seattle_dancer Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 Second weekend casting finally on the PNB website. Looks like Lindsi Dec debuts in Whelan's Pictures role Thursday, with Miles Pertl, although it is not denoted with a symbol. Link to comment
Helene Posted June 1, 2017 Author Share Posted June 1, 2017 Here is the downloadable spreadsheet for weeks 1-2: Pictures at an Exhibition -- Weeks 1-23 May 31.xlsx Link to comment
JumpFrog Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 (edited) We will be there tomorrow. I did not know that this was Whelan's first time staging work either. It takes a special kind of talent to do this I think. One could be an amazing artist because of innate ability but to be able to help draw out from others and actually stage the work as a whole seems entirely different to me. I also heard her speak at the Joyce Restless Creature show seattle_dancer and although I was underwhelmed by the show I was so grateful she was so honest and indeed eloquent in her chat. Edited June 1, 2017 by JumpFrog Link to comment
chicagoballetomane Posted June 2, 2017 Share Posted June 2, 2017 Amazing video with Wendy - I got emotional listening to her talk! Link to comment
Helene Posted June 2, 2017 Author Share Posted June 2, 2017 A lovely photo of Imler in flight: One of the ones that got away was the Verdy role in "Emeralds." Of course, we got to see her glorious "Diamonds" instead. Link to comment
seattle_dancer Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 The dress rehearsal lecture last night was best I've ever attended. Peter Boal and Wendy Whelan have such history and know each other so well, it was really special. For at least 30 minutes it was non stop fascinating content, with room for a few questions at the end. So much ground covered! It started with the standard, how did you start dancing, what was your training, etc. They both have recounted the first day Wendy danced a Balanchine ballet, although they laughed about some differences between their stories. Wendy's was published recently: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/23/arts/dance/wendy-whelan-the-first-time-i-danced-a-balanchine-ballet-the-day-he-died.html?_r=0. She recalled that the Stravinsky ballets were her first loves, then she had a second phase, classical, I believe, and her last phase was romantic. Peter asked what it was like working with Wheeldon and Ratmansky and it was interesting to hear how her being in her 30's and 40's affected the choreography. I think she said she was able to contribute some. She had funny little tidbits such as wondering if her and Wheeldon would be in trouble because After the Rain did not use pointe shoes. Wendy also said both of those choreographers are younger than her, and she found a resurgence of energy working with them and dancing their ballets. Another funny tidbit was how Alexei choreographed Wendy touching the floor in Pictures, as sort of a good bye to that theater. Both Peter and Wendy said they were shocked because that's in Dances at a Gathering. Apparently when Wendy told Alexei that he didn't have any problem with keeping it in. Peter segued into her NYCB retirement by starting with her Restless Creature project/show. She described how it came about and that the thought of retiring from the only world you know and the one thing you've trained for all your life is "terrifying". Wendy described how she chose each of the choreographers and how they were all shocked when she asked them to create something so different than her ballerina choreography. And then, as you all know, it went on a huge tour, and then she had a similar project with Ed Watson that ran at the Royal Opera House. They spent quite a lot of time talking about her film "Restless Creature, Wendy Whelan", which sounds phenomenal. She described how it came about, how she was hesitant, then they filmed a little at a time. Her husband has a background in cinematography so when they finally reviewed some footage, she agreed to the rest of the project. Her husband said the director/creator was really good, and it doesn't get much better than him. Like Wendy, the film sounds quite candid. She said it was not scripted, the storyline is really how events unfolded as she retired, including her hip surgery, some of which is apparently shown in the film. In Seattle it will be shown at the NW Film Forum late July - early August. It doesn't look like tickets are for sale yet (I looked today). She talked about staging Pictures and how she was not confident she could do it and it took her a long time to commit to it. She used video to painstakingly write out movements for the other dancers parts and made up names for Ratmansky's unique movements. There was a funny story about how she ran into Gonzalo Garcia on Amsterdam Avenue and asked for help on his choreography. His friend filmed it and you can see it on her Instagram site. Look for the video with a bike. It's so cute at the beginning she is wearing a backpack and dancing around with it and he is on his bike. You can tell some time elapsed because then her backpack is on the sidewalk alongside his bike. Wendy spent two weeks staging and readying two full casts. Then she left and Alexei came for a couple days of coaching, and then Wendy has returned for final rehearsals and the opening night. I'm sure I've left out a bunch of stuff, but was hoping to provide a few highlights for those who could not attend. These lectures are such a great deal for $15 ($30 including dress rehearsal) and for some donors they receive comp tickets as a donor benefit. PNB is the best! Link to comment
