Here is a thread where those of us seeing SFB at Lincoln Center can post about what we're seeing!

Gala, Tuesday July 25

Well, quite a company! And 76 dancers large: 19 principals, 11 soloists, 41 corps, 3 principal characters, 2 apprentices. The combined 30 at the top is more than at ABT. With all these dancers that are new to me, please forgive any misjudgments; it takes a season, not party bits in a gala, to form any fair opinions.
The evening began with some powerhouse choreography, not always the case overall.

1. Vertiginous Thrill, Forsythe/Schubert. Long/Waldo/Zahorian/Garcia/Nedviguine. They all showed great energy and enthusiasm for what they were doing. Star turns, but not just, clearly a company.
2. PdD from Dance House, Bintley/Shostakovich. Pipit-Suksun, Helimets, Hohenstein. The biggest Wow! for me of the gala, Nutnaree P-S is magic. Flexible mid back, and an incredibly strong lower back: she extends a leg, Tiit H lifts her by it to anywhere you can think of, and she never has to break her flowing spell. Using all her body in charismatic harmony. I have no idea what she can or cannot do re classical technique, but I'd buy a ticket to see her in anything.
3. PdD from Reflections, Mendelssohn/Possokhov. Maffre/Smith. Something about mirrors. Problem was the conductor was reflected in full, at dancer level, too distracting to follow the dancing.
4. Swan Lake PdT, Tomasson after Ivanov(it says, but is in a Petipa Act). Chung(a turner)/Viselli/Phillips. Corpsman Joseph Phillips very impressive. Very nice diagonal of double-into-single tours-en-l'air in his first variation, continuing impressively air-borne in the second.
5. Odette Adagio, (looks very Ivanov). Tan/Helimets. Yuan Yuan Tan seems very pure. Stunningly perfect right foot petits battements at the end, but not a sense of trembling. Helimets, as with P-S above, is a very princely partner. Watch out for prince-raiders from certain aging big companies...
6. Harlequinade PdD, Balanchine/Drigo. LeBlanc/Boada. This really grabbed the house. She has a skimming above the floor look to her dancing, her first variation thrilled the crowd. Both showing exemplary speed.
7. Concerto Grosso, Tomasson/Geminiani. Molat and Anderson/Garcia Castilla/Hohenstein/Yamamoto. While Molat especially pleased the audience, it did seem to go on...

Second half.
8. Chaconne, Tomasson/Handel. LeBlanc/Karapetyan. Tina skimmed across the stage again, beautifully.
9. c-# Waltz from Chopinianna, Fokine/Chopin. Smolen/Martin. I don't like Fokine and generally avoid Les Sylphides, even back in Baryshnikov's era. This was wonderful. Her epaulement was notable. But I can't say there was anything technically special. Yet the pair created some sort of magic. Chemistry, I guess. Whatever, for me the goose-bumper of the evening. Beauty, restraint, intense emotion.
10. Purple from Terra Firma, Kudelka/Torke. Long/Possokov. I don't know. Just too logical, like the composer. Still, appreciate Possokov's unretiring for us, and look forward to seeing him this weekend.
11. PdD from Fifth Season, Tomasson/Jenkins. Tan/Smith. Nicely danced.
12. No Other, Caniparoli/Rogers. van Patten/Vilanoba. Looked right on this stage, where Mr. B's Who Cares? so often has appeared. This really sang, delightfully danced by both. There's something flowingly emotional about Sarah van Patten, without emoting or seeming to even change expression. She joins Nutnaree and Molly as my three favorites of the evening.
13. Don Q PdD, Petipa/Minkus. Feijoo/Boada. A bit of ABT-ness. Star power fun. Lorena made about 45 rotations during the "32", and Joan delivered charismatically.
14. Brubeck Solo, Lubovitch/Brubeck. Garcia. A star turn, but not, it would seem, a very interesting vehicle.
15. 3rd Movement, Glass Pieces, Robbins/Glass. Finally a chance to see a good chunk of the company. Very attractive, intense dancers. Bravi!

I'm so happy that Smolen impressed, especially since she just joined SFB. I am going to try to arrange a trip when I can see her, Helimets, and Pipit-Suksun, three dancers I haven't yet seen. No one is allowed to steal away Helimets until I can arrange that

>>1. Vertiginous Thrill, Forsythe/Schubert. Long/Waldo/Zahorian/Garcia/Nedviguine.

Best part of the evening for me. Most interesting of dancing / choreography/costumes. Definitely high energy! The ladies were not the most feminine, but were very strong technically... The ballet certainly was a strikingly good opener.

>>6. Harlequinade PdD, Balanchine/Drigo. LeBlanc/Boada.

Shocking to see that Helgi Tomasson did not address this ballet as *his* choreography, after Balanchine's (non-existent), as Tomasson noted in the program for the Swan Lake pas de trois (as being Thomasson's after Lev Ivanov). This Harlequinade was not the Balanchine choreography I remember, and I kept wondering how the NYCB trust/company might respond seeing this. Peter Martins among others, NYCB, were in attendance last night. I did not care for Tomasson's version of Harlequinade one bit; all technique, no charm.

>>13. Don Q PdD, Petipa/Minkus. Feijoo/Boada. A bit of ABT-ness. Star power fun.

I think Lorena did very well last night, but she was not at her best.


Overall, the men were the most intense, the most interesting dancers in the company. And although all of the dancers, male and female, were enthusiastic, I did not care for most of the choreography or the costumes presented.

I was confused too, sz. But then I looked in the program - it's not the McBride/Villella pas de deux, but the Eglevsky/Tallchief one, that Balanchine had choreographed before doing the complete ballet.

Oh yes, I just re-read the program. But the Tallchief/Eglevsky version has so little of Balanchine's charm, wit, genius. Balanchine evolved SOOO much since 1950!!! Now I'm really confused(!!!).... Why would Tomasson choose the oldest version (the less lovely, less romantic, less crowd pleasing version) instead of the more recent one that we have all adored for years??!! I'm still shocked...

