I guess this qualifies as a "rant and rave" posting. Diablo Ballet is one of my favorite Bay Area dance troupes! <P>Consensus in our group was that the two modern pieces were the most enjoyable to watch. The first one, The Puzzle, was choreographed by Diablo Ballet's Nikolai Kabaniaev. Kelly's dancing was brilliant and precise, moving abruptly from full stop to fluid motion and back. We also liked the female dancer with the most abbreviated costume (not because of the costume)<P>The last piece, They've Lost Their Footing, was choreographed by ODC's K.T. Nelson with music by Swedish rock/bluegrass/polka/celtic band Hoven Droven. (we're still trying to buy the CD)Highlights were the opening "wall-dance" which was then repeated with male dancer in place of the wall. We're still wondering what kinds of parallels we can make between men and walls. (I know I've had conversations where I can't tell the difference) We also liked the couples scene where the same sequence was danced by a variety of couples - male/male, female/female, male/female, lone female... my favorite was the Kyongho/Kelly combination.<P>The two classical pdd in the middle of the program were not bad, but paled in comparison with the two modern pieces. The first (name forgotten) had memorable costume and dancing by the courtesan, with Kyongho in a supporting role. He seemed to be there mostly to hold up his female partner. We also thought that there were parts of the choreography that didn't hold together. Places where it lost momentum, or broke the mood.<P>The Balanchine Tarantella pdd was enthusiastically danced by Viktor Kabaniaev. His female partner was technically faultless, but lacked sparkle. And we thought her costume was unbecoming. On the whole unsatisfying. This was the first time I ever saw this danced, but one of our group said that he had seen another version where the interaction between dancers lent more excitement to the piece.<P>Did anybody else see this? What did you think?

I had the pleasure of seeing this Diablo performance.<P>I have to agree with you that Kelly Teo danced dynamically. He really is a dynamo. The dancer wearing the simulated skimpy costume was Erika Johnson, another dancer I could have watched longer, regardless of her costume. Kabanaiev's The Puzzle is an interesting and enjoyable work to watch, and I appreciate it more having seen it for the second time.<P>I can't really agree with you about the Val Caniporolli piece Act I Pas de Deux from Lady of the Camellias. I thought that Tina Kay Bohnstedt danced it beautifully. <P>The Tarantella Pas de Deux I enjoyed much less. If not the work itself, the Gottschalk score seems trite to me. But, I have to admit to being a little tired of seeing peasant dance scenes in classical ballet. Maybe Karyn Lee Connell is tired of them, too. I overheard someone say her performance looked tired and lacked the energy to dance the role properly. <P>It was also the second time I'd seen KT Nelson's They've Lost Their Footing danced by Diablo. It looked different this time, more balletic and with less of the ODC athleticism. To me, this version had more grace while retaining the energy of the piece. I found my attention being held by the Jonas sisters Corinne and Lauren. Their physical similarity reinforced by similar costumes, they made a graceful, synchronous pair among the topsy-turvyness. <P>

I'm sorry. I can't really comment on the perfomances as I was dazzled by the celebrities in the audience. Omigosh, did anyone else see Marina Eglevsky, Sally Streets, Kimberly Graves, Val Caniparoli, Joanna Berman, KT Nelson etc. etc. (I'm sure I'm missing a few) in the audience?<P>And omigosh, did you see how everyone was dressed? What a classy group of balletomanes that showed up that night in Berkeley!<P>Well, okay, so I did see enough of the performance to know that I want to be that wall that Tina Kay Bohnstedt flirts with in Nelson's "They've Lost Their Footing." As for the music, Daedalus, I think you might have to go to the Imports section for that. And speaking of Bohnstedt, she also exhibited a magnificently classical look in the Romantic pdd from Caniparoli's "Lady of the Camellias." Oh, okay, so maybe I'm a little fond of Bohnstedt but only because she looks great while dancing.<P>Yes, "They've Lost Their Footing" changed somewhat but so did "The Puzzle." For one, the cast changed slightly, with Christopher Young more than ably replacing Kyongho Kim and making the role his own. That loopy leaping motion was still very endearing no matter who danced it.<P>Okay, where is Cygnet? We should really get her comments in here. She's the picky one.<p>[This message has been edited by Azlan (edited 01-30-2000).]