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Ivy Lin

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  1. Ivy Lin
    I wasn;t talking about the audiences. From what I've read there were long lines and enthusiastic crowds for the NYCB tours. But I was reading some reviews in "Repertory in Review" and British critics initially hated Jewels. They called it "nothing but paste."
  2. Ivy Lin
    She'll be missed. Here's my own (admittedly very small) story about Jessye: https://humbledandoverwhelmed.blogspot.com/2019/10/rip-jessye-norman.html
  3. Ivy Lin
    Because British critics have always been consistently cold towards NYCB? I found these choice words about "Union Jack": Nicholas Dramgoole: "by English standards is pretty detestable. ... Strong men in the audience were uttering cries of disbelief as it happened; others were walking out. ... Outside his chosen area ‐ dancers with expressionless faces and minimal costumes making movements to illuminate classical music Balanchine flounders.” Alexander Bland: "“Though technically fastidious, he certainly lacks the regulator of good taste, which is one of Britain's hallmarks.... he revels in the vitality of chorus‐line dancers. "
  4. Ivy Lin
    Actually what struck me is how OLD Polunin looks compared to Cojocaru although chronologically she is quite a few years older. His sunken eyes and sallow cheeks look like someone who has been through the wringer and not an impetuous teen. Cojocaru otoh looks very youthful even though shes near 40 and a mom.
  5. Ivy Lin
    There's been somewhat of a shift at the Vaganova academy since the big turnover a few years ago. Nikolai Tsiskaridze's top students have tended to be shorter with more diversity in terms of body types. Kovaleva is kind of a throwback to the tall, ultra-leggy look that was in favor.
  6. Ivy Lin
    BALANCHINE: 1) Apollo 2) Symphony in C 3) Serenade 4) Four Temperaments 5) Agon 6) Ballet Imperial 7) Symphony in Three Movements 😎 Midsummer's Night Dream 9) Nutcracker 10) Jewels Ashton: 1) Fille mal gardee 2) The Dream 3) Symphonic Variations 4) Cinderella 5) Daphnis et Chloe 6) Scenes de Ballet 7) Sylvia 😎 Monotones I and II 9) Two Pigeons 10) A Month in the Country Robbins: 1) Dances at a Gathering 2) Fancy Free 3) The Cage 4) The Four Seasons 5) The Concert MacMillan: 1) Romeo and Juliet (his version) 2) Mayerling 3) Manon - even though it's not my favorite ballet Cranko: 1) Onegin 2) Romeo and Juliet (his version) Fokine: 1) Firebird 2) Les Sylphides 3) Scheherezade 4) Petrushka 5) Dying Swan Twyla Tharp: 1) In the Upper Room 2) Deuce Coupe 3) Push Comes to Shove Yuri Grigorovich: - Sparctacus Leonid Lavrovsky: - Romeo and Juliet (his version) These aren't necessarily my favorite works, just the works I don't see going out of repertory anytime soon.
  7. Ivy Lin
    I am so sorry to hear about this.
  8. Ivy Lin
    I finally read the whole thing. A long, worthy read. Nadine Meisner has really done her research and it shows. Full review here: https://humbledandoverwhelmed.blogspot.com/2019/07/marius-petipa-biography-royal-danes-and.html
  9. Ivy Lin
    I saw the Royal Danish Ballet last night: https://bachtrack.com/review-bournonville-legacy-sylphide-napoli-royal-danish-ballet-joyce-new-yourk-july-2019
  10. Ivy Lin
    My favorite video is the one with Mukhamedov and Durante, also love the one with Edward Watson. I didn’t think McRae channeled enough darkness for Rudolf. Lamb was amazing.
  11. Ivy Lin
    Odd, I'm generally not a MacMillan fan but I love Mayerling. with that being said I've never seen it live -- only video. Is this one of those ballets that plays better on video? I've seen three of them and I find it riveting, almost cinematic. However in the theater I can see how it could translate to a very long evening if there isn;t a Rudolf and Mary that are extremely charismatic.