I think it's interesting to see the different versions. When I was watching it, I was thinking - this isn't the one I know. This is sort of goofy, too. I do love the 60s ballet, but I think this version probably suits LeBlanc better.

re: HARLEQUINADE PAS DE DEUX - 1952, no. 290 in CHOREOGRAPHY BY BALANCHINE
i was quite interested to see this 'rarity'; i have no idea when it was last done, certainly not in my neck o'the woods in my balletgoing time. (i note the entry in CHOREOGRAPHY BY BALANCHINE isn't exactly correct, b/c it lists the music's coming from Act I, when i think i heard the finale for act 2 as the pas de deux's conclusion.)
still, tomasson likely wanted to do a HARELQUINADE ballet that was self-contained and arranged as such by balanchine himself.
i'm happy to have seen this and to know what balanchine's first choreographic thoughts in the US were for this russian favorite. (as in the case of the alt. version of VALSE FANTANSIE, i'm glad to have a chance to see another early variant on differently familiar, later ballet.)
as i saw this perf. by leblanc and boada this version of russian world of harlequin and columbine is as different from the one came later from balanchine's hand, as his first cast - tallchief and eglevsky - was from his later cast with mcbride and villella.
i'd love to see it again.
p.s. i'm hoping to post an old NYCB publicity still of eglvesky on ballet history, etc.

Oh, how I would have loved seeing a bit of Andre Eglevsky dancing this role, though I cannot begin to picture Tallchief -- fitting to the sweet, flirty music!! A very nice picture of Eglevsky that you posted! He was a favorite teacher/coach of mine, years ago. I fondly think of him often while watching some ballets.

Anyway... back to SFBallet.... I wasn't a bit surprised to learn that Joan Boada, the Harlequin of last night's, is originally from Cuba.

Is Marina Eglevsy credited for staging this pas?

Yes.

Sylvia, Wednesday July 26

Another full house for SFB at the State Theater (at least as seen from the 2nd Ring). The NYC Opera orchestra, under SFB Music Director Martin West, again distinguished itself (take note, ABT Orchestra, it is possible for horns and brass to play in humid weather).

A year after Mark Morris created his version of the ballet, Sir Fred Ashton's Sylvia appeared as if from nowhere at ABT and The Royal, and surely looked far better than what one expected from the history books. Perhaps such a master's "C" work would be graded an "A" in today's choreographic world.

Certainly for me Morris's Act 1 was a huge disappointment compared to Ashton's beginning. It looked very cluttered (stage size or Balanchine's house aesthetic?). Although with (finally...) the arrival of Sylvia (Yuan Yuan Tan) and her eight nymph friends the scene began to have a sense of place. It was the brilliant swing section, with its echo of Fragonard's Balancoire: not so much the famous voyeuristic "Swing" in which a gentleman is given a view, but more the earlier painting that may be seen here http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/s_z...liams/swing.jpg
So one might see a post-Watteau sensibility at play in this Act. It looks French.
It is very difficult to say much about individual interpretations based on one viewing. But Tan does seem to project as an authentic, space-filling ballerina. I also liked the horse-like gait given the ballerina while running. I mean this positively, the proud high-chested gait of a thorobred. At first look, I don't buy Morris's Eros/disguised version, as compared to Ashton's take. Yet it does give him added scope for choreographic invention, and much for dancer Jaime Garcia Castilla to revel in. And he surely did impress.
Aminta (Gonzalo Garcia) and Orion (Yuri Possokov) would come into their own later.

In Act 2, after being too contemporarily thuggish as the Act 1 abductor, Orion became more developed. Much of this Act looked as if Morris were playing with the Balanchine of Prodigal Son, as if imagining how Mr. B. might choreograph the scene in which Orion and his goons (so like the creeps in PS) have Sylvia in their cave. Mr. Possokov clearly did us a favor by unretiring for this mini season. He was intense, powerful and riviting. Somehow he brought dimension to this basically vile character, we could be interested in him. Oddly, we had to leave "France" to get to wine. Now obviously, wine is also a big deal in Northern California. Vintners must have enjoyed Mr. Morris's notion that wine was created spontaneously by stomping on grapes: instant fermentation. Yet it did get the guys drunk. But what looked as if it were going to be a stunning scene change may not have worked right. Will have to see it again. Still really missing Ashton.

Act 3. Classical ballet! A white classical (ancient--statues of four gods) set, beautiful symmetries, in perfect harmony with a very diamantine presentation of the balerina. A wonderfully classical, inventive PdD for Sylvia Tan and Aminta Garcia. So many stunning images for Sylvia (perfectly described with luxuriating detail in the 2004 Dance View Times article by Paul Parish). Garcia's variation after the adagio was both classical and exciting. A brilliant curly-cue kind of finish (I would assume Morris's) to multiple pirouettes. Repeated. Hopefully someone can decribe this more technically. But it not only was a virtuosic detail, it added emotional fullness through gesture, made the variation more than just a variation.

{edited addition when more awake--11:15 AM Thursday Muriel Maffre must be mentioned for her Diana, played as a more dimensional character perhaps than we see in Ashton's version. She came on with an intimidating expressive power and relishing it. But when her youthful indiscretion was revealed she quickly enjoyed the release she received from her own stringent bonds. Her participation in Sylvia's wedding-by-sharing-an-arrow, a brilliant aesthetic stroke by Morris, showed her liberation was to be extended to others as well. One imagines that after the ballet was over there were to be changes in Nymphville.}

So, a great Act 3. Enough to go again. When Act 3 began the white + symmetries followed by the presention of the ballerina and very classical choreography brought diamonds to mind. Act 1, had a certain French perfume. And so Balanchine touches in Act 2 began to suggest a certain parallel to Mr. B's Jewels. Which goes from French to American (i.e., Mr. B.) to Imperial Russia. During my first 15 or so years of Jewels, Diamonds was my favorite. I know the other two are better. But Diamonds then was Farrell. When you've got D-flawless... And I think that Morris's diamond-faceted final act makes his Sylvia a keeper.

Thanks for your reports. We're all agog to hear how you like it.

Yes Marina Eglevsky, (Andre Eglevsky's daughter) is a widely-respected teacher in the Bay Area; she is I believe her father's heir, and she set this version of the ballet (which Balanchine left to Eglevsky) for SFB.
Interestingly, she set Mr B's Sylvia pas de deux (which was also made on her father) on the Bolshoi for their Balanchine centennial celebration. You all might want to think about the relationship of this unfamiliar Harlequinade pdd to the Sylvia one you all know so well.

