Casting for the first week of Swan Lake is up:

http://www.pnb.org/season/swanlake-cast.html

Odette/Odlie and Siegfried pairings:

4/9: Nakamura/Postlewaite
4/10: Korbes/Milov
4/11 matinee: Imler/Bold Vinson/Orza
4/11 evening: Nadeau/Cruz

If you go to the dress rehearsal on Wednesday night, you'll see another pairing (not scheduled for the opening weekend)

Second week casting should be posted some time today (Tuesday) -- I know they were initially rehearsing six women for O/O, but don't know how many will eventually perform.

Alongside the big parts, Imler will do the Queen Mother on opening. She was great in this role the last time the company did the ballet -- just like an Edith Wharton character. In the same performance, Jodie Thomas is dancing Neopolitan, which is an excellent role for her, fast and tricky (see her before she leaves at the end of the season) And Barry Kerollis is doing Spanish on the Saturday matinee. Last time out, he and Kiyon Gaines did that for several performances and they just wiped the floor. Between the fringe and the ruffles and the pantaloons of the costume, and the shimmying choreography, it's so over the top that it flys off the other side -- just astonishing.

Barry Kerollis has a face made for ruffles, powdered wigs, and a mole by his upper lip.

Week two casting is up, and the Odettes/Odiles and Siegfrieds are:

4/16: Vinson/Orza
4/17: Weese/Cruz
4/18 matinee: Nakamura/Postlewaite
4/18 evening: Korbes/Milov
4/19 matinee: Weese/Cruz
4/19 evening: Imler/Bold updated to Nakamura/Postlewaite

In case anyone is attending matinees, they begin at 1pm on Saturdays and Sundays; that's an hour earlier than usual for Saturdays. The Sunday evening performance starts at 7pm.

I thought I'd just point out that the 4/11 matinee appears to have changed from Imler/Bold to Vinson/Orza.

Thanks for the sharp eyes!

So now the only Imler performance is 4/19 evening. Tomorrow I buy additional tickets to that! No way I'm missing Imler as O/O.

Frankly, this casting schedule for Swan Lake is somewhat puzzling to me. I wish I was clever enough to figure out what the message is.

There was great promise in the pairing of Kaori Nakamura and Lucien Postlewaite in Doug Fullington's reconstructions of excerpts from "La Bayadere" in his Balanchine's Petipa presentations, and it was realized tonight in the opening night of "Swan Lake".

Postlewaite's Siegfried is a young prince, and as ardent as his prince is, he's out of his depth with both Odette and Odile. There were two things that were most remarkable about Postlewaite's performance: there was not a second of stage time that he did not account for dramatically -- including his variations, which were abstractions of character -- and he never broke line or character for virtuosity. When he floated jetes into a scene, he showed ecstacy and flight. When he partnered Nakamura in the White Swan Pas de Deux, he didn't just walk at her pace and follow her when she moved from turn to supported hold, he watched her move away, enchanted, and then he did a gentle rush towards her. He looked continually astonished that she gave him the time of day, and that she let him touch her. One great moment was at the very end of Act II, when he's reeling by what just took place, including von Rothbart's powerful dismissal of him, and then, suddenly, his face lights up as he runs back to the palace: he's completely, madly in love, despite the swan thing and Odette's baggage and the weird monster to whom she's attached, and it explains exactly where his head is at the opening of Act III.

Nakamura's Odette was soft and deep, her movement originating from the sternum. It's rare for me to see a performance of the Act II solo in which the arms and legs had equal importance and emphasis. Her Odile was sharper, and she clearly loved playing Siegfried every second. In her solo, she gained momentum on the attitude turns in the beginning, and then stopped on a dime. What bound the two was the silken clarity she brought to both roles. Her impeccable technique was invisible and submerged in each character.

Carrie Imler was the Mom from Hell, controlling, controlling, controlling. In Act III, after introducing all of the foreign dancers, the Jester sits at the feet of the Queen, and Imler shot Jonathan Porretta such looks of affection, as if she were saying, "See, you listen, why weren't you my son?" It is such a vivid characterization. Olivier Wevers overcame the von Rothbart costume, and even gave up being imperious for a second to toy with Siegfried: when he summoned him to join hands with Odile and swear his love to her, he did it with an uncharacteristic, avuncular "Come here, Young Grasshopper" gesture, only to squash him a moment later.

Between Carrie Imler's controlling mother and Olivier Wevers virile von Rothbart and Nakamura's Odette and Odile, Postlewaite's Siegfried didn't have a chance: he was being drawn and quartered. Without any shadowing von Rothbarts or dream sequences or hair pulling or Lady Capulet-like Queen Mothers or angstful Act I solos, this performance might very well have been called "Siegfried".

