tabs, and hamburgers are a thing. Since I'm all for sharing the joy of the art form, I think I'd forgo engineering the kind of scarcity built into the baseball card market, not to mention predatory in-app purchases. Next on the list: fantasy ballet. Pick your roster and your repertory and watch your season crash and burn as injuries mount -- or soar to new heights with unexpected promotions ... I really do have half a mind to do the cards ... I think you could keep this original pretty simple -- a link to the company website would probably be the best image, and then links to any personal pages if you're hoping for more. As much as I love printed things, I think your intuition about an electronic format is the better choice. My sister works for a fantasy football magazine -- it is indeed a complex world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nanushka Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 Going on Saturday night –– would love to see any reviews from those going earlier! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canbelto Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 FYI they opened up the 4th ring for Taming of the Shrew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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