Re Morris's Sylvia, DrB and all of you, you've gotta go back to see Guennadi Nedviguine's Aminta, the purest classical dancing, he looks like Carlo Blasis. Also, you'll recognize the curlicue thing you mention in the finale, as something that's part of Aminta's material from the beginning. It's a renversee, a movement that "pours forth" - -like from the horn of plenty. Aminta ends his first-act turns in attitude, tipping hte attitude forward, in his first entrance, when he's declaring his love for Sylvia, and the renversee in effect shows us his heart is overflowing...... so in the last act, when his gazillion pirouettes end in a renversee and he tips forward and then recovers and leaps around himself -- what IS it he does? that solo should be set for ballet competitions, it's so hard and so exuberant and APPROPRIATE to that moment in the ballet

On Wed. night, I thought Yuan Tan very impressive. Lovely feet, beautiful beautiful line, deep positions, and dramatically alive.

Act II of the Ballet is the best. Morris had an original idea there and worked in his own idiom and Yuan Tan and Possokhov were most interesting. The final tableau was quite uplifting.

As for the rest: Morris is not a ballet choreographer of great skill by training or experience. He is a great choreographer in his own material but ballet isn't his metier. His ballet here, the enchainements and staging is rudimentary and thin and at times amateurish. A big mistake was to cut the stage to such shallow depth. The processionals in Act III had no punch. The material for the fauns and satyrs at the opening, likewise. There were few variations so no comment on that. But the pas in Act III was student level with a few pyrotechnical tricks thrown in. What I thought of the Gay Svengali Eros I can't say.

This will and has sold tickets because it's Morris doing Sylvia. It should not have been done. Do Act II as a short piece.

MP

Thursday night Sylvia


This is really such a difficult piece to pull off. I love the score but it's saddled with a difficult libretto. During Act 1 last night I was thinking this plot is so complicated, it's like one of those operas that have plots that are almost impossible to explain . Then during the intermission I read Morris' comment in the program that said roughly the same thing.


Morris tried to set all the parts of Act 1 but it came off awkward and cluttered.
Sylvia and her Nymphs came clomping in after the orgy scene with the satyrs; their choreography was successful is showing that these were powerful women but visually not that interesting to me. I did like the Sorcerer/Eros number a lot.

Act 2? More than a little cartoonish. Sylvia stomps out the bad guys. Eros appears to get Sylvia out of the cave.

I agree with Michael's comments on the shallow set compromising the third act, which I otherwise greatly enjoyed. For me it made the piece worthwhile.
Paul Parish described the complexity of Aminta's choreography very nicely, in general I liked the big pdd a whole lot. Also, I enjoyed the Pirate/Eros stuff. The plot is resolved in a very campy way; Eros reminds Diana of her past very vividly!

I saw Miner as Sylvia, Molat as Aminta, and Vilanoba as Orion with a special mention to Sofranko as Eros.
I thought Miner was a bit rough in Act 1 but did very well in Act 3. I was taken with Morat and Sofranko, too.

I was happy to see this, after seeing the Ashton last year with ABT. Two different takes at this complicated piece. But what a beauty of a score.

Richard

Sylvia, Thursday July 27

Seeing this again is a different experience, both b/c of Morris and the Company.
Having made my snap judgments Wednesday, I especially looked at what I didn't like. Clearly Morris likes to play "naughty." So just accepted that (why not, it works for his company and this is his ballet). Very different cast.

1. Sylvia: Elizabeth Miner for Tan. As suggested by posters who've seen this in The City (yes, was there for years long ago, and sorry NY, it was), they are very different. I think a choice, if one had to be made, is one of seeing Morris's inventions (Tan) or seeing a Romantic ballet (Miner). Although different players in all the other roles can create figure-ground problems if one really wants to try to compare ballerinas. That, to me, stunning/signature/beautiful horse gait in Act 1 was much more pronounced with Tan. Since I like it I was happier with the "high amp" version. Sylvia and the other Valkyrie/Nymphs in Act 1: Miner is one of them, sort of a first among equals; where Tan is more set apart, as in Birgit Nilsson from the chorus in Die W (I don't mean this necessarily qualitatively). When Sylvia is shot with Eros's arrow, Tan has much more to change. On her return to glimpse the dead Aminta Miner was the one who showed a more genuine set of emotions: it was the beginning of her drawing more audience sympathy for her character Sylvia, the more Romantic ballet interpretation.
In Act 2 I thought Tan put up the more interesting struggle, seemed more in danger. This could have been b/c Pierre-Francois Vilanoba was a less Brutish Orion that was Possokov with Tan. Vilanoba was a bit more tempered by his romantic side. We felt for Miner, the less resourceful, more Giselle-ish victim. We rooted for Tan, the battling valkerie. (The Act 2 curtain drop scene change again was not completely successful looking down, it seems designed for those sitting at orchestra level.)
For Act 3, where Tan was more a Diamond, Miner was pretty-in-pink, a radiant Pink Sapphire (Madagascar) in a diamond setting. With Tan I saw more of the cascade of diamantine effects in the adagio that Mr. Parish described in the previously referenced early review. With Miner more of the romance, a warm glow. Of course the surprises in choreography are more likely to hit one on first viewing.

2. Aminta: Pascal Molat for Garcia. In the variations Gonzalo Garcia did seem the more virtuosic. In particular, after the Act 3 adagio, his pirouettes were more Corella-ish, the renversee was instant and pronounced, reckless, and seemed the tranforming impetus for the throw of himself around himself. Mr. Molat showed more preparation for the final leap around himself.

3. Diana: Katita Waldo for Maffre. It was certainly nice to see Waldo on stage again. While certainly effective, there's no getting around the fascinating character development that Muriel Maffre gives to Diana.

4. Eros: James Sofranko for Castilla. I guess one just has to come to terms with Morris seeing this character so differently from Ashton. On second viewing, it seems that if Morris were to have been a dancer in Sylvia, this is the role he'd have taken. One might enjoy this role by imagining that Mark Morris was dancing the part.

Since this is the home field for NYCB, a company very rich in dramatic ballerinas these days, one can't help but think of possible Sylvias there. Especially after seeing Elizabeth Miner's, Sara Mearns seems a real natural for this choreography. She has the youth and of course that awesome beauty. And so effectively grabs an audience's sympathy, well, adoration. But it's that score by Delibes, the thought of her playing with it. Tchaikowsky, 1877: "Listened to the Leo Delibes' ballet Sylvia. In fact, I actually listened, because it is the first ballet, where the music constitutes not only the main, but the only interest. What charm, what elegance, what richness of melody, rhythm, harmony. I was ashamed. If I had known this music early then, of course, I would not have written Swan Lake."