After three performances of "Les Sylphides" last weekend, arms and hands have been on my mind, and Benjamin Griffiths' rounded arms and expressive fingers were exemplary in the Act I Pas de Trois and the Neopolitan Dance, in which his energy was beautifully matched with Jodie Thomas'. (The Danes are in for a real treat next season.) His partners in the Pas de Trois were Lesley Rausch, whose attention to epaulement in classical roles is always a pleasure to watch -- following her, you realize that a part of a variation is a soft nod to four distinct corners, not just some vague gestures in random directions -- and Maria Chapman, who got wonderful loft before beats, paused a second in the air at the top, and continued with a flutter. Chapman was also a knockout in the Persian Dance in Act II, with especially expressive arms, particularly in the slow intro. (The dance is to the "Russian" music.)

In the Spanish, Lindsi Dec showed great style, with snap and attitude, sandwiched between her beautiful, expansive swan in Acts II and IV. Her versatility is a joy to watch. She was joined by Kylee Kitchens, Josh Spell, and Jordan Pacitti in Spanish, all three showing spark, and Pacitti also gave a rich and satisfying portrayal of Wolfgang in Act I. Jonathan Porretta's Jester did not stop moving when he danced -- there were no pandering-for-applause stops -- and his mime and characterization as part of the royal household were a great complement to his virtuoso dancing. Stacy Lowenberg glowed in Czardas, and her partner, whom at first I didn't recognize, smoldered, channeling his inner Gedeminas Taranda. (It was Jerome Tisserand.)

In the Act II Valse Bluette #1 demi-soloist Sarah Ricard Orza lowered each leg after developpe in second on point as if it were on a cloud, just lovely, to match her expressive arms. The swans were an equal star in this production. Having seen the overly aerobic entrance in San Francisco last month in an otherwise wonderful swan corps, this corps differentiated between the energy of the opening hops and the softness of the arabesque in plie, making each rendition of the combination into a meaningful visual phrase.

The swan corps was at its best in Act IV, opening in a circle, magically shifting into two lines, and then becoming Stowell's kaleidoscope of patterns to what my Mariinsky Complete Swan Lake calls "Act IV Dance of the Little Swans". I find the Act IV Pas de Deux, to the plaintive music that's noted on a number of recordings as "Pas de Trois: Andante Sustenato (4b)", one of the highlights of the ballet, a heart breaker, and a beautiful balance to the rest of the act and the ballet. (In Tomasson's version for SFB and several others I've seen, Siegfried dances to this music as a solo towards the end of Act I.)

Stewart Kershaw led the orchestra. During the overture to Act II, as the strings played the famous theme, I was jolted by a sound I hadn't heard since childhood, when I wore out the grooves on my Philadelphia Orchestra recording of "Swan Lake": the clear sound of many strings playing as one.

My understanding is that there may be more rescheduling for next week. I'm trying hard to see all the Odettes, but it's going to be tricky.

I don't know if there is a message to figure out with casting. Sometimes casting changes because of an illness or injury. I don't think it has anything to do with you not being clever enough to figure it out.

We attended last night and saw Nadeau/Cruz. I admit to going in with low expectations because a friend had attended opening night and told me it was long and boring. We had seen it twice 2 years ago and had loved Carla Korbes in one and Le Yin in the other and I wondered if anything could match those. My daughter had seen Louise Nadeau in a dress rehearsal two years ago and told me she hadn't been impressed. Well, let me tell you that after her performance last night, my daughter now understands the difference between a dress rehearsal and the real thing!

Louise Nadeau was ethereal. What I noticed most about her dancing was that it was precise and crisp. I guess I expected a bit muddier from someone who is about to retire. Please forgive me! My daughter said she only did 28 fouettes rather than 32, but they were gorgeous. Her acting was excellent, too. I loved her sassy Odile. What a tease!

But an even bigger surprise to me was Karel Cruz. He is a star! I completely believed him as the regal prince. His dancing was beautiful and easy. So relaxed and yet powerful. We had no fear of him falling out of any turns. He nailed it all. And what a presence onstage with that height and those long legs. Wow! I'm looking for him to be a principal. (Maybe in the fall?) I loved watching him!

But the highlight of Swan Lake for me is always the Swans. That choreography intoxicates me! I want to watch each dancer and yet I want to view the whole corps at once to see the intricate patterns and movements. I could watch it for hours without getting bored.

I also look forward to that swan pas de quatre, but last night it was a bit disappointing. They seemed to fight and pull against each other. I hadn't seen that happen two years ago. Also in Act 1, I thought the unison parts weren't in sync for the 6 ladies dance. That was disappointing, too.

