Helene Posted January 6, 2023 Share Posted January 6, 2023 During the curtain calls, commentator Debra Lew Harder said during curtain calls that James Whiteside made his Met Opera debut as a solo dancer in tonight's performance of La Traviata (2023 01 05). William Berger said some of Whiteside's fans gave him a heads up. They may have mentioned it earlier in the live stream, and I missed it. Congratulations to him Link to comment
Papagena Posted January 6, 2023 Share Posted January 6, 2023 Have seen this production a couple times (and have very mixed feelings about it) but Whiteside is perfect for this scene! Love watching him really let loose on side projects. Link to comment
FauxPas Posted January 6, 2023 Share Posted January 6, 2023 I was in the house last night. The Lorin Lotarro choreography for the Act 2, Scene 2 (sometimes Act 3) ballet is ridiculous as is the costuming. You would have no idea it is supposed to be Spanish as it is just shirtless male dancers lifting and throwing around the women dressed as goth ghouls from a zombie flick. The lead male dancer is supposed to be Piquillo, a toreador. Whiteside was shirtless in toreador pants with white face and body makeup. However, James Whiteside's height, commanding presence and powerful leaps and even cartwheels totally dominated the stage. From the limited and rather uninteresting steps given to him, he looks to be back in strong form and he always had theatricality and charisma. Link to comment
lacdescygnes Posted January 6, 2023 Share Posted January 6, 2023 Robbie Fairchild had been given that role a few months ago, although from his IG I seem to recall he got injured before making it to the stage. Nice to see the Met hiring top-level dancers for this! I still don't seek out Whiteside as a dancer but after reading Center Center and seeing his openness in discussing his serious injury on social media, he has considerably risen in my esteem as a person. Link to comment
angelica Posted January 8, 2023 Share Posted January 8, 2023 On 1/6/2023 at 3:36 PM, lacdescygnes said: I still don't seek out Whiteside as a dancer but after reading Center Center and seeing his openness in discussing his serious injury on social media, he has considerably risen in my esteem as a person. I think that Whiteside has improved greatly as a dancer since he joined ABT. It's amazing what exposure to better dancers can do to incentivize hard work. Link to comment
California Posted January 8, 2023 Share Posted January 8, 2023 5 hours ago, angelica said: I think that Whiteside has improved greatly as a dancer since he joined ABT. It's amazing what exposure to better dancers can do to incentivize hard work. I was late to appreciating Whiteside. He really came into his own in Tharp's Deuce Coupe in 2019. https://www.abt.org/ballet/deuce-coupe/ Link to comment
abatt Posted January 8, 2023 Share Posted January 8, 2023 I think he may be more convincing in modern works like Tharp, and less so in the classical prince roles. Link to comment
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