Jump to content
This Site Uses Cookies. If You Want to Disable Cookies, Please See Your Browser Documentation. ×

2020: Free Streaming during COVID-19 Crisis


Recommended Posts

42 minutes ago, Buddy said:

I've never been able to get an idea about what Isadora Duncan's dancing was really like, but this is lovely !  I've read that Anna Pavlova admired her. A most beautiful setting as well.

This is exactly how I felt. I have no dance background, other than as an audience member, and there are some concepts in modern dance related to gravity and the floor that I had read about but never really understood. When I saw this performance, I remember thinking, oh, that's what they were talking about.

I remember thinking that the dances were individually lovely, but they weren't very different from each other. I'll see if I change my mind when I watch it again. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

55 minutes ago, FPF said:

This is exactly how I felt. I have no dance background, other than as an audience member, and there are some concepts in modern dance related to gravity and the floor that I had read about but never really understood. When I saw this performance, I remember thinking, oh, that's what they were talking about.

I remember thinking that the dances were individually lovely, but they weren't very different from each other. I'll see if I change my mind when I watch it again. 

FPF, I’ve seen some videos of dancers interpreting Isadora Duncan, but Sara Mearns' beautiful performance comes the closest to what I would have imagined her to be like.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, FPF said:

This is exactly how I felt. I have no dance background, other than as an audience member, and there are some concepts in modern dance related to gravity and the floor that I had read about but never really understood. When I saw this performance, I remember thinking, oh, that's what they were talking about.

I remember thinking that the dances were individually lovely, but they weren't very different from each other. I'll see if I change my mind when I watch it again. 

FPF, here’s what seems to be a very fine article about Isadora Duncan that I’m posting before finishing because I don’t want to rush through it. This is one sentence that I noticed in particular in Sara Mearns’ performance. Maybe she read it.

“And the most astonishing thing was her stillness - she had this knack of holding a stillness and then moving at an exquisitely timed moment that made you crumble.””

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2004/feb/21/dance.art

Added: Looking back at this video I don't see as much of this as I thought I did, but the final, long held pose is what I was thinking of.

Edited by Buddy
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, JanLevNYC said:

So much to love about online streaming.  But so paradoxical - to replace the stage with online viewing.

I think we, and the ballet companies, just need to look at online streaming as a useful adjunct to the seasonal in-person offerings. They can't ever be 'the same' as the theater experience, but videos can be very useful if the quality is high. And hopefully the companies will be making money off streaming in the near future.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, pherank said:

I think we, and the ballet companies, just need to look at online streaming as a useful adjunct to the seasonal in-person offerings. They can't ever be 'the same' as the theater experience, but videos can be very useful if the quality is high. And hopefully the companies will be making money off streaming in the near future.

I’ve been really liking the synchronous aspect of the NYCB streams. Even though I can easily watch them later with much better video quality, there’s something really enjoyable and engaging about watching them “live.”

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 minutes ago, nanushka said:

I’ve been really liking the synchronous aspect of the NYCB streams. Even though I can easily watch them later with much better video quality, there’s something really enjoyable and engaging about watching them “live.”

Once people remembered tuning into the first broadcast from the Moon. Now, maybe we will all remember that time when the Arts and Culture companies were streaming free shows online...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, FPF said:

This is exactly how I felt. I have no dance background, other than as an audience member, and there are some concepts in modern dance related to gravity and the floor that I had read about but never really understood. When I saw this performance, I remember thinking, oh, that's what they were talking about.

I remember thinking that the dances were individually lovely, but they weren't very different from each other. I'll see if I change my mind when I watch it again. 

