2023-2024 Season

[Quiggin]

4 hours ago, Kathleen O'Connell said:

1!This Bitter Earth irks me for the same reason that much of Wheeldon's work irks me: he seems determined to strip ballerinas of their agency. The female lead is variously swirled across the stage, toted hither and thither, or held in a vice grip. When she's released to dance on her own, she invariably mirrors the male lead's steps. Worst of all, there's a moment when he rather forcibly grabs her arms and choreographs them for her. (It occurs at about 4:55 in the video here.) IMO, it's pretty, but only on the surface. 

Yes! And the men sometimes lift and hold the women over their heads and move them about like lawn furniture. ("Before the Rain"?)

Always enjoy watching clips of Pam Tanowitz's choreography, especially when Zachary Gonder is in the group.

[volcanohunter]

8 hours ago, Kathleen O'Connell said:

This Bitter Earth irks me for the same reason that much of Wheeldon's work irks me: he seems determined to strip ballerinas of their agency. The female lead is variously swirled across the stage, toted hither and thither, or held in a vice grip. When she's released to dance on her own, she invariably mirrors the male lead's steps. Worst of all, there's a moment when he rather forcibly grabs her arms and choreographs them for her. (It occurs at about 4:55 in the video here.) IMO, it's pretty, but only on the surface. 

A hundred times: yes!

I'm at a loss to understand why a ballerina would want to dance this (or the After the Rain duet or DGV) and be turned into an acquiescent pretzel. Totally raises my hackles. 

[Kathleen O'Connell]

6 hours ago, volcanohunter said:

I'm at a loss to understand why a ballerina would want to dance this (or the After the Rain duet or DGV)

In fairness, there can—and should—be differences of opinion regarding the artistic merit of a given ballet or a choreographer's entire oeuvre. I find much of Wheeldon's work to be pretty hooey at best (e.g. Liturgy), and in certain cases (e.g., Estancia) rotten at its core, but people whose judgment I respect view it much more positively. Where I see a choreographer learning all the wrong things from the Agon pas de deus (and nothing at all from the Brasnle Gay), they see a thoughtful artist ringing changes on a "House of Balanchine" neoclassicism that had grown sterile. 

Judging from the thunderous applause This Bitter Earth received both times I saw it last week, the audience responds to Wheeldon's work with enthusiasm, and that must be very gratifying to the dancers who perform it. And, as @deanofdance pointed out earlier in this thread, Phelan looked at her best in it. (Wheeldon's men are always ciphers, but Veyette did his best to be more than a porteur.) Perhaps she found something in the choreography to spark her own imagination and reveal it through her dancing. 

Edited May 21 by Kathleen O'Connell

[deanofdance]

3 hours ago, Kathleen O'Connell said:

In fairness, there can—and should—be differences of opinion regarding the artistic merit of a given ballet or a choreographer's entire oeuvre.

Agree!  And I would like to add that reading your (and others) opinions can give me another lens, another perspective from which to view and to critique (and to enjoy) dance.

[volcanohunter]

3 hours ago, Kathleen O'Connell said:

And, as @deanofdance pointed out earlier in this thread, Phelan looked at her best in it. (Wheeldon's men are always ciphers, but Veyette did his best to be more than a porteur.) Perhaps she found something in the choreography to spark her own imagination and reveal it through her dancing. 

That's an interesting observation, because while I didn't see this program, when I saw Phelan in the After the Rain duet, my conclusion was that the piece was unworthy of her. ("How maddening, then, that Wheeldon's choreography requires her to spend much of the duet bent backwards in a wheel pose being carried around like a lifeless mannequin. She deserved better.")

[pirouette]

Mira Nadon posted on Instagram stories that she will be dancing Diamonds with Peter Walker on June 5 and 7. So excited; I already have tickets for the 7th!! 

https://www.instagram.com/stories/mira_nadon/3373066835451555170/ (up for 24hrs)  

[cobweb]

21 minutes ago, pirouette said:

Mira Nadon posted on Instagram stories that she will be dancing Diamonds with Peter Walker on June 5 and 7. So excited; I already have tickets for the 7th!! 

