CriticalDance Forum

Fouette, have Miss Goh and the other dancers participating in this gala got any coverage on Chinese TV or in the newspapers?

This is such a small world -I got an e-mail this morning from a friend who will be teaching in Taipei this year and she was on the same flight (Toronto to Chicago) as the the dancers. She had a chat with Aleksander and also the "chiselfaced" male dancer! "Chiselfaced"....I wonder who that was. We've also e-mailed several friends teaching in Beijing just in case they didn't know about the shows.

Fouette, so how did the first night go? Was it well received by the audience?

Sadly to say, I haven't been keeping up with the news in Beijing, and I didn't go to the first night. I imagine it must be pretty well received, because a lot of the dances are audience favorites, with a few new ones. Although, I do remember an article a while back about this...

In case anyone's interested, Goh's upcoming book (with Cary Fagan) is called <I>Beyond the Dance: A Ballerina's Life</I>, which should be available in October 2002 from Tundra Books.

I happened to stop by Poly Theatre the other night to wait for my dad, and his business partner had a contact in the theatre! The contact is the professional photographer for all performances in the theatre, so I got to watch the end of the show, "Who Cares?" and the Grande Finale. I liked "Who Cares", but it wasn't how I imagined it. The energy level was also quite low that night - the second night - both in the dancers and the audience. I went backstage afterwards, and I saw most of the dancers. Chatted with Albert Evans and Helene Alexopoulos once more, and I met Chan Hon Goh's parents, although I didn't talk to her personally.
I found a review in the Chinese newspaper - they applauded the dancers' efforts to keep a balanced program - with some classic favorites as well a few new dances.
All in all, I think the dancers were tired the second night...I did hear that Albert Evans was very well received on opening night, especially after "Who Cares?". Applause was a bit sparse on the second night while I was there, but I cheered anyway, yelling out the dancers names if I knew them. We'll see how it goes on Sunday...

Fouette, thanks. I think they change their venue to the Northern Convention Centre this weekend. I wonder if it will be a different programme than that offered at the Poly Theatre.
Glad to hear that Chan Hon Goh's parents are also visiting China.

Malcolm, I look forward to reading and reviewing Goh's book next month.

<small>[ 09-12-2002, 12:48: Message edited by: Kevin Ng ]</small>

I haven't seen all the male Principals in NYCB, but to date Albert Evans is the one who has made the biggest impact on me. There is a fluidity to his movement that I find very impressive.

<small>[ 09-12-2002, 13:02: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

You can order the book now (publication as Kevin said is in October) from Amazon.com:

Beyond the Dance: A Ballerina's Life

Scroll down a bit for some description of the book - and click on the beautiful picture to see it larger.

Thanks, Basheva, for your information from Amazon.

Thanks Marie, for the wonderful picture of Chan Hon Goh in 'Mozartiana'.

I saw Suzanne Farrell many times in that role and most recently Nina Ananiashvili.

The picture of Chan Hon Goh shows promise of a charming interpretation.

Omigosh! I just heard that the performances at the Beijing Exhibition Centre are cancelled, all three of them! I have no idea why, just that they were suddenly cancelled. I'm so frustrated...but at least I did see "Who Cares?". I wonder why...

Oh dear! That must be a great disappointment Fouette. The Gala scene is littered with cancellations this year. I'm pleased that you were able to get the contact with the dancers that you did.

What a disappointment! I wonder if it's due to unsatisfactory box office takings at the second venue.

Really? Did tickets sell really badly at the Beijing Exhibition Centre? I also heard that there was a fire around that area...