Some other highlights were Jonathan Poretta, who should give clinics on how to exude personality onstage and command all attention; the princesses in ivory were lovely; Rachel Foster and Benjamin Griffiths in Neapolitan; and Maria Chapman as Persian. Throughout the performance the people I kept noticing were Benjamin Griffiths, Liora Reshef, Jordan Pacitti, and Maria Chapman.

I also loved the curtain call when Louise Nadeau didn't notice the rose for Karel Cruz and it dropped on the ground. She saw it and picked it up and gave him a kiss as the curtain fell. Really sweet moment.

My daughter left bubbling with excitement in the car on the way home, wishing she didn't have to wait until Monday for her next ballet class. I wish we could attend more performances, but our schedule won't accommodate.

On a side note, they did announce asking for people to silence their cell phones, which seemed to work since not one went off that I could hear. However, the people behind me felt that any music prior to the curtain rising meant they could still talk. Ugh. I love the music. Please don't talk over it.

I saw all four performances this week, and the reappearance of the "please turn things off and don't take photos" announcement came in yesterday's matinee, at the beginning of act 3, after some snap-happy person was taking photos during acts 1 and 2. There was general audience applause after the announcement!

At "Les Sylphides" in Phoenix last weekend, during the opening tableau, before any dancer had moved, the 70-something behind me announced to her friend (and the entire main floor) -- "This music is so beautiful. I could just come to listen to the music."

A little later in the Wheeldon, she informed us all that "That must be what's-his-name."

I hope you'll give us all the details!

I understand how injury can affect casting plans. My puzzlement over the casting for Swan Lake is an overall one. Look at all the casts, look at all the partnering, look at who's dancing which speciality roles. Usually I can see why things are the way they are......not this time (except a bit here and there).

A lesson well worth learning! I too have been amazed at the difference between dress reheasals and true performances.


Your daugther is correct....plus, it seemed to me that Louise attempted a triple at the end, but the landing was flawed. None the less, they were beautifully done as you say.


I too felt Karel did a marvelous job. I still think he has a ways to go -- he has the pyro-technics down pat, he can act (IMO he needs more power in this area however), his partnering is solid if perhaps not yet inspired, and he's handsome as hell.....not to mention his height (I'm guessing 6'4"). PNB has some great young men coming along...Karel Cruz certainly among them, as well as Seth Orza, Jordan Pacitti (he seems to be taking off like a late blooming phenomenon lately, and he's one of the best at character roles ever); Barry Kerolis; Jerome Tisserand; Josh Spell; and an amazing crop of apprentice men (all tall).


I'm not 100% sure, but I don't think the choreography expects them to be in unison. Each of the "Guests" in Act 1 is expected to have a sort of "fugal" start of a phrase rather than strict unison. Maybe someone else has the definitive answer to this.


Here, here! Marie was absolutely superb as the Persian. In fact she's been superb in everything lately. I smell a Principal coming one of these years.

BTW, I completely agree that the heart and soul of this ballet is the Swans. It's just plain wonderful that a company of our size can turn out corps dancers and professional divison student dancers of this calibre. How lucky we are.

Thank you for responding. I hate the feeling that I'm talking to myself.

Yes, I know that dance is a fugal feeling, but there are unison parts that I thought weren't in sync. Still the dancing was gorgeous. I'm going to the Oregon ballet this Saturday night for my first time ever, and I'm looking forward to familiarizing myself with that company.

There were some glitches in synchrony there, mostly in terms of initiation (at what point do people think they need to 'start' a movement phrase) but the thing I noticed that was more itchy was mismatched arms and facings -- some arms high to the side and some in a straight second position, some faces into the croise direction and some out to the audience -- that kind of thing. But in general I've always found Kent Stowell's waltzes to be extra-busy, with as many accents off of the standard 1 and 4 downbeats as on them, so I sometimes see agitation that might not read the same way if the rhythm was more traditional.

I'm so glad you're seeing OBT -- I'm hoping to get down there for the second week of the run, but things are busy here and I'm not sure I'll make it. I really liked the last piece Kudelka made for them, and I don't know this Forsythe, so it's an intriguing program.

Please know you're not "talking to yourself" here -- I read pretty much every day, though I can't always participate in the conversation.

And many of us read who can't respond because we're far, far away. But we're interested and love to hear what others are seeing.

I wonder why there has been no post-performance Q&A's for this program. Had there been, this would have been a good question to ask. I too am somewhat confused by the level of synchrony within the 6 "Guests" in Act I there "should" have been.

P.S. In the interests of full disclosure <grin>, I must admit that I am not what you would call a Kent Stowell fan (choreography, not as an AD).

If I remember correctly, there are no Q&A's after "Swan Lake". It's a long, long ballet, and especially with back-to-back performances on weekends, I think everyone involved would collapse.

