hey, the amazing and generous lorry at bead109 is giving away some cool ballet stuff (including postcards & magnets from my etsy shop)!
also….. here is the link to my shop , which i have been meaning to post here but i’ve been such a total slacker. really, you should check it out because there is some very pretty ballet photography going on there 🙂 (i mean, at least i think they are pretty! and i hope you will too).
but seriously- check out the bead109 giveaway! and good luck!
sooooooooooo……….. i have been slacking a bit here , haven’t i? well, sometimes i’m quite busy and sometimes i’m just lazy 😉 but here are a very few things i had time to like this week or so…
there is this cool damian woetzel thing with omg herman cornejo & robbie fairchild being fabulous and lil buck being as cool as ever- even in a boot. and seriously- how freaking gorgeous is carla korbes?? no fair.
these fun/sexy kings of dance pics from russian cosmo magazine (i think). i sort of borrowed them from the ardani artist facebook page. i would credit the photographer if i knew who it was…. i assume it’s printed there somewhere but just not exactly in english.
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i don’t really watch competition videos much but i did watch a few from the prix de lausanne & thought this kid was pretty damn good. very nice and clean and classical, plus….. he looks like a nice guy 🙂 (i could be wrong… maybe he’s a jerk but i hope not). well done harrison, and congratulations.
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in other news………….. i had my first ever photography show in a local coffee shop last month (and even sold a couple!) aaaaaaaaaaaand, i have opened up a little shop on etsy if you care to have a look! there are some dance photos and also other things like the hudson river and train tracks and you know, the local abandoned psych ward and stuff.
this past sunday i was ever so lucky as to see american ballet theatre twice in the same day! i know you’re jealous, i don’t blame you- i would be too. they danced two mixed rep programs for a total of five different ballets ( and i got gaite parisian twice)!
for the matinee performance i was joined by my incredibly gorgeous friend, holly, and we had a wonderful time. the first ballet on the program was kylian’s “sinfonietta”, which i saw, and wrote briefly about, last week. i saw the same lovely cast this time around and interestingly when it had finished holly said something along the lines of “you know, the only one who really stood out for me was calvin royal III”. i had to agree as i had written as much just the other day. (okay, there were a few other standouts for me actually, most notably stella abrera and skylar brandt). my lovely friend was a bit “meh” about sinfonietta on the whole, but i enjoyed it very much.
the second piece was twyla tharp’s “bach partita”and since it was generally a well liked, popular ballet i was rather excited to see it. unfortunately, to be honest, i didn’t totally love it. i mean, i enjoyed it and all and certainly appreciated the difficulty of the choreography but found it to be much too busy. as far as i could tell, the dancers executed it brilliantly, but at times there was so much going on that i didn’t know where to look. and it was so fast! too much going on and everything fast fast fast and since i am a big mush for drawn out luxurious adagios it wasn’t entirely my cup of tea. and the costumes – ugh. sorry but i am not a big fan of flesh tone costumes as they tend to make everyone (except calvin royal the third) look washed out. plus beige is just so….. beige. i had no problem with the style of the costumes, mind you, just the color. or lack thereof. anyway, it’s not like i hated this ballet or anything, and i do have some lovely moments of marcelo gomes and gillian murphy still imprinted on my brain, but i did find myself wishing the movement would simply quiet down a bit.
last on the matinee program was -hooray!- leonide massine’s “gaite parisienne”! after the lovely yet somewhat muted costumes for sinfonietta and the bach beige-o-rama i was ready for some color and WOW did i get it gaite for sure! incredibly bright and exploding with color, the sets and costumes were just shy of being an assault on the eyes and i loved them. gaite parisian was a joy from start to finish – a delightful blend of ridiculous, charm, romance and…. a bit of raunchiness just for fun. this ballet involves a lot of flirting, a little jealousy and of course …. the can can! as the flower girl, isadora loyola was just about the cutest thing you could possibly ever imagine (until later in the evening when i saw luciana paris in the same role – luciana was equally as cute if not even cuter) and it’s no wonder guys were lining up to buy flowers from her. hee seo and marcelo gomes were absolute perfection as the glove seller and the baron – there was a wonderful, sweet, romantic connection between them and their final pas de deux had holly and i both sighing with delight. 🙂 i adored that little pas deux, largely for it’s charm and simplicity – a welcome relief after the nonstop action of the previous ballet.
