CriticalDance Forum

Hi!
The Saratogian has a preview of the season, which has just started...

http://www.saratogian.com/site/news.cfm?ne..._id=17708&rfi=8

Oops! That link isn't working for me Kate.

Here is the link:

Dream of ballet on a midsummer's night

And there was an opening night review in the Albany Times Union:

Ballet's opening night is magical

(I really love seeing Dream at SPAC in the evening, such a great setting for it!)

<small>[ 09 July 2003, 09:42 AM: Message edited by: BBalletFan ]</small>

Some reviews from the first week....

From the Saratogian:
NYC Ballet off to an enchanting start at SPAC

And from the Times Union:

Powerful program offered by troupe

We had the pleasure of seeing three performances of NYCB in Saratoga this past weekend. Here are some quick notes.

Thursday night we saw Midsummer Night's Dream. Especially enjoyed the children who were very well trained and in very cute costumes. Did not see Whelan/Soto in second act divertissement as programmed, Weese/Neal instead. Overall the performance was enjoyable but not thrilling.

Friday night was the best! Started with Donizetti Variations (Weese/Woetzel in featured roles) which was quite satisfying, followed by Glass Pieces and the Western Symphony. First time I'd seen Glass Pieces (which looked like it could have been called NY Subway Station), and I really liked it a lot. Wonderful energy and imagery. Would love to see it again. Second movement featuring Whelan/Tewsley was mesmerizing. I don't think I could spend time just listening to Glass music, but as an accompaniment for dance it is quite compelling, and I was reminded of one of my favorites - Twyla Tharp's In the Upper Room. Liked Western Symphony - cowboys and dance hall girls dancing to music by Hersey Kay - but probably would have enjoyed it more if it hadn't followed Glass Pieces. As one of my friends said, it was like having a piece of delicious cake with too much icing.

Saturday night was a bit of a letdown. Started with Concerto Barocco - no letdown there. Next was Piano Pieces, 40 minutes of mostly adagio dancing to solo piano. Could see it was being danced well, but just not to my taste. Finished with Guide to Strange Places, a new piece by Peter Martins to music by John Adams. At first I liked it - a striking effect of the dancers melting on to and off the stage from a dark background - but the music was discordant yet repetitious and overall it became hard to take as time went on.

We also visited the National Dance Museum, featuring an exhibit on child tap dancers that was fun, and black ballet dancers and instructors that was educational and interesting.

We were a little surprised at the small audiences on Friday and Saturday nights. Thursday (Dream) night there were lots of empty seats - the theater is huge - but attendance seemed decent. Friday and Saturday nights - rep nights - were much emptier. From what we heard talking to some local people, NYCB has the same experience drawing in an audience at SPAC as has been discussed elsewhere: the story ballets sell better, hard to get people to come to the rep programs. It is a shame because I don't think story ballets are their strength.

Thanks for the impressions, BBalletFan. It's as if I was there (well, almost...).

And here's another article from the Saratogian:

Thanks Azlan, you are too kind. I’m not sure of the value of superficial comments - who cares if one anonymous person did or didn’t like a particular piece, it would be more useful to know what the dance was like, how the dancers performed..... However, I’ve reached a point in life where I can enjoy the moment or concentrate on remembering the details, and I’ve opted for enjoying the moment. So when watching a company whose members I mostly don’t recognize anymore, and seeing multi pieces, it is hard to recall the details. Fortunately the professional reviewers (taking notes in the dark!) can supply context. My more specific memories tend to go along these lines:

Who was the woman who flew through the air curled in a ball, caught safely by ???? And how did he manage to catch her without an arm or leg to hold on to? And why is Puck that strange orange color? And where did they get that bower from? It looks like a pink feathered shell, rather racy for a fairy queen. And where is the rest of the scenery for Dream? Oh, those kids are so cute! .... Oh, (different dance) there goes another woman in a ball, her guy caught her too. Must be a signature move.... How many of those piano pieces are there anyway? Are my husband(the true ballet addict)’s eyes closed because he is caught up in the music or has he fallen asleep? And there are still more piano pieces! .... Hmm. Interesting how those dancers appear and disappear. Hmm. That music is getting loud and tiresome. .... Wow, this is great, reminds me of In The Upper Room, wish I could see it again RIGHT NOW. .... Wow, those dance hall girls and cowboys are terrific - there goes the curtain, will they still be spinning when it raises for their cutrain call? (no)

And so on....

According to Joseph Dalton, Tom Gold, as the Jester, did "some 20 perfect turns." All at once??

Well, Gold has a nice technique but I'm not sure I can imagine him doing 20 pirouettes the way we think of it. Maybe he did consecutive a la seconde turns. I'll have to look at my NYCB swan lake tape and see ifhe does it there.

Okay... Read at your own risk:

And back to the subject matter: