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Jeannette

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  1. Jeannette
    Thanks, Irmgard! Well, your information about Makarova having coached Dronina in Swan Lake brings it all together...same lyricism, same physiques. Bingo!
  2. Jeannette
    You know, it’s been so much fun getting to know new companies through these web streams and I’m really loving this one. Ive enjoyed so many visits to London in the past and the only live look at ENB was an in-the-round Sleeping Beauty at Royal Albert Hall 20 yrs ago starring then-ingenue Tamara Rojo as Aurora and guest Anastasia Volochkova as Carabosse?! Glad to be catching up with this company. Once we can all resume travels, ENB is on my go-see list, along with the Royal, Sadlers Wells (whoever’s dancing), visiting Russians, etc.
  3. Jeannette
    Additional thoughts, as I rewatched this. Jurgita Dronina’s O/O - My first time seeing her, even though I’ve been hearing about her special lyrical qualities forever...since competition days in the early ‘00s. Her lightness and, especially, use of arms and HANDS -sigh! - are truly mesmerizing. Loveliness personified. Does she ever strike a bad pose? She’s everything that one would want in Odette. True, as Odile she’s not a firecracker whipping out 32 fouettés (28 here?) but she looks gorgeous in everything she did. I can imagine Dronina as Sylphide! The Schanne or Evdokimova of our age? Somebody please alert me if they hear about any upcoming performance of Dronina as La Sylphide...If it’s ever possible and wise to travel again. I’m aware that she’s also a principal in Toronto, Canada...but she was not cast in the recent Sleeping Beauty tour to DC. Bummer...though I loved Ogden, Lobsanova and the rest seen here. About this ENB Swan Lake film, a silly question: At several spots, esp in A3, the screen went dark as music played...it happened, for instance, twice during the Csardas and just before Von Rothbart and Odile’s entrance to the ball. Why? Did dancers slip? Or the film went bad? Union rules about performance films not being 100% complete if shared online (non-commercial setting)? Just curious about the brief black-out periods, with the sound continuing.
  4. Jeannette
    Just watched the “premiere stream” of ENB’s Swan Lake. Am I alone in loving the little countdowns with reverse numbers, as we approach these premieres? 😆 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfTvtIHSkeQ Did I love this? Mostly “Yes”! I love the traditional aspects of this production- traditional story (few quirks); traditional choreography, including many of the Ashton emendations; a lovely delicate ballerina in Jurgita Dronina, wonderful as Odette, if a bit “low key” as Odile; pretty costumes; some impressive soloists, such as Anjeli Hudson & Barry Drummond in Ashton’s Neapolitan Dance in A3; and...no jester! The one concern was, to me, the miscasting of Isaac Hernandez as Prince Siegfried, particularly in the solo that ends A1 - thinking Dowell here...unfair comparison! I could see the effort - the tension in his neck and hunched shoulders - which, of course, should not be perceived in ballet. I also failed to detect chemistry with his Odette/Odile. In fact, he seemed to be disconnected throughout. Maybe just an off night for Mr. Hernandez? Funniest moment: Von Rothbart’s entrance at the ball...with what appeared to be two of Carabosse’s minions in tow. Oops - wrong ballet! Speaking of Von Rothbart: This was surely the most enormous cape on record. I could see how some of this was adapted from the Royal Albert Hall in-the-round production, eg, Odette’s initial appearance emerging from a cluster of swans, rather than entering alone from the wings. All in all, I truly enjoyed this. Thanks to ENB, one of the most generous ballet troupes in sharing their treasure trove of repertoire during this COVID season of streaming.
  5. Jeannette
    I’m excited for the ENB Swan Lake Watch Party to begin. Bring it on, Jurgita, Isaac & corps!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfTvtIHSkeQ
  6. Jeannette
    Thanks, Bruce, for the InCreases film. So odd to see this without the grand pianos at the back of the stage...but a bigger space for dancing. FYI, InCreases will be among the ballets shown next Monday in the Lincoln Center at Home SAB Celebration...which should be streaming for a while after...but not yet sure how that will work. Big Lincoln Center “Dance Week” coming!
  7. Jeannette
    I hope that everyone now “gets” why Donizetti Variations is among my top-ten Balanchines. Wow! Just wow!!! Every single segment a gem. Ashley Bouder’s ultra-high and sharp pas de chats to begin the coda of the pdd...oh my! How lucky can we be to have this one preserved on film. p.s. Look Ma’, no skycam!
  8. Jeannette
    I fondly remember seeing Katherine Morgan as Julie in Carousel (A Dance) ca 2007 when she was just an apprentice...or brand-new corps member. Such a perfect ingenue. Enjoyed the current digital offering with Lovett/J. Angle, although I could’ve done without the wacky overhead shots. I sure hope that the overhead and from-the-wings cameras are put to rest in the next offering, Donizetti Variations, to which I’m counting down with excitement...Ashley Bouder’s killer tech and musicality should be show stoppers! (I’ve seen Donizetti “live” only with Jenifer Ringer, now retired, who was pretty amazing herself. Quite a bravura ballet for the entire cast. Probably my fave among the lesser-known Balanchine’s. Not-to-be-missed!!!)
  9. Jeannette
    We can add yet another Cathy Marston work to our Virtual Dance Card on May 29, when San Francisco presents her Snowblind, from the 2018 festival. https://www.sfballet.org/sf-ballet-home/
  10. Jeannette
    Not sure if already posted on a separate ROH webstreams thread: Cathy Marston’s The Cellist on May 29! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zi54BRJ05GY May 29 will be quite a day/night of streams, with this, NYCB, SFB, the start of Lincoln Center dance week, Miami Firebird, etc.