While this is the home of NYCB, the (again a nicely full house) audience for SFB this summer seems different from the regulars. Both in terms of recognition of familiar faces, and in the way they respond. Especially of late, NYCB audiences can be very demonstrative (although also not, it depends on what goes on onstage, unlike the automatic standing ovations for ABT). This year we had the Diamond Project again. It offers up a few new one-acters every few years. And this year there were a number of big hits, at max the 10 curtain call variety. In the first three nights of SFB, once the curtain is lowered the dancers don't come out for bows. I really wish we'd had the NYCB crowd around for SFB. Were NYCB to have shown Act 3 as a new one-acter, I think the home audience would have gone wild.

An aside. There is a photo exhibit of prior Lincoln Center Festivals on the First Ring Promenade. The photo at the South East corner of the exhibition is of Molly Smolen, dancing Ashton's Isadora (Brahms) with incredible expressive power. It is a Wow! I hope they find a way to get her into the weekend's mixed bill.

I've read that Miner changed her interpretation since the premiere two years ago when I saw her. She was anything but vulnerable in Act II then, and even revelled in her cleverness. It was in Act III that she blossomed into a loving woman and, in a Romantic gesture, pretended that the doltish Aminta was an equal. (She definitely "stepped on the rug" first.)

Oh, Michael, thank you so much.

The San Francisco Ballet website is now providing links to daily reviews of its Lincoln Center performances at:

http://www.sfballet.org/about/touring/index.aspx

I must admit, however, as a regular at the San Francisco Ballet, that I'm finding the responses here more interesting. drb captures my experience of SFB dancers best.

Too bad SFB isn't experiencing a regular NYCB audience. Curtain calls are an exception at SFB. I liked the responsiveness of NYCB audiences when I was in town in June, and thought it would be great for SFB dancers to experience it too.

There are a number of people in San Francisco who feel as Michael does about Mark Morris's choreography. I've found, however, that seeing ABT's Sylvia in LA this Spring made me appreciate Morris for the ways he is not Ashton, even though I prefer Ashton's Sylvia overall (Paloma, by the way, was a wonderful Sylvia in California).

Artifact Suite captures a very characteristic SFB energy, daring and grace; it will be interesting to see how it plays in New York this weekend.

Sylvia, Friday June 28

The final pairing was Vanessa Zahorian and Guennadi Nedviquine.
Tonight, a different look at the ballet, downstairs. Early on there was a minor stumble and a couple of dancers in named roles had some problems finishing multiple turns. Out of curiosity, how do SF seasons work? Does the company usually dance over a significant number of days without breaks? Not to worry, though, for this turned out to be a very successful performance.

I like the way each dancer in the big roles has interpretive freedom, even some with the steps, in this company. After a fascinating exploration of choreography by Tan, and romantic, capturing the spirit of the great score, by Elizabeth Miner, Zahorian seemed to go for realism. For example, while being carried off by Orion (Damian Smith) half way off she stopped her struggling, overcome with concern for Aminta (or maybe just that a dead guy wouldn't be able to rescue her?). Asleep at Orion's, she was dreaming as he stroked her leg and clearly her expression showed this had invoked an especially erotic moment in her dream, and thus so natural that she made that arching backward reach to encircle her dream-lover's neck, only to be shocked to awaken to Orion. It wasn't just because of Morris's choreographic need to echo Aminta's awakening from death by Sorcerer/Eros (Garrett Anderson). Once the goons had been inebriated to their knees around the table she mounted it. The oboe began to sing erotically like a shenai and we (or rather they) were treated to a dance right out of (in spirit) Bejart's Bolero. This was quite a strong Act for her. The scene change at the end was more magical from orchestra level.

There always seems more to see in Act 3. With all that beautiful classical symmetry, a boy and girl on the left and two girls on the right place one Grecian Urn, centered, on each side. Then place alongside four bowls each, but Zenly not symmetric in their placement. A signal that classical symmetry can be enriched? After all, it is Mark Morris. Well, if there were any doubt, on comes Nedviguine to proclaim this truth, as he came into his own with his opening solo full of renversees, daring to tip into a higher dimension of artistry. Zahorian captivated the crowd with a beautiful floating finish to her solo. The adagio was really magic. This was an Aminta who really partners, presenting the ballerina by gazing at her with such a sense of awe that we must look at her. He evokes Malakhov partnering Vishneva. I can give a danseur no higher praise. What ballerina would not dance for such a partner? His variation was a symphony of renversees, who could care that others might have more and faster pirouettes? Interestingly, that shocking toss of himself around himself was in the opposite direction from the first two Amintas, and smoothly, did not upset the higher symmetries he'd been creating.

I think I may have been a bit imprecise earlier regarding audience response. The curtain does go down and up at least a couple of times, it is just that after the last down applause stops so individuals do not come out in front of the curtain for additional bows. NYCB audiences tend to demand these curtain calls for worthy performances. Tonight was the most responsive audience so far. The company and individuals did have to come forward frequently, even more often tonight. The crowd was especially loud for Garrett Anderson and Muriel Maffre, and of course the leads. While this is the first night followed by a non-work day, I don't think that fully explains the more prolonged ovation. They were good!

Pacific Northwest Ballet didn't do these until Peter Boal introduced them this year. Seattle audiences are quite obedient -- we generally stop dead in the middle of an ovation if the house lights go up -- and it took an entire year before the audience "got" that there would be a front-of-the-curtain call.

I saw the local premiere on Wednesday (Tan/Garcia/Possukov) and the next one, Thursday (Miner/Molat/Vilanoba), and while the first cast was more secure technically, the whole ballet looked better to me on Thursday. Miner and Molat, for me, drew more poetry from the choreography. That couple made the musicality of certain passages seem inevitable, while Tan in particular, made several passages look forced. This was particularly important in Sylvia's Act III pizzicato variation. Miner joined poses to steps, steps into phrases, all in an expression of her discovery of the joys of love. And the little shimmies seemed spontaneous on her, as they had not on Tan. It was also delightful how the Thursday couple made the adage a capsule narrative of their story. It is very clear that when they are dancing with the scarf, it is Sylvia pre-piercing -- unable to love. And she loses the scarf and discovers her passion. None of this registered on Wednesday.

I also found Molat, while not quite as strong, perhaps as Garcia, a much more engaging presence.

On Wednesday, I had almost decided not to go back for a second viewing. But when I was offered the gift of a ticket, I decided to take a look at the new cast. Had I seen this cast in the first place, I surely would have come back for a second take. But that's just a matter of personal preference.

