Susu_nyc Posted June 29, 2023 Share Posted June 29, 2023 On 4/21/2023 at 7:56 PM, cobweb said: Studying the season brochure that arrived, I wonder if the pic of LaFreniere on the cover means we will see her in Symphony in C second movement. Hope so! It's not LaFreniere on the cover. Emilie Gerrity posted a photo on Instagram of herself and the campaign imaged and expressed her delight. Link to comment
cobweb Posted June 29, 2023 Share Posted June 29, 2023 1 hour ago, Susu_nyc said: It's not LaFreniere on the cover. Emilie Gerrity posted a photo on Instagram of herself and the campaign imaged and expressed her delight. Thank you, Susu_nyc! I kept thinking it didn't quite look like LaFreniere but it never occurred to me it was actually Emilie Gerrity. I would love to see Gerrity take on the first movement of Symphony in C. Link to comment
abatt Posted June 29, 2023 Author Share Posted June 29, 2023 Didn't Gerrity do third movement (maybe it was fourth?) last fall. Gerrity is unrecognizable in that cover photo. Was the messy hair supposed to be a way for ballet to appear more accessible to the masses. Look no ballet bun. Ballet dancers have messy hair just like regular people. Link to comment
matilda Posted June 29, 2023 Share Posted June 29, 2023 (edited) Gerrity has done 4th movement of Symphony in C. I'd love to see LaFreniere in the 2nd. Woodward is due for a 1st movement upgrade after doing 3rd for several years. Several big ballerina roles with demanding classical technique happening in short succession this fall -- Diamonds, Stars and Stripes, Tchaikovsky Piano concerto no. 2, Symphony in C, Theme and Variations, etc. Curious to see how they'll divide up the tasks. I doubt we'll see Bouder in those kinds of parts. (I'll always fondly remember her pre-pandemic / pre-injury Stars and Stripes though.) Edited June 29, 2023 by matilda Link to comment
pirouette Posted June 29, 2023 Share Posted June 29, 2023 Would love to hear everyone's "dream" casts for the big roles this fall! And even winter/spring!! Link to comment
matilda Posted June 29, 2023 Share Posted June 29, 2023 Not sure about my "dream casts" but some other dancer/role pairings I think could/should happen (just talking debuts): Mejia - Stars and Stripes, maybe T&V ... both opposite Peck, Woodward, or Von Enck Gordon - would also be perfect in Stars and Stripes Woodward - Emeralds (Verdy part) and basically anything that's difficult and classical Maxwell - Rubies Nadon - Agon, Tchaikovsky piano concerto 2 LaFreniere - Diamonds Phelan - Diamonds Afakansenkov - Sonnambula Link to comment
cobweb Posted June 29, 2023 Share Posted June 29, 2023 I think Gerrity, and Woodward too, would look great in the first movement of Symphony in C. My first choices for the second movement are unlikely to happen because they're soloists, but I would love to see Emily Kikta or Ashley Laracey. Yes to Alexa Maxwell in Rubies! Also von Enck. Link to comment
abatt Posted June 29, 2023 Author Share Posted June 29, 2023 (edited) Kikta and Nadon as Siren in Prodigal. Mejia as Prodigal. Miller in Diamonds Edited June 29, 2023 by abatt Link to comment
pirouette Posted June 30, 2023 Share Posted June 30, 2023 I agree with most of these, but especially Woodward in Bizet 1st Movement, Maxwell in Rubies, and Nadon in Agon. I would also love to see Nadon in Bizet 2nd Movement and Diamonds in the future. Link to comment
cobweb Posted July 4, 2023 Share Posted July 4, 2023 Studying the Fall schedule, I am wondering about Bourree Fantasque. This piece is completely unknown to me. Does anyone know if this was considered a successful piece, and/or know the last time the company performed it? Does anyone have any recollections or impressions they can share? I looked at the info on the Repertory section of the website, and it looks ambitious, and the original cast (and Karinska as costume designer) certainly inspires my confidence. But I'm baffled as to why I can't remember even hearing about this piece before. It would be nice if the Repertory section of the website would give a little more info as to performance history. I wish NYCB would have a thorough, detailed, searchable archive like the Metropolitan Opera does, but that must be an expensive undertaking. Link to comment
nanushka Posted July 4, 2023 Share Posted July 4, 2023 I haven't watched it in quite awhile so don't have fresh recollections, but there is a video on YouTube of Boston Ballet performing Bourée Fantasque. The video is titled, simply, "Bourée Fantasque." There is also a detailed write-up in Reynolds' Repertory in Review (pp. 100-102). Link to comment
California Posted July 4, 2023 Share Posted July 4, 2023 1 hour ago, nanushka said: I haven't watched it in quite awhile so don't have fresh recollections, but there is a video on YouTube of Boston Ballet performing Bourée Fantasque. The video is titled, simply, "Bourée Fantasque." There is also a detailed write-up in Reynolds' Repertory in Review (pp. 100-102). I found a really poor quality recording of Bouree Fantasque, but no credits. From some Googling, it seems that the School of American Ballet does excerpts every few years. E.g., https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/11/arts/dance/11workshop.html https://www.facebook.com/SABNYC/posts/in-the-spirit-of-our-upcoming-virtual-workshop-celebration-were-sharing-another-/10157414177973870/ Link to comment
nanushka Posted July 4, 2023 Share Posted July 4, 2023 (edited) 36 minutes ago, California said: I found a really poor quality recording of Bouree Fantasque, but no credits. Yes, that's the Boston Ballet recording I referred to above; a bit of info is very dimly visible at the opening. Edited July 4, 2023 by nanushka Link to comment
