Tag: Royal Ballet

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CARLOS ACOSTA PERFORMS WITH THE ROYAL BALLET IN HIS NATIVE CUBA!

 

Carlos Acosta, famed principal with the Royal Ballet in London, performing with his company during their historic visit to Cuba, his native country.

 

Cubans watching the performance outside the Garcia Lorca Hall, which seems to have been broadcast live on the big screens.

 

The legendary Alicia Alonso, credited largely with bringing ballet to Latin America and Latin America to Ballet, 88 years old now, surrounded by Acosta and Tamara Rojo (also with the Royal). Joel Carreno (Jose’s little brother), of Ballet Nacional de Cuba is on the far left. All photos from Getty Images, taken from the Sacramento Bee online.

Wow, I’ve been so busy first with ABT / NYCB season here, and now with trying to put the finishing touches on my novel (hopefully will be out by the end of the week, fingers crossed!) that I totally missed this amazing story. The Royal Ballet is currently making their first ever visit to Cuba. Thank you thank you thank you to Haglund for pointing it out. He’s been covering it (via the papers and online networks). Visit his blog to get all the updates — start here with the most current entry.

 

Last Thursday Alexandra Ansanelli gave the final performance of her career, in Cuba’s Grand Teatro. Ansanelli surprised everyone by retiring early (she’s only 28; she’s an American ballerina, much beloved by many New Yorkers, as she was formerly with NYCB. She joined the Royal a few years ago so that she could take on more classical roles). Read an interview with her in the USDaily; link also via Haglund.

And go here for a news video, “A Diplomacy of Dance,” on MSNBC — there’s some good coverage of Acosta, who is interviewed. Again via the awesome Haglund. Do read the rest of his blog; he’s got lots of stuff that I didn’t link to. Oh dear, what would we do without blogs?…

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IT’S ROMEO & JULIET WEEK AT ABT, WITH CELEBRATION OF FREDERIC FRANKLIN’S 95TH BDAY

 

 

 

Finally, Pashmina week is here!

I couldn’t find any pictures of the pashmina lifts, but watch this video — two occur around 430-440 and 528-532. By the way, that clip, from a BBC broadcast apparently, is really good — the Royal’s Darcey Bussell talks about MacMillan’s gorgeous balcony pas de deux and then it’s performed by the great Carlos Acosta and Tamara Rojo.

Anyway, last night’s debut cast at ABT was Marcelo Gomes and Diana Vishneva in the leads. It was excellent. The audience collectively rose to its feet right after the curtain went down on the two lovers, dead in the crypt, and hardly anyone sat down or left until after the final curtain call. And a significant amount of people didn’t even want to leave then, after all the lights came up. I don’t think I’ve ever seen quite that kind of crowd reaction before. Diana was the best I’ve ever seen her (she’s really growing on me). The end was a bit melodramatic and overdone, but that aside, her performance was brilliant — perfectly and passionately danced and in character throughout. And the bourrees 😀 Marcelo is always perfect. He’s the lifting king in this very lift-heavy ballet. And he’s of course very romantic and passionate to boot 🙂 He’s never not completely made my night at ABT. He kissed Diana on the lips during curtain call; audience went “awwwwwww!”

Herman Cornejo danced Mercutio, and, believe me, there’s no one better for that part. No one! Audience went wild over him, nearly as much as the leads. Veronika Part replaced Stella Abrera as Lady Capulet. It’s not a dancing role but a very serious acting one. I’ve never seen a more tragic Lady Capulet. I really felt her horror at Tybalt’s death. I almost cried with her. Isaac Stappas was a very good Tybalt, very virile, very threatening, but ultimately vulnerable. And Carlos Lopez was a very good Benvolio — he landed all of his jumps very well 🙂

 

And 95-year-old Frederic Franklin played Friar Lawrence (and got loads of applause for it when he first appeared onstage — for a minute I thought they were going to have to stop the music so he could take a bow!)

So the rest of the week: Marcelo will dance Romeo once more, on Wednesday night, with Paloma Herrera as Juliet. Tonight (Tuesday) and Saturday night Roberto Bolle dances with Irina Dvorovenko (a must-see performance). Wednesday and Saturday matinees are David Hallberg and Gillian Murphy. And Friday night are Herman Cornejo and Xiomara Reyes in the leads. Thursday night’s performance should be special: the young Hee Seo and Cory Stearns are making their debuts in the roles, and, according to the Playbill, there is also to be a little celebration that night in honor of Franklin, who will again play Friar Lawrence.

Pretty amazing to still be onstage at 95!

 

For ABT’s schedule and ticket info, go here.

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TWO SYLVIAS: ROBERTO BOLLE & MICHELE WILES AND DIANA VISHNEVA & ETHAN STIEFEL

Yesterday I had one of those crazed balletomane days where I went to both matinee and evening performances of Sylvia at ABT. Cast for matinee was the esteemed Diana Vishneva as Sylvia, forever-a-heartthrob Ethan Stiefel as Aminta, the shepherd in love with her, Jared Matthews as Orion, the evil hunter, and Craig Salstein as Eros, or Cupid.

 

 

Second cast, which, with the exception of Vishneva was overall far better, was Michele Wiles in the lead, Roberto Bolle as Aminta, Cory Stearns as Orion, and Daniil Simkin as Eros. In the second cast, Kristi Boone also stood out as Diana, the goddess of the hunt and of chastity, and both goats Misty Copeland and Craig Salstein; Carlos Lopez in the first cast was a good goat (feel a bit funny saying that). Both Terpsichores I saw really magically devoured the stage quite well: Simone Messmer and Veronika Part.

 

 

Anyway, this is my first time seeing a full-length Frederick Ashton ballet and now I’m curious to see more. It reminded me a bit of Midsummer Night’s Dream, with the gods and nymphs and the love unrequited and then requited theme and the mystical, enchanting, dream-like quality of it all.

Here’s the story: scantily-clad Aminta the shepherd is in love with Sylvia, one of goddess Diana’s nymphs who, at the top of the ballet has just led a very successful hunt. She and her fellow huntresses celebrate their victorious hunt. Then, having renounced love, Sylvia taunts the god Eros, who, painted in silver and wearing a leaf fig over his private parts, spends the first act standing atop a pedestal. (This is a very fun ballet.) Evil Orion is also in love with Sylvia and seeks to possess her.

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