Helene Posted June 3, 2017 Author Share Posted June 3, 2017 I need to get up early to see "The Dumb Girl of Porcini" at Seattle International Film Festival and then the ballet doubleheader of "Pictures at an Exhibition", so I can't write much, but the company performed all three works tonight spectacularly. I was thinking of this program as a version of "Jewels," in which the "La Source" was French and "Pictures at an Exhibition" was Russian which would make "Opus 19: The Dreamer" Russian-tinged American. And to fit this square peg into a round hole, I decided that it was about Baryshnikov transitioning from Russia to America, with a little (lot of) help from Patricia McBride. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it Link to comment
jsmu Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 9 hours ago, Helene said: I need to get up early to see "The Dumb Girl of Porcini" at Seattle International Film Festival and then the ballet doubleheader of "Pictures at an Exhibition", so I can't write much, but the company performed all three works tonight spectacularly. I was thinking of this program as a version of "Jewels," in which the "La Source" was French and "Pictures at an Exhibition" was Russian which would make "Opus 19: The Dreamer" Russian-tinged American. And to fit this square peg into a round hole, I decided that it was about Baryshnikov transitioning from Russia to America, with a little (lot of) help from Patricia McBride. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it And to continue the hands-across-the-sea story, "Pictures" is "Dances at a Gathering" with a much better backdrop....and much funnier Link to comment
seattle_dancer Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 "Not sure when I last felt this kind of happiness" - wow, Wendy is so heartfelt and even expressive with words! I'm so happy for her and for all involved with the production. Excited to see it today! Link to comment
Helene Posted June 4, 2017 Author Share Posted June 4, 2017 What a great photo! From left to right: Karel Cruz, Elizabeth Murphy, Kyle Davis, Otto Neubert, Rachel Foster, Seth Orza, Wendy Whelan, Sarah Ricard Orza, Carrie Imler, Jonathan Porretta, Jerome Tisserand, Noelani Pantastico A clip from "Dance of the Unhatched Chicks": Link to comment
Helene Posted June 4, 2017 Author Share Posted June 4, 2017 And a photo of Kyle Davis and Rachel Foster: Link to comment
Helene Posted June 4, 2017 Author Share Posted June 4, 2017 I've done some poking to match up the PNB casts to the originals. Gretchen Smith/Adrian Danchig-Waring: Sarah Ricard Orza/Seth Orza; Leah Merchant/Joshua Grant Sara Mearns/Amar Ramassar: Noelani Pantastico/Jerome Tisserand; Elle Macy/Steven Loch Wendy Whelan/Tyler Angle: Elizabeth Murphy/Karel Cruz; Lesley Rausch/Batkhurel Bold; Lindsi Dec/Miles Pertl (Week 2) Abi Stafford/Joseph Gordon: Carrie Imler/Jonathan Porretta; Angelica Generosa/James Moore Tiler Peck/Gonzalo Garcia: Rachel Foster/Kyle Davis; Leta Biasucci/Price Suddarth I also found this photo from the NYT review of the premiere in 2014, and the costumes look a lot more colorful and vivid than they did under the lighting: Link to comment
jsmu Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 Saw the first weekend of performances.....and had a pleasure which may have been even more enriching, thought-provoking, and stimulating than that of watching PNB outdo itself in one of its best-ever triple bills. I was delighted to meet Helene, sandik, and seattle_dancer, and to get to talk with them all at length. I am tempted to go to all Q and A/public lectures of all ballet companies from now on, stand up, and say various BA member names in a questioning tone, after having had such marvelous conversations all weekend. I'm kidding (sort of) but this experience made the entire trip for me and I can't thank all three of my companions enough--the food for thought was a Lucullan banquet. La Source has always been a favorite ballet of mine and one I've seen far too rarely. All three casts were good in this production but Carrie Imler gave us, one last time, her irreplaceable grace, wit, finesse, ineffable sense of rubato, playfulness, pure joy in dancing, and exquisite technical achievement. A fellow balletgoer said to me that in her opinion Imler has never done anything wrong and I replied that that was no longer true--her retirement is the worst thing she could ever have done. /sardonic smile/ I understand that she has a child, and that everyone must move on, and we all wish her the easiest and happiest transition to her new life, but Imler's legions of fans will take a long, long time adjusting to ballet without her. She will be missed forever, I'll probably have to rave more about her