(photo: gene schiavone)
herman cornejo’s peruvian, while a bit of an overconfident, slimy sort of guy- was human, nonetheless, and (of course) technically brilliant. he was something of a buffoon (albeit a buffoon that could easily knock off a kick-ass series of pop double tours), slightly pathetic even, yet the moment he realized his coveted glove seller had fallen not for him- but for the baron (gomes) instead, nearly broke my heart.
here are the bows….. 🙂
also notable ~ joseph gorak as the dance master and skylar brant as the lead can-can dancer. both were fantastic!
alas, after the matinee my gorgeous friend had to head home and play mom/chauffeur, so i had some coffee and wandered about nyc for a bit until it was time for the evening performance.
i’ll attempt to make this brief because my goodness….. we all have better things to do don’t we?
ratmansky’s “seven sonatas” – loved loved loved. beautiful music, breathtaking choreography and an incredibly wonderful, gorgeous cast. (stella abrera, calvin royal iii, xiomara reyes, herman cornejo, julie kent and josep gorak). everyone danced so wonderfully and with such joy and passion – they seemed so in tune with each other, such a lovely harmony between them – i felt blessed to be in the audience. ♥ (and…. forgive me for this but good lord, herman cornejo is beautiful!)
liam scarlett’s “with a chance of rain” – ……okay. so perhaps you’ve heard all the controversy about the boob jiggling and the twerking and the homophobic moment and the gay pas de deux and blahblahblah. well, there was a lot of hoopla so i went in expecting to maybe hate it (even tho i think i quite like scarlett) but i gotta be honest- i liked it. altho part of the reason to like it was the music (rachmaninoff played gorgeously by emily wong) but still, the choreography was for the most part enjoyable. the boob thing (where james whiteside jiggles misty copelands boobs) was silly and not really necessary but honestly- not that big of a deal. i can’t say i understood the pas de deux between marcelo gomes and james whiteside. it was actually very beautiful and also a bit romantic, but since marcelo and james seemed to be paired romantically with women for the rest of the ballet it didn’t quite make sense. i thought the little booty shaking bit was really cute – it fit the music and was kind of amusing. my main problem with this piece really, was that having seen sinfonietta, bach partita and seven sonatas already that day it seemed a bit samey. (all plot-less similarly structured ballets with like costumes and no backdrops.). it was hardly my favorite ballet of all time or anything but i liked it well enough and didn’t leave feeling shocked or offended or disgusted. (or possibly i’m just naive and didn’t pick up on all the innuendos and allusions that the intellectual, analytical people got. that’s highly possible).
(hee and marcelo being beautiful in with a chance of rain. photo- marty sohl)
finally, gaite parisienne round two ~ i loved it almost as much the second time around, tho i must confess for the most part i preferred the first cast. while veronika part and cory stearns (as the glove seller and baron) were beautiful and charming i didn’t feel the same connection between the two of them that i felt with hee and marcelo. and while craig salstein was fun and funny as the peruvian his performance was a bit more external and i didn’t feel for him as deeply at the end. some exceptions tho – eric tamm was fantastic as the dance master – he was fabulously….french?! and luciana paris as i mentioned earlier was an absolute delight as the flower girl.
and so ended a very pleasant, ballet filled day! since i rode into the city with lovely holly, and she left earlier taking her car with her, i headed down to penn station to catch the bus back to rockland feeling happy and blessed. 🙂
i wish i had a picture of my ballerina daughter’s face when i picked her up at the studio after 8 hours of classes and rehearsals and asked her if she wanted to go to the ballet (ABT) with me, because it was as if someone had turned on the sun. it was a surprise and we would have to leave directly from the studio, so i brought half of her wardrobe – as well as 2 of her sisters dresses and 3 pairs of shoes – hoping she would find something acceptable to wear. she took the huge bag of clothes into the dressing room and in no time emerged looking quite beautiful. and so we were off to NYC! happily there was very little traffic and we arrived at lincoln center with time to spare.
