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Jeannette

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  1. Jeannette
    Not sure if this was already reported earlier in this thread or elsewhere on Balletcoforum: The Mariinsky has reopened, as of 7 July, with an abbreviated Stars of the White Nights Festival... including concerts of large-scaled chorus-heavy operas like Il Trovatore. The first all-ballet programs will be three Stars concerts at the Mariinsky II (18-19July...next Sat/Sunday). Hoping that all goes well and the troupe & audiences stay healthy. https://www.mariinsky.ru/en/news1/2020/7/07_1/
  2. Jeannette
    Miami City Ballet streams Ratmansky’s Symphonic Dances for several days, beginning tonight. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zyhRn8jnETw
  3. Jeannette
    SAB is not strictly NYCB but... The lovely SAB Workshop Celebration program opened last night and can be rewatched through July 13. Robbins’ brief Circus Polka with cute kids, Peck’s In-Creases (Love it! My kind of Peck!), a carefully delivered Agon pdd, and the piece de resistance - Balanchine’s complete Scotch Symphony starring a heavenly Mira Nadon, David Riccardo and Kristina Hadjipetkov. I was in the audience that 2017 weekend and was among the “Bravo” screamers at the end...and doesn’t it say something that it was this Saturday matinee Scotch Symphony cast, rather than the cast shown on the Sat night and Monday-gala evening, that was selected for the stream? The night cast was fine but this one was extra-special. Special kudos to now-NYCB corps member LaJeromeny (“LJ”) Brown, who was featured in three of the four streamed works, including Agon pdd from 2019!
  4. Jeannette
    I don’t know about the Schaufuss production but the one who truly messed around with A2 was/is Hubbe, with the modern music, the bald sea monster Golfo, creepy lighting, etc. As usual, all references to Christianity eliminated...and that was the heart and soul of the Bournonville scene...Teresina grabbing her amulet and flashing it at Golfo to make him disappear...as a famous Christian hymn plays. Ib Andersen’s Ballet Arizona rented the RDB’s gorgeous traditional sets/costumes when I saw it in February 2015 with a stellar Nayon Iovino as Gennaro and Jillian Barrell as Teresina. Not sure if we’ll see them in the stream.
  5. Jeannette
    Indeed, I have great memories of that wonderful TALL soloist - especially in Elo’s Slice to Sharp premiere. BUT I’ll never forget when I first took real notice of him among a big group of corps guys solemnly parading across the stage in a high beaver hat in the Edinburgh Tattoo segment of Union Jack. “Presence” to the n-th degree! About 100 performers on stage and my eyes were glued to Liang!
  6. Jeannette
    Oh my goodness! Did anyone else watch Liang’s El Viaje and was moved to tears, as was I? A highly emotional journey into the world of a recent émigré in her new land. It’s done in a universal manner to which any imigrant can relate. The more I see of Edwaard Liang’s work, the more that I admire him...from Wunderland here at Washington Ballet, to Age of Innocence at the Joffrey, to the recently-streamed Infinite Ocean for San Francisco. I’ve seen perhaps a dozen of his works in the past 10 or so years and none fails to move me. So happy that he’s getting some decent “air time” during this COVID season.
  7. Jeannette
    Thanks! This was, for me, the absolute highlight of the past four months of streamings. A total treasure. As a direct result, I’ve added several books about Stuttgart to my ballet library, incl John Percival’s bio of Cranko.
  8. Jeannette
    For folks in Southern Florida, USA: SNN television (Suncoast News Network) telecasts Sarasota Ballet In Will Tuckett’s complete Changing Light this Friday, Saturday and Saturday! Details about the four airing times on SNN’s Facebook page...where I’ve asked if there will also be a streaming option. Hey, it’s worth asking the question! https://m.facebook.com/SuncoastNewsNetwork/photos/a.139359692808351/3048375215240103/?type=3&source=48
  9. Jeannette
    Thanks for “the splits”! Totally agree. Spanish is my native language...Russian is just #8. Sorry. No offense intended. Have a wonderful day, Amelia!
  10. Jeannette
    Ballet Hispanico (NYC) “Watch Party” tonight, 7pm est, featuring the online premiere of Edwaard Liang’s El Viaje (The Voyage) to Ralph Vaughan William’s music. “Cocktails and Choreographers” to follow the premiere. The ballet should be up for viewing several days later. Details here: https://www.ballethispanico.org/performances/repertory/El-Viaje-2019.html
  11. Jeannette
    I enjoy most other Peck ballets that I’ve seen & I think I’ve seen most at NYCB or Kennedy Center on tour. We agree on 90%. Even his other “sneaker ballets” are more pleasant to me. But this one is sooo dark, loud and grungy, with the exception of the nice “tap soft shoe dance-off” that was featured in the NYCB digital excerpt.
  12. Jeannette
    I had to dig deep into this thread to find this. Bruce is certainly not alone - perhaps even in the majority - in liking or loving The Times Are Racing. I had to dig it out when I had a revelation a couple of days ago as to why I so dislike this work...while watching crowds of angry anti-establishment types burn the US flag and spit at police this past weekend. Justin Peck perfectly encapsulates the spirit of anti-establishment in this ballet. No wonder I absolutely hate it - the loud “music,” dingy costumes some with political messages, and total lack of respect for traditional ballet. So ladies and gentlemen, may I propose a new title? The CHOP Ballet! Peck and NYCB can run and market it once the pandemic is over and theatres reopen. The times are indeed racing and The CHOP Ballet can lead the way.
