DAVID HALLBERG AND ASHLEY BOUDER AT VAIL

Our David Hallberg (with flying blonde mane and miraculous feet!) rehearses the Black Swan pas de deux with Ashley Bouder, which they’re currently performing at the Vail International Dance Festival. Great Paloma Herrera-esque fouettes, Ms. Bouder (with the multiple pirouettes thrown in; I haven’t really seen the NYCBallet ballerina in a dramatic part yet; she and David look good together!)

Bouder’s also performing Balanchine’s Who Cares with SLSG favorite Robert Fairchild, and David’s dancing Apollo with Pacific Northwest’s Carla Korbes. So wish I could be there…

16 Comments

  1. Very nice! I am in the wrong woods, dammit. CO, CT… It's an easy mistake to make! AB certainly looks to be back at full strength. And she is rocking those legwarmers πŸ™‚

    Is it ridiculous that I am already looking forward to next season?

  2. Thanks, Tonya. Always fine to see our David off-season. Are you going to Bard this year?

  3. Anne Coburn Whitmore

    Ashley, David, Robbie!, and …Carla ! Yes, I so wish I could have been there, too. πŸ˜‰

    The Vail people have put up some great video clips and pictures on their website, youtube, flickr … I got addicted last year, after having stumbled upon them, and am even more depressed this year to have missed it all, in person, yet again. What a lovely venue – to dance in!, and take in performances, no? So beautiful.
    Thanks for sharing!

  4. Somehow Ms Bouder's performance seemed to lack energy to my eye. But maybe it was the out of focus video. David rocked as usual.

    I found the natural background distracting. How weird is that?

  5. Well, it was rehearsal. Have to save something for showtime.

  6. Hey thanks for the comment. I think Bouder is a fabulous ballerina. The
    well known picture of her jump is how I think of her and was surprised that
    she didn't come off tight and snappy (weird words). She looked like she was
    cruising through not slicing the the air with a knife. Just my impression
    of the video. You can tell I won't make it as a dance critic hahahaha.

    J

  7. Oh, yeah, I totally know what you're saying. I won't make it as a dance critic, either: I wind up resorting to sports terms half the time! Open rehearsals are just a little tricky. It's natural to watch them as performances (esp. with dancers of this caliber), but dancers might be marking the occasional step or thinking about timing or phrasing or whatnot and not really taking to the air. So, you know, it's the difference between an intrasquad scrimmage and a playoff game πŸ™‚

  8. Anne Coburn Whitmore

    and how great is Hallberg?! – he's A GOD. πŸ™‚

  9. Anne Coburn Whitmore
  10. SwanLakeSambaGirl

    Oh my gosh Anne — thank you so much for finding that! I didn't see it! Haha, at the beginning they are playing that lute music in the background in the scene where Romeo and Juliet first meet and she is playing the lute. I couldn't get that music out of my head for weeks after the latest run! Haha, now it's back! I love some of the shots — how the camera person filmed him kind of diagonally toward the end. Ah, he is such a beautiful dancer! Thank you again so much for finding this!

  11. Anne Coburn Whitmore

    Aw :), *you're welcome*! I wasn't sure if maybe you'd seen it already (disclosure: I found it over on BalletTalk) – but I just KNEW you'd love it! πŸ˜‰

    I wrote in an e-mail to a friend :
    “… His technique and grace is astounding – like, no other man is THIS graceful – seriously. He's just as graceful and aesthetically perfect(amazing lines) as a female dancer … I don't think I've ever seen a male danseur w/ technique this perfect, this supple…

    … Great interview, too – he seems very intelligent, articulate, contemplative and…sensitive, thoughtful! … -seems like such a sweetheart. what a great human being – so into his art, so genuine – and so talented; such innate grace, such amazing facility, plus amazing technique honed… and, I mean, he's just so beautiful.”

    I love that lute music, too!

  12. Anne Coburn Whitmore

    and how great is Hallberg?! – he's A GOD. πŸ™‚

  13. Anne Coburn Whitmore
  14. SwanLakeSambaGirl

    Oh my gosh Anne — thank you so much for finding that! I didn't see it! Haha, at the beginning they are playing that lute music in the background in the scene where Romeo and Juliet first meet and she is playing the lute. I couldn't get that music out of my head for weeks after the latest run! Haha, now it's back! I love some of the shots — how the camera person filmed him kind of diagonally toward the end. Ah, he is such a beautiful dancer! Thank you again so much for finding this!

  15. Anne Coburn Whitmore

    Aw :), *you're welcome*! I wasn't sure if maybe you'd seen it already (disclosure: I found it over on BalletTalk) – but I just KNEW you'd love it! πŸ˜‰

    I wrote in an e-mail to a friend :
    “… His technique and grace is astounding – like, no other man is THIS graceful – seriously. He's just as graceful and aesthetically perfect(amazing lines) as a female dancer … I don't think I've ever seen a male danseur w/ technique this perfect, this supple…

    … Great interview, too – he seems very intelligent, articulate, contemplative and…sensitive, thoughtful! … -seems like such a sweetheart. what a great human being – so into his art, so genuine – and so talented; such innate grace, such amazing facility, plus amazing technique honed… and, I mean, he's just so beautiful.”

    I love that lute music, too!

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