A note about Tuesday's gala: LeBlanc (with Karapetyan) pulled me into in the Handel/Tomasson Chaconne. I owe it to her charm and stagecraft. I found it the most charming piece on the program.

I very much dislike Tomasson's choreography for the women in his Swan Lake pd3. The man's variation, however flowed nicely. The pdd, with Tan and Helimets was textbook perfect but an emotional vacuum. However, the battements serres at the end, so fast that they were a blur, were quite something!

The second half of the program was less lively than the first. Even Glass Pieces -- with its propulsive score -- didn't have the weight or drive I'm accustomed to and didn't really seem like anything until finally all 24 dancers filled the stage.

A mixed bill with mixed results, but overall, the company made a positive impression.

I attended the performance with Zahorian tonight. I must admit that I was more than a little disappointed in the production overall and her performance. I wonder what gave SFB the incentive to bring Morris' Sylvia to Lincoln Center. I felt his interpretation was garrish and too sexually overt (much in the same way that Nureyev's Romeo and Juliet is.) The orgy like scene of the driads was particularily unnecessary, and I felt that his take on Eros was wrong not only in so much as if Eros is gay (as is implied when he strokes Aminta's legs and wears outlandish costume after outlandish costume) why does he end up with Diana at the end of the ballet (?), but also because his ultra stylized characterization does not allow for much dancing.

The score by Delibes is so danceable, I thought it a shame that so often Morris relied on stiff and trite archetyple moves and poses for the dancers. (And he needs to realize the difference between a leitmotif and pure repetitiveness.) I also found the second act to be a bit of a poor man's Prodigal Son with the drunkards resembling the bald cap-sporting goons.

Vanessa Zahorian who was technically superb, conveyed little emotion in her dancing. Her face was far from expressive -- it never seemed to register fear, delight, or longing. Much like Abi Stafford (who, to her credit, has had several break out performances in the past season at NYCB), the technique is all there, but the stage presentation is missing. The enjoyment and ease of conveying some sort of story and meaning behing the steps is missing. (Is this possibly a CPYB trait?)

The corps was quite varied I felt. There seemed to be a great range in talent level and some of the group dances appeared a little under-rehearsed. Sometimes as a whole they did not engage, and at others it was drastically over-acted. I especially like Mariellen Olson and Nutnaree stood out beautifully. Why she, and not Brooke Moore, was not Sylvia's friend was beyond me. Sarah van Patten was also pleasantly alluring as a slave girl in the third act. Ruben Martin was excellent as a Herald, although his younger brother's technique is not as crisp as the former. Moises also seemed to lack Ruben's smooth and effortless performance quality.

I disliked both the costumes and the sets, but I thought Martin West conducted admirably. i hope the repertory program tomorrow night brings better luck.

Yes. Seven performances in six days (Tuesday-Sunday, two performances on Saturday) is standard for SFB during their regular season. The Lincoln Center schedule is the kind of performance schedule they are used to.



Yes, that is the basic SFB style. Front of the curtain calls happen, but they aren't routine. Maybe they'll bring them back from NY.

Thanks for your very insightful review of Vanessa Zahorian and Guennadi Nedviquine--in fact for all three of your Sylvia reviews. You saw qualities in these dancers I didn't fully appreciate until you pointed them out.

Based on all of the CPYB dancers that I've seen dance professionally, I'd say the opposite is true, and that this was the exception to the rule.

Funny you mention that! I almost said the same thing to the SFB orchestra after seeing ABT’s Stravinsky program in early June!

Just out of curiosity, did Martin West conduct all three Sylvias? West and Gary Sheldon alternated during the home season, and while Sheldon has almost always been my reliant conductor through the years (he makes the orchestra sound different/better than on alternate nights), West is very accommodating towards the dancers (also mentioned somewhere in program notes). I mention this b/c Act II can be drastically different if the tempo is faster – which happened on the third show in SF, I think? – where the humor was lost. But seeing the reviews, I take it that Act II was as hysterical as it could be!


I’ve really enjoyed your thorough posts – thank you! And I am so happy that you got to experience Guennadi’s Aminta… *sigh* I wish I could’ve seen it again. I'm also a huge fan of his pirouettes -- the suspension is effortless, non-chalant, natural -- truly my favorite! I think faster turns are just spins...

And I agree with you whole-heartedly on Muriel and Katita’s differencet portrayals of Diana (from your earlier post) – I just couldn’t articulate it on my SFB post, but you captured it perfectly!

Thank you jps; you, drb and others are making me more eager to see Ashton’s version (while I continue to like Morris’). Reading reviews of the home season, it was interesting how some viewers were clearly uncomfortable with Morris’ choices -- Eros’ ambiguous character, nude boy in Act 3, gay-ness anywhere. But in so many ways Morris took risks and brought out things that are normally not addressed in classical, full production ballets. Hence, I’m a fan of drb’s comment:



Many who were outraged by Morris’ version seemed to forget that he is not a classical, but a contemporary ballet choreographer, thus utilizing different “vocabulary.” Some phrases/poses in Act 1 are actually more difficult, in my opinion!

Balletchic101 – I agree with you re: the corp’s lack of cohesiveness, esp in Act I. Re:Heralds, I wonder if you would’ve liked the match up of Ruben Martin and Garen Scribner, who were beautifully paired, musically and stylistically in SF. Garen also danced well with Rory Hohenstein.

What does CPYB stand for and who are some of its alums? Were Tina LeBlanc, Kristin Long and Brooke (Taylor) Moore CPYB dancers? What is it about Pennsylvania that produces such great dancers? (sorry, slightly off-topic)

Exactly. So why does he insist on essaying this classicism? Wouldn't it have been much more interesting to see what he did with a full length Sylvia on his own company? That I'd pay to see.

Thanks for these posts. They make me wish I were there -- or in San Francisco.

Based on primarily older works, I'm a huge Morris fan. But it seems I'm hearing more criticism of Mark Morris's work -- esepcially for unevennes and misjudgments -- than was once the case.

Is it possible that, with all his commitments involving his dance center, school, company, and extensive guest commissions, he has taken on more than he can handle? Maybe fewer projects, and getting back to some kind of central core, might be a good thing?

He has been the listed conductor on all four programs, and is the only conductor included in the description of artists in the Playbills.

CBYB = CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA YOUTH BALLET

I don't know of any long-time choreographer who hasn't been criticized through various points of his or her career. "Balanchine's best days are behind him" was an often-expressed belief in his later years, sometimes expressed through wonder that his latest was so good. "Robbins is the future; he's so natural."

