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Washington, DC - Spring 2018


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16 minutes ago, Kathleen O'Connell said:

But Balanchine may (must?) have been comfortable with either approach: Melissa Hayden opts for the fouéttes only version in this 1960s telecast with D'Amboise (its around the 8:30 mark). 

Sure. I meant that as a personal — but very strongly held! — opinion. I think the version with the steps is essential not only in that particular moment but as part of the whole fabric of the work, its unity of tone and style.

I remember one critic — Goldner? — talking about Balanchine's genius for knowing which steps work together across a work to unify it and make the parts add up to a greater whole. This, for me, is a perfect example of that.

Edited by nanushka
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2 minutes ago, nanushka said:

Sure. I meant that as a personal — but very strongly held! — opinion. I think the version with the steps is essential not only in that particular moment but as part of the whole fabric of the work, its unity of tone and style.

I remember one critic — Goldner? — talking about Balanchine's genius for knowing which steps work together in a work to unify it and make the parts add up to a greater whole. This, for me, is a perfect example of that.

I agree! That combination suits both the delicate sparkle of the music at that particular point as well as role's "perfume" as a whole. The music may have been written for Swan Lake, but the Tschai Pas ballerina isn't Odile.

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8 minutes ago, Kathleen O'Connell said:

I agree! That combination suits both the delicate sparkle of the music at that particular point as well as role's "perfume" as a whole. The music may have been written for Swan Lake, but the Tschai Pas ballerina isn't Odile.

Yes, and I believe the Odile that music was written for was not the same Odile we now know from the later (1895?) staging of the work that has come down to us in the present. The narrative was rather different in the work's first iteration. There's a lot of great detail about this in Wiley's book Tchaikovsky's Ballets.

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59 minutes ago, nanushka said:

Yes, and I believe the Odile that music was written for was not the same Odile we now know from the later (1895?) staging of the work that has come down to us in the present. The narrative was rather different in the work's first iteration. There's a lot of great detail about this in Wiley's book Tchaikovsky's Ballets.

The version I understood was that the 1877 ballerina did not like Tchaikovsky's score and wanted to substitute music from her variations in other ballets. Word got back to Tchaikovsky, who wrote the music we now use for Tchai Pas, but she didn't like that either. After WWII, a librarian in Moscow discovered the score. Balanchine somehow heard about it, bought the rights, and used it for Tchai Pas. I'm travelling today and don't have access to reference sources, but will look for that when I'm home. 

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10 minutes ago, California said:

The version I understood was that the 1877 ballerina did not like Tchaikovsky's score and wanted to substitute music from her variations in other ballets. Word got back to Tchaikovsky, who wrote the music we now use for Tchai Pas, but she didn't like that either. After WWII, a librarian in Moscow discovered the score. Balanchine somehow heard about it, bought the rights, and used it for Tchai Pas. I'm travelling today and don't have access to reference sources, but will look for that when I'm home. 

Yes, that's pretty much right, as I recall as well. I too would have to check the details at home. But in addition to that, the Act III role of Odile was rather different from the "black swan" character we have today. Wiley quotes extensively from the original libretto for the 1877 version, so I'll try to check the details there.

Edited by nanushka
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Just now, nanushka said:

Yes, that's pretty much right, as I recall as well. I too would have to check the details at home. But in addition to that, the Act III role of Odile was rather different from the "black swan" character we have today. Wiley quotes extensively from the original libretto for the 1877 version, so I'll try to check the details there.

I have just read about the transposition, not addition.  Did both occur?

 

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Quick question for Thursday (3/29) attendees: What happened tonight at the end of Symphony in Three Movements? One of the three leading males was missing (suddenly injured? Danchig-Waring?...who looked great in the pdd with Sterling Hyltin earlier) and, it seemed to me, that one of the five demisolo guys had to partner Sterling during some of the finale...causing choreographic imbalance in a lot of the finale, the iconic last tableau, etc. I could also hear a man’s voice from the wings, shouting instructions to the ensemble (“go right, etc”)...one of the five black-leotard demisolo girls dancing alone at times...turning in opposite direction of other demis. It wasn’t horrible but it was bizarre for those of us familiar with this masterwork.

Other than that, it was a great night, including Tchai pdd debuts. Will try to write a report later. Getting home late & was curious if anyone else on BA may have known what went on.

Edited to add: Now having  checked the photos of the five “demi” male dancers listed in last night’s playbill, I can safely deduce that it was Preston Chamblee who graduated to “substitute lead” in the finale. He was crouched front-Center during the final tableau, as the curtain lowered. A tall, muscular & handsome African-American corps guy saved the day. That said, I hope that Danchig-Waring is ok.

