Performances in the U.S.A.

[Scheherezade]

I so agree with the other posters, Ivy Lin. It is a pleasure to read your blogs and I, for one, believe that the continuing success of classical ballet depends upon the reactions of the lay punter every bit as much as, if not more than, those of the seasoned critics and the technically astute. After all, it is they who make up the audiences. It is also illuminating to see at what points these views converge and diverge and, in the reviews shown on this post, interesting to see those of your reactions that are echoed by Alastair Macauley.

What, by the way, did you feel with regard to the much-vaunted chemistry between Osipova and Hallberg?

[Jan McNulty]

14 hours ago, HappyTurk said:

https://balletomanehk.com/2018/05/20/giselle-natalia-david/

 

Here is another beautifully-written review of Hallberg and Osipova by a "regular ballet-goer." Interesting how I often prefer reading commentary from audience members more so than "real critics." The reviews even on this forum are so much more detailed and substantial. 

 

Very apposite final paragraph!  Thanks HT.

 

Please reconsider Ivy Lin.

[Sim]

I agree with the above, Ivy Lin.  I much prefer reading the blogs of real ballet lovers instead of national critics who are paid to do so and who very rarely put any emotion or heart into their writings.  You do, and that after all is what ballet is all about (for me, anyway).  I totally understand that you have private reasons for needing a break, but I hope you recover quickly from whatever happened and that you are back blogging again soon.  You are one of our main lifelines to what is happening Stateside in the ballet world.

 

Thank you for all you have written so far, and I look forward to seeing more in the future....if you decide to.

 

Sending you very best wishes,

Sim

[Sim]

7 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

Very apposite final paragraph!  Thanks HT.

 

Please reconsider Ivy Lin.

Interesting how this reviewer's perceptions differ so much from Ivy Lin's!  THAT is why I like reading people's blogs!!

[Ivy Lin]

3 hours ago, Scheherezade said:

I so agree with the other posters, Ivy Lin. It is a pleasure to read your blogs and I, for one, believe that the continuing success of classical ballet depends upon the reactions of the lay punter every bit as much as, if not more than, those of the seasoned critics and the technically astute. After all, it is they who make up the audiences. It is also illuminating to see at what points these views converge and diverge and, in the reviews shown on this post, interesting to see those of your reactions that are echoed by Alastair Macauley.

What, by the way, did you feel with regard to the much-vaunted chemistry between Osipova and Hallberg?

 

They have good chemistry although I think the fact that they've danced so infrequently together for the past 5 years or so showed. There were a few moments where dancers who are more experienced partnering each other might not have had an awkward stop. I think a lot of the things we say are "chemistry" are really partnering. The way a hand is right there to hold the other partner, the way their bodies align, etc. give the illusion of two people dancing as one and thus "chemistry." I will be interested in seeing them in the future and how they develop from here. 

[Lizbie1]

10 minutes ago, Ivy Lin said:

 

They have good chemistry although I think the fact that they've danced so infrequently together for the past 5 years or so showed. There were a few moments where dancers who are more experienced partnering each other might not have had an awkward stop. I think a lot of the things we say are "chemistry" are really partnering. The way a hand is right there to hold the other partner, the way their bodies align, etc. give the illusion of two people dancing as one and thus "chemistry." I will be interested in seeing them in the future and how they develop from here. 

 

You see, that kind of insight is exactly why you are "qualified" to talk about dance, Ivy Lin!

[Shade]

Well lucky New Yorkers I say- they got the Giselle that London didn't! I am sure that mr Hallberg did everything he could to recover for the performance, on their birthdays. 

 

Not sure I agree about stage chemistry being primarily about good partnering skills. Otherwise wouldn't there be more if it about?

 

The audience were so enthusiastic that they sang Happy Birthday to them. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ivy Lin]

Well part of the reason I wanted to stop blogging was I teach and my kids found my blog. A few of them got very out of line and said things like "Why are you going to the ballet when you should be in a Chinese restaurant making pork fried rice?" 