later. I thought all the gentlemen distinguished themselves in the John Prinz danseur role; Jerome Tisserand was gallant in partnering Imler, Kyle Davis was effervescent in his variations, and Benjamin Griffiths was generally wonderful; he and Leta Biasucci dance together as if they have done so from childhood. Biasucci was also lovely as the ballerina, with a fresh and young quality which I've never exactly seen in this part; being a DIVA ballet par excellence, it's usually danced by established stars like Verdy, McBride, Ashley, NIchols, Pantastico, and Imler. Angelica Generosa ate up the soloist role, sparkling every instant she was onstage and dazzling us in her circle of petits tours/coupe jetes/whatever that other step is in there (saut de basque perhaps?) Opus 19/The Dreamer benefited from three excellent protagonists. James Moore on opening night outdid even the Prodigal Son and Mopey performances I still admire and remember in detail; he has a new elasticity, a stretch which lengthens every sustained position and turns him into Praxitelean sculpture at times. Moore's sense of gravity and his seriousness here is superb. Dylan Wald's elongated elegance is wonderful in the many poses and penche arabesques, etc, and Benjamin Griffiths attacked the role as if he was giving his last performance of it--as well as giving us remarkable poignancy in the isolation of the leading man. Griffiths was matched in emotional intensity by his partner Rachel Foster, who was fierce and memorable in the ballerina role created on McBride; Foster appeared to hold *nothing* back at any time. The corps was terrific in both the Balanchine and the Robbins ballets. Pictures. seattle_dancer posted the lovely pic of the cast with Wendy Whelan and mentioned the general serendipity which prevailed around Whelan's visit (which was mentioned by every cast member who talked about the production)....I think both casts danced with joy and unusual freedom, and appeared to relish this ballet as much as anything PNB has ever performed. I won't write three more paragraphs about Imler, though I could, but I gotta say that Imler being funny--conspiratorial, mock-heroic, sneaky, faux-naif, dry, outrageous--would all by itself be worth the price of admission. Before Imler, I would never have believed that a virtuoso technician could also be a panic. Elizabeth Murphy, with the magnificent partnering of Karel Cruz, made the horrendous lifts in the Whelan adagio pas de deux look easy--not only the bird lift but the very difficult final lift and transition to STANDING pose on Cruz's chest. There were gasps both nights. Pantastico ate her 'Gnome' solo (originally Sara Mearns' ) for breakfast and looked ready to do it all again instantly. Kyle Davis was elegant in his solo to one of the many Promenades. Baba Yega, for a man and three women, was great. But everyone was good in this ballet, in both casts, and the remarkable rear projections of Kandinsky were almost too good because they occasionally made me stop looking at the dancers. The esthetic range, variety, and depth of this triple bill was unparallelled and I hope for others in a similar vein to come. Link to comment
sandik Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 On 6/2/2017 at 11:46 PM, seattle_dancer said: The dress rehearsal lecture last night was best I've ever attended. Peter Boal and Wendy Whelan have such history and know each other so well, it was really special. For at least 30 minutes it was non stop fascinating content, with room for a few questions at the end. So much ground covered! .... I'm sure I've left out a bunch of stuff, but was hoping to provide a few highlights for those who could not attend. These lectures are such a great deal for $15 ($30 including dress rehearsal) and for some donors they receive comp tickets as a donor benefit. PNB is the best! Thanks so much for the report -- I wasn't able to go, and it looks like I missed a gold mine. So grateful to hear about it from you! Link to comment
sandik Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 On 6/3/2017 at 0:14 AM, Helene said: I need to get up early to see "The Dumb Girl of Porcini" at Seattle International Film Festival and then the ballet doubleheader of "Pictures at an Exhibition", so I can't write much, but the company performed all three works tonight spectacularly. I was thinking of this program as a version of "Jewels," in which the "La Source" was French and "Pictures at an Exhibition" was Russian which would make "Opus 19: The Dreamer" Russian-tinged American. And to fit this square peg into a round hole, I decided that it was about Baryshnikov transitioning from Russia to America, with a little (lot of) help from Patricia McBride. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it I hadn't thought of the Pavlova film as a mushroom -- I'll have to consider this! But I do love your description of the Pictures program. It's always fun when things make meta-sense. Link to comment
Helene Posted June 4, 2017 Author Share Posted June 4, 2017 1 minute ago, sandik said: I hadn't thought of the Pavlova film as a mushroom -- I'll have to consider this! I would love to blame this on auto-correct, but . Link to comment