Edited by CharlieH
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10 hours ago, CharlieH said:

Quick question for Thursday (3/29) attendees: What happened tonight at the end of Symphony in Three Movements? One of the three leading males was missing (suddenly injured? Danchig-Waring?...who looked great in the pdd with Sterling Hyltin earlier) and, it seemed to me, that one of the five demisolo guys had to partner Sterling during some of the finale...causing choreographic imbalance in a lot of the finale, the iconic last tableau, etc.

Praying to the ballet gods that Adrian D-W isn't badly injured. Seems like he was just regaining his form after returning from a very long absence after his last injury.:beg:

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Like I said, AD-W danced a wonderful 2nd mvt pdd with Sterling. We last saw him leaping into the wings at the end of that movement. (Spectacular grand jete as the choreography calls; no signs of trouble.) He never came out during the final movement. Preston, as one of the five demi guys, seems to have known the soloist’s choreography...at some point switching from one role to the other.

Edited by CharlieH
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Adrian DW said on his instagram he was going to be on crutches for a few days...

So there are casting changes for the rest of the performances, which are all the Robbins program (I’m going Sunday)

Russell Janzen is subbing in for Glass Pieces partnering Maria K. Taylor Stanley will do Four Seasons. Looks like there was a bit of a domino effect or other injuries. There is now only one Fancy Free male cast (Mejia, Coll and Villarini Velez) while Daniel Ulbricht will dance in Four Seasons 

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Quick update about today's matinee. During The Four Seasons, Erica Pereira slipped and fell, but picked herself up and continued on in Winter. Taylor Stanley, however, seemed to injure himself in Summer. He stumbled out of a turn (I think) and then went off stage. He came back to partner Emilie Gerrity at the end of the movement, but did not reappear in the Finale. I hope nothing too serious happened. Also in my opinion Huxley had no issues partnering Hyltin in Spring. 

Loved the new, young cast in Fancy Free!

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I attended opening night for program 1 (Tues March 27) in order to see Tiler Peck in Tchaikovsky Pas, Bouder and Laracey in Diverimento, Fairchild and deLuz in Zakouski, and Mearns in Pulcinella. It was a great night, even though Fairchild did not dance. One thing I notice others remakring upon, and something that has perplexed me for years: the (over?)use of Erica Pereira in recent years, at least in Kennedy Center tours. To me her movements look thrown, harsh, not grounded, and unfinished. Every year I try to give it a fresh go. Each year I come away from a performance feeling like a terrible person for disliking her dancing.
Anyhow, this year wasn't too different. I didn't mind her Divertimento performance as much, but by the time she appeared in Symphony in Three Mvmts, I was done. It was a long show, and maybe I was getting a bit cranky towards the end. But on to the other dancers!


Bouder never disappoints, and she was oh so crisp and controlled in Divertimento! I also really enjoyed seeing Lauren King and Ashley Laracey. Abi Stafford is almost never featured in KC tours, so I was really curious to see her dance, but several days later, I have almost no impression or memory of her dancing.
I had never seen Zakouski, so was very enthused to see the originally cast couple, but Indiana Woodward did as well as she could for being thrown in with a different partner at the last minute! I did really like the music as well.


Possibly my unexpected favorite of the evening was Pulcinella Variations--everyone did a bang up job, just fantastic on all fronts. I was especially excited to see Lydia Wellington replacing Woodward, whose lovely lines and shapes and graceful, powerful dancing has left an impression on me in years past. It was thrilling to see her featured in a technically demanding piece! Perhaps she is a bit reminiscent of Sara Mearns, who for me is the ultimate ballerina. I wish Mearns had been featured more in this performance, but I am looking forward to seeing her in Sunday's works. All the ladies were most impressive in this piece. THe audience loved it as well, especially the Tarantella danced by Anthony Huxley. 


Tiler Peck in Tchaikovsky PDD--what can I say that hasn't already been said? She absolutely owns the stage and the piece. The fish dives took everyone's breath away, the fouettes were 100% on point, and wow! It was just incredible. One of those performances I'll always remember seeing. 


For me the most impressive part of Symphony in Three Movement was the corps men and women. I suppose I haven't had enough exposure to the PDD danced by Hyltin and Danchig-Waring to appreciate its subtleties, so I won't comment. I did not especially enjoy the other two soloists, Pereria and LeCrone. The corps was in fine form! This is a piece I'd like to see many more times for full appreciation.