jerryb Posted July 6, 2023 Share Posted July 6, 2023 California, thanks for the link to Bouree Fantasque. I've known this music for probably 70 years. When I was a teenager I had a vynl recording of Bouree on one side and Western Symphony on the other. It was NYCB Orchestra and I believe Robert Irving conducting. So while they may not be Balanchine mastserpieces they both have a very, very strong hold on my heart.. Of course over the years I've seen Western Symphony many times but Bouree Fantasque probably only twice as it is very rarel;y programmed. On one of the SAB seminars Patricia McBride said is was fun to dance but she couldn't remember any of it. Tanaquil Leclerq and Jerome Robbins were two of the leads, It's a fun closing ballet and you'll leave the theater happy. I look forward to seeing it again. Link to comment
Quiggin Posted July 6, 2023 Share Posted July 6, 2023 Thanks for the clip, California. I immediately think of the Platt Lynes photos of Tanaquil Le Clercq and Jerome Robbins, on whom the ballet was set, and who would still seem to haunt it. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/4ec37260-e6e9-0136-b647-3d2f3f5498be https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/264841 Link to comment
cobweb Posted July 11, 2023 Share Posted July 11, 2023 Thanks for the info on Bouree Fantasque, @California. Kathryn Morgan certainly looks beautiful in that picture from SAB! I watched the first movement of the Boston Ballet performance, and skipped around the rest. The first movement looked very cutesy... too cutesy. The other movements look like a mishmash melange of styles. Interesting. I'm not sure how I'm going to like this. Since it apparently hasn't been done for some time (someone correct me if I'm wrong here, I'm very curious about when NYCB last performed it), I imagine there might be an article in the New York Times talking about it coming back to the stage and why. It will be interesting to see the casting. For the first movement, it needs a ballerina and partner who can be goofy... Tiler Peck and Roman Mejia? Indiana Woodward? Daniel Ulbricht? Link to comment
FPF Posted July 11, 2023 Share Posted July 11, 2023 I think that it is traditionally cast with a shorter male dancer and taller female dancer--the originators were Jerome Robbins and Tanaquil LeClerc. I saw it way back in (I think) 1989 with ABT and loved it. This ballet and Theme and Variations convinced me to switch to NYCB to see more Balanchine. I know it was revived for the 1993 Balanchine Celebration, although I didn't get to see it then, but I don't know if it's been revived since. The cast reviewed by the NYT had Tom Gold and Monique Meunier in the first movement. The casts for the second and third movements in the 1993 revival were Maria Calegari and Lindsay Fischer and Katrina Killian and Nicolaj Hubbe, respectively. From the review: "Bourree Fantasque" can be likened to a Champagne party at which all the guests are witty, elegant and, perhaps, slightly tipsy but never drunk. The perky opening episode includes a spoof of balletic partnering. Then comes a serious lyrical pas de deux. And the conclusion is a festive parade." Link to comment
uptowner Posted July 11, 2023 Share Posted July 11, 2023 In the season wrap-up episode of “City Ballet The Podcast” Whelan does talk a little bit about why she chose to program the 75th anniversary season the way she did. I don’t know enough to summarize or comment on what she said, but I still was interested. A lot of the episode is looking back but she and Stafford are also talking about future plans. https://podcast.nycballet.com Link to comment
abatt Posted July 11, 2023 Author Share Posted July 11, 2023 I saw Wendy Whelan on the subway last week and said hello. She was very nice and down to earth. She asked me what I would like to see programmed in the future, as the company is already planning the 2024-25 season. I mentioned that Davidbundertanze had not been performed in a long time. She replied that "You need the right tall guy for that one." So that was my brush with ballet royalty on the subway system. Link to comment
BalanchineFan Posted July 11, 2023 Share Posted July 11, 2023 (edited) 29 minutes ago, abatt said: I saw Wendy Whelan on the subway last week and said hello. She was very nice and down to earth. She asked me what I would like to see programmed in the future, as the company is already planning the 2024-25 season. I mentioned that Davidbundertanze had not been performed in a long time. She replied that "You need the right tall guy for that one." So that was my brush with ballet royalty on the subway system. Too bad Russell Janzen is retiring. He'd be perfect in Davidsbundlertanze. Maybe Taylor Stanley or Joseph Gordon, now. Adrian D-S would do it justice too. Edited July 11, 2023 by BalanchineFan Link to comment
abatt Posted July 11, 2023 Author Share Posted July 11, 2023 Yes, Janzen actually was great in this role when he did it as, I believe, a soloist. Link to comment
cobweb Posted July 11, 2023 Share Posted July 11, 2023 Yes, Janzen was great. Maybe that was why they programmed it at the time! I'm trying to remember, he must have alternated with someone in the role, does anyone remember who? Could it have been Ask La Cour? Link to comment
maps Posted July 11, 2023 Share Posted July 11, 2023 (edited) delete Edited July 12, 2023 by maps - Link to comment
California Posted July 11, 2023 Share Posted July 11, 2023 2 hours ago, abatt said: I saw Wendy Whelan on the subway last week and said hello. She was very nice and down to earth. She asked me what I would like to see programmed in the future, as the company is already planning the 2024-25 season. I mentioned that Davidbundertanze had not been performed in a long time. She replied that "You need the right tall guy for that one." So that was my brush with ballet royalty on the subway system. Interesting! I actually wish they would bring back Union Jack! No other company does it and that opening section with all the regiments is really something. Last performed in 2019. I remember an interview long ago that said no other company had requested it, probably because they have 70 dancers on stage at one point! Few companies are big enough to handle that, even with supplements from their schools. Link to comment
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