sandik Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 13 hours ago, Helene said: What a great photo! From left to right: Karel Cruz, Elizabeth Murphy, Kyle Davis, Otto Neubert, Rachel Foster, Seth Orza, Wendy Whelan, Sarah Ricard Orza, Carrie Imler, Jonathan Porretta, Jerome Tisserand, Noelani Pantastico A clip from "Dance of the Unhatched Chicks": I love the moment at the beginning where Davis looks like he's late and needs to catch up. Link to comment
Helene Posted June 5, 2017 Author Share Posted June 5, 2017 When you made that comment about the triple bill in the Q&A @jsmu, I was sitting next to Sandi and whispering my "Amen," but given my bad ear, I couldn't tell from what direction your voice was coming. I had no idea I'd meet you, and I so glad I did! What's remarkable is that Peter Boal mentioned that this triple bill wasn't planned this way: I thought I remembered some mention last spring of "La Source" being part of the all-French opening bill, and Boal said he specifically didn't want "La Source" and "Opus 19: The Dreamer" on the same program, because he was staging both, although he did joke that the Stage Manager's warning was that he was cutting into his own time, not another stager's. But we got serendipity. Back when I used to go to NYCB all the time, I took this kind of rich, thought-provoking program for granted. It wasn't the total immersion of the all-Forsythe program from a couple of years back, but nearly half the company -- 22 dancers in 2.2 casts -- are dancing this work, at least that number got to work with Wendy Whelan, and Ratmansky himself came for two days. It was noted several times in the Q&A's and also by Doug Fullington in his excellent pre-performance presentation that the three ballerinas in "La Source" trained at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, and at least Leta Biasucci and Carrie Imler danced in the corps of this ballet at CPYB. I would have loved to have seen the fourth company member of that group, Carli Samuelson, in the soloist role: she caught my eye repeatedly from the corps, exuding the style. I understand why Angelica Generosa is so suited to the soloist role made for Suki Schorer: her size and speed make her a natural. Elle Macy is tall, and while she looked like she could use more space, particularly going backwards, she did something I rarely see: she danced as if she was barely touching the ground, despite the all the shifts of direction and weight. It was like Bournonville, danced through the bar lines. That was baked into the man's variations -- in Doug Fullington's lecture demonstrations, you can see that ur-French heritage that Bournonville brought to Denmark and Petipa brought to Russia in the notated male variations -- but it was a choice in her solos. And those sweeping assembles! Macy has been having a spectacular season, from "Appasionata," to the Mother/Fairy Godmother in "Cendrillon," to "Empire Noir," to "La Source," to the Mearns role in "Pictures at an Exhibition." I've only seen Mearns live once, but have read many descriptions of her dancing, in which she's described as riding the edge close to the precipice, and this is exactly how Macy danced "The Gnome" solo. In the same solo, Noelani Pantastico was intensity personified: centered, focused, and laser-like. Rachel Foster and Leta Biasucci both reveled in the darting "Tuileries" solo made on Tiler Peck, and Jerome Tisserand and Steven Loch were a wonderful contrast in theirs: Tisserand bounding and slyly humorous and Loch sharp and driving. Kyle Davis and Price Suddarth were both charming in the solo leading into "Ballad of the Unhatched Chicks," a quintet for the men. I loved "Pictures at an Exhibition" more than I can express. It hit me where I live. Baryshnikov said he thought "Opus 19: The Dreamer" was autobiographical, but between Baryshnikov as manifest content and Jerome Robbins' inner demons, it could have been called "Mishegas." Despite being very different dancers, both James Moore and Benjamin Griffiths gave muscular, plush, grounded performances as The Dreamer. Especially in the stiff turns in place, they reminded me of the swaddled Apollo, before Balanchine, in what I can only think of as a dyspeptic moment, castrated his ballet. Noelani Pantastico as Moore's partner, took the ballet and made the woman its center with strength and intensity and sheer demand. Rachel Foster as Griffiths' was no less dramatic, but there was more give and take, and rather than being the demon, she had demons of her own. Dylan Wald and Sarah Ricard Orza couldn't have been more different: elongated and remote, they were almost ephemeral children of Morpheus, and whether he'd wake was more in question. The music is an absolute highlight. Doug Fullington told us that back-in-the-day, they published piano scores, not orchestra scores, for many ballets, and when they would travel, companies were responsible for their own orchestrations. For Delibes' music for "La Source," PNB used Delibes' own scores, which are in the Library of Congress. Kudos to PNB for continuing to reclaim more original ballet scores. The orchestra's colors and rhythms in the Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 1 were magnificent, as was Concertmaster Michael Jinsoo Lim's solo playing. Ratmansky used the original piano score for "Pictures at an Exhibition," and Allan Dameron's playing was splendid. We are a privileged community not only to have a live orchestra, but this live orchestra and these soloists. I can't wait until second weekend. The company is dancing and the musicians are playing this dream program at a crazy high level. Link to comment
