cobweb Posted June 5 Share Posted June 5 Looking forward to some reviews of the run of Jewels!! Link to comment
kfw Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 I was excited about seeing Mira Nadon's debut in Diamonds last night, and she was all I hoped for and more: confident and technically secure, regal and properly reserved until the finale, when, with the full cast on stage, she left her joy show. I believe those of us close enough to see it felt it with her. I know I did. The word "ballerina" kept caming to mind. Brava! As much as I love Indiana Woodward, I thought she and Miriam Miller were a bit bland in Emeralds. To be fair, atmospherically that's probably the most difficult of the evening's three ballets to pull off, which means that the viewer's response is most subjective, and I tried to tell myself that what was lacking was in my head, not on stage. Be that as it may, I wanted more imagination; I wanted to feel she was living the choreography (as I did with Nadon), and not just dancing it. But I'd be interested in another opinions, and mine may change when I see this again Saturday evening. [Memo to the woman seated next to me who halfway through Emeralds reached into her purse below her seat, and then, I swear, started powdering her nose. Next time, please don't.] So Emeralds was disappointing, but Rubies made up for it. I knew Emma van Enck and Emily Kitka would give good performances, but I haven't seen them enough to guess how good. They were terrific! And Rubies one of those ballets in which the corps de ballet id almost as much fun to watch as the leads. All in all, it was a very satisfying and memorable evening. Another thing I thought watching Nadon in Diamonds was, "I wish Alexandra (Tomalonis, Ballet Alert founder) was here to see this." Here's hoping she had the best seat of all. Link to comment
abatt Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 Thanks for the update. Wish I could have gone. How were the guys - particularly Peter Walker. Link to comment
pirouette Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 Mira Nadon has posted some footage of herself in Diamonds from last night on Instagram stories (available for 24h): https://www.instagram.com/stories/mira_nadon/3384563739230715505/ (there are 6 total) Link to comment
abatt Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 (edited) I believe this is Mira's biggest role in a tutu ballet to date. Lately she has been cast quite often in more modern works (Ratmansky, Peck's Copeland Dances, leotard ballets, Tanowitz). Edited June 6 by abatt Link to comment
nysusan Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 29 minutes ago, pirouette said: Mira Nadon has posted some footage of herself in Diamonds from last night on Instagram stories (available for 24h): https://www.instagram.com/stories/mira_nadon/3384563739230715505/ (there are 6 total) Thank you so much for posting this - Mira was exquisite. As wonderful as her Tall Girl is, she was born to dance Diamonds. Link to comment
pirouette Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 5 minutes ago, nysusan said: Thank you so much for posting this - Mira was exquisite. As wonderful as her Tall Girl is, she was born to dance Diamonds. Agreed! I've been looking forward to this special debut very much. Link to comment
matilda Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 1 hour ago, abatt said: I believe this is Mira's biggest role in a tutu ballet to date. Lately she has been cast quite often in more modern works (Ratmansky, Peck's Copeland Dances, leotard ballets, Tanowitz). She danced Lilac Fairy last year, but Diamonds is a bigger deal at NYCB. Technically not a tutu ballet, but I'd love to see her tackle PC2 this fall... Link to comment
lacdescygnes Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 2 hours ago, abatt said: Thanks for the update. Wish I could have gone. How were the guys - particularly Peter Walker. Peter was... fine I was more impressed by Aaron Sanz debuting in Emeralds - it's a pleasure to have him back. Joe Gordon was a pleasure to watch as he always is, but Rubies isn't his best fit. I expect he'll be even better in Diamonds this weekend. I was secretly relieved to see Bouder was no longer cast in Emeralds... Link to comment
Fernie M Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 14 minutes ago, lacdescygnes said: Peter was... fine Interesting you said that, I was not there, and all I saw was on Mira’s Instagram story… But I kept thinking she needs a much more dynamic partner for this. Link to comment
abatt Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 28 minutes ago, lacdescygnes said: I was secretly relieved to see Bouder was no longer cast in Emeralds... You were not alone. Link to comment