  13. Jeannette
    At the end of the rather short film (26 mins), as credits roll, the names of all 41 graduates, within their four classes (beneath name of each professor) can be seen. Then some of the names are repeated - those who scored highest grades in their exams - starting with the name of the highest grad (Lizi), then in descending order. This is the order in which Tsiskaridze called the grads to receive their diplomas (& pose for a pic with masks off): 1. Lizi Avsajanishvili 2. Valeria Besplatova 3. Anastasia Gorbachyova 4. Anastasia Plotnikova 5. Evgenia Zavkina 6. Anastasia Smirnova 7. Vladislav Khodasevich (the only male in the top-honors group) 8. Polina Istinova 9. Polina Chekhovsky All of the top-honors ladies are from Kovalyova’s group, with the notable exception of two from Solomianko: Gorbachyova and Plotnikova. The lone man is from Ilyin’s group.
  14. Jeannette
    Thank you, Don Q fan! Lali has always been The Fouettés Queen, ever since I first saw her at the Varna competition (2000)...the fouettes in Black Swan pdd literally sealed her gold medal. Glad to see her still going strong 20 years later. Turn, Lali, turn!
  15. Jeannette
    Admins, please move if this is not the right place for this interesting bit of news. The Academy of Russian Ballet (a.k.a. Vaganova Academy) held its annual graduation ceremony on 23 June in the school’s museum. Alas, the COVID situation did not allow the usual graduation concerts at the Mariinsky. However, the Academy has made the following video available (Russian language) and we can see each of this year’s 41 graduates receive their diplomas & pose with school head Nikolai Tsiskaridze, commencing with the head of the class, the radiant Lizi Avsajanishvili, Ludmilla Kovaleva’s star of the year! Pedagogues of the class were Kovaleva & Tatiana Solomianko (for the two groups of females) and Feton Miozzi and Alexei Ilyin for the men. Some 23 women and 18 men graduated. Notice the treasures in this amazing little museum of ballet, which I’ve had the honor to tour a couple of times. Enjoy! A photo of four top grads are on the “cover” of this film...Lizi A. at the far right, in black dress...top male grad Vladislav Khosadevich next to her. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nLVA3B2asxA
  16. Jeannette
    Dronina is a very sweet, delicate Sylphide. I was especially moved by her death scene. The ENB ensemble was wonderful in both acts...so sharp in the reel. A lovely traditional production, with the sets/costumes borrowed from Copenhagen...old traditional version, not what one sees in Denmark now (black, white, grey).
  17. Jeannette
    Correction- Staatsballett event is on Friday, not today. The other two are today (ENB Sylphide and BRB Stems).
  18. Jeannette
    Here in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC, we entered “phase 3” of reopening today - the first phase to mention theatres & other entertainment venues! Theatres here are allowed to reopen “at 50% capacity or 1000 persons (whichever is less).” Mind you that this is just Virginia - not DC proper - so the Kennedy Center is not in this guidance. Neither does it include the Maryland suburbs of DC. Hey, at least it’s progress!
  19. Jeannette
    I hadn’t seen this posted anywhere else... Composer Oliver Davis’ Facebook announces tonight’s stream of his & choreographer Kit Holder’s ballet Stems, recorded in 2019 at the Linbury Studio of the ROH with four BRB dancers. Q&A will follow. This is all that I know: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1400245150184759&id=415177545358196 Between this, the ENB Sylphide and the Berlin Staatsballett concert, it’ll be a busy Wednesday. Who said that “Hump Days” are boring?
  20. Jeannette
    Facade and Tudor’s Gala Performance worked well at Sarasota Opera House, which is quite large. These are unusual times. I would rather have the RB try these small-scale works with ensembles & decorative elements, than just a bunch of solos and pdds.
  21. Jeannette
    I don’t mind smaller-cast works in the short or medium-term. Think of all the wonderful neglected Antony Tudor works requiring 10-15 dancers (or less) that can and should be satisfactorily revived in the post-COVID season...or the early small-scaled Ashtons, such as Facade or even Foyer de Danse? Hmm?
  22. Jeannette
    Indeed, a magnificent gala from San Francisco! Love all dancers but...I just can’t get enough of that Yuan-Yuan Tan...in the special intermission piece by Possokhov, then The Bells on stage...dancing with Vitor Luiz ar his farewell (though not announced here). Was it really Yuan-Yuan’s 25th anniversary with the company? She must have started at age 5!
  23. Jeannette
    San Francisco Ballet’s complete Jan 2020 Opening Night “Spellbound Gala” premieres today at 1pm est (6pm London) and stays up for just a few hours...not even a whole day. It begins & ends with Balanchine and includes a lot of new choreography in between...with a Corsaire pdd and Grand Pas Classique thrown in for good measure! link to the Gala on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAoVP6N_o0uhnxMsZiIigcA
  24. Jeannette
    Oooo...I just may have to break my “no more full-length classic streams” rule.
  25. Jeannette
    Jan, I’m so happy that you’ve noted the importance of costumes - particularly fabrics - in the total ballets, in general. I’ve often mentioned these sorts of things in my reviews, particularly when a troupe reconstructs/revives an old ballet that I’d seen before. Choosing wrong (usually cheaper) fabrics when undertaking a revival can kill the spirit of the original ballet. Case in point: Balanchine’s Gounod Symphony, originally intended to be danced in luxurious romantic tutus with tulle swishing about. When Suzanne Farrell’s troupe revived the work 3-4 years ago at the Kennedy Center in shorter polyester dresses, it truly affected the style and intent of the piece. It was a nice revival but no longer the grand swishing homage to the Romantic Era that Mr B had intended. Imagine if the Sarasota Ballet had opted for polyester instead of swishing tulle in the ballroom scene of its revival of Ashton’s Apparitions last year! (Thank goodness, no.) Sorry for going off topic... Oh, how I love those Balamouk costumes!
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