Tag: Twyla Tharp

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WEEKEND VIEWING: JOSE MANUEL CARRENO

 

 

(Middle photo of Fancy Free – with Sasha Radetsky and Herman Cornejo – taken from Ballet.co; other photos from ABT website)

Jose Carreno is my dancer of the season this ABT season, mainly because I love him and am trying to see him in everything possible so in case, as people are surmising, he retires next year or the year after. I’m trying to get my fill. Not that you can ever really get your fill of a dancer like him. But it seems to be what everyone is doing — I’m hearing, “Oh, I’m trying to see Jose as much as I can!” everywhere around the Met right now.

This season, I’ve seen him in La Bayadere with Julie Kent, Sleeping Beauty with Alina Cojocaru, of course Don Quixote with Natalia Osipova (twice if you include the night honoring Alicia Alonso) and a host of mixed rep fare including Fancy Free — he’s by far my favorite cocky Latin sailor EVER, Tharp’s Brahms-Haydn Variations which would have been a great deal more boring without him, he was still a real standout among a cast full of huge principals the day I saw it, and what else have I seen him in? Seems like something else, but maybe it’s just that I’m looking forward to tomorrow night’s Manon pas de deux with Diana Vishneva.

If and when he retires I’m going to be a hysterical wreck. He’s 42 this year and dancing, in my eyes, as well as he ever has, so I don’t know why it even needs to be an issue at this point. But he’s said years ago that he planned to retire at 40, and it seems most ABT men stop dancing in their early 40s at the latest (Julio Bocca was only 39) so … whatever… He’s the most advanced artist at ABT, the most advanced artist I know of currently dancing; he’s a legend. And he’s the only dancer who’s ever brought me to tears (with his Romeo).

So, since this is a long weekend, here are some videos so you can enjoy him too:

Dancing with Irina Dvorovenko in Le Corsaire:

In Coppelia:

Diana and Acteon:

With Gillian Murphy in Don Quixote:

And rehearsing for a Kings of Dance performance with David Hallberg, Joaquin De Luz and Nikolai Tsiskaridze:

Happy 4th everyone!

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ALL DAY AT ABT: ALL AMERICAN AND ALL ASHTON PROGRAMS

Last Saturday I had my first crazy ABT day where I spent the whole day at Lincoln Center, seeing both matinee and evening performances. I’ll do the same tomorrow with two Sleeping Beauties – can’t miss Alina Cojocaru (who I’ve never seen before) guesting from the Royal Ballet in the lead, and then in the evening the spectacular Natalia Osipova.

Anyway, last Saturday the matinee was their All-American program; the evening was the All-Ashton. The All-American opened with Twyla Tharp’s Brahms-Hayden Variations, which I’m sorry to say is the first Tharp that’s bored me. I just couldn’t connect to it. It had none of her trademark thrilling throws and lifts and clever partnering or dramatic, actable parts, and none of her enlightening contrasts between ballet and other forms of dance. Not that I saw anyway. I think the excerpt the company performed during the opening night gala was the only part I liked. There were good dancers – Marcelo Gomes, Stella Abrera, Herman Cornejo – but they didn’t seem to have that much to work with. It was just kind of lyrical gaiety. Like Mark Morris.

 

Then was Paul Taylor’s Company B, which is always fun – especially when Craig Salstein dances the hotly dorky guy in “Oh Johnny Oh” and Herman Cornejo the flashy “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,” but somehow it lost some of its magic on the large Met stage. I don’t know – I think it plays better at City Center – you somehow miss the silhouettes in the back at the Met, or you don’t connect them to what’s happening center stage as well.

 

And last was my favorite of the day, Robbins’ Fancy Free, this time starring Sascha Radetsky (image above, from here) as the cocky, sexy Latin sailor, Carlos Lopez as the dreamier one, and Daniil Simkin as the little acrobatic one. The two main women were Maria Riccetto as the girl in yellow whom the guys originally approach, and then Isabella Boylston as the girl in pink who momentarily gets interested in hot cocky Latin guy. Well, Sascha Radetsky completely took my breath away here. Before he had his momentary hiatus in with Netherlands Ballet, I’d always thought he was cute and a very solid, precise dancer, but he couldn’t act. I think he must have taken acting lessons in the Netherlands because he’s just so much better now. I really believe him in each role I’ve seen him in. And he really inhabited this sailor. He was really so compelling to watch; I couldn’t even focus on Daniil and his crazy sky-high jumps with Radetsky on the same stage.