  12. Ivy Lin
    I attended Ratmansky's Sleeping Beauty recon: https://humbledandoverwhelmed.blogspot.com/2019/07/ratmanskys-sleeping-beauty-closes-out.html And my separate review for bachtrack: https://bachtrack.com/review-sleeping-beauty-ratmansky-trenary-gorak-abt-new-york-july-2019
  13. Ivy Lin
    I was at Roberto Bolle's farewell to ABT last night: https://humbledandoverwhelmed.blogspot.com/2019/06/abt-says-farewell-to-roberto-bolle.html
  14. Ivy Lin
    I saw the Romeo and Juliet and while I think Naghdi is a lovely dancer she has a very queenly, regal persona that belies her youth. That works against her in Juliet. Margot Fonteyn could look queenly and regal but she also had those big eyes and smile that made her look youthful in Juliet. I thought Matthew Ball was good as Romeo, but he and Naghdi seemed very rehearsed in their balcony duet. Also this is a drawback of HD ... I could see the dirty soles of Naghdi's shoes all too clearly in HD. It's not really her fault but I'm surprised she didn't wear a brand new pair of shoes for the HD. I know many ballerinas say they pick a clean pair of shoes if they're going to be filmed.
  15. Ivy Lin
    This is absolutely untrue and offensive. NYC was the starting point for many "downtown" experimental choreographers. Merce Cunningham, Paul Taylor, Twyla Tharp, Martha Graham all got their start in the "downtown" scene. At the same time while the Royal Ballet was touring Sleeping Beauty to the United States the "Ballet Society" (later NYCB) was considered the experimental ballet company with the avante-garde works. The Royal Ballet toured for many years in NYC and they always sold out or sold very well. Stuttgart Ballet also had highly successful tours, as did Bejart Ballet. Many NY choreographers were also crossover choreographers as they had success choreographing for musical theater and classical ballet. Agnes de Mille, Balanchine, Robbins, Twyla Tharp are obvious examples. Sometimes a ballet just isn't all that.
  16. Ivy Lin
    To answer your question: 1) Yes I watch as many story ballets as I watch abstract ones and there are good narrative ballets and bad ones. 2) Some of my favorite narrative ballets made in the 20th/21st: Romeo and Juliet (both MacMillan and Lavrovsky), Cinderella, Sylvia, Fille mal gardee, Mayerling (wish the RB would bring that), Onegin, Dame aux camelias, Spartacus, Bright Stream, Midsummer's Night Dream, The Dream, Prodigal Son, La Sonnambula, Rodeo, and I'm sure I could name more. 3) My feelings on Jane Eyre were purely a response to what I saw onstage. I didn't say "British narrative ballet -- I'll autohate it." 4) As an example of soemthing recent that I enjoyed a lot it was Akhram Khan's Giselle.
  17. Ivy Lin
    And Midsummer's Night Dream, Harlequinade, Nutcracker, Slaughter on Tenth Avenue, Firebird ... Not to mention during his lifetime he was also an acclaimed choreographer of operas.
  18. Ivy Lin
    In general, pretty well. I mean I saw The Red Shoes and I really enjoyed that. Wheeldon's work is also well-received generally and he receives tons of commissions from U.S. companies.
  19. Ivy Lin
    Well maybe expectations are different for a small touring company like Northern Ballet and ABT's spring season where seats regularly run into three digits and this was heavily hyped as one of the big Events of the season?
  20. Ivy Lin
    It really isn't a national thing. I like Cranko, some MacMillan, Wayne McGregor ... I was at the premiere of Jane Eyre at ABT and wrote a review. It was legitimately awful. I would have said the same thing had the choreographer been American. Had the choreographer been Balanchine I would have said this was the worst thing he ever choreographed.
  21. Ivy Lin
    In the program I counted forty dancers.
  22. Ivy Lin
    @Lizbie1 I can see how a less "classical" ballet company which focused heavily on acting would do well with Jane Eyre. But I also think the Met is too big of a house for this work.
  23. Ivy Lin
    I saw this last night, and here is my bachtrack review. I was NOT a fan. https://bachtrack.com/review-jane-eyre-marston-feeney-american-ballet-theatre-new-york-june-2019
  24. Ivy Lin
    I'll be there tonight and reviewing it for bachtrack.
  25. Ivy Lin
    The SAB workshop, plus Ratmansky's The Seasons, and NYCB's closing out with Midsummer's Night Dream: https://humbledandoverwhelmed.blogspot.com/2019/06/spring-diaries-abts-seasons-sab.html
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