I can't remember if there are Q&A's after "The Sleeping Beauty", but I suspect not. I do remember people referring to "Swan Lake" in the Q&A after the program that followed SL last time.

What she said. It's just too long to add another hour to the end of the event. It's the same reason there's not a full intermission between acts 3 and 4. Especially on matinee days, you want to get the matinee crowd out of the theater and let their seats cool down before the evening crowd shows up to sit in them...

Another casting change for the second week -- Carrie Imler and B Bold are not going to be performing after all. He is still recuperating from an injury, and they didn't have time for her to rehearse with a different partner. So Nakamura and Postelwaite are getting another turn at it on Sunday.

I hope Bold recovers quickly and fully.

It's a shame that Imler won't be able to perform Odette/Odile this season.

Carla Korbes danced Odette/Odile this evening. It might be more accurate to say that she sang it, the way people say that Yo Yo Ma's cello playing sings. Her movement quality is unique and immediately recognizable, the way Pavarotti's or Nilsson's is after just a few notes, and equally beautiful.

The only other thing I'm going to say about it is that the next time "Swan Lake" is performed here, get on a plane, train, automobile, bicycle, or auto-rickshaw and make sure you see her in it. I wish that everyone reading this site could.

Stanko Milov danced Siegfried, and he was ON tonight, the best I've seen him this season, but more importantly, he was partner and dramatic counterpoint to Korbes' O/O. The physical stand-off between him and William Lin-Yee at the end of Act II was great to see: two tall, powerful dancers standing their ground. Lin-Yee was roundly booed at the final curtain calls, which means his characterization was a great success.

The Jester in this production is an unusual character: he's clearly a friend to the Prince and a valued member of the royal household, at the same time having several bravura solos. What is impressive about Stowell's vision for the character is that it doesn't require shamelessness. Benjamin Griffiths' characterization was sunny and his dancing plush: what beautiful technique he has. Another unusual take on character is the Persian Dance in Act III: while the attendants, all kids from the school, had typical Oriental story ballet movement, the Persian Dancer role has a lot of dignity, a quality not often associated with a woman in harem pants and a bare midriff. Especially when danced by Ariana Lallone, who performed with great stature and without the slightest hint of subservience.

There was a pre-curtain announcement that Seth Orza would dance in the Pas de Trois in place of Jonathan Porretta. I'm not sure how much practice Orza had with his partners, Rachel Foster and Jodie Thomas -- he's rather taller than both -- but it wasn't a completely smooth ride, although his solo work was terrific. Rachel Foster has a wonderful way of making each solo role a jewel: in the Pas de Trois, her legs and feet were precise and pristine, and in the Neopolitan in Act III, with a comparably wonderful James Moore, she resembled Patricia McBride for a brief second, and made me want to see them both in Balanchine's Tarantella. Jodie Thomas played little riffs on the timing; it's great to see her dancing with freedom and rhythmic expression. In the Polonaise, a tiny brunette in muted green who was partnered by Sokvanarra Sar caught my eye even in the back row with her crisp timing and expressive arms.

There are too many dramatic touches in Act I to absorb all at once, but there were several that registered strongly tonight. First was in Carrie Imler's fantastic portrayal of the Queen. After the Queen makes her entrance, she sweeps down stage left to look for her son and turns downstage, where she spots him. Imler didn't do the standard, "Aha! Lo and Behold! There he is! I see him!" gestures. Instead, she tilted her head softly to the side. She was a big pussy cat with him, until he dared to contradict her, and out came the claws: she turned controlling on a dime. Before the Queen leaves, she waits for Siegfried's arm for the walk upstage center, and the punitive way Imler pulled away her hand from his supporting arm said a million words. Later in Act III, his body language, all well-over-six-feet of him, changed from Prince to chastised boy in reaction to her. I'm grateful that there's a fourth wall between me and Imler's Queen.

Later in the scene, one of the guests gets a little more attention from Siegfried as the other five are dancing, and tonight it was Stacey Lowenberg. From that moment, she was a character of her own: telling her friends about it, and smitten with the Prince, all within so many other vignettes that happen simultaneously.

Then there is Jordan Pacitti's Wolfgang. sandik wrote in her review in The Seattle Weekly:



What's so wonderful about Pacitti's fop is that he's very serious, with a touch of anxiety: you can almost see the temples of Pacitti's forehead being squeezed. He is vain, but it's not vanity of appearance: it's of character. He performed the Spanish Dance -- tonight partnering the terrific Laura Gilbreath -- completely straight, with the same serious expression. And in the middle of all of this characterization was superb classical dancing. It's great to read everyone's observations, all the things I missed at the first performance! Did I ever look for that fringe, a detail that I missed completely last week! I watched the Guests' dance carefully tonight, and I think that the waltz is just a bit of a mess, perhaps too ambitious.