first up on the evenings triple bill was jiri kylian’s glorious “sinfonietta” – an expansive, joyful ballet danced with great spirit by everyone involved. there was a sense of harmony among the dancers as they danced in and out of the five movements. while all of the dancers were wonderful, the one major standout for me in this piece was calvin royal III. (not really relevant, but i think “calvin royal the third” is an awesome name. it would be cool to be named anybody the 3rd but “royal” just sounds important and the name calvin reminds me of the cartoon kid from calvin & hobbes and that kid rocks. it also reminds me of calvin klein tho, who is fine and all, but i like the calvin & hobbes kid better. so anyway….) CALVIN ROYAL THE THIRD has a gorgeous, commanding presence along with a fabulous jump that he lands with cat-like softness and precision. he’s like a panther, and panthers are seriously cool. i loved him and loved sinfonietta as it left me feeling full of joy.
(photo by MIRA)
antony tudor’s “jardin aux lilas” was the second ballet on the menu and with it’s gorgeous costumes, backdrop, and lighting it was a visual feast. while remaining elegant, all of the lead dancers in this cast (devon teusher, cory stearns, roman zhurbin, veronika part) convincingly conveyed the underlying tension of the situation. i mean, really – who wants to be a a party with your fiance’s ex-lover, a future spouse who you don’t actually love and a current love you can’t actually have? awkward. but hey, there’s society and all that so you just have to be dignified and polite and pretend all is well and not run off with hottie cory stearns even tho he’s a babe and gives you lilacs. but seriously, this ballet was beautifully interpreted by the entire cast and the final image of cory standing with his back to the audience nearly broke my heart.
(photo by rosalie o’connor)
the evening closed with one of the most enjoyable ballets of all time time – jerome robbins classic “fancy free”. honestly, i don’t think there is a limit to how many times one can see “fancy free” and never tire of it. if you are unfamiliar (say, you live under a rock or something) “the ballet concerns three sailors on shore leave” and that’s really all you need to know. well, that and that they are at a bar and well…. there are only two women.
one could not ask for a better cast than we were treated to last night with ♥herman cornejo♥ as the macho little tough guy, cory stearns as the mushy romantic, and marcelo gomes as something of a charming prankster. not only were their solos fantastic, but their chemistry as pals was hilarious and spot on. in effort to impress the ladies herman went above and beyond the call of adorable with his tough guy act and killer technical feats. whipping off crazy pirouettes, triple tours ( i think they were triples – they were so fast i couldn’t count but it seemed like more than two) and that daredevil split leap off the counter – he charmed and wowed us all. 🙂 ! ♥! swoon! while changing costumes at intermission, it seems cory changed personalities as well and he came back dreamy and romantic, eager to please and flat out irresistible. actually, can we talk about cory for a second because…. he’s becoming pretty awesome these days! while i always thought he was a beautiful dancer and very sweet and handsome (those cheekbones, good lord) i felt he was lacking spark or something. however, i have absolutely loved him in everything i’ve seen him dance recently and feel he is really gaining confidence and becoming more daring artistically. so….high five, cory stearns! the last of the sailors to strut their stuff was the ever gorgeous marcelo gomes and his little booty shaking salsa dance was a riot. he was somehow smooth and dorky at the same time and surely no woman on earth could resist his goofy eyebrow waggle.
and let me not forget the women – stella abrera and julie kent were perfection as the lovely ladies who were hesitant, yet eventually charmed, by the lovable trio of sailors.
(photo by rosalie o’connor)
my daughter and i both enjoyed the entire evening immensely and wished we could rewind and watch it again.
american ballet theatre has another week left of their fall season, go if you can!
i love this adorable photo of ballerina swans enjoying the fog. so cute! unfortunately, while i saved the photo i forgot to save the photographer’s name. it was one of those pics that randomly showed up in my facebook feed because somebody else “liked” it and i can’t even remember what ballet company it was from! ( i thought it was nashville but i searched their page to no avail). if anyone can help me out here please do -it’s such a fantastic image!
and here’s one more from the swans-in-fog files, this incredible moment of beauty by photographer maria-helena buckley. sigh.
