BalanchineFan Posted June 3 Share Posted June 3 12 hours ago, harpergroup said: Prior to the bows from the soloists and principals, Jackie Bologna got a solo bow in front of the corps at this afternoon’s performance, to great applause from her castmates and some of us in the audience. And after the final “in-front-of-the-curtain” bows, there were huge cheers and applause from the stage. I saw that too! Jacqueline Bologna danced the Divertissement (6 couples) and took a quick solo bow when the company was onstage Sunday. I thought it meant that she was leaving the company. Link to comment
jerryb Posted June 3 Share Posted June 3 Midsummer Night's Dream - Saturday evening June 1. From our seats in the orchestra before the performance you could hear that the house was full. Sara Mearns seemed a little unsure in the pas with Chun Wai Chan. The lifts were ulnsteady and didn't give the feeling of soaring. On one lift she bumped into his chest. Through out I had the feeling that she did not trust him. She looked more at ease with the Bottom of Preston Chambleee. Anthony Huxley is such a fine technician it is a joy to watch him dance. Taylor Stanley's Puck was excellent and I particularly enjoyed the clarity of his gestures. Gilbert Bolden III is a very good Theseus. I will always fondly remember Francisco Moncion in the role A special shout out to Indiana Woodward and Andrew Veyette in the Act II divertissement making all the quiet elegance of the choreography look so beautiful and effortless. The corps was excellent. The orchestra played beautifully. As my partner said the Mendelssohn is like and old friend. I wish NYCB would always end the season with Midsummer. Link to comment
abatt Posted June 3 Author Share Posted June 3 It is possible that Mearns doesn't quite trust Chan. On Tuesday, when she did that jump and he has to catch her, it was a very awkward catch. However, she was never in danger. I will also add that when Sanz had to catch Phelan in the same bit of choreography on Wednesday, the catch was very precarious and badly tilted. That one could have easily turned into a disaster. The only secure catch was done by Peter Walker, partnering Miriam Miller. He made it look easy and smooth. Link to comment
cobweb Posted June 3 Share Posted June 3 51 minutes ago, jerryb said: I wish NYCB would always end the season with Midsummer. Agree. I don't understand why it's not an annual tradition, like Nutcracker. Like Nut, it has all the elements: beautiful music, beautiful choreography, beautifully-trained children, a theme involving magic and wonder, and a perfect fit with the season. Holds up to repeated viewings no matter the cast. And it's a crowd-pleaser! Link to comment
ABT Fan Posted June 3 Share Posted June 3 I thought Midsummer was always the bona fide last ballet of the season? Till last year. Link to comment
abatt Posted June 3 Author Share Posted June 3 It was always the last week of the season every year until sometime during the stewardship of Martins. I don't recall when, but during the period when they were presenting the Diamond Project every spring, Martins switched to presenting Midsummer every other year. Link to comment
volcanohunter Posted June 3 Share Posted June 3 Surely the season-ending alternation between A Midsummer Night's Dream and Jewels is not a bad thing. I grew sick of The Nutcracker a really long time ago. (Not the Balanchine version, just the pervasiveness of Nutcrackers every December.) Link to comment
FPF Posted June 3 Share Posted June 3 I remember seeing it in January 2004--checking the NYT, I see this was indeed the case. Also, as a plug for my local NYCB venue, it's wonderful to see at SPAC on a midsummer night with nature around. Unfortunately not on the schedule for this year. Link to comment
abatt Posted June 3 Author Share Posted June 3 (edited) 17 minutes ago, volcanohunter said: Surely the season-ending alternation between A Midsummer Night's Dream and Jewels is not a bad thing. I grew sick of The Nutcracker a really long time ago. (Not the Balanchine version, just the pervasiveness of Nutcrackers every December.) The Diamond Project is not a reference to Jewels. It is a reference to a festival of new works that was funded for many years by the Irene Diamond Fund. I would be THRILLED if they did Jewels every year. 13 minutes ago, FPF said: I remember seeing it in January 2004--checking the NYT, I see this was indeed the case. Also, as a plug for my local NYCB venue, it's wonderful to see at SPAC on a midsummer night with nature around. Unfortunately not on the schedule for this year. Yes, 2004 was the only year that they did it in the Winter. It must have bombed, because they never tried that again. Edited June 3 by abatt Link to comment
cobweb Posted June 3 Share Posted June 3 I didn't realize that until the Diamond Project it was a long-term, regular Spring season closer. I mean, I can see they do it very frequently, but not every single year. Pre-Diamond Project, do you know how far back that went, @abatt? Link to comment
FPF Posted June 3 Share Posted June 3 Diamond Project started in 1992 and was every 2-3 years through 2006. Link to comment
FPF Posted June 3 Share Posted June 3 MSND was also performed in February 1986,1989, 1983, and in January 1982. Link to comment
volcanohunter Posted June 3 Share Posted June 3 1 hour ago, abatt said: The Diamond Project is not a reference to Jewels. It is a reference to a festival of new works that was funded for many years by the Irene Diamond Fund. I would be THRILLED if they did Jewels every year. I'm aware of that, but I was referring to the frequent use of Jewels to close the spring season. Link to comment
abatt Posted June 4 Author Share Posted June 4 2 hours ago, FPF said: MSND was also performed in February 1986,1989, 1983, and in January 1982. That pre dated my attendance, which began in around 1992 or 93. Link to comment