My only other beef about this production is that if, to name just two, Imler can make the Queen's mime that clear and if she and Pacitti can establish character through mime and gesture, and if the entire act makes great demands for characterization, why is mime expunged from Act II?

I love Act IV the more I see it. It opens with the shifting corps patterns resolving to a flying wedge upstage right at Odette's entrance. After the Prince enters, goes to one knee, and, hunches over, bereft, Odette lifts his head, goes back a few meters, and opens her arms, her chest open and her head back, surrendering to him. Dramatically, I realized in the last run that it's like the juxtaposition of the Balcony Scene in "Romeo & Juliet" -- a scene of great hope and expectation for the future -- with the Bedroom Scene -- a scene of imperfect beings in a horrific situation dealing with forces beyond their control but accepting the present, another dramatic duality.

I saw Miranda Weese on Friday night and have other things to say, but no time right now, except that Kyle Davis replaced Porretta as the Jester, which makes me hope that Porretta isn't injured.

And yes, Carrie Imler as the QM is scary, scary, scary.

I'm sorry to be so wordy, but I wound up seeing all five O/Os (and, I think, most of the additional casting as well) and have things I'd like to say.

Peter Boal gives curtain speech 4/9 -- performance tonight is dedicated to Peter Donnelly, who was a big part of the Seattle arts community. Ran the Rep for a long time (especially important during the capital campaign for their current building), and then on to found Arts Fund, which helps channel corporate donations to the arts. When he first stepped out I thought perhaps he'd be talking about Gwenn Barker (former Ballet Russe dancer who taught and coached here for many years) who also died recently.

Act 1
Jordan Pacitti is Victorian elegant as the tutor, with little picky steps to match. I loved Paul Gibson in this part, it was made on him and he really made the whole “who, me? Drinking?” sequence with Siegfried and the Queen Mother very organic. But Pacitti is making this his own -- he's just this side of bibulous. At one point he dances with all six women (three on each arm) like a collector, and then towards the end he's got a series of increasingly tipsy turns resolving into a bobble-headed moment. With one hand on his hip and the other held in front of his waist he could appear on Project Runway -- he's a caricature of a fashion designer. But he's very carefully doing his job, looking out for the prince's interests, trying to find a young woman who would suit.

Lucien Postelwaite bounds on stage and that's his mode for the act -- he's young and bouncy and dazzled by life. “All these girls, and look, now we're dancing. Uh, oh, it's my mother -- I'd better put my coat back on. What -- get married? How would I do that?!” He loves his mother and wants her approval -- he turns to her over and over again, and as Carrie Imler plays her, she's an icy one. Kind when she gets her way and withholding affection when crossed. The way she takes her hand away from his as she leaves the stage after handing down her ultimatum is stunning. Quick, powerful and directed -- she snatches it back. In movement analysis terms that combination of energy is called a “punch” and though she doesn't actually strike him here, it has the same effect.

Stanko Milov and Karel Cruz are more grown-up as Siegfried, they tell people what to do, they break up fights. For this Siegfried, actual love comes as a revelation -- like Alberecht in Giselle, he is transformed and undone. Milov has done this part before you can sense his confidence in the role. Cruz is newer and so is more of a surprise. He's really filled out this last year -- when I first saw him he seemed all height and no breadth (though the boyshorts he wore in Tharp's Waterbaby Bagatelles didn't help much), but he's more in control of his length now -- his sissones are so arrowy I was smiling like a goof. I don't know if Seth Orza has done this role before elsewhere, but it feels like he hasn't -- the technique is more developed than the character. Good and clean (and easier in the upper body than he's been the last few programs) but I didn't see specific moments (“this is who I am right now”) so much as a clean general performance.

Pacitti and Jonathan Porretta as the Jester have a highly developed mime chat during the act -- I think it must have at least some actual meaning -- it certainly doesn't feel like unshaped hand jive.

Helene is right -- Barry Kerollis is meant for the Restoration. He's checking out the girls upstage and making comments behind their backs.

Everyone comments on Porretta's theatricality, and it is indeed a big part of his work no matter the part, but the thing that strikes me right now is just the physical facility. In past generations, the fast and gymnastic dancers were often not the ones with flexibility or really elegant line, but Porretta does have those attributes as well as the high-test stuff. The Jester is full of tricks, choreographically, and I've often seen them performed by dancers with more panache than clarity, but that's not happening here.

