casloan Posted March 29, 2002 Share Posted March 29, 2002 My husband and I saw Ballet Chicago's Studio Company perform recently with the Skokie Valley Symphony Orchestra (in the northern suburbs of Chicago on Sunday, March 10). We've attended performances by these student dancers before because Daniel Duell is their director. We remember him well from the days when he was dancing and we were visiting New York frequently to attend NYCB performances. We rarely have the chance to see any of the Balanchine repertory in Chicago these days, so we seize any and all opportunities. Mr. Duell was his usual articulate self as, together with the conductor, he introduced each piece in which his young dancers would appear. They performed just the "Vivace" movement from "Concerto Barocco" with enthusiasm. We had seen them do the entire work before with somewhat greater energy and precision. Mr. Duell's "Octet" to the Stravinsky Octet for Wind Instruments was crafted to take advantage of his young dancers' emerging strengths. The real treat for us was the performance of Balanchine's "Tarantella." Samuel Feipel has the technique, the self-assuredness, the balon, and all of the other requisite talents to carry off this demanding and thoroughly delightful role. It was a pleasure to witness. Link to comment
Alexandra Posted March 30, 2002 Share Posted March 30, 2002 Thank you for this, CASloan. I hear very little about Duell's company -- I wasn't even sure it was active, so reading about a performance was especially valuable. I'm sure there are many people reading these boards who remember Daniel Duell as a dancer and will be glad to learn what he's up to these days. (I can't resist adding that I hope your post will encourage to see others who are attending performances to post about them Just think how interesting this board would be if we had several posts like this, from around the country, each week? Then we'd really know what was going on!) Link to comment
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