Congratulations to Colorado Ballet! Great job with Giselle--down to small details. Costumes and scenery are from ABT--I happen to love the tiny wings and the veils on the Wilis. The corps is just beautiful--nicely rehearsed. And the principals are magnificent.

I can always forgive technical imperfections if there is soul in the dancing, and there is here. Nice job, Gil, Sandy, and Company.

Glad to hear this, fandango. I'm going to the matinee today...can't wait!!

Sunday matinee:

Maria Mosina and Igor Vassine were Giselle and Albrecht. They dance beautifully together and Maria totally "gets" Giselle in both acts. Technical perfection to me is not as important as soul--they might not have been perfect (if they weren't, I am not skilled enough to know) but they got the emotional part nailed.

Janelle Cooke was Myrthe--I have never seen a Myrthe before that I didn't think, "No wonder she died before her wedding, she is so unpleasant". I think some Myrthes may use the role to vent their rage at whatever has been eating them alive for years. Not Janelle. She actually projected a lovely bit (not too much, just right) of softness at just the right places. John Henry Reid as Hilarion and Nathan Vander Stoep as Wilfred were splendid.

Wow!!

Does anyone remember how long the show lasted? I'm stuck going tonight and I need to get up WAY tool early tomorrow.

Thanks for your report, fandango. I also prefer a Myrtha who shows that she had been a vulnerable maiden.

Giselle generally runs 2:15-2:20, but if there's a longer than usual intermission, . . .

Looking forward to your review, You.

I'm not really qualfied to review Giselle. I've never had any dance training and Giselle is basically an exhibition for the prima ballerina.

OK, a few comments:

I actually enjoyed the performance a lot more than I anticipated, though it probably will never be one of my favorites (it's more for sophisticated ballet-goers). And it is always great to watch Maria Mosina (as Giselle) dance. She is so flexible, not just physically but in her ability to project such a wide variety of moods while seeming totally natural. I don't know how she compares with the principal dancers at the top companies, but I'm guessing that someone at my level (barely literate, dance-wise) wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

Igor Vassine (Albrecht) has really matured the past few years. He uses far more finesse now rather than settling for showing off his tremendous athletic ability. Perhaps being paired so often with Mosina has helped him.

Gil Boggs passed in front of me when I was walking to the lobby during intermission. I resisted the urge to yell "fore!".

You did just fine! Thanks for your response.

What keeps me from loving Giselle as much as the Tchaikovsky ballets, for example, is its syrupy score. So I'm with you on the not-a-favorite status.

There are 2 things that I don't like about it:
1) Too little dancing by the men;
2) It's a little long given the smallness of the plot, with too much of the dancing not seeming to do a lot to advance the story. For example, the "harvest pas de deux" seems like it was thrown in so that the no. 2 pair in the company (or these days, perhaps a couple of future principles) would have a showcase.

"Gil Boggs passed in front of me when I was walking to the lobby during intermission. I resisted the urge to yell "fore!"."


You're killing me, that's so funny. It was the first time Maria and Igor made me cry in all the years I've watched them. It was a very powerful performance, and demanding... but my every expectation was surpassed. You're right about Igor maturing too... and Maria, as well. The last time I saw them do this ballet, they were not this good. All around, one of their best ever. They've come a long way... and it shows.