  11. Jeannette
    Loved Bound To! In a preview clip, Wheeldon explained that it was his first ballet without ladies in pointe shoes, as he was opting for a grittier realism. Well, Yuan Yuan Tan is an ethereal sylph without pointes! Oh, goodness...what an exquisite ballerina. The most fluid, liquid, pliant, weightless, etc, etc, etc. (sigh) A highlight among the many gems of this COVID streaming season.
  12. Jeannette
    Not sure where to put this; couldn’t find a General ENB comments thread. I watched ENB’s stream of Nora on May 20/21, a 30-minute distillation of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. Thoroughly enjoyed it! All featured dancers were amazing but it is a special joy to once again see Jeffrey Cirio, former ABT principal, in a totally new dramatic light - great combination of powerful acting a blazing Tech. Harlequin has grown up! Bravo!!!
  13. Jeannette
    Miami City Ballet brings us Balanchine’s Firebird, streamed for free on May 29 or, for a donation, one day earlier (May 28). https://www.facebook.com/miamicityballet/posts/10156810146796090/
  14. Jeannette
    The YouTube description section includes a link to an important questionnaire about this and potential future NYCB digital offerings, including possible fee-paying options for other archived performances and/or live shows. Please go here to take the survey and provide feedback. https://nycbdigital.questionpro.com/ Hint: Included is the question “How did you hear about digital performances?” If you tick the “Other” box, you might wish to write balletcoforum !
  15. Jeannette
    Balanchine’s Diamonds last night. Magnificent! Interesting stylistic details, such as the elegant moderation in the height of the four Demi ladies’ arabesques and forward kicks...nothing extreme, as with the Russian troupes. Loved the Farrellesque nuances in the pdd. Mearns and Janzen we’re spot on. My only tiny quibble is with a certain distracting tension in Mearns’ head/neck/shoulders but this may simply be her proportions. All below the neck is divine. The use of the hands! Flexible back second to none, IMO. A grand performance, overall. This NYCB digital season brought us two of the three portions of Jewels...just missing Emeralds.
  16. Jeannette
    Many modern dance (or modern ballet) performances consist of only one longish work, without interval, eg, the Eifman and Karol Armitage companies. I guess that, at some point, the paying audience for traditional ballet may question if it’s getting its money’s worth. Will the ROH charge half price for half the performance time? I think not.
  17. Jeannette
    Make that three Justin Peck sneaker ballets streamed within two weeks, as San Fco Ballet is currently streaming Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming. Not my cup of tea but it is what it is. If that’s what it takes to bring in new audiences, so be it. The only time I’ve walked out of the theatre in the middle of a ballet, it was at The Times are Racing at the Kennedy Center...mostly due to the ridiculously loud “music” that hurt my ears. Really ugly street “costumes,” too. (At least Easy and Hurry Up have bright, light costumes.)
  18. Jeannette
    Thats true, zxDaveM. Better than overhead-cam gimmicks! AND it’s not the old version with the “dance caller” and on-stage fiddlers. [Just saw Bruce’s mention of the caller. The Joffrey danced that version at the Kennedy Center about 20 yrs ago...made new rhymes about “Billy Clinton” and such!] While I don’t have the link at my fingertips, I see that BalletAriz’s next online offering will be the rarely-seen Symphony in Three Movements. Yeah!
  19. Jeannette
    Well, just saw the Arizona Square Dance. Hmmm, too bad that, unlike most house cams, Arizona’s lacks a zoom lens. We know that, 25 years ago, NYCB filmed every ballet with two cameras - one long shot and one medium shot. Now, even NYCB uses zoom. Sorry but seeing a ballet through only long shot lens is headache inducing. Shame because the Arizona corps seemed to be moving beautifully. It also irks me that Arizona doesn’t bother to preface each film with simple credits. How about title, choreographer, composer and (at least) names of the two leads? They did the same with Sonnambula last week.
  20. Jeannette
    Balanchine’s SQUARE DANCE streaming now, only for 24 hours, via Ballet Arizona. https://m.facebook.com/events/668827230353082 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbW5ypYPG5v1rd-bukupmtA
  21. Jeannette
    Extraordinary report and review of Initials, li tai po. A heartfelt thanks!
  22. Jeannette
    And the hits just keep on coming! Balanchine’s complete Scotch Symphony and Peck’s InCreases are among several ballets to be shown during the School of American Ballet event to stream first on June 1 via the Live from Lincoln Center webstream series. https://sab.org/virtual-workshop-performance-celebration/
  23. Jeannette
    Watched Peck’s Pulcinella Variations. This has been one of my favorites of this choreographer since its premiere a couple of years ago. More traditional feeling and structure; less funk...although the colorful costumes are quite innovative. While I enjoyed the full cast, the major “POW!” was delivered by Anthony Huxley and his flying ribbons in the Tarantella solo!!! I’ve seen him live in this three times and he always brings down the house. This was Peck Double Header Night, with one of his loud sneaker ballets, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, streaming for the first time at the San Francisco Ballet site. (Next week will see a similar situation with Wheeldon!)
  24. Jeannette
    I know only of Ballet de Santiago in Chile, which is headed by A.D. Marcia Haydee...the one-and-only “M” among the initials! A fine company based in a lovely whitewashed European-style opera house in the middle of the busy capital city. I’ve visited twice, during their August modern rep “winter” seasons. Luis Ortigoza was (still is?) their flashy super technician....a perfect fit for the “Initial R” role, I imagine.
  25. Jeannette
    It boggles the mind! Imagine, I purchased my first SONY Betamax to record some of these titles when I was a university undergrad. Now I’m so hoping to rewatch some of these treasures in a clear, sharp state. Not to trivialize the sad Pandemic but I’m feeling like a kid in a candy shop these days. PNB Giselle...Initials RBME...all of the current NYCB films...San Fco Ballet...ENB...now this?! 🥳
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