So I found out that on blogspot you can change your blog name and URL. So that's what I did. New url:

http://humbledandoverwhelmed.blogspot.com

 

Not sure if I'll be blogging anytime soon (think I need a break) but at least I'm not dealing with these comments anymore.

[Sim]

Ivy I hope you had a chat to your students about racism and gender stereotyping!   Don't let them get to you.  

I look forward to reading your blog again whenever you are ready.

Thanks for sharing your blog with this forum.  It is a great link to what is happening Stateside.  

Best wishes,

Sim

 

 

[Jan McNulty]

Ivy, what a horrible, horrendous experience for you.  I do hope you will feel able to go back to blogging in the fullness of time.

 

It's been so enjoyable reading your thoughts on ballet performances in the USA.

 

Take care and very best wishes, Janet

[Ivy Lin]

Well I saw the Ratmansky reconstruction of Harlequinade and here's what I thought:

https://humbledandoverwhelmed.blogspot.com/2018/06/ratmanskys-harlequinade-petipa-in-house.html

[bridiem]

On ‎20‎/‎05‎/‎2018 at 17:43, capybara said:

 

You write so well, Ivy Lin, and I hope that you won't stop doing so.

I understand what you mean about 'amateur' writing being a form of conceit but I am not convinced that many professional critics are particularly experienced in ballet terms, at least, not to begin with.  I shall never forget sitting in front of two women at the ROH and hearing the older one, whom I vaguely recognised, ask the younger one, "So how did you become a critic, then?" The reply was to the effect that she was really a trainee who had been sent along that night because noone else was available. She nevertheless continued to review ballet and dance for that newspaper for many years thenceforward - and she did so rather well!

 

Yes; all being a 'professional' critic means is that you have managed to get someone to pay you for what you write. You then become subject to their constraints in terms of length, style, etc, so you can no longer write as freely. And you have to go to performances you may not otherwise choose to attend. 'Amateur' writers may be just as good as/knowledgeable as paid critics - they just don't get paid for it. And many critics clearly don't have huge depth of technical knowledge - like everyone else, they have mainly learned (we hope) by watching, reading and absorbing. The only thing that matters is the quality of the writing, not whether or not someone has been paid to write it.

[Sim]

How wonderful that you are still writing, Ivy Lin.  I am so pleased that you have found the strength to follow your passion instead of conceding to ignorance and stupidity.  Please keep it up....you write so vividly and you are a very important link to what is going on across the pond.  Thank you.

[FLOSS]

Ivy Lin I want to endorse what others have already said about your writing. Your account of this reconstruction has been far fuller and so much more informative than the one in the New York Times where Mr Seibert has limited space and chooses to  use an inordinate amount of it in telling his readers that Harlequinade is not a major work comparable to The Sleeping Beauty which is scarcely a revelation. He says very little about the performance except to say that Ratmansky has loosened up as far as period appropriate style is concerned (giving me the impression that legs had gone sky high) and makes it very clear that he does not think this was a worthwhile project. Your account of the choreography and the casts you saw and the transformative effect that Ratmansky's presence has had on ABT as a whole makes me regret that it is unlikely to be seen in Europe. It is interesting, but not really that surprising, to learn that  Balanchine reused considerable chunks of Petipa's choreography in his version of the ballet. Your account of David Hallberg's mournful Pierrot makes me wonder how much Fokine's ideas for Carnaval, in which Pierrot is given some prominence, owed to his familiarity with Petipa's own use of commedia del'arte characters in Harlequinade ?

 

 

Edited June 6, 2018 by FLOSS

[Ivy Lin]

Thanks for the kind words. One thing: Edward Villella (the original Harlequin in the production) was sitting right in front of me yesterday so I asked him wheat he rehearsed and he said mime and characterization for the lead characters. Makes sense considering how I found out from Ratmansky version that Balanchine reused so much Petipa choreography.