Hehe, but one thing that really stood out for me was Isabella Boylston’s back-leading! All throughout ballroom training we were yelled at ad nauseam  — not just me but all the women — for constantly back-leading. And that’s because grown women generally pick up dance steps a lot faster than grown men (not necessarily true for girls versus boys but definitely true for men vs women for some reason). Anyway, it’s only now I really know why. It looks horrible. I know this is ballet with choreographed steps and not ballroom, but their characters are doing social dance so it really had to look like he was leading her in the steps, not like she was anticipating what he’d so and then turn herself or make the move before he led her to do it. It ended up looking like she was in control, and he’s supposed to be seducing her here. I’m sure they’ll get it with more practice, it just looked obviously wrong and out of character. But maybe that’s just my ballroom training talking because they definitely got the most applause.

 

The Ashton program opened with Birthday Offering (image above from Dance View Times), which ended up being my favorite piece of the night. Absolutely gorgeous costumes (by Andre Levasseur) and what lovely variations with fast, fancy, very original footwork for the women. Stella Abrera, Simone Messmer, and Gemma Bond in particular stood out to me. Hee Seo (my favorite Juliet) danced as well – not in love with the choreography for her variation as much but she has the most beautiful Alessandra Ferri feet. She and Veronika Part both!

Then came the Thais Pas de Deux, which was performed by Jared Matthews and Diana Vishneva. I can’t wait to see Hee Seo and Sascha Radetsky perform this at the end of the month. I saw them in rehearsal and they really took my breath away. They’re so sweet together, and they really bring out the beauty of the choreography in a way that Diana and Jared as a partnership just didn’t, in my mind. Diana and her melodramatic curtain calls really crack me up. At first they annoyed me but I’m beginning to accept that they’re part of the performance for her and they’re just her. Who knows, maybe someday I’ll find it endearing.

But as far as her dancing, she’s hit or miss with me. I haven’t gotten around to writing about it yet, but I absolutely loved her in Lady of the Camellias. She brought so much more to the role than Julie Kent had the day before and she really brought me into the drama of it all – she and Veronika Part both (who danced the Manon role). And her dancing was gorgeous. She and Marcelo were excellent in that. A performance to see again and again (if ABT would only make a DVD of it…)

Then was The Awakening Pas de Deux from Ashton’s Sleeping Beauty, danced by Veronika Part and David Hallberg. It’s funny but choreography can look so completely different on different bodies and it looked like a wholly different piece than when Paloma Herrera and Cory Stearns danced it on opening night.

Finally, was The Dream, Ashton’s version of Midsummer Night’s Dream. Honestly, I was getting really tired by this point and I’ll have to see it again. I did really like Cory Stearns as Oberon. He is another dancer who’s a hit or miss with me but I found his Oberon was endearing while still being rather demanding with Titania up front. He did a good job, and he dancing was beautiful. Alexei Agoudine was a lot of fun as Bottom (who’s on pointe here, unlike in the Balanchine version and has a lot more to do), and Daniil Simkin was Puck. I enjoyed his Puck but found myself unable to get Daniel Ulbrich’s Puck out of my mind. I’ve been told I have to see Herman Cornejo in this role. And so I hope to before the season ends.

In between performances I had ice cream in the park behind Lincoln Center cinemas, where I saw Blaine Hoven and Marcelo, and then I went and had a glass of wine in the outside patio area of the newish Alice Tully Hall cafe. It’s nice out there when it’s warm, which it was for part of the time. So far we seem to be having another chilly summer. Tomorrow I have two friends who, happily, are as crazy as I am, so I will have people to hang with instead of just my book 🙂

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ABT OPENING NIGHT GALA MET SEASON 2010

 

Photo from inside the gala tent last night at American Ballet Theater’s opening night gala taken from NY Social Diary, who, sadly, don’t seem to have any pics up of Irina Dvorovenko in her beautiful red gown. It was one of the most beautiful dresses I’ve ever seen — long and many-layered but each layer seemed to be made of a light, sheer piece of fabric, so the whole thing looked light and diaphanous, though it wasn’t really see-through, just looked that way. Anyway, if anyone finds a picture of her, please let me know! Roberto Cavalli probably designed it…

Anyway, so the opening night gala was last night. It was loooong — one of the longest I’ve seen. We didn’t get out until 9:30, and it began at 6:30. It opened with an excerpt from Frederick Ashton’s Birthday Offering, of seven couples waltzing at what seemed to be a party (I haven’t seen this ballet), with Irina Dvorovenko and Maxim Beloserkovsky the main couple.

Following that was a series of introductions and thank yous by Kevin McKenzie (Art. Dir.), Blaine Trump and Caroline Kennedy (the two women were honorary chairs of the evening, along with Michelle Obama, who wasn’t there), and then David Koch who has funded the upcoming production of the company’s Nutcracker this winter.