I guess that I can't leave this one alone, FPF. The 'bottom line' for me, whether it's an authentic interpretation of Isadora Duncan or not, is that Sara Mearns is Absolutely Lovely and I do really like the style of choreography. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, FPF said:

there are some concepts in modern dance related to gravity and the floor that I had read about but never really understood

:offtopic:While it's extremely important not to conflate modern dance with any one technique or choreographer, this short film in which Martha Graham describes the basics of her own technique includes very beautiful demonstrations of the use of gravity and the floor, as well as articulation of the torso.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, California said:

Perm Opera Ballet is live-streaming Ashton's Les Patineurs (which they call Winter Dreams). They normally leave things on-line for a few days:

 

 

Winter Dreams is a one act ballet by Kenneth MacMillan loosely based on/inspired by Chekhov's Three Sisters ... 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

48 minutes ago, meunier fan said:

 

Winter Dreams is a one act ballet by Keneneth MacMillan loosely based on/inspired by Chekhov's Three Sisters ... 

APOLOGIES for creating all this confusion. It's worth checking out regardless.

Edited by California
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, California said:

Yes, but if you scroll down to the credits in English, you see this. The tape they are showing is Patineurs, nothing else. So this is a b it of a mystery. Did they rename Patineurs? Did they omit MacMillan's work and substitute Patineurs and neglect to correct the English? I don't read Russian, so I don't know what the credits at the top say. EDITED TO ADD: Now they're streaming something else, which must be Winter Dreams (which I've never seen). I hope they leave both ballets on-line for a few days so we can take another look. It's been a long time since ABT did Patineurs!

WINTER DREAMS 2014 production.

The 2019 revival Recorded live at the Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre on December 6, 2019

LES PATINEURS One-act ballet Music by Giacomo Meyerbeer from operas Le prophète and L'Étoile du nord, arranged by Constant Lambert Choreography by Sir Frederick Ashton Original Set and Costumes designed by William Chappell

"Winter Dreams" seems to be the name of the program as a whole, which consists of three ballets: Les PatineursWhen the Snow Was Falling, and Winter Dreams. Casting credits, etc. are given for all three ballets in English on the YouTube stream, which is currently live:

Quote

WINTER DREAMS 2014 production. The 2019 revival Recorded live at the Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre on December 6, 2019

LES PATINEURS One-act ballet Music by Giacomo Meyerbeer from operas Le prophète and L'Étoile du nord, arranged by Constant Lambert Choreography by Sir Frederick Ashton Original Set and Costumes designed by William Chappell Ballet Master (2014) — Julie Lincoln Ballet Master (2019) — Denis Bonner Conductor — Artyom Abashev Lighting Designer — Igor Zinn Cast: Pas de trois — Kirill Makurin, Lyaisan Gisatullina, Ekaterina Pyatysheva Pas de deux — Ekaterina Poleshchuk, Oleg Kulikov Two soloists — Anna Pushvintseva-Poistogova, Albina Rangulova Skaters — Ksenia Gorobets, Yana Lobas, Evgenia Kreker, Marina Shutova, Ilya Budrin, Kirill Galimyanov, Artyom Mishakov, Roman Tarkhanov

WHEN THE SNOW WAS FALLING One-act ballet Music by Bernard Herrmann from movie soundtracks Fahrenheit 451 and The Twilight Zone (Walking Distance) Choreography, Set Design, and Light by Douglas Lee Assistant Choreographer — Alexander Zaitsev Lighting Designer — Igor Zinn Cast: Lyaisan Gisatullina, Larisa Moskalenko, Anna Pushvintseva-Poistogova, Alexander Taranov, Roman Tarkhanov, Ivan Tkachenko, Taras Tovstyuk

WINTER DREAMS One-act ballet Music by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, arranged by Philip Gammon Traditional Russian music arranged by Sarah Freestone Choreography by Sir Kenneth MacMillan Original Set and Costumes designed by Peter Farmer Ballet Masters (2014) — Grant Coyle, Bruce Sansom Ballet Masters (2019) — Jane Elliott, Stephen Wicks Lighting Designer — Igor Zinn Cast: Prozorov sisters: Olga — Albina Rangulova Masha — Polina Buldakova Irina — Anna Terentieva Kulygin, Masha’s husband — Sergei Mershin Lt. Colonel Vershinin — Georgy Enaldiev Staff Captain Solyony — Ilya Budrin Lt. the Baron Tusenbach — Nikolay Lantsev Piano — Artyom Abashev Guitars — Gor Avetisyan, Konstantin Glushkov, Egor Filimonov, Sergei Osintsev Mandolin — Maxim Rastorguev Balalaika — Yaroslav Savinovsky

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I did look down below, California.  It seems that they are doing the MacMillan piece last on the triple bill.  They give the full cast for it in the YouTube outline.  The picture in your freeze is definitely of the MacMillan.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, volcanohunter said:

:offtopic:While it's extremely important not to conflate modern dance with any one technique or choreographer, this short film in which Martha Graham describes the basics of her own technique includes very beautiful demonstrations of the use of gravity and the floor, as well as articulation of the torso.