I think Morris' version of Sylvia is fantastic, and only other commitments kept me from returning to San Francisco and traveling to NYC to see it again. I don't expect anyone else to, and any day now I expect to hear a knock at my door to take back my New Yorker card . But apart from the character of Eros, which was so clearly made for a young Morris, and the villagers dance at the end of Act I (which I thought was the weakest part of the whole ballet), I didn't see all that much "contemporary" Morris in vocabulary, although clearly the sensibility was 21st century, not 1950's. I thought he took ballet on its own terms.

Excuse me. . . Helene?

New York just called.

It said no, you can't finish your bagel and it wants its card back now.

My review will be in Danceview Times this week, but I'm afraid you'll have to count me with Michael among the naysayers. I found the choreography very thin.

But I forgot -- my card and bagel were taken away from me mid-bite the last time I visited and stood at the corner waiting for the traffic light to change...

I look forward to reading your review.

I left the opening night gala with very mixed feelings about what I’d seen and after 2 nights of Sylvia (the first 2) I still have mixed feelings.

The Gala-
Imagine my surprise when I read Rockwell’s review in the NY Times and found myself agreeing with him about the opening & closing pieces. I love Vertiginous Thrill and I enjoyed the SFB dancers in it but having seen the Kirov perform it a month ago I have to say that this performance just wasn’t on the same level. While I can believe that the SFB’s off center and exaggeratedly flung movement was more in line with the choreographers intent than the Kirov’s more classical approach the technical skill, speed & elan that the Kirov brought to it just wasn’t apparent here. True, the Kirov dancers are among the best in the world and some may find the comparison unfair but when your advance publicity heralds you as the best ballet company in North America I think it not only invites comparison to the best in the world, it demands it.

I also love Robbins’ Glass Pieces and was really looking forward to seeing the 3rd movement - but I found it flat and was stunned at how a piece that I recall primarily for it’s relentless pulsating energy could feel so low energy...

Interesting that Yuan Yaun Tan provided me with both highlights and lowlights of the evening - I really disliked her in the Swan Lake pas de deux. I don’t know if what we saw was her interpretation or Tomasson’s but one of them needs to write both “Odette is not a bird” and “Swan Lake is Petipa/Ivanov, not Balanchine/Eifman” at least 1000 times. The jutting elbows, angular arms and bird head shakes just didn’t cut it for me.

Then, after deciding that she was not a dancer I was going to like very much she totally won me over in Fifth Season, I thought her line and phrasing were gorgeous here, and this was my favorite of the new choreography I saw at the gala, I found the rest fairly forgettable.

Nutnaree Pipit-Suksun was very impressive, I would love to see more of her. I also really enjoyed Tina LeBlanc in the Harlequinade pdd.

On opening night Pascal Molat was my favorite of the men who, again, I thought were a mixed bag. Helimets, Smith, Martin all looked like very elegant “dancers noble” and wonderful partners but I don’t recall being impressed with their technical abilities. The virtuoso dancers like Boada and Garcia were impressive, but I found them a little sloppy and lacking in refinement. I know it’s unfair to form such strong opinions on the basis of so little exposure (and my opinions of Garcia & Molat kind of reversed after seeing each of them in Sylvia), but that’s the only perspective the gala program offered.

Sylvia - Wednesday Tan/Garcia/Possokhov/Castilla & Thursday Miner/Molat/Vilanoba/Sofranko

Well, first things first. San Francisco Ballet does style itself as a ballet company, and as a ballet this just didn’t cut it for me. The beautiful score is intact but IMO the costumes, scenery and most especially the choreography compares very unfavorably to the Ashton version. I see there have been lots of people, both in the audience and on this board who disagree with me but to my eye for most of evening it just looked like Morris took modern dance choreography and stuck point shoes on the women. And the women were far the worse for it. Much of what he created for the men looked ok but for most of the evening the women looked awkward and ugainly. I don’t care if the steps are hard to master (they looked hard), I found it ugly. I had no problem with the gender bending, the overt sexual references or the near nudity but those dryads in the beginning just looked like pelicans on pointe, and anyone who objected to Wheeldon’s ballerinas bending over in Evenfall should see the way Morris has these dancers sticking their butts out here.

That said, though I didn’t really like this Sylvia I didn’t hate it either and taken as a dance drama (or comedy) rather than a ballet the piece had it’s pleasures. I liked the use of the swing in the first and second acts and thought the 3rd act pdd was very inventive in it’s use of the veil to restate Sylvia’s character transformations and her relation to Aminta. I liked it’s subsequent change into a scarf and the reference to La Bayadere. I liked the ending to their pdd with the exuberant swings and high five symbolism and I loved (yes, loved) Aminta’s 3rd act solo. This was a beautiful, musical, inventive variation - too bad the rest of the choreography wasn’t at this level.

Having a generally negative reaction and then liking aspects of the 3rd act so much is what made me decide to see it a second time. While Tan is a far more technically accomplished dancer than Miner I didn’t like her interpretation as much. She seemed very tomboyish and almost peevish ( I seem to recall a lot of head shaking & foot stomping) as opposed to Miner’s more expansive, Amazonian take on the role. Yet Miner’s line & technical skills didn’t impress. Like drb, seeing Miner made me wonder what Mearns would look like in the role. Maybe it’s just the blond beauty connection but somehow longing for Mearn’s gorgeous line and musicality while watching Miner isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement of her interpretation.

I hadn’t been overly impressed with Garcia at the Gala but I liked him very much as Aminta (I had seen Rasta Thomas in the Brubeck solo recently so perhaps Garcia was the victim of another unfavorable comparison at the gala). His dancing in Sylvia was very elegant and his solos both virtuosic and refined. Molat, who I loved at the gala struck me as being a little more rustic in his characterization and also a bit less elegant in his dancing, though also enjoyable.

The houses have been very full, though not completely sold out. The curious thing is that the audience seems very different from the typical NYCB or ABT crowd. Morris devotees, perhaps?

I think one reason why the audience seems different is that so many of the people we're used to seeing on stage are now occupying the seats!

But seriously, the whole feel of the audience is very different, and almost everyone I've spoken to who's been there has mentioned it. Consistently, the ovations are brief but somehow very appreciative, and the crowd has shown better than usual theater manners in terms of chattering and candy unwrapping, etc.