Then, a group of ABT II dancers performed an excerpt of Edwaard Liang’s Ballo Per Sei, which was a contemporary lyrical piece, set to Vivaldi. I recognized a SLSG favorite — Irlan Silva — right away.

Then came the “Rose Adagio” from Sleeping Beauty, performed by Michele Wiles, with Sascha Radetsky, Craig Salstein, Gennadi Saveliev, and Roman Zhurbin as suitors. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this performed so well. Michele really held those balances, and she was so vivacious! Both she and Paloma Herrera, who danced a later excerpt from SB later in the evening, really embodied a young Princess Aurora very well. Michele got loads of applause – the most thus far of the evening.

Then came David Hallberg and Natalia Osipova’s Olympic version of Giselle — this an excerpt from Act II. People laughed and shook heads in amazement at Osipova’s sky-high ballons and sprightly jumps and leaps. She is really incredible. And then at the end when she jeted off and he followed her, it was really beautiful. But athletically astounding as it was, it was still moving; nearly brought tears to my eyes. I mean, how do you manage to do athletic feats like that and make it seem like you’re a light, other-worldly spirit instead of nearly exhausting yourself to death? I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to see anyone else dance Giselle again besides Osipova now. I saw a couple of etoiles from the Paris Opera Ballet perform it at the Guggenheim a few months ago and all I could think was, “wait, where’s the ear-high develope?” and “that arabesque penchee is nowhere near 6:00!” Natalia Osipova has spoiled me.

Then came Veronika Part and Marcelo Gomes doing my favorite gala fare, the Black Swan pas de deux. They were magnificent. Veronika kept doing these equally astounding crazy penchees, and she was so tantalizing with all of her faux White Swan poses! She was really a bad tease! And perfect fouette sequence for her, and his jetes and all — they got loads of applause too (oh, and so did David and Natalia).

Then was the beautiful Thais Pas de Deux by Ashton, danced by Diana Vishneva and Jared Matthews. I recently saw this rehearsed at a studio visit by Hee Seo and Sascha Radetsky, and it looks so different onstage far away and with costumes and all. It looked a lot more like MacMillan than I remembered. I loved it; Diana and Jared did very well but I still can’t wait to see Hee and Sascha. For her gala gown, Diana was wearing a very interesting-looking Japanese-styled dress.

Ending the first half of the evening was the finale of Tharp’s Brahms-Hayden Variations, danced by a group of seven couples, replete with trademark Tharpian flash and crazy lifts and high energy. Can’t wait to see this now either. I have in my notes, “who is dancing with Hammoudi?!” When I looked at my program, I saw it was Stella Abrera. She is really back and really on!

First dance after the intermission was the “Kingdom of the Shades” scene from La Bayadere.  Beautiful as always though it seemed some of the dancers were not completely in unison.

Then came Paloma Herrera and Cory Stearns dancing the Awakening Pas de Deux from Sleeping Beauty, which was followed by the wedding pas de deux from that ballet danced by Herman Cornejo and Xiomara Reyes. I particularly loved Paloma. As I said before, she and Michele Wiles really embodied the sweet, youthful spirit of Aurora. Paloma and Cory danced very well together. They seemed like a real couple.

Then was my second favorite excerpt of the night — the Act III Pas de Deux from Neumeier’s Lady of the Camellias, danced by a very passionate Roberto Bolle (who received a load of applause when the curtain initially opened on him) and a very dramatic Julie Kent. Every excerpt of this ballet makes me want to see the whole. Not much longer now — it begins next week, and I can’t wait. I think they received the greatest applause of the night. Audience really went wild, and it’s partly because he’s so internationally famous, but also I think because they just did so well with it. This seems to be a ballet that requires both good acting and excellent partnering ability because some of those lifts… The pianist, Soheil Nasseri, came onstage too for a bow at the end. He was very good.

Next to last was the Act III Pas de Deux from Don Quixote, danced by ABT audience faves Ethan Stiefel and Gillian Murphy. There was a slight mishap with the lift where he throws her up, she does a crazy twist in the air and then he catches her and the fish dive wasn’t hands free, but they each danced spectacularly on their own. It looked at one point like she was doing quadruple pirouettes between some of her fouettes, and he nearly kicked his leg to his forehead during some of his jumps and then did a flashy little jump during his fouette sequence that had the audience screaming.