YouOverThere Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 1 hour ago, Fernie M said: Interesting you said that, I was not there, and all I saw was on Mira’s Instagram story… But I kept thinking she needs a much more dynamic partner for this. I was there, and I share the sentiment. Link to comment
nanushka Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 2 hours ago, Fernie M said: Interesting you said that, I was not there, and all I saw was on Mira’s Instagram story… But I kept thinking she needs a much more dynamic partner for this. I wansn't there either, but I'm not at all surprised to hear this. Nadon is always so present onstage, while Walker just.....isn't. I don't think I've ever seen her perform when she's failed to make a lasting impression. I don't think I've ever seen Walker perform when he has made a lasting impression (on me, at least). Link to comment
uptowner Posted June 7 Share Posted June 7 (edited) NYCB has been putting a lot of footage on their Instagram stories from this tour-- there are multiple videos from Diamonds rehearsal and performance up now (Friday morning). The stories don't stay up for very long, instagram is @NYCBallet Edited June 7 by uptowner Link to comment
SingerWhoMoves Posted June 8 Share Posted June 8 12 hours ago, uptowner said: NYCB has been putting a lot of footage on their Instagram stories from this tour-- there are multiple videos from Diamonds rehearsal and performance up now (Friday morning). The stories don't stay up for very long, instagram is @NYCBallet I actually just noticed that these KC ones appear to be saved in their highlights. Link to comment
KikiRVA Posted June 8 Share Posted June 8 Tonight’s performance was extraordinary. I was moved to tears by Indiana’s solo, and Miriam was beautiful in both her solo and PDD. Kikta was a beast in Rubies and Emma and Joe had clearly settled in for a good time. Mira was BREATHTAKING in Diamonds. Full stop. She is a very special dancer. The DC audience was enraptured. Link to comment
abatt Posted June 8 Share Posted June 8 Thanks for the reports. Makes me wonder how they are going to cast Diamonds next time around in NYC. They already gave the role to Phelan and LaFreniere, neither of whom was particularly wonderful or effective in Diamonds. Mearns, of course, always is first cast. So Nadon is fourth cast, and only moves up when one of the other three is injured. They are reviving Jewels in Saratoga, but only for two performances. I doubt Nadon will get a chance to do Diamonds there. It will go to Mearns and Phelan. Link to comment
Fernie M Posted June 8 Share Posted June 8 4 hours ago, abatt said: I doubt Nadon will get a chance to do Diamonds there. Perhaps Emerals? Link to comment
matilda Posted June 8 Share Posted June 8 I wouldn't worry about Nadon not getting Diamonds next time it's programmed in NYC. Obviously she's extremely favored by management, and her Diamonds is getting rave reviews. Who knows, Mearns may not even be dancing it by then, since it's not programmed for next season. Link to comment
abatt Posted June 8 Share Posted June 8 Phelan in my opinion is much better in Emeralds than Diamonds. But she has "graduated" up to Diamonds. Diamonds requires someone who is willing to take risks to make it thrilling. Phelan is not a risk taker. She is one of the most conservative principal dancers at NYCB. Nadon very much is a risk taker. She dances full out with abandon. Link to comment
lunaysol Posted June 9 Share Posted June 9 Another voice to say Nadon was mesmerizing in Diamonds. I saw her Friday night and I think I will remember it for the rest of my life. Phenomenal! I enjoyed Peter Walker so much in his solos too, he had amazing height and was very clean. I liked that it seemed like he was there for the Mira show as were many of us. Link to comment
cobweb Posted June 9 Author Share Posted June 9 Thanks for the report @lunaysol! If anyone can comment on Naomi Corti's debut as the Tall Girl in Rubies, or David Gabriel and Olivia MacKinnon in Emeralds, I would love to hear it. Link to comment
Drew Posted June 9 Share Posted June 9 (edited) 16 hours ago, cobweb said: If anyone can comment on Naomi Corti's debut as the Tall Girl in Rubies, or David Gabriel and Olivia MacKinnon in Emeralds, I would love to hear it. I did not see Corti's debut but did see her second performance (Sat afternoon)--I thought she looked fun and fresh and I would be happy to see more of her in other roles. I was looking out for Gabriel having read about him in discussions here. He seemed very good--I can't say I have a lot to say about the particular performance though. The one dancer in the Emeralds pas de trois who made quite an impression on me over the weekend was in a different cast: Mary Thomas MacKinnon who seemed to bring something extra to her upper body throughout her short variation. (And did she dance in Diamonds in the ensemble? As follow up to that question: please let me