This is a Lincoln Center Festival production. There's a core crowd that subscribes to the festival, whether it's music, drama or dance. I noticed the difference in 2002 during the Kirov's La Bayadere. Anyway, this might have something to do with it.

nysusan, huge fan of your post, as I have been wondering if I’m the only one who ponders this:

Also agree in regards to Yuan Yuan Tan. Her performance/portrayal in Swan Lake this year in SF wasn’t what I had hoped, but she has been outstanding in contemporary pieces. I hope you get to see her in Quarternary.

No, I think you’re right on. And I say this as an avid SFB goer. It depends on the piece obviously, but I find some (including principal) dancers consistently sloppy…

Michael, I’d love to check out what Morris would create on his co., too. And sure Act I choreography isn’t as exciting as III or comical as II, but I enjoy Morris’ Sylvia esp since I’ve been disappointed by some other full production ballets (Tomasson’s Romeo & Juliet, Swan Lake) SFB put on recently. Sylvia highlights a couple of beautiful, classically-trained dancers who should be shown more, so I ignore the rest.

In terms of choreography not fitting a company, this season’s Spring Rounds by Paul Taylor was disastrous. The piece was clearly Paul’s attempt to create a piece for ballerinas (more adagios, minimal crazy lifts); much of the choreography is uninteresting, if not just typical, recycled Taylor movements, and the SFB dancers looked messy. I’m glad they didn’t bring it to NY!

I'm enjoying your posts tikititatata, and am largely in agreement with you. Actually Paul Taylor brought Springs Rounds to San Francisco this spring and it looked great--on his company. I'm glad people are taking SFB at its word that it is a major league player, and is holding it to major league standards. (Im still crazy about it and its dancers, though). I hope Mark Morris will continue to make dances for SFB AND continue to bring his own company to Berkeley every year for a West Coast season. The net result has been incredibly positive for us in the Bay Area.

IMHO this is par for the course. Extremely popular and successful initially, then time to bring him down a notch or ten.

Tiresome to say the least.

I'm with Leigh and Michael here re Morris' Sylvia. Although it was fun and had many naughty Morris-isms, it is a ballet without a lot of meat on the bone. There was very little ballet choreography to fill/match the gorgeous music. Morris' Sylvia left you hungry but smiling at some of his charming, silly, nerve.

However last night, Forsythe again made this company look at its best in Artifact. A huge hit for SFB this NYC season. I wouldn't want to see this ballet every night, or every week, with its very contemporary, mechanical approach, but it worked, and worked very well as a large group piece. Forsythe knew how to use the females, made them look more uniformed, by putting them in black tights, colors on top, against a black backdrop. That sort of grouping gave the females a clean, tight power and uniformity that I don't think Forsythe would have gotten otherwise in lighter tights. There was a lot of black going on.... but it made the females function well together, and stand out where he wanted them to stand out. Among the two principal girls, Lorena was most outstanding. She's not a girly girl, but a rich, strongly feminine, fast, powerhouse when at her best, as she was last night.

The large groups of men were all in one solid color against the black backdrop in the second half of the ballet, and this gave the men a powerful, bright place in Forsythe's piece. The men were all at their highest energy and it was incredibly exciting to watch groups of spectacular men dance instead of one or two at a time.

Artifact went on a bit long for me.... started getting repititious, and I also didn't like the heavy thud of the black curtain falling to break the scenes three or four times in the first section of the ballet. Something slicker, a thinner black sliding door with stagehands running it from behind, hidden, might have worked better or perhaps just a thinner, lighter, black curtain dropped might have been less annoying. But the second half of the ballet had no such gimmicks and one could just get lost in the fantastic dancing of this well-oiled machine type of ballet.

I attended the repertory program last night. wow was all i can say, the company was much more in its element and certinaly impressed! artifact suite was powerful - the corps danced fantastically and lorena fejoo out of the principal couples was especially great.

i also liked quarterney very much. the central pas de deux for muriel maffre was beautiful. simple lines but with intricate partnering...a bit like 'after the rain' but visually stunning.

and even though i though 7 for 8 was the weakest piece on the program, it served its purpose at showing off several dancers. (I love Rachel Viselli. I think her perfromance quality and elegant carraige of the upper body are truly stunning.)

Kudos to all. I thought is was a wonderful performance.

I'm pretty much with the above on the rep program (interesting to see the beginnings of consensus on that - I think there was less on Sylvia).

Like a lot of Wheeldon, particularly for me his contemporary oeuvre, Quaternary looks a lot less glib on repeated viewing. Either I get used to it or the dancers find something personal in it - maybe both.

I agree with sz on the length of Artifact. Even though I enjoyed it, there was a point about 10 minutes from the end where I thought "If this goes on much longer I'm going to go nuts." It's also bittersweet to watch it because it shows to me the Forsythe that might have been. Though the choreography date is 2004, it's composed from materials from the 80s, when Forsythe was grappling with ballet head-on and making works that were churning and dark, yes, but also works that tried to assimilate and develop classical dance. There might have been so much more he could have given before he lost interest in that.

A fond farewell to Yuri Possokhov - the Saturday night performance was his last. I only got the see the end of his career (except for seeing him in Caniparoli's Aria several years ago.) I'm sorry I never saw his Othello. To quote him from an interview we did this week (it will be forthcoming in the print version of Dance View) he did it with ABT once and laughed that there was no way his body could produce what Desmond Richardson's could - New York saw his "small, intimate" version of the role.

I'm seeing the rep program again this afternoon. I think the company's pulled off a PR victory. The buzz and the scene here is enormous - le tout New York dance is here. I stood next to Mark Morris for Quaternary since we both arrived too late to take our seats. Every critic and his/her mother is here. It feels like the company is being taken even more seriously than it has been before.

I'm afraid I can't join the growing consensus.

tikitatata, I’m glad you enjoyed my last post and I hope I don't offend anyone with my negative view of this company's week in NY. I really wanted to love them, I’d never seen them before and was very excited about their visit. I didn’t think I was going to love their Sylvia but I expected to love their gala & mixed rep programs. In fact I was upset that a business trip wouldn’t allow me to see their mixed rep program twice, now I’m glad I’m not going again this afternoon!

For me SFB’s week in NY is ending the same way it began, leaving me with mixed feelings. Their rep program showed the dancers to much greater advantage than previous programs, and they do have some beautiful dancers. Tan, Feijoo, Possokhov, Garcia, Molat, LeBlanc, Boada & Maffre really stood out. However, I didn’t like the pieces they chose to present.