The evening ended on a modern note  with David Parsons’s Caught, danced by Angel Corella, who, expectedly did an exquisite job. The audience, many of whom hadn’t seen that dance before, seemed so spellbound they almost forgot to clap right away. Angel’s so cute 😀

And finally, everyone who danced came out onstage at the end and took a little bow while the orchestra continued to play. Dancers still in costume — Daniil Simkin, Craig Salstein, Gennadi Saveliev come to mind — did a flashy trick, the “Shades” did a little dance in unison, and then dancers who danced in the first half came out in party gown (which is how I fell in love with Irina’s dress).

Fun evening. During intermission I checked my cell-phone and found a text from a friend who saw me sitting in orchestra from the side par terre, where he was sitting. So I texted him to meet me afterward, and we went for martinis, clam chowder and crab cake sandwiches at Ed’s Chowder House across from the Plaza, my favorite post-ballet place to go since it replaced Center Cut mid-NYCB fall season. They have a TV in the bar, and I was happy that the Yankees were still on. So I saw A-Rod hit his game-tying home-run… But how my friend ever saw me in that enormous Met crowd I’ll never know. Though many arrived late, house ended up being packed.

Oh, and I almost forgot: at the beginning of his speech, Kevin McKenzie introduced several dancers – each representing an era of ABT (this being the company’s 70th anniversary)- who all came out and took a bow. Included were Lupe Serrano, Baryshnikov, Nina Ananiashvili (who got a lot of applause), Alessandra Ferri, Natalia Makarova, and cutie Frederick Franklin, who gave a little speech as well. Isabella Rosellini was in the audience, a few rows down from me. I didn’t recognize anyone else in the audience.

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TIX TO THARP'S COME FLY WITH ME NOW ON SALE

Tickets to the New York production of Twyla Tharp’s new dance musical, Come Fly With Me, are now on sale. The story follows four couples as they fall in and out of love. It’s set to Sinatra (music will have recordings of his original voice backed by live accompaniment), so I have high hopes. Here’s a Times review from the show’s Atlanta opening in September. NY previews begin March 1.

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PACIFIC NORTHWEST BALLET MAKES ITS JOYCE DEBUT (and Marco Goecke Steals the Show IMO)

 

Tuesday night, the Pacific Northwest Ballet opened its 5-day run at the Joyce. This was my first time seeing this company, and it has a reputation as one of the most prestigious in the U.S. Helmed by Peter Boal, a former dancer with New York City Ballet, the company is already familiar to many NYCB fans, but not yet to me.

I really wish they could have brought the whole company and danced at City Center, a more suitable stage for ballet. The Joyce is small and known for modern dance and so they could only bring a small portion of the company. And, the small stage limited their choice of choreography and prevented the dancers from dancing full-out. So I felt it lacked a certain balletic grandeur, although I still greatly enjoyed the evening.

For one thing, I was thrilled to finally be able to see Brazilian ballerina Carla Korbes dance, after being introduced to her on the Winger. She had a part in just about every ballet and she did not disappoint — she has great charisma and dances with great dramatic intention.

I was also happy to be able to see Seth Orza again 😀 (Everyone who’s read this blog for a while knows how downright devastated I was when he left NYCB…) He’s so sharp and precise, and so strong — I think he definitely needs to be promoted to principal (he’s now a soloist, as he was when he left NYCB).

So, there were four pieces on the program: Opus 111 by Twyla Tharp, Fur Alina by Edwaard Liang, Mopey by Marco Goecke (my favorite, and pictured above, James Moore dancing), and 3 Movements by Benjamin Millepied.

I’ll start with my favorite — Mopey, by Goecke, danced very intensely by Moore.

 

I’d always been curious about this young German choreographer ever since this little exchange (the “Evan M.” being Evan McKie, a principal with Stuttgart Ballet).

Anyway, Mopey is hard to describe — basically just a solo for a man who by turns twists and contorts his body into awkward shapes, bounces up and down, makes muscle-man poses, waves his arms about gracefully, appears to be possessed and struggling to control his limbs — his fingers bent and curved down somewhat grotesquely, almost monster-like. It was short but really engrossing.   Here’s a YouTube clip of a dancer from Stuttgart dancing an excerpt from the piece. Unlike in the clip, which is danced only to one piece of music, Moore danced first to silence, then to Bach, then to pop punk by The Cramps.

I also liked Millepied’s 3 Movements, pictured below (dancers are James Moore and Lucien Postlewaite).

 

All photos by Angela Sterling, by the way.

It was abstract but I thought I detected a bit of a men versus women showdown (I think this is a recurring theme of his — at least in his recent works). It was set to rather unsettling Steve Reich music and filled with original movement, the way the groups of men and women would go at each other at times, almost like they were from separate clans. But the costumes were contemporary: almost casual work attire for the men and little flirty dresses for the women. Costumes were designed by Millepied’s girlfriend, Isabella Boylston, corps dancer at ABT.