We look forward to your report, pirouette!!

[Fernie M]

26 minutes ago, pirouette said:

Mira Nadon posted on Instagram stories that she will be dancing Diamonds with Peter Walker on June 5 and 7. So excited; I already have tickets for the 7th!! 

https://www.instagram.com/stories/mira_nadon/3373066835451555170/ (up for 24hrs)  

Me too! Super excited!

[abatt]

Darn.  Wish they were doing this on Sat or Sunday.  I can't miss work for this. Oh well.   Waiting eagerly for reports.

 

Edited May 21 by abatt

[volcanohunter]

On 5/18/2024 at 10:23 AM, cobweb said:

For tall women, of course there's also Mearns. Of the current women principals, the tallest is LaFreniere. Not sure how the others stack up, I don't think of either Phelan or Nadon as particularly tall, more like medium-tall. 

Nadon is plenty tall. Judging by these videos I would peg her at about 5'8".

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/y2ryuL3yKjyfGZAM/?mibextid=Le6z7H

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/oSgqnPKGGMY3pyuB/?mibextid=Le6z7H

In these photos LaFreniere appears only fractionally taller than Nadon. They are very close in height:

https://www.nycballet.com/discover/stories/christine-redpath-on-reconstucting-rondo/

Nadon is definitely taller than Mearns, who's the one I would describe as medium:

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/QTVgUukN3RfkugFV/?mibextid=Le6z7H

Edited May 22 by volcanohunter
photo link

[BalanchineFan]

14 hours ago, volcanohunter said:

A hundred times: yes!

I'm at a loss to understand why a ballerina would want to dance this (or the After the Rain duet or DGV) and be turned into an acquiescent pretzel. Totally raises my hackles. 

I would love to dance any of those ballets and This Bitter Earth, too! There's a lot of partnering. I agree with the assessment that the woman is carried around a lot and doesn't LOOK like she has agency, but the woman works plenty in partnering. It may look passive, but if you were truly passive no one could get you off the ground, much less hold you up with one arm! Try lifting a baby that doesn't want to be lifted. They go limp and it's impossible.

Being partnered can feel like flying.

[Kathleen O'Connell]

11 minutes ago, BalanchineFan said:

I agree with the assessment that the woman is carried around a lot and doesn't LOOK like she has agency, but the woman works plenty in partnering.

Oh, I didn't think for a moment that the ballerina isn't working hard to create the illusion that she's being swept across the stage without any impetus of her own! It's the illusion itself—that everything she does is initiated and controlled by her partner—I find irksome. The fact that her partner is something of a cipher himself complicates things for me even further. 

[volcanohunter]

The point is that Wheeldon's women frequently look passive in their duets.

Whoever dances Princess Stéphanie in Kenneth MacMillan's Mayerling is working awfully hard, but what the scene depicts is marital rape on a helpless victim.

 

[BalanchineFan]

22 minutes ago, volcanohunter said:

The point is that Wheeldon's women frequently look passive in their duets.

Whoever dances Princess Stéphanie in Kenneth MacMillan's Mayerling is working awfully hard, but what the scene depicts is marital rape on a helpless victim.

 

I feel certain I got your point.

I agree with you that the passivity (This Bitter Earth, After the Rain, etc) and the violence (Mayerling) is there. Unquestionably. I just like it, from the audience as well. In certain ballets. High drama. It's on the spectrum of ballets I enjoy. 

And those are great roles to dance. Vive la difference.

Or maybe I don't understand. How do you feel about the Ivesiana piece where the ballerina is held aloft the entire time?

If you wouldn't poison someone, would you object to dancers playing Carabosse in Sleeping Beauty? Do you feel that way about other choreographers' ppd with passive women, or is it just with Christopher Wheeldon (and MacMillan's Mayerling)?

Edited May 21 by BalanchineFan

[volcanohunter]

My point was regardless of whether a pas de deux is decorous, rapturous, "serene" or violent, the ballerina is working very hard, but audience perception of her "role" will vary. I actually don't object to MacMillan's (or Neumeier’s) depictions of sexual violence because there's no question about what it is. A viewer couldn't mistake it for something "beautiful." (Others see it as gratuitous.)