The trio, as Francia Russell has staged it, is very close to the original Petipa, and it feels like it. He loved setting little challenges for dancers (how many ways can you do this pas de bouree?) or showcasing someone's particular skill (hops on pointe -- hell on earth for some and a walk in the park for others) Benjamin Griffiths has been whipping off extra multiple turns everywhere this season and here is no different. He's so poised with them, though, that I begin to doubt my finger math at the end of the phrase -- did he really do three/four/what? and then pause in releve -- he doesn't look like butter would melt… Maria Chapman is lovely in all the pointey hopping and Leslie Rausch is just clean, clean, clean in the releves. In another cast, Jodie Thomas is excellent -- the busy precision really suits her. She should be just fine in Denmark.

Kyle Davis substitutes for Porretta as the Jester on 4/17, He's got the technicals skills, certainly, but he hasn't quite worked out the showmanship of the role. He's very pure (I would be interested in seeing him in the pas de trois), but I think he needs to be more selfish (Hey! Look at me!!) in his performance. He needs to come to his own terms about what he does and why he does it. (in act 3, after Odile reveals true bad self, the characters winds up at the feet of the QM, weeping into her train. Both Porretta and Griffiths make this a totally believeable moment, but with Davis he seems to dive at the QM's train before his emotions tell him to go there, just because the choreography says so.

Act 2
At the lake, Seth Orza manages to make Benno make sense -- he's the outrider -- the one who checks the field before the prince comes along. I know that the original character was inserting for purely pragmatic reasons, but over time we've inherited him without the reason he exists. There has to be some reason he gets a program credit of his own rather than the ubiquitous “friends” or “retainers.”

As O/O, Kaori Nakamura has real quickness on her entrance -- rather than just being fast she's got the true 'precipite,' which feels very birdy. She's not soft here, so much as she's still. Watching and worrying -- just like the last time around, when she performed this role with Olivier Wevers, she seems the more mature of the pair, which lets Postelwaite, in this case, be the hopeful, fragile one.

Carla Korbes first go at O/O, a couple years ago, was clean, but she's so much further along now. She really seems to have thought the character through, and found the movement components of her interpretation within the choreography rather than grafted on. She's got the “let me go” part of the first extended duet, just like in “Firebird.” When she looks at Siegfried, she's really hopeful -- maybe the curse can be broken.

Louise Nadeau's O/O was the most eccentric of the run, especially in the upper body where she really used her natural facility to support her characterization. I know that we see her performances right now thinking that she's leaving at the end of the season, but even without that awareness this would feel like a highly developed and personal interpretation. Mara Vinson, understandably, was much less adventurous -- this is her first time out in the full ballet and she acquitted herself well, but it felt a bit like a performance as much based on what she's seen of other dancers as what she thinks of herself. I'm hoping that the work comes around in the repertory again soon enough for her to get another go at it (or that she guests somewhere that she can keep working on the part).

Miranda Weese is having an interesting time of things here -- she's been in and out of performances often enough that many of the people I speak with feel they really don't know her very well, for all that she's been on the roster here for almost two years. Like most people, I saw her in the televised performance of the Martins' Swan Lake, but I don't have many specific memories of her distinct from the production. Here she is almost a photo-perfect O/O in the tableaus, with a side tilt of her head reading as modesty in the white acts and seductive in the black.

Liora Reshef is very clear in the 4 little swans, but she's decided the downbeat is a slice earilier than her colleages. I actually think she's right, but in a variation like this, unison is more important than right. She's been popping up all over the stage in the last few productions, and there's almost always something interesting to see.

Wever's Von Rothbart is great -- his timing is very innate, like Imler's, and almost violent -- he makes that oversized cape really snap. William Yin-Lee had some excellent moments as well, glaring at the audience as well as Siegfried.

Act 3
Okay, I can manage with the tilting walls/columns in the fist two acts, but when the curtain opens for the beginning of act 3, I look at that big wall of off-kilter windows upstage and all I can think is “Titanic!”

The national dances are looking really snappy this time around. I've loved the Spanish as much for its incredibly gaudy costumes as for the rose-in-the-teeth choreography since I first saw it, but this time out it's particularly nice. I do miss Kerollis and Kiyon Gaines here -- they were a great match for timing and amplitude, but Pacitti does a lot to make up for it.

Stacey Lowenberg and Jerome Tisserand have great tension in the Czardas, but I think I love Kari Brunson and William Yin-Lee best -- you can hear their heel clicks and stamps throughout the dance, which really links it to its ethnic dance roots. He's been popping up on the radar in all kinds of things this year -- he looked great in Benjamin Millepied's “Three Movements,” in a white shirt and a skinny black tie.

Stowell has choreographed several doll dances and commedia pieces, and the Neopolitan here is a good example. Tricky, with the big movement payoff not linked to the crescendo in the music. Jodie Thomas is charming and flirty here, and Griffiths is an excellent partner for that.