JumpFrog Posted June 5, 2017 Share Posted June 5, 2017 Well I'm not sure there is much I can say that has not already been said so eloquently by jsmu Helene and sandik. It was an absolutely glorious program. Three exceptional ballet's that were somehow able to compliment and breath with each other thus making an evening of real poetry. Imler is a queen. I have thought so since I first saw her perform. Her vivacious and infectious presence match her technical talent and to go out with such a high is wonderful. Personally for me and I don't know why - the work that left the most lasting impression on me was Opus. And I had seen it before! I don't know if it was slight jet lag or maybe the Chardonnay with dinner began to hit my system right then lol but I watched it and realized how powerful it really can be. What a masterpiece! I felt at various moments thrilled and swirling with the ensemble moving around the stage reflecting so clearly the music while there were moments with the principal material in particular that I found spellbinding and almost tragic. It felt like a dream - and dreams can be anything from heavenly to a nightmare you can't get out of. By the end I felt like I'd really been somewhere in a way that after having watched Opus probably over a dozen times I had never felt before. Thank you and Bravo company. Link to comment
Helene Posted June 8, 2017 Author Share Posted June 8, 2017 A clip from the swoon-worthy "Pictures at an Exhibition" -- solos in order: Foster, Davis, Ricard Orza, Tisserand, Porretta, Murphy, Cruz, Imler, Orza. Link to comment
Helene Posted June 9, 2017 Author Share Posted June 9, 2017 I can't write about Carrie Imler without crying and ruining my keyboard. Lindsi Dec and Miles Pertl made their debuts in "Pictures at an Exhibition" tonight in Wendy Whelan and Tyler Angle's roles in a cast that was otherwise half of first and second casts from last weekend. Dynamically, it was a different ballet. Both Elizabeth Murphy and Lesley Rausch dance the main pas de deux with plenty of legato, a cousin to the central pas in "Concerto DSCH" with a wider emotional range. Dec danced it with punctuated momentum and elements of staccato, and between her and Pertl and Steven Loch and Elle Macy, there was a lot more angst and danger roiling beneath this village, and the story line between James Moore's and Miles Pertl's characters was clear and rich with emotional resonance. This is also the Sunday matinee cast. Link to comment
sandik Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 23 hours ago, Helene said: I can't write about Carrie Imler without crying and ruining my keyboard. Lindsi Dec and Miles Pertl made their debuts in "Pictures at an Exhibition" tonight in Wendy Whelan and Tyler Angle's roles in a cast that was otherwise half of first and second casts from last weekend. Dynamically, it was a different ballet. Both Elizabeth Murphy and Lesley Rausch dance the main pas de deux with plenty of legato, a cousin to the central pas in "Concerto DSCH" with a wider emotional range. Dec danced it with punctuated momentum and elements of staccato, and between her and Pertl and Steven Loch and Elle Macy, there was a lot more angst and dancer roiling beneath this village, and the story line between James Moore's and Miles Pertl's characters was clear and rich with emotional resonance. This is also the Sunday matinee cast. Oh, this sounds so interesting -- I'm frustrated that I can't come to the Sunday show. Link to comment
Helene Posted June 11, 2017 Author Share Posted June 11, 2017 According to Peter Boal in the Q&A tonight, Carrie Imler strained a calf muscle at the end of the second pas de deux in "La Source" on Thursday night, and she thought if she danced tonight, she wasn't sure about tomorrow night. So she rehearsed earlier today for Encores, including fouettes on her "bad" leg, and Leta Biasucci and Benjamin Griffiths replaced her and Jerome Tisserand in "La Source," and Angelica Generosa and James Moore replaced her and Jonathan Porretta in "Pictures at an Exhibition." I don't know how James Moore could move his legs after "Opus 19: The Dreamer." He's onstage all but a few minutes when Noelani Pantastico and four women dance. Moore is exceptionally vivid in this work, too, and to come out and then dance the Ratmansky, wow. Jerome Tisserand danced in "Pictures at an Exhibition," and his solo tonight was high-octane bad-ass. He was the Q&A guest, and his wife, Laura Tisserand, is now at 36 weeks, and they are looking forward to the birth of a girl. The Orzas have been exceptional in every performance of the "Samuel Goldenberg & Schmuyle" pas de deux. Link to comment
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