I actually thought 7 for 8 was ok, not great but ok . It gave the dancers something to sink their teeth into and was the first thing I’ve seen this week that showed them at their best. I figured the program would pick up from there. Unfortunately while Quatenary also provided a showcase for the dancers it now has the distinction of being the only thing I’ve ever seen by Wheeldon that I truly dislike. It seemed very derivative of his other works and went on way too long to keep my interest. Frankly, aside from the Maffre /Possokhov pdd I found it boring.

I liked Artifact and if I had enjoyed the 2 pieces that proceeded it I’m sure I would have liked it more but I was already so numb from sitting through 7 for 8 and then Quaternary that halfway through Artifact Suite I almost got up and left. Literally, I talked myself out of leaving 2 or 3 times during the last 10 minutes. I can't remember the last time I felt that way at the ballet. If this is the future of ballet I will run screaming back to the past. Fortunately, I know it is only ONE future direction out of many possibilities.

If SFB is a post modern ballet company, then so be it however if they consider themselves to be a classical ballet company then I really think they missed the boat with the type of rep they brought for this engagement.

I'm waiting with bated breath for this one.

Possokhov's Phlegmatic is one of my all-time favorite performances.

Just goes to show that three people does not a consensus make!

nysusan - I agree with almost all of what you experienced (especially about Artifact), I just added up the score differently. It seems to me that SFB is in fact trying to set itself up as a major contemporary/postmodern force rather than a "high classical" one and also that the company was interested in showing us its dancers first and foremost.

When I saw Quaternary in SF I liked it a lot less - it may get better on a second viewing (I didn't love it, I just didn't feel the same negativity towards it).

Helene - with immense regret (because I loved it too) I realized afterwards that Phlegmatic was something we did not discuss (we were concentrating on choreography).

I'm glad that was the focus of the interview, and that SFB is diversifying house choreography.

The Last Dance, Sunday July 30

The seven movement Tomasson/Bach 7 for 8 started with Nutnaree Pipit-Suksun and Pierre-Francoise Vilanoba. As on opening night, she maintained her continuous flow of movement. Kristin Long and Gonzalo Garcia followed, and as in Sylvia he projected a warm-hearted virtuosity. Then came Frances Chung, Elizabeth Miner and Pascal Molat. Next Jaime Garcia Castilla joined Garcia, Long and Miner. So far a pleasant show piece, and each dancer was pleasing. Pascal Molat came on for a very well-danced solo, I feel it was significantly better danced than his Aminta, making it a bit easier to understand why he is such a well-regarded principal.
The sixth movement featured a return of the lead pair, Pipit-Suksun and Vilanoba. There was a moment when she let go of his hand and managed to simultaneously move toward and away from him. Maybe she didn't move at all. But it was the moment of poetry in this ballet. As on opening night, there is something very special about this dancer. She delivers those you-gotta-be-there moments, yet so quietly that you wonder what other you may have missed with the blink of an eye. There is something subtle about her fluid movement that transcends even direction. All the dancers were enjoyable in the finale. Choreographically light, but showing each dancer pleasingly, if not sufficiently challenging them.

Poor Mr. Wheeldon. When you are called "the best young ballet choreographer" everyone expects an almost Sleeping Beauty or a Symphony in C or an After the Rain. So Quaternary isn't it. Still, it has its merits.
Winter (Cage) gave another chance to see Yuan Yuan Tan, here partnered by David Smith. Solists were Elana Altman, David Acre, Lily Rogers and Quin Warton. Maybe because I like Cage's music for prepared piano I liked this. Maybe a better reason is that I really enjoyed Tan this season, she has such fine amplitude and presents the choreography in such a crystaline way.
Spring (Bach) featured Lorena Feijoo, Joan Boada, Tina LeBlanc and Rory Hohenstein. Although anticipating looking at the first pair, I was drawn to Tina, whose dancing explained the title of the section. At least for me, Wheeldon's invention seemed to flag by mid-movement.
Summer (Part). Here's Wheeldon! Muriel Maffre and Tiit Helimets were the dancers. In NYC we've seen some extraordinary duets created by Wheeldon on Wendy Whelan and ultra-partner Jock Soto. One knew from the opening Gala that Helimets was a real partner, then he disappeared during the Sylvias. Why? Maffre brought her imagination, that gave such completeness to her Diana, to play in this more abstract scenario. She was riviting. The piano's notes plucked singly very slowly, but deeply, and the space between was filled by Wheeldon's completing, giving continuity to the seemingly discrete music. The music has an emotional heart, of course, the notes the beating of the heart and the dancers swimming on this quiet wave. Helimets created the vast and calm sea in which his secure partner could entrance. When he exits stage left she is left to sit onstage, alone. This was very well received, in the moment and substantially during the bows at ballet's end.
Autumn (Mackey, played by the composer on electric guitar) completed the seasons. Sarah van Patten and Ruben Martin, with Brooke Moore, Garrett Anderson, Jonathan Mangosing, Garen Scribner, James Sofranko. Liking this is probably highly correlated with how one feels about the music. Is there some meaning to van Patten's coming over to console, and then remove Maffre's gown? There is a lot of action for the corps. I note again, as in the Gala, that any emotion that Sarah projects does not involve facial expression.

Forsythe's Artifact Suite had a large number of dancers, plus leading roles for two couples, Yuan Yuan Tan and Damian Smith, and Tina LeBlanc and Gonzalo Garcia, with Muriel Maffre as the Sentinal and William Forsythe as the Big Ego. The thudding curtain and that long pause as we were forced to sit in semi-darkness, awaiting breathlessly the next burst of divine creativity: For once I was not in a mood to shssss the restless talkers. When we were allowed to see some choreography and dancing it was as good as the season's given. When it was over you wouldn't have known that this was the company's farewell. Perhaps the audience felt too mistreated, and hadn't the heart left to pay proper honor to SFB's worthy dancers.

Favorites? One would be tempted toward a long list. But allowing two of each.
For the women:
Yuan Yuan Tan, she taught me much about what I was seeing, and had the amplitude and presence of a ballerina.
Nutnaree Pipit-Suksun, precisely because I don't know why.
For the men:
Guennadi Nedviguine, for going beyond technique and for gazing at his ballerina.
Tiit Helimets, perfect partnering for two totally different ballerinas.
Grand Prix:
Muriel Maffre, for being the season's Heart of Dance.