I also liked Fur Alina by Liang. It was a man woman pas de deux danced by Carla Korbes and Karel Cruz and it seemed to be the somber story of two lovers slowly deciding to part. It was set to Arvo Part (who it seems, understandably, is becoming the most used composer for contemporary ballet these days — at least for these despairing pas de deux).

Oddly, the Tharp was my least favorite (below: dancers in front are Korbes and Batkhurel Bold).

 

I’ve never seen Opus 111 before and this one (set to Brahms) didn’t seem to have any of Tharp’s signature comical character roles or her theme of ballet versus other kind of dance (fill in the blank: American social —  like in Deuce Coupe, Scottish folk, hip hoppy aerobics —  like in Upper Room) or her crazy, almost death-defying lifts. It was pretty and lyrical and the dancers lightly flew around the stage, at times coupling off. But sweet as it was, it just seemed to lack something. Might have been the small stage though and they just couldn’t dance it full-out?… Sir Alastair saw something more in it though.

I hope the company comes to NY again — to City Center.

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BARYSHNIKOV AND ANA LAGUNA ON TOUR

 

Mikhail Baryshnikov and Ana Laguna are in Santa Monica where they’re beginning a U.S. tour. Program includes choreography by Mats Ek (Laguna’s husband), Alexei Ratmansky, and Benjamin Millepied’s Years Later, which consists of a solo for Barysh juxtaposed with movie clips of his younger self dancing. Critics say it “should bring a new respect to middle-age dance performances.”

I’m excited to see the Millepied as well as the Ek piece. Here are some clips from another of Ek’s dances for the pair. Baryshnikov still looks like Baryshnikov — the way he moved in White Nights, the way he danced Tharp’s Push Comes to Shove…

 

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CRAIG SALSTEIN TO THE RESCUE

 

 

So last night I went to Christopher Wheeldon’s Morphoses at Central Park’s SummerStage, who were performing to live music by Martha Wainwright. Of course I would have gone no matter, but hearing that my favorite, Marcelo Gomes, was guest-performing with the company, made it all the more urgent.

Anyway, Morphoses events are often very well-attended and there was a bit of a mix-up with my tickets — they’d issued me a guest, rather than press pass and so my friend and I got ousted from the section up front. I understand these things happen, especially with very popular dance companies and it wouldn’t have been a big deal if I could see well at long distances at night (and if I hadn’t helped others get in whose tickets weren’t mixed up….) But whatever, I could deal I thought, even though I felt like a total loser.

So, my friend and I walked to the back dejectedly. But, then, when we got all the way to the back, it ended up our tickets weren’t for the reserved risers but for the skybox, a tent-covered, elevated section that put us far above the standing crowd. And in that elevated section, sat (among others) ABT soloist and one of my favorite dancers, Craig Salstein! He was sitting next to a really cute dancer-looking guy who turned out to be Marcelo’s bf 😀 Then a waitress came by serving us free wine and I knew this was THE place to be, not down there on the ground with those earthlings! I still couldn’t see tremendously well, but I can always see Marcelo from wherever I am and I kind of felt better being with the ABT peeps anyway.

So my friend Susan and I ended up chatting with Craig and Marcelo’s friend throughout the show and they are the sweetest guys! Craig seemed so different than he is onstage! For people who don’t know him, he’s the type of dancer who always gets the bravura roles that require a big personality, and very good acting (not to mention dance) skills, like Mercutio in R&J and the bespectacled nerdy guy who can nevertheless dance up a storm in Taylor’s Company B, and the poor guy who gets girls tossed at him from every which way in Tharp’s Baker’s Dozen, etc. etc. So because he has such a way with comedy I expected him to be cracking jokes every five seconds and acting all clownish and all. But he wasn’t like that at all – -he was really serious and calm, albeit gregarious and easy to talk to. I told my friends, who I went out with afterward, the same and one said, “well, he can’t be Mercutio ALL the time; he’d go crazy.” True.

