Did I hear someone mention "Veronika" !

Hi, balletomaniac. It's always great to see your reviews. I've just had a chance to look at them quickly, but will really enjoy doing so again, much more thoroughly, as soon as possible. Maybe I can add a few more thoughts afterwards.

I've not been able to see a single "Veronika" performance this year.

For me, that's like missing out on the creation of the Universe !!

(Please keep her as happy as possible in New York and wrapped in cottony velvet, until I am able to see her next performance.)

Some consolation has been the beautiful Swiss mountains, where I live 'part' of the year, being able to finally get an airplane into St. Petersburg for the last days of the Festival and to see how Alina Somova would do (I thought that she was great!) and to see some fine stuff at the Paris ballet ( an absolutely beautiful "In the Night," and a wonderful "La Bayadere" with Delphine Moussin).

You wrote about "Veronika" -- "She brings each viewer in; you don’t just watch Ms. Part; you’re there." (I might add -- "at her side.")

I saw her last summer, I guess (it seems like ages ago), dancing Odette-Odile ("Swan Lake"). Among the volumes that I wrote in Awe(!) of that performance, this one quote still seems to describe it the best for me.

"....Her Motion and Her Expression, Her Odette-Odile Character Itself, Were Alive and Creating and What She Was Creating She Was Actually Living ! "

I'm reading your reviews in sections, balletomaniac. Although I wasn't fortunate enough to see any of these performances, I have seen enough similar ones by the same artists to feel totally at home with what you are saying.

I generally focus 110% on the lead ballerinas, so my thoughts are mostly about them. After that come the other women and then the men. I guess that's also the way that it's intended. A couple exceptions. Marcelo Gomes -- he's just Cool ! Daniil Simkin -- continues to develop into something quite extraordinary !

Thanks for giving 'All' the artists such fine attention.

Here are a few somewhat different thoughts about the Ballerinas to add to your own. I do agree with much of what you have written about them.

Veronika Part -- "Swan Lake" -- I 'copped' this reference to an article from another forum, which I try very hard not to do, but I really would like to include a quote from it here. To your comment about her Odile -- "And her Odile continues to show steady progress" -- James Wolcott added --

"Wowzah!...Smokin'!...Come to Daddy!...Let's get this shindig started!"

Please read it all if you like. It's a treat !
http://www.vanityfair.com/online/wolcot ... rikes.html

Veronika Part -- Aurora ("Sleeping Beauty") -- You wrote -- "Ms. Part uses her arms expressively and lyrically, seemingly stretching every gesture beyond possible limits." I"m not sure what she's doing there but its totally her own and its phenomenal !

Gillian Murphy -- In her "Swan Lakes" (I have seen about six of them) she has also produced some of the most compelling imagery that I have ever seen -- art museums and stage !

Natalia Osipova -- Although everyone (including myself) seems to agree that her technical prowess is 'mind-boggling' there is another quality that I love about her. I've probably said it here a thousand times, but to me she is the 'dancer that never touches the ground' even during her beautiful 'floorwork-footwork'. It's ethereal !


You were so fortunate in what you were able to see this week , balletomaniac. Thanks so much for letting us share this with you !

[several typo corrections made]

Leigh Witchel reviews Veronika Part and Cory Stearns' performance in "Swan Lake " on Monday, June 21 in the New York Post.

NY Post

Claudia La Rocco reviews Diana Vishneva and David Hallberg's performance of "Swan Lake" on Tuesday, June 22 in the New York Times.

NY Times

Buddy - Thanks for your comments (and it's good to see you posting again). Sometimes I wonder if anyone actually reads this. And if you've got to be somewhere other than NY during ballet season, Switzerland's a great place to be.

Re: the descriptions you quoted of Veronika's Odile -- I can't go that far yet. As I think I've written previously, my 'model' Odile is Birgit Keil, who I saw dance the role with the Stuttgart a lifetime ago. Now there's a 'wowzah!' [We're not just talkin' 'smokin'; we're talkin 'five alarm fire'.]

And the first time I saw Osipova dance (actually, it was the second time, but I'd forgotten about the perforamcne I'd reviewed 5 years earlier, when she was a Bolshoi soloist), I wrote

"...From her first steps after she leaves her front door in Act I, she seems never to be on the ground.
Ms. Osipova looks like a pixie and moves through air as effortlessly as the petal of a flower borne by the breeze.
And it is not simply her ethereal quality – technically, I saw nothing that was not perfection..."

[http://www.ballet-dance.com/200907/articles/abt_giselles_20090609_hochman.html]

So...been there; said that. [I really don't like to quote myself - I'm not important, and it's uncool - though I was so flabbergasted when I'd found that I'd written about her five years ago that I couldn't stop myself from doing so in my Don Q review a few weeks ago.]

And I agree completely about Gillian. [I hope I have another opportunity to see her Juliet this year. I saw her performance last year, but didn't have the time to review it. Really good - and in some ways really unique too.]

Hi balletomaniac.

Thanks for your responses. For the moment I'm trying to get out the door and take a hike before the rain might start (although I think that I see Gene Kelly out there already).

Somebody I know (Big smile!, don't want to be uncool) wrote above:

"I've not been able to see a single "Veronika" performance this year.

"Some consolation has been the beautiful Swiss mountains, where I live 'part' of the year...."

I just found out, compliments of dansomanie, that the Bolshoi -- "The Bolshoi!!!!" -- will be nearby in Switzerland next February !