Wheeldon's duets are presented as "beautiful," but I agree that they are "pretty, but only on the surface." I see a woman's body being manipulated with zero resistance from her.

Edited May 22 by volcanohunter

[Drew]

7 hours ago, volcanohunter said:

The point is that Wheeldon's women frequently look passive in their duets.

Whoever dances Princess Stéphanie in Kenneth MacMillan's Mayerling is working awfully hard, but what the scene depicts is marital rape on a helpless victim.

 

I find the pas de deux between Stephanie and Rudolph problematic precisely because it's so visible that she is working hard to keep the choreographic action going even though that action is supposedly depicting her abuse at Rudolph's hands--in particular, she keeps running towards him even though he is raping her.   It undermines the whole thing for me. I am far from a die-hard Wheeldon fan and, on the whole, I rather admire Mayerling, but for me the big Stephanie=Rudolph pas de deux is not a strong point in the latter ballet.

(The women characters in Wheeldon's story ballets often have considerable agency and, in my eyes, are hardly just pliable play-doh choreographically. I haven't seen any of his non-narrative works--even on video--in quite some time.).

Edited May 22 by Drew

[volcanohunter]

Narrative definitely alters the equation. Wheeldon's Paulina, especially when danced by Zenaida Yanowsky or Svetlana Lunkina, really gives Leontes hell. Hermione, on the other hand, comes in for monstrous abuse at his hands. That's consistent with the storyline. 

But there is an awful lot of contemporary choreography in which women's bodies are treated as objects to be pulled, twisted and thrown around. There is the oeuvre of Wayne McGregor. I think of a bill I attended with works by Johan Inger, Tricia Brown and Angelin Preljocaj. No complaints about Brown, but the treatment of female dancers in the other two pieces was perfectly appalling. (In Preljocaj's piece this was further emphasized by having life-size rag dolls of women tossed all over the stage.)

There is fascination with the choreographic possibilities of a female dancer's flexibility. There is also choreography that comes close to robbing her body of dignity and respect, and it is distressingly prevalent. 

[BalanchineFan]

3 hours ago, Drew said:

I find the pas de deux between Stephanie and Rudolph problematic precisely because it's so visible that she is working hard to keep the choreographic action going even though that action is supposedly depicting her abuse at Rudolph's hands--in particular, she keeps running towards him even though he is raping her.   It undermines the whole thing for me. I am far from a die-hard Wheeldon fan and, on the whole, I rather admire Mayerling, but for me the big Stephanie=Rudolph pas de deux is not a strong point in the latter ballet.

(The women characters in Wheeldon's story ballets often have considerable agency and, in my eyes, are hardly just pliable play-doh choreographically. I haven't seen any of his non-narrative works--even on video--in quite some time.).

I've never seen Mayerling, but I know the history and her running towards him seems completely in line with what happened. She was in love with Rudolf. They were on his country estate. She couldn't walk home or even call a cab. And he was paranoid and possibly delusional. There are a lot of reasons she would be running towards him, even if it eventually led to her murder. Or maybe I'm thinking of Maria Vesteva.

[maps]

On 5/21/2024 at 5:19 PM, abatt said:

Darn.  Wish they were doing this on Sat or Sunday.  I can't miss work for this. Oh well.   Waiting eagerly for reports.

 

The KC posted the cast list this morning.  New York City Ballet: Jewels | Kennedy Center (kennedy-center.org)  Chan is with Mearns.  No LaFreniere.

This NYCB rep and casting is precious considering KC programming.   

Edited May 24 by maps

[abatt]

LaFreniere has been injured for the entire spring season.   That's why they needed a new Diamonds female lead, ie, Mira Nadon.

Many exciting Jewels debuts.  Miriam Miller finally gets Emeralds, and Corti debuting as Tall Girl. 