He’d just got back from vacation (in Italy, where he saw “Roberto Bolle and Friends” — hmmm, didn’t know there was a “Roberto Bolle and Friends”!), and was sporting a serious tan. We talked about ABT’s upcoming season at Avery Fisher Hall and Italy and his choreography and how much I liked it and how great Marcelo is and what I tweet about (you, tossing your mandolin into the wings instead of Jared Matthews’s hands during R&J I said; he seemed bemused) and other chit-chat. Fun fun fun to meet a favorite dancer and another favorite’s boyfriend 🙂

Okay, I’m running off to another Morphoses performance today and have to get going but will write about the actual show tonight or tomorrow morning. Obviously Marcelo was god, Martha Wainwright was good but to me it was too much about her — too much music, almost a music performance with some dancing thrown in — highlights were Edwaard Liang’s premiere and Wheeldon’s Fools’ Paradise (which I saw anew thanks to Marcelo), Tiler Peck, Gonzalo Garcia, a duet between Maria Kowroski and Jared Angle, Wendy Whelan, Rory Hohenstein, a funny joke by Wainwright about lying down and having people do things to her and Wheeldon’s somewhat embarrassed response, and did I mention Marcelo Gomes…

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BURN THE FLOOR STARRING MAKS & KARINA

 

 

So this is your last week to see Dancing With the Stars stars Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Karina Smirnoff perform in Jason Gilkison’s Broadway ballroom extravaganza, Burn the Floor.

The show’s really good. It gets off to a bit of a slow start (and I saw it when it was still in previews so maybe now they’ve even worked out those few early kinks), but mid-way through the first act I knew I wasn’t going to want it to end. There’s no through story-line (thankfully — I haven’t yet seen a ballroom show with one that really works); rather it’s a set of Latin and Standard dance routines, some performed with ensemble, some in duos and trios. There’s more Latin than Standard, owing to the small size of the floor.

I never thought until I saw this production how hard it can be to put a dance show on a stage meant for plays. It’s so hard for the poor dancers to really get around and move freely, and that’s my one real problem with the show. They’ve got a band with two huge sets of drums that takes up the entire back half of the stage, which they don’t even really need because much of the music is recorded; the only live players are a couple of drummers and a violinist (along with some singers, who of course don’t stand in one place). In my opinion, if the theater has no orchestra pit, then they should have erected a stage above the floor for the band, like in Twyla Tharp’s Movin’ Out.

Anyway, that aside, they still manage to get a couple Viennese Waltzes and Foxtrots and Quicksteps in there. I do think the Cha Chas and Rumbas and Jives work best though. My favorite part of the first act is the extended Swing section, titled “Things That Swing.” Extremely fast-footed, with lightning fast flicks of the feet and difficult-looking, detailed footwork, the dancers really excel in Jive. I remember from the video too, years old now and with an entirely different set of dancers and choreography – thinking how I liked the Jive the best. Maybe Jive and Swing are simply most entertaining, the Big Band music of the thirties and the fifties so upbeat and recognizable and sentimental, maybe with their flair and tempo their power is the most translatable to the stage and screen, or maybe Gilkison (who’s an former ballroom champ and has choreographed for SYTYCD) just excels at choreographing those dances. But for whatever reason, they always stand out to me as the most entertaining in his shows.

Maks and Karina dance throughout, but they have a gorgeous Rumba duet in the second act that is really one of the high points of the show. They’re both barefoot and he’s shirtless and she’s dressed in a bra and underwear with open shirt and it’s really passionate and sensual. But also, Karina is one of the greatest Latin dancers in the world right now (she and her former partner Slavik Kryklyvyy were U.S. national champs and ranked second in the world the last time they competed together) and because the dance is so slow and she’s wearing so little you can really see the subtle movements she makes in her hips and pelvis and torso. A simple, basic hip twist she did was breathtaking. It’s really worth going just to see her.

And to see Maks as well!  The man is a total hoot, actually. He and his former partner, Elena Grinenko (who’s also been on DWTS) were ranked very high the last time they competed together as well, but more than just a technically good dancer, he’s just a lot of fun to watch – kind of in the same way someone like Vaidotas Skimelis is, or in the ballet world, Marcelo Gomes. He’s a huge man and he just eats up the stage (especially this one) with his body alone, but he’s got so much personality and character and charm. Even just watching him interact with Karina and watching him concentrate — you can see it on his face, in his eyes! You can see how much he’s trying to be a good partner and make her look good and it’s just so incredibly endearing!! I honestly fell in love with his dancer persona like never before watching this show.

Seeing him also reminded of my friend, Sharon. He was one of her favorites on DWTS. I think I will always think of her whenever I see one of these dancers.

The other real standout in the show was Peta Murgatroyd. Well, there were several dancers I really liked — Kevin Clifton, Gordana Grandosek, Giselle Peacock — but Murgatroyd stood out because I could tell right away she had a great deal of ballet training and that, along with her height and long limbs and flexibility just gave her really gorgeous lines. She kept doing these mouthwatering arabesques.

