California Posted August 6 Share Posted August 6 I watched the live stream Monday evening of the NOW premieres and wonder what others thought. It made me yearn for the comfort food of the classics! Was there anything you'd want to see a second time? I know they need to give new and emerging choreographers an opportunity... I was mainly interested in the new piece by Tiler Peck for Aran Bell, which I did enjoy. I noted several flashbacks to variations by Tharp for Baryshikov in Push Comes to Shove -- a classical move that shifted to something off-center and surprising. He even did that sequence of fast chaines where he bends his knees and lifts up his lower legs, which is straight out of Push. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BalanchineFan Posted August 6 Share Posted August 6 On 7/29/2024 at 12:48 PM, cobweb said: Philip Duclos looked beautiful last night in the excerpt from La Sylphide. I hear he also made a great impression at Vail last year. I didn't realize he is from SAB. Wonder why NYCB didn't take him!! I don't know about NYCB's decision making, but Duclos talks a bit about it here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobweb Posted August 6 Author Share Posted August 6 ... to finish up my reports on Vail, just a few comments on Int'l Evenings of Dance III. The highlight was Mira Nadon and Aran Bell in pdd excerpts from the 2nd act of Giselle. Mira was breathtaking, with a lightness, precision, beauty, and otherworldly quality that are hers alone. I would LOVE to see her in the full-length. Also of note was Sara Mearns in "Mass," with music by Caroline Shaw and choreography by Bobbi Jene Smith. Onstage with Sara was a powerful bass-baritone, Davone Tines. This piece seemed to explore themes of spirituality, Catholic mass, and embodiment, and while somewhat obscure, was also very compelling. To respond to @California's comment above, we left before the new choreography program, nor did I watch the livestream, but in general I know what you mean about new choreography and missing the "comfort food the classics." For me one of the surprises of being at Vail was a newfound appreciation for (some of) the non-ballet works and new choreography presented. Whether that was just an effect of being in this artistically stimulating, highly positive atmosphere, or will perhaps carry over to when I'm sitting at the Joyce or City Center in NYC, remains to be seen, but I'm trying to keep an open mind! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abatt Posted August 6 Share Posted August 6 5 hours ago, California said: I watched the live stream Monday evening of the NOW premieres and wonder what others thought. It made me yearn for the comfort food of the classics! Was there anything you'd want to see a second time? I know they need to give new and emerging choreographers an opportunity... I was mainly interested in the new piece by Tiler Peck for Aran Bell, which I did enjoy. I noted several flashbacks to variations by Tharp for Baryshikov in Push Comes to Shove -- a classical move that shifted to something off-center and surprising. He even did that sequence of fast chaines where he bends his knees and lifts up his lower legs, which is straight out of Push. I thought the Tiler Peck work and the Kyle Abraham work were pretty good. I didn't like most of the other offerings. In particular, I found the Justin Peck work so unbearable that I turned on the Olympics coverage for a while so that I would not have to listen to the vocalist. From what I saw it looked like a typical J. Peck sneaker ballet. I also watched the brief snippets of works that were performed during the Vail run this summer. I was floored by the Giselle. It was magnificent. Mira was captivating. Also liked the brief clip from Afternoon of a Faun. If there are any deep pocketed donors out there, how about doing another Vail in New York program at City Center next season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobweb Posted August 7 Author Share Posted August 7 A few more thoughts as I mull over the Vail experience. As I've noted, one highlight was finding new appreciation in choreo that I normally might have dismissed. Another positive was seeing the interaction between the dancers and musicians. In a couple of pieces, a vocalist was on stage (notably the powerful Davone Tines), and frequently dancers worked with a pianist, violist, violinist, or the Brooklyn Rider string quartet. Seeing a bunch of performances consisting of one dancer with one musician, or a few dancers with just a few musicians sharing the stage, made more clear their interactions, the collaboration, and the dancers' dependence on the musicians' understanding what they're trying to achieve. On the down side, there was also a lot of recorded music, which sounded tinny; also instances of a live instrument over a recorded track (as with the viola solo in Giselle). Not ideal. Also on the down side, we saw Isabella Boylston twice in the Swan Lake Act 3 pdd (with Whiteside and with Cornejo). She never seems to grow in artistry. She does the steps, but they are simply put together, one after another, with no grace or refinement, and