The relationship between the QM and Von R can shift in a couple different ways. Imler is condescending, so that at the end of the act Von R's victory is as much over her as it is over Siegfried. There's an interesting moment as Von R and Odile enter the ballroom -- they're coming down the diagonal towards the throne when Odile and Siegfried leave the stage (off to canoodle in another room?) Von R continues down the diagonal towards the QM, but she gestures across the stage “There's your seat.” Otto Neuberg plays it very broody -- he's been dissed by the QM, and he slouches in his chair and sulks during the national dances. Olivier Wevers is less surly as Von R, more devious.

Nakamura's Odile is very glittery -- very wiley. Postelwaite's Siegfried doesn't stand a chance. Körbes is more sinuous, more overtly seductive -- Milov's Siegfried is probably much more experienced than Postelwaite's -- it will take more to win him over.

Act 4
If I had my way I'd see acts 2 and 3 from fairly close on a level with the stage, and then see act 4 from above. The geometry of the corps work is quite lovely, and it's hard to see from the orchestra section. There are some great bits here, and the constant thrum of their bourrees is reinforced by the roll of the tympani.

The differences between O/O come mostly in act 2 -- by the time we get to act 4 they all seem to be on the same page. Not sure how much individual coaching they get on the details.

Compared with the plot points that they need to make in the preceding acts, this one is quite straightforward -- apology, forgiveness, death and apotheosis.

One striking thing I forgot to note about Imler's performances was the moment in Act III after Siegfried refuses to choose one of the princesses to marry. She walks upstage to the princesses, who are in a diagonal line from upstage left to downstage right, to check out each, since if he won't choose, I guess she will, and the way Imler eyed each one up and down, she could have been the chief judge at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. (It wouldn't have been classical ballet if she checked out their teeth, so she didn't.)

I saw the final performance of "Swan Lake" tonight. The printed program was all over the place apart from the principals. Lindsi Dec and Stacy Lowenberg moved to Pas de Trois, and at least two of the other Guests (the female Act I sextet) were subs -- I noted Brunson, Chapman, Gilbreath, and Thomas among them -- and I could have sworn that I saw Brittany Reid and Stacy Lowenberg dance the first Valse Bluette demi-solos, which the Pas de Tros was danced by the scheduled trio, Chalnessa Eames, Kylee Kitchens, and Sarah Orza. Jerome Tisserand was Benno, who in this production is featured at the beginning of Act II, when he runs in ahead of Siegfried and his other friends. Kari Brunson substituted in Czardas, so I don't think she have been the Indian Princess at the same time, but I was too busy watching Leslie Rausch's elegant princess. I kind of wanted to slap Siegfried in the head, to say, "What's wrong with her?" but I thought of doing the same thing in Act I about Maria Chapman's Guest. But that's like picking which of the Dukes in Sleeping Beauty Aurora should have chosen if the court hadn't been put to sleep for 100 years -- my answer would be 1. Gary Avis 2. Lucien Postlewaite -- and they didn't have what Bruce Marks called Siegfried's mishegas.

Nakamura and Postlewaite reprised their roles, bookending the run. It was another breathtaking performance. Nakamura's arms were pure poetry in the White Swan solo; this was my all-time favorite performance of this solo. I wish this and the whole performance had been taped for DVD. Last night's audience was electric from start to finish. Tonight's audience was electrified by Nakamura's and Postlewaite's performance, especially in Act III, which carried through to the end of the evening, and the ovation was enormous.

Other repeat performances that were particularly noteworthy were Benjamin Griffith's Jester -- I didn't think he could surpass last night's, but he did, and he even did an aerial cartwheel to boot -- Ariana Lallone's Persian Dance, the Dec/Pacitti/Reid/Spell quartet in Spanish, and Pacitti's Wofgang.

Because of some of the substitutions, I was able to see Dec and Lowenberg in the Act I Pas de Trois for the first time, and Kari Brunson and William Lee-Yin's Czardas. Dec and Lowenberg are taller dancer, and Orza looked much more comfortable partnering them -- his hands seemed to know where to go. He looked even more confident in his solo, and he did a beautiful traveling double turn upstage at the end of a big jump phrase. They made a very handsome trio. Both Dec and Lowenberg's long legs look different in the choreography -- a little slower, less sharp, a little more lush. In the first half of her solo, Dec was literal with the music -- one of Rachel Foster's strengths in the same role was how she connected the smaller sections into a longer phrase -- but she owned the coda with expansive movement. Brunson and Lee-Yin were an impressive pair in the Czardas. Lee-Yin was majestically space eating.

The swan corps outdid themselves tonight: after a run of six performances in four days, including matinees yesterday and today -- the normal PNB schedule is one matinee per weekend -- they were as disciplined and committed as ever. Bravi to them.