vehemently protest the lack of the complete casting information that allows one to answer this kind of question confidently on one's own. The "Digital" casting gives principals and major solo roles but no coryphee roles and certain no list of all the dancers in the different ensembles. [Edited to add: @Fernie M gave me the correct link below--I had been looking at "casting" not the actual digital program.] I think it's a little premature to comment on Olivia Mackinnon in Emeralds. In some ways, I consider the Verdy role the hardest one in the ballet --and I also have very distinctive memories of Verdy. I do think Olivia MacKinnon looks to be a lovely dancer. Not debuting anything but new to me was Emma Von Enck and I thoroughly enjoyed her terrific performance in Rubies. Sounds silly to say so, but she all but had me jumping out of my seat. To back up a little: altogether I caught all three casts of Jewels in D.C. (always the second performance for the week's debuts). I'll add to the chorus regarding Nadon's Diamonds. She was beautiful in the role--and of course still has room to grow which will surely be a joy to watch for those lucky enough to see it. Walker danced well in the male lead; I enjoyed seeing him here. And Saturday night Nadon was just spectacular as the tall girl in Rubies. In fact, before my trip I had thought Nadon would be all I would want to write about on returning home from D.C. Just seeing those two distinctive Nadon performances side by side was an event--and the excitement she generates every second she is on stage is palpable. I join everyone else in saying -- each, in our own way -- WOW! Still when the last performance I attended was over, it turned out that the dancer I most wanted to write about was Sara Mearns. On Saturday night I thought Mearns showed the kind of sweep and depth in the Diamonds pas de deux that only comes with experience--even, I'm tempted to say, mastery. Perhaps because my NYCB going is spaced out my reactions to dancers are shaped differently than people who see them multiple times a season. I have seen Mearns dance Diamonds just once before--some years ago (seven? eight?). At that time, the whole performance was marked by power and risk taking; it expressed or generated a kind of rapture. I guess one might have thought that performance over the top, but I loved it. Last night was, in some respects, an entirely different performance--as if all that power and rapture were still there but had been internalized, concentrated, and then sublimated into something less palpable. ("Spiritualized" was the first word I tried out.) More concretely, I will mention what seemed to me the extraordinary strength of her supported arabesques penchées aimed straight at the sky: the power wasn't in 'your face' the way it had been--and it radiated from her entire body. For my taste, this is the kind of dancing that shows the profound connection to a role that comes with years of dancing it. (For that reason, it reminded me of a Cojocaru Aurora I saw in 2018.) It's a different kind of pleasure than one gets from seeing debuts and dancers just stretching their wings or even dancers at their most whiz bang kick ass fun (Von Enck!). I will allow that In the allegro, she is not as fast as she was--at least as I remember that earlier performance--nor as daringly off axis--but she was grand, a full-fledged ballerina...and altogether gave a performance that contained worlds. Anyway, I thought the whole company looked great in D.C. though no sooner had I defended their corps dancing to an acquaintance who had found them sloppy than I noticed that the corps did seem to get a little sloppy in Diamonds Saturday night including someone mis-timing their entrance during the canon-like structures towards the end of the ballet. I don't see a lot of world class ballet and I think this makes me quite forgiving on some matters, but also less forgiving when it comes to sloppiness and silly mistakes because what I see is all I'm likely to see for some time. (I can't count on seeing Jewels for another 7 or 8 years.) But other than that, no complaints and lots of gratitude. Edited June 10 by Drew Link to comment
fondoffouettes Posted June 9 Share Posted June 9 Zoe Magnussen must be leaving the company. In her Instagram Stories, Mira Nadon just wished Magnussen congratulations on her career at NYCB. Link to comment
Fernie M Posted June 10 Share Posted June 10 4 hours ago, Drew said: The "Digital" casting gives principals and major solo roles but no coryphee roles and certain no list of all the dancers in the different ensembles. ) Try this link, if you scroll to the bottom, you can see the cast for the entire show. To look at a different cast/different night, just change the date. https://www.kennedy-center.org/digital-program/?performanceId=79083 Link to comment
Recommended Posts