FPF Posted June 4 Share Posted June 4 5 minutes ago, abatt said: That pre dated my attendance, which began in around 1992 or 93. I started in Fall 1989--my point was just that MSND was not always/traditionally a spring closer ballet, including when Balanchine was still alive the tradition seems more to be that there were winter performances in some years and spring performances in others. I think Martins made other attempts to have a big spring ballet (eg, Sleeping Beauty), but the audiences just don't seem to turn out to see the same thing year after year at the same time, except for Nutcracker. Jewels also seems to have been performed in every season, not just as a spring closer, including in recent years. Link to comment
Helene Posted June 4 Share Posted June 4 Also 1994 and 1995, after I moved to Seattle and returned during the last week of the Spring season a few years in a row. I was thrilled to see it in 2009 when I visited, too. A Midsummer Night's Dream is such a great way to see such a wide range of the Company in just a few performances. To go back to Other Dances, while the movement might not be authentic folk dancing, what Makarova and Baryshnikov had in common was years of character dancing classes as part of their curriculum. Since the dancing is stylized anyway for the stage, they wouldn't be able to say what region a dance was from, but they could probably tell you what costume and what ballet those gestures invoked. I remember there were some YouTube videos of long dance classes at the school, and the part that I watched over and over again was the character class. Link to comment
Drew Posted June 4 Share Posted June 4 (edited) Not a fan of annual Midsummer Night's Dream. I enjoy the ballet a lot, and if, as I infer, it's a consistent money-earner, then I understand the companty performing it annually. But as much as I enjoy the ballet, I prefer as much variety from NYCB as I can get. And for simply seeing a range of dancers, and taking the company's temperature, I would much prefer Jewels as a regularly returning ballet. Edited June 4 by Drew Link to comment
uptowner Posted June 4 Share Posted June 4 A couple of years ago (2018?) I believe the company ended their season with Coppelia. I guess it makes sense to me that they would want to end with a "crowd pleaser"? But I agree that it might get repetitive to have Midsummer to close out every year. Link to comment
California Posted June 4 Share Posted June 4 6 minutes ago, uptowner said: A couple of years ago (2018?) I believe the company ended their season with Coppelia. I guess it makes sense to me that they would want to end with a "crowd pleaser"? But I agree that it might get repetitive to have Midsummer to close out every year. I saw that season closer in 2018 of Coppelia. I mainly remember thinking that soloist Joe Gordon had a very bright future, which he has. I also remember that Ashley Bouder was stunning technically, but her smug facial expressions drove me crazy. https://criticaldance.org/new-york-city-ballet-coppelia-season-wrap/ There are glorious passages in MSND (especially the Act II Pas de Deux), but it's not sufficiently enticing for me to want to make a long trip to see it again and again every year. Link to comment
abatt Posted June 4 Author Share Posted June 4 I have seen a lot of ads on TV for Midsummer in recent years, and I think that has contributed to the boost in ticket sales for this ballet. There are clearly a lot of people who are not regulars attending. I don't recall this ballet being a massive sellout until the past few years. Link to comment
maps Posted June 4 Share Posted June 4 (edited) This afternoon there were Emeralds cast changes: Woodward-Angle for Bouder-Riccardo, Riccardo for Angle with McKinnon. Plus conductor changes. I'm surprised to not have received a no late seating email since high NYCB Jewels sales KC2024 result in scant options for no impact late seating. Edited June 5 by maps - Link to comment
Papagena Posted June 4 Share Posted June 4 (edited) 8 hours ago, California said: I saw that season closer in 2018 of Coppelia. I mainly remember thinking that soloist Joe Gordon had a very bright future, which he has. I also remember that Ashley Bouder was stunning technically, but her smug facial expressions drove me crazy. https://criticaldance.org/new-york-city-ballet-coppelia-season-wrap/ There are glorious passages in MSND (especially the Act II Pas de Deux), but it's not sufficiently enticing for me to want to make a long trip to see it again and again every year. Ah memories - 2018 Gordon as Franz was one of the most dashing male leads, very unmannered and naturally charming. I miss this ballet. Von Enck would be so lovely as Swanhilda (+ Mejia = take my money). Edited June 4 by Papagena Link to comment
matilda Posted June 4 Share Posted June 4 I feel like management might use Coppelia as EVE's first lead in a full length (other than Nutcracker). Indiana would be great too though. With seven shows that's potentially enough for four casts. I doubt they will let Erica Pereira dance it again given her slim casting lately, and it would take a miracle for Bouder to rebound to Swanilda capabilities. Link to comment
abatt Posted June 5 Author Share Posted June 5 59 minutes ago, Papagena said: Ah memories - 2018 Gordon as Franz was one of the most dashing male leads, very unmannered and naturally charming. I miss this ballet. Von Enck would be so lovely as Swanhilda (+ Mejia = take my money). Who was Tiler Peck's Franz? I can't recall. was it DeLuz, or was he with Megan F? I have a feeling Mejia would be paired up with Tiler Peck. Link to comment
Papagena Posted June 5 Share Posted June 5 4 minutes ago, abatt said: Who was Tiler Peck's Franz? I can't recall. was it DeLuz, or was he with Megan F? I have a feeling Mejia would be paired up with Tiler Peck. Yeah it was Peck + DeLuz from what i recall. Fairchild danced with Veyette but I don't remember if she did in 2018. Peck and Mejia is the more likely pairing, but I'd see two shows to see both Von Enck and Mejia with different partners. Link to comment
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