Romeo and Juliet Options

[DeborahB]

I've never seen ABT's Romeo and Juliet and am really excited to see it on Sat. afternoon.
Ballet Talk's Leigh Witchel has a fine review of Gomes and Vishneva in the NY Post today.
I'm not providing a link because I think that's something that the moderators do (but you can always go on www.nypost.com and then hit
"arts").

[vipa]

I noticed in one of ABT's brochures sent to subscribers there was a photo of Ferri coaching Sarah Lane as Juliet, but Ms. Lane isn't cast as Juliet this year. Does anyone know if Ferri coached any of the dancers who are performing Juliet this year?

Maybe this coaching was part of the LEONORE ANNENBERG award that S. Lane & M. Copeland won. I read somewhere that Copeland was being coached by various people as part of the award. I assume Lane is also. If so what a great use of time & talent to have Ferri coach you in R&J. If not does anyone know how Lane is using the award?

[Dale]

Hey, if you are looking for the posts that morphed into a discussion on SYTYCD, I moved them to the previous ongoing discussion we had on the show here:

http://ballettalk.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=29834

[Amour]

Did anyone see Paloma and Gomes perform RJ last night?

[christine174]

I didn't see Gomes & Herrera, but I did see the matinee -- Hallberg & Murphy. I meant to post earlier, but at this point in the season, after 25ish performances in such a short period of time, I start to get a little tipsy on ballet, if that's possible. It all starts to blur together and feel good, but overwhelming. In this case, I was intoxicated by the blondness and beauty of David Hallberg. Murphy was good too, I think -- but I was mesmerized by Hallberg.
I like the ballet more than I did before. I know that's counter to everything everyone has been posting. It definitely gets long, especially the last act, and I would not object to more dancing, as opposed to posing. But I found it quite beautiful. I love the "pas de trois" with Romeo, Mercutio, and Benvolio. And the music is magnificent and sweeping. It swept me right up, that and Hallberg, into a state of ballet ecstasy. Tonight, my final performance of the season: Seo and Stearns. I'm sure Veronika Part has had enough of Lady Capulet, but I hope she's on tonight!

[LiLing]

I was also at the Wed. matinee, and very much enjoyed Murphy and Hallberg. The balcony and bedroom PDDs were heart stopping. The three harlots, Isebella Boylston, Simone Messmer, and Sasha Dmochowski were terrific.
With the exception of the final fight between Romeo and Tybalt (Patrick Ogle)
I found the sword fighting lacked excitement. It looked like the dancers in the large group fight were moving through meaningless choreographed positions, set to counts and basically phoning it in. Hallberg and Ogle managed to infuse their's with dramatic motivation, create tension, and make it look spontaneous.

I noticed the next night's juliet, Hee Seo, was listed in the huge corps of ballroom guests and townspeople. I hope the poor woman had some time to rehearse!

[abatt]

Did anyone see Paloma and Gomes perform RJ last night?

I saw Paloma and Marcelo on Wed. A lot has already been said about Marcelo's excellent Romeo, so I won't repeat that. Paloma gave a very good performance. I think Marcelo brings the best out of her. She was believable and sweet as the child-like girl in the first scene. She was appropriately shy in the ballroom scene. Her line and extension were exquisite in the balcony and bedroom scenes. She doesn't have the dramatic presence of a Vishneva or a Ferri, but she did well enough. Stella was Lady Capulet. I prefer Part in the role, but Stella was fine. Simkin was Benvolio, and Lopez was Mercutio. The synchronization when they danced together or with Gomes was frequently off. Individually, the each danced extremely well. Stappas repeated his role as Tybalt.

[ami1436]

Is this Seo's debut? And Stearns?

Eagerly awaiting reports!

[abatt]

Is this Seo's debut? And Stearns?

Yes, it is the debut for both Seo and Stearns.

[carbro]

In the interest of promptness, I will report that Stearns acquitted himself admirably and Seo scored an unqualified triumph in their shared New York debut (having performed the role a few months ago in Detroit). Bravi! I will edit this post to flesh out the evening, which was special for other reasons.

[ami1436]

Thanks so much! I've been following Seo since she was at the Prix, and Stearns from his time at RBS. It's like watching kids grow up! In the best possible way!

[balletnoodle]

Thanks so much! I've been following Seo since she was at the Prix, and Stearns from his time at RBS. It's like watching kids grow up! In the best possible way!

I don't know if anybody else already posted that Gia Kourlas yesterday wrote a very nice interview for Hee Seo's tongiht Juliet debut, with 6 very nicely shot photos. It's appeared on Timeout New York's Dance section.

Gia wrote one for Cory too during his debut as Conrad in Le Corsaire, entitled The New Kid on the Block (IMG:http://ballettalk.invisionzone.com/style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

Congrats Seo and Stearn! Really feel happy for both of them. Happy Birthday Mr. Franklin!

[abatt]

There is a review of the Seo-Stearns performance on danceview times.

[MJ]

I went on Wednesday evening's performance (Paloma and Gomes) Very nice production. Lighting was a bit off, Fight scenes were poor. The Corps and principals could have spent some time learning to fence. Manhattan is full of great fencing instructors, there is no excuse for a male dancer not knowing how to fight on stage. Not a single parry or block on stage.

Why were only a few dancer wearing masks? It is called un Ballo in Maschera (a masked ball) for good reason.

Casting was perfect, really well thought out for the roles.

[bingham]

In the interest of promptness, I will report that Stearns acquitted himself admirably and Seo scored an unqualified triumph in their shared New York debut (having performed the role a few months ago in Detroit). Bravi! I will edit this post to flesh out the evening, which was special for other reasons.

Carbro, Eagerly awaiting your report on Seo-Stearn R and J.It looks like nobody else was there. (IMG:http://ballettalk.invisionzone.com/style_emoticons/default/thanks.GIF)