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the following is not a current documentary (2007), but i had never seen it or known of it’s existence. it was posted on the FB page of julio bocca’s company in uruguay (unofficial page, i think) recently and i very nearly ditched work so that i could stay home and watch it 😉 . anyway, the film wonderfully documents a touring season of julio’s company and many of the issues they had to confront in different countries – visa problems, a stage built for vocal concerts where the audience would not be able to see the dancers below the knees, a controversial topless ballet…. (“yeah, but it’s okay because she’s flat chested”, haha). there’s some great dramatic footage of alessandra ferri and julio as well. ♥♥♥
it’s a very interesting film- check it out if you have time. (plus i’m in love with julio, so there’s that….)
ooh, look at these beautiful degas inspired costumes and sets for the joffrey ballet’s swan lake, choreographed by christopher wheeldon. so romantic! i am dying to see this production – it sounds fascinating. (go see it for me if you are in the chicago area). 😉
and here is a lovely video of joffrey ballerina victoria jaian discussing the role of odette/odile.
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and finally, this charming and clip of sir anthony dowell rehearsing manon with sonia rodriguez and guillaume côté. he seems terribly sweet and the dancers are simply gorgeous. enjoy.
it seems ages ago now, but of course i liked WORLD BALLET DAY! unfortunately due to silly things like work and food shopping and cooking dinner and chauffeuring kids and life in general- i did not get to see all that much of it. happily there are quite a few bits one can still watch on youtube and i hope to get to most of them eventually. meanwhile, i seem to just keep re-watching this clip of liam scarlett rehearsing his newest work, “the age of anxiety” with dancers of the royal ballet. (laura morera, ♥steven mcrae♥, bennet gartside and tristan dyer). i can’t even tell you how much i love this clip – the choreography is so brilliant and i catch something new every time i watch it (a challenging glance, the exchange of a martini glass) i adore the choreography and i adore liam. not only does he have a great energy and wonderful rapport with the dancers but …. even his hair is awesome. and…. he has a brittish accent. i am an absolute pathetic mush for brittish accents – seriously, if you come into the restaurant where i work and order creamy tomahto soup with a brittish accent i will pretty much fall in love with you right there. but anyway, i am seriously bummed that i don’t live in london so that i could actually go see this ballet performed live. i am quite dying to know what happens…. does anyone get the girl? do any fights break out? who indeed is the first to leave the party?
so here are two clips- watch the first one if you have time, but if you can only spare 2 or 3 minutes then at least watch the second one 😉 . enjoy.
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this fun little snippet of ABT rehearsing gaite parisienne – courtesy of luciana voltolini’s instagram feed!
i am enchanted by this amazing photograph of martha graham dancer ying xin. it’s like she’s being gently blown about by the wind! also, it makes me think of illustrations from a children’s book, perhaps, or some bit of animation i’ve seen – but i can’t quite place it.
and the next day these little twinkie minions appeared in my facebook feed…
and i just thought they needed to be seen together 🙂 . someone should maybe make these cupcakes for daniel, i think. only, i don’t suppose twinkies are actually food and probably dancers (or humans in general) shouldn’t eat them. but still….
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here are just a few pictures i like…
these beautiful photos of carla korbes and peter boal by nyc dance project. by the way, if you are not familiar with nycdanceproject.com , you should be. so, check them out!
diana vishneva rehearsing tatiana with a giant teddy bear! (sorry, don’t know the photographer).
and these great backstage shots by the always fantastic nikolay krusser.
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and finally, this little bit of brilliance:
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i’m sure i liked a lot of other things over the last few weeks but i’ve been busy/sick/going thru drama and i can’t remember everything. plus it’s getting late so….. goodnite!
sarah lambs beautiful, elegant white swan variation. i love sarah’s dancing – so pure and classical with lovely phrasing. there is a quiet sadness to her swan queen and i think she is just wonderful. this was danced at the kremlin palace in moscow with steven mcrae (♥) and there are a few more clips from that performance on the same youtube channel if you’re interested.