It was a long night, but what a night! THe most ballet bang for your buck in all of Ken Cen, I imagine! A nearly-three hour show with 5 fantastic pieces, with a fairly decent side seat in row X of the orchestra cost me only $59! Hard to compare it with the $150-$200+ tickets ABT charges when its comes to Ken Cen these days. If I hadn't had to work so much, I'd have gone back Wednesday night for sure. 
Very much looking forward to Sunday!

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On 3/28/2018 at 9:13 PM, canbelto said:

I forget too. Sometimes I wonder what's happening with her. She hasn't talked about an injury. She was able to dance a complete Juliet in the Winter. But for whatever reason ever since she got promoted to principal she barely dances.

Lauren Lovette has been working with an injury. At one point over the winter she had pictures of herself in a boot (soft cast) on IG. She may also have been at an onstage lec-dem wearing a boot. Was it the Apollo event?

Tiler Peck is somewhat shorter than Sterling Hyltin. I've heard that Tiler is under 5' tall. I've seen her in person on the street, but I couldn't say for sure. Sterling is someone I've spoken to and (best guess) she's in the 5'3"-5'6" range, roughly my height. Anthony Huxley is not a big guy. 

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8 hours ago, BalanchineFan said:

Tiler Peck is somewhat shorter than Sterling Hyltin. I've heard that Tiler is under 5' tall. I've seen her in person on the street, but I couldn't say for sure. Sterling is someone I've spoken to and (best guess) she's in the 5'3"-5'6" range, roughly my height. Anthony Huxley is not a big guy. 

Just looking at some pictures of Tiler and Sterling together online, I don't think there's a 4-inch difference in height there (i.e. it doesn't seem to me that Tiler could be under 5', if Sterling is 5'3-5'6). Plus, Tiler on pointe seemed to be about Huxley's height in Baiser, which would seem to make his partnering Sterling impossible, if she were 4+ inches taller yet.

Edited by nanushka
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11 hours ago, nanushka said:

Just looking at some pictures of Tiler and Sterling together online, I don't think there's a 4-inch difference in height there (i.e. it doesn't seem to me that Tiler could be under 5', if Sterling is 5'3-5'6). Plus, Tiler on pointe seemed to be about Huxley's height in Baiser, which would seem to make his partnering Sterling impossible, if she were 4+ inches taller yet.

Tiler Peck is 5' 5". Maria Kochetkova is just 5' tall. It's often seen as a disadvantage for a female dancer to be that short - there's a long running prejudice against truly short dancers, but, most female ballet dancers tend to be fairly short and lightweight women. Small is easier in terms of partnering, and tall, heavier people simply use up a lot more energy to make the same movements.

Edited by pherank
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When I googled Tiler Peck's height,  the first thing that came up had her at 5'5", but that felt seemed wrong to me as I've seen her standing next to other dancers who are not tall but definitely have at least a couple inches on her. So I continued searching.

Every other site alluded to her being a short dancer. Certainly 5'5" doesn't qualify as short. One site was written by someone whose dance school hired Peck for a workshop. This dancer said repeatedly that Peck was short,  not much over 5". That makes sense to me. I'd have pegged her at 5'1"-ish.

Edited by vagansmom
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11 minutes ago, vagansmom said:

When I googled Tiler Peck's height,  the first thing that came up had her at 5'5", but that felt seemed wrong to me as I've seen her standing next to other dancers who are not tall but definitely have at least a couple inches on her. So I continued searching.

Every other site alluded to her being a short dancer. Certainly 5'5" doesn't qualify as short. One site was written by someone whose dance school hired Peck for a workshop. This dancer said repeatedly that Peck was short,  not much over 5". That makes sense to me. I'd have pegged her at 5'1"-ish.

From an older TimeOut article:

https://www.timeout.com/newyork/dance/tiler-peck

Quote

But you have grown so much since you were an apprentice—
I did! [Laughs] Every time I go to the therapy room, because they’ve seen me, and every time I sit down: “Are you growing still?” And I’m like, “I don’t know—I guess I am.” But I did. I was the shortest in the company and now I’m definitely not. I think I’m 5'5" and a half.

It's often difficult to gauge height unless we know for certain the exact height of someone/something standing beside the dancer. Peter Martins, even at his present age, tended to tower over many of the NYCB women. But many of the male principals in companies are not all that tall themselves - we don't get a good sense of actual size looking at PDD couples for example.

Edited by pherank
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