 

Thanks, Volcanohunter.

It's always interesting to see how many approaches there are to dance and beauty. Also the questions arises, "How 'codified' should these be ?"

I do like her assurances that her rather aggressive falls to the floor are highly controlled, not dangerous and not strained. She also mentions the interesting fact that the knees are not primary in the energetic rising and lowering, but rather the muscles above and below them.

Such attention to the health aspect is always heartening to me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, California said:

Perm Opera Ballet is live-streaming Ashton's Les Patineurs (which they call Winter Dreams). They normally leave things on-line for a few days:

 

The Work — The Performance — Absolutely Charming !

This company has such an airy surety and personality.

The lucky audience loves them — so do I.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just a thought about things in general. As we are appreciating more and more the digital quality and reality that's emerging I look forward more and more to the live performances again. One idea that sort of interests me is that of more local, affordable, but still highest quality performances. I think one thing that we're realising with all the digital releases is how much unknown talent is out there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just finished Pacific Northwest Ballet's dress rehearsal of Swan Lake.   Standout performances for me were Kyle Davis as the Jester, James Moore as Wolfgang, Leta Biasucci is the Pas de trois, as a cygnet, and Neopolitan.  Angelica Generosa was also quite fantastic in the Pas de trois.  Kyle Davis stole the show for me as the Jester - he is quite a turner!  Leta is lovely in everything she does.  In this version, Wolfgang dances in the first Act and has a comedic role.  The corps de ballet looked really good.  The cygnets really impressed me.

PNB is more a neoclassical company so my thinking is that their Swan Lake needs to be viewed with the understanding that it won't be like a typical Russian or more classical version.  For me, understanding this makes it much more enjoyable.   Do I prefer a more classical version?  Yes, but I love PNB so they will always get my support.

Some of the costumes could be updated or changed - mostly in the 3rd act divertissement.  The Princess costumes were a bit fluffy and a couple of them actually had midriff showing which I thought looked strange.  But the swan costumes were beautiful.

Onto our leads - Noelani Pantastico is a beautiful woman with a feminine body and she used it especially well as Odile.  Her Odette was lovely, but I would love for her to extend her arabesques for just a second longer in certain places.  Her Odile was great, strong fouettés.   Seth Orza was a strong and caring partner.  What a handsome dancer he is.  A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to see them both in Dances At A Gathering.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In the PNB Swan Lake, the princesses' dresses in Act III are supposed to suggest their home country, presumably because they're auditioning to make a royal alliance: Algeria, Britain, China, Flanders, India, and Russia.  I think the Algerian princess usually wears a face veil, but I didn't see it here. 

The Act I Pas de Trois dancers were Leta Biasucci (pink dress), Angelica Generosa (orange/yellow dress), and Benjamin Griffiths.

The Czardas dancers were Generosa and Ezra Thomson.

The credits said that the Spanish dancers were Leah Merchant and Dylan Wald (blond guy) and Sarah Pasch and Miles Pertl.  I thought it was Cecilia Iliesiu, not Merchant.  But the credits also said James Moore, who was Wolfgang in Act I, danced Czardas, and he didn't.

The Neapolitan dancers were Biasucci and Price Suddarth.

The Persian (set to the Russian music) dancer was Lindsi Dec.

I think the two big swans were Pasch and Emma Love Suddarth, joined by Iliesiu (who got the camera close-ups) in the trio, but I'm not certain.

It looked like Margaret Mullin as the Queen Mother.

William Lin-Yee was Baron von Glamrock.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...