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and speaking of steven mcrae….. i kinda have to love him warming up outside wearing sunglasses.
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michele wiles’ ballet next wearing these insanely awesome dresses. seriously, how fun would it be just to spin and dance around in these??
the fact that world ballet day is going to be a thing! in case you somehow missed this, on on october 1st there will be an all day live broadcast featuring five major ballet companies from all around the world – and they want you to participate 😉 check it out and send in your pirouettes….
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these fantastic drawings by andrea selby showed up in my facebook feed the other day and i am just madly in love with them! they are drawings from damian woetzel’s works and process demo at the guggenheim earlier this week (which i was unfortunately unable to attend).
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this tiny sliver of beauty – hee seo and marcelo gomes rehearsing a new liam scarlett ballet at ABT, courtesy of luciana voltolini’s instagram. ♥
well, obviously, first and foremost there’s this!! 😀 😀 😀 because he’s my favorite.
herman cornejo ~ interview & dance footage ~ yay!
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where’s sergei? i’m loving these hilarious photos that have been appearing on sergei polunin’s facebook fanpage. (posted by CL martin – you may want to check out the page, as the accompanying text for each photo is amusing as well).
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if you follow ballet at all in social media you have probably already seen this, but it’s worth watching more than once. 🙂 james whiteside, cory stearns and daniil simkin being so fancy free! ♥♥♥
the royal ballet’s stunning trailer for manon, featuring marianela nunez. marianela is surely one of the greatest and most versatile ballerinas of our time and i am beyond thrilled that her performance of manon is going to be live-streamed in cinema! this clip is so beautiful- i love the lighting.
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this funny picture of national ballet of canada’s rex harrington. i am absolutely dying to see christopher wheeldon’s “alice” and the fact that i actually had to turn down free tickets to see it this week very nearly killed me. whyyyyyy does it have to be playing in new york during one of the busiest weeks of my life? 😡
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ethan stiefel being one of the von trapp family singers! (via gillian murpy)
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jacques d’amboise being adorable coaching lesley rausch and jerome tisserand in balanchine’s diamonds ♥ (at at pacific northwest ballet).
(in other pnb news… carla korbes is retiring??? 😥 😥 😥 !! she is too young and too gorgeous!)
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and finally, it seems about half of american ballet theatre got married this summer and five ABT ballerinas were recently featured in brides magazine! here is a behind the scenes video from the shoot, featuring brittany degrofft, nicola curry, isabella boylston, lauren post and elina miettinen. pretty, pretty, pretty!!
it’s september (already?!), school has begun and we have just started a new season of classes at our studio. at the beginning of the season i often ponder a bit about teaching (by the end of the year i’m happy if i can think up one more interesting combination without my brain exploding) and recently my thoughts have fallen upon last years parents observation week. i am not just a ballet teacher that week, but a parent as well and i am remembering a moment from watching my daughter’s class with (former ABT principal ballerina) eleanor d’antuono.
during the little break between barre and center eleanor came over to me and said “they’re so serious! they need to have fun, because when you are having fun, THEN you improve!”
i was happy to hear her say that because i absolutely agree. which is not to say you don’t work hard or that it’s okay to lose focus or misbehave or anything like that. i think what she meant was that you must find the joy in movement. find the beauty in the music and the euphoria that comes from pushing yourself as far as possible. as much as we all like to do multiple pirouettes and have high extensions and balance forever, first and foremost ballet is a dance. and dancing is fun!
i did not like anything this week! just kidding. but these past several days have been hectic and a bit ughhhh so this weeks entry is minimal.
here are some wonderful pictures of the ever gorgeous marcelo gomes and christopher marney rehearsing matthew bourne’s swan lake! i am wishing i could see marcelo in this but alas it is being performed in tokyo. unfortunately i missed bourne’s swan lake when it was in NY 😦 but i loved his brilliantly inventive take on sleeping beauty.
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diana vishneva’s beautiful ronde de jambe being washed away by the sea…
the manner in which yuriko kajiya closes her retire’ into fifth position here causes me to sigh with joy and happiness and has me loving the fact that ballet exists.
these lovely things 