seemingly with no narrative line or overarching characterization in her mind. Back on the up-side, it was great to be introduced to promising young dancers: Philip Duclos, Olivia Bell, Kayla Mak, and Spencer Lenain, as well as more-established dancers that I didn't know about, such as Daisy Kate Jacobson and Ron Myles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susu_nyc Posted August 7 Share Posted August 7 Unity seems to thrive under Heather and Damian's coaching. I saw her in Vail in 2019 and believe it was her White Swan debut. She was magnificient. I've also watched videos of Heather coaching Unity in Serenade and its been as impactful as a performance. Vail is a special event and I'm glad you had the chance to experience it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiggin Posted August 7 Share Posted August 7 Of the Now: Premieres program, I liked watching Catherine Hurlin in Justin Peck's new work. Her long lines opened up figures that looked maybe a little too tight on other dancers. Wished I could have seen her in an extended clip of Faun. Also liked Pam Tanowitz's new work set to Schubert via Caroline Shaw, the overall structure and pared down vocabulary, the witty sequencings. Kind of looked like a further out variation of Lauren Lovette's variations on Apollo earlier in the program. Both used a similar configuration of dancers (though perhaps Tanowitz had Coppélia as Apollo). Nice seeing Cornejo in After Sorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vipa Posted August 7 Share Posted August 7 (edited) On 8/6/2024 at 4:28 PM, cobweb said: Also of note was Sara Mearns in "Mass," with music by Caroline Shaw and choreography by Bobbi Jene Smith. Onstage with Sara was a powerful bass-baritone, Davone Tines. This piece seemed to explore themes of spirituality, Catholic mass, and embodiment, and while somewhat obscure, was also very compelling. Cobweb, I'm curious about what you think of Caroline Shaw's music for dance in general. She's been the resident composer at Vail a number of years. I really liked the work that won her the Pulitzer Prize in music a decade or so ago, called Partita for 3 Voices, but her other works don't do much for me, and I don't find her music compelling as compositions for dance. It could be just the few pieces I've seen, so I was wondering what you thought. Edited August 8 by vipa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fernie M Posted August 8 Share Posted August 8 Kind of off topic, if anyone sees casting for Copenhagen Tivoli, please share. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmspear Posted August 8 Share Posted August 8 Cobweb, Glimmerglass is a summer opera festival in Cooperstown, NY, not far from Saratoga. https://glimmerglass.org/about/ So if you or your partner has any interest in baseball . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobweb Posted August 8 Author Share Posted August 8 13 hours ago, vipa said: Cobweb, I'm curious about what you think of Caroline Shaw's music for dance in general. She's been the resident composer at Vail a number of years. I really liked the work that won her the Pulitzer Prize in music a decade or so ago, called Partita for 3 Voices, but her other works don't do much for me, and I don't find her music compelling as compositions for dance. It could be just the few pieces I've seen, so I was wondering what you thought. Hi vipa, I had never heard of Caroline Shaw before, nor choreographer, Bobbi Jene Smith, so I had no idea what to expect. Watching the dance, I found it intriguing but baffling. It was only afterwards, when my partner pointed out that the libretto incorporated traditional Catholic liturgy (Kyrie, Agnus Dei, etc) and that was replicated in the choreography, that I wished I could see it again. I should add that the singer, Davone Tines, was a very powerful presence and powerful voice, and it wouldn't have been the same with someone of lesser physical presence or voice. The choreography was modernist, with Sara in a loose black slip dress and bare feet, and the gesture I remember most was a kind of intertwining her hands and fingers into a contorted, but clear, prayer pose. Now, my preferred kind of dance is one that doesn't require understanding Latin and Greek to enjoy the piece, but with that knowledge I would like the chance to study it again. And thanks @lmspear for the suggestion of Glimmerglass. That is one of the very few festivals I have actually been too, many years ago. At the time I wasn't a baseball fan, but my partner and I have both taken an interest since then, so between the opera and baseball, it may be worth a revisit next summer... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volcanohunter Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 On 8/7/2024 at 6:15 PM, Fernie M said: Kind of off topic, if anyone sees casting for Copenhagen Tivoli, please share. Thank you. Mira Nadon mentioned that she will be dancing Serenade and Stravinsky Violin Concerto. https://www.instagram.com/p/C-dyVbTP_Uq/?igsh=ZWVmYm1oMWxsdTNs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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