[fromthebalcony]

I really loved the ballet and both casts!  

[Bruce Wall]

Just watched this trailer with the EVER GLORIOUS Tiler Peck - what a dazzling fighter she is ... BALLET NOW ... and noticed that Reece Clarke was involved (he pops up a couple of times in the trailer) so there is local interest.  Hope that some Art House has a UK showing of this film sometime:

 

 

[now voyager]

1 hour ago, Bruce Wall said:

Just watched this trailer with the EVER GLORIOUS Tiler Peck - what a dazzling fighter she is ... BALLET NOW ... and noticed that Reece Clarke was involved (he pops up a couple of times in the trailer) so there is local interest.  Hope that some Art House has a UK showing of this film sometime:

 

 

The footage in the trailer all seems to be from the performances last summer at the LA Music Center that Tiler Peck "curated" and in which she appeared.  Both Reece Clarke and Lauren Cuthbertson also performed in those programs.

[Bruce Wall]

Just wanted to note that Justin Peck (much as Chris Wheeldon had done for An American in Paris) won the Choreography Tony Award last night for his work on the current Broadway production of Carousel.  (There are understandably a goodly number of ballet dancers in the cast - including the wonderful NYCB principal Amar Ramasar as Jigger).  The 'Patricia' he refers to in his acceptance speech is his girlfriend, Patricia Delgado, the Cuban American ballerina who was for many years with MCB.  

 

 

[Ivy Lin]

I attended three performances of Don Q at ABT this week. Comparisons of the casts:

https://humbledandoverwhelmed.blogspot.com/2018/06/abts-don-quixotes-chart-path-for-abts.html

[Amelia]

October 20 and 21 at New York City Center

K'Arts Ballet of Korea will present the American premiere of Song of the Mermaid, inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid,” it will star Kimin Kim, principal dancer of Mariinsky Ballet.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/KArts-Balllet-Presents-The-American-Premiere-Of-SONG-OF-THE-MERMAID-20180822
 

[Douglas Allen]

I've never seen K'Arts Ballet of Korea so nothing I'm about to say refers to that company, but another ballet about "The Little Mermaid"! Really?

 

Has anyone , ever, seen a successful ballet featuring mermaids? I should have thought that mermaids and ballet was a truly oxymoronic idea. Mermaids must find petit battement quite difficult, not to mention rondes de jambe. Perhaps I've misunderstood and its actually an acqua ballet taking place in a large tank of water and Kimin Kim has been given a sequinned snorkel to wear.

[Jan McNulty]

51 minutes ago, Douglas Allen said:

 

 

Has anyone , ever, seen a successful ballet featuring mermaids? 

 

Well actually, David Nixon's production for Northern Ballet last year was really rather successful and enjoyable.

[Douglas Allen]

Jan,

 

Your reviews are always notable for their generosity of spirit. I have to say, though, that not everyone holds Nixon's production in the same regard.

 

[Jan McNulty]

26 minutes ago, Douglas Allen said:

Jan,

 

Your reviews are always notable for their generosity of spirit. I have to say, though, that not everyone holds Nixon's production in the same regard.

 

 

Maybe so but audience figures were excellent for this production and I have to say that at the performances I saw audience reaction around me was very positive...

 

And so were reviews from critics often associated with dance reviews:

 

https://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/2017/little-mermaid-review-mayflower-theatre-southampton/

 

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/dance-review-the-little-mermaid-at-the-mayflower-theatre-southampton-wzj9vnjqk?shareToken=3c6e4cf2515a53c30a03459aba16347b

 

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/dance-review-little-mermaid-northern-ballet-c9hbcq6gm?shareToken=24012e3674c645e487388a403d7c8412

 

http://www.heraldscotland.com/arts_ents/stage/16113328.Dance_review__The_Little_Mermaid__Festival_Theatre__Edinburgh__four_stars/

 

https://bachtrack.com/review-little-mermaid-nixon-northern-ballet-festival-theatre-edinburgh-march-2018

Edited August 28, 2018 by Jan McNulty
edited to add some links

[toursenlair]

2 hours ago, Douglas Allen said:

Mermaids must find petit battement quite difficult, not to mention rondes de jambe. Perhaps I've misunderstood and its actually an acqua ballet taking place in a large tank of water and Kimin Kim has been given a sequinned snorkel to wear.