I'd like to note the superb, sensitive playing of the violin/cello duet in the White Swan Pas de Deux. The individual musicians are not credited; John Pilskog is the Acting Concertmaster and Page Smith is the Principal Cello in the PNB Orchestra.

Oh, I don't know -- maybe she has x-ray vision?



I'm glad people are getting the chance to move around -- it's a bit like Nutcracker that way.



She is indeed a very American beauty.



The more I see this trio, the more I notice in it, and the more I realize how tricky Petipa was. It's not designed to be hard just for the sake of hard, but it takes its subjects very seriously, and tries to display every facet of them it can.



I thought both the lead couples I saw (Lowenberg and Tisserand, and Brunson and Lee-Yin) did an excellent job, but the last ones were particularly juicy with that deep, grounded quality. I'm so glad you got to see them.

I wouldn't put it past her


I've often wondered if these are the hardest roles in the ballet. Not the most strenuous or challenging dramatically, but it's as if each of the women soloists has to be able to do everything except an extended lyrical pas de deux. Although at one time it would have done that too: it's pretty amazing to think that the music Stowell used for the Act IV Pas de Deux was written originally for the Act I Pas de Trois. It is a different in character for the Pas de Trois as it stands now as the original Black Swan Pas de Deux music that Balanchine used for "Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux" is from what has been used ever since, which I believe originally was in Act I(?)

One thing that's wonderful about that part is how it starts with him doing a perfect turn from deep second position plie which gets increasingly wobblier the more he does. Pacitti has a big, wide, beautifully turned out, juicy, juicy, juicy plie.


So it's not surprising when he's enamored with and discombobulated by Odile -- in fact, it's inevitable It's the emotional pull-tug that he knows.


I don't think it's only that she's in and out: when she's in, her performances have been quite inconsistent, and not in the wild "What will Suzanne Farrell do today?" way. She hasn't made me care what she will do next.


I LOVE this dynamic. It makes the grown-ups more than just stage dressing. And it's completely integrated into the ballet, like a barely audible rumble of low strings.

And apparently he was not injured, just incapacitated from an allergy test, and is on his way to being well, according to the press office at the company.

I've been putting off taking the time to write something about this program, but given what I saw at the last performance of this program's 2 week run (last Sunday evening), I have to say something.

I had bought a ticket to that last performance (my fourth) to see Carrie Imler who has been an inspiration to me for many years now. I number several other dancers among "my favorites", but when all is said and done, and considering how long Carrie has held me in awe, and the range of dance styles she seems to be so at home in, and the absolute perfection of her dancing, I guess she is the one dancer I will always walk over hot coals to see. Well, she couldn't dance due to Bold's injury. I was so disappointed that Nakamura was going to do the O/O role since I had just seen her the night before (Saturday). Sometimes you get lucky! I still wish I had had a chance to see Carrie, but I wouldn't trade the performance I saw Sunday night for anything. I don't really know if it was me, or if it was the dancers, but I saw an extraordinary performance Sunday night. (I see from her comments that Helene was also impressed by the performance.) This "last-performance-let's-pull-out-all-the-stops" quality was particularly striking to me since I had just seen essentially the same cast 24 hours before.

There is so much I could give the credit to, but it all centered on the extraordinary chemistry between Kaori Nakamura as O/O and Lucien Postlewaite as Siegfried. They were magical together. They are both such great dancers with total confidence, technique, and dedication to quality.....and this night they just give their all. It was one of the most exciting performances I have ever seen. Somehow or other the competence and energy of this pair infected nearly everyone else in the cast. Practically everyone was at the top of their game.....I will only mention a few: I've been noticing William Yin-Yee out of the corner of my eye, but I've not truly seen his potential until struck that night by his performance in the Czardas in Act III (with the remarkable Kari Brunson); he has such flare and is unafraid to "own the stage". Benjamin Griffiths absolutely nailed the Jester. I never thought anyone could surpass Poretta in that role, but Griffiths brought not only spectacle to the dancing but an elegance and fluidity that just sang. And I can't say enough about Jordan Pacitti. He is an under-appreciated dancer (at least during the last 2 years). He has always been a superb character dancer, but the feeling and insight he brings to such "secondary" roles is stunning. He contributes so much to this company in a quiet and unassuming way. I wonder if our audience knows how lucky we are to have someone of Jordan's dramatic abilities doing these roles. His approach to Wolfgang's "drunken tutor with the girls" dance took what might otherwise be forgettable to a level of high artistry (IMHO, it's a far more difficult role to dance than it appears). And finally, as always, my eyes go to Leslie Rausch whenever she is on the stage. She was poetry as the British Princiess in Act III. She turns into an angel whenever she dances.