I might have missed a turn here at the topic sign, but at least I'm in the good company of Natalia Osipova.


[some more silliness added later]

Tobi Tobias reviews the performances of Alina Cojocaru and Natalia Osipova in "The Sleeping Beauty" in her Ballet Diary in Arts Journal. (Scroll down to the bottom third of the article.)

Arts Journal

For the week of June 28, a rotating assortment of mixed bills returns to the Metropolitan Opera House. Susan Reiter reviews the Ashton mixed bill, the all-American mixed bill, and the ABT Premieres mixed bill in the New York Press.

NY Press

In the New Jersey Star-Ledger, Robert Johnson discusses the mixed repertory performances on ABT's Metropolitan Opera House season.

NJ Star-Ledger

Veronika Part performed "Swan Lake" a second time, Saturday night. This time it was with David Hallberg. I wasn't able to be there there, but once again, from what I have read on the internet, it was a magnificent performance !

David Hallberg, I thought, partnered Alina Somova wonderfully in "Sleeping Beauty" at this year's Mariinsky Festival. Veronika Part and David Hallberg replaced Irina Dvorovenko and her husband Maxim Beloserkovsky. Last November in California, Irina Dvorovenko, finely partnered by Maxim Beloserkovsky, danced one of the finest "Giselles" that I've ever seen !

So I have to satisfy myself with memories of the most recent "Swan Lake" that I saw Veronika Part perform (last June, New York City) and try to recall what it was that made me write:

" !!!!! Incredible--Mind Boggling--Brilliant--and Amazing !!!!! "

What makes her so outstanding ?

A Seemingly *Inherent* and Exceptional Mastery of Such a Wide Range of the Ballet Vocabulary -- Thus, the absolute least that I ever get from one of her performances is an unequaled display of remarkable elements. I just know that something wonderful will happen, because it's almost 'built-in'. The first of these elements that I ever noticed was her compelling -- Stage Presence.

Exceptional Beauty of Motion and Positioning -- This was the second thing that captivated me. Not only did she dance one of the best performances (Aurora, "Sleeping Beauty") that I have ever seen, but it may well have been -- The Most Beautiful !

Gestures -- One thing that I still strongly recall from her last June, New York City "Swan Lake" was her wonderful use of gestures. It was somewhat as balletomaniac described in the recent "Sleeping Beauty" -- "Ms. Part uses her arms expressively and lyrically, seemingly stretching every gesture beyond possible limits." -- I would say that she elaborated the gestures. For me, she stayed within the limits of the commonly recognized structure and yet made it beautifully creative and somehow completely her own.

Seeming Command of the Total Reality -- This is possibly the most difficult to define, but the Experience is undeniable. Her remarkable stage presence and ability to 'become' her character is an essential. Another is her spontaneous invention. When she appears to be the most comfortable, then she seems to give it her all and reach out to the limits of the expressive possibilities. Again, staying within the limits of the commonly recognized structure, with all that she possesses, she does somehow -- Create Her Own Magnificent Reality.


Added comment: One of the greatest rewards is perhaps to just enjoy, as much as possible, what this wonderfully talented lady offers us and hope that she is equally rewarded with success and happiness.

[last two paragraphs slightly added to]

Hay every one I have been to all the post and here i can see many articles which contains lot of information.



________________
Discover the hidden source of targeted traffic that unearths eager buying customers, drives them straight to your site, and literally explodes your profits almost overnight at just simple click unique article wizard.

Hi again, balletomaniac. I am in the process of going through your reviews for this season, both for ABT and NYCB. I didn't know that they were there and it's been a very pleasant surprise.

I have to mention one thing for the moment. You have given considerable praise to Marcelo Gomes, that I share completely.

There is another similar dancer who I believe could 'Rock' the New York City Scene and the World if given a chance !

He is --

Rolando Sarabia !

He was considered a Wonder Dancer in his native Cuba !

He had for some reason remained generally on the shelf at the Miami City Ballet. He left that company (one of my favorites) this year. He seems to be moving around now, doing some dancing with the Houston Ballet(?), etc. I remember asking a ballet watching friend, familiar with the Miami City Ballet, why Rolando Sarabia didn't try for ABT. I think that he would be perfect there.

If Rolando Sarabia can perform with consistency, the way that I have seen him do on several occasions, he could 'Rock' the New York City Scene and the World if given a chance ! (Did I already say that?)

If you or anyone else happens to run into Kevin McKenzie could you please give him this suggestion.

I'll throw in another name quickly. He is Zherlin Ndudi. He was a firecracker at the Lausanne dance competition several years ago. I don't know if he has the range that Rolando Sarabia has, he might, but he could tear up a stage! He also went to Miami City Ballet and left. ABT could be a good home for him as well. I noticed that Daniil Simkim (ABT) is a Facebook friend of his, so maybe there is hope.

But once again -- a dancer, who could be one of the best in the World, Ever --

Rolando Sarabia !

Gia Kourlas interviews corps member Leann Underwood in Time Out New York.

Time Out NY

In the New York Times, Alastair Macaulay reviews the "All-Classic Masters" mixed bill presented on Tuesday, June 29: Balanchine's "Allegro Brillante," Tudor's "Pas de Deux from Romeo & Juliet," MacMillan's "Pas de Deux from Manon" and Ashton's "Pas de Deux from Thais" and "The Dream."

NY Times

Leigh Witchel reviews the "All-Classic Masters" program in the New York Post.

NY Post