 

Surely only if you have  a limited imagination as to the costuming.

[alison]

I seem to remember Dance Europe giving NB's Mermaid a very good review, too?

[Jan McNulty]

23 minutes ago, alison said:

I seem to remember Dance Europe giving NB's Mermaid a very good review, too?

 

Yes, but they are very pro-NB so I chose not to mention that.

 

I’m not saying David Nixon is the best choreographer since bread was first sliced but he has made some (IMHO) wonderful works that deserve a life beyond NB.

[Ivy Lin]

Uh, is Ondine (Ashton) considered a mermaid ballet? Because wasn't it pretty successful? And it was one of Margot's favorites.

[Douglas Allen]

Ondine was a naiad rather than a mermaid and,  hence, in possession of legs (usually two).

[Ivy Lin]

After a summer of nonstop scandal NYCB's fall season opened. Lots of debuts as overnight the company lost three male principals:

https://humbledandoverwhelmed.blogspot.com/2018/09/nycb-recovers-after-summer-of-scandal.html

[Douglas Allen]

Ivy Lin

 

Many thanks for your  blog. As I've been unable to get to New York for the Fall season, I was particularly grateful for your blog as your comments, asI find them, are both balanced and perceptive. (It might, of course, just mean that I tend to agree with them!!).

 

A couple of questions, if I may; do you think the Jared Angle situation is the harbinger of a permanent decline? I ask becauseseveral other people I know have made the exact same point as you and none of them seem sure that it is temporary. I was also really pleased to hear of Reichlen in Diamonds, but I worry that this might mean that she won't be seen again (or at least not as often) as the Tall Girl. Does the interim directorship group have a policy on this sort of thing or does the current confusion mean that nothing is clearcut?

 

Thanks for mentioning Joseph Gordon. I've thought for a while that he's one of the more promising men in the company. Are there any others worth keeping an eye on?

 

Thanks again for the blog - they are much appreciated.

[Ivy Lin]

2 hours ago, Douglas Allen said:

Ivy Lin

 

Many thanks for your  blog. As I've been unable to get to New York for the Fall season, I was particularly grateful for your blog as your comments, asI find them, are both balanced and perceptive. (It might, of course, just mean that I tend to agree with them!!).

 

A couple of questions, if I may; do you think the Jared Angle situation is the harbinger of a permanent decline? I ask becauseseveral other people I know have made the exact same point as you and none of them seem sure that it is temporary. I was also really pleased to hear of Reichlen in Diamonds, but I worry that this might mean that she won't be seen again (or at least not as often) as the Tall Girl. Does the interim directorship group have a policy on this sort of thing or does the current confusion mean that nothing is clearcut?

 

Thanks for mentioning Joseph Gordon. I've thought for a while that he's one of the more promising men in the company. Are there any others worth keeping an eye on?

 

Thanks again for the blog - they are much appreciated.

 

Hi, Jared Angle is a senior principal who in his prime wasn't a virtuoso dancer. He's been cast less and less in recent seasons and it's become a chicken and egg thing -- is he out of shape because he barely dances, or does he not get cast because he's out of shape? He's definitely in the twilight of his career.

As for Reichlen, I think that she might be needed for Diamonds now. I hope she doesn't retire Tall Girl in Rubies but the company now has a liot of tall glamazons so she might be pushed towards Diamonds. 

As for promising men, corps members Roman Mejia (son of Paul Mejia), Harrison Coll and Sebastian Villarini-Velez are probably getting the most attention.