 

By the way, Nadon replaced Mearns last night in Law of Mosaics.  When the announcement was made before the show, there was audible chatter.  Couldn't tell if people were pleased or disappointed, but someone yelled out Go MIRA.  Sadly, not even Mira could make that ballet worthwhile.  40 minutes of my life I will never get back.

 

Edited May 22 by abatt

[Kathleen O'Connell]

1 hour ago, abatt said:

Corti debuting as Tall Girl.

Based on what I've seen her do this season, I think she's a good candidate for the Rubies Tall Girl. 

[bellawood]

51 minutes ago, abatt said:

LaFreniere has been injured for the entire spring season.   That's why they needed a new Diamonds female lead, ie, Mira Nadon.

Many exciting Jewels debuts.  Miriam Miller finally gets Emeralds, and Corti debuting as Tall Girl. 

 

By the way, Nadon replaced Mearns last night in Law of Mosaics.  When the announcement was made before the show, there was audible chatter.  Couldn't tell if people were pleased or disappointed, but someone yelled out Go MIRA.  Sadly, not even Mira could make that ballet worthwhile.  40 minutes of my life I will never get back.

 

I was there too! I thought they said, 'We love you Mira!" followed by a laugh. Either way, I found Law of Mosaics challenging. My husband loved it and loved the music (!).  

BTW Mira was out on the 1st tier lobby during the second intermission -- she is at least 5'8 in her sneakers. Husband: "She's tall!" Gilbert Bolden makes her look smaller on stage. Noticed in the Kyle Abraham piece that even Peter Walker is noticeably shorter than Emily Kikta when she's on pointe. I think it is her partnering limitations that are keeping her from promotion. I was also favorably impressed by Quinn Starner in that ballet. 

I have a ticket for her debut on the 5th! Have to figure out my travel. 

[Drew]

9 hours ago, BalanchineFan said:

I've never seen Mayerling, but I know the history and her running towards him seems completely in line with what happened. She was in love with Rudolf. They were on his country estate. She couldn't walk home or even call a cab. And he was paranoid and possibly delusional. There are a lot of reasons she would be running towards him, even if it eventually led to her murder. Or maybe I'm thinking of Maria Vesteva.

It's Vetsera who participated in the murder-suicide. (His wife, Stefanie died in 1945 according to Wikipedia.) As far as the pas de deux with Stefanie goes, whatever the awful  history of her marriage, to me it always looks absurd.

To return to NYCB: very excited re Nadon's Diamonds debut. I have tickets for one of the performances and if all goes well will see her...

Edited May 22 by Drew

[abatt]

29 minutes ago, bellawood said:

I was there too! I thought they said, 'We love you Mira!" followed by a laugh. Either way, I found Law of Mosaics challenging. My husband loved it and loved the music (!).  

BTW Mira was out on the 1st tier lobby during the second intermission -- she is at least 5'8 in her sneakers. Husband: "She's tall!" Gilbert Bolden makes her look smaller on stage. Noticed in the Kyle Abraham piece that even Peter Walker is noticeably shorter than Emily Kikta when she's on pointe. I think it is her partnering limitations that are keeping her from promotion. I was also favorably impressed by Quinn Starner in that ballet. 

I have a ticket for her debut on the 5th! Have to figure out my travel. 

Loved Kikta in Love Letters.  I wish they would cast her and Peter Walker in Glass Pieces.  Their long lines would look great in Glass Pieces pas.  They would have also been wonderful in Red Angels together.  

 

Also noticed in the KC casting that Olivia MacKinnon is getting a lead in Emeralds.  She is definitely moving up fast in major role debuts.

[bellawood]

16 minutes ago, abatt said:

Loved Kikta in Love Letters.  I wish they would cast her and Peter Walker in Glass Pieces.  Their long lines would look great in Glass Pieces pas.  They would have also been wonderful in Red Angels together.  

 

Also noticed in the KC casting that Olivia MacKinnon is getting a lead in Emeralds.  She is definitely moving up fast in major role debuts.

Last year when City Ballet did their usual  "before opening night" Instagram stories of rehearsals, you could see both Mira and O. MacKinnon rehearsing Emeralds; glad she's getting the opportunity.