 

 

The whole time I couldn’t help comparing the show to those put on by Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin (who are my friends). Theirs are much smaller in scope, showing for only one night and mainly highlighting their studio’s (Dance Times Square) students, along with the pro dances who currently teach or have taught at the studio. Lately, they’ve been branching out and getting some of the stars from So You Think You Can Dance (which of course they choreograph for) to perform. But to me the most intense numbers that just make me nearly fall out of my seat are by Pasha & Anya (Kovalev and Garnis, also my friends), and top U.S. Latin pair Eugene Katsevman and Maria Manusova. I kept wondering what Burn the Floor would look like with one of those couples.

So I was just a bit ecstatic to find out the the former are to take over the Maks & Karina roles beginning August 18th 🙂 I simply CAN’T WAIT!!!

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ARE THE 'BUZZIEST' CHOREOGRAPHERS MALE IN THE US AS WELL AS UK? AND DO CRITICS IN THE UK HAVE MORE POWER?

There’s currently a debate raging in London over Sadler’s Wells (the most important venue there for contemporary dance) and its new season lineup showcasing the work almost entirely of male choreographers. Thanks to Pinballpeople for pointing me to it!

See Guardian posts by dance and culture writers Judith Mackrell and Charlotte Higgins here, here, and here (and read the comments section in that last link; some are by choreographers and are very astute.)

Alistair Spalding, the artistic director of Sadler’s Wells, has apparently responded that he realizes there’s an imbalance but can’t do anything about it; he has to choose the works he thinks best. Spalding posits one reason for the lack of female choreographers as being that women are perhaps not as “assertive” as men, but it’s unclear to me what exactly he means.

Continue reading “ARE THE 'BUZZIEST' CHOREOGRAPHERS MALE IN THE US AS WELL AS UK? AND DO CRITICS IN THE UK HAVE MORE POWER?”

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ALVIN AILEY II: THE EXTERNAL KNOT

 

 

I don’t have much time to write– this week is beyond crazy, but last week I went back for more Alvin Ailey II (Ailey’s studio company) to see their program of repertory favorites, my favorite of which was Troy Powell’s The External Knot. See a video of excerpts from that here.

What I found intriguing about this piece was Mr. Powell’s use of music. He set the dance mainly to Philip Glass (with some Robert Schumann thrown in), to sections of In the Upper Room and Glass Pieces (the section from the latter was from Akhnaten, that fun, bouncy, drum-laden section). I’d only ever seen set to that music Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room and Jerome Robbins’ Glass Pieces, and I’d only ever seen Balanchine ballets to Schumann, so it was interesting to me to see how another choreographer visualized the music.

The External Knot is the story of this young man who seeks individuality, to set himself apart from the crowd and go off on his own. But there is a certain loneliness in doing that. But then, being a conformist is not very challenging and there ends up being a certain loneliness in being part of a group as well. The movement, along with the Upper Room and Schumann music conveyed that well. Upper Room is one of my favorite pieces — both the dance and the music alone — particularly that middle section where the piano keys sound like raindrops — it’s somehow simultaneously peaceful yet sad. I always envision this solitary person stuck in a cell — either a prison or a mental institution. Then, towards the end, the orchestral music swells and there’s a choral part indicating there’s a light at the end of the tunnel and I then think of the confined person as on a journey toward that light. I’ve often wondered when listening to the music where in the world Tharp got her ideas for the dance, because I don’t see any of that unsettling isolation and confinement in her ballet. But then, that is part of the fun of Tharp — you can often get the unexpected. And then Balanchine has used Schumann to convey madness. But here, that music perfectly suited the theme as the young man dances on his own, kicking up and out, jumping, lunging, reaching, doing a lengthy painful-looking shoulder stand, his legs bent awkwardly in the air, his legs slowly spreading into an arc, then a full split, his body finally rolling over onto to the ground, while the group dances on in the background — either moving in sync as an ensemble, or fragmenting into duos or trios, all movement seeming to express a longing for something.

At one point, the man is very indecisive: he can’t figure out whether to lead, follow, or leave the group. The group follows him, he looks over his shoulder as if to ensure they’re there, then they turn and leave him behind. He seems upset, he follows them, as if to harken them back. When they turn again and come at him, he turns back around, goes on hurredly forward whether they’re behind him or not.

And then in the last section, instead of using the choral music from Upper Room, Powell switches to the exciting,  rhythmic Akhnaten, where the dancers perform expansive movements in the background — large bends forward from the waist, big, far-reaching port de bras, while the man jumps, twists and turns up front, seemingly more upbeat, at peace with himself whether he is one with the group or not.

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DANCES PATRELLE DOES JUDY GARLAND AND EDGAR ALLAN POE

 

On Friday night I saw Dances Patrelle, who is celebrating its 20th anniversary, to see their Murder at the Masque: The Casebook of Edgar Allan Poe, a world premiere, and Come Rain / Come Shine, a revival from 1986, both choreographed by artistic director Francis Patrelle. Funny, it’s the first time I’ve ever seen anyone besides Dance Times Square perform at the Danny Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College, so, I was a slight bit confused throughout the evening because of that. I couldn’t figure out what Marcelo was doing on the stage instead of Pasha and what people were doing in pointe shoes instead of Latin stilettos… I guess it’s fitting I brought with me my ballroom friend, Mika.

And I’m so glad I did. She had a blast. Said it was some of the best ballet she’d ever seen. AS I KNEW IT WOULD BE!!! Said Marcelo was very Slavik (as in Kryklyvyy, as in man drama queen total show-off show-stealer, as in I’m totally predictable in my taste in male dancers whether it be ballet, ballroom, or whatever style. Oh well…)

Anyway, Murder, on first, was a dramatic ballet murder mystery that was interestingly told. The figure of Poe seemed to be writing the story as we were seeing it, from afront a scrim, and it seemed to me he was changing things throughout. I’m still not sure who committed the murder in the end (but that may well be because I was so excited about the second piece of the night). It had an air of Balanchine’s La Sonnambula about it — unsettling, foreshadowing tragedy, and set at a ball and in the same period — and Patrick Soluri’s music set that tone perfectly. Matthew Dibble, guest starring with the company (he’s danced with Twyla Tharp’s company), danced the lead very well, expectedly.

 

 

Second on was Come Rain / Come Shine, Patrelle’s longish but lovely set of dances for three couples set to a group of Judy Garland songs. Sorry I’ve posted that picture above about 10,000 times on this blog; it’s the only one I have of that dance 🙂 All six dancers in that ballet were guesting from ABT: Roman Zhurbin (ballet god) and Gemma Bond danced the first, youngish, romantic couple; Isaac Stappas and Kristi Boone (who BLEW ME AWAY) danced the second, more mature, argumentative couple; and Marcelo Gomes and Maria Riccetto danced the third couple, consisting of cocky, taunting, teasing, out-of-control man and the poor woman whom he’s got his eyes on. Of course Marcelo had to have the cocky part, and his role, which was very “That’s Life” from Tharp’s Sinatra Songs, consisted of him flying all about and around her, doing every trick in the book — ginormous jetes, Balanchinian continuous twisty jumps, turns and turns and jumps jumps jumps galore — which of course I love 🙂 Oh, and Maria’s tiny, so he did a bunch of the one-handed assisted pirouettes he often does with Julie Kent that drove the audience here WILD. The guy behind me was seriously orgasmic. Mika and I were giggling throughout, and finally, on the last assisted pirouette, I just burst out laughing.

What would the world be like with no Marcelos? Ballet would just not be fun. To say the least.

Roman was Roman — not doing a thing wrong, everything perfect, perfect form, perfect precision, perfect acting, just sheer perfection.

Gemma was likewise perfect and Isaac was strong and Maria sweet.

(But it was Kristi who really blew me away. Where did she come from?! I guess I’ve never really seen her up close before … well, I did notice her before — in Tudor’s Jardin des Lilacs, which ABT put on in their Tudor centennial celebration last season — she danced the role of the lover of the man betrothed to another and she danced with such longing for him and anger at the situation and beautiful composure in the face of despair. But time got away from me and I never had time to write about that performance… Well, she had a similar character here: a woman fighting with her man, seemingly not able to fully trust him, not wanting to give herself completely to him for that reason, but unable to stop loving him nonetheless. She and Isaac (who happen to be real-life husband and wife) are really the emotional centerpiece of this ballet and she acted it with such intense emotion. She made me feel everything her character was feeling, really took me to that place. And she made such amazing shapes with her body! Isaac kept throwing her into these overhead and waist-high fish positions and she’d raise her arms up and curve them over, turning her head to face the floor. At times it looked like she was letting him lift her but was also rejecting him, couldn’t bear to look at him. At other times, she kind of looked like a dove, and in a way she was trying to make peace, so the image made sense. So she didn’t just make original, remarkable shapes; she made shapes that had meaning, and were also original and cool.

And also, her feet and legs — such strength! Her feet were almost like Veronika Part’s her points were so pronounced!  If I was a ballerina I’d want people to notice that — strong feet and legs. I wouldn’t want to look like I was floating through the air like a feather, I’d want to look more strong and toned and powerful, like my legs were carrying me through the world. Anyway, I am a new Kristi Boone fan, needless to say.

It was an intoxicatingly rich evening and I felt like I always feel when I leave the Kaye Playhouse after